Pretty Printed

Posted on April 16, 2013 by adminona

It is always exciting for designers like us to be involved in collaborative projects with other brands. We recently had the pleasure to work alongside renown Menorcan shoe company Pretty Ballerinas in the creation of a hand silk-screened edition of ballerinas.

The project came about when I met with Ursula Mascaró — the vivacious creative director of the Mascaró Group — and commercial director David Bell, and showed them some samples of printed leather with our original designs.

Ursula was immediately excited about the idea of a collaboration between our brands; it was a sort of throwback to the time when her mother bought my mother’s couture clothes, of which she had very fond memories.

Throughout the 80s and 90s, BiniChic’s Susan Unger had her own workshop on the island, and it was there that her collections were hand dyed and silk-screened in prints and colors inspired by the Mediterranean.

Founded in 1918 by Ursula’s grandfather, Mascaró first started out as a small manufacturer of ballerina flats. The company is still family-run and owns multiple stores around the world. Their brands have many celebrity followers and avid fans who are keen to own their latest designs.

Ursula especially liked Glade, a design inspired by the Menorcan flora. The print gives the impression of looking up from under a tree and seeing its leaves against the sky.

Ursula called her design team to the meeting and the colors were chosen — some which we were to print on white leather and others on camel-colored suede.

In addition to black, the colors were these rich jewel-tones we immediately fell in love with.

The next step was to make the screens and start testing out the inks on the leathers. Each shoe had its own screen, and we engineered the drawing to be able to make each pair a mirror image of the Glade print.

The process by which we printed the shoes is completely manual. We have our workshop in the nearby town of Alaior, where talented craftsmen individually silkscreen the print unto each piece of leather already pre-cut roughly into the shape of a ballerina.

Silk screening is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to apply ink onto another material. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh through which the ink can be transferred onto a surface. A squeegee is moved across the screen stencil, forcing ink into the mesh openings for transfer during the squeegee stroke.

Silk screening renders a sharp and elegant image onto the leather, still leaving room for the unavoidable and characteristic imperfections of hand-made designs.

We were very excited to see the final product, which premiered for this Spring 2013 season. If you’d like to buy them, you can do so on the Pretty Ballerinas website. They currently have them in white leather with blue, pink and black ink.

My personal favorites are on the camel-colored suede, which will hopefully be available soon. Check back for updates!

It was truly a pleasure to work with the creative, friendly and efficient team at Mascaró. We are very happy with the results — and look forward to other successful collaborations in the future! Maybe even with Mascaró!

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Gravity and Grace

Posted on April 8, 2013 by adminona

On a recent trip to New York, my friend Alana introduced me to the amazing work of renown artist El Anatsui. Expressive and elegant, the mix of colors and textures of his opulent wall hangings capture the imagination of the spectator. From afar, they remind us of fish scales glimmering in the sun, of Gustav Klimt’s ornate paintings or Seurat’s pointilism — up close, mundane objects permanently transform our expectations about what art is and where it comes from.

El Anatsui was born in Ghana in 1944, when it was still the British colony of the Gold Coast. After studying at a local art school — where the curriculum was mostly Western — he felt the need to learn more about local traditions and began studying African ideographs, later becoming part of a movement that promoted a sort of open-minded traditionalism.

El Anatsui has spent most of his adult life working in Nigeria, emerging from the vibrant post-independence art movements of 1960s and 70s West Africa. His sculptures / wall hangings are vibrant and experimental in their mix of media, form and tradition.

It all began one day ten years ago, when El Anatsui drove by a bag of rubbish in the countryside. Although not an unusual sight in southern Nigeria, that particular bag of rubbish looked promising, and so he took it to his studio where it lay waiting for his inspiration.

In the meantime, he kept developing other kinds of art work in wood and clay, always experimenting with materials that are meaningful in the context of the local culture and which explore the relationship between the part and the parcel.

Inside the bag were numerous discarded aluminum screw-tops from bottles of whiskey, rum and gin.

Eventually, the artist began experimenting with the materials he had found that quiet sunny afternoon — cutting and folding their pliable metal into flat swatches, and then stitching these together with copper wire. The result, as it grew, began to resemble fabric, a coarse, jangly metal cloth.

The intricate, narrow-banded compositions of Anatsui’s first cloths were recognizable variations of kente cloth, the emblematic fabric of Ghana. It was not only about a reinterpretation of a rich tradition using “poor” materials such as liquor bottle caps, but also what using those particular materials suggested: a connection “to global consumerism and, more obliquely, to slavery’s economics, of which liquor was a key part.”(“El Anatsui” Worth, A. The New York Times, 2009)

Anatsui elegantly combines history and craft — creating a category of art on its own — where minimalist Post-Modern and Pop intersect with tradition and the re-purposing of materials.

