I've been a friend and fan of Ralph Pucci — the man and his gallery — since I first met him while I was an editor at Town & Country. I was thrilled when Michael Wollaeger of Interiors asked me to profile Pucci's mannequin production (where the business really began) for the June/July issue.

I can't encourage you enough to stop by Pucci's ever-inspiring gallery on West 18th street. His vision might be beyond most of our bank accounts to bring home, but it really is one of my favorite spots in all of NYC.

An editor (retailer, manufacturer, etc.) can easily spend more than half of her/his time attending trade shows around the globe, discovering what's new. Typically these shows are in "generic" convention centers where the focus is on what's being debuted. KBIS, ICFF, the Gift Show, you name it. My visit in February to Ambiente Messe Frankfurt, put everything in perspective.

Dish mania at the Portugese brand Vista Allegre.

I've been to Maison et Objet and even puttered around Salone years ago but I've never seen such an impressive production. Ambiente is the world's largest consumer goods and indoor trade fair. Yes, I have the "dish gene" but it's hard not to be wowed. Here's the report and slideshow I did for the Huffington Post.

For the Spring 2013 issue of Ultra Travel, I interviewed Richard Meier. The Pritzker Prize-winning architect, a fellow New Yorker, is being honored with a retrospective that opens next month at the Bisazza Foundation in Italy. Click here for the Q&A.

I'm late to share two stories I wrote over the past couple of months for Editor At Large. Here is a my profile of three great museums who are unveiling impressive renovations: Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, the Saint Louis Art Museum and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. I'm particularly fond of this photograph by Pedro Pegenaute of the new atrium in Amsterdam.


For last month's ICFF, I reported on the brilliant Carrot Concept growing in El Salvador, which debuted at Wanted Design.

Here is that story, where you'll also see this beautiful table by Ernesto Pastore and chair by Claudia & Harry Washington, co-founders of the Carrot Concept.

I went to Berlin in September to meet legendary designer Philippe Starck as he introduced his latest collection for Axor/Hansgrohe. Here's a link to my latest post & slideshow about the designer's inspiration, for the Huffington Post.