Ink dish has gone international. Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto and Commissaires in Montreal are now both carrying Ink Dish modern dinnerware.

Art Gallery of Ontario (Musée des beaux-arts de l’Ontario) is one of the largest art museums in North America with 480,000 sq ft of physical space. 5 years ago AGO embarked on a $250 million redevelopment plan led by famed architect Frank Gehry.

Inside the building is housed “Massacre of the Innocents” by Peter Paul Rubens, “Christ Washing the Disciples’ Feet” by Tintoretto, and works by Picasso, Van Gogh, Andy Warhol and Sculptor Henry More among many, many others.

In the gift shop you can find works by such greats as Paul Timman.

Commissaires – is  a gallery, a museum and a design-forward gift shop, all in one.

“The idea was to sell design in another context – a store that acts as a gallery, said owner-curator Pierre Laramée, who opened on St. Laurent Blvd. near Fairmount St. four years ago as a rush of designers was putting Mile End on the style map. Works are typically shown for about three months, and are augmented by more accessible, permanent items like furniture, jewellery and scent. There are occasional photography exhibits, as well.” – Montreal Gazette

If you’re going to enter a new market, you might as well start at two of the top spots for design gifts in the country.

At Ink Dish we bring the talents of contemporary artists to a new medium by creating beautiful, functional dinnerware. In doing so we get to partner with some really inspiring retailers. At the top of that list is the shop at the Walker Art Center. The Walker is a contemporary art center in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is considered one of the nation’s “big five” museums for modern art along with the Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum and the Hirshhorn.

We love working with museums because we all speak to the same people. Our customers love design. They love art. They love typography. They love fashion. They love creativity. The Walker’s mission is to be: “a catalyst for the creative expression of artists and the active engagement of audiences, examines the questions that shape and inspire us as individuals, cultures, and communities.” – I wish I had said that.

The next time you viist the twin cities, The Walker Art Center is on a 17 acre urban campus that includes both buildings and parks. If you get there before November 29th you can go see  Dirt on Delight: Impulses That Form Clay. Our molded clay hasn’t made it inside any museum exhibitions yet, but we’re trying… In the meantime you can see Impulses That Form Clay in the museum and our functional adaptation of clay in the Walker’s shop.

For the past 15 years Lisa Newman Paratore has been a leading interior designer featured in Better Homes and Gardens, the Boston Globe Magazine and even This Old House. She “is best known for eclectic and inviting designs, reflecting her fashion and art background. Upon completion of each project, Lisa believes the space should be a reflection of her client’s personal style, as well as a comfortable and functional space that is a pleasure for the homeowner.”

Lisa has now opened Homestyle. With Homestyle the “homeowner” is the design savvy residents of Providence, RI – home of the Rhode Island School of Design.

Lisa says, “Homestyle combines fine art, home furnishings and gifts for a uniquely enjoyable shopping experience.  The overall aesthetic is modern and artful without being stark.  Vintage and organic pieces are sprinkled among the clean lines of classic contemporary and whimsical items.  Art is an integral part of the environment.  A black and white photograph may hang in the same vignette as an antique impressionist painting, a vintage Asian trunk and a mid-century modern sofa, creating space that is both personal and interesting… not a traditional “furniture store” display.You will always find a tremendous selection of extraordinary gifts in many categories.”

Ink Dish’s tattoo inspired porcelain dinnerware adds another category to the already wonderful selection at Homestyle.

Photo via www.flickr.com/photos/rsfrd/328544813

To describe the Curatorium in Providence you need to start with the Rhode Island School of Design, which is the heart of Providence’s culture of art and design. RISD is the number one Fine Arts Program in the Country according to many including US News and World Report. The application to get into RISD is a bit different then most. “The first drawing must represent a bicycle; the second drawing may be of any subject or situation but your finished drawing must utilize both sides of the sheet of drawing paper; for the third drawing, begin with a sheet of paper, alter the form of this paper in any way you wish and then make a drawing of this altered form.” The requirements have changed some over the years, but the infamous bicycle drawing is permanent part of the test and has become quite infamous amongst alumni, and those passed over.

RISD’s notable alumni are as varied as they are impressive. Three whose bicycles were deemed worthy are illustrator/street artist Shepard Fairey of ‘Obey the Giant” fame, Dale Chihuhy whose glass sculptures dominate the V & A museum in London and the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas, and animator Seth MacFarlane who created the Family Guy.

