Hamptons-Made Home Accessories

GIVE US A TOILE
The classic French Toile de Jouy originated in Jouy-en-Josas, a town in northern France, in the late 18th century, and its heritage is what lends the style its name. The intricate patterns on toiles are traditionally depictions of complex pastoral themes or snippets of daily life. However, Hamptons Toile founder Michael O’Reilly and partner Mike Schell have put a contemporary spin on the design while preserving the whimsical nature of this spirited fabric.

O’Reilly became inspired to design fabrics after visiting his sister in New Orleans where he saw a toile that featured landmarks from the area. Given the beautiful scenery, iconic landmarks, and beloved character of the Hamptons, O’Reilly immediately conceptualized what was soon to be Hamptons Toile.

O’Reilly drove from village to village, photographing the best of the Hamptons including the East Hampton pond, the Southampton train station, the American Hotel in Sag Harbor, and the Montauk Lighthouse. He was intrigued by the everyday nuances of the East End, such as the Route 27 sign, the historical windmills, and deer leaping across the highway. Schell, a graphic artist, made O’Reilly’s photographs come to life, drawing the beautiful scenes while sitting in the couple’s sunlit backyard in East Hampton. Today, the Hamptons Toile collection includes fabric by the yard and wallpaper in 100 custom colors as well as pillows, place mats, tote bags, and additional home accessories.

Hamptons Toile throw pillows ($65 each), Hamptons Toile, 329-0441

NO PLATES LIKE HOME
East Hampton resident Sydney Albertini was raised in Paris and immersed in both European and American cultures from an early age. Over the past decade, she created an extensive body of work—including ceramics, drawings, paintings, quilts, wallpaper, and clothing—which has shown in major galleries in New York; her decorative pieces have been sold at stores across the nation including Barneys New York.

Albertini’s work is powerful, delicate, and colorful; it balances a love of nature with a sophisticated urban sensibility. For her range of pottery, she paints natural abstract motifs directly on Italian bisque without any prior sketching. The beauty of the environment around her and nature inspire her creations, including fanciful botanicals, rustic vegetables, and delicate coral motifs. She focuses on one aspect of inspiration and simply “goes for it” with free flowing paint; too much preplanning discourages spontaneity she says.

Every product is imprinted with the artist’s special blend of country living, urban sophistication, and down-to-earth aesthetics. She is considered to be one of the most promising designers of the “new few” generation—an eclectic group of creatives seeking a balanced life with a back-to-basics philosophy, while keeping an edge on modern living.

ALL FIRED UP
Ceramist Karen “Kiki” Lissack created Kiki Handmade pottery in East Hampton. After years spent as a successful advertising executive in Manhattan, Lissack relocated to the Hamptons with her husband, Ian Scollay, executive chef at The Maidstone Club. Since moving to the East End, she focused exclusively on clay, underwent a two-year apprenticeship, and assisted in raku workshops for local potters.

Today, she creates many beautiful variations of colorful and spirited wheel-thrown pottery. Because of the unique firing process, she has an affinity for raku pottery, which includes extreme temperature changes, glazing techniques, and unexpected results. Raku firings often yield ceramics with intense color and unique markings that are appealing to the eye and imagination.

For this particular vase, Lissack uses a process called “naked raku” in which a claylike glaze called slip is painted on the surface of a bisquefired vase, then, it is exposed to extreme heat. The piece is then placed into a container filled with wood shavings, which immediately ignite. The smoke and heat from the fire creates extraordinary patterns on the ceramic surface, and the unforeseen reactions to the elements produce beautiful results. Her alluring and functional pottery has appeared in local galleries, shows, and retail establishments and is evidence that she embraces the William Morris directive for design: to be beautiful and useful at the same time.

Naked branch raku vase, price upon request, Kiki Handmade.

LINEN ROOM
Elizabeth Dow has been recognized worldwide as an authority on surface design and color; however, she is most known for her tasteful hand-painted wall coverings, which are all produced locally in her Amagansett studio.

After beginning her career in art restoration as well as serving as the artist-in-residence for Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, she conceptualized a collection of hand-painted wallcoverings, and in 1992, her company Elizabeth Dow was born. Once she established her name as a couture wallcovering studio, a coordinating textile collection seemed a natural next step.

With qualities ranging from Belgian linens to faux furs, the fabric is a brilliant complement to the company’s line of hand-painted wallcoverings. The Hamptons collection is a grouping of the finest Belgium linen fabrics ranging from light and breezy drapery to robust upholstery. Woven by master craftsmen using fine quality European yarns, Dow’s Hamptons Collection is labeled as certified Belgian Linen and Masters of Linen, titles that are only given to fabrics woven with the highest quality standards.

Today, Dow’s wallcoverings and textiles are sold globally and her work is featured in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt Museum. Additionally, her wallcoverings are in four rooms of the White House including the Oval Office.

Belgian linen, price upon request, Elizabeth Dow, 267-3401.

HEAD OF THE GLASS
Opened in 1999 by Martin Megna and his wife, Mariann, Megna Glass thrives as a unique producer of an unbelievable array of custom handmade products including chandeliers, lighting fixtures, sculptures, cabinet fixtures, and ornaments. At the young age of 7, Martin Megna realized his passion for blowing glass at the New York World’s Fair. Then at age 12, he melted bottles into the campfire until they were flattened. A mentor noticed Megna’s infatuation and suggested that he use a kiln to melt bottles and let them drip into longneck vases. And just like that, a career was born.

The Megna Glass studio is a gem hidden in the woods of East Hampton. Amid the tree-covered area, the showroom’s glass windows reveal surfaces adorned with sparkling handblown objects and an adjacent workshop containing two steaming furnaces that forge the artists’ glistening creations. With elegant chandeliers, enormous mobile sculptures, and handcrafted doorknobs, Megna Glass has served many of the Hamptons’ most esteemed clients as well as patrons from around the world. Some of the biggest names in real estate, casinos, and the entertainment industry own pieces from the glassmaker’s workshop. Yet, regardless of their success, the Megnas’ approachable nature and clientoriented attitude makes them pleasurable collaborators on any project.

Chandelier, Megna Glass, price upon request. 8 Plank Road, East Hampton, 725-1131

TABLE THAT TOPIC
A sculptural furniture maker in Sag Harbor, Nico Yektai attended the School for American Craft within the Rochester Institute of Technology, before returning to the East End in 1995 to create exquisite one-of-a-kind pieces.

Yektai’s father, Manoucher Yektai, was among the first wave of artists to head to the Hamptons in the 1950s. From a young age, Nico spent countless hours with his father, whose painting style of gestural palette knife strokes made with masses of paint, clearly made an impression on Nico’s future work, like this sculptural table. The base of the piece is comprised of interplaying curves made of steambent maple. A glass top allows for an unobstructed view of the wood form, while lending a modern look to the piece.

Nico, whose work is currently displayed at Jack Lenor Larson’s LongHouse Reserve and the Tripoli Gallery of Contemporary Art in Southampton and has shown at the Silas Marder Gallery in Bridgehampton, undoubtedly thinks about furniture in a different way than most. He considers his creations as his subject, no different than a painter would of a muse. He has developed a way of woodworking that allows him to introduce spontaneity into the very static process of building a piece of furniture and brings each structure to life with a combination of giant, wellbalanced, wooden brushstrokes.

Maple and glass hall table, Nico Yektai, price upon request, 458-4090