now open
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| Holly Johnson in her new Design District gallery. |
On Her Own
After 20 years of running top galleries in Texas and Chicago, well-known gallery director Holly Johnson has finally opened one under her own name. Holly Johnson Gallery opened in April in the Dallas Design District – an out of the way and unusual venue for a gallery, but perfect for Johnson who has a dedicated and vast following who will seek her out wherever she is. Her stable of artists includes noted talents Otis Jones, Randy Twaddle, and Frank X Tolbert II. Johnson will mount nine group shows a year, promoting the work of contemporary artists throughout the United States. Holly Johnson Gallery, 1411 Dragon St. 214-369-0169. www.hollyjohnsongallery.com.
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| Getting cool in the pool at Barking Hound Village. |
Hot Dog
It’s the new Dallas chic. Urban canine hangout Barking Hound Village offers services for discriminating dogs: cage-free daycare, baths, and a luxury dog hotel complete with sofas, indoor/outdoor play areas, wading pools, and dog video privileges (movie night at BHV is Old Yeller, 101 Dalmatians, and My Dog Skip, of course). 214-350-8811.
ALSO: Venzi Collections, open since April, features soft contemporary and posh, organic textures with eco-friendly materials. To the trade only. 1230 Dragon St. 214-747-1144.
-SEAN FITZPATRICK
this just in…
Julia Elam, owner of Austin’s much-loved home decor shop, Napa Home, says she’s closed their Austin location and “moving lock, stock, and barrel to Dallas.” The new Dallas store, located on Oak Lawn and Wycliff Avenues, will be open end of May or early June, she says. The Austin location closed April 28. “We found an awesome spot, and we feel like Dallas is the place we need to be,” she says.
Heaven Sent
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| Les Anges specializes in 18th- and 19th-century European antiques. |
Fittingly, Joan Fletcher’s favorite objects in her newly opened antiques store, Les Anges, are a pair of exquisitely carved, 17th-century walnut angels. She hasn’t had the heart to price them yet, but she says eventually they will be for sale. Les Anges, which means angels in French, was the name of Fletcher’s first store in Naples, Florida, where she lived for nine years. The Dallas shop, relocated from Naples to a two-story Victorian house on Fairmount – which Fletcher spent a year restoring – specializes in 18th- and 19th-century antiques that she buys in France and England. Some of her other favorites include a large collection of pristine Staffordshire figurines and a set of 18th-century Dutch Delft garniture porcelains that replicate 17th Chinese export Kangxi porcelain. 2525 Fairmount Ave. 214-965-9191.
– MEGHAN RICHARDSON
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| Porter Teleo’s stunning designs. |
Wallpaper is Art
Highland Parker Kelly Porter, who moved to New York in 1997 to make art and study, ended up making wallpaper instead. A spring show of her handmade wallpapers at the Valley House Gallery in Dallas launched her new company, Porter Teleo. It was born last summer while she and Bridgett Cochran were in their backyard drinking wine and trying to figure out how to combine Cochran’s business background with Porter’s artistic talent. When the thirty-somethings spread out their wallcoverings on a production table in our offices recently, the whole edit and art staff crowded around. The beauty of these papers is evident, but it’s the unique process of making them that sets them apart. Only the highest quality ink and paper are used and each design is hand blocked to ensure museum-quality art. Their work may be fine, but they encourage functionality. So go ahead, hammer a nail into their wallpaper and hang a picture. To the trade only. Porter Teleo, 816.206.4001.
– HEATHER VANCE
HOME Library
Assouline has introduced a collection of luxury furniture to house their great books. The Assouline Library, a sleek metal and wood bookcase handmade in Italy, comes complete with 139 of their finest publications and three mood-setting candles, $13,995. The Assouline Library by Coach is a chic portable and contemporary library case, custom made by Coach to hold 40 of Assouline’s Memoire reference books on art, fashion, design, and architecture. Comes in saddle-stitched leather, lined in red suede, $1,495. There are seven such items in their luxury product collection, including limited edition trunks to house books, $11,495. Available at Forty-Five Ten, 4510 McKinney Ave. 214-559-4510.
– MEGHAN RICHARDSON
A(dler) to Z(eisel)
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World-renowned Eva Zeisel’s 1952 museum-worthy designs have been updated and reissued in a full line of Century Classic dinnerware (pictured right). Zeisel’s soft, conservative curves are a harmony of arches, teardrops, and waves. Her timeless line is in creamy neutral, and it’s been updated with a coffee mug and larger dinner plates. The motif is nothing-too-fancy ovals, just one shade past round. And Jonathan Adler, a forerunner of the warm modernism movement, puts his geo-Metric line at Crate & Barrel, too. The ivory-colored earthenware place settings are neat squares with stripes, dots, and grids. They make for fun, modular, mix-and-match dining, with every course a different pattern. While he describes his work as “modernist, luxe, and irreverent,” he’s always been a fan of the 1950s and designs his pieces to work well with that period-sounds like it may be a natural fit with Zeisel. Crate & Barrel, 3104 Knox Street. 214-219-1500. www.crateandbarrel.com.
– SEAN FITZPATRICK
WAY OUT
Farrow & Ball, the venerated 100-year old paint and wallpaper maker from Dorset, England, has introduced its first-ever collection of contemporary looking wallpapers – and we have the exclusive scoop. Martin Ephson, who purchased Farrow & Ball in 1992 with friend Tom Helme, shipped their newest papers to D Home straight off the design and production tables in England. “They remind me of spaghetti,” says Ephson of the lyrical swirls and curls. F&B’s signature look has always been traditional, with virtually all designs coming out of England’s National Trust. So bronze, gold, and silver metallic abstracts like these are a dramatic departure. The new collection, available in September, is sold through David Sutherland Showrooms, 1025 N. Stemmons Fwy., Ste., 340. 214-742-6501
– REBECCA SHERMAN
