Papercity

We may have been called many things, but “apathetic” and “indecisive” have never been charged. We’re passionate about what we like and dismissive of what we don’t. And there’s a lot to be fervent about in the worlds of design, food, art and fashion. So here is our first (and now annual) Editor’s Picks … of what we simply can’t live without (today) — meaning, it’s Very PC.

Holly Moore, Editor in Chief, Houston and Dallas

I so love anything surreal, like this Cole & Son Fornesetti wallpaper, Tema e Variazioni. To the trade at Lee Jofa.

Eye portrait by Houston artist Brenda Holmes Gilbert, commission only. From $1,300, at Sloan/Hall. IMAGE: Photo by Jenny Antill.

A memory of late designer Herbert Wells’ estate sale with select items from his collections of mochaware, English drabware, furniture, and lighting. Wells’ estate sale is August 19 through 27 at Antiques of River Oaks.

I can’t wait for fall books on Oliver Messel: In the Theatre of Design (October, Rizzoli, $75); Carine Roitfeld: Irreverent (October, Rizzoli, $100); and Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel (October, Abrams, $55). Pre-order by e-mail at curatebooks@papercitymag.com.

This Sevan Dove Ring packs a power punch with delicate carved doves seen beneath a doorknocker blue topaz, sapphires and diamonds. $9,235 at Judith Ann Jewels.

I can’t miss Thursday nights at Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers when they have “Antiques and Interiors” on the podium. Let’s just say: treasures galore. Preview 10 am until the
7 pm gavel-down time.

The reincarnation of Bernardo Vintage Couture Jingle Bell sandals (1965). $295, at Tootsies.

Design genius Van Day Truex’s Dyonisos decanter for Baccarat. Simply brilliant. $610, at Baccarat and Neiman Marcus.

I am obsessed with ibride’s 19th-century-style hidden bookcases faced with portraits of Les Dandys Baudelaire-era gents. The four shelves are invisible from the front but accessible from the side. I am having a dinner party with (from left) Rastignac, Bel-Ami and Rodolphe, 66 by 48 by 14 centimeters. $858, through Grange Hall, Dallas; ibride.fr.

I want squatter’s right to the Emerson House from Brinca Dada, — but it’s only 30 by 21 by 18 inches, Lilliputian-sized for Bauhaus babes. $299, at Events; brincadada.com.

Nymphenburg wafer-thin porcelain vessels and vases are as delicate as paper. I get chills. Lightscape designed by Ruth Gurvitch in glazed white or hand-painted with misty Asian scenes. $129 to $3,349, at Sloan/Hall.

Laurann Claridge, Features Editor – Home Design, Food and Beauty Guru

Head to Catalina Coffee, 2201 Washington, where Amaya Roasted Coffee brews its fresh beans with integrity, in small batches. IMAGE: Photo by Jack Thompson.

I can’t get enough Lucite in my life, so I need Alexandra Von Furstenberg’s emerald charm bowl for my baubles. $395, at Area.

A Bientôt at 2501 River Oaks Boulevard is like crack for the accessory-crazed. I love these stackable lizard bracelets to wear in multiples.

Hien Lam’s new sprawling showroom on West Alabama is perfect for when you want a well-built sofa, chair or ottoman crafted with all kinds of style options.

Alexander McQueen corset-like belt. Chastity? I don’t think so. $590, at Tootsies.

Heidi Schulze’s Cell Youth Actif serum takes a few years off your face and gives you juicier, clearer-looking skin, fast. $120, at Solution for Hair and Makeup.

House of Mam’s, a funky retrofitted light-blue trailer in an empty lot at Rutland and 20th Street in the Heights, serves up New Orleans–style snoballs. I’m crazy for the sour cherry flavor topped with a spoonful of sweetened condensed milk.

Beauty for Real’s Get Glowing Cheek Tint and Luminizer is a luscious bronzing formulation that goes on as smooth as silk and gives you a luminescent, lit-from-within look. $29, at Façade; beautyforreal.com.

An armful of beautiful bracelets designed by Katy Briscoe. Price upon request, at Saks Fifth Avenue.

Darling, You’re No C.Z. Guest. Fake it with faux boxwood that makes you do a double-take. From $125, at David Brown. IMAGE: Photo by Jack Thompson.

Kate Allen Stukenberg, Fashion Editor

Darjeeling cookie jar by Jonathan Adler for my wall of white dishes. $150, at Blue Leaf, Kuhl-Linscomb.

Garrett Leight, son of sunglasses master Oliver Peoples, has released a limited collection of striking sun shades. Hampton $340, at Mortar.

I covet Madeline Weinrib’s cotton flat-weave carpets. $1,350 for an 8 x 10, at Kuhl-Linscomb.

A French frock for the 60th Annual Consular Ball honoring France on November 19, chaired by Melissa King, Philamena Baird and moi. J’adore this Giambattista Valli gown, price upon request, at Tootsies.