Anatsui has his studio in a small warehouse near Nsukka, which has been transformed into a virtual factory. He no longer collects the discarded bottle caps and condensed milk tin cans, but instead buys them in bulk from local distilleries. He has a team of over a dozen assistants, most of them young men in their early 20s, working six days a week cutting and folding the aluminum pieces, which they then join into blocks.

When the blocks are ready, Anatsui has his assistants lay out the pieces on the cement floor and begins to compose a new sculpture. He has them arrange the pieces until he is happy with the results, at which point they are wired together and the final piece is folded up like a blanket.

The pieces are malleable, each one having the ability to take on a different form with each installation. The provisional, shifting shape of El Anatsui’s work is one of the sources of its originality. Although he does not drape the hangings himself he prefers horizontal ripples to vertical ones, but leaves the final installation to each individual gallery and museum.

In 2007, his pieces appeared at the Venice Biennale, where he immediately captured the attention and awe of the public, as well as of many of the world’s renown art collectors and Art Museums.

When I first saw El Anatsui’s work, it reminded me of the grand and laborious 15th Century Devonshire hunting tapestries made in France for the Countess of Shrewsbury. The enormous wall hangings, made with woven wool, engulf the spectator in various kinds of hunting scenes.

A parallelism could be made between the Medieval tapestries and El Anatsui’s grand pieces, as they both portray mundane aspects of their own cultures through indigenous crafts, elevating it to an awe-inspiring level.

El Anatsui’s work inspires admiration to those who see it. It might be the simple and unassuming raw materials — which can be found in your local trash bin — and which belie the sheer grandness of the cloths (they measure over 20 feet wide and high in many cases).

It is surely also the elegant and refined chromatic combinations and graphic designs that give each sculpture its own personality, as if each piece defined a different mood in the artist (or the spectator’s) life.

It is clear that we are before an artist who has taken inspiration and resources from the past and from around him, and who will surely continue to amaze us with the gravity and grace of his pieces.

As a final piece, I wanted to share with you a video / trailer of a documentary made about El Anatsui by Susan Vogel, “Fold Crumple Crush“:

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Midsummer Night’s Wedding: The Dress, Part II

Posted on December 8, 2012 by adminona

On the last post about my wedding dress we saw the inspiration and the process by which it was designed and made — but we didn’t have a good look at the finished piece. Today I’d like to share with you my very own BiniChic wedding look, filled with history, vintage touches, symbolism — and now — beautiful memories.

A dress as labored as mine had to be worn with the appropriate hair and make-up. Months before the wedding, I asked my two dear friends Andrea and Maria to style me. They kindly obliged, and after some practice runs in Barcelona to work out the kinks, they made me feel truly special on my wedding day.

I wanted both the hair and makeup to be very natural and whimsical. The dress had a vintage feel and was beautifully embroidered with beads, so my friends and I felt it would be appropriate to go with natural and slightly pearlescent tones for my make-up. My hair was done in a simple up-do, with strands twisted to my nape where a floral diadem was placed. Jacopo had the same flowers in his boutonniere, including a branch from our tree — the Olive.

I got ready in the most beautiful room in the villa, with the morning Summer light pouring in and sun-kissing the trompe l’oeil walls. The room, which used to be Jacopo’s great grandmothers’ is now known as the “Newlyweds Room.”

The dress was designed by my mother, who added very special personal touches to it. On each panel there was a symbol that represented an aspect of Jacopo and my life together.

The Intertwined Rings below are for our union in matrimony, as well as a reinterpretation of the “infinity” sign.

The Bridges are for Jacopo’s family name: Ponticelli, which loosely means “little bridges” in Italian.

The Olive Tree stands as a symbol of our family. Jacopo and I chose that as our tree as we both felt a strong connection to it: his family makes home-grown olive oil and my childhood home is named after this ancient tree.

The Waves are a graphic representation of my name, Ona, which means “wave” in my native Catalan.

Pomegranates have had a very strong symbolism throughout history — a pomegranate bursting open has often represented abundance, fertility and prosperity.

The Three Figures (or goddesses) represent the three ages of life: youth, middle age and maturity.

The Grapes symbolize abundance of all the good things in life.

The flowers at the bottom of each panel were inspired by a modernist lamp in the kitchen of Villa Cicaleto, a very meaningful place for us.

The jewelry I wore to the ceremony was very meaningful. The day before the wedding, Isa and Pietro gave Jacopo and myself some very special items: they gave Jacopo a wonderful 19th Century pocket watch which used to belong to his grandfather, and they gave me the incredible earrings below.

The earrings are a gorgeous Victorian design and belonged to Jacopo’s grandmother Adriana.  They are made of pink gold, encrusted with wild pearls and Rubellite Turmaline. I was honored to wear them on such a special occasion, and thought they fit in perfectly with the rest of my look.

