New Year’s Revelations
Whether you would rather believe in the power of the inaugural New Year’s resolution or scoff at it, ’tis the time of year to focus on a fresh start. While I encourage an introspective search at the start of 2019, there’s also a highly cultivated list of classic resolutions to pick from should you feel so obliged.
FORM LOVING
Maybe this is the year you’ll pare down to slimmer proportions and slip into the jeans relegated to the back of your closet. Or maybe it’s time to accept a more forgiving silhouette; we love the sleek lines of the High Back Stool but long to sink into Klein Agency’s cozy Sofa Double.
REGREEN
Adding green to your space not only revitalizes energy but also increases air quality. Set a recurring alarm on your phone as a watering reminder to keep plants alive through the new year. If just the thought of the commitment is making you rethink a resolution altogether, go a different route and invest in some no-maintenance dried flower arrangements.
STRIVE FOR DISCOVERY
Without the element of discovery, each day begins to feel redundant. This year we’re pushing ourselves to discover emerging talent from Coast to Coast and share it through The Conception Series, a series of pop-up exhibits and exclusive, limited edition collections. Our first launch in the series will be Conception 01 | Controlled Landscapes by Molly Haynes. We plan to continue exploring developing talent through connections and travel in the year to come.
Happiest Holidays from Colony
Thank you so much for your ongoing support, this year and always. We feel privileged to count you as our colleagues, collaborators and friends.
May your holidays be warm and bright! We’ll see you all in the New Year.
Introducing | At Home by Colony
A scent that has transformed our second floor Canal Street design gallery into a sensory oasis, the Three–Two–Four Candle embodies Colony’s pursuit of substantive beauty. Deep notes of leather and fresh tobacco lifted by the warmth of earthen spices have long welcomed us into the airy space we call home. Memorialized by a minimal white pillar, the scent sits atop a tonal terrazzo base.
Design Politics
We started the experiment that is now Colony with a resolute idealism. A belief that if we fought hard enough and made smart choices, we could change some of the rules that were set out before us.
The rules of commerce and industry have been written by men unlike the vast majority of us. A self-preserving, uber-elite that have tipped the scales in their favor. I work every day to prove (mostly to myself) that we can stake a small claim of this industry for ourselves and for people like us. That we can subvert the status quo. Though many days this endeavor feels like brute force, Colony is in fact balancing between delicately fine lines.
Inclusion is a mindset, while curation is a necessity.
We must be simultaneously open and cautious, a seemingly impossible feat. If you’ve ever come to a Colony opening and had to wait in line (so sorry) you’ve experienced our dilemma. Colony and our carefully chosen designers work tirelessly to create work that many will never own, but all should have the opportunity to experience. I am acutely aware of this juxtaposition and hope that our space can become a conduit for inclusion, curation and discovery — for everyone.
Beauty alone is fleeting, while pure substance can be easily overlooked. However, once combined and truly achieved, the power of substantive beauty is unending. I’ll admit I invented this term but use it with such veracious frequency that one might assume it was common English vernacular. Regardless, it is the pursuit on which Colony was built and continues to grow.
The power of substantive beauty.
You can’t be neutral on a moving train. (Howard Zinn)
Colony was founded on principles of community, inclusion, positivity and substantive beauty. Sometimes we succeed and at times we fall short, but everyday we strive towards those ideals. I want to speak for our small community to express our intolerance for misogyny, racism, bigotry and aggression. In these politically tumultuous times, with weeks like last week, and men ascending to power like Brett Kavanaugh, please join us in fighting for light in a dark world. Please join us in always striving, even when we falter, for our highest ideals.
Coast to Coast: Nashville
Our second leg of Coast to Coast with Design Milk uncovered a genuinely supportive community where colleagues and clients seem more like friends and family. This camaraderie has resulted in a thriving self-sustaining industry of Nashville architects working with Nashville designers and artists, placing Nashville-made work in Nashville-based projects.
Natives and implants alike are disconcertingly nonchalant about this self-made industry, and their charm lies in their acute awareness of the world outside of Nashville, and their uncanny ability to not let it veer them from their creative paths.
Coast to Coast: Detroit
Balancing the tenuous lines between honoring the past, moving toward the future and nurturing a robust creative community while building an economically sound urban ecostructure, Detroit left us wanting more Detroit. More explanation, more exposure and more truth about how the historically embattled city defines its own growth through architecture, art and design.
Here are some of Detroit’s most innovative initiatives, in their own words. Corporations, non-profits, individual artists and small practices that all share an undeniable work ethic and a passion for the city they are working to grow. While opinions of this growth span from guarded buoyancy to quiet skepticism, one thing was made clear on our first leg of Coast to Coast, it’s these people who really run this city.
The BELT is a culturally redefined alley in the heart of downtown Detroit. The public space is home to murals and installations by local, national and international artists. It is part of local gallery, Library Street Collective’s continuous effort to ensure that artists have a space to create and engage with the public in Detroit.
TIFF MASSEY | ARTIST
My work merges the regal aesthetics of traditional African fashion and hair-styling techniques with the grandiose bravado of 1980’s hip-hop jewelry. Influenced by Detroit’s history of ostentatious fashion, my work examines how symbols of wealth in the regalia of African diaspora affect the wearer’s behavior and attitude, eliciting an experience whereupon the viewer may encounter an object and engage in thoughts and/or acts of vanity.
NOIR DESIGN PARTI | NONPROFIT | RESEARCH
Exploring how Black Architects helped shape the physical identity of Detroit and their influence on design, the building community, and future generations
PONYRIDE | NONPROFIT | COMMERCIAL SPACE
Ponyride is a catalyst for deploying social capital to a diverse group of artists, creative entrepreneurs and makers who are committed to working together to make communities in Detroit sustainable from our 28,000 square foot building in Corktown.
400 FORWARD | NONPROFIT | EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT
We are committed ambassadors of exposure, diversity and inclusion in architecture and urban planning, and making sure the design profession reflects the communities it serves. 400 Forward’s mission: to uplift girls by giving them the tools they need to address social issues created by the unjust built environments of our inner-city communities. We aim to support the career development of the next 400 women architects, with an underlying focus on African American girls through exposure, mentorship, and financial assistance.
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