Vivienne Westwood Anglomania for Melissa baby shoes in jelly plastic. $72, at Lenny et Cia.

Keep It bracelet $225, at the Louis Vuitton boutique.

Standing reservations for brunch at Tiny Boxwood’s new sister restaurant, Tiny’s No. 5, every Saturday — forever. If only they took reservations … sigh. 3636 Rice Blvd. IMAGE: Photo by Jenny Antill.

Meredith Wendell metallic bow belt. $250, at Joseph. IMAGE: Photo by Jack Thompson.

Bitty Bitty Bum Bum chic seat for my daughter, Mary Parmelee in happy, kid-friendly fabrics. starting at $800, at Quatrine.

Heavenly ballet flats feel as if you’re not wearing shoes at all. I’ll take one in every metallic tint. Yosi Samra ballet flats from $65, at Abejas.

Houston design duo Sarah and Saba Jawda’s highly anticipated Jaw(Line) furniture collection is jaw-dropping. Logo lounge chair, as pictured, $3,000, through 713.419.8018.

Catherine D. Anspon, Visual Arts and Social Editor

The compelling Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Hellenistic jewel, the Head of Poseidon / Antigonos Doson; its identity, a post-Alexander the Great Macedonian ruler, was revealed via clever detective work involving an ancient Greek silver coin. And at The Menil Collection, I visit A Statue of Eannatum, Prince of Lagash, a droll alabaster figure of a Sumerian royal, circa 2600 – 2340 B.C., whose lapis eyes gaze across the centuries with wit and wonder. IMAGES: Head of Poseidon / Antigonos Doson, 227 – 221 B.C., at MFAH; photo courtesy of MFAH, Gift of Isabel B. and Wallace S. Wilson. A Statue of Eannatum, Prince of Lagash, 2600 – 2340 B.C., at The Menil Collection. Photo courtesy The Menil Collection, photo Hickey Tobertson.

During our Wimberley road trip, I encountered R. Michael Reed’s geometric, op-art Plexiglas-and-pigment creations at a show curated by Keith Coffee. Now, Reed’s on my radar, and I’m closely following his career. Inspired by Albers, this sculptor/painter’s 2- and 3-D investigations of light, space and movement invoke the vision of Cruz-Diez. Contact the artist at rmreed2342@gmail.com. IMAGE: Collection Janet Blocker.

When I get my tresses trimmed at Venus Hair, I check in on some memorable art cars. In front of the Heights hairdo haven at 361 West 19th Street, owner Susan Venus parks her ride: a 1975 Cadillac hearse, tricked up by painter Beans Barton as Cataillic. across the street, scissorhand Jill Johnson’s carousel-inspired wheels preside. IMAGES: Jill Johnson and Jeff Townes’ Like It or Not, 1982 - ongoing; photo by Paul McRae. Susan Venus and Beans Barton’s Cataillic, 1975 - ongoing; photo by Paul McRae.

To eye the most extraordinary talent before they land a Colquitt or 4411 dealer, make tracks to museum-corridor incubator Lawndale Art Center or Box 13 ArtSpace in the thriving East End. Top Texas notables shown at Lawndale have ranged from Otabenga Jones & Associates before they went to the 2006 Whitney Biennial and, this spring, the best young painter in the state: current Lawndale artist-in-residence Daniel McFarlane, now represented by Barbara Davis Gallery. This summer at Box 13, we loved Joey Fauerso’s travelogue photographs/video with cameos by nude fauns, as well as the crafty sculpted cardboard sensations by Dennis Harper — especially his takes on Tut mania. Information lawndaleartcenter.org, box13artspace.com. IMAGE: Daniel McFarlane’s Quite Red, 2011, at Barbara Davis Gallery.

Lightning often strikes at lecturer David Brauer’s classes on art history at the Glassell School of Art. Discourses by this brilliant pundit, who co-curated the Menil’s British/U.S.A. Pop art survey in 2001 (and is one of my fave professors ever), cover the full gamut of isms and trends, from land art (tales of his own travels to De Maria’s The Lightening Field) to the Fall 2011 course lineup, “Manet and Impressionism” and “Early Modernism, 1940 – 1960.” Enroll at mfah.org/visit/fall-classes. IMAGE: Walter De Maria’s The Lightening Field, 1977. Photo Courtesy The Lightening Field by Kenneth Baker (Yale University Press, 2008).

Shop Our Art Gallery. We’re very excited about curating Texas talents as part of our new art commerce initiative, PC Acquire. Pop online to peruse and buy exclusive, extremely limited-edition photographic masterpieces by our inaugural artist, internationally exhibited Kimberly Gremillion. From $550, through papercitymag.com. IMAGE: Kimberly Gremillion’s Fan 1, 2008.

Emerging installationist JoAnn Park’s memory works are fashioned from Mason Jars filled with odd and endearing contents — very Joseph Cornell. I love this one brimming with pastel feathers; order one for less than $50 through Hello Lucky, 1025 Studewood Street. Information hello-lucky.com. IMAGE: Photo by Jack Thompson.

