Q: How and when did you get into the field of rugs?
A: I actually was introduced to antique Oriental rugs as a child by my grandmother, who was a prolific collector and one of the few women in the field in the mid-20th century. While other children were collecting baseball cards, I was learning about 18th and 19th century rugs and the interest grew over the years. After I graduated from college (University of California, Berkeley), I taught high school English for three years and continued my rug "hobby." In 1980, when I was 25, I met Christine Hunt, who became my wife and who was also an antique rug collector. We both had a passion for antique Oriental rugs and reached the mutual conclusion that art level rugs would be at the very least our “hobby.” We opened Claremont Rug Company with a vision and, fortunately, what we had seen as a latent interest among art lovers to collect antique rugs was correct. Claremont Rug Company moved quickly from being a sideline to our primary business endeavor.
Q: What clicked and made you say, "This is what I want to do the rest of my life"?
A: After being introduced to antique Oriental rugs by my grandmother and the many collectors she knew, I came to learn about the culture of the people who created them, and to appreciate the spiritual nature and deep impact of the pieces. From the onset, I believed that antique rugs were an undiscovered art form and I was confident that I could expose the world to them. I was also comfortable that I could use my background in education as part of the way I conduct business. Over the years, I have been privileged to work with many collectors of various forms of art and to educate them about antique Oriental rugs. It has been extremely fulfilling.
Q: I imagine there is no school where you can learn about rugs apart from regular art schools, how did you acquire your knowledge?
A: First of all, as far as I know, one can’t even go to art schools to learn about Oriental rugs. Instead, you have to read the limited amount of literature devoted to the field. In addition, there are a few museums in the world, including the de Young in San Francisco, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Textile Museum in Washington, DC and the Berlin Museum that have extensive collections. We like to believe that our Gallery, with an inventory of 4000 pieces of which 1000 are available for viewing on our website, is also an important resource for honing one’s eye for great antique rugs.
Overall, as with most areas of interest, the more that you study, read and experience pieces first hand, the more you begin to obtain knowledge and to gain a more seasoned eye. Of course, the exposure to great rug collections through meeting my grandmother’s connoisseur friends before and after her passing catapulted me into this magical art form. For my part, I have been fortunate to talk with descendants of the rug-makers to gain some of the perspective that the actual weavers had. As a gallery owner for the past 32 years, I review "one-in-the-world" antique carpets on a regular basis, yet can still say I learn much every day. I continually find myself seeing something in a rug that I have not seen before. I also have friendships with many collectors and have been lucky enough that my wife shares my interest in antique Oriental rugs.
Q: What are the best books about Oriental rugs?
A: Two of the best are “Rugs and Carpets of the World” by Ian Bennett and “Oriental Carpets: From the Tents, Cottages and Workshops of Asia” by Jon Thompson. Everything by the early luminary Ulrich Schurmann is superb. I should add I have written a short introductory book near the beginning of my career: “The Guide to Purchasing an Oriental Rug.” Certainly not a “tome” or of the gravitas of others I mentioned, but my clients tell me that it has been quite helpful to orient them to the field.
Q: There are a couple of concepts that you have developed, first how did the Whole Home Collections concept come about and can you give a few examples of how you tackle decorating an entire home?
A: From the very beginning of the Gallery, I have communicated with my clients about the intrinsic artistic and cultural importance of antique Oriental carpets. At the same time, they are an art form for floor display and most clients use them in this traditional manner in their homes. As a result, decorating with them has most often been the starting point for a rug collection. Clients who had lovely homes and fell in love with their great beauty often experienced that a room without an art-level rug seemed to be missing something. So creating "whole home projects" grew out of my clients’ natural extension of appreciating and displaying rugs.
Antique Oriental rugs have that rare ability to enhance many different decorating styles. I understood early on that art-level antique rugs serve stunningly as unifiers to other forms of art. They add tremendous warmth and distinction to a room, and have a great unifying effect on a home, which otherwise might seem simply an accumulation of art and antiques.
Q: The second concept, on how you elevated the status of rugs from decorative to art level, can you please explain how this happened through time?
A: From early on, I have felt that the best antique 19th century Oriental carpets are among the world’s most profound art forms. So from Day One at Claremont, we have presented antique rugs as objects of art that can be used to beautify one’s environment. When we opened in 1980 that was certainly not the norm. We told our clients then as we tell them now, that 19th century Oriental rugs are significantly undervalued relative to other forms of art, because premier rugs have a profound impact on the sensitive viewer. In confirmation of this, recently one client marveled that his entire antique carpet collection cost significantly less than his Lichtenstein.
