Design, Food and Charity all rolled up at DIFFA Picnic by Design 2017

Hygge Basket- Michele Alfano Design and Tiago Fonseca

Last Wednesday DIFFA -DesignIndustries Foundation Fighting AIDS hosted a fun filled Picnic By Design event celebrating creative expression while raising funds and engaging designers in DIFFA’s mission to further the fight against HIV/AIDS. This year $50,000 was raised to support DIFFA’s grants to HIV/AIDS direct service organizations and programs in New York City and across the country. Nearly 250 people filled the Stage 48 rooftop, to come see 22 leading designers who created and donated vibrant, themed picnic baskets filled with picnic treats and essentials for attendees to bid on and win in the Picnic By Design auction.

Hygge Basket- Michele Alfano Design and Tiago Fonseca

Credit Images: Erik Bardin

This year I entered the HYGGE Modern Basket, inspired by the Danish philosophy of Hygge, translating the elements of my DXV space into my Picnic by Design basket. Tiago Fonseca of course was my partner in crime again building with beautiful craftsmanship. 

Hygge Basket- Michele Alfano Design

Hygge is a feeling of happiness and well-being. To achieve a sense of Nordic coziness, I balanced light colored materials with geometric pattern,  a pop of color and nature.  To depict the landscape of Copenhagen, the angled lines of the basket works in concert with a customized wood coastline Pangea map of Copenhagen - which was customized specifically for the basket. Thank you Pangea maps!

All the senses are touched with elements representing earth, water, and fire. So, whether you are sipping wine, eating good food or enjoying yourself with good friends, the key to this sensorial picnic design is to elevate your picnic experience and heighten the simple pleasures of life. That is Hygge!

Thankyou to HORNE for the gorgeous flatware, and Robert Allen for the beautiful fabrics Artworld Indigo, Tessa Techtonic and Tessa Stitch blue.

Thankyou to Cindy Allen, Editor in Chief Interior Design Magazine who purchased my basket design!

Michele Alfano, Tiago Fonseca and Cindy Allen

Thanks to my friends and supporters of DIFFA Picnic by Design:

Having a blast with Lori Dolnick, Deborah Von Donop, Michele Alfano, 
Kristen Sawyer , Cory Berwanger, Tiago Fonseca, Tyler Wisler, Leanne Wood Newman

Michele Alfano and Michelle Radley of JM Lifestyles

Michele Alfano, Tiago Fonseca, Deborah Von Donop, Guy Tunnicliffe

Here are some of my fave baskets from the 2017 designers:

jesGORDON/properFUN x Dirt Cobain

NPZ Style & Décor

Tito’s Handmade Vodka

“DragCon Basket” styled by Tyler Wisler 

Vanessa Deleon Associates

Stillwell Events NYC with Elegant Affairs NYC

Scott Brogan Group

Antoinette Loupé, Canard Inc

Stacy Garcia Inc.

Ted Moudis Associates

Credit Images: Erik Bardin

Thank you to the sponsors: Blanco, Bolon, Design Lab @ Bell Works, DXV, DRS Associates, EGE, Flaneur, Innomark, Maya Romanoff, NTT Industries, New York Design Center, StudioTK, Robert Allen Duralee Group and The Kitchen & Bath Industry Show.

Five Years of Customized Creations for DIFFA's Picnic by Design: Michele Alfano Design

Credit: Erik Bardin of Picnic By Design Rooftop

Design, Food and Charity is a great combination for a fall event. It will be my sixth year participating in DIFFA's Picnic By Design! This event rocks .... amazing sponsors, designers and creativity! Picnic By Design redefines the concept of a traditional picnic where 20 designers come together to create innovative picnic basket experiences that are on auction at the event with all the proceeds benefiting DIFFA's grants for organizations fightng HIV/AIDS across the country. The twenty original basket designs will be on display alongside the New York City skyline. Lots of creative candy for the eyes.  Guests who purchase a basket will bring home one-of-a-kind baskets created with love...

Wednesday, September 6, 2017 6:00-9:00pm

ROOFTOP @ STAGE 48
605 W 48TH ST NEW YORK, NY

Purchase your TICKET 


Designers will be sharing their designs on DIFFA's SOCIAL:

Hashtag: #PicnicByDesign #PicnicWithDIFFA 

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Pinterest

I will be posting on my social too ( Instagram and Facebook):

 Michele Alfano Design @michelealfanodesign and Twitter @moddesignguru

Join me 

down memory lane 

for what I thunked up 

the past five years:

PICNIC BY DESIGN 2012: 

In 2012, the designers were given existing bags that we had to reconstruct. The sculptures of Richard Serra inspired the design of my 2012 basket with plumbing wrap and electrical wire from the Home Depot. I felt like I was on one of those TV shows shopping in the Depot.

