When The Ranch at Malibu opened in 2010 as a luxury health resort on 200 acres in California’s Santa Monica Mountains, its approach was somewhat radical: Guests signed up for a full week of group hikes, fitness classes, spa treatments, nutrition advice and communal spas. , organic meals without caffeine, gluten, soy or dairy. The aim, says its founder Alex Glasscock, was “to mentally and physically recharge people and recharge”. On April 15, a second location, the Ranch at Hudson Valley, is scheduled to open near Tuxedo Park, New York, in a slate and stone lakeside mansion surrounded by state parks. Glasscock hopes the 25-room property, which he describes as “like a big, luxury dorm,” will facilitate connections between those staying. Guests will do yoga under the ornate plaster ceiling of the former ballroom and, in Glasscock’s ideal world, come to dinner in their pajamas and robes. This new outpost offers a few additional treatments, including colonic and energy treatments — which incorporate techniques like hypnosis and sound therapy. In winter, guests can go sledding or snowshoeing, while in summer there is boating on the lake. The Ranch has also loosened some of the restrictions: You can book three nights at the Hudson Valley property instead of the seven required in Malibu, and, in keeping with the most common request of all, caffeine is no longer taboo — the organic Nicaraguan coffee Breakfast is served at both locations. Bookings open February 21st. rooms from $3,280 per person for three nights, including lodging, meals and programming. theranchhudsonvalley.com.
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Collectible posters from the Herman Miller archive
For much of the 20th century, the Michigan furniture company Herman Miller was the protagonist of American design, responsible for turning Isamu Noguchi, George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames into household names. However, the brand’s archive, which spans 119 years, also includes contributions from hundreds of talents that history has overlooked and whose work Herman Miller’s team has begun to re-emerge through an ongoing series of collectible posters released in 2021. Among among those credited with the latest version of the project, which debuts next week, are Linda Powell and Barbara Loveland, who worked in the company’s graphics department in the ’80s and ’90s: Its cover of Powell’s 1978 rainbow-striped Ideas magazine is now a poster, as is Loveland’s 1981 promotional print for the Wilkes Articulated Sofa (aka Chiclet). The highlight of the collection, however, is a group of three abstract Op Art compositions by Japanese American graphic artist Tomoko Miho. As head of George Nelson’s design team and later her own firm, she counted among her clients not only Herman Miller but also Noguchi, MoMA and the Smithsonian. “She’s someone who got the job done, but she wasn’t, like a lot of women weren’t, famous enough,” says Amy Auscherman, the director of the Herman Miller archive. “She’s been creating a lot of bangers, so it’s great to see her getting the recognition she deserves.” On sale February 27? from $245, store.hermanmiller.com.
40-year-old designer Adam Wade Wagner had been traveling internationally for years doing visual merchandising for a fashion retailer when, stuck at home in Brooklyn Heights during the pandemic, he was finally able to focus on his hobby of leatherworking. At first, he was drawn to the leathers themselves, knowing that New York’s garment district was among the best places in the world to source handcrafted, tanned vegetable options imported from Italy. “When I’m buying, I look at the structural qualities of leathers and what feels like leather — versus vinyl or anything artificial — and is finished to age beautifully,” says Wagner, who trained as an architect and cites brutalism as a central element. influence. She eventually decided to create a line of bags that she sells online, each one—whether a heavy black leather case or a clunky olive green suede—made from a distinct leather to suit her silhouette and purpose. With saddle-stitched construction, minimalist lines and a neutral color palette, each item is individually handcrafted from a bench covered in traditional tools in the corner of Wagner’s living room: It’s inspired by the durability and functionality championed by stalwart workwear brands such as Filson, even if it offers a more advanced product. “I could never find a bag I liked,” she says. “I ended up with something that’s pure leather — it’s important to handle it as little as possible.” from $650, adamwadewagner.com.
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Cape Town Gallery Inaugural Exhibition in Los Angeles
Since opening in Cape Town in 2008, Southern Guild, a collective design gallery, has expanded to a campus that includes a 5,000 square foot gallery, production facilities and artist residences. When its owners, Trevyn and Julian McGowan, envisioned an international outpost, they knew they wanted to establish Southern Guild in the US, where they had long had a customer base. In many ways, Los Angeles was the obvious choice: “I’m from Johannesburg and I’ve always felt at home in Los Angeles,” says Trevyn. “Both cities had a gold rush around the same time, they have a similar hardworking spirit and the locals tend to have an open and warm attitude.” In early 2023, the couple and their team found a 1920s building, a former laundry, on Western Avenue in Melrose Hill. After a year of renovation, they will launch their new satellite space this weekend with a group show of 25 artists and a solo exhibition of more than nine feet tall ceramic vessels by Cape Town sculptor Zizipho Poswa. Next up: a solo performance by South African artist and activist Zanele Muholi. southernguild.com.
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Balms that do it all
The winter months are known to dry out and irritate the skin, but stashing a multi-purpose balm in your purse, car, desk or suitcase can help ward off the effects of the cold weather. Sade Baron’s Cocoa Butter and Sweet Almond Oil All Moi Multipurpose Balm comes in a small stick that can be placed in a back pocket. Danucera’s oil-rich Cerabalm can remove makeup and build-up when used as a cleanser or replenish dehydrated skin if left on for a few minutes as a mask. Created by a French apothecary, Bonjout Beauty’s Le Balm is billed as a solid serum packed with over 60 active ingredients, including barrier-supporting ceramides, hyaluronic acid and stem cells aimed at boosting skin’s radiance. Travelers who want to bask in the light will appreciate that the palm-sized disc can double as both a serum and moisturizer. Dore’s castor oil-based balm works on dry patches that can appear around the lips and nose in winter, or can be spread over the skin for a slugging version. Skin loss of moisture is often accompanied by inflammation, which is why Everything Rescue Balm from True Botanicals contains soothing calendula oil (which gives the balm its orange hue) and aloe. Universal Balm from Monastery, scented with neroli, sandalwood and hinoki, absorbs quickly into the skin of hands (or anywhere else) for a near-matte finish — and comes with a key for last-minute release.
Miami-based artist Autumn Casey was first introduced to Tiffany-style lamps at Applebees and Pizza Hut. As a child, she was taken by the design’s intricacy, characterized by a distinctive stained glass shade and nature-inspired motifs, without knowing the story behind it. (Designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany and the Women’s Cutting Glass Department in his studio, the lamps were a hallmark of the Art Nouveau movement.) Now, in a new solo show at Future Perfect in Manhattan’s West Village, Casey is revamping the classic form with seven tracks showing her early charm. The light fixtures are adorned with apple blossoms, wisteria, daffodils and a pair of birds, all rendered in colors that are bold, but not very daring — restraint was a major effort, she says. “It was almost like a little challenge to myself, not to do it [each lamp] a million different colors,” he says. Titled ‘Fantasy and her Fantasies’, the show takes its name from a line from the Japanese film ‘Hausu“ (1977), a hallucinatory horror comedy (and cult classic) in which a house and its furnishings come disturbingly to life. Casey, whose artistic practice spans sculpture, collage and video, thinks of this exhibition as a kind of “gothic cartoon.” To create each shade, the artist constructs a frame of welded steel, wire, plaster and clay, covering it with fabrics she inherited from her late grandmother, who was a doll maker. A final layer of resin gives the stained glass look, turning the bulbs into what Casey calls “illuminated sculptures”. “Autumn Casey: Fantasy and Her Fantasies” runs at New York’s Future Perfect through March 14. thefutureperfect.com.
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