I lectured extensively for about a decade and my book about purchasing authentic Oriental rugs covers their adherence to the artistic principles of balance and harmony. When we started printing catalogs 24 years ago, we always used the description for each carpet as an opportunity to discuss its aesthetic merits as well as its technical and decorative aspects. At this point, writers and art editors of several significant publications have interviewed me when writing articles on the antique Oriental carpet, so the appreciation of rugs as great art has definitely grown. Of course, the newly refurbished and endowed Islamic Galleries in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has been instrumental in the continuation of people’s perception of rugs as an art form.
Source: artdaily.org
TV Antique expert to guest at Seend fete - This is Wiltshire
TV Antique expert to guest at Seend fete
2:00pm Monday 28th May 2012 in Latest News
TV presenter Paul Martin, a resident of Seend, will be guest of honour at this year’s village fete.
Mr Martin, who presents BBC’s Flog It antiques programme, has been the special guest at the fete on previous occasions.
The fete is on Saturday, August 11, in the Lye Field and organisers are encouraging people to enter the grand parade either as walkers in fancy dress, on floats or in vintage cars.
Fete chairman Fiona Johnson said: "We’re hoping to make this the best parade ever.
"The parade is open to anyone who would like to take part. There will be an opportunity to collect money for your charity in the arena after the parade."
There will be numerous stalls at the fete plus model aircraft displays, train rides, a beer tent, tea tent and barbecue.
In the main arena the entertainment will comprise the Wiltshire School of Gymnastics, The Curious Company, a local theatre group, an Aikido demonstration, dancing dogs, a magic show by Mr Snuffy the Bear, Punch and Judy and music from Shrewton Brass Band Quintet.
For more information, visit seendfete.co.uk or call Fiona Johnson on 01380 828401.
Source: www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk
California firefighter and family rescued after plane crash in Idaho - Contra Costa Times
Hours after their plane crashed on a steep and snowy mountainside in Idaho, a California firefighter, his wife and their daughter were airlifted to safety by National Guard rescuers.
The family was en route from California to Mountain Home, Idaho, when their Cessna 172 went down Saturday night, leaving them with head and back injuries, officials said.
One of them used a cellphone just after midnight to report that they had survived the crash.
A medical helicopter located the wreckage Sunday morning, but whiteout conditions prevented the aircraft crew from carrying out an immediate rescue, said Col. Tim Marsano of the Idaho National Guard.
Rescuers who walked through 6-foot snowdrifts and on 60-degree slopes reached the crash site first. They wrapped the family members in blankets and built a fire until a military helicopter could lift them out with a hoist.
"It was inhospitable for a landing," Marsano said. "The use of the helicopter was indispensable for this type of rescue operation."
The three were flown one at a time to a landing area about a half-mile from War Eagle Mountain in southwest Idaho's Owyhee County. They were later flown to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, where they remain in stable condition Monday.
It's unclear what caused the Cessna to go down. Photos taken by rescuers showed significant damage, including a broken front windshield.
Authorities identified the family
as Brian Brown of Wilton, Calif., his wife Jayann Brown, and their adult daughter, whose name was not immediately available. They declined to be interviewed Monday, said hospital spokeswoman Elizabeth Duncan.Brian Brown is a captain at the Cosumnes Community Services District Fire Department in Elk Grove, Calif. He is also Deputy Chief of Operation and Training with the nearby volunteer Wilton Fire Protection District.
Wilton Fire Chief Tom Dark said the couple was flying with their youngest daughter to Mountain Home to visit their oldest daughter. He was relieved they were in stable condition.
"That was our first concern, how he and the family were doing," said Dark. "Knowing what a good pilot he is, something had to have happened."
Dark said it was probably an unusual experience for Brown, a firefighter for more than two decades, to be on the other end of a rescue.
"When the shoe is on the other foot, it's kind of strange," he said.
Source: www.contracostatimes.com
California smog threatens giant redwoods - Beeld
Sequoia - The California forest that is home to the biggest and oldest living things on earth, the giant Sequoia redwoods, also suffers a dubious distinction. It has the worst air pollution of any national park in the US.
"Ozone levels here are comparable to urban settings such as LA," said Emily Schrepf of the non-profit advocacy group the National Park Conservation Association. "It's just not right".
Signs in visitor centres warn guests when it's not safe to hike. The government employment website warns job applicants that the workplace is unhealthy. And park workers are briefed every year on the lung and heart damage the pollution can cause.
Although weakened trees are more susceptible to drought and pests, the long-term impact on the pines and on the giant redwoods that have been around for 3 000 years and more is unclear.
"If this is happening in a national park that isn't even close to an urban area, what do you think is happening in your backyard?" said Annie Esperanza, a park scientist who has studied air quality there for 30 years.
It's a problem in a handful of the nation's 52 parks that are monitored constantly for ozone, including Joshua Tree National Park in California's Mojave Desert and North Carolina's Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But none is as severe as Sequoia and its neighbour, Kings Canyon.
