Articles

British Nobility and the Chesterfield Sofa

Chesterfield sofas are distinguished by their timeless silhouette, with rolled arms the same height as the backrest, and typically upholstered in tufted leather. They are simultaneously regal and c...

The Plight of Jewish Relics During WWII

While it's often difficult to think past the sheer human loss of the Holocaust, it's still relevant and deeply saddening to think of the Jewish history and culture lost at the same t...

The History of the Barber Pole

You see them, hanging on the exterior of a building, or maybe through a picture window of a store. The red white and blue stripes lit up, spinning and seen from blocks away. The Barber Pole. Natu...

Mark Tochilkin and Artist Repression in the Soviet Union

Artist Mark Tochilkin, born in 1958, was born in present day Ukraine, and grew up in the Soviet Union. While he displayed a propensity for art very early on, the Soviet Union was far from being a f...

Utopian Communities and Decorative Arts - Studio Alchimia

While not exactly 'Utopian', Studio Alchimia was a collective of Italian radicals that used design as a means to combat inequality and consumerism in the second half of the 20th century. As a precu...

Utopian Communities and Decorative Arts - The Shakers

One of the earliest and most successful spiritual communities known for their furniture making were the Shakers. While Shaker communities were rigid in their guidelines and way of life, they were a...

Fern Coppedge & The Philadelphia Ten

Fern Coppedge knew from an early age that she was different.  The snowy Pennsylvania landscapes that she is best known for were always, to her, accurate representations of the deep purples, blues, ...