Spring 2016 by TZELAN HOUSE

SPRING 2016

www.tzelan.com

ISSUE 6

the fifth quarterly a tribute to artful living

“”

There is only one m e a n i n g of l i f e the a c t of l i v i n g itself. —erich fromm

latest creations

the collected

musings

on site: milan

last look

New trumpet hardware boasts a mid-century Venetian feel with myriad functions and finishes.

Tzelan partners with New York’s Voutsa to celebrate the innovation of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes.

Sixty Hotels’ Dianna Balabon talks hospitality, Millenial desires and living outside the box.

Fêting partners and friends for an evening of sensory delight atop the city’s storied Via della Spiga.

Get up close with Tzelan’s tabletop chandelier of shimmering, crystal and metal leaves.

SPRING 2016

Orchestrate your t zelan moment:

CRE AT E -

C ULT I VAT E -

COLLECT -

custom furniture & restoration,

sourcing, interior de coration,

ar tful lifest yle objets and furniture

desig n, g lobal manufa c turing.

purchasing.

for home & hospitalit y

www.tzelan.com

the spirit of

Collaboration a letter from tzelan < Tzelan's Alison Chi and Tammy Chou in Argentine perfumer Fueguia's Milan flagship during a collaborative kick-off event for Salone del Mobile.

Meanwhile, Italian architect, furniture and industrial designer Antonio Citterio was only 23 when Busnelli first commissioned him to design for B&B Italia. More than 25 years later, Citterio has designed iconic products for the company as well as the Busnelli home and is now the head coordinator for the Maxalto brand, B&B Italia’s classic contemporary collection. This special category of human relationship, bound by mutuality, is what we would like to dedicate this summer kickoff issue 6 of TFQ: to pay homage to the spirit of creation and the culture of collaboration. Friendships that are formed beyond the confines of our families, communities, hometowns, schooling and workplaces require effort, time and consciousness. They are unspoken commitments to people with whom we are not forced to love,

but choose to love. Together, they form our tribe. Collaborations between creators are powerful because they ummer abounds! But first, let’s revisit April, when we soft

are fueled by reciprocal respect for process. Studies also show

launched a number of collaborative products during Salone

that feelings of tribal belonging are important indicators of

del Mobile, the renowned furniture fair in Milan, including

happiness. When we think about our chief aim at Tzelan, to unite

a home fragrance custom-created for Tzelan by Argentine

people through a common core, or the love and appreciation of

perfumer Fueguia (pg. 14), a tabletop chandelier designed by

beauty, we are equally delighted and in constant admiration of

tonychi’s David Singer (pg. 19), and a whimsical collection of upholstered objets made in collaboration with wallpaper designer George Venson of Voutsa (pg. 07).

those we walk alongside of, and who walk alongside us. There is a South African philosophical term called “Ubuntu”

There was an overwhelming enthusiasm for design that permeated the Milanese

which translates into human kindness or “I am because we are.”

air this spring. I was fortunate to have experienced this firsthand when visiting B&B

If humanity is defined by belonging, then happiness comes from

Italia’s behemoth factory, which star architect Renzo Piano designed for the global

combining what we love to do with someone or something

Italian furniture company, in the outskirts of Milan.

that is meaningful. It is a union of sorts—it is collaboration.

Embarking on an hour-long bus ride from city central, I realized that I was in

So without further ado, let’s delve into the pages of our

for a treat. Here I was surrounded by people from far-flung corners of the Earth –

new spring issue, which is chalk full of colorful product and

whether Miami-based architect-designer-thinker Natalia Landowska or a tribe of

anecdotes, brought to you by the brilliance of our partners and

Spanish speaking design enthusiasts – united in the simple joy of witnessing the

peers, whom we love and strive to be like. And in case you’re

creation process.

wondering, Citterio continues to collaborate closely with Piero’s

Specifically, we were all compelled by the vision of the late Piero Busnelli, B&B

son, the CEO of B&B Italia, Giorgio Busnelli. Now that’s amore.

Italia’s founder and one of the great pioneers of Italian contemporary design. Busnelli preached a culture whereby thought, effort, skill and quality reigned supreme. He was a natural-born entrepreneur, ambitious and determined, but never hesitated to experiment in order to carry out his dream of creating an “industry for design.”

