View from the Zoo

Erica Perrot, former costume designer and sewing instructor, says that she always wanted to create a line of soft toys, so she had two children first! Her unique dolls and animals are made by hand in limited editions in Montreal. I first saw her animals (shown above) at the Souk, the alternative crafts show in town, last December. According to Erica, «raplapla» comes from the French and means «flat» like her toys but also means «blah», unlike her dolls, which are exuberant with their big smiles and electric hair. You can see her collections on her site and buy her dolls online at Etsy.

Sarah Richardson, an international trade lawyer (focusing on sustainability), has opened a beautiful gallery boutique in Montreal called CO. Her mission: to offer to Montrealers «beautifully designed objects from around the corner and around the world, which benefit the environment, the people who make them, and the people who ultimately enjoy them». Sarah has a great eye for art and design - among my favorites are the bowls and pencil holders (shown above) made by Wola Nani in South Africa using labels from food products. CO also has a wide price range from a few dollars to several thousands (the amazing furniture, for example). You can visit the gallery online here.

What is amazing about this beautiful wooden coffetable is that the ladybug pattern is actually made up of 1600 wood dots, all inlaid by hand! This imitates the halftone screening process used in printing newspaper photos, for example. Furniture designer Michael Iannone says, «I chose the ladybug because I think many people consider it a nonthreatening insect and it seemed to lend itself well to the halftone graphic.» It takes between four and five hours to inlay the dots. The coffeetable retails for 1800 $ US and can be ordered from Iannone Design Ltd. (a Philadelphia based design/build firm dedicated to the creation of eco-friendly modern furniture).

Noah’s Ark, a permanent exhibition at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles that opened last year features a huge wooden ark designed by Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects filled with 186 species of animals made from repurposed objects.  Part of the fun of the exhibit is identifying what objects were used to construct the animal. Most of the animals were designed by Alan Maskin, the leader of the design team who is a former children’s educator himself. 30 pairs of animals are puppets that were created by Christopher Green of Red Hook, Brooklyn. The New York Times published this wonderful article about the making of the animals and the conception of the ark. Watch the slide show and video if you can’t visit the real thing! Photos : Skirball Cultural Center.