Thoroughly Modern Tommy


Amidst the nuttiness of last week I packed up and headed to Chicago for twenty hours. Part of the fun of visiting Chicago from here is that the flight is an hour-and-a-half. That's not even quite enough time for me to get hungry.

Thomas O'Brien is just as appealing in person as you would imagine him to be. It's difficult to describe someone who is so passionate and so unassuming at the same time. There's an energy there, but it's easy.

O'Brien said a lot of things about design and collecting and living a thoughtful life. Every thing was modern once. Rather than collecting deeply, perhaps it is just as interesting to buy the one, one, piece that you admire the most. And, he likes laundry. Like, really, really likes laundry. He'd rather stay home and do laundry than go out. We may have to agree to disagree on this one.

But don't take my word for it, hear him for yourself. O'Brien will be speaking about design and his new book, American Modern in the following cities:

May 17, Washington D.C., Corcoran Gallery of Art

May 20, New York, Rizzoli

June 3, Minneapolis, Gabberts

June 10, New York, Hickory Chair at the New York Design Center

And, for those of you who are bloggers or regular blog readers, Marija is a delight and Magnaverde is a prince. A genius prince. Also, just as you would expect.

The image, above, is from House Beautiful, February 1994. Photographer Laura Resen took the picture. Resen was the photographer for the houses in the book and also a damsel in distress whom O'Brien saved from the big bad wolf in line at art school. As for the title, O'Brien mentioned in his talk that his father called him Tommy; it is not meant to imply that I do.

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