The beautiful Emerald-cut Aquamarine ring above belonged to my grandmother Florence, and was a very special gift from my mother. It was a ring that she often wore, one which her close friends and family associated with her. I thought it was the perfect way to wear blue on my wedding day, as the tradition calls for.

Here is my mother helping me get into my dress, buttoning up the countless buttons on the back. Exciting moments before getting married!

Below are the earrings I wore after the dinner, when I changed to a less formal outfit. They are from the 1920s-30s and have a strong Art Deco style. I loved the shoes I wore because they looked like something a 1940s movie star would have worn — I can’t wait for the chance to wear them again!

Santa Maria delle Grazie is the very special, albeit small, church where we got married. It sits on a spot which has been considered sacred all the way back to the time of the Romans and Etruscans and holds some Art History treasures inside. The arched portico was a Renaissance addition, and provided our guests with much-needed shade in a the hot Summer sun.

A dear friend of the family, Lidia, made the cushion our rings were attached to and which my godson carried to the altar. She used the same embroidered fabric that my dress was made from (well, the version we didn’t use), tying all of the pieces together.

Here are a few intimate views of our wedding day, where you can appreciate the shape and details of my dress, as well as the gorgeous bespoke suit Jacopo had made by Carlo Donati, a very talented tailor in Arezzo.

The combined efforts of everybody that made that day (well, week) possible was what made it so unique and fun. In following posts I will show you the Villa, the flowers, the tables, the party and the guests. This is our very own BiniChic wedding — we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

All Photos by Bárbara Vidal (our wonderful official photographer) except those watermarked by C. Bay Milin.

I would like to thank C. Bay Milin for letting me use his wonderful photographs to illustrate these posts — he is an infinitely talented New York-based photographer.

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Coming Into Fall

Posted on October 22, 2012 by adminona

After recently writing some very personal posts, I felt the yearn to write a more whimsical post about one of my biggest passions: fashion. I love the infinite possibilities clothes, shoes, bags, jewelry and other life accessories can conjure up in our imagination. Our favorite items for this season all share their spirit with BiniChic: original pieces made with quality materials, hand-crafted by artists, artisans and designers from around the world.

Fall is my favorite season. I love that the way the humid summer heat gives way to the crisp Autumn air and warm light. It’s the perfect time to take your favorite blazer out for a spin, and discover new accessories.

On the left, the ultimate pinstripe jacket and pants by Emerson Fry, designed and sewn in New York’s Garment District. A unique look whether worn together or combined with other wardrobe essentials. It looks perfect with a bright clutch or colorful high heels.
The coat at the top is the Big Peacoat by Emerson Fry.

Above on the right, an elegant mix of necklaces from Keyla Viviana‘s Etsy shop. A young designer from Puerto Rico, her pieces are both effortlessly chic and affordable.

These bamboo sunglasses with a vintage feel are handcrafted by a young designer and craftsman, Takemoto. He designs, cuts, assembles and polishes every pair of glasses (he makes reading glasses too) himself.

The following video is about the Bexar Goods canvas bags, made in Texas. Seeing the hand-making process always brings me closer to a product, giving an emotional connection to its story and maker, which is why I wanted to share this one:

We are currently developing our first Binichic Bag collection which we will launch the FW of 2013. Made entirely in Barcelona (Spain), we are very excited about how it’s coming along, and soon will post photos of the making-of process. Made with the finest Italian leather, the hand silk-screened collection of clutches and bags will combine classic style and a fashion forward edge.

In the meantime, we love this tote from Rib & Hull, a Polish-based team of designers.

Designed as shoes worn by street artists during their performances, particularly soft and suitable to the movements thanks to the special rubber sole, Anniel’s shoes are comfortable and stylish.

This family-run Italian brand started out in 1976, manufacturing high-quality sports shoes for professionals. Since then, they have combined skilled labor, high technological standards, great Italian style and creativity to create their wonderful line of shoes.

The perfume for this Fall would definitely have to be Philosykos by the expert perfumists at Diptyque. Mysterious and seductive, the base is fig essence, the Autumn fruit by excellence. Even their description of the scent is poetic: “The sun is at its peak. The famous fig tree comes in a different guise, less fruity and warmed till white-hot by a mist of cedar. Wooded and racy, the nourishing accents from its bark and luxuriant foliage envelop the scent.”

Whimsical and fun, the Bumble Bee bobby pins below come from Elizabeth Perry’s Etsy shop. Each one is especially made to order, and although small, they add a unique detail to an everyday hairstyle.

On the left, a raw Pyrite ring by Citrine by the Stones, a Peruvian brand that supports a local and sustainable jewel-making craft.

For the daytime, Erim is the brand by Mireia Fusté, a young and fresh designer from Barcelona whose pieces are unique and sensual. I love my seashell necklace, which you can find on our online BiniChic store.