Houston artist Susan Plum’s practice comments on feminist issues — her media of flame-worked glass offers a metaphor for the Mayan civilization’s weaving of the universe. Whenever I don her earrings, I feel empowered. Information susanplum.com.

House of Pies on Kirby Drive for late-night think tanks, a cheeseburger and strawberry-rhubarb pie.

I can’t get enough of performance art. The one work that has stayed with me — and remains the most topical — is Houston talent Maria Cristina Jadick’s enactment of serving a classic baked good. The surprise? Jadick’s homemade apple-pie crust is emblazoned with the outline of an Apache helicopter. Is this startling statement the next fur-lined teacup? To catch the artist’s next opening, visit mariacristinajadick.com. IMAGE: Maria Cristina Jadick’s As American as Mom and Apple Pie, 2011.

Heights caffeination destination Antidote is like Cheers — everyone knows your name, but in lieu of a brew, Antidote is brewing organic beans. Another bonus: The walls of this former Laundromat at 729 Studewood boast works by Houston up-and-comers such as Matt Messinger, one of the winners at Lawndale Art Center’s 2011 Big Show. (Every couple of months, Messinger sets up a sidewalk sale across the street, so get in early on an important collecting opportunity.) IMAGE: Matt Messinger’s Golden Eagle, 2011, at Antidote Coffee.

Jenny Antill, Photo Editor and Photographer

Power couple Mike Lopez and Olivia Topete’s boot camp sessions, $197 a month, at Real EFX Fitness (832.387.4062; getrealefx.com). Instead of camo, I wear Lululemon’s Wunder Under crop pants (from $68) and Racerback tank ($39), at Lululemon; lululemon.com.

McKay Otto’s luminous paintings make me glow. mckayotto.net, jcacciolagallery.com. IMAGE: McKay Otto’s Ever In Time Ever, 2010. Photo by Shau Lin Hon.

The Tejani necklace is a cascade of manmade pearls in antique silver. $340, at Willow Boutique inside the Brownstone Gallery; shopwillow.com.

Poetic Li-cense candle $30, at Enticingly Chic.

The 2012 Fiat 500c Lounge, from $20,000, through Helfman Fiat Studio, 7720 Katy Freeway, 713.533.6100; fiat.com.

Local lovely globetrotter Halleh Amiralai’s tasty neck candy. 18K pomegranate diamond necklace $4,650, at Sloan/Hall. IMAGE: Photo by Kennon Evett.

I love John Alexander’s canvases and drawings. What caught my eye? This compelling takeoff of a convention delegate. Price upon request, at McClain Gallery. IMAGE: John Alexander’s The Delegate, 2007, at McClain Gallery.

Acid isn’t required for this trippy rug by Joseph Carini of Carini, inspired by Japanese kimono patterns. 9 by 12 feet, $10,000, at Carol Piper Rugs. IMAGE: Mountain Blossom by Joseph Carini.

Beware of the urge to hoard. Claridge + King (aka sisters Liz King and our own Laurann Claridge) now offers The Great White Shirt: a crisp, white, fitted, button-down number to wear with ball skirts or jeans. $110, at Indulge, Kuhl-Linscomb; claridgeandking.com.

Max Bill hand-winding watch by Junghans. $700, at Kuhl-Linscomb.

Look at Those Cheeks, and toss the birth control. We love babies and can’t get enough of Mary Parmelee’s cheeks, fashion editor Kate Stukenberg’s new arrival. IMAGE: Photo by Jenny Antill.

This whispery palette is perfect for displaying canvases and photography. Windham by Pratt & Lambert, $43 a gallon, at Buffalo Hardware.

Cocktail ensemble from the new BHLDN, the sister store of Anthropology. Ball skirt $800, bolero $400, corset $250, at BHLDN in Highland Village.

Ficus Lyrata, Fiddle-leaf fig is my hot new housemate. $200 for a 14” specimen, at Thompson & Hanson. Photo by Jenny Antill.

Seth Vaughan, Editorial Assistant, Social Scribe and Dandy Boy About Town

What can I say? I’m attracted to screwy objects — and people. Verdura 18K yellow-gold Nut and Bolt cuff links $4,950, at Neiman Marcus.

Thursday-night strolling through the galleries of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, for free. IMAGE: František Kupka’s The Yellow Scale, circa 1907, at MFAH. Photo © 2011 Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY / ADAGP, Paris.

This has been a favorite haunt since I was in short pants: Goode Company Bar-B-Q on Kirby.

We are Happy to Serve You cup $12, at Kuhl-Linscomb.

Faux-bamboo, gilded-metal French nesting tables, circa 1960, offer a perfect perch for a gin and tonic. Set of three $1,628, at Carl Moore Antiques.

With inspiration like this on the walls, I’m ready to be fitted for a waistcoat. Framed vintage 1917 menswear print $265, at Brown.