Ritva Coffron – the Joie de Vivre Artist
A Ritva Coffron handkerchief can’t help but make you smile. Light and playful, cheerful and heartwarming, Coffron designs welcome you with joyful exuberance. Like many staff artists who worked for a corporation, Coffron’s work went unsigned, and we might never have discovered her identity without the help of her niece Marja. Luckily, Marja found this blog, and generously shared her handkerchief collection and stories about her aunt. As we know, some textile designers like Tammis Keefe, Carl Tait, or Tom Lamb, had exclusives for their designs with large retailers – B. Altman, Neiman...
Read MoreShakespeare in the Park
Summer spells surrender – to long sultry days, balmy twilights and star studded evenings. It’s a time to indulge not only in the pleasure of being outdoors, but perhaps even delight in the brilliance of a Shakespearean play. It’s gratifying to see people lining up for Shakespeare in the Park tickets before Central Park opens at 6:00 a.m. People know a good thing when they see it! From comedy to tragedy, to history, it’s all there for the taking. Comedy Tragedy History All’s Well That Ends Well As You Like It Comedy of Errors Love’s Labour’s Lost Measure for Measure...
Read MoreArtist’s View of New York
“London is satisfied, Paris is resigned, but New York is always hopeful. Always it believes that something good is about to come off, and it must hurry to meet it.” Dorothy Parker Just hearing the words New York conjures up more images than the mind can hold – from Wall Street to Park Avenue, Broadway to Central Park – the people, the pace, the passion – it’s all overwhelming. How could anyone attempt to capture the magic of the Big Apple in a simple handkerchief? Yet a select few have managed to portray the crackle and pop, the magnetism that is “the City”. Artists Carl Tait and Tammis...
Read MoreAntiques
“Collectors are happy people.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe A cursory glance at the September/October issue of Antiques Magazine confirms that fall heralds good hunting for antique lovers. Heirloom treasures abound at the International Show at Park Avenue Armory, Fall Antiques at Rhinebeck, Boston International Fine Art Show, Deerfield Antiques Show, Delaware Antiques Show, Philadelphia Antiques & Art Show, Shenandoah Antique Expo, Natchez Antique Forum, Louisiana Purchase Auction, Houston Antiques & Art & Design, San Francisco Fall Antiques Show, and that’s just the tip of the...
Read MoreParisian Cuisine
“Lunch kills half of Paris, supper the other half.” Charles de Montesquieu A three hour lunch in Paris is not out of the ordinary. Perhaps not every day, but more often than you might expect. No, people don’t eat for hours. They commiserate, laugh, discuss, pontificate, negotiate, argue, teach, reflect, flirt, cajole, tease, write and read. They refresh, restore, renew, and enjoy themselves. Not once in the time I spent in Paris did I see a single individual eating ‘on the go’ as has become the standard practice in the U.S. Even when folks grabbed a croque monsieur and Orangina from a...
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