Sense of Touch

Posted on July 8, 2011 by BiniChic

When a company has a sense of purpose that goes beyond increasing its profits, that is what makes for a truly great project. Since its establishment in Terrassa (Barcelona) in 1983, Teixidors has been committed to generating well being for people with learning disabilities by supporting them and giving them a specialized, integrating job as manual weavers. While doing this, it has maintained the highest level of quality both in the manufacturing and the raw materials used to create their woven pieces.

Teixidor’s products exude a quality which can be appreciated through the sense of touch, sight and smell. The noble materials with which each piece is hand woven in the wooden looms convey a process of memory, dedication and dignity. A thousand-year-old tradition — hand-weaving is an art that has been used by people to express their cultural identity.

“It is a trade that develops manual skills and sharpens the senses; an activity used by Teixidors to boost the labor and social abilities of people with learning difficulties. The looms turn these people with special needs into artisans: a singular idea from which unique products emerge. Each finished piece contains the story of a pair of hands.” (excerpt from the Teixidors book)

The looms — based on the design from 19th Century models — are used to help develop coordination and psychomotor skills in people with learning difficulties. The weavers, with their know-how, shape the products into scarves, shawls, plaids, blankets, curtains, tablecloths, towels.

Only the finest materials nature can provide are used to create the range of textiles.  The softness of cashmere is used to make light and sophisticated fabrics. The freshness of linen is used to create breezy textiles that promote relaxation and wellness.  Elegant silk is combined with other materials to add softness and resilience. Noble Merino wool adds a rustic and warm touch.

Once the skillful hands of the comber check and polish the finished woven piece, the finisher is in charge of calculating the right proportion of water, organic soap, washing times and ironing needed to turn all the efforts invested into a finished garment.

The final customer contributes the ultimate complicity to this project — by using and enjoying the products either on their bodies or their homes.

Here at BiniChic, we feel this is a very good example of luxury — it is not merely a brand-name that gives you the feeling of richness and well-being, but knowing that the process and the raw materials used to make that which surrounds you is environmentally and socially responsible.

www.teixidors.com

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A Little Inspiration…

Posted on June 23, 2011 by BiniChic

Inspiration can be found in many places. Some times I find it in doors, details and other corners in my own city or while traveling. Other times I am inspired by fellow creative minds — artists, photographers, designers, or people who simply make beautiful and innovative things. That is why today’s post is a mix of my love of photography, interiors, chromatic textures and textile design.

All the beautiful photos in this post were taken by various home and interior photographers represented by Sarah Kaye in London — one of my sources of inspiration. Blues, whites, grays and greens are my favorite at the moment. I love how the above images use white and pastels to frame the darker colors in the image, giving it a cinematographic air.

Notice how harmonious the neutral color palette is, and how it comes alive when accented with a bright color. Rough and rustic textures are balanced with the delicateness of unvarnished ceramic objects.

The moodiness of the lighting and the wonderful styling give the objects a life of their own — as if they were already there when the photographer captured them.

BiniChic is the juxtaposition of contemporary and classic, rustic and polished… The images in this post are a great point of reference for the BiniChic philosophy.

Bright colors are happy by definition. They are even livelier when contrasted with distressed surfaces in pastel tones.

Jewel tones on rich, dark velvet fabrics are another one of my favorite combinations. The following images feel like they could perfectly be the setting for a romantic 19th Century Victorian novel.

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Essential Art

Posted on June 17, 2011 by BiniChic

In a world filled with countless shelves of mass-produced luxury perfumes, Le Labo is a refreshing approach to this age-old tradition. The duo behind the Labo have already become a phenomenon in the world of perfumery, transforming the way scents are perceived, sold and consumed — one bottle at a time.

Our olfactory sense can distinguish among hundreds of substances intimately related to our emotions, memories and creativity. Since the beginning of recorded history, perfumery has played an important role in the way we express ourselves, helping us become more attractive — more fascinating. Each natural ingredient can affect our mood differently, and in some cases, they can have healing properties.

Perfume making is a very laborious process: it begins when the ingredients are grown, cultivated or obtained around the world and taken to the manufacturing center; there, their essential oils are extracted through steam distillation, solvent extraction, enfleurage, maceration, or expression; the essences are then carefully blended by expert “noses”; finally, the perfume is left to age for several months to ensure the correct scent is achieved. It was not until the industrial revolution, when synthetic chemicals were created, that perfumes became a mass-marketed commodity.

Le Labo was founded in 2006 by Eddie Roschi and Fabrice Penot, two kindred spirits who met while working in the corporate world creating Giorgio Armani perfumes. They came together with the goal of bringing perfumery back to its roots, when each scent was hand-crafted and mixed specially for its wearer — instead of a mass-produced object of consumption. Their first shop, in the heart of New York’s NoLIta neighborhood, is reminiscent of a perfumer’s lab. There, they offer a space where people can access the art of perfume while discovering and testing their 10 unique scents.

The raw ingredients of each of these scents have been processed in Grasse (Southern France), and developed in collaboration with the world’s top 8 “noses”, or perfumists. They invite their patrons to come in, take a seat on their vintage stools at their laboratory (Labo means lab in french), and inspire each one of their scents until they find the right one for themselves.

Once the client takes their pick, the technician personally mixes the ingredients in front of their eyes. Essential oils start their natural deterioration process when they are mixed with alcohol and water — and at Le Labo it only starts once the perfume becomes yours. Each bottle is personalized with your name (or the person you’re giving it to), the name of the technician that mixed it, the location it was mixed in, and its expiration date. Bespoke scents are also available upon request, for the sum of $40,000.

Each scent is named after its main ingredient — Rose 31, Santal 33, Vetiver 46, Neroli 36, Fleur d’Orange 27, Oud 27, Patchouli 24, Jasmin 17 and Iris 39 — the number that follows is the number of essences accessorizing the main scent.

Rose 31 is interestingly one of Le Labo’s most popular scents for men. Not typically used as the base for a male aroma, the graceful accent of the Centifolia rose is exquisitely combined with masculine ingredients such as amber, musk, cedar wood and cumin.

Their take on the packaging and marketing of the perfumes is also a detail to be noticed. Coming from the advertising and corporate worlds, Roschi and Penot grew tired of seeing the importance being put in the bottle instead of the content. Simple, unpretentious, scientific with a vintage touch are the key words to describe Le Labo’s corporate image — the labels, the corrugated cardboard they use to pack the bottles in, and their shop’s interiors all breath a very coherent and perfectly designed rustic air.

I have always been fascinated by the sense of smell and its effects on our physical and mental state. One of my earliest olfactory memories is of a bakery shop when I was around 3 years old. The sweet and comforting smell of freshly baked bread will always have a special place in my sensory memory.

Perfumery has been one of my lifelong passions — a craft I truly hope to learn and develop in the near future. In my mind’s nose, I already know what the essence of BiniChic is like. Would you like to find out?

www.lelabofragrances.com

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Pretty Things

Posted on June 9, 2011 by BiniChic

Wonderfully curated, filled with deliciously crafted clothes, accessories and candles, La Cereria breathes the fresh island air of Menorca. A combination of classic design with a creative twist and vintage chic, La Cereria is a required visit for lovers of unique and beautiful things with a story.

La Cereria — the candle shop in Spanish — is owned by Sara, who applies her refined taste and design experience in the world of fashion and accessories to create a space of relaxed luxury. Originally from Madrid, she fell in love with the island and decided to leave the hectic city for a more peaceful life in Menorca.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a boutique this unique in the heart of Mahón — a shop I could imagine in the trendy neighborhoods of Paris’ Le Marais or NYC’s Meatpacking District. The clothes and objects are mostly by designers and artisans from around the world.

This is the true beauty of Sara’s curating: she brings designs from seemingly unrelated places and brands — Filippa K, American Vintage, Eureka, ByLarin, Volta, Petty things, Ba&sh, Beatriz Furest, to name a few — and combines them in a space where their stylish simplicity and clean lines live comfortably together.

La Cereria and everything in it breathe that Mediterranean air that we like to refer to as “binichic“: finding the beauty in unique, stylish and simple things — objects that are a seamless combination of rustic, refined, contemporary and classic.

Homers , pictured above, is a high-end line of shoes made in Ciutadella, on the other side of Menorca. Shoe-making is a traditional craft on the island — and currently one of its main industries, with many world-renown brands hailing from there. However, Homers’ sophisticated design is anything but traditionally Menorcan. Their impossibly fine leathers are dyed in soft and elegant colors and given designs that bring to mind vintage shoes from the mid 20th Century.

