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Notes from the Curator: Shop Our "Objet"

jeanlin

Before the move, I had no idea what kind of foot traffic we would see in our new space, but I did know that it felt like a wasted opportunity if we didn't offer smaller items that people could purchase on the spot. Accessories, table top...Objet.

In our own design practice we love mixing contemporary work with vintage pieces, the latter of which bring texture, an element of surprise, authenticity and history into a project. I have always thought that showcasing a collection of vintage works, carefully curated, would add untold aesthetic delight to our gallery floor.

Sourcing these vintage and antique finds has been inspiring and eye-opening. Eschewing themes or resale values, I've been following my gut, acquiring pieces that are undeniably beautiful, whimsical, unique and/or useful. This collection of Objet is a little peek inside my own aesthetic brain -- one I haven't readily put on full display. This collection rounds out the contemporary works at Colony for which I am professionally known, and showcases my personal tastes -- slightly more risky, nostalgic, folksy, unapologetically pretty.

On our site, shopping the "Objet" tab under "In Stock" is our first real attempt at e-commerce. If you visit the gallery, you will come to understand my fully realized vision of our contemporary masterpieces mixed with these vintage curiosities. I hope these Objet find their way into your hearts, your projects and your homes just as they did mine. 

Kindly,
Jean Lin

More Of...

Some more favorite treasures. Check back often.

Handmade Jewelry Box

Standard Materials: Koa and Maple Wood
Dimensions: 10”D x 20”W x 13”H
Lead Time: In-Stock

PURCHASE

Fish Jewelry Box

Standard Materials: Cherry and Maple Wood
Dimensions: 7”D x 16.5”W x 13”H
Lead Time: In-Stock

PURCHASE

Leaf Bowls

Standard Materials: Metal
Dimensions: 10"L x 4"W x 2"H
Lead Time: In-Stock

PURCHASE

This Thursday: What We Keep in LA

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WHAT WE KEEP: LA
JUNE 6, 2024
6:00 - 8:00 PM

Marta
3021 Rowena Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90039

Join us to celebrate the launch of Jean Lin’s first book, What We Keep at Marta amongst Rites of Spring, a group exhibition of works by twenty-two artists across eighteen practices. A wonderful backdrop to celebrate the west coast launch of the book, the show nods to the transformational power of the season and rebirth.

 
The deadline to RSVP for this event has passed.

Notes from the curator: What We Keep

jeanlin

Even in my wayward youth, I loved to write. I loved how, if I bent my brain just so, the words came together on the page and danced. I loved how, in heartbreak I could frantically scribe my revenge and somehow feel a little less devastated. Even then, I found power in the freedom, the creativity and the precision of thought that words allowed me. 

As childhood dreams tend to do, my dream of someday writing a book faded into the background. I discovered new loves, and loved them voraciously. Design felt foreign and urgent at first, but over the years it has become my most fluent language. As an adult, I've settled comfortably into my role in this world: Finding and sharing the substance behind beauty beyond what is most readily prescribed.

It was just then, comfortable with my path narrow before me, that the opportunity came to write this book. My editor Shawna Mullen and my publisher Abrams handed me this unbelievable imperative to explore the precision of thought that I could achieve through both words and design, my childhood love and my life's work.

In the process of writing What We Keep, I have had to, over and over, ask myself what is important enough to share. Beauty and substance are just the beginning. Community, skill, diversity, authenticity, vulnerability, compassion, courage, family. This book is my small contribution to these big conversations, using the language I know best.

What We Keep officially launches Tuesday, May 14. We are hosting a celebratory launch at Colony and I would be honored for you to join us. I will be joined in conversation by Asad Syrkett, editor in chief of Elle Decor (who wrote the foreword in the book) at 5 PM, with a public reception to follow. A few spots have opened up for our talk, and I've included the RSVP details below. 

Thank you, as always, for reading.

Jean Lin

Join us to celebrate the launch of Jean Lin’s first book, What We Keep. Asad Syrkett, Editor in Chief of Elle Decor, joins Jean in conversation about the book, design media, and the intersection of words, images and objects.

May 14, 2024
Colony
196 West Broadway
New York, NY

5:00 - 6:00 pm conversation 
6:00 - 9:00 pm public reception 

The deadline to RSVP for this event has passed.
The deadline to RSVP for this event has passed.

My hope is that this book is a testament that the stories of what we keep, and why we keep them, are worth telling. Because it’s in the telling, and retelling, that we can find ourselves and one another in a universal understanding: The beautiful life is not only to be pursued alone, but also uncovered together as a collective.

