Crystalmaker Waterford is expanding its traditional designs to include new, colorful organic styles.
The company, which has been selling crystal for 222 years, seems to be doing some celebrating of its own at its remodeled Waterford Studio Gallery in Marshall Field's State Street store in Chicago. To bring attention to this design shift, Waterford has brought its seahorse logo to life, setting real sea critters -- 14 in all, bobbing around pastel-colored crystal in an octagonal tank at its gallery entrance.
Just as the seahorse might have to prove its existence to some, the Ireland-based Waterford sometimes has to prove its relevance to today's lifestyles.
"We know people think of tradition when they think of us," Waterford design director Jim O'Leary says. "That's a good thing. But it can also be a bad thing. We do more than traditional design."
Waterford's newest collections illustrate how the company has responded to changing lifestyles and style trends. Evolution, which arrived in stores last spring, Clarion and Metra are all better fits with the cleaner lines of contemporary furniture.
Metra takes the square to a cool place with smooth forms and strong colors such as amethyst, red and turquoise.
Clarion, unlike Metra and Evolution, is probably a good compromise for those accustomed to the traditional Waterford but thinking of a more contemporary look. Clarion has wedge cuts that create a colorful prismatic effect.
Prices for pieces in Waterford's Evolution collection range from $99 for an 8-inch oval bowl to $325 for a 20-inch platter; Clarion ($45 for a goblet to $250 for a 10-inch vase) and Metra ($99 for a pair of double old fashion glasses to $250 for a 10-inch square bowl).
Learn how to make dinnerware at workshop
People can learn how to make their own dinnerware at a workshop this month in the Strip District.
The Society for Contemporary Craft is offering a dinnerware workshop that begins Feb. 15. Artist Nancy Smith will show participants how to design and create templates to make matching sets of plates, bowls and cups. No experience is necessary.
The workshop is over four days: Feb. 15 and 22, and March 1 and 8. Classes are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 2100 Smallman St.
The cost is $160 for nonmembers, $145 for members and $30 for materials.
Details: www.contemporarycraft.org .
Home competition winners design the future
"House of the future" once evoked personal heliports, video intercoms and robot servants. But the architects and students who participated in the futuristic C2C Home Competition looked beyond "The Jetsons" to set forth designs that maximize energy efficiency, minimize household waste and nourish communities.
The competition was inspired by Charlottesville, Va.-based architect, writer and sustainability guru William McDonough, co-author of the book "Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things." The contest drew more than 625 entries in its call for economically viable, environmentally conscious home designs. The winning entries are on display through Feb. 13 at the Art Museum of Western Virginia in Roanoke.
"People are looking for something that's going to give us a realizable strategy for the future, particularly as it relates to environmental issues," organizer Gregg Lewis says. "All this consumption of resources we see, new subdivisions being built -- people are concerned. They're beginning to understand that there are limits."
To see winning entries, visit www.c2c-home.org . Some designs will be built in Roanoke, with construction set to begin this summer.
Brush up on heirloom plants with two books
Two books about heirloom plants will aid people who live in an old house and want an appropriate landscape to go with it.
"Restoring American Gardens: An Encyclopedia of Heirloom Ornamental Plants," 1640-1940 ($39.95, Timber Press), has chapters on trees, vines, roses, perennials, bulbs and more.
"Gardens and Historic Plants of the Antebellum South" by James R. Cothran ($49.95, University of South Carolina Press) narrows the scope in terms of geography and time, but it, too, is rich in cultural history. You will learn that fibers from Yucca filamentosa are so strong that they were used to weave "thongs for hanging up the heaviest hams, bacon, etc." Additional Information:
