We're Obsessed: Four for Fall
Fall is here and so are a heap of lust-inducing design books. As happens every year, they're weighty, they're pricey... but boy are they gorgeous. To help you sift through the riff-raff, we've picked four favorites that will soon be gracing the shelves of STUDY's, er, study.
Our first pick weighs in at 220 pages and is priced for $75 - Assouline's Antiquaires: Paris Flea Markets.
via Nowness
Looking through the pages of this book validates all those hours spent sitting through high school and college French courses in a way that no grade book ever will. Documenting the 17 specialized markets of Paris' St. Ouen district, Antiquaires offers stunning photographs of the aisles that Rudolph Nureyev and Coco Chanel used to browse through when hunting for treasures - maybe this is where she found her first wheat sheaf table - and introduces us to the insanely diverse offering of Les Puces (read: there's more out there than a few rococo armoires).
via Nowness
via Nowness
via Nowness
via Nowness
via Nowness
via Nowness
But if pre-twentieth century isn't really your thing, we also have Gestalten's The Story of Eames Furniture, coming in at a sexy 800 pages in two volumes.
via Gestalten
Oh, it's also $199 which could probably buy you a few ratty shell chairs on Craigslist or a brand new knock-off somewhere else. Either way, this tome is the definitive word on all things Eames - from the creation of each piece of furniture, the aesthetics behind the Eames style and the workplace culture created by Ray and Charles Eames.
via Gestalten
via Gestalten
via Gestalten
via Gestalten
via Gestalten
The welterweight in this roundup is Chronicle Books' Design Research: The Store That Brought Modern Living to American Homes.
via New York Times
At a reasonably priced (for a coffee table book at least) $50, this is 192 pages of pure retail glory. D/R recounts the store that from 1969 to 1978 introduced America to Marimekko, Chemex coffee makers and Niederer glass. Let's not talk about the fact that the store's aesthetic - and later the space itself - was completely co-opted by Crate & Barrel. Instead, let's just all imagine how amazing it would have been live in Cambridge in the early 70's and have this be your neighborhood design store.
via New York Times
via New York Times
via New York Times
Today's list has been a little heavy on mid-century, but if you're looking for mid-century that's a little more timeless and, well... handcrafted, then we have Rizzoli's Handcrafted Modern: At Home with Mid-century Designers.
via Design Therapy
At 224 pages and an even more affordable $45, this book takes an unprecendented look at the homes and workspaces of George Nakashima, Harry Bertoia, Jens Risom, Eva Zeilsel, Walter Gropius, and Ray & Charles Eames among others.
via Design Therapy
via Design Therapy
via Design Therapy
via Design Therapy
via Design Therapy
Buy them all today, or buy your favorite, but whatever you do (PSA warning ahead), please buy them from an independent bookseller. Harry Bertoia and George Nakashima will thank you from beyond the grave.