Dwanye Clark and Bob Gaynor purchased my bag!!

PICNIC BY DESIGN 2013: 

With all the amazing work DIFFA does in promoting life and caring for those living with AIDS, Michele Alfano's picnic design is based on the pure elements of LIFE: air, fire, earth and water. Each essential LIFE element is embedded into the picnic experience:

PICNIC BY DESIGN 2014: 

Farm-chic represents the wheelbarrow to table/picnic experience.  The mood will be set with reclaimed oak, sponsor Robert Allen fabrics and firefly LED lighting. 

PICNIC BY DESIGN 2015: 

 The basket transformed into a boom-box...aka The Basket of Beats

Tiago Fonseca of Five Star Millwork and Michele Alfano

Tiago Fonseca of Five Star Millwork , Cindy Allen, Editor of Interior Design Magazine and Michele Alfano

PICNIC BY DESIGN 2016:

 The basket was the shape of a molecule and its contents had a cosmos feel. Astronomers and researchers are looking for answers from the universe beyond and for the cure of AIDS. The molecule stands as a beacon of hope!

Michele Alfano and Tiago Fonseca of Five Star Millwork . Thank you Tiago, you make all my ideas come to life. You are the best partner in crime! xo

THANKYOU to all the sponsors for this years Picnic by Design 2017 coming up soon!! Without your support, this event is not possible!! 

Stay tuned for my 2017 creation this year!

Sneek peeks will be on my instagram @michelealfanodesign 

and

 DIFFA instagram @DIFFANational

Photobucket Holds my Images Ransom

I usually do not use my blog Mod Design Guru as a forum to rant and rave but in this case I am pissed! Today I woke up with a rude awakening as Photobucket decided to block my images on my website from being displayed. 

For six years now, I have used Photobucket to change any image into a HTML format inorder to embed the image into my site. Now I have black blocks all over my site. It reads: Please update your account to enable 3rd party hosting. For important info, please go to www.photobucket.com/500. I started to erase all of these blocked images off my side bar and then realized all of my pull down menus have the blocked images too. Ugghhhh! Ofcourse they do because I created libraries of all of my six years of posts with an image I created from Photobucket. Seriously this is very sad...

The only good news is that the images are not totally gone. They are still hosted on Photobucket- right click to open them up. But really? You know how many freakin images I have? What a pain in my ass it will be to recover each one and recreate a new HTML! 

Basically to avoid all of this work and to get the images to show again, I will have to upgrade to their new P500 plan for $399.00 per year. Are they insane? No credible storage service charges that much and their lack of features compared to other sites does not justify the premium cost. So, Yeah, no thankyou Photobucket, I am not paying the ransom!

Now I will use Postimages or Smugmug! So I recommend you do the same!!

White Kitchens With A Retro Pop

White kitchens have been on trend for a while now. I think they are timeless and will probably never go out of style, kinda like a classic pair of blue jeans. Let's be honest though, basic white kitchens can get boring. To pump up the personality of a white kitchen, you need to put some thought into the other choices going into the space like the appliances, cabinet door styles, backsplash and counter selections that can take the blah out and deliver some needed pizazz. 

Via Houzz

So I'm thinking, why not go from the ordinary to the extraordinary with retro appliances that add a little zhush and confidence to an all white kitchen? I'm talking about appliances that call attention to themselves as soon as guests enter the room –  unique options like those from Elmira Stove Works that recall the automobiles of the 1950s with big tail fins and elongated chrome. 

Via Houzz

The 1939 Hambly house interior showcases a clean, minimalist millwork where your eye goes directly to the appliances. 

Hambly house. Credit:Elmira Stove works 

The turquoise Northstar stove and fridge from the owners former home was actually the starting point for the kitchen design. 

Hambly house. Credit:Elmira Stove works   

The Northstar ranges not only look retro but seriously perform up to modern standards with 15,000 BTU gas burners, 2500-watt high speed radiant elements, standard self-cleaning ovens, programmable delayed bake capability, true convection ovens and a two-cubic foot warmer. The control elements under the ceramic top model provide quick, precise cooking and easy clean up too. I love the timeless styling with state-of-the-art convenience and performance features. 

Via Houzz

White-on-white is the theme in the kitchen above. With their retro styling and hardware, the white Northstar appliances nicely complement the black and white checkerboard floors and natural stone countertops.

If you’re looking for your perfect kitchen, Elmira has an easy way to help you achieve it. Their interactive online kitchen configurator tool lets you “create your dream kitchen” so you can get an idea of how Elmira’s vintage inspired kitchen appliances can be applied in your space. Click here to try it out! 