While forest fires create some pollution, most comes from the San Joaquin Valley, the expanse of farmland that is home to California's two busiest north-south trucking highways, diesel freight train corridors, food processing plants and tens of thousands of diesel tractors.
Smog is created when the sun's rays hit pollutants such as oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds that are in motor vehicle exhaust, solvents, pesticides, petrol vapours and decaying dairy manure.
Blister lungs
"There is no simple answer to ozone pollution," said Thomas Cahill, a researcher at the University of California, Davis who studies air problem in Sequoia and across California.
Breathing ozone at high levels for even a short time can blister the lungs like UV rays blisters skin, scientists agree. The problem in quantifying exposure levels, however, is that some people suffer pulmonary damage at lower doses than others.
The only way to improve air in the park is to improve the San Joaquin air basin, something that so far has proved elusive given the myriad sources of pollution. Even with hundreds of millions of dollars spent to retrofit diesel engines and replace petrol lawnmowers with electric ones, residents pay a federal fine for the region's failure to meet even minimal EPA ozone limits.
"We don't create a disproportionate amount of pollution; it's just that we have these natural challenges so that the pollution we do create can take literally weeks or months to clean out. It just builds up over time," said Jaime Holt, spokesperson for the valley air district.
Already this year, the level of ozone in Sequoia park has exceeded federal health standards, even though it's early in the summer ozone season. During the June-to-September summer season last year, the park violated the National Ambient Air Quality standard at least 87 times, compared with 56 at Joshua Tree and 12 at Great Smoky Mountains.
"It's tragic that the National Park Service is known for clean air, and then you see a sign saying it's unhealthy to breathe," Esperanza said. "It's so contrary to the national parks idea."
Source: www.news24.com
California's Happiest Seaside Towns - NBC San Diego
SEASIDE PRIDE: Whenever a major publication releases a "best of" list, count on California occupying at least a few of the slots. Honest? It doesn't matter what the list is. Yes, we're definitely preening, because we happen to live here, and yes, that isn't all that attractive, but you cannot deny that you know exactly what we're talking about. Best hot dog? Best five-star hotels? Best of the West? The Golden State is going to make a cameo or two or three. But any list that involves the ocean in any way tends to be, well, if not California-centric, than very favorable of the place. That is, because, spoiler alert, California has a lot of stunning coastline. And, also, spoiler alert, a lot of charming towns occupy that coastline. And giving it up for several of them is Coastal Living, which recently named 15 of "America's Happiest Seaside Towns."
AND THEY ARE... Laguna Beach, which is dang happy, what with its art and its wine and those egg salad sandwiches at Zinc Cafe (we can't talk the LB with talking about that sandwich). Half Moon Bay is on there, which fits, what with its pumpkins and its beauty and the quaintest name of all the choices. And, for the slightly more metro entries? Tiburon and Sausalito each get a spot. The list is practically flush with California-ness, so check it out. Could you visit all four seaside towns this year and feel the happy? We want to, right now.
Copyright NBC Owned Television Stations
Source: www.nbcsandiego.com
California's Coronado named #1 U.S. beach - Calgary Sun
With Americans packing up for travel over the Memorial Day weekend, one coastal hot spot in Southern California is winning praise as the best U.S. beach in an annual ranking from a Florida professor.
San Diego's Coronado tops the list from "Dr. Beach," otherwise known as Stephen Leatherman, director of the laboratory for coastal research at Florida International University.
The 1.5-mile stretch of Coronado Beach is set against the historic Hotel del Coronado, on an island just across San Diego Bay from the city's downtown. It is reachable by ferry or water taxi.
"The beach is very flat, making it great for skim boarding and walking, and the sand has a silvery sheen because of the presence of mica," Leatherman's website said.
Coming in second on the list was Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. The Dr. Beach website describes the destination as benefiting from a shallow offshore reef that protects swimmers from big waves, making it ideal for children.
The other destinations on Leatherman's Top 10 list are: Main Beach in East Hampton, New York; St. George Island State Park on the Florida panhandle; Hamoa Beach in Maui, Hawaii; Coast Guard Beach in Cape Cod, Massachusetts; Waimanalo Bay Beach Park in Oahu, Hawaii; Cape Florida State Park in Key Biscayne, Florida; Beachwalker Park in Kiawah Island, South Carolina; and Cape Hatteras on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Last year, the top destination on the list was Siesta Beach in Sarasota, Florida. The 2010 winner was Coopers Beach on New York's Long Island.
Leatherman has released his list of top coastal destinations every year since 1991. His criteria for judging a good beach include the width of the beach, the color of the sand, the slope, water temperature, frequency of rain, noise factors and the presence of lifeguards.
The full list for 2012 coastal destinations is available at Drbeach.org.
Source: www.calgarysun.com
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