Ally Capellino (right picture above), a British brand specializing in leather bags, is another one of my favorites. I especially love the beautifully oiled unlined satchel bags with raw cut edges and eyelets. Simple and elegant.

I look forward to visiting Sara again, as La Cereria was a true inspiration on my last visit. Her shop, and everything she carefully selects, remind me of the things that make me yearn for the island lifestyle — the salty sea breeze, the sound of the crickets on a summer night, the smell of wild chamomile — and how to recreate its essence once you’re not physically there.

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The Ground you Walk On

Posted on May 27, 2011 by BiniChic

Streets, Sidewalks, Floors, Tiles — we almost never look down to notice — but when we open up to their beauty and charm, they stop us in our tracks. The traces left from random footprints and traffic become a map, a history, a memory.

Corners are rounded, surfaces crackled, and patches are patched again…all creating patterns both random and unique—textures designed by time and the elements.  This Art is impossible to invent or reproduce. It has that timeless elegance — impermanent, incomplete and imperfect — as if it were made by nature.

For this reason it often inspires my textile designs.

The many variations on squares lead to silk scarves…

and lacquer ware trays.

The way these artisans fit the square tiles into a curved dome gave me the idea to make a Sufi-inspired sheer tunic.

The labyrinth, a familiar pattern from ancient Greece, can be found imbedded in many streets as man-hole covers or grates. Socrates described the labyrinth as: “…a confusing path, hard to follow without a thread, but…it leads surely, despite twists and turns, back to the beginning.

The many ways to use a circle divided into parts give inspiration to this silk fabric and its classical-inspired skirt.

Creating the illusion of space and volume is an age old way to make floors more interesting. The shadow box is having a resurgence now, and I used it a woven jacquard.

In the Mediterranean, Romans were master road builders—their sculpted cobblestones are still found everywhere.  These textiles were stitched or printed to the rhythm of Roman roads.

A masterpiece of pavement and tile design is San Marco’s Church in Venice. Each area has  its own pattern and color.  Following, the quilt I designed based on one pattern. The individual pieces are stitched and printed to resemble stones; their textures and irregularities is what gives the quilt its personality.

Both mediums share a piecing of small parts, and both are about stone textures.  They are both produced by artisans who improvise and create uniqueness as they fit together all of the parts of the puzzle.

I invite you to find art and inspiration in your everyday surroundings.
Look for beauty in something humble; find treasure in what you walk past everyday. The street was never so amazing as when you SEE it for the first time.

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Keeping your Cool

Posted on May 17, 2011 by BiniChic

Perfect for deflecting the hot summer sun while letting the breeze cool your head, the Panama Hat has become a classic worldwide. One of my personal favorite summer accessories, its quality lies in the materials used, the weave count as well as the nimble hands of the craftsmen making them.

Originally from Ecuador, the name Panamá comes from the height of the Califonia Gold Rush in the 1850s. Many people passed through Panama and bought their hats on their way to or from searching for gold. The best Panama Hats are still hand woven from toquilla straw, which only grows in the coastal mountains of Ecuador. Most of the weaving is done in Cuenca — whose hats can be found in high end millinery houses around the world — and Montecristi. The latter city is where the hats are made in a truly artisan fashion — it is the Bordeaux of Panama Hats.

Their history goes back many years — evidence points that probably a few thousands years. Making a Panama hat is an extremely laborious process — it can take a weaver anywhere from a few weeks to several months to complete a hat.

Although hat wearing fell out of style after WWII, it is now living a renaissance. The industry that nearly fell into obscurity about half a century ago is now able to maintain and attract new artisans, with programs dedicated to training young locals.

Companies like the Brent Black Panama Hat Company are keeping the industry alive and well by bringing them to the high-end marketplace. Simon Espinal is considered the best weaver alive, having completed a hat worth $100,000. They are also sponsoring one of the said programs which will ensure a continuity in the high-end version of the hats.

The following are photographs of the Panama Hat making process in Montecristi, Ecuador. All photographs taken by B. Brent Black — many are of Simon Espinal weaving his magic into hats.

If you want to read all about the process — it is long, interesting and beautiful — you can do so here.

