An Abundant Life - Designing Inspiration

This past week was the International Contemporary Furniture Fair at the Javits Center in New York City. It's always such a wonderful and inspiring time when I visit, and for some reason this year I found myself meeting even more wonderful people than I have before. Perhaps it's because I am in the process of developing a new project and so I am seeing through the eyes of that excitement, but whatever the reason the people I met and the products that were on display were all things that gave me so much renewed energy and helped me to see new possibilities for this new project than I had ever thought of.

At one point in the day I found myself speaking with a furniture designer, and when I sat on his beautifully crafted rocking chair, we began a conversation that I think lasted nearly an hour. We talked about all kinds of things, fruit trees, historic sites, making beer and wine, and of course his beautiful furniture, and it seemed as if every thought I had he had an answer to, with more information or an idea that led me to another idea and another.

Throughout the day I had conversations like this, people who seemed to know what I was thinking and how I felt about the project that I'm developing, people who could see my vision right along with me and add their own to make it even greater. This is why events like this are so beautiful, because so many people are able to come together and meet in ways we might not be able to over the phone or by email or even on a one off in person visit.

I had such a beautiful day at ICFF as it is known, and I was so inspired by so many wonderful people. As I went into my week I kept thinking about the time we had shared and the conversations we had, and the beautiful and inspiring things I had seen and experienced. It is with so much gratitude that I write this, to everyone who organized the event and all the wonderful people I met, giving thanks to you all for the invitation to attend and for opening so many opportunities for conversation, inspiration and collaboration. Design is so inspiring when people share in this way, learning and growing and helping each other to reach even greater heights of imagination and ideas.

At ICFF

At The Javits Center

New York City

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

 

An Abundant Life - Designing Life

This week began NYCxDesign and also the International Contemporary Furniture Fair of ICFF as it is known. It's always a wonderful time of the year when it begins to be spring in full force and all the art and design community in New York City celebrates together along with people coming from all over the world.

I'll be writing more about individual showrooms and design houses and Designers and Artists and Artisans, but for now I wanted to share something that was such a very special personal moment that connected the dots of my life and made me take a moment to thank God once again for showing up and showing off, and for giving me the knowledge that though I may not understand anything that is happening sometimes, there is a plan that is much bigger than I am and if I can just keep walking in faith I'll see the picture come together in ways that are miraculous and beautiful and filled with joyful fun.

While at the SoHo design showroom celebrations on Saturday, I saw a woman who I've known for a few years now. I had met her in 2019 or so, and we see each other on occasion but it had been a while since we'd had a chance to talk. While we were sharing information about what we'd both been up to, she saw some friends of hers who I recognized also, and when she introduced us we all thought we must know each other but weren't quite sure how or when we'd met before.

We all left the showroom where we were at different times and met up again at another showroom in the same area. While we talked, one of the people the woman I knew had introduced me to asked me if I'd ever lived in a particular area of Manhattan which I had, and when I said yes and specified where, he said said with excitement and fun in his voice that it was when I was living there that we met. Right before that we had been talking about sailing, and it was the combination of the fact that we both loved sailing and that when he had arrived at the showroom where we now were and had given the names of the reservations for himself and his partner, it turned out that his partner's last name is the same as mine which is something that is really quite rare. There are people who have similar names, but they are usually spelled differently, and so that in itself was extraordinary. The combination of that and sailing helped him put the pieces of the puzzle together and remember when and where we met nearly 20 years ago.

It's at times like that when I just have to take a moment and say wow, God, and without understanding what the meaning or rhyme or reason is, to just have fun with the knowledge that something or someone I'd known before has reappeared now. I've written before about the fact that I love Charles Dickens novels and that God has a way of showing up by doing things that remind me of the way a Charles Dickens novel unfolds, and this moment was one of the moments that a person showed up again who I'd know many years ago, and though I don't know what the purpose is in the greater plot line, I can enjoy the fact of it in the here and now and be grateful for the goodness of God who always shows me that, even though I may not understand it, there is a design to my life that goes above and beyond my understanding and that will bring everything together beautifully.

A Beautiful Design For Life

NYCxDesign and ICFF

New York City

At Thuma

Where My New Old Friend

Remembered Our Meeting

Nearly 20 Years Ago

99 Wooster Street

New York City

https://www.thuma.co/soho-flagship

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Inspiring Conversations

I had the opportunity to attend Baruch College for a very special course a few years ago, a collaboration with the Partnership For After School Education which is also known as PASE that was a very intensive and educational, inspiring leadership training. Since that time I've had the blessing to be invited to a variety of wonderful events at Baruch, sometimes through PASE and sometimes through Baruch because in a wonderful way, because of the nature of the course I'm considered an Alum and part of the Baruch community now. 

The Lillie and Nathan Ackerman Lecture Series had a guest speaker this past week, Deborah N. Archer, the Author of Dividing Lines, and not only were the conversation that was hosted around her book and the lecture that she gave enlightening, but the conversations before and after with the people I met there were wonderful too. At the very beginning, when I first arrived, I met a young woman who had assisted in organizing the event, a graduate student whose focus was on the topic of discussion. Other guests who I met at my table during the lovely lunch before, and afterward as the event was finishing up, were so interesting to speak with as well because of their background and interests and professional as well as lived experience.  

Bringing people together around topics that are important to all of our well being brings out the best in all of us as we listen and learn and share about our experiences together. It was such a rainy day on the day of the lecture, but I was happy to travel in what could be considered inclement weather because of the experience I had there.

I'm so grateful for the time that I had at Baruch those years ago with PASE, and so grateful for my ongoing relationship with Baruch as a member of the community because of all of the wonderful and inspiring people I have met and events I attend there. Having the opportunity to gather together and have conversations like these reminds me of the goodness of people, and the ability we have, when we share and learn from each other, to bring renewal and a better future to our shared landscapes.

At Baruch College

For The Lillie And Nathan Ackerman Lecture Series

Marxe School Of Public And International Affairs

CUNY

151 East 25th Street

New York City

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Garden Walk

This past week I was invited to an event at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, and on a break I took a walk through the lilacs. The event I was attending was on the topic of coffee culture and I love coffee, and I am also interested in its cultural significance on a large scale and also personal level, so I was very excited when I received the information about the event and saw that I had time in my schedule for the trip there.

The Botanical Garden often has wonderful events and conferences and conversations like this, times where people can come together and share information. The fact that they are in such a beautiful place makes it a double blessing, and for me the trip itself is like an adventure. Arriving there and attending the event is a seemingly wondrous thing to me, and when I have time to be able to take a walk in the garden itself, it's truly miraculous.

When I thought about the timing of the event, I remembered that last year just around this time I had been able to attend another event of a different kind but one that was equally interesting and beautiful, and on my way from one place to another during the day I had seen that the lilacs were in bloom. On this trip I decided to see if the timing had worked out again and it had, and so I found myself taking a walk through the fragrant lilac filled walk and enjoying an absolutely gorgeous day there.

On my way to and from the Botanical Garden, I took a train ride from Grand Central Station which is something I've loved since childhood. The entire day was filled with beauty and beautiful memories, of long ago times in the garden I loved as a child up through all the years I've traveled to the Botanical Garden to visit for so many wonderful events. Taking a garden walk is always a joy to me, and this beautiful day in the Botanical Garden is one that I was so blessed by and so grateful for, filled as it was with moments to cherish that bring so much joy. 

A Garden Walk

Through The Lilacs

At The New York Botanical Garden

Bronx, New York

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Art Celebration

This weekend was the celebration of Garden State Art Weekend, an annual event that began last year. When I first was told about it a year ago, an Artist who has work in YES Gallery had sent me information about how to sign up to be listed, but it arrived after the time for signing up and I wasn't able to officially be a part of it. This year, a few people kept in touch with me to make sure that I was included, and even though my schedule has been so busy, because of all the well wishing people who kept helping me be a part of it, I found myself setting up events for the celebration. 

A few weeks before the Garden State Art Weekend was to begin, Kevin Kemper who had performed with his trio Plunk at YES Gallery last fall during the Hoboken Artists' Studio Tour stopped by, and when I told him about Garden State Art Weekend and invited him to perform again with Plunk, he agreed and also asked if he could perform a solo set. I was more than delighted to have him perform solo and with Plunk, and even more delighted when I heard him perform solo on Saturday. This weekend is such a full one, and I won't write much now, but here's a little listen to the gorgeousness we were treated to with Kevin playing solo as we celebrated art of all kinds at YES Gallery.

 

The Marvelous Kevin Kemper

Performs A Solo Set

At YES Gallery

408 6th Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Lovely Meetings

When I was on my way to meet with the marvelous Artist Jason Brian Fox when he had his booth at the New York Art Expo, a gorgeous experience and blessing that I wrote about last week, I saw someone I hadn't seen in quite a while on one of the days when I was walking through my old neighborhood in SoHo. The marvelous Artist and Photographer Benjamin Oliver lives right around the corner from where I lived for a number of years, but I didn't meet him when I was living there. I met him after I'd moved away, one evening when I attended an opening launch of a design space in SoHo during an evening celebration that was filled with all kinds of glamorous and exciting creative people, and Benjamin was one of the most captivating in the room. We got to talking in a room that was overflowing with people and music and design and art of all kinds, and he invited me to join him at a party he was planning as the beginning of a series called "Love Will Save The Day". 

Benjamin is one of those wonderful New York Artists who knows everyone and who has photographed some of the most iconic people and places and events, and he himself looks like a rock star. He's a great deal of fun, too, and I've written about him and the parties I attended when I first me him because they were experiences so full of inspiration and good cheer that they made me feel like the New York I had always loved was back again in full swing.

On the day that I saw him in SoHo while I was walking through on my way to Art Expo New York, he was talking with a friend of his and I interrupted because it had been so long since I'd seen him and it was so wonderful to see him there. He invited me to a party he was having that coming Sunday week as he would say in his English way, and he sent me an invitation right then and there. When I opened his message I saw that it was his birthday party, and I was so excited to be invited to be a part of it that I fairly skipped all my way over to the Pier where the Art Expo is held.