With all of this creative talent RISD decided to create a retail store, that is where Matt Bird comes in, “I was working as a wholesaler and manufacturer, when RISD approached me about a project they were developing, RISD Works. It was going to be a retail store which sold artwork and designs by RISD alumni. I worked on developing a business plan, designing the fixtures, pretty much everything to get the store up and running. I was there about 5 years. After leaving RISD Works, I was freelancing and teaching part time. I saw a “FOR RENT” sign go up on Wickenden St., in a location that I knew would be great for a gift shop. So I jumped right in, and used everything I’d learned from my previous experience to get this store going.” (read the full interview at Design Glut )

“This store” is the Curatorium. When Yankee Magazine gave it an editors choice award it said, “Curatorium is the brainchild of owner Matt Bird, whose motto is “Everything Deserves Curation.” And he doesn’t disappoint”.

A yelper agrees, “[Their] philosophy that is evident throughout this well-decorated store and its carefully selected, meticulously displayed merchandise. The items here are varied, but lean heavily toward designer dishes and kitchen utensils, Asian-inspired objects and kitsch, cards and stationery, jewelry, and books. I particularly love the books, which seem to be chosen for their design (always good) as well as their content (always offbeat and fun). The staff is incredibly nice… Best of all, the prices vary from three bucks to a couple hundred bucks, meaning that you can buy someone something cute without breaking your budget, whatever it may be.”

Chief Curator Matt Bird probably says it best in his own words, “Everything in The Curatorium is well considered. Both the $5- insect stickers and the $240- star lantern are well designed, well made, useful, amusing, attractive, even irresistible. The plush warthog was probably made as a child’s toy. That it gracefully balances realism with charm guarantees its appeal to adults too. Part design store, part Natural History Museum, part small-town gift shop, The Curatorium offers something for everyone, and gifts for all occasions, in all price ranges.”

Ink Dish is thrilled to be on the shelves, cool dinnerware right next to the plush warthog.

The Rhode Island School of Design

Boston and New York rarely agree on anything. Koo de Kir is an exception. Boston Magazine in their Best of Boston issue said “Koo de Kir’s straight-out-of-a-Dwell-spread salesclerks take the intimidation out of mod design with their friendly, helpful hints and advice, letting shoppers spice up their abodes with confidence.”

The New York Times added “Kristine Irving has been in retailing since college, when she and a fellow student at Massachusetts College of Art and Design opened a gallery called ArtSmart in Boston. Her current retail endeavor, almost 20 years later, is a shop called Koo de Kir (a phonetic spelling of the French coup de coeur, or ‘’strike to the heart”) in Beacon Hill. Ms. Irving said the shop sells ”elegant things you can use — this is not a tchotchke house.” She mixes reupholstered vintage furniture with contemporary faux bois pieces and plenty of tabletop items, and also offers interior design services.”

Kristine’s own goal is “to host a stylish, intimate retail environment that engages the senses and encourages the celebration of living. It is our wish that the experience in the store and on the website inspires you to think, dream, live laugh and love in an home imbued with a sense of style.”

If she can get New York and Boston to agree then she must be doing something right. We are just thrilled that Ink Dish is now part of the stylish and intimate environment that Koo de Kir has worked so hard to perfect.

So, pick up an Ink Dish four piece dinnerware set at Koo de Kir and walk over to Boston common for a picnic that is sure to turn heads.

Koo de Kir – Accessories for an Urban Lifestyle

Speaking to a friend about Ink Dish in Boston, they said you have to find a shop in the South End. Speaking to anyone in Boston’s trendy South End when you ask about home furnishings they point you to Lekker Home.

Whether the chicken or the egg came first is debatable. New York Magazine says “The South End has become a magnet for home design ever since Natalie van Dijk Carpenter opened Lekker here five years ago.” Natalie is a bit more modest as quoted by Design Sponge “Natalie believed their neighborhood had become a “centrifuge of creativity and artistic expression”- therefore the perfect location for Lekker Home”. Either way, today Lekker Home and the South End are the center of home furnishings in Boston.

Lekker Home has also been covered by the Dwell, Lucky, O, Domino (bow your heads to the departed magazine), and Best of Boston. Lekker is “the Dutch work for alluring, enticing and attractive. Browsing the website and the large showroom will show you why.

Owners Natalie and Curt “believe it is important to furnish a home with items that are direct reflections of the people who live there. Lekker provides an environment that creates a symbiotic relationship between our unique portfolio and your inspiration. Lekker is a place to absorb new ideas, expand one’’s creativity, explore new products and transport them to your lekker home.”

Here is one Yelpers take, “I stumbled upon this shop my chance, and am now in love!… I fell in love with their table settings-they’re unlike any others you will find in Boston.”

With Ink Dish in the mix we hope that more and more people find love and dinnerware, tableware at Lekker Home.

The more cities I visit the more unique stores I come across. I.D. Chicago is the fusion of contemporary furniture, dinnerware and eyewear. Steven has a great eye for design, and his partner Greg is licensed to make sure our eyes are seeing straight.

According to Design Sponge”"ID Chicago is a great design shop that carries really unique home accessories, furniture and even eyewear if you’re in the market for some new specs.”

