An Abundant Life - Designing Adventures

This past week and the week before were part of one of the times of the year that is such wonderful one for me. When the weather is beautiful and it's New York City X Design week too, there is something so special that happens all over New York City, with events and design talks and showrooms that are open to share their newest designs, visions, collaborations and special projects. I'll be writing about the different places I had the beautiful opportunity to visit in upcoming posts, but for today I'll focus on the event at Carl Hansen & Son.

For many years this company's designs have been classics that I've admired and enjoyed, and attending an event there for NYCXDesign and hearing a design talk about the topic of creating a circular and sustainable community in the design world was something that is so near and dear to my own heart that I knew the evening would be a special one. When I arrived and saw a room filled with their gorgeous chairs and seating, just waiting for us all to be seated for the talk, it was one of those moments when I thought how wonderful it would be to be able to go to events in a space like this one all the time where the chairs and couches were so beautiful and so comfortable that it felt as if were were in a luxurious and beautifully designed home. 

There was a wonderful man at a work table in one area, and we were invited to work along side of him to assemble our own miniature version of one of their classic chairs. He had traveled from Denmark, and had brought pieces which had been prepared for us to put together very easily, but there was a lovely touch that they still needed to be sanded so that each piece was smoothed and finished and would fit well in the places where the pieces needed to be joined. Speaking with this wonderful craftsman about the company and his own work there was part of the fun and enjoyment, and having one of these small chairs to bring home was delightful and such a refreshing part of the experience. I had to ask for his help to fit my pieces together after sanding, and he did it so effortlessly. It was such a joyful time and I told him I'd love to bring the idea as a hands on activity to YES Gallery.

After the design talk I was able to take a short video of the lively room, and the photographs I took while I was there were so beautiful because of the gorgeous design and views. It was truly an evening that I will always remember in so many wonderful ways, and I'm so grateful to everyone for the blessing of being there and all that they did to make this adventure so beautiful and so special!

At Carl Hansen and Son

For A Design Talk

And Celebration

For NYCXDesign

https://www.carlhansen.com

  

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Growing Peacefully

I had a few moments on the day before Mother's Day to walk through YES Gallery and video the new show. I've been planting all kinds of seeds and wonderful herbs and flowering plants that I've found at the local sharing crate at the church garden up the block, and taking time after the last opening to just enjoy the space as I put things back in order and add new decorations and plant new plants for the summer. 

Right before the last opening celebration I found another bunch of wonderful vinyl records at an Estate Sale, this time they were mostly classical with a few favorite old musicals mixed in. I've been listening to those albums regularly, enjoying hearing the classical music that I've always loved and some of the pieces I used to play in my youth orchestra and chamber groups. Somehow at this time of the year with everything growing, the sounds of Mozart and Beethoven with a little bit of Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann mixed in along with Rogers and Hammerstein's The King and I and The Sound of Music are giving me so much beauty and joy and peace as I clean and rearrange and garden and plant seeds.

Beethoven's 9th was on when I took my walk around to video, and it really made me so happy to hear it. I'm so grateful for the gallery and for the beautiful people who visit and the beautiful inspiration that they bring and for the wonderful joy and beauty and peace that are brought to me in so many ways every time I am there.

A Walk Through

The New Show

"I Will Remember This Dream Of Gentleness"

At YES Gallery

With The Beautiful And Powerful Music Of Beethoven's 9th

On My Vintage Stereo

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Seaside Dreaming

As I've written in these pages before, I grew up in Massachusetts and spent time in the summers in Rhode Island. Though I've lived in other places now for many years, New England is where I go when I want to feel fully at home. Sometimes I can't go there physically, but if there's a way to visit in my dreams I'll try, and when I heard about a class at the marvelous De Gustibus Cooking School with the marvelous Chef James Hackney of the marvelous Wequassett Resort on Cape Cod, I felt like I needed to go.