You're Invited: What We Keep Book Launch

jeanlin

Join us to celebrate the launch of Jean Lin’s first book, What We Keep. Asad Syrkett, Editor in Chief of Elle Decor, joins Jean in conversation about the book, design media, and the intersection of words, images and objects.

May 14, 2024
Colony
196 West Broadway
New York, NY

5:00 - 6:00 pm conversation (sold out)
6:00 - 9:00 pm public reception (RSVP below)

The deadline to RSVP for this event has passed.

If you can't make it to NYC...

We're taking the book on the road! Jean will be visiting six cities in the coming months. Local friends and co-hosts will join her at some of the stops. Come for a drink and a book!

5/24/24 - TORONTO
Swipe Design - 401 Richmond Street W, Suite B04
RSVP

5/30/24 - AUSTIN
First Light Books - 4300 Speedway
RSVP

6/6/24 - LA
Marta - 3021 Rowena Ave
RSVP

6/20/24 - MIAMI
Books & Books - 265 Aragon Ave
RSVP

6/27/24 - NASHVILLE
The Green Ray - 3237 B Gallatin Pike
RSVP

9/19/24 - PORTLAND, OR
Spartan Shop - 60 E 42nd Street SUITE 1201
RSVP INFO TO FOLLOW

What We Keep: Behind The Book 4

jeanlin

My first book, What We Keep will be published on May 14 (available now for preorder). I can hardly wait for you all to see it. In the meantime, I'm so thrilled to share some behind the scenes content with you here. Excerpts, b-roll images, video clips from my interviews with contributors, will hopefully give you a sense of what went into writing, styling and photographing this book, as well as a little peek into its pages. 

My professional path has always been informed closely by my personal passions, so I called upon my Taiwanese heritage to structure the book in five sections, each named after one of the Traditional Chinese elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. Much like the elements, the sections of the book are distinct in style and sentiment, yet deepened by their kinship to one another. Here is a preview and behind the scenes look at Section 4: Metal.

 

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Getting The Shot

Brooke and I shot 52+ projects at an unheard of clip for this book. It felt like a super power to be able to walk into a new space and find the beautiful shots, angles and frames. It wasn't always easy and we alternated being tired and having energy so the other could lead when necessary. 

From Section 4: Metal

“The small collections we do keep when moving has forced us to edit out possessions, and are the treasured exceptions. A mid-century Danish wall unit from my childhood home came from my grandmother’s bedroom, so it holds sentimental value for me. I think it was even in my family’s house when they first emigrated from Germany in the 1950s. When we moved here, my friend Fabi used it in her LA apartment for a few years, and when she moved to San Francisco, she asked to buy it from me. I did sell it to her, but we have an agreement that if I want it back, she’ll sell it back to me.

“When you buy or inherit pieces of quality, they last,” continues Allyson. And the beauty of Allyson’s arrangement with her friend Fabi is good advice for all collectors: “Do we expect any of that stuff back? No, but we know it isn’t gone forever.”

Julius adds, “This was the rhythm we were in, editing down our pieces to only what we needed with each move. But that was all amplified when we bought this house.”

And what of this house? You see, Allyson, a consumer- trend forecaster, and Julius, a director and cinematographer, own a house designed by preeminent modernist architect Richard Neutra—an architect’s architect whose works are on historic-preservation lists, celebrated as Southern Californian icons. When a Neutra home comes on the market, architecture aficionados of the Southern California ilk—read, Hollywood—come knocking.

“We are so, so lucky,” says Julius of how they came to own a piece of architectural history. A friend and colleague, and the previous owner of the house, had toured Julius through just as he and Allyson were starting on their search to buy a place. “The feeling of walking onto the property and down to the house, it was incredible. There was a feeling of peace, and I knew that this was our dream house.” 

 

Order what we keep 

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Bookshop

What We Keep: Behind The Book 3

jeanlin

My first book, What We Keep will be published on May 14 (available now for preorder). I can hardly wait for you all to see it. In the meantime, I'm so thrilled to share some behind the scenes content with you here. Excerpts, b-roll images, video clips from my interviews with contributors, will hopefully give you a sense of what went into writing, styling and photographing this book, as well as a little peek into its pages. 

My professional path has always been informed closely by my personal passions, so I called upon my Taiwanese heritage to structure the book in five sections, each named after one of the Traditional Chinese elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. Much like the elements, the sections of the book are distinct in style and sentiment, yet deepened by their kinship to one another. Here is a preview and behind the scenes look at Section 3: Earth.