In addition to great design, the reason we knew the that Ink Dish’s contemporary dinnerware was a great fit was I.D.’s emphasis on the stories behind the products they carry. Paul Timman is one the of the top tattoo artists in the world and I.D. understands the value in that. We aren’t the only one’s to see that: “In my experience the very best.. I mean to say whatever they carry, they make sure it’s interesting and beautiful.  I would challenge anyone to find a piece that doesn’t have a story in this upscale boutique.” – Yelper

If you are looking for contemporary dinnerware or eyeglasses in Chicago check out I.D. In their own words, “In a conscious departure from the traditional and trendy design, I.D. brings a modern point of view to Chicago’s Northside. I.D. features modern furnishings for the person who creates their own personal style… Everyone at I.D. Chicago believes that your style should reflect WHO YOU ARE. For designs that allow you to LIVE WHO YOU ARE…visit I.D.”

We have been available in L.A. for a while now, but I am happy to announce that we have just added a great retailer in Silver Lake, an area that is a great fit for Urban Dinnerware like Ink Dish. Silver Lake is bohemian neighborhood just east of Hollywood “inhabited by a wide variety of ethnicities and socioeconomic groups, but it is best known as an eclectic gathering of hipsters, the creative class and a noticeable presence of LGBT people.: (Wikipedia)

Of course Yolk would be a perfect for us no matter where it was. A little about Maria in her own words: “One: I am obsessed wth color, in every bright shade and clashing combo. Two: All of the Scandinavian design stuff that I grew up with (being a Swede) is still some of the most beautiful stuff out there (think big Marimekko prints, simple oak furniture and crazy wooden toys). Three: A store should be somewhere that makes you feel warm and fuzzy, especially when it’s in such a cool neighborhood like Silverlake.”

To quote a Los Angeleno on Yelp: “This place IS INTERIOR HEAVEN”.

Wacko (Soap Plant) in 1974

I don’t know whether to start with the man, the store, the gallery, or the history. The story of Wacko on Hollywood Blvd. in L.A. is a long one. Paul Timman introduced me to this store. Paul needed some reference materials for Irezumi tattoo designs and said that wacko was the mecca for tattoo art books in L.A. The shop is great resource for anything tattoo related, but it is a lot more. “It’s the down and dirty underbelly of art. You know all the really cool stuff that most places aren’t hip to yet…and probably never will be.” – Los Angeles Black Book

Wacko / Soap Plant has been around for more than 30 years in L.A. from Melrose to Sunset to its home sine 2000 on Hollywood Blvd. The store and attached art gallery was founded and is run to this day by Billy Shire.

“La Luz de Jesus Gallery was established in 1986 in Los Angeles, California as the brainchild of entrepreneur and art collector Billy Shire. Shire is considered largely responsible for fostering a new school of art in Los Angeles prompting JUXTAPOZ Magazine to dub him “the Peggy Guggenheim of Lowbrow.”

La Luz de Jesus showcases mainly figurative, narrative paintings, and unusual sculpture. The exhibitions are considered post-pop; the art content ranges from folk to outsider to religious to sexually deviant. The gallery’s main objective is to bring underground artists and counter culture to the masses.

The gallery opens a new exhibit every month, with an opening reception that Details Magazine calls “the biggest and best party in Los Angeles.”

Wacko is a must see if you are in L.A., even if you don’t need a book on Irezumi Tattoo Art just walk in and look around. Ink Dish is very happy to have been picked to live there. As one Yelper said of Wacko “A needle in the LA haystack.” If you are stuck in the house there are some great old photos, business cards, and store calenders on their website. http://www.soapplant.com

Wacko in 2000 on Hollywood Blvd

Hillcrest was one of my first stops when I moved to San Diego, brought about by recommendations from friends and the description in the Fodor’s Guide: “Northwest of Balboa Park, Hillcrest is San Diego’s center for the gay community and artists of all types. It truly is one of the city’s most interesting neighborhoods, and welcoming to all. University, 4th, and 5th Avenues are filled with cafés, a superb collection of restaurants (including many outstanding ethnic eateries), and boutiques.”

On University (and as often through Design Sponge) I found Pomegranate Home. I love the description from one reviewer on Yelp: “Pomegranate Home is a hip and contemporary metro-chic home decor cavern.” Describing themselves Joel says: “Just like our namesake the pomegranate, our collection is rich, intriguing and truly out of the ordinary. Unique, sophisticated, and varied, Pomegranate Home is overflowing with sumptuous treasures to enhance your home, office, and life!”

As anyone in search of Modern Tableware Sets can tell you, no metro-chic home decor cavern is complete without Tattoo art modern dinnerware sets. Enjoy Hillcrest and when you are there check out Ink Dish at Pomegranate Home.