Wayward Wayfair

Wayfair has all those cute commercials that end with the jingle, "Wayfair, you've got just what I need." But I don't need Wayfair. Not after how they've acted lately. Yesterday, it came to light that they have been selling furniture to the detention facilities (concentration camps) at the border where migrant children who have been taken from their parents are being imprisoned, neglected, and abused. And while some people may say, "at least the kids have beds now thanks to Wayfair," that's not a good excuse to look the other way while a big company profits from working with fascists.

Today, the workers there staged a walkout because Wayfair didn't agree with their suggestion to make a donation to RAICES, which is helping reunite the separated families. And in response to the walkout and the negative press and the boycotts, Wayfair has announced that it will donate the profits from that infamous sale to the Red Cross. How that will help the situation at the border is unclear, but the reasons why donating to the Red Cross is not a good idea right now are very clear.

Yesterday I wrote an angry email to Wayfair:

I meant what I said. I don't see any amends being made here, just more of the same corporate nonsense that passes for intelligent communication these days. I don't see myself specifying anything from them anytime soon. I'm already boycotting Home Depot and Ethan Allen out of pettiness and spite; at least adding Wayfair to the list of home goods stores I refuse to patronize is for a reason outside of my personal grudges.

As a designer, it's actually not that hard for me to boycott Wayfair because I've already set up accounts with some of the manufacturers that supply them. I can get a better discount than the 20% off they offer by purchasing wholesale anyway. Besides, their quality is all over the place. I bought a dresser from Wayfair last year that was so shoddy that it fell apart while I was trying to build it. But I also got a gorgeous rug from them. However, that rug, like so many mass-produced things, can be purchased somewhere else.

But if you're not an interior designer, I can see how you'd be upset about removing Wayfair from your roster of preferred furniture sites. Some alternatives to look into:
Houzz
Overstock
Target
Zulily
eBay
TJ Maxx/Marshall's/HomeGoods
World Market
Grandin Road
Bed Bath and Beyond

Also, if you like modern furniture like me, keep in mind that AllModern is part of Wayfair. You might want to consider these stores instead:
Poly and Bark
Interior Define
Article
Structube

No doubt, there are probably people who think, "How can you politicize a furniture store? That's why this country is so divided nowadays!" But I see it differently. A significant portion of people in the USA are fascists or fascist-adjacent. And thank God a significant portion of people in this country have the decency to object to the fascists. Not every issue can be boiled down to binaries and moral absolutes, but this can. There is no moderation or compromise when it comes to matters of recognizing the humanity of other human beings. As a Black woman, for the sake of my own self-preservation, I will not compromise with those who refuse to acknowledge my humanity. I have chosen to distance myself from racists for my own self-protection. I feel a camaraderie with and empathy for those who are also targets of the fascists and my liberation is tied to theirs. Wayfair had a choice about doing business with the most oppressive aspect of the current regime and chose to because of a warped sense of what it means to be tolerant and not discriminate. And they have earned the repercussions and consequences of that choice. Maybe now they will write a code of ethics since they don't have one.

Like my angry letter to Wayfair, I will end my post with this quote:

“Design is not an intellectual exercise... Oppression has always had great use for architects and designers and urban planners... And everything that betrays our collective humanity depends on people just like you."
—Teju Cole

If you want to read a good article about the Wayfair Walkout, here's one.
And if you want to read Teju Cole's speech in its entirety, it's here.

Cosmic Ocean

I went to the art supply store with a plan in mind, to get a 20" x 30" cradled wood board so that I could stay consistent with my existing paintings. But the art supply store didn't have any 20" x 30" boards in stock. And then I saw a circular board. It was 24" in diameter. I decided to try something new. It seemed fitting. The pizza I was waiting to pick up from the pizzeria around the corner was also round.

I knew before beginning that I wanted my new painting to be teal with a lot of metallic and iridescent accents.

This clip is officially a beauty supply but came in handy for holding the pods in place while they dried.

I had considered getting some fancy palette knives to apply the heavy gel but ended up using a butter knife and a silicone spatula instead.

I used a whole jar of heavy gel and still hadn't finished adding texture to everything. I had to buy a second jar. This is probably the most heavy impasto texture of all the paintings I have made so far.

I found the most beautiful glitter to add to the insides of the pods.

I added some deeper shades of teal to the edges of the pods for shading.

To me, abstract painting has a mystical quality. I am saying something that can't be put in words. There is a transcendence about it. It rises from the deep wells of my unconscious mind. I have to let the painting be what it wants to be. I have to listen to it to know how to begin and when it's finished. When I am working, it puts me in a different state of consciousness. I listened to several stories from the LeVar Burton Reads podcast while working on this painting. My favorite was a story in two parts, "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" by Ted Chiang.

I price my paintings according to their surface area, and because this one is a circle, I have to calculate the area using π. But I don't mind because geometry is the only math I ever loved at first sight.