Alison Chi & Tammy Chou

SPRING 2016

kia pedersen plates

objects of beauty

for

everyday living

by S h owp l a te A

S h owp l a te B

Dinn e r | B lu e

S a l a d | B lu e

B&B | B lu e AVA IL A B L E E X C LU S I V ELY AT W W W.TZEL AN.COM

IN C OL L A B OR AT I ON WI T H K I A P EDER S EN S h owp l a te C

S h owp l a te D

Dinn e r | Pl a tinum

S a l a d | Pl a tinum

B&B | Pl a tinum

KIAPEDERSEN.COM

www.tzelan.com

Trumpets Play latest creations Inspired by mid-century Venetian doorknobs, Tzelanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Trumpet Collection boasts soft, sophisticated curves in five versatile sizes for myriad functions. Hook and pull finishes are available in brushed satin white bronze, oil-rubbed white bronze, nickel-plated white bronze, solid walnut and oil-rubbed brass. Patina will develop over time.

SPRING 2016

www.tzelan.com

li mi te d - e d i ti on

á&#x152;

Diaghilev Dance the collected

This season, Tzelan partnered with New York-based wallpaper and lifestyle brand Voutsa, created by George Venson, to develop a dynamic duo of upholstered furniture pieces: the Vanity Pouf, in Voutsaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gestural Diaghilev print, and the foldable Edith purse rack, in Ballets Russes. Inspired by the innovation of 20th century dance doyen Sergei Diaghilev, who set Paris ablaze with his dance company, the Ballets Russes. The Vanity Pouf and Edith are handmade in New York with solid walnut or painted wood frames and natural, checkered horsehair trim. Other Voutsa upholstered fabrics available for custom orders with a two-week lead time.

VOUTSA 7

SPRING 2016

Dianna balabon MUSING S

“Hospitality is art,” Dianna Balabon, SIXTY Hotels’ SVP of Sales and Marketing, tell us over breakfast at

Sessanta, the ground floor restaurant

in the newly revamped SIXTY Soho Hotel in New York.“It’s not science.”

And if anyone were to be well versed on the subject of hospitality, it’s Balabon,

a career demonstrating how innovation, personality and high-touch hospitality

the native Midwesterner who cut her teeth catering at Boston’s Le Méridien,

can conquer the ubiquity and groupthink of big box brands. She has a timeless

later moving up the rungs among the best purveyors of hospitality in the

sensibility that continues to reinvent itself with vigor, owing much of her

business including, The Leading Hotels of the World, The Peninsula New York,

success to respecting key virtues: authenticity, delight and the power of

André Balazs Properties and more recently, at Rosewood Hotels and Resorts.

storytelling.

But rest assured, having traveled the world over (her first flight was on Concord traveling to London), Balabon keeps it refreshingly real. She has built 8

Here, we glean her insights into hospitality, past, present and future, from human desire to Millenial marketing and gain hope that the very best, is yet to come.

www.tzelan.com

(ABOVE) SIXTY Soho's rooftop, with the skyline of downtown Manhattan as backdrop. (BOTTOM LEFT) SIXTY Hotels' Dianna Balabon in Venice, Italy.

Thinking outside the box I’ve never been in a big box brand. I’ve avoided it. It was a very conscious decision. Everything is already decided for you because it has to follow a formula, and I don’t like formulas because I think they don’t work anymore. Everybody’s taste changes rapidly and quickly, and formulas negate story telling. There’s no spontaneity.

On hospitality’s misstep Back in the day hospitality was more of a passion play. These were familyrun places where owners wanted to accept and greet their friends. That formula changed with Barry Sternlick, who created Starwood and bought the St. Regis in 1999. That’s when boards of directors became the decision makers and when there was a proliferation of brands. Everything had to scale and suddenly, you had to have a hotel in every single city because it was publicly traded and catered to shareholders with short-term investment needs. It changed the formula of hospitality to one that’s delivering returns to an anonymous face.

