To The Brafa Art Fair in Brussels, 2019

Highlights From Our Trip To The 

Annual Brafa Art Fair in Brussels

written by Tamara Matthews-Stephenson

chocolate and treats from Maison Dandoy

More and more designers from the United States are finding it helpful both for their business and their creative inspiration and sources to attend the international design and art trade shows.  Paris shows Maison Objet and Deco-off  are quite popular with designers here in New York.  This year, we attended the Brafa Art Fair in Brussels, Belgium the same week as the Paris shows, and it was an exceptional experience. An added bonus was seeing this beautiful, historic city with cobblestone streets.  Known for their beer, chocolate and waffles, there is certainly a lot to do besides take in the design at the fair.  The fair showcased a milieu of the classics, beautiful historic art that keeps you enthralled.  But, make no mistake this international art fair, showcases modern art and artists as well. There is also plenty of decorative arts at the fair.  I especially loved the showhouse-like designs sponsored by Delen Bank in Belgium and created by mother and daughter interior design team, Anne-Sophie Delen and Marie-Alix Delen.  The rooms were gorgeous and jam-packed with rich art, mid-century furnishings and vintage lighting.  It was wonderful to see how European designers put all these factors together in a home-- this certainly gave us fodder to bring home to our projects.  

 interior designers

Anne-Sophie Delen and Marie-Alix Delen

One of the artists at the fair who drew my attention was Julian Opie represented by Patrick De Brock gallery.  The artist renders his subjects with minimal details in thick black outlines then fills it in with solid areas of that same color. I particularly love the portraits, including "Lucia 1" which he painted in 2017.  It's a must-see for modern art lovers. His oversize sculpture installations are stunning as well and they appear in a multitude of applications from hospitals to other public spaces and of course private gardens and homes.

  JULIAN OPIE, Lucia 1, 2017 Silkscreen on acrylic panel

more art we spotted...

please see more of my musings from Brussels 

over on the 

Aspire Design and Home magazine Instagram

Design In The East End at the East Hampton Antiques Show

Designers and Antiques Aficiandos 

flock to the 2018 East Hampton 

Antiques Show Opening Gala

Summer in the Hamptons is chock-filled with design-industry events.  The annual Opening Night Cocktail Party of the East Hampton Antiques Show is always a fantastic way to start this busy weekend in July.  Interior designer Scott Sanders hosted the party as the honorary designer chair, and the event benefited the East Hampton Historical Society.  

Set on the historic Mulford Farm (one of the oldest farms in the East End), the venue is a perfect place to lure designers, antique aficionados and dealers from all over the East Coast.  Both local style mavens and celebrities turned out this year to walk the farm and shop through the billowy tents around the farm's property, as well as inside a historic barn while enjoying early buying before the show opens to the public.   Hamptons Cottages & Gardens (HC&G) magazine was the media sponsor for the event. 

+photography by Gabriella Stephenson except where noted

from the pages of NY Social Diary

Gabriella and Randal Stephenson (left)

Interior Designer Melanie Roy and friend (right)

photo courtesy Rio Hamilton
Martha Stewart and friends 

Melissa Mittag, Cathy Whitlock, Tamara Stephenson

and HC&G magazine's Kendell Cronstrom

left to right:

Melissa Mittag, Steven Stolman, Rio Hamilton

Jack Deamer of Jed Antiques in East Hampton

Summer In The Hamptons is Design-Filled, The East Hampton Antiques Show

Recap of the Hamptons Antiques and Design Tour while visiting the East Hampton Antiques Show

written by IFDA NY chapter/board member, Su Hilty

the author's selfie--joining the antiques and design tour for wine tasting earlier in the day at Wolffer Estates in Bridgehampton 

I had the opportunity to join a special antiques and design tour in the Hamptons led by interior designer and style maker Tamara Stephenson for the renowned Antiques Diva.  If you are not familiar with the Antiques Diva, let me explains...owner Toma Clark Haines has built this company to become the world's largest antiques sourcing company.  Basically, they lead design and antiques aficionados throughout Europe on buying tours, then assist them on shipping their wares home.  As part of a new expansion into the United States, they kicked off their United States tours with a special one in the Hamptons during a busy week of summer.  Tamara has joined the team and with her expertise on design and the local history and sources of the area, she led this fun-filled and educational two-day tour.  There was a fun group of Div-ettes taking part and it culminated at the special opening gala for The eleventh annual East Hampton Antiques Show, benefiting the East Hampton Historical Society on Friday July 21, 2017.

our antiques & design group

While my schedule did not permit me to attend the many antique stops and cultural visits earlier in the two-day event, I met up with the group at one of the Hampton’s most iconic spots, Wolffer Estates in Sagaponack for a sampling of rose’ wine and cheese prior to heading east to the historic Mulford Farm Museum and the Antiques Show. 

This was my first experience attending the antiques show, and I was very impressed by the thirty-six antique dealers spread throughout eight different locations at the Museum. I had heard so many wonderful things about the show over the years from Tamara, and now I finally had the opportunity to witness it.

