Victoire de Castellane Is My Soul Mate

I came across this great short video on Dior Fine Jewelry's designer Victoire de Castellane on Style.com and had to post it here too. As I watched it I realized why I liked her designs for Dior so much - we are soul mates! The fabulous Victoire loves the same things that I do, like Japanese toys, miniatures in general and fake food props, prominently on display at her Paris office. Her collection of Disney snow globes is an homage to Jeff Koons, whom I am also a big fan, and such details are clearly apparent on her gorgeous creations. She admits that she likes everything "fake" and gets inspired by colorful and unusual everyday-things like bolts of neon plastic string, kept in overflowing baskets in her office.
She admits that "I would love to be Jessica Rabbit, but I'm more maybe the stepmother of "White Snow", clearly showing her sense of humor and "I'm a child-at-heart" sprit de vie.

A few images of my faux-food collection, held at the Pumpkin Mansion's permanent archive and a selection of my books on Jeff Koons. I do own a signed Koons print as I can't even dream of buying one of his sculptures or original paintings, unless I win the Lotto.










Via Style.com

Pumpkin Mansion: Kitty

This is Kitty. Kitty comes from a Diesel store display. Diesel had a collection in the mid-90's which ad campaign was all about Africa so all their shops were decorated with safari-themed displays. Sometime in my previous life I was responsible for changing the windows in one of their many shops here in the US. Whenever we received new display props and signage the previous windows had to be swapped and the majority of sets were simply discarded in the trash. I fell in love with Kitty from the get-go and couldn't fathom throwing it out in the dumpster - and never understood why no one ever claimed any displays for themselves. Kitty lives with me in Florida and keeps me company when I watch the telly in the evenings, always looking up for some affection. Kitty is made of porcelain (very Jeff Koons!) and stands at about 20" tall. The green Sperry topsiders also happen to be mine and are not a prop. I was just too lazy to move them out of the image and it just added a certain "cinema-vérité" quality to the tableau.

More Pumpkin Mansion - The Office

I decided to share a little more of my "vie privée" here at Little-Pumpkins and I thought that my "office" space would be a good place to start. It's not an actual office, as I do not work from there, but it's where I keep my desk, my laptop, my books and all my inspirational thingies. It's also my den/TV/guest room, where I lounge in the evenings couch-potatoing in front of the telly. This is also my fun room, with collectable toys and very colorful high-low art. The rest of my home has a bit more conventional - though eclectic - decor, more muted and sedate.

I like things that have faces. In front of my Toshiba I keep several mugs and cups that serve as pencil holders. This is also where I have my morning coffee, read the news, answer e-mails and research posts for the blog. The red snowman mug actually has coffee inside and I bought it at Target for U$1.99 on their after-Christmas 60-70% off sale. The bunny face is also from Target and I bought it around Easter in 2005. It's meant to be a kid's plate but I use it as decor supported by a clear acrylic book stand. The pink Cheshire cat and the green Mike Wazowski (Monster's Inc) were purchased at Disney World earlier this month. The red Keith Haring-looking toothy monster I bought in Paris in 1994-95 and it's from a local artist. The skull cup is one-of-kind and I bought it in Portland, Oregon around 2004. The pair of lovely Japanese dolls were a gift from a very dear person in my life. At last, the clear Ultraman glass was gift from my sister when she was in Hong Kong or Japan, not sure now.

On top of my TV I keep a photo of Booboo, my beloved pug, along a couple of pug figurines. The smaller one I got in Provincetown, MA and the larger one is a piggy-bank that I bought in Amsterdam in 2004, I think. The bee antenna is from Booboo's first Halloween costume ever. The gnome is from Urban Outfitters and the Big Boy bobble-head is from Cape Cod also. In the background you can see a glimpse of a signed Murakami print I own.

Did I ever mention I collect pigs? Please, don't send me any as I have a box full of them that will make it to Ebay sometime soon. I will just keep the most charming ones like the selection above this book shelf. The palm tree is from Home Depot and lights up like a Christmas tree and I still have it on display as I liked it how it looked, even if the holidays are long gone. The ornaments are a mix of flocked animals that I've had since the early 90's. The velvet tiger is from a flea market in Providence, RI and didn't cost me more than US$3.00.