The benefits of being nimble When you’re small you can be very, very high touch. You don’t have to prescribe to formulas that normally get driven down by corporate, who are judging you on them. ‘How are your guests profiles, are they 90% filled out?’ That, in turn, also becomes a formula and everything gets missed…it puts math against service, which I don’t think exists. It shouldn’t. You don’t judge your friends that way. 9

SPRING 2016

What lifestyle really means

especially for the WeWorks and NeueHouses, those

Everybody’s trying to get into the lifestyle space

who offer the living-working dynamic. It’s about

because I think there’s a clear, corporate

being part of a neighborhood, a community. What is

misunderstanding of what a Millenial wants. I think

the value of the hotel guest room anymore? Is size

there’s an age gap and a fear associated with a

the most important thing in that concept? Or is it the

generation that grew up connected from start to

public space, the fireplace, the ping-pong table, a

finish, so they feel like they have to connect on every

bowling alley in the basement?

level…they’re launching a lifestyle brand, a sublifestyle brand, a three-star lifestyle brand…and then

On standing out

you go in and they’re outfitting bathrooms with

I’m a true believer that people’s desires have not

sliding barn doors and it’s like, ‘Wow, that’s your

changed. When innate humanity changes, that’s

lifestyle value proposition?’ Lifestyle came out of a

when everything will change. We’ve changed the

name out of a couple of people like an Ian Schrager

way we distribute information, so there’s this

or an André Balazs who said, ‘The Mercer is my living

cacophony of noise. So how can you not be propelled

room and these are my friends.’ So when you’ve got

and become a participant in that noise? How do you

so many cheap facsimiles of an original concept, it’s

stay focused, dedicated, understanding what your

hard to stand apart.

voice is, what our point of view is and not get tugged into many different directions? You have to have a

On the SIXTY Hotels approach

lot of security and comfort. The challenge today is

It’s slow and steady, with the right people, the right

that company’s want to be everything to everyone.

word of mouth. There’s a lot of interest across our

It puts pressure on their team…that’s why I look for

five properties, from Miami to Beverly Hills,

entrepreneurial companies with a voice.

(ABOVE) Artful living with high-touch hospitality at SIXTY Hotels. (OPPOSITE) Public spaces in the newly renovated flagship SIXTY Soho on New York's Thompson Street.

www.tzelan.com

SPRING 2016

ᄧilaၕၘ on site tucwwwwLwwwwcuwy

êting our friends in a kick-off cocktail to celebrate spring’s spirit of collaboration and this year’s Salone del Mobile furniture fair, Tzelan created a sensory night of sight, scent, touch and taste at Casa Fueguia on the city’s storied Via della Spiga. Guests gathered for spritzes and canapés as new product launches, like the Edith purse rack, created with Voutsa’s George Venson, the Turning Leaves tabletop

chandelier, designed by tonychi’s David Singer and our Tzelan cold candle, made in partnership with Fueguia’s Julian Bedel, delighted in their reveal.

www.tzelan.com

01 // The entrance to Tze lan's

03 // Turning Le af L amp in p olishe d

05 // T ammy Chou ( R) gre ets

07 // Voutsa's Ge orge Venson (R ) in

kick-off co ck tail event at C asa

nicke l , desig ne d by tony chiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s David

Shirin Enya ( L ) , desig ner and

con versation with Apparatus' Jeremy

Fueg uia on Via de lla Spig a, 50.

Singer for Tze lan by B omma.

founder of E hya Desig n Studio.

Anderson and G abrie l Hendifar (foreground, L-R ), and friend.

02 // Lilian Le ong (R ), president of

04 // Tze lan ' s desig n collab orator

06 // ( L -R) W riter Elizab eth

B offi USA, Inc. and par t ner Peter ( L) .

David Singer ( se cond L ) with

Peng, tony chi ' s David Singer,

08 // Ge orge Venson with Nes

Andre a Me llare, Interior Plus

Tze lan ' s Alison Chi , Fueg uia ' s

Cre ative A gency 's Elizab eth

and Matias G ale ano, Fueg uia ' s

Julian B e de l and T ammy Chou .

Baudouin and Natalie Shirinian .

business par tner, and friend. 09 // Antonio Scog namiglio with Pa olo Alb er ti.