You can read a short description of the photos when you scroll over them, but I liked letting the beautiful photographs of the process speak for themselves. This is one the finished products, the finest Fedora:

There are also fine, yet more affordable versions of the hat — such as the one I’m wearing on the top picture. Mine is from Ecuador, but probably from Cuenca, as I got it for about $70.

Below, a very contemporary and feminine take on the Panama fedora by Eugenia Kim. I like how the band curves around the hat, giving the graphic feeling of a feather. Next to it, the classic Marlene Dietrich, who revolutionized the fashion world with her masculinization of the woman’s wardrobe — making fedoras a woman’s accessory.

I am looking forward to dusting off my Panama Hat and taking it for a spin around the island’s beaches. Oh, one thing I was told by a Panama Hat maker to keep in mind is to never fold a true Panama Hat — the straw is very malleable and gets bent out of shape, and gets progressively brittle as it ages. Another good tip to keep in mind to recover your hat’s original shape, if for any reason it loses its form, is to steam it over boiling water while shaping it up with your hands. If you need to reshape the brim you can iron it as long as you protect it using a cloth in between.

If you don’t have a Panama Hat yet, consider getting one, they last close to a lifetime. If you have one… enjoy your cool head!

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Breathing Space

Posted on May 8, 2011 by BiniChic

Minutes away from the bustling center of Barcelona lies the word’s biggest metropolitan park. Covering a large part of the Collserola mountain range, the Natural Park of the same name is a balanced mix of natural and man-made spaces. BiniChic recently sat down with Josep Mascaró, the landscape architect in charge of the architectural and restoration interventions that make the Collserola Park a beautifully integrated area.

Josep Mascaró studied architecture in Barcelona, starting his career designing houses in Spain and Venezuela before becoming a landscape architect. Mr. Mascaró’s work reflects the belief that nature is the best designer. His designs are often inspired by natural forms — letting his interventions be as minimal and as integrated with their surroundings as possible.

BiniChic: You studied architecture, what made you become a landscape architect?

J. Mascaró: Several things, one of which was coincidence. I moved to Venezuela to work as an architect, and started collaborating with a landscaper who I found very interesting.

But actually, I really liked the idea that instead of constructing one could deconstruct and take away the things that were unnecessary. In the 70s and 80s, my design partner and I made a lot of houses in Menorca. I remember thinking when a project was completed that there there was now less natural space on the island — something I eventually felt like changing.

BiniChic: What differences do you see between the way landscaping is approached in Barcelona as opposed to other parts of the world?

J.Mascaró: Barcelona was one of the first places in the world to start doing a more urbanized landscaping, with less natural components than you might find in other cities. For better or for worse, we were pioneers in this approach, and that allowed for a lot of experimentation and innovative designs. A good example would be Albert Viaplana’s Plaça dels Països Catalans, which is a completely urbanized square lacking any greenery. Even Antoni Gaudí’s squares in the Güell Park were very innovative for their time. He projected completely artificial, elevated spaces that didn’t incorporate a lot — if any — natural elements, but instead interpreted nature’s shapes into a man-made structure.

BiniChic: What role does Collserola play in Barcelona  — and what is your own role in the Collserola park?

J. Mascaró: Collserola became a Natural Park in 2001, but it’s also a very large metropolitan park. It structures an area of practically 4 million inhabitants and has 9 municipalities bordering it. The park gives what could be a very dense metropolitan area some breathing space — it’s the Central Park of the Barcelona area.

For the past twenty years, I have been working in the department in charge of conservating and making Collserola user-friendly. We are in charge of designing paths, itineraries, viewpoints, leisure areas, cleaning the forest and restoring buildings and elements that already existed before becoming a natural park.
It’s a very natural landscaping type of work but with architectural elements, which I thoroughly enjoy.

BiniChic: How would you describe your creative process? Who or what inspires you?

J. Mascaró: Foremost in my creative process is the fact that my landscaping is on a natural space, as opposed to a city. Unlike a landscaper who must create a natural space within a city — like Olmsted did in New York City — I must work with the very potent natural spaces before me.  The more you design the architectural elements in function of their surroundings, the better they will integrate — otherwise they will clash and nature will most likely win.

I’m very inspired by painters. Classics such as Turner and DaVinci fascinate me — they both tackled difficult themes such as representing water and clouds. I also like looking at the work of biologists, geographers, naturalists and botanists. Actually, the ones by whom I’m least inspired are generally architects.