The day of Benjamin's party was Palm Sunday, always a favorite day for me that holds a special feeling of joy and celebration, and when I arrived the streets of SoHo were filled with so many people enjoying the beautiful weather that we've begun to have after what has seemed like a very long winter. Making my way up the stairs to his loft, I remembered the excitement of the first times I'd been there, and when I walked in the door the fun began immediately because that's the kind of person Benjamin is. He and all of his friends are so wonderful and fun, joyful and creative, and they love to laugh and also to talk about really important things, so the conversation and ideas and jokes kept flowing along with good food and cheer and a lovely cup of very British tea that I was offered when I arrived and that started the afternoon tea party in a truly lovely way.

There were so many memorable moments and people I met there, and so many wonderful and inspiring conversations along with many wonderful joyful laughs. It felt so good to be there and as if I'd been given a gift myself to be invited to this wonderful birthday celebration and to meet so many lovely people who all know the wonderful Benjamin Oliver who I was blessed to meet a few years ago and to meet again on a wonderful recent afternoon walk through SoHo. From the beginning of the time when I first met him and attended his "Love Will Save The Day" series of parties, to meeting him again as I walked through SoHo on my way to Art Expo, I find myself so full of gratitude for the times he's invited me into his wonderful world. The joy filled honor and blessing of being invited to the celebration of his birthday on Palm Sunday, a time of new beginnings, joy, hope and love, took me through this week filled with all the wonderful feelings of infinite possibilities, leading up to the beautiful celebration of Easter. 

A Beautiful Afternoon

And A Beautiful Blessing

Celebrating Benjamin Oliver's Birthday

At His Loft In SoHo

With So Much Gratitude

To Benjamin For The Invitation

And To All Of His Wonderful Friends

For Such A Lovely And Inspiring Experience!

Photograph With So Much Gratitude

To The Marvelous Chris Horsfield

With The Marvelous Benjamin Oliver

And The Marvelous Chris Horsfield

Photograph With So Much Gratitude

To The Gorgeous Stacy Benjamin

Wishing The Marvelous Benjamin Oliver

A Very Happy Birthday!

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - A World Of Art

A few weeks ago the Artist Jason Brian Fox, one of the Artists who has work at YES Gallery who I have written about in these pages before, sent me a message that he had been accepted by Art Expo New York to show his work in a solo booth. He invited me to join him there, and because I always love to celebrate the Artists I know I was happy to be there with him during the Expo as much as possible. My schedule has been so busy with several projects, but I told him I'd try my best to make the time to be there for at least a part of each day.

I always enjoy the Art festivals and Expos in New York City, but usually I go for the VIP openings when I'm invited, or to one of the regular days if my schedule is too full for the opening. It's always so wonderful to be at these inspiring events, with so many old and new friends and so many different types of  art to explore and discover.

This time around, being at Art Expo New York with Jason was a different experience for me because I was there for so many days and so much time that I had a chance to really get to see so many people I know who attended and to meet so many new people who stopped by the booth or who were in the VIP Lounge when I was there. The VIP opening night was of course an adventure all of its own because of the glitter that surrounds nights like that, but each day brought its own surprises and wonderful experiences.

When I was first at Jason's booth for the opening night, I saw someone in the booth across the aisle who I was thinking I might have met before. I was pretty sure it was Eddy Bogaert who I've written about in these pages before, and though I'd seen him at different events in the past that I'd written about, including one very memorable one in Chelsea that was an art party he had curated that was absolutely packed with wonderful art and wonderful people and remains one of the highlights of art parties I've experienced, I hadn't seen him in some time. I have a very strong memory for people I've met and had memorable experiences with, but as it had been some time I wasn't a hundred percent sure, and so I kept looking at him and wondering if he might recognize me but he was so busy with friends and art collectors and exciting people who were stopping by that it took some time until we finally had the chance to say hello.

As the evening continued, and friends stopped by to say hello to me, I heard a few people say hello to him and say the name Eddy, and one of them who knew us both said to me, "You know Eddy, right?" and I knew then that he was the Eddy I had been thinking he was. When we were finally introduced, I said that we had met before, and he said he'd kept looking across the aisle and thinking he knew me too. I reminded him about the art party I'd attended and the blog post I'd written about him after we'd met, and about one of the gallery openings where I'd seen him afterward and photographed him for another post. It was so wonderful to be reconnected, and he introduced me to Maryam Zadeh who he was sharing a booth with as part of a group of Artists who had different booths from Mazlish Gallery along the aisle we were on. Each day Eddy made its own adventure, and having him and Maryam across the aisle was like having the best neighbors, bringing their joy and life to make every moment a glittering party.

Art Art Expo New York

With So Much Gratitude To Jason Brian Fox

For The VIP Invitation To Join Him

And To Eddy Bogaert And Maryam Zadeh

For Making Every Moment A Joyful Glittering Party

Jason Brian Fox

Shares About His Work

With A Collector, Artist And Visitor

To His Booth 

John Mazlish

Adding His Art Of Music

To The Art From His Gallery

Blessings,

Jannie Susan