Connect with Elmira Stove Works on their WEBSITE, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST

All Images courtesy of Elmira Stove Works  

Thanks in part to Elmira Stove Works for sponsoring this post. All opinions are mine.

Steam, Lighting and Laminate Design impacts lives #Designhounds 2017

Last Monday, I darted into the city to meet up with #designhounds to embrace what is hot on the New York design scene. I started off at a breakfast with Mr. Steam at the delicious Landmarc and then shot off to the ICFF, North America's premier platform for global design to meet up with Hubbardton Forge and Wilsonart. 

Breakfast with #designhounds : Catherine Avery, Amy Wax, Christine Kohut, Veronika Miller, Michele Alfano, Deborah Von Donop, Laurie Gorelick, Patti Johnson and Martha Orellana

I enjoyed my day and noticed some overlap from brand to brand. I saw how each brand explored how the intersection of materials, design and technology can impact lives on a day to day basis.

NEW-Mr. Steam Linear SteamHead

Martha, Mr. Steam's VP of Marketing spoke about how "wellness should be a way life." There are so many benefits of steam and how we designers can educate our clients to understand how steam can promote a happier and healthier lifestyle. Why not "feel good" on a day to day basis versus the sporadic 'treat yourself' weekend to the spa? 

I have previously met Martha on the Modenus -Blog Tour California where I viscerally experienced the steam experience with TALA clay all over my face. I walked away understanding that there are major health and beauty advantages to steam-bathing that can fit into a well designed life. 

Mr. Steam Blog Tour Cali Image Credit: Chasen West

You know how awesome you feel from a spa steam afterwards! Your pores open up and your skin feels smoother; your muscles loosen up and you unwind; your sinuses clear and you breathe easier. The release of toxins in your body from steam also helps headaches and joint inflammation...the potential of steam is tremendous! Steam is therapy.... 

Mr. Steam's intelligent operating system iSteam offers an array of options with easy touch screen navigation: add music, aroma (aromasteam) , colored lighting (chromasteam) and/or control the temperature in your very own shower. Mr. Steams online virtual spa system makes it easy. Get a simple system or all the bells and whistles. You can see the pricing on their website as you select your options. 

Now Light Benefits....

Not only steam but also light has the ability to transform one's life. Hubbardton Forge, a lighting manufacturer in Vermont USA showcased new lighting collections that incorporate crystals and color. From the ancient Egyptian times of King Tut to the modern masters of Cartier, crystals have been prized for their beauty and their healing and spiritual properties. Light passing through crystals start a vibration within the minerals and will resonate with the faceted patterns of the crystal. I really believe that this reflection and refraction can help us to restore balance and stress in our lives. 

The Artemis LED pendant 

I would say Hubbardton Forge lighting is synonymous with craftsmanship where crystal design is taken to the next level. Each design is specifically crafted to display crystals like they were jewels in a jewelry setting as shown in the Artemis LED pendant above. How beautiful, right?

Solitude LED Pendant

Each crystal in the Solitude LED Pendant rises from an LED light guide so light is reflected and refracted. This pendant can be hand crafted up to 18'-0" long. What a statement this fixture makes over a dining room table!!

Color too affects one's mood and how we feel in a space. I loved The Cumulus light fixture below, its fun, colorful funkiness has some kinetic movement too. Shown as a floor lamp. Go to my instagram to see the video: @michelealfanodesign

Now Laminate... 

Wilsonart, a leading manufacturer of engineered surfacing developed Wilsonart Challenges, an innovative Student Chair Competition celebrating laminate with a "borders, boundaries and mashup theme" for 2017. Each entry from the San Diego State University explores a resolution of life between extremes by using patterns from the Wilsonart Laminate collection. Grace Jeffers, a design historian and materials expert told us #designhounds that the program is incorporated into the students curriculum and there was a winner and 5 runner ups.

The competition itself fosters inspiration, innovation with a hands on opportunity where the students actually build their design.  We saw all the cool designs at ICFF! Besides the students learning and understanding the properties of laminate, they most importantly learned how material emphasizes a message. Design has a way of touching a nerve and impacting lives....

Here were some of my faves:

Megan Acera. Chair:Joyful Frustration. 

Frustration from one's desires results in a happy resolution as evident in her fragmentation and color choice

Matthew John Bacer -winner of competition. Chair:A piece of Tlaltecuhtli.

He reflects on the use of appropriation of a famous stone monolith in Mexico city. The use of and color of laminate looks like real stone.

Anna Karreskog- Chair Waves- using her engineering knowledge, she celebrates the endless succession of San Diego's ocean's waves. 

Thankyou to Veronika Miller of Modenus and #designhounds, Mr. Steam, Wilsonart and Hubbardton Forge for a great day!!

To get a daily dose of design, find MoD Design Guru on

 Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter |Instagram