For a night out, Lizzie Fortunato are the epitome of sophisticated with a quirky edge. Using vintage czech glass stones and giving their necklaces names like Paris Confidential and The Eccentric Darling, their accessories are as daring as the woman who wears them.

Emma Go, the Danish shoe brand that effortlessly mixes vintage looks with contemporary styles would be my choice of shoes for a fun night out. I need shoes so comfy that I can forget I’m wearing them without sacrificing one ounce of style.

Although this post is on Fall’s BiniChic must-have fashion and accessories, I couldn’t resist adding a home accent by the talented artists at Potomak Studio. Based in the Italian Alps, these ceramists created this line of perfectly imperfect dinnerware in a watercolor palette.

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Drawing from the Heart

Posted on September 27, 2012 by adminona

I have wanted to do a post about my grandmother (iaia Marta) for a long time, as a sort of tribute to her life and work. I first thought of writing this post when I wrote the one about my father, Marcel Villier, but never thought I had the right material to do it. Until now.

My iaia (grandmother in catalan) was born in 1921 in Aragón, a region near Catalunya, but grew up in Horta, a working class neighborhood of Barcelona. She was the third of four children — two boys and two girls — born to a blacksmith father and a homemaker mother.

She once told me about her first job at the age of seventeen in a doll factory, delicately painting the faces on porcelain dolls. She loved drawing fashion models when she was young, filling countless notebooks (on both sides of the page, it was post-war Spain afterall) with elongated figures inspired by her mother’s magazines.

She was an autodidact artist, but it is clear from the early drawing below that her refined skills were innate.

She met my grandfather Joan — a Russian-Jewish immigrant who had just arrived from France — at the book printer where she was an illustrator. He was the artisan in charge of transferring her elaborate drawings unto the lithograph plaque.

They married in 1944, and two years later my uncle Jordi was born. She continued working at the printer, creating beautiful interpretations of well-known novels such as the dramatic “Carmen” by Prosper Mérimée.

Below are some of the composition tests and character sketches for Carmen.

In the year 1950, when my father was two and my uncle six, the family of four moved to Jerusalem. They went to the recently created state of Israel, where work and opportunities were abundant.

The portrait below is of my father and uncle around the age they emigrated to Israel.

It was there that my grandmother flourished as an artist. She loved capturing the expressions and ornate fashions of the native women in her new home.

She became very popular among women of Israel’s high-society. She was commissioned by a few elegant ladies to paint their oil portraits, and soon her reputation had grown throughout the city. She once told me that one of her best clients was a Spanish duchess who had deeply influenced her spiritual beliefs.

The note in the above drawing says: “Arab woman from Jerusalem with her dowry in coins worn around her head. M.R.”

Before last week, I had never seen most of the drawings above. I asked my father to scan some of my grandmother’s older work, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover this part of her oeuvre. I have always known that she’s an extremely talented artist, capable of elegantly capturing the expressions of her models, but had seen a very different phase of her career.

When I was born, she was already working on another kind of illustration. After giving birth to my uncles Alex and Rafa in Jerusalem, they moved back to Barcelona in 1956. With a growing family, my grandmother started working with a large editorial house, Busquets, dedicated to printing postcards and other paper accessories for every occasion: Christmas, 1st communion, newborn, etc.

I have always had a special connection with my grandmother. For many years, I served as the blond-hair, blue-eyed, freckled model for her illustrations. My parents would send her photos of me and she would base her angelical-faced girls on those pictures.

I remember once, when we lived in New York, I walked into our local stationary store and saw a box of Christmas cards with me dressed as Santa Claus standing under an umbrella and a dog by my side. I picked them up and excitedly told the store clerk that it was me. I put the cards by my face, in the hope that he might see the resemblance between myself and that Santa Claus girl. He brushed me off as some sort of lunatic, but I insisted, saying: “It’s signed by my grandmother, see? Marta Ribas! This is me!”

I bought them and sent the first one to my iaia, to let her know her work had traveled all the way to New York!

For many decades, she made her living with this style of pastel-colored gouache illustrations — she was the longest-working artist for this editorial, only quitting when she was over eighty-five. A hard-working and loving mother or five, she was glad to be able to live off something that came naturally and effortlessly to her. She poured into her work the inspiration she didn’t put into cooking — she was never “that” kind of grandmother.

I remember watching her apply the various tones on the paper as if it were magic. She took what could have been something corny and made it truly wonderful and spirited.

Above is a photo of my grandmother and I when I was about two or three.

My iaia is now 91 years old, and has been living with Alzheimer for the past five years. I know that when she is no longer on Earth we will have lost a great — and largely unknown — artist. I hope this post helps change that a bit.

Her illustrations were all soft and sweet but she is one of the strongest women I have ever known. Strong-willed and energetic, generous and sweet, she will always be an inspiration to me.

All the illustrations in this post are by Marta Ribas. Photos by Marcel Villier and Susan Unger.