Antique Diva's Toma Clark Haines with Lamont Studio owner, Carlyn Kenny.  Kenny spotted Toma in the crowd and stopped her to let her know she is a big fan of  The Antiques Diva’s blog. 

This little tyke was rocking out with the evening’s entertainment, cool jazz with Jane Hastay and Peter Martin Weiss Quartet 

Tamara, Toma and Kendell Cronstrom

During the evening, we had the opportunity to chat with Kendell Cronstrom, Editor in Chief of Hamptons Cottages & Gardens magazine, and the event's sponsor.  It was a breathtakingly beautiful event and evening.  The group ended the experience the next evening with some of the group attending the Southampton Designer Showhouse Gala, which benefits the Southampton Hospital the next evening, July 22nd. 

Vichai and Lee J Chinalai, Chinalai Tribal Antiques.  

Even without a trained antiques and design eye, I can tell the wares at Chinalai Tribal are stellar, and I particularly love their indigo blue clothing pieces.

About The East Hampton Historical Society
Founded in 1921, the East Hampton Historical Society cares for six historic sites including: Mulford Farm Museum,
1680; Town House Museum, ca; 1770; Osborn-Jackson House Museum, ca. 1720; Clinton Academy Museum, 1784;
Hook School House Museum, ca. 1784; and the East Hampton Town marine Museum, 1942. The Society manages a collection of over 10,000 artifacts and interprets the social and natural history of the area through exhibitions, tours, lectures and other special programs.

the outbuildings and barns on Mulford Farm are quite unique and historic, and are some of the oldest in the East End of Long Island

About IFDA
The International Furnishings and Design Association (IFDA), founded in New York City in 1947 and now with 12
chapters worldwide, provides a professional forum for communication and interaction among its high-profile members.  The IFDA, a nonprofit volunteer-run association, also promotes career advancement and educational opportunities and is structured to increase public awareness of the furnishings and design industry through specialized programming, networking and service to the community.

Meet Our Members, Today is Andrea Warriner

IFDA NY: MEET OUR MEMBERS

Today, please read the first of a series where we profile our members and give you a glimpse of the many talents from our community.

Introducing Andrea Warriner...

What inspires you day in and day out?

I’m often inspired by life itself, then exercise and coffee (not really an inspiration but rather a necessity to my inspirations).  I also love the work that I do as well as feeling productive, being creative, friends and family. Not in that order…

What do you do?

Because I’m so creative I have three jobs:

• I consult for HearthCabinet™ Ventless Fireplaces – the leader in luxury ventless fireplaces – doing primarily Outreach & Marketing. I love this awesome company – its products are great and the team is terrific!

• I also act/direct and write plays. My theatre company’s next showcase, ELLIPSES, is opening this Thursday evening at Shetler Studios and runs for two weeks. These experiences are always very exciting and fun and give me a way to express myself (with a boatload of work involved).

• And, I’m a photographer. I am IFDA NY’s official photographer. My select photos can be seen on Instagram @andrearwarriner

Why are you great at it?

Regarding the consulting gig – I am great at that because I’m fearless, smart and persistent. And, I’m a people person, which doesn’t hurt.

As far as my acting/directing/writing endeavors – I’m great at those because of my many years of studying (I wasn’t initially a natural or good actor); I now go onstage feeling confident in my abilities. I am, however, a natural director (or so I’ve been told) and have good writing skills that somehow mysteriously work when writing plays.

In terms of my photography – I have a natural eye, compose well and just love this medium of expression.

Why did you join IFDA?

I joined IFDA upon Su Hilty's strong suggestion, and I’m so glad I did!!! It’s a great networking community – I’ve made many friends and connections here!

How can we learn more about your business?

HearthCabinet.com, backstage.com/u/AndreaWarriner/, Instagam: @andrearwarriner

Little-known fact?

I love binging on Netflix series.

This Thursday, Please Join Us For An Exciting Evening at Kitchen Showroom Fisher & Paykel

Please Join Us this Thursday, June 9 

5:30 pm

Fisher & Paykel's Experience Center 

150 East 58th Street

3rd floor

New York, New York

for 

 "How We Entertain Today"

featuring Allison Zisko, Tabletop Editor of HFN Magazine

followed by a table decorating demonstration from interior design duo of 

home textile company Root Cellar Designs

With Summer on the horizon, many of us will be hosting family and friends for summer gatherings.  On that note, we hope you will join us as we kick off the summer season at this beautiful kitchen showroom which recently opened in the A&D Building in New York City.   We will be nibble on delicious bites prepared by the showroom's in-house chefs and cooked on their state of the art kitchen appliances.  

Please purchase tickets here.

root cellar designs' dinner napkins

About Fisher & Paykel's Experience Center:

The Fisher & Paykel Experience Center is not a traditional retail space. The environment has been conceived as a social space where you can explore the full range of premium kitchen appliances and plan your future kitchen. The space incorporates New Zealand-designed kitchens that showcase new ways of integrating appliances as well as interactive design tools that help you plan and choose different layout possibilities.