Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/184500
on my back, as that was the only way to fit. I had a major panic attack about halfway in, as I'm quite claustrophobic and couldn't breathe. The flashlight had fallen out of my hand. I eventually found it and determined to find out what they had done for repairs. The main support beam had two-by-fours nailed to it on either side and a few cinder blocks for good measure. Otherwise, it was the same old beam. It had never been replaced. I assume the heavy beams went to the next job site. So much for a good start! I reported them to the Better Business Bureau. They were not even listed as an operating business. Needless to say, the number I had been calling was no longer a working number. Live and learn. THREE REASONS TO LOOK FORWARD TO FALL. First, I'm so excited to have a 25th anniversary dinner in my factory. I've never had an event in the factory. I've always thought it would be a great place for a party, so now is the time to put that theory to the test. The factory will be transformed into a wonderful nightclub and swank dining affair, with the 100-foot-long printing tables set for dinner. Second, I'm delighted to have a new venue with ID Collection showroom in Houston and Dallas. For the first time in five years, my product is available outside of my factory. Third, I'm also having a wonderful event in L.A. to celebrate Arena Design's 25th anniversary at Caché, located in the heart of the design district on Melrose, with a luncheon followed with a cocktail party. NEW AT ARENA DESIGN. Several new fabric and paper designs. Pavé, a shimmering, subtle impossibly wacky grid of three-inch squares on paper. I've used it on my ceiling for a twist on a mica flake. Discus, a geometric repeating sphere on jute is also being shown in four different colors. Sumba will make its debut, a painterly coarse-grain weave printed on high-gloss paper with a matte-top screen. Tigré, a luscious velvet in various colors as an upholstery fabric. Pená, a delightful large-scale print, also on jute and linen. I'll keep a few surprises to be revealed at the celebration at the factory. Above Putman's living-room work table is a portrait of Brigitte Bardot by Terry O'Neill. CLASSIC DESIGN VOLUMES IN YOUR LIBRARY. Oscar Niemeyer (by Philip Jodidio, Taschen), Patterns That Connect (by Carl Schuster and Edmund Carpenter, Abrams), DESIGNERS THROUGHOUT HISTORY YOU ADORE. Dorothy Draper, Syrie Maugham, John Dickinson and Tony Duquette. DESIGN OBJECT YOU LUST FOR. Balinese statue. Lauren Rottet's new sofa designs. FIRST PIECE OF ART. A Jim Hatchett wooden piece, Blood Test Altar, 1989. NEXT ART ACQUISITION. A fabulous Rauschenberg. BEST PAINTER. Rembrandt. BAR-CART STAPLES. Grey Goose with tart black cherry and club soda. ENTERTAINING STYLE. Very casual, usually in the kitchen in summer/winter, and in the garden for spring and fall. ON THE MENU. A crisp crostini followed by a house specialty prepared by my partner, Rudy Martinez: roasted rack of lamb with coarse salt and herbes de Provence, couscous and fresh peas. IDEAL NUMBER OF GUESTS. Eight. GO-TO SOURCES FOR FEATHERING YOUR NEST? If I told, I would be torched. Sorry! LAST FABULOUS FIND. A spectacular pair of French early 18th-century bronze handles incredibly designed and beautifully crafted, purchased at Settlers. FAVORITE PLACE TO STAY IN THE WORLD. La Réserve, Paris. ARENA AESTHETIC: IDEAL SECOND HOME. CREATING MANY LAYERS LIKE THE PEELING OF AN ONION. AS EACH LAYER IS REVEALED, IT BECOMES MORE TRANSPARENT AND THE CONTENT MORE EXPOSED. HOPEFULLY THE TEARS WILL BE OF JOY! OCTOBER | PAGE 60 | 2013 Puerto Vallarta with a spectacular view of the Pacific. BLOGS YOU TRAWL. Style Bastard. Clockwise from top: In the light-washed library off the entrance, the pagoda-inspired floor lamp also came with the house and has been a fixture in this spot for decades. Arena chicly replaced the original badly frayed shade with a black silk dupione one lined in golden silk. Flanking the lamp is a pair of vintage bleached ash chairs upholstered in the memorable Tigré, an Arena hand-embossed cotton velvet. Another signature touch is the ivory wool hand-woven flat-weave rug, artfully hand-screened with the Discus pattern in shades of cerulean and vermillion. Marble-topped chrome table is vintage Florence Knoll, topped by Turkish silver-washed copper bowl. Over the fireplace hangs Dog Boy, 2013, an acrylic on canvas inspired by Arena and Martinez's boxer. In the cool and calm sitting room, fragile Roman glass vases surround terracotta and stone artifacts from Cambodia, Thailand and Italy. An etching from Cambodia hangs in a wonderfully painted wooden frame. In the living room, an antique prayer rug beneath a crisp white Asian-inspired cocktail table. On the chocolate Italian leather sofa from High Fashion Home, Rufus, a rescue boxer, relaxes alongside a pair of hand-printed Arena silk faille throw pillows (Urn pattern in the color Dijon). The walls are treated with a plaster skim coat to create texture. The artisan's four-by-four-foot mixed-media Visitation, 2006, underscores his prowess as a painter.