Because of so many projects that are in my schedule right now, it's very difficult for me to take a vacation, though a vacation feels very much needed. Just thinking about Cape Cod and the food of my beloved New England and the coastal towns I've visited throughout my life from my earliest memories can bring me a feeling of being by the shore, having days at the beach and evenings outdoors by rivers and oceans, enjoying the gorgeous weather and healthy flavor-filled freshness of of the seafood and locally grown produce of farms and gardens.

I wrote about De Gustibus for the first time a number of years ago when I first attended a class there because of a Chef who I know who was part of a class there, and it's just an enjoyable experience. Sal who is the owner and host is such a wonderful presence and the feeling of gathering together with such congeniality around beautifully prepared menus made by excellent and knowledgable Chefs is delightful. It had been a while since I'd been back to De Gustibus, and the class with Chef Hackney and his marvelous staff was such a beautiful one to mark my return, bringing back so many beautiful memories of wonderful times by the sea as well and giving me new dreams of a new place I want to go to for a visit.

Chef Hackney has a truly stellar biography, having been the Chef de Cuisine at Boston's excellent and renowned award winning L'Espalier, he has brought five star dining to Wequassett, continually creating dining experiences that are written about in dreams and memories, blogs, newspapers, magazines and of course Forbes which continues to award Wequassett, Chef Hackney, his menus and the resort and and restaurant staff with the prestigious and notable five stars that are truly meaningful and not easily attained.

At De Gustibus, each course that arrived was so beautifully layered in flavors and textures, inventiveness and freshness, and the presentation made for lovely photographs and a gorgeous experience in every sense. An amuse bouche of oysters so fresh that the sea seemed to be right in the room with us, an exciting flavor combination of a newly imagined surf and turf, scallops gorgeously seared placed as a crown on a fennel salad, stuffed morels carefully prepared accompanying the freshest of Cod filets, and a dessert of fresh bee pollen honey ice cream with oat crumble created by the gorgeous Executive Pastry Chef Ashley Corrao brought the outdoors inside and gave us all an evening's vacation to the beautiful ocean country of the Cape. Each course was beautifully paired with wines from the Artisanal Collection by Freixenet Mionetto USA, adding their lovely dimensions to the delightful culinary adventure. With so much gratitude to all at De Gustibus and to Chef Hackney and his marvelous staff for the seaside dreams you created and made possible!

Chef James Hackney

Executive Chef Of Wequassett Resort

Harwich Massachusetts

With Paired Wines

From The Artisanal Collection

By Freixenet Mionetto USA

At De Gustibus Cooking School At Macy's

https://degustibusnyc.com/

https://www.freixenetmionettousa.com/

https://wequassett.com/

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - The Art Of Sharing Our Gifts

I wrote a bit last week about the opening of the new show at YES Gallery and the wonderful people who shared their gifts and blessings to help make it so beautiful and possible, and this week I'll show some videos to focus on the gorgeous art and wonderful visitors in the space and that beautiful day and the gorgeous music and the gorgeous charcuterie and gorgeous film installation. When I am thinking about that day all I can think of is the joy of every moment, and how even passers by were smiling. When we share our gifts in community, everything that we bring together becomes even more beautiful than it is already on its own, and beautiful moments abound and lift off into something larger than ourselves. People keep telling me that YES Gallery has beautiful light, that everything looks beautiful there, that videos and films look like they were done on movie sets, that the sound quality is excellent for live music and vocals. The space itself is like a canvas, and I have joy every day just adding to the installation with the inspiration of grace and the spirit that flows through everything there. When beautiful people bring their gifts and blessings and inspiration into the gallery for events and performances, and for sharing with others on an every day basis, something happens that magnifies what is already beautiful and creates an experience of gorgeous abundance. 

YES Gallery

"I Will Remember This Dream Of Gentleness"

Opening Celebration

With Gorgeous Music

By The Gorgeou SofieLopez

Gorgeous Artisanal Charcuterie

By The Marvelous Executive Chef Season Shouse

Of The Marvelous Halifax Restaurant in Hoboken

And A Gorgeous Video Installation

By The Marvelous Luke Magette

Adding To The Gorgeous Work

Of Many Gorgeous Artists And People

Who Help Make It Possible

408 6th Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

Blessings,

Jannie Susan