Christmas came early yesterday at my house! I treated myself to some major design porn and ordered François Catroux, an exquisite pictorial of this French designer’s most memorable work published by Rizzoli.
For those of you who are not familiar with Monsieur Catroux, he was born in Algeria to French parents and attended school with none other than Yves St. Laurent. He migrated to New York in 1960 and was introduced to the great Billy Baldwin and, voila, the inspiration for his future career was born! Catroux never attended design school, rather learning his craft by observing great design while a location scout for Elle magazine in New York during the early 1960’s. Catroux became fascinated with American design in this period, especially the fusion of classic French design with modernism. Photo of Betty and François in 1972, via WSJ.
He returned to Paris and landed the commission of fashion designer Mila Schoen’s Milan showroom. The modern, somewhat futuristic design caused a sensation and landed Monsieur Catroux on the cover of the prestigious French design magazine L’Oeil. He also married Betty Saint, a Chanel model at the time. Betty became one of Yves St. Laurent’s fashion muses and together, Francois and Betty joined St. Laurent’s inner circle of jet-setting friends.
On Madison gives you a peek at some of our favorite rooms in a book full of gorgeous rooms. Pur plaisir!
It’s almost Hallo-weekend and we’ve got a list of thrilling things to do in and around town. Here are some spooky (and not-so-spooky) options to fill your weekend with:
In conjunction with the holiday, we recommend the Guillermo Del Toro: At Home with Monsters exhibition currently on view at LACMA to fulfill your monster hunting quota for the weekend.
Mexican born director Guillermo Del Toro (of Crimson Peak, Pacific Rim, & Hellboy fame) has his first museum retrospective displaying his vast collection of media (paintings, drawings, sculptures, personal notebooks, and much more) that illustrate his interest in the fantasy worlds he’s famous for creating on the big screen. On Madison saw the exhibit a few weeks ago; see above for a sneak peek of what you can expect.
If monsters don’t interest you, there’s an amazing full day of free arts activities happening this weekend on Grand Ave. The second annual Grand Ave Arts event will grant locals and visitors free access to Downtown Los Angeles’ thriving art institutions. Participants will have special events and activities going on throughout the day as well as free performances, behind-the-scenes tours, family activities and food trucks. Event and participant information here. Complete list of festivities here.
For all the Modernism lovers out there, we’re ecstatic for the Modernism tent sale taking place Saturday. Hosted at the Modernica factory on Saco Street in Downtown Los Angeles, the sale will feature 80+ of the best vintage Midcentury Modern dealers throughout California. You’ll even be able to tour the factory and see how those famous fiberglass chairs are made. Bring the whole family: dogs are welcome, and there will be gourmet food trucks, coffee, and pastries available. Admission is $8. See updates via their Facebook page here.
It’s Friday which means it’s time for our second installation of Ms. Madison Styles your Weekend. We hope you enjoyed the first post last week and if you attended any of the events, let us know in the comments.
The weather has been reminiscent of Summer with weekend promises of around 80 degrees, so stay cool friends and have a wonderful weekend.
Here’s what’s going on this October 21st weekend in our beautiful city of Pasadena (and beyond):
Enjoy an entire roster of art filled fun during Art Night Pasadena this Friday evening, from 6-10pm. There will be live music and performances, and of course, art. Free shuttles will be available to escort you to any of the 18 different cultural institutions participating tonight, ranging from The Armory to Art Center and many more. See the full list of events here.
Watch the Arcadia Arboretum transform into a modern art installation featuring digital and video work by Natural Discourse, a group of artists curated by local artist and landscaper Shirley Watts who’s goal is to merge art, science, and nature in order to explore the relationship between technology and the natural world. 12 artists will be using the Arboretum as their canvas to weave video and interactive art installations throughout the Arboretum. There will also be live music, food trucks, beer and wine to round out the evening. It sounds like a very special event not to be missed.
New Restaurant Opening: Lost At Sea, Pasadena
Butter-poached lobster with a sweet corn velouté from Lost at Sea, Pasadena.
For the food lovers in Pasadena (especially all of us here at On Madison), get excited because there are a handful of restaurants opening up in the area that have sparked our interest. One of the most buzzed about that’s now open is Lost at Sea over on Holly street. Started by local chefs Tim Carey from Arcadia and Santos Uy from La Cañada, Lost at Sea specializes in none other than fresh, seasonal seafood and an impressive wine list worth mentioning as well. The octopus molé with strawberry and a sesame tuile sounds heavenly, as does the butter poached lobster pictured above. (Photo by Jenni Hwang)
57 Holly St., Pasadena. Open for dinner Tuesday-Sunday, 5:30-10pm.
It’s not exactly local, but it’s a favorite weekend trip of ours here at On Madison. Less than 2 hours from L.A. you can be transported into a midcentury heaven. Showcasing 40+ national and international dealers in art, vintage furniture, textiles, clothing, prints, and much more, there are an endless variety of goodies to oogle as you daydream about how you would deck out your Palm Springs pad. See the complete list of exhibitors and events here.