BiniChic: What would you like to do in Collserola — or Barcelona — so it continues to be a city with large green areas?

J. Mascaró: Basically, I would like to see the park conserved as is — with its protected flora and fauna — and continue to improve it to create a completely integrated natural space. I would like for the people of Barcelona to consider the Collserola Park as their own garden and leisure area.

I feel very lucky to have helped create such a large metropolitan park — I hope that it serves as a reference for metropolitan landscapers around the world. Appreciated for its natural systems, as well as for the architectural actions done in order to protect and habilitate it for human use.

All photos and projects in this post are by Josep Mascaró for the Collserola Park of Barcelona.

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Doors & Details

Posted on May 1, 2011 by BiniChic

One of my favorite pastimes when traveling — and sometimes in my own home town of Barcelona — is taking photos of details, colors and textures and turning them into collages. I try to capture the beauty of things that might often go unnoticed by those passing by them every day. Doors, walls and corners that might seem mundane and yet are wonderfully unique. The following is a selection of what we recently saw while visiting ancient Tuscan villages.

I love the harmonious gradations of reds and oranges on the rooftops of Castiglion Fiorentino. The terracotta tiles are so characteristic of the region that Siena — besides being an important medieval town — is also the name of this color of red.

I find washed out grays, blues and metallics particularly beautiful in their subtleness. The intricately engraved doorways and door-knockers in San Gimignano displayed a wonderful chromatic variety.

Fantastical creatures and symbols came out of Tuscan artisans’ minds to adorn the doors of those living in the main streets of San Gimignano and Arezzo.

All photos taken by Jacopo Ponticelli and Ona Villier.

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Giving it Another Chance

Posted on April 20, 2011 by BiniChic

With today’s endless supply of short-lived, mass-produced, low-quality products — a company that gives objects another chance at life is a breath of fresh air.

The idea at Revisited Matters is a recipe for success: take something old and used — sometimes a vintage shirt, others a scarf or a jar — mix in the perfect shade of color and a simple but sleek design, add an impeccable graphic identity on their packaging and website … and voilá! Here you have a unique piece from the Revisited Matters fashion and home goods collection.

A shirt becomes a pillow, an old scarf a blouse, and an old candy jar a flower vase. The possibilities are truly endless.

Revisited Matters is the project of an independent design collective who recently started their adventure in Brooklyn, New York. They hail from various parts of the world — among them the Mediterranean — and the objects and clothes they create are layered with their past experiences and their origins.

The artists at Revisited Matters and BiniChic share a deep appreciation of the ancient japanese philosphy of Wabi-Sabi. Revisited finds the beauty in the imperfection, uniqueness and story of each fabric and texture they juxtapose and re-purpose.

On their smart-looking website you can find an online shop, a blog where you can discover the story behind each product they create as well as a sneek-peek into their daily lives.

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Stillness in Motion

Posted on April 8, 2011 by BiniChic

For artists and designers inspiration can be found in the most unexpected places. A falling leaf, a ripple on the water or grass gently bending with the breeze can be sources for great designs. Many of Susan’s signature prints have been inspired by the best designer of all time — nature.

“Floating, waves; stillness in motion.
Pond is one of my favorite inspirations for the home.  It embodies the peaceful, relaxing harmony between land and water.”

Horizontal lily pads and expanding waves meet vertical grasses and reeds. Leaves are like pleated silks and iridescent fabrics.

Colors are muddy yet luminous. It’s about the secret of an exquisite water lily bursting out of dark greens and deep browns every morning.

“I look for the textured layers and subtle colors to tell a story that makes us feel at home in nature.”

The ripples in the water are expressed with the stitches – horizontal. You feel the same liquid rhythm. Iridescent fabrics reflect light as it shines on the water’s surface.

“When I was designing the leaf pattern, I looked for inspiration to a photo I took on a summer afternoon. Sitting by a pond, I watched as the pine needles fell on the water, dancing with each other, in constant motion.”

When designing a collection, I find texture to be key to the coherence of the various prints and designs.

Whether you’re designing a room, a corner, or your bed, layer colors and prints from the same family in different materials to create a varied and harmonious whole. Each family of colors brings out a certain mood or memory, and surrounding ourselves with colors that make us feel comfortable and at peace is key to creating a sense of place — a home.

Photos by Lyn Hughes.

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