SPRING 2016

ᅂƀl၄ing Sဓȕnၸၳ F A C T S

A N D

F I G U R E S

What conjures up a lingering sense of the beach during winter, of burning wood, wool and the ocean? Tzelan’s cold candle, made of local blue onyx native to Argentina. The hand-carved vessel houses a custom scent designed by Patagonian perfumer Fueguia. Three sets of natural fiber sticks diffuse the nascent notes of vetiver, lavender, neroli and sandalwood.

1 3

THREE

A COLL ABORATION

ጀ

LIMITED-EDITION

BOTTLES

S TAT E M E N T

( 3 m o S U P P LY )

STICKERS

sets

FIBER STICKS D O not R E Q U I R E F L I P - A N D - D I P

C O L D

C A N D L E

S E T

hand carved

BLUE ONYX STONE VESSEL

www.tzelan.com

ᅸetiႃဘr

CHRYSOPOGON ZIZANIOIDES

ᅁanda၉wooပ

Grown in Eastern Asia as a grass, vetiver falls

The classic oriental woody note, milky,

under the woods category due to its musty, dry

soft, sturdy and rich, with a green

scent with bitter chocolate and smoke facets.

top note and a lingering scent.

ᅩဘrol့

CITRUS AURANTIUM

ᅧဃvendተr

Citrusy, light and slightly bitter with

Lavender is fresh, sweet and

hints of orange and honey blossom;

herbaceous with a subtle fruity tinge;

romantic floral notes purify.

a member of the mint family.

SANTALUM ALBUM

L AVA N D U L A S PI C A

N O T E S

K E Y

VETIVER

AMYRIS

FLORAL ORIENTAL

FRANKINCENSE

BERGAMOT

ORIENTAL

L AV E N D E R

PETIT GRAIN

WOODY ORIENTAL

JUNIPER BERRIES

C A B R E U VA

WOODS

MAGNOLIA

CEDAR ATL AS

MOSSY WOODS

GRAPEFRUIT

CEDAR VIRGINIA

DRY WOODS

NEROLI

COPAIBA BALSAM

AROMATIC

PATCHOULI

EUCALIPTUS COEUR

CITRUS

S A N D A LW O O D

FIR BALSAM

PINK PEPPER

GAIAC WOOD

መ

SPRING 2016

around the world with

ANDA Z

TOK YO

MIL AN

S AN TA

MONICA

NE W

BUENOS

AIRES

MIAMI

JESSICA CORR

for sales

for t zelan by

and

inquiries:

www.tzelan.com | sales@tzelan.com

BE ACH

YORK

www.tzelan.com

Images of B&B Italia's factory outside of Milan, photographed by Natalia Landowska, 2016.

ACKNOW L EDGM ENTS M A N AGI NG DIR E C T OR A L I S O N C H I

E DIT OR E L I Z A B E T H P E N G

B RA N D D IR E CT OR R O B E R T L O U E Y

DE S IG NE R G E R A L D M O R I N

I N S P IR AT ION T A M M Y C H O U

P R INT E R C O N C E P T P R E S S I N C .

SPECIAL THAN KS: COL L AB OR AT OR S

DIANNA BAL ABON, W W W.SIXT YHOTELS.COM KIA PEDERSEN, W W W.KIAPEDERSEN.COM GEORGE VENSON, W W W. VOUTSA.COM

P H OT OG R AP H Y

FEDERIC O AMBROSI N ATA L I A L A ND O W S K A , L ANDOWSK A.COM

COV E R IMAG E :

M AT T E S T E P HE N S, M AT T E A R T. B L O G S P O T. C O M f o r G R A ND H YAT T C HEN G D U

t z e l a n i n t e r nat i o na l l l c

SPRING 2016

www.tzelan.com

fronds of flourish before we say goodbye

Tzelanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s battery-operated tabletop lamp Turning Leaves, designed by tonychiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s David Singer, of custom, alternating layers of leaf crystal, copper, nickel or brass gives off a luminous glow, illuminating any tabletop setting.

T HE FIF T H QUART ERLY ISSUE

RETURN TO NAT URE