No Shoes, No Phones Allowed at This Brooklyn Shop (Published 2024)

This article highlights several new and notable developments across design, art, and fashion, offering recommendations from T Magazine. The Copenhagen-based clothing brand Baserange is expanding into homewares with its first collection of bed linens, towels, and tablecloths. Known for understated clothes in nature-inspired colors, Baserange's new home collection uses organic cotton and EcoVero viscose in earthy hues such as terra cotta, dusty pink, and foggy gray. The designers aim for adaptability, with items like the Yoga Mat towel serving multiple purposes, and the Shell towel designed for use beyond the bath, reflecting a concept of 'taking a home on the go.' The Baserange Home collection launches on September 18. In Brooklyn, the Chowa Library offers a tranquil escape in a former Bushwick warehouse. Founded by graphic designer Ray Suzuki, the space serves as a teahouse, shop for traditional Japanese kiri-bako (wooden boxes), and a general relaxation area where cellphones and shoes are prohibited. The interior features Kumbuk wood flooring and mud-mixed sawdust walls, creating a serene atmosphere inspired by Japanese design principles. Suzuki, who grew up in Tokyo, intends to share the cultural stories surrounding these objects. A unique element is a small, low door inspired by a Kyoto teahouse, symbolizing equality for all who enter. Reservations are required, and a portion of the entry fee supports the Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries in Japan. Artist Meeson Pae's debut solo exhibition, “Permeate,” at Anat Ebgi gallery in Los Angeles, explores abstract representations of the body through paintings, sculptures, and videos. Her work, influenced by personal experiences with loss and the fragility of the body, often merges fluid and flesh-like forms with industrial machinery. Pae utilizes 3-D sculpting programs, which she compares to working with clay, to create pieces that defy gravity and conventional perspectives. She notes that digital processes introduce “uncontrollable errors and glitches” that leave marks of process and time. The exhibition features works such as “Accretion” (2024), a sculpture that blurs the line between organic and structural forms. “Permeate” runs from September 21 to November 2. The article also reviews three new coffee table books focusing on fashion. “The Battle of Versailles: The Fashion Showdown of 1973” chronicles the historic runway competition between French and American designers, featuring unseen archival images. “ALAÏA / GRÈS beyond fashion” accompanies a 2023 exhibition, highlighting parallels between Azzedine Alaïa and Madame Grès through their shared mastery of cut and design. Lastly, “Simone Rocha” is a comprehensive monograph surveying the designer's collections and inspirations, including contributions from notable collaborators like Chloë Sevigny and Cindy Sherman. Lastly, Pretziada, a creative practice founded by Kyre Chenven and Ivano Atzori in Sardinia, is launching two furniture collections inspired by Sardinian culture and craftsmanship. Having moved to Sardinia for a 'new sense of time and belonging,' the couple collaborates with local artisans. The 1946 Cabinet collection, made with woodworker Pierpaolo Mandis and La Nuova Fucina, features chestnut veneer and sand-cast bronze handles, named after a meeting between Costantino Nivola and Le Corbusier. The Bobboi bed collection, also crafted by Mandis from hand-carved chestnut wood, draws inspiration from geometric motifs found in Sardinian delicacies. Both collections are available to order and furnish Casa Corte, a rental property on Pretziada’s estate. Jordan Casteel’s exhibition, “Field of view,” at the Hill Art Foundation in New York, showcases her portraits and landscapes created between 2014 and 2024. Casteel begins her work by photographing subjects, using these images and her imagination to create vibrant oil paintings. The exhibition includes landscapes and botanical still lifes, reflecting her experiences living between upstate New York and Harlem. Fashion designer Batsheva Hay, a friend of Casteel’s, has contributed unique furniture pieces to the exhibition, immersing visitors in the artist’s perspective. Casteel describes the show as a “giant scrapbook” of her experiences and inspirations. “Field of view” is on view from September 13 to November 23. #BaserangeHome #ChowaLibrary #JapaneseDesign #MeesonPaeArt #FashionBooks #PretziadaFurniture #SardinianCraftsmanship #JordanCasteelArt #BrooklynCulture #BaserangeHome #ChowaLibrary #JapaneseDesign #MeesonPaeArt #FashionBooks #PretziadaFurniture #SardinianCraftsmanship #JordanCasteelArt #BrooklynCulture