Foscarini Acquires Ingo Maurer, Designer Birdhouses Take Over the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and More News

Christie’s makes its Aspen debut

Auction behemoth Christie’s has savored a fruitful 20-year relationship with the posh resort town of Aspen, whether in the form of film screenings or art collector dinners. Those connections have now spawned an official Christie’s outpost downtown that opened June 16 and will close for the season in September. The two-story 2,635-square-foot building was first designed as a gallery for Marianne Boesky by Selldorf Architects (the studio also handled Christie’s new 20 Rock galleries in New York) in 2017, flaunting polished concrete floors, a deck, and an outdoor sculpture garden. “We are delighted that the space we designed will continue to be used as a place to see modern and contemporary art,” says Annabelle Selldorf, founding principal at Selldorf Architects. “In renovating and expanding the original cabin that dated from 1886, we wanted to create a place that would be welcoming to all members of the vibrant Aspen community with windows onto the street and abundant daylight and views.”

Vivrelle unveils New York flagship

Thanks to Vivrelle, the upscale rental service founded by Blake and Wayne Geffen, members can borrow a slew of designer handbags, jewelry, and watches. At the brand’s just-opened 14,000-square-foot showroom and lounge in New York’s NoMad neighborhood, courtesy of local designer Hilary Matt, they can personally try on the rotating assortment of goods before chatting over cocktails whipped up at the animated bar. To ensure the glitzy merchandise remains the centerpiece, Matt opted for a neutral palette enlivened by glam jolts of pink.

In the News

AIA New York awards $10,000 to on-the-rise BIPOC architects

To help champion much-needed diversity in the field of architecture, AIA New York inaugurated its 2030 Fund, established by the chapter’s 2021 president, Kenneth A. Lewis, in collaboration with the New York chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA). Designed to support NOMA’s 2030 Challenge, which strives to double the number of licensed Black architects in the U.S. by the end of the decade, the fund provided six awardees with $10,000 to assist with paying off their debilitating student loans. The recipients, who identify as Black, Native American, or Latinx, are all serious about pursuing architecture careers, and along with the financial boost, they will attend complimentary ARE prep courses and meet quarterly with mentors.

In Memoriam

Beloved Design Publicist Susan Becher Has Passed Away

Susan Becher, a pioneering force in design-related public relations and a beloved presence on the New York design scene for decades, passed away on June 3. Becher launched her eponymous firm in 1982. Her first client was Sam Flax, the once ubiquitous destination for art and office supplies. Over the next 35 years, she worked with a constellation of the industry’s top designers and brands, a heavyweight roster that included Victoria Hagan, Orlando Diaz-Azcuy, Thomas Jayne, Cassina, Boffi, Marimekko, and Waterworks, among many others. She also championed a wide range of companies and institutions through pro bono work and old-fashioned activism, chief among them the Alpha Workshops, the nation’s first nonprofit organization dedicated to decorative arts education and employment for adults with disabilities, which was founded by Ken Wampler in 1995 in response to the AIDS epidemic. Beyond her estimable professional accomplishments, Becher will be remembered for her extraordinary generosity of spirit, her quick wit and humor, her mentorship of young talent (with an emphasis on uplifting women in the workplace), and a fierce intelligence that allowed her to place design within a broader context of shifting social, cultural, and political trends.