Jewish Relief Agency: A Miesian Out of the Box Concept

This video brings a lump to my throat.
I am so honored that I know some of the folks responsible for this amazing food-relief agency in Philly.
And I know that if ever we needed the help, we could get it from JRA.

 

Just tonight I was looking at a book entitled 50 Bauhaus Icons You Should Know.  Not too impressed, but I always thought that Mies van der Rohe coined the concept of thinking out of the box.  Didn't think my memory was shot yet, but I found little online to back myself up.  Not that I'm wrong.  And isn't he also credited with "form follows function"?  Yet the wiki entry gives credit to Louis Sullivan.  Must be my 40 year old brain talking.

JRA calls their video Beyond the Box, and I'm good with that.

But the founders of the agency are out-of-the-box thinkers, whether they're interested in the Bauhaus or not.

Had To Cry Today, Yep I Got the Faith!

Looking at that subject heading, you thought I cried today?  Had a g'shrai?

I'm talking Steve Winwood sang the life-changing "Had To Cry Today,"  the other night at The Greek.

It's already written that today will be one to remember
The feeling's the same as being outside of the law
Had to cry today
Well, I saw your sign and I missed you there

-Blind Faith

Many thanks to Mr. Bob Lefsetz who continually informs about the music industry.  He heard Steve belt this one out the other day.  About it, Bob says: 

"it connected in a way regular life never did...so as to believe that everything truly could be right with the world, that someone got it, and if we could just go on the road with the band our lives would be perfect."     -Bob Lefsetz

These are pretty powerful words.  Bob knew the scene back in '60s and, from my layperson's perspective, knows the commercialized music scene today.  Music wasn't just a magic carpet ride to an imaginary place, but the young music fans believed wholeheartedly that the music would transform their existence, their country, their planet.  The messages found in music like Winwood's are still fresh and powerful.  Maybe we're not roadies, but we can still apply these words to our daily lives.  Anyway, I like my flannel sheets from the Company Store.  They don't have those on tour.

Do you see or not see someone's sign and ever "miss you there"?

I wonder if Jason Flom, a music industry executive whose daughter I had the pleasure of teaching in the late '90s, respects Bob's insights.  I mean, I  think they're good.  I think historically Jason has been a successful outside-of-the-box thinker in the music biz.   

But, Jason was there, too, well, at least in the 70s. He gets the spirit of the '60s, for sure.  Just don't have peanuts on your breath if you ever have the chance to meet him because he's got a severe peanut allergy.  You'd know that, too, if you kept up with your New Yorker readings.

Here's an incredible preservation of Blind Faith's only live recording of "Had to Cry Today," and their first gig, to boot!

This is an important video for all peoples to view in its entirety.

 

Note Steve's purple shirt.
If you can groove along to this tune, we have stuff to talk about.

Jonathan Adler Isn't Miesian. And That's Okay

The simple excuse for not getting myself until last weekend to the Jonathan Adler store in Old City is that I am new to town.  Just ignore that I moved here more than six months ago.

You would think someone like me who loves Bauhaus minimalism, midcentury design and pines for a Barcelona Chair wouldn't be into all of Jonathan's colors.  Oh no!  I am!  I am!  I am!

Everything that I have read about Jonathan's great style is true from the looks of this fabulous shop.  Jonathan is a design sweetheart.  Sure, he speaks to the current zeitgeist of reclaiming trendy stuff from the 70s (like needlepoint pillows), but I know he will continue to wow the design world when tastes change.  Stango, who is my husband and sometimes a pessimist, said it is all too obvious and wasn't as impressed as me.

Like, when I showed him this awesome wall from the back of the shop, he wasn't too psyched:

I love that quotation!

You know what, Stango?  Take two happy chic pills and get back to me in the morning.

I loved the wallpaper in the junior section downstairs which caters to the younger set.   It reminded me of the wallpaper from my own 1970s room as a baby, but after texting her the image of it from the store, my mom disagreed.  Hopefully I will upload a photo of it here one day and you will see where I was going with that.  At least nice women in the shop gave me a sample.  What was I gonna do with the sample?

With glue and a blank book, in an instant I made a cute notebook.   Yay for utilitarianism!

Finally, at the entrance of the shop, they were selling Simon Doonan's book.  In case you didn't get the memo, Jonathan and Simon are married.  Simon is also a design guy.  He is a big guy at Barney's.  Haven't I already told you somewhere on my blog that I love W Magazine and that's where I get a lot of good info?  But remember to read the articles more than study the fashion.  Don't focus too much on the photos, other than for art's sake.  I'm not joking, BTW.  There's a lot of narishkeit (nonsense) there.

if you go to his website www.simondoonan.net/home you can buy it there!

I guess if it is your own store, you can sell your husband's stuff up front and center.