From significant business changes to noteworthy product launches, there’s always something new happening in the world of design. In this biweekly roundup, AD PRO has everything you need to know.

Design Happenings

Korea National Opera gets the Pierre Yovanovitch treatment

Pierre Yovanovitch is an opera buff, so it was serendipitous when he was called upon to imagine the set for Theater Basel’s 2023 production of Rigoletto. The Paris- and New York–based AD100 designer reunited with director Vincent Huguet this year to do set design for Mozart’s Le Nozze de Figaro at the Korea National Opera in Seoul (through March 23). He also dreamed up over 50 costumes inspired by traditional Korean clothing. The rotating stage, buoyed by an ever-shifting sun, will amplify views of the countess’s atelier and count’s house in distinctive vignettes that recast the classic narrative through a glamorous 1920s and ’30s lens.

Inside the eighth edition of Collectible in Brussels

Between March 13–16, Collectible returned to Espace Vanderborght in Brussels for its eighth showing dedicated to 21st-century collectible design. This year’s fair featured work from more than 100 established galleries and emerging talents, including Parisian designer Pauline Leprince’s installation of draped recycled denim from fabric house Bellerose. Another standout presentation was “Folded Echoes,” an assemblage of mixed-media pieces by textile designer Nathalie Van der Massen and ceramicist Karen Verlinden, which blended the Belgian makers’ media with paper and rubber. MycoWorks, the biotechnological company founded in California, showcased design objects crafted with Reishi, a biomaterial born from mycelium. These included brazen furniture like a wall-mounted side table in collaboration with Stockholm’s Studio TOOJ and a folding screen that recalls Jean-Michel Frank by Studio Perrier in Paris.

AD PRO Hears…

…With prior stunts at Roman and Williams and Rockwell Group, it’s safe to say Frances Calosso is an accomplished interior designer—enough so to have been appointed as colead of Robert A.M. Stern Architects’ interior design department.

…On March 5, Thomas F. Moser passed away at his coastal Maine home. After earning his PhD in rhetoric and public discourse and teaching college for more than a decade, Moser and his wife Mary founded Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers in 1972. Accordingly, his vision extended well beyond the workshop. A woodworker, author, and entrepreneur with a passion for community building and sustainability pledges, Moser will be deeply missed.

…Joseph Specter most recently served as a president and general director of Arizona opera, where he flexed his experience with creative community building. The professional has been appointed the new president and CEO of Frank Lloyd Wright, where he’ll guide the foundation’s mission of preserving and advancing Wright’s vision of organic architecture.

Openings

Ashlee Harrison’s new salon is an Upper East Side jewel box

This month, Ashlee Harrison inaugurated her New York salon in an Upper East Side brownstone reminiscent of Parisian architecture—unsurprisingly, the curatorial whiz’s new project brims with expertise and rare intrigue. A stash of collectible art books are available for purchase next to Jacques Adnet’s twin daybeds in the second-floor reading room. Patrick Naggar and Dominique Lachevsky’s 1989 Elytre armchair also perfectly complements the parlor’s 1970 Ado Chale coffee table. Downstairs features works from Harrison’s friend, the Venice-based Irene Cattaneo who is the salon’s first artist in residence. Through light fixtures, stone basins, and an artisanal chess board, she reinterprets Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass with the likes of Murano glass and sinuous bronze. Appointments for viewing can be booked at info@ashleeharrison.com.

AD PRO Hears…

…Established in 1897, ABC Carpet & Home has kept its brick-and-mortar stores within the bounds of New York’s five boroughs—until now. This month, the source for artisanal, globally sourced rugs, furniture, decor, and vintage jewelry opened a store in Greenwich, Connecticut.

…From Juan Santa Cruz, the mind behind Casa Cruz, and Michelin-award-winning chef John Fraser comes Obvio, a sure-to-be hot spot in midtown NYC. The sensual new space opened its doors last week—inside, giraffe-printed wallpaper inspires an exotic world, as do the Tamarind Mezcalito and King Crab Bomba.

Exhibitions

Rare works from Ettore Sottsass make their way to New York

The late Memphis Group founder Ettore Sottsass is back in the spotlight. This week, Lee F. Mindel unveiled “Et Tu, Ettore” (on view through May 14) at his Galerie56 in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood. Hatched in collaboration with Friedman Benda, the solo exhibition surveys the 20th-century Italian architect and designer’s wide-ranging oeuvre, including his asymmetric Cabinet No. 82, fantastical Odalisca totem, and selections from his glazed earthenware Geology series. Particularly compelling are Sottsass’s seldom-seen ceramic prototypes from the 1960s.

AD PRO Hears…

…Tickets for The Ticking Tent are on sale here. Come May 3, we'll be headed to New Preston, Connecticut, for antiques galore.

…The ICAA has announced their 44th Annual Arthur Ross Award winners, hailing from the US, France, and the UK. Honorees include Hugh Petter (architecture), Brockschmidt & Coleman (interior design), Hank Silver (artisanship and caftsmanship), Craig Bergmann Landscape Design (landscape), New York Landmarks Conservancy (stewardship), and Clive Aslet (board of directors honor.)

Project Spotlight

On Chicago’s North Shore, James Thomas reconceptualizes a historic private club

Celebrated for its golf course, Exmoor Country Club opened in Chicago’s tony Highland Park suburb in 1896. Now, thanks to Tom Riker and James Dolenc of local AD PRO Directory firm James Thomas, the retreat exudes a fresh elegance that draws on sumptuous European residences. In the warm Trophy Room, caramel leather banquettes backdrop wool plaid walls and bespoke painted paneling while a lush green-and-white striped ceiling is the star of the airy Ross Room. Reminiscent of a grand hotel lobby, the Heritage Lounge encourages members to linger by the fireplace, cocktail in hand, on the deep blue velvet sofa.

AD PRO Hears…

…Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery, and Build.com (or Build with Ferguson) are uniting as Ferguson Home to bring retail, trade, and digital experiences all under one umbrella.

Product

Alyssa Kapito’s new furniture drop is an especially personal one

As New York–based AD100 designer Alyssa Kapito revamped her family’s Upper East Side apartment, she realized she was missing a few things. Ever the collector, she had amassed plenty of memorable vintage items, but she wanted new furniture that could effortlessly meld with her trove of favorites. This sparked the creation of Edition 2, a few timeless pieces with an Art Deco flourish made to order in Paris and New York. The collection is Kapito’s follow-up to Edition 1, a limited run of Murano glass vases produced with Marcantonio Brandolini d’Adda, Laguna~B’s CEO and art director. Edition 2’s metal and leather coffee table, as well as a glossy, walnut-stained nightstand, and a sleek buffet rendered in blue stone and lacquer, can all be found in Kapito’s layered abode, deftly capturing her polished aesthetic. To enquire about specific pieces, write to galerie@alyssakapito.com.