Cool news: Dol Kyam, a houseboat in Sausalito on which JHA consulted, is featured on the website for 7×7 magazine with a great photo of the house, for which Jessica selected the color palate and finishes! The story ran in the February issue of California Home + Design, 7×7’s sister magazine.

Thanks to California Home + Design and 7×7 for supporting our work here at JHA – you guys are the best!

The 2008 HDExpo in Las Vegas was rife with “green” innovation at every turn, from reconstituted wood veneer products by Brookside Veneers Ltd to trimless, powered LED recessed lights by Pure Lighting. It was definitely a thought provoking show.

The show was also a great opportunity for us to reconnect with our existing vendors, see new product in person, and make connections for future products to be added to the store’s already-great list of offerings. On the lighting front, many of the lines we carry at Lunaria had their new offerings on display including Leucos, Currey & Company, Eurofase, and Stonegate.

Leucos unveiled their new collection, including this rather subtle flush-mounted ceiling/wall piece, which isn’t even out in catalogue form yet. Called the Deco, it makes use of the strong skills Leucos staff has with art glass that is not too “artsy”: a quality of glass complimentary to any contemporary or transitional setting.

Also on display was De Majo, a family-run company that produces museum-quality authentic, traditional Venetian glass lights. One might compare their creative use of color with trendsetter Barovier & Toso, another Italian company that plays with classic forms by adding a gentle tweak with unexpected colors. The showstopper this year was the violet, 18-armed chandelier pictured below with its designer, master glass maker Giuliano Rioda. Each arm is composed of 12 independent pieces of glass, which are fused together in the “old style” during the fabrication process.

De Majo’s classical pieces are new in the US market, recently coming to the country with the help of Leucos president Jose Anthony (a few pieces of their contemporary line are imported by a different company).

Pure Lighting—brought to us by Gregory Kay, founder of Tech Lighting—embraces the idea of minimalist design with its collection of trimless recessed lights from the Aurora collection, all of which feature an optional LED upgrade. This carefully manufactured simplicity hides the “unsightly” parts of the fixtures behind a rigid plaster plate and dome interior, so the experience of the viewer is not unlike looking up into a skylight at sunset. Truly magical. I would say there is a good chance this special product will be available from Lunaria soon.

Happy Shopping. Light up your future!

We had a wonderful story written about the store in the April/May issue of California Homes magazine, so if you haven’t had a chance to pick up a copy, then do so before they’re all gone! The story spoke both about the store and the design firm, and had some fun photos to boot. A fun shot of Nicolas, Jessica and I at the shop looking like the design masters that we are and some beautiful shots of the Blodgett’s residence in Tiburon, including this image of the never-before-seen Master Bedroom:

I could fall asleep in that blue oasis anytime!

Thanks, California Homes, for the support!

We are in talks with Italian lighting manufacturer Serralunga to take on their outdoor line, which originally debuted at Milan’s Euroluce in 2007.

I’m struck by their creative use of scale and unexpected use of light. It’s possible that several pieces will appear “too contemporary” to some, but I believe that there’s a little bit of something for everyone in this outdoor jewel, from their overscale “Vasone Light“ planter by Luisa Bochietto:

to their “Lady Jane” and “Miss Jane” outdoor floor lamps designed by Marc Sadler and available in an assortment of colors and shapes:

It’s safe to say the outdoor lighting world will never be the same and equally a great possibility these ultra-cool outdoor products will be available soon at Lunaria.

Our most recent lighting additions to Lunaria hail from the new Terzani collection, unveiled at Euroluce just last year. While “last year” might seem like old news, the fixtures have only made it to US soil in the last few weeks. Currently on display at Lunaria are the Tutti Frutti and the Untitled. Tutti Frutti is a metallic bowl with cut outs in the form of a stylized tree, with large, faceted Swarovski crystal ball “flowers” that refract the light and play on the notion of scale.

In addition to the Black with Sea Foam Green accents, Tutti Frutti also comes in White with Red accents:

Untitled is very geometric and contemporary—almost like a puzzle. The metal-and-white-painted squares form a solid object that animates the eye as it sits in space.

Both lamps were designed by the gifted Bruno Rainaldi.

Champagne flowed last Thursday evening as we celebrated our new associate: Stephanie Decker-Carlson. Stephanie joined the JHA/Lunaria team very recently and we threw a little get-together for her. It was so great to see the Kentfield community come out to support the store and Stephanie. It was quite the social event! Having arrived just in the nick of time were our two custom William Switzer hand carved WS-825-A Venetian Louis XV style armchairs. The JHA team resized the chair to add 4” of height to the back, and had it finished with a deep purple lacquer and a fun white vinyl from Gretchen Bellinger that has real wildflowers embedded in the upholstery. Everyone had a chance to take a seat in these very comfortable and super-fun chairs, and to enjoy Stephanie’s company as much as we do!

Come by and check out the chairs while we have them!

Did you know that Italy closes up shop for an entire month?! As I was helping someone in the store with an Italian light fixture today, I found myself saying, “If you want it here before October, we need to get your order in very soon.”

And that’s no joke. Italians take their summer holiday seriously. With lead times from Italian products running to 12-14 weeks and us having already entered May, the time has come to get those light orders in!

Prices for Baga and Terzani are staying the same, which is great news, but heads up to anyone who has been thinking about ordering lights from Italamp: their prices are set to increase on June 1st. I don’t have the exact percentage yet, but based on their past price changes, we are probably talking about an increase in the neighborhood of 10%.

Get these great lamps at the current prices while they last!