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Midsummer Night’s Wedding: The Dress, Part I

Posted on September 17, 2012 by adminona

As Summer winds down giving way to a warm golden Autumn light, it’s fun and comforting to relive the experiences of the past months through photos and other souvenirs. This Summer has been particularly exciting for us, as Jacopo and I got married on July 14th in Arezzo (Tuscany) in what felt like a dream.

This is the second in a series of posts about our BiniChic Wedding. It is through these posts that we’d like to share with you how we — along with our families — put together such a special event for us. After the post about the invitation, it is only natural that we continue with one of the most important things in every girl’s wedding : the Dress.

As the daughter of a couture fashion designer, it was only natural that the dress design and production would be orchestrated by my mother. I gave her some references for inspiration, and she came up with a labor of love that went above and beyond what I could have ever imagined.

I knew I wanted a dress that had a vintage air, an elegant feel, and above all a personal and flattering style for my body type. Since we were to be married in a church from the Rinascimento and have the party at the 17th Century Villa of Il Cicaleto, I thought it would be appropriate to wear something that fit in with the locations.

I really liked the idea of having a dress inspired by the 1920-30s — I loved the dress shapes and gorgeous beading of that era. Susan found the perfect base to work from in an old dress pattern from Vogue — who would’ve thought!

Our dear friend Shezi, — an amazing artist based in Dallas — is an excellent haute-couture designer, so he was in charge of transforming the Vogue pattern into the shape and size that would best suit me.

Since the original pattern was for a simpler dress, and mine was to have beading sewn onto the top layer, two completely separate dresses were created. The top dress was made of white silk chiffon, and the bottom dress was white silk charmeuse.

Here, images of the dress in the process of being created by Shezi. This dress was then to be re-created in Barcelona with the final embroidered fabrics.

We knew we wanted to incorporate a part of Il Cicaleto’s history into the dress’ design, and that is how the idea of making a beading pattern inspired by the Art Nouveau lamp in the Villa’s kitchen came about. Some of you might remember this image from the post about our invitation, since we used the same pattern for both items.

The lamp’s design had to be reinterpreted into a pattern that could then be expressed graphically in beading as well as on the invitation. The definitive illustration was made by Shezi. Susan and our very talented designer friend Sabrina then applied the drawing to the five panels that composed the skirt of the dress, as well as to its elaborate back.

They made a miniature model of the dress (above) on which they plotted the way the design would fit into each particular panel. Sabrina then scaled the artwork on illustrator and we had it printed full size at Kinko’s.

The artwork was to be sent along with the silk chiffon to two different factories — as my mother repeatedly said: “nothing will be left up to chance with this dress!”

Susan assigned a color code to each kind of bead that was going to be sewn in the various parts of the design. She also came up with different meaningful symbols — one for each panel and part of the dress.

We’ll see all about their meaning on our next post about the dress.

I went to Dallas for my first fitting and helped Susan and Sabrina color in the several panels (five for the skirt and two for the back) with the assigned bead color code. Everything was multiplied times two, of course, since there were two product packs to be sent to two different parts of the world (China and India).

Each piece of fabric had to be attached to its specific paper panel to be sent to the embroiderers, making sure the grain of the fabric went in the right direction so it would hang just right when sewn together into my dress.

The beads had previously been patiently counted and organized by our great friend Carlos. We then filled two boxes with the patterns, fabrics and beads and sent them off to India and China! We anxiously awaited the final result.

A dear friend of ours in New Delhi, Taruna — owner of Taurus Home –  kindly offered her most talented artisans to produce the elaborate beadwork. She sent us photos of the process that wonderfully illustrate the technique.

The beading in India was done in the traditional art of Zardosi. The process begins with the artisan first wetting the fabric and fixing it tightly on a freestanding wooden frame, called an Adda.

This form of embroidery was introduced in India from Persia by the Mughals and the original technique used gold and silver threads to make beautiful designs on wall hangings, bed sheets, silk, velvet, brocade as well as crepe.

The artisan then places a piece of paper with the design pin-pricked on it on top of the fabric. Sprinkling chalk powder over the paper he transfers the outline onto the fabric.

The artisan is then ready to start attaching the beads with an Aar needle, which has a small, bent tip similar to a crochet hook or rug hooking tool that catches the thread on the back side of the fabric, pulling it to the front side to create loops or attach beads. The artisan’s nimble hands twist and pull the hook and thread, effortlessly applying the beads on the fabric. I found a very illustrative video about the Aari technique, which is very similar to Zardozi.

The result is a very resistant, elegant and fine embroidery, its beads seldom coming loose from the fabric. This was the breathtaking result:

The beaded fabrics were then sent to Barcelona, where I live, and sewn together by a local seamstress following Shezi’s models. The final touch-ups of the dress were done in Arezzo, by the very talented wedding dress designer, Angela.

We will soon post photos with the final results on the next post about the Wedding Dress. I feel extremely fortunate to have worn a bespoke dress designed by my mother, Susan Unger.

It could not have been possible without the hard work and talent of Shezi, Sabrina, Taruna, the beading artisans, Carlos, Natalia, Angela and of course, Susan. They truly made me feel charmed!

Photo Credit: C.Bay Milin, Susan Unger, Ona Villier Unger, Taruna Singhi.
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Mediterranean Style: The BiniChic T-Shirts

Posted on August 6, 2012 by adminona

As many of our readers probably know, BiniChic embodies for us the Mediterranean as a lifestyle and a place. Through our blog and designs, we aim to bring you closer to its characteristic light, colors, art and culture — the impalpable things that make it so special and unique. Designed and hand-printed in Barcelona, we developed the BiniChic T-shirt Collection as a way to share and wear our vision of the Mediterranean.

The collection of limited edition t-shirts is divided into four prints, each representing an aspect of our Mediterranean heritage — and the different women that we imagine wearing our t-shirt designs. We delved into our creative vaults to find some iconic prints by our co-founder Susan Unger. Each design was selected to create a varied and balanced range where everyone could find something they liked.

The Ikat print (pictured above) is inspired by the Llengües, the traditional Mallorcan method of weaving dyed threads into zig-zagged prints we posted about some months ago (pictured below). We gave it a new approach by using Nordic-inspired colors, such as ice green, warm grey and ancient gold, adding elegance and versatility to this traditionally bright print.

Each design is directly inspired by our experience and our relationship with the Mediterranean. The cut of the t-shirts — a loose tank top with a racer back and a t-shirt with a rounded scoop neckline — are easily worn by women of different body shapes and lifestyles. The t-shirts come in white, pink, taupe and black, depending on the availability of the print.

Most of the photos throughout this post are from our recent visit to the Cyclades — the epitome of the Mediterranean lifestyle (that is, besides our home-island of Menorca)

Fresh and summery, the Wave print is the perfect complement for a day by the beach or at your summer destination. An updated version of an original Susan Unger design, we wanted to create the feeling of “Postcard from the Sea” by combining the illustration with a handwritten excerpt of a poem about the waves below and the two BiniChic stamps on the upper left corner.

The Egret on the Fauna print was inspired by the elegant birds that flock yearly the Menorcan Reserve of the Biosphere in s’Albufera des Grau. In tones that remind us of sandy walls and earth tones from volcanic beaches, we combined the main print in warm gray with a flock of japanese-inspired birds printed in Ancient Gold.

The Olive Tree is one of our favorite motifs, one with which we greatly identify. A symbol of peace, wealth and good health, this resistant and ancient plant is believed to have been cultivated as far back as 7000 years ago.

This tree has always had a strong presence in our lives. It was the name given to our home in Menorca, S’Olivera. Later, Susan developed a line of products including lacquerware for J.Fleet and home furnishings inspired by the elegant movement of the olive branches. Incidentally, my husband’s family makes a delicious Tuscan Extra Virgin Olive Oil, (look out for it soon on BiniChic!) — further making this our “family tree”.

We reinterpreted this classic Susan Unger print to create a t-shirt that never goes out of style. The Antique Gold that Susan used throughout her collections gives a touch of glamour to a t-shirt easily combined with any look.

Comfortable and elegant, trendy and classic — which BiniChic T-shirts best represents your style? We’d love to hear your comments!

If you’d like to see the entire collection, visit our BiniChic Store here.

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Midsummer Night’s Wedding – The Invitation

Posted on May 28, 2012 by adminona

Today we start a series of posts dedicated to the various aspects of what it takes to create and organize a BiniChic wedding. Jacopo and I will be getting married this summer in Tuscany (where he’s from), and thought you might enjoy seeing the making-of of our Midsummer Night’s Wedding. Let’s start with the invitation:

The concept and production were a group effort, with everybody in our families contributing their expertise and time in one form or another.

The first element you see of the invitation is a 17x17cm folder made of hand-made linen paper. On this folder we printed a scan of a silk tulle embroidered with a motif inspired by a Modernist cast iron lamp that hangs in the kitchen of Il Cicaleto, the villa where we’ll have the wedding.

This is the beautiful lamp, whose design inspired the embroidery below, which will also be making an appearance on my dress (but don’t tell Jacopo!) The drawing for the embroidery was created by my mother Susan and our talented friend Shezi.

The folder, along with all the other hand-made paper elements of the invitation, were made by my step-mother Núria in her Menorcan workshop.

We thought it would be a nice touch and a good contrast in color to close the folder with a wax seal. When designing the “icon” I went through many designs, finally realizing that our “logo” had been right front of me the whole time:

This is the beautiful vintage engagement ring Jacopo picked out and gave to me on October 9th, 2011 (incidentally, it was also my birthday). The ring is a Modernist piece from the early 20th Century with rose-cut diamonds set on a gold band. He found it in a quaint little antique shop in Barcelona’s Passeig de Gracia.

