Call me an Aesthete. Like those dandies of the Late Nineteenth Century, I do believe in "Beauty for Beauty's Sake." Why shouldn't something look good?
Like a painting: do I really have to wake up to a picture which "challenges" me? Isn't it enough to be moved by a favorite color palette? Or remembrances of a place with happy memories?
Or a new building: Make it green and sustainable and affordable, yes. But don't forget to use those same materials which match its 100 year old neighbors. And don't dodge the "handcraft"—the intimate work of artisans which give a building its soul—like carved stone, brickwork, tilework, wrought metals and sculptural bas relief. These handsome "human touches" are what will remind us, a century later, that a real, living human soul laid his or her hands on this site.
Even glass bottles: It takes as much effort to cast a million beautiful jars as it does a million ugly jars. Why not take an extra day or two to get the original model right—to sweat the details—in order to ensure a lifetime of beauty and usefulness. I, for one, am loathe to throw away a beautiful and useful bottle.
The polished pewter frame, shown above, is newly made in New York City though it could have come right out of the Aesthetic Movement of the 1890's. Heavy "wire" appears twisted into Celtic Knots for feet and crown. Alas, it is part of the last shipment of frames from a beloved vendor who will be closing-down after 40 years of beautiful production. I have sold thousands of their frames (over 25 years) and am heartbroken that they will be no more. But, like good Aesthetes, they have worked hard to make a product that will exhibit beauty and quality for centuries to come.
Click on the photo above to learn more about this frame.
Or click HERE to see our full offering of photo frames, many of them made by the same workshop.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
We also can be found in Pittsburgh's historic "Strip District" at Mahla & Co. Antiques (www.mahlaantiques.com) or in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania at The Antique Center of Strabane (www.antiquecenterofstrabane.com).
Or call to arrange to visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only). 917-446-4248