Tags
Ace Hotel, Andi Kovel, Art, Colour, Esque Studio, Glass, Glass Blowing, Hugo Boss, Justin Parker, Lenny Kravitz, Ralph Lauren, senseless acts of beauty, Sephora, Stumptown Coffee, style, Whymsy
I stumbled across these whimsical bubble gum paperweights by Esque Studio and was intrigued. I have absolutely no need for a paperweight on my over-flowing desk and yet, still I want one…
When I went foraging, I found this quote on Andi Kovel and Justin Parker’s Esque Studio (and shop!) website (here):
Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty. (Adair Lara)
Well, that just made me want to learn more! I love that sentiment!
So, Esque Studio is the culmination of a long collaboration between the two artists – Andi Kovel and Justin Parker. They went with ‘Esque’ as a nod to all the outside influences that inspire them (as in picture-esque).
Apparently, I have been living under a rock because Kovel and Parker are well-known for breaking the rules with glass. They’ve received international acclaim, most notably with being named part of Time Magazine’s “Design 100,” today’s most influential and inspiring international designers. They’ve collaborated with lots of glass-lovers – from Stumptown Coffee, for whom they designed a coffee shop in Portland’s Ace Hotel (I have got to visit the Ace Hotel. It keeps getting mentioned wherever I look), to Lenny Kravitz, who commissioned the glass for his Miami pad (imagine?!) – and they have completed projects for Donna Karen, Ralph Lauren, The W Hotel, Hugo Boss, Anthropologie, Sephora and Design Within Reach… just not me, it seems. How do you feel about a trip to Sydney, Andi and Justin?
I particularly love this guy – the Heady Terrarium. You can stand him up as a clear bust or lay him down and fill him with dirt and plants:
Or, how about the, admittedly slightly freaky-yet-strangely-beautiful Glass Eyes? They’d be a conversation starter, for sure:
One of my favourites – the gorgeous and eye-catching Featherballs. Yes, please!:
Esque Studio is based out of Portland, Oregon. (I actually had to check out the geography of where Oregon sits in the US. Near all the coffee of Seattle, sort of near the skiing of BC – it must be a great place!). Not the most convenient spot to get to from Sydney, but I’ve added it to my wee list!
(All images sourced from the Esque Studio website here)
This Sydney Life 
This looks amazing and I love the practical nature of this artwork – filling it with dirt – how cool would that look!!!!
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Hi TNG – thanks for stopping by. I agree – beautiful + practical has always appealed to me, too. 🙂
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Beautiful. I love blown glass. And, yes, Oregon is worth a visit – beautiful coast line. While I’ve been there, it is on my revisit list to play this incredible golf course: http://www.bandondunesgolf.com/. If you want a peak at the coast line, check out the course link.
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Wow! It looks amazing, J. I want to visit even more, now. 🙂
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Very cool…. love the bubble gum, and the feathers….. in fact all of them, although have to agree the eyes are a little freaky but that is testament to how lifelike they are. Thanks for sharing your find.
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Glad you like them BCD. You always have such fab’ finds… 🙂
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We make a good team… we are putting Sydney on the map!! he he
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I love the Heady Terrarium too 😉 I have decided I need a whole new blank canvas house just to fill up with one thing from each of these lovely websites you find! 😉
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COOL! I can be your in-house go-to design-chicky! 🙂
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Especially love the bubble gum and the Heady Terrarium. Though instead of using it as a planter, am thinking of a fish bowl… Going to check out that website now!
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Great idea! 🙂 How cool would that be?
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Portland is hands down one of the best US cities to visit, after New York, of course! Vancouver is a rival for the craft beer, coffee, and believe it or not – blown glass! Just had a little laugh there as we DO have a well known glass blower (Robert Held) but his style is much different..
But all seriousness…Portland! Awesome!
And Stumptown? Great (our company is a Vancouver version)! The Ace is cool there too – great cafe..
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Shira – I have been to Vancouver more often than I have been to New York or LA and I never knew it was famous for blown glass (duh! :-() Now I’m going to have to visit Portland AND come back to Vancouver (Not to mention check out Robert Held’s work!)
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Not NEARLY as cool as this stuff though….VERY nice find! Love the first shots!
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WHOA!!! Gorgeous!!! Theadora (I’m with Shira! Adding Portand to my list.) Beautiful post!!
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Awww – thanks Theadora 🙂
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Hi,
I love blown glass, some of it is very spectacular what they can do, these people have amazing talent. I have watched a number of glass blowers at different locations, and they truly are amazing to watch. 🙂
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I agree, Mags. Amazing.
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Very funky stuff, and I LOVE that quote!
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Me too! 🙂
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Beautiful and innovatively quirky! Never knew either re about them!
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Happy to have provided an introduction! Pretty fab’, huh? 🙂
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Will be bookmarking them for sure thanks again from Ireland-
Former Sydney lodger! 😉
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Hooha! My pleasure, N. 🙂
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I’m not feeling a strong urge to run out and buy the eyeballs, though I do agree that they are fascinating. Love the bubblegum pieces, though!
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Strangely, I felt the same way… and then I looked around my house and saw an awful lot of eyes featured. Go figure! 🙂
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