I decided to call this painting Cosmic Ocean because of its colors. I queried "cosmic ocean" on Google and found that it is a concept in numerous creation stories. It makes sense that an ocean came first in these stories since the Earth is mostly water. In the interest of preserving water, while painting I washed my brushes in buckets of water and am going to let the water I used evaporate until only paint residue is left, then incorporate that paint skin into an assemblage. I didn't want to waste any water while making a painting the color of the ocean.

Cosmic Ocean  |  2019 |  $500  | 24" Ø  |  acrylic and ink on cardboard and wood

If you like it, you can see it at my studio tonight, or buy it on Etsy.

NeoCon 2019

I really enjoyed myself at this year's NeoCon trade show at The Merchandise Mart. This year when I arrived, I saw two trade magazines featuring Black designers on their covers!

As always, there was so much beautiful furniture to see. I want to begin with some of my favorite color schemes.

I'm starting with this sofa from Krug because it's basically the same color as the new painting that I'm working on right now.

See what I mean?

I love this palette from Buzzi Space. They printed this photo on their tote bags as well.

My favorite color scheme was in the Arc-Com Fabrics showroom. What they did to highlight their new Nomad upholstery fabric collection was exquisite. The colors look so amazing together.

This is a fun conference room in the Scandinavian Spaces showroom. Such fun wallpaper!

I loved the use of jewel tones in the Global Furniture showroom.

Arcadia's color palette and motif are taken from a popular Marimekko floral print.

Offices to Go is Global's quick ship line of products. Their booth was very vibrant.

A good use of neutrals in the Momentum Textiles showroom:

Deep, moody neutrals in the Jean de Merry showroom:

Here are some individual pieces that impressed me.

Nucraft conference table

KI seating and bookcase for a school or library

Trinity chairs

Peter Pepper Products table

Andreu World sectionals

award-winning Nienkämper heartbeat sofa by Karim Rashid

Okamura sofa

Green Hides hair on hide leather

Sossego armchairs

a rug from the Teknion showroom

banquette seating by Martin Brattrud

a felt space by De Vorm

Naughtone

Decca Contract

Steelcase coffee table

Steelcase panel

The most fun I had in a showroom was at SIXINCH. I was not expecting to find an arcade with one of my favorite video games from my early teens at NeoCon of all places, but they had Street Fighter II there!

And the decor reminded me of the arcades where I spent time with my brother, cousins, and friends when we were kids in the 80s and 90s.

This hot pink Louis chair was like a piece of real-life Barbie furniture. I call this installation a princess chair because of the neon crown above it. Or maybe it's a throne for a queen.

I had so much fun playing Street Fighter II as Chun Li, my favorite character, that I lost track of time.

Another fun experience was the outdoor plaza by the river that Gensler, Haworth, and Janus Et Cie collaborated on.

Hanging out in the Janus et Cie pivot swivel daybed really made my staycation feel like a vacation. Nook was also back this year with more NookPods to relax and recharge in, and this time they came in additional configurations.

I love it when showrooms have creative displays, like this one from EF Contract.

Andreu World did a good job showing off their color palettes, inspired by the Mediterranean.

Every year, Luna Textiles makes something new with their upholstery fabric. This year, they made kilts.

There were more displays in the main floor lobby. I took these pictures the Saturday before NeoCon when I came to pick up my badge in advance.

Sossego

Pedrali

Herman Miller made this clever display that reminds me of a shadowbox.

Hightower has a new showroom with beautiful arches in its interior architecture.

Their refreshments coordinated perfectly with their decor. The terrazzo counter top is from Concrete Collaborative.

Great modern wall art in the Nucraft showroom.

Some Bauhaus references at Teknion and Designtex:

I noticed a lot of interesting statements on the showroom walls this year. Some reminded me of artists statements, while others were simply profound.

But if color is a state of mind, what were some of the designers thinking when they came up with some of the atrocious color palettes I saw this year?

There are so many colors we can use.

Just look at them. The brilliance. The splendor.

Each one like a unique flavor or musical note.

But just like musical notes or flavors, not all of them work well together. Yet time and time again I saw ill-considered color palettes of hues that were forced together to create an unsettling visual dissonance. Honestly, those designs would have looked better in grayscale or black and white rather than in the hot colors of the year shoehorned into a palette where they don't belong. Anyway, I don't like to waste time writing about interior designs that I don't like. I'd rather feature things that I like on here. I'll end on a positive note and feature all the beautiful plants and flowers I noticed in the showrooms this year.

This year my favorite tote bag came from Scandinavian Spaces. It goes so well with my studio colors!

As you can see, I had a great time. Also, this was the first year that I didn't bring my DSLR camera with me to shoot. I'm really happy that the pictures I took with my new Galaxy S10 were sufficient. It's the first time I've had a smartphone that actually lives up to what they say about it in the ads. If you want to see all the pictures (almost 300!) I took at NeoCon this year, take a look at my Flickr album.

Spending three consecutive days immersed in design always gives me a lot to think about. This year, I have been focusing a lot of energy on trying to get new clients, and going to NeoCon makes me want to start on a new project even more. I still haven't figured out a way to make a living doing what I love, but I feel like when the time comes, I will be prepared because I have learned so much from attending NeoCon and other trade shows year after year.