The process of putting on the wax was long and tedious, and we only really got the hang of it after many practice runs (and botched efforts). We learned the following about applying sealing wax: 1. close the lid well while applying the wax so it doesn’t go under the flap 2. Let the wax cool a bit before putting the seal, otherwise they will probably stick together (a good trick is to dip the seal in ice water when it gets too hot) 3. Burn the wax from the top, not from under to avoid the unsightly black smoke 4. Use a good quality kitchen lighter so as not to burn your fingers.

Once the seal is broken, you open up the invitation to find an original linoleum etching made by my father, Marcel, on the left inside face of the folder. The etching represents Jacopo and I as turtle doves perched on a tree under a full moon.

Fresh, original and fun, we thought it would be nice for our friends and family to have as a souvenir of our wedding.

Opposite the etching, we placed a sheet of hand-made linen paper with the details of the event. The paper was folded in half, and on three of its four facets the information was printed in Italian, English and Catalan — which was the only way all of our guests would understand it.

The font I used for the text was Mrs Eaves, and although it was designed in 1996 by Zuzana Licko, it has the antique feel of the 18th century fonts designed by Baskerville (after whose wife MrsEaves was named). For our names I used the display face font, Lafitte.

We hope you’ve enjoyed seeing and reading about our BiniChic wedding invitation. In the coming installments we’ll cover the making of the dress, the reformation of Il Cicaleto, the flower arrangements, the event design and many other things! Stay tuned.

And here we leave you with our own little version of the assembly line:

Thank you Susan, Marcel, Núria, Isa, Pietro, Carlos and Shezi for helping make this invite so special.

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Designing for Today

Posted on May 8, 2012 by adminona

“A design isn’t finished until somebody is using it” — Brenda Laurel
A perfect reflection of the philosophy that drives the Barcelona-based design studio 3Patas (3Legs in Spanish), whose innovative projects invite the user’s interaction and personalization.

The 3×3 table — a simple 3-legged one at first sight — is a collection of auxiliary tables and stools, which neatly combine with two bowls to form a family.

With clean lines and a soft palette, it is clearly a product developed out of the contemporary necessity to save space in small apartments. It can morph to be used in various ways in different environments, and adapt to its users’ necessities. The more I look at it, the more I realize I really need one in my own home!

3Patas are three young, creative and daring designers, making themselves a place in a world of design. Their products — which include the above-mentioned table set, various lighting designs, shelving systems, as well as many other projects — all aim to find solutions to concrete problems using the emotional experience of the user as a guide.

Constantly in the “search for innovation, always maintaining the warmth and the collective imagination which give our products a human touch.” (from the 3patas website)

The Worley Lamp seen above was part of a project developed originally for a private home in Barcelona’s Left Eixample. The lamp’s structure is made up of three bent tubes, always making right angles and at whose ends a light bulb falls vertically from the ceiling at different heights. The group is painted with black piano lacquer, giving the piece sobriety and neutrality.

3Patas also designed the dining table in the same room, taking into careful consideration the chairs with which it was to be paired. The interior designer had chosen Jean Prouvé’s Standard Chair from 1934, so 3Patas designed a table whose legs echoed the iconic design of the chairs, including a shelf where a user could rest their computer or books.

A metalworker was hired to bend the tubular steel legs in three dimensions, something which involves a complex process. The result is a visual and material harmony between the classic chairs and the bespoke table.

For another client — the Barcelona restaurant Suculent — they added kitchen pots to the Worley Lamp to act as shades.  This time, the lamp turns on in three different phases, so the lamp can be brighter or dimmer depending on the number of guests dining at the table. A clever and playful way to resolve the problem of dimming and focusing the light in a restaurant.

I’ve always liked finding new uses to old objects — and seeing how product designers take that to a new level. For the same restaurant as the Pot Lamps, the designers created this series of wall lights from discarded XL sized tuna cans.

The Teja Shelf takes its name from the clay roof tiles typically used in the Mediterranean homes. A modular piece, it allows the user to configure the shelf in whichever way is more suited to its use and space.

“In times of crisis, only imagination is more important than knowledge.” In this quote from Albert Einstein, 3Patas find a reflection to their philosophy when creating projects that are useful, thoughtful, innovative and aesthetically pleasing.

In the economic climate we are currently living in, the designer’s most important role is to fulfill the user’s needs while being resourceful and imaginative. I am not alone in thinking that 3Patas has a long career ahead of them. They have been nominated to the prestigious ADI-FAD Design Awards for 2012. We wish them all the luck in the world and will stay tuned for their upcoming works!

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Bringing Nature Inside – Part II

Posted on April 20, 2012 by adminona

Authentically BiniChic, Susan Unger’s home and fashion creations have embellished many homes and dressed countless women around the world. A few months ago, we shared with you the beginnings of her career on the island of Menorca (if you’d like to review it, you can do so here). Today we will pick up where we left off, continuing with her journey to another island: New York.

In the early 1990s, Susan Unger opened a boutique in Madrid and teamed up with various artists such as the choreographer Nacho Duato to design costumes for his ballet “Duende.” The project thrilled her, because “It felt like the Ballet Russe of old. The ethereal combination of movement, light, color and fabric was seductive.”

Her friend, the singer Maria del Mar Bonet has often been her muse, and throughout the years, Susan has designed many of her costumes often inspired by Ancient Mediterranean myths and goddesses. In 1992, she also collaborated with Els Comediants, a Barcelona theater group, on the opening ceremonies for the 1992 Summer Olympics.

The Susan Unger fashion line was picked up by Barneys and Charivari in New York where Donna Karan fell in love with the colors, textures and prints of the collection. She subsequently offered to finance a studio for Susan and talked her into moving to Manhattan the following year. The collection of hand dyed and silk-screened velvets for Ms Karan were a success, and by the fall of 1994 we (Susan, myself and our dog) were living in Manhattan.

Below, an image of Susan’s dresses on the Bergdorf Goodman’s window and the Donna Karan dresses made with Susan’s fabrics.

Susan’s fashion collections were characterized by their femininity, their transparent layers and timeless elegance. Susan’s was a rare blend of artisan-couture. Her product wasn’t so much about fashion, as it was about a sophisticated, yet easy, approach to living.

Her fresh vision earned her many fans — among them some celebrity clients including Carly Simon, Glenn Close, Diane Sawyer, Uma Thurman and Donna Karan.

The natural next step after having a successful fashion brand for many years was branching out into the home. Ethereal floating panels, duvets, decorative pillows, lamps, wallpaper, lacquer trays and other home accessories formed part of her the Susan Unger Home Collection.

The splendor of Byzantine art, Mariano Fortuny, William Morris, the nature around her, the unspoiled countryside, the beaches, and the mysterious ruins of the Mediterranean all informed her designs. She has the gift for transforming the elements from Nature, Art and Architecture into stunningly original fabrics for fashion and home furnishings.

I still remember an anecdote my mother told me about finding inspiration in the most unexpected places. She had been sitting in our Menorcan kitchen table the whole afternoon, trying to come up with her next collection. It got late, so she went to bed. The next day, she opened the kitchen door (below), and there — between the edge of the heavy wooden door and the stone frame — she found what looked like a fossilized gecko. The gecko print went on to become one of Susan’s most successful prints — so we can say that inspiration can literally be found around any corner.

Surrounding yourself with Susan’s home designs feels like lying under an olive tree as the light plays through the gray-green leaves or watching the wings of a dragonfly shimmer in the sun.

Subtle metallic inks pick up light, much as rays of sun play off a blade of grass or a ripple in a pond.

The collection of lacquerware she developed for J.Fleet — whom I still collaborate with to develop new prints — was an exploration of new surfaces and textures. The beauty of the nature-inspired prints was heightened by the richness of the shimmery materials and quality of the lacquerware.

The ultimate way of “enveloping” oneself with the Susan Unger lifestyle was the 72-piece collection of wallpapers she designed for Sterling and printed in Milan, Italy.

A beautiful project, Susan was involved in every part of the process, from choosing the exact color mixture to approving the final roll of printed wallpaper.

Gorgeous and diverse environments could be created throughout the house. Light and airy leaves for the bedroom, rich ochre for the dining room, inspiring red for the office.

I was particularly a fan of this project, as I feel that with minimal decoration it gave each room in the home its own unique personality.

Six years ago, Susan got a great opportunity to become part of the JCPenney team, and to continue designing beautiful things — this time in a whole different scale. It was no more hand printing or dying in bathtubs. Now she splits her time between Dallas and the rest of the world — where she often travels for inspiration and to oversee the production of the Studio line for which she is head designer.

As I’m writing this post, I realize how long and complete my mother’s career has been — and it’s not over yet! So many beautiful things have come out of her mind and workshop! Almost too many things to mention in one single post.

If you are now frowning, wondering where you could get your hands on a precious and one-of-a-kind Susan Unger accessory — worry no more! You can hop over to the BiniChic Store , where you’ll find a selection of her beautiful pillows. We will shortly be adding more things, so come back to visit!

I will soon post another article on the blog, since I haven’t been able to do so lately due to the load of work and my upcoming wedding (yes, Jacopo and I are getting married this summer!).

We thought you might enjoy seeing the making-of our BiniChic wedding. From the hand-made invitations, to the flowers and the dress — so we’ll be sharing that with you in the upcoming posts. Stay tuned!


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