 

Order what we keep 

Amazon
Bookshop

Photographing Hiroko Takeda

I've known Hiroko Takeda for more than ten years and I've always loved visiting her studio. Chock full of inspiration, her looms themselves are works of art. I loved the chance, after all these years, to capture her at work.

From Section 3: Earth

For a designer with a knack for collecting, Maya has a house that is refreshingly clear of clutter. Nicknamed the 6ft Up House, it manages to delight without overwhelming. No art hangs on the walls, she points out, because that feels so permanent, and her family likes to change and move and shuffle their favorite objects often. The cutting boards could one day be stacked tall and aslant as a centerpiece on the dining table, the next day leaned against a wall of the kitchen to dry. The quilt collection is stacked tall, a living barometer of how fast her kids are growing.

Each collection started with one item and eventually grew to “critical mass,” she says of her cutting boards and quilts and blankets. Each piece has a meaning, a story behind it, and a use. Creating a new tradition of heirlooms for her family may seem like a tall order, but the kids get it. “They understand that someday these things will be theirs.”

Those Author Portraits!

As I was crafting the sections of the book, I had a somewhat unorthodox idea: author portraits themed to each chapter. My editor, Shawna hated it immediately.

Still I persisted, hanging onto the fact that I was doing a terrible job explaining the concept. I really believed that artful, fashion forward images would anchor readers to my personal voice, as well as provide a visual starting point for the pages to follow.

I knew that to pull this off, and convince Shawna, I would have to call in the dream team. I asked a long time favorite, Winnie Au to shoot the portraits and a true fashion star, Diana Tsui to style me. Flora Kamimoto did my make up and Mayumi Maeda did my hair. Each element of the shoot: the set, the props, the makeup and the hair, all pulled aesthetic inspiration from the chapter that follows. 

Shawna came around. 

 

Order what we keep 

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Bookshop

What We Keep: Behind The Book 2

jeanlin

My first book, What We Keep will be published on May 14 (available now for preorder). I can hardly wait for you all to see it. In the meantime, I'm so thrilled to share some behind the scenes content with you here. Excerpts, b-roll images, video clips from my interviews with contributors, will hopefully give you a sense of what went into writing, styling and photographing this book, as well as a little peek into its pages. 

My professional path has always been informed closely by my personal passions, so I called upon my Taiwanese heritage to structure the book in five sections, each named after one of the Traditional Chinese elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. Much like the elements, the sections of the book are distinct in style and sentiment, yet deepened by their kinship to one another. Here is a preview and behind the scenes look at Section 2: Fire.

 

Order what we keep 

Amazon
Bookshop

Photographing The Hot Shop

The glassblowing shop that Deb Czeresko works out of is SO HOT. Brooke and I may look ok but we were not ok. We almost passed out. The takeaway is that Deb is a bad ass.

From Section 2: Fire

They treat the four-room home as their creative playground. Artworks, vintage finds, furniture, lighting, and books are puzzle pieces that sometimes interlock, sometimes repel, but are ultimately never staid. The walls behind their bed and sofa -- on opposite ends of the apartment -- each offer a master class on how to perfect a gallery wall. Not a measurement made, but every inch exudes emotion unspoken.

"We love found objects and we love found art. So much of our collection as it exists now is from our travels. We believe in the power of the stories behind the pieces. So much of art and design is now about who is on the label or how much something is worth. It takes the joy out of seeing things as they are. We try to be as innocent and curious as possible as we grow our collection."

LES Collection

“I find that candelabras change the house's atmosphere the same way jewelry can transform a simple outfit, making it feel fresh and seasonal,” says Lauren Sands, founder of design gallery LES Collection. “I use candelabras to change up any room in my house when it feels stale. They are placed on coffee tables, credenza, kitchen shelves, and anywhere else I think needs an accent. At any time, you will find maybe ten pairs of candlestick holders scattered throughout the home on various surfaces.”

“I utilize my collection the most on the dining room table. Entertaining is a major way I express my creativity. Throwing a dinner party, for me, is an act of curation. The tabletop decor, the food, the guests, the right mix can be magical. When setting the table, I always start with the candelabras and build the rest around that.”

Lauren's collection is awe-inspiring, and I'm excited to share a glimpse of it in the book, but wanted to share some thoughts and images that didn't make the final pages.

Dinner with Kwame and Wylie Dufresne

I was adamant about including a chef in the book, specifically for the Fire section, so I reached out to Keith Durst for help. Keith is the founder of Friend of Chef, a strategic advisory firm that works with restaurants, owners, chefs and designers on starting and operating restaurants.

Keith asked me to name the one chef I would want in my book, and after much thought, I answered Kwame Onwuachi. Kwame is young, stylish and a fire starter in his own right -- absolutely perfect for What We Keep.

"Instead of an introduction over email, why don't you and Drew join me for dinner at Tatiana," said Keith, inviting me to Kwame's new restaurant. It was an unceremonious invite to a restaurant that has since been named the top restaurant in NYC by Pete Wells of the NY Times and subsequently become the most elusive reservation in town. 

When I arrived at Tatiana, I saw Keith, Drew, and across from my empty seat, none other than legendary chef Wylie Dufresne. Wylie is one of Kwame's heroes and he sent the entire menu that evening. I also don't think Kwame could say "no" to my book with Wylie smiling at him across the way. Thank you Keith, thank you Kwame and thank you Wylie for making my Fire chapter complete.

 

Order what we keep 

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Bookshop

What We Keep: Behind The Book 1

jeanlin

My first book, What We Keep will be published on May 14 (available now for preorder). I can hardly wait for you all to see it. In the meantime, I'm so thrilled to share some behind the scenes content with you here. Excerpts, b-roll images, video clips from my interviews with contributors, will hopefully give you a sense of what went into writing, styling and photographing this book, as well as a little peek into its pages. 

My professional path has always been informed closely by my personal passions, so I called upon my Taiwanese heritage to structure the book in five sections, each named after one of the Traditional Chinese elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. Much like the elements, the sections of the book are distinct in style and sentiment, yet deepened by their kinship to one another. Here is a preview and behind the scenes look at Section 1: Wood.

 

Order what we keep 

Amazon
Bookshop

Photographing Nakashima Woodworkers

It's hard to put into words the magic that is the Nakashima Woodworkers campus. Brooke, Dan (our trusty production coordinator) and I were blown away by the beauty of the landscape, the history of the architecture and the Nakashima team's hospitality. I'm so proud of the images we captured here and so excited for you to read the words that Mira Nakashima shared with me.

From Section 1: Wood

Before I ever saw their apartment, I asked Adam and Martin if they collected anything, and they looked at each other sheepishly, explaining they had a lot of stuff but weren’t collectors. Then Adam nodded at Martin and said, “Boxes.” Both looked at their toes, as if they were embarrassed to call it a collection, or that the collecting had been unintentional, that one morning they had simply awakened to a pile of boxes. But in fact, the collection of boxes that Martin and Adam share—mainly wood, varying in shape, displayed and stacked with care— is thoughtful and considered.

“The boxes are Martin’s thing,” Adam declares boldly; then he pauses and redacts. “Well, conceptually they connect to both of us.” He continues to reflect on the collection in a stream-of-consciousness way:

“There is never anything in them.

“The boxes are all empty.

“They represent utility.

“Or the beauty in a lack of utility.

“Or the option for utility.

“We could put something in them. The option is there.

“They represent potential.”

Proem Studio

We had the honor of shooting the home of Proem Studio founder Marie Trohman in Los Angeles for What We Keep. Some of my favorite shots in the book came from this project not just because the home was beautifully designed, but also because it was this Spanish style colonial architecture that is special to Southern California. Marie's design sense was matched only by her amazing art collection. As is the nature of editing, not all of the pictures made it into the final book, but I loved them all and wanted to share them here.

Scouting the cover shot

Brooke caught this shot of me snapping  what was eventually going to become our cover image. It's in a bathroom! Architect Brent Buck's bathroom to be specific. Brent is an avid collector of many things, but most notably, he owns every Dansk pepper mill that was ever put into production. 

BFFs

Not only was I able to shoot this book with one of my favorite people, Brooke Holm, I also was able to profile and include so many of my best friends within its pages. I interviewed them and asked them questions I thought I knew the answers to, but quickly discovered that they had so much to share beyond what I already knew. It's one of the many unexpected joys of writing this book: rediscovering my friends and falling in love all over again. 

 

Order what we keep 

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Notes from the Curator: Making Moves, Goodbye 324 Canal Street

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Colony is moving! After 10 years in 324 Canal Street, we are moving to a new street-level gallery at 196 West Broadway. Keep an eye out for your invite to our opening bash. But until then, we're getting sentimental over here. 😭

The first time I walked up the creaky steps of 324 Canal Street to the second floor, I had already viewed dozens of commercial spaces in downtown Manhattan. It was 2013 and Colony was just a fledgling idea without a home. 

The open loft space with 15 foot ceilings had graffiti on the walls, no lights, and the rotting plywood floor was pitched 14". Anything you put on the floor would roll to the front corner of the space. A thick layer of dust covered everything and the tin ceiling had all but rusted out in spots.

"It's perfect" I said, submitting an offer letter the same day. As a start up with no financials (and a girl with no financials) it was a long shot. But I went for it with my whole heart, because despite its rough edges, when I closed my eyes I could see the beginning of my dream taking shape.

I slowly started filling the space. First with the essentials like a floor and light. And over the past ten years, I've been fortunate to fill 324 Canal with friends and their work, with strangers seeking beauty, with anything, really, in the name of inspiration. Here at 324 Canal Street we've broke bread, downward dogged, bathed in sound, we've drank and we've drawn. We've made posters for protests, we've cried over election results, we've mourned losses and celebrated births. For the past ten years 324 Canal has been home.

Thank you all for wading through a sea of counterfeit bags on Canal Street to stand in front of a rickety door that did not have a number, but did have air conditioning water dripping on your head. Thank you for knowing which buzzer to hit, even when our little "Colony" sticker had peeled off. Thank you for not leaving when the cage door was impossible to open, and when the fluorescent lighting in the stairs flickered. Thank you for your smile when we popped our heads out at the top of the stairs to tell you to come on up, and thank you for your gasps when you came in (they never got old and always made me feel so proud). Thank you for coming back, again and again and thank you for making us a stop on your trips to NYC. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

The work we made here, the experiences we created, are without contest my proudest professional moments. It is hard for me to imagine loving a space as much as I've loved this one.

196 West Broadway has big shoes to fill, and I hope you all will (again) help me fill them.

With excitement for the future,

Jean Lin

Notes From The Curator, Spring 2023

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This spring we saw the launch four beloved new designers.

Scheibe Design, Nate and Tres (Nate's dad) from Nashville first came into my periphery back in 2018 when we did our Coast to Coast tour with Design Milk. To be honest, Nate wasn't quite ready for the Colony stage at that point. But persistence, an appetite for critique, and a positive perspective got him here five years later, and I couldn't be happier for it. 

SSS Atelier is the first self-produced furniture collection from Sarah Sherman Samuel, an absolute force of a woman who, as I can't help but constantly remind her, is kinda famous. Before meeting her, I was mystified by her unstoppable trajectory. But the mystery has since been solved. Sarah works hard and demands perfection. Her pieces reflect this rigor but they are also a portrait of the joy that Sarah brings to her work. The furniture is beautiful and undeniably approachable, and I think they are impossible not to love.

And then there are Alexis & Ginger and Marmar Studio, our most ambitious experiment to date. Since August, 2022, we have been hosting Ingemar Hagen-Keith, Alexis Tingey and Ginger Gordon for our inaugural Designer's Residency. Alexis and Ginger were fresh out of RISD with masters in furniture design. I was invited to teach a semester of their grad studio, and Alexis and Ginger shined. Their exuberant talent, their work and their work ethic made it an easy decision to ask them whether they wanted to join us as our first ever designer residents.

We first met Ingemar in 2017 when they were a student at RISD as well. I did a remote lecture and appreciated the sounds of approval that were coming from just off my screen. "Whoever was sitting *there" (pointing just down and right of my screened head) I said. "Thank you." An email came a few weeks later from that person I couldn't see, applying for an internship. They were a lovely intern, so much so that we hired Ingemar back full time a few years later. As much as I valued Ingemar as our employee, I was excited to offer the residency to them and give them the opportunity to fulfill what I knew was their dream to start Marmar Studio in earnest.

At Colony, we have a foundational imperative to support and celebrate emerging independent American designers. In recent years, my work in design education as a professor at both Parsons and RISD has inspired me to explore new ways to provide a bridge from designers in their nascency to professional practice. Starting one’s own studio is an enormous undertaking both creatively and financially, and a privilege that is not always afforded to many immensely talented designers. My hope is that this program allows more voices to shine, and more young designers to feel supported enough to take the leap into creating work that is wholly their own. 

If you are a designer with dreams of starting your own thing, I encourage you to apply for our next Residency. You can learn more about it here and you can download the application here.

I continually told the Residents as we were nearing the finish line to their show opening, this wasn't the end, it was just the beginning. I am so excited to share everything that's to come with you all. Thank you, as always, for following along our journey of growth here at Colony.

-Jean Lin