On top of the vitrine I keep a bunch of different figurines, very high-low once again. The Nara "Little Wanderer" is probably the most expensive thing there and the rest is a mix of Ebay finds, flea markets and gifts. The three small porcelain figurines were a gift and came from an artist out of Sao Paulo and are limited-edition. Below you see my devil figurine collection and if you look carefully you see my own picture in there inside a round frame.

On these two shelves I keep another mish-mash of odds and ends. I have lots and lots of boxes filled with toys, figurines and what-nots. It's hard to decide what to display so every so often I move it around so other things can see the light of day. I am starting to unload stuff on Ebay again so I can make room in my life again for more important things. Here you will see a group of resin female figurines I bought in Paris through the years. They are French comics characters and there is this little shop in Marais that has a great selection of such. The largest blond one is Miel, a character by Milo Manara, and she's made of porcelain. Her polka-dotted dress is flowing in the wind revealing her pulled down panties... How risque! The tallest one is a black African sorceress called Karaba and she is fierce! There are also faux food displays like cakes, pastries an ice cream sundae in the back row. The bottom shelve is a group of toy dinosaurs that I love and three Murakami stuffed dolls.

A larger view of my vitrine with my goose lamp on top.

This book shelve is next to my desk and it's just a mix of art, decor and collectable books. The gnome stool is Philippe Stark for Kartell. The side table is from a flea market, along with the lamp and the Thonet chair, that only cost me US$50.00 for the pair. You also catch a glimpse of my brown and yellow sofa and a bit of my TV dinner table.

This is my "office" full-view. The desk looks Art-Deco and was also from a yard sale in Cape Cod. The La Marie clear chair is also Stark from Kartell. The large picture is a signed limited-edition by Paul Frank and the frame is all carved by hand. The smaller pictures above are paint-by-number from Ebay and the picture shelf is from Target.

So this is where the magic all happens! Hope you liked the tour!!

Christmas Decor @ Pumpkin Mansion

This is my feeble attempt to decorate for Christmas this year. I used to own a huge realistic faux tree, about 8 ft high that I sold last year, so I just bought a smaller version to add some holiday spirit chez moi. This cute silver tree is from Target and I paid US$29.00 for it plus US$7.99 for glass ornaments. It actually lights up (it's on a timer) with it's fiber optic branches changing color plus some colored lights do some blinking to jazz it up even more. I will try to take a picture of it when it gets dark too as I just set it up 2 nights ago. I know natural trees are nicer/chic-er, blah, blah, blah but pines needles and sap are a pain to deal with. Plus you have to drag it out later on and make a huge mess. Sorry, not for moi.

Piero Fornasetti Rugs

I've been a fan of Piero Fornasetti for I don't know how long. I remember having seen his iconic woman's face designs for the longest time but it was not until the early 90's when an Italian ex-boss of mine showed me one of his furniture catalogs and I put a name to them. Since then I've been collecting Fornasetti items whenever I see something I must own and can afford. His original furniture pieces are way too expensive for my pockets but someday I'll get my hands on one of his tall chest of drawers or a set of his whimsical chairs. So far I've amassed a good collection of his original Julia plates, sans gold rim, and a variety of other items like lamps, trays, umbrella stands, etc. The photo at the bottom was taken in my old yellow living room in Boston showing a selection of plates above the fireplace. I couldn't hang all of them for lack of space but you can get an idea of my appreciation for Fornasetti.
Now the Roubini Rug collection is offering these gorgeous and unique Fornasetti Rugs. Reflecting Piero Fornasetti's whimsical artwork, the rugs certainly make a great statement even by itself and would look fab in my living room! Prices are a bit steep starting at US$3,000 for a 3' x 5', US$14,000 for a 7' x 7' and all the way up to US$24,000 for a round style. They are constructed from silk and wool and are also available in custom proportions. Click on the link to view all rugs styles. I love it!

Via Luxist