Recently, three very different people have spoken to me of
passion. A professor, a designer and a
curator each used the word and evoked the emotion though none referred to the
physical, instead to writing, to home and to art.
Not one of the three is flamboyant. When they speak with their hands they keep
them close to their frames; they do not spread wide and flail about. While each of them wears color, it is usually
of cooler hues. Sometimes richer – rust, bittersweet, mocha, but I cannot
remember any of them in red.
These three remind me of my friend, Thomas O’Brien, whom I
met six years ago. He has inspired me and
taught me, made me laugh and made me lunch.
He, too, has spoken to me of passion and with passion about his work and
his homes and his life.
Aero, his shop in Soho in New York is one of these passions
and its spirit and its evolution is at the core of Thomas’s latest book. While it is the heart of the story, I fear
the title may cause someone to think, “It’s about a store.”
It is not about a store, but rather the curing of an
aesthetic. Through the text, beautifully
rendered by Lisa Light who has translated Thomas’s philosophy into print, you can
follow him finding his way to a very thoughtful life.
If you don’t read design books, which you should as there is
always more to learn about the pictures, you will enjoy this for the
images: Thomas’s first apartment in New
York, Aero’s first location and pictures of his friend’s, Laura Resen’s, homes
which offer a perspective on his influence in more transferable environments.
Labels: design books, Designers
