Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/372562
DECORATION H olly Hunt is coming home again. Her story began in a small West Texas town; the budding interior design mogul, who studied English and textiles at Texas Tech, worked briefly at Foley's in Houston before heading to New York. She eventually landed in Chicago, where in 1983 she started a small showroom in the Chicago Merchandise Mart — one that made the international design world take notice. It was there she built her eponymous brand, selling contemporary pieces by the likes of mid-century modernist Karl Springer, making a name for Christian Liaigre stateside and taking on American couture designer Ralph Rucci, inspiring him to create his own furnishings collection. With a penchant for French that endures, she's wooed Gallic architect Jean- Michel Wilmotte and his countrymen, designer Tristan Auer and Christian Astuguevieille, into her exclusive design clique. While refining her eye for clean, modern lines and a pulled-back aesthetic (all fostered as a luxe, contemporary alternative during the opulent '80s, when frou-frou antiques and gussied-up upholstery ruled the interior landscape), she eventually created her own lines of furniture and fabrics, much of which is made in the U.S., including case goods produced by craftsmen in Texas. This summer, Hunt opened her first showroom in Dallas — a mighty 15,000-square-foot space — with a smaller 3,500-square-foot space opening in Houston this fall. These join seven other U.S. showrooms, as well as showrooms in Sao Paulo and London. Showroom manager Nancy Winston oversees both to-the-trade locations, filling them with the likes of Great Plains Fabrics, Alison Berger lighting and, of course, Holly Hunt leather, studio furniture and lighting. Laurann Claridge IWAN BAAN MARLENE ROUNDS ON THE HUNT SNAIL BRIDGE TO CATHEDRAL HEAVEN TUNE IN: ART21 Goddess Diane von Furstenberg's new collection of rugs for The Rug Company is rich in DVF imagery — no, this isn't a wrap rug, but Python Glory and Lilac Leopard in iterations so swank, we're spellbound. Of hand-knotted Tibetan wool, Lilac Leopard is $5,670 for 9x6 feet, and Python Glory is $7,236 for 9x6 feet. At The Rug Company. Dallas Design Center, 1025 N. Stemmons Freeway, Suite 590, 214.245.4770, hollyhunt.com UNDERFOOT SEED F ans of Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry soon will partake of another freethinker who's shaking up the field of contemporary architecture. This month, Nasher Sculpture Center rolls out its most exciting design and architecture show ever: a survey of the British wunderkind Thomas Heatherwick and his studio. "Provocations: The Architecture and Design of Heatherwick Studio" (September 13 – January 4) posits a transformative approach to the discipline of architecture, one way beyond the museum's previous exhibitions for Renzo Piano and Foster + Partners. This survey showcases a practice that interweaves sculpture, design, architecture, urban planning, engineering and new materials into a potent organic brew that argues for Heatherwick's place alongside Wright and Gehry as a pacesetter with a brilliant new approach to the built environment and product design. Born in 1970, Heatherwick attended the progressive Rudolph Steiner School as a teen, then went to university at Manchester Polytechnic, followed by a stint at the Royal College of Art. Patron Sir Terence Conran set the 20-something on his path with a commission to design his estate's gazebo. Another big break was the out-of-the-box plywood window, which burst from its panes and crawled over the façade of department store Harvey Nichols; the work was a sensation during London Fashion Week 1997. To learn how the architect and his studio went from designing The Zip Bag for Longchamp (as well as the retailer's Manhattan flagship) to the UK Pavilion (christened Seed Cathedral) for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo and, in between, created a bridge curling up like a snail near Paddington Station, you'll have to catch the Nasher show. Guest curator Brooke Hodge, deputy director of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in NYC, is a big architecture thinker who is perfectly matched to her subject. She'll be taking this show on the road after it leaves the Nasher to her own museum (June 21 – October 26, 2015) as well as The Hammer Museum (February 15 – May 24, 2015). Catherine D. Anspon Heatherwick Studio's UK Pavilion, Shanghai World Expo, 2007–2010 Wolfgang Laib T he series that took us up- close into artist studios returns for season seven when Peabody-garnering Art21 airs on PBS on four consecutive Fridays this fall (October 24 – November 14, 9 pm Central Time). Among the dozen creatives highlighted are five with Texas ties: Leonardo Drew, Omer Fast, Katharina Grosse, Joan Jonas and Wolfgang Laib (of the ritualistic installations employing beeswax and pollen). These talents have all had major solos at Dallas, Houston or San Antonio museums. Catherine D. Anspon Lilac Leopard Python Glory rug by Diane von Furstenberg, in situ Python Glory