Good as Gold (+ Williams)

We've got an electic collection of furniture in our home - family pieces, antiques collected over the years, art pieces, things literally found on the side of the road, and even a dining room set that I designed and had built. Then there are the "investment" items that we've purchased or had custom-made, spending more than we probably should have, that will last for years. One of those is our leather recliner that doesn't look like a recliner.

Ed wanted a recliner. I had visions of the two matching, clunky, blue velour, monstrosities a neighbor lady had on her front porch when we first moved into our North Portland neighborhood. My directive to Ed was simple: "you can have a recliner if it's small and doesn't look like a recliner." A few years ago, while he was working out of his firm's San Francisco office, I came across the chair that would work. The next day I took him to the store, he sat in the chair, and a look of complete bliss came over his face as he pushed himself back into a reclined position. I smiled and said, "OK, now look at the price tag." Investment furniture.

That particular chair was designed and produced by, what was then, a company named Mitchell Gold. Since then the company name has changed to Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams. What originally attracted me to the company were the simple and beautiful print ad campaigns. (There's an archive of past ads on the firm's website.) Then there's the simple, beautiful and well-built furniture.

This past week I got an email asking me to RSVP for an event, held at the Portland retail store, to celebrate the release of book Let's Get Comfortable, written by the duo with Gold's sister-in-law Mindy Drucker. Last night at the event there was champagne, white wine, tasty "poo poos," and sugar cookies featuring the cover of the new book. Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams could not have been nicer and more down-to-earth - and then they gave me a copy of the book, which they personalized to "The Fishinghams" (a nickname given to my partner and I, formed by combining my last name and his name Cunningham).

The book is a great resource for insiration in "how to furnish and decorate a welcoming home." It offers many photographed suggestions for a variety of home styles - complete with photos and possible room layouts. It's kind of a beautiful "coffee table" book about how and where to place your coffee table.

In conjuction with the book release MG+BW has also launched the online "magazine" Comfort mag.net. The introductory "issue" contains an interesting interview with playwright/activist Eve Ensler - the writer of The Vagina Monologues (that's the first time I've used the word "vagina" in a bLog-oMotives entry) and a piece on furnishing Second Homes.

I encourage readers to spend some time poking around the MG+BW website. You'll find the incredible photography of Tipper Gore (yes, that Tipper Gore) being sold to raise funds for The Climate Project. There's also the adventures of company mascot - and sometimes spokesdog - Lulu. Of course, the MG+BW furniture and accessories are also on display.

Photos courtesy of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives