Design Dynasties, Pictures the Tabloids Would Like to Get

Some of the hottest topics on design are on the agenda at LEGENDS X, one of the most highly acclaimed design extravaganzas in America taking place this year on May 8 to 10 in the La Cienega Design Quarter.

This year, LEGENDS again offers TLC Forums, a series of programming presented by 1stdibs and aimed at architects and designers. TLC Forums tackle specific subjects that bring up opportunities for introspection, reflection and debate. (TLC stands for The LEGENDS Council, an appellation for past and present panelists, moderators and window designers who have engaged in the dialogue about design, as well as members of the Design Leadership Network, Leaders of Design and ICAA.)

All in the Family

The TLC Forum “All in the Family,” moderated by Anthony Barzilay Freund, 1stdibs Editorial Director, who oversees the website’s weekly online Introspective Magazine, offers a behind- the scenes look at the oldest continuously operating design firm in America: McMillen Inc. Founded in 1924 by Eleanor Brown and headed by New York designer Betty Sherrill from 1972 to 2002, the firm, long serving Social Register clients and others, from Sutton Place to Southampton to Hobe Sound, today is run by her daughter Anne Pyne, president, and granddaughter, Elizabeth Pyne Singer, who oversees the design division. Both Pynes will travel from New York to be on the panel discussion alongside designer Robert Stilin, a leading light of the contemporary design scene who operates a ten-person company with offices in New York and East Hampton and specializes in art-filled homes for well-heeled collectors. Stilin, too, has begun a design legacy as his son, Dylan Stilin, follows in his father’s footsteps working at upstart hybrid Brooklyn design firm ASH NYC.

Freund will probe the parent-child relationship on business and personal levels, asking the designers how they get along — or don’t, what inspires them about the other and what they would like to change about the other. Questions about legacy and nepotism (how easy/difficult is it to park your parent-child relationship at the front door of your firm and spend the day interacting as colleagues among other colleagues) will be at the forefront of the conversation. The other TLC Forums also examine design topics with experts from around the country who have graciously accepted LCDQ’s invitation to participate in LEGENDS:

Then is Now

At “Then is Now,” Mieke Ten Have, contributing editor to WSJ magazine, New York design editor of Cultured, and other publications, will explore how objects from the past are effectively utilized in homes today with Southern California design pros Alexandra Loew, who is also an architect; Windsor Smith, interior designer; and Ellen Brill, set decorator.

Made by Hand

Ted Loos, New York Times and Introspective contributing writer on art, culture and wine, takes on the topic of artisanry and the respect for craft and how design that is made by hand is incorporated into projects in which they will be properly appreciated. Joining him in the conversation “Made by Hand” are Achille Salvagni, architect and designer from Italy; Benoist F. Drut, owner of Maison Gerard in New York; and L.A.- based Hammer and Spear designer Kristan Cunningham, all of whom create, deploy or sell objects and design that are made by hand. And to provide some tabloid-style titillation, Linda O’Keeffe will explore interesting stories of “Secret Spaces” — personal spaces that you will not see on the pages of your favorite shelter magazine — with designers Cliff Fong, of L.A.’s Matt Blacke; Jamie Drake of Drake/Anderson in New York; and Lauren Kruegel Siroky of New York’s Robert A.M. Stern architecture firm, all of whom have strict “nondisclosure clauses” with some of America’s most famous personages in film, business and society.

Secret Spaces in Private Places

And to provide some tabloid-style titillation, Linda O’Keeffe will explore interesting stories of
“Secret Spaces” — personal spaces that you will not see on the pages of your favorite shelter
magazine — with designers Cliff Fong, of L.A.’s Matt Blacke; Jamie Drake of Drake/Anderson in
New York; and Lauren Kruegel Siroky of New York’s Robert A.M. Stern architecture firm, all of
whom have strict “nondisclosure clauses” with some of America’s most famous personages in
film, business and society.

The Forums are on Wednesday and Thursday, May 9 and 10. For a schedule and to register, click here.