?I like that you?re able to see all the mechanics of it, which I think is really romantic.? Welcome back to Show & Tell. For this installment, we spoke with Alyse Archer-Coité, director of culture and programming at A/D/O, a creative space in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, dedicated to expanding the reach of design, about her USM Haller storage unit. Here?s what Alyse had to say.
I have been at A/D/O for just over two years. I joined the project early and was scouted while I was living in Berlin, where I worked for an online magazine called Freunden von Freunden. Its focus is spotlighting creative people in their personal or work spaces talking about their design sensibilities and their special pieces. I learned a lot about consumer-facing products there, including USM and other brands. In Germany, USM is king. I did a project with Yabu Pushelberg a couple years ago, and they have a full USM wall of all their textile samples. It seemed very utilitarian and office-focused for me at the time. But then I saw USM mixed in with African antiquity and vintage books and Yves Saint Laurent dresses from somebody?s grandmother?s closet at my friends? pop-up shop. Everything was positioned in such a way that made me see USM for the first time and that I might be interested in having it in my own home.
My house is very sparse, maybe even empty. I have a lot of linen sheets and striped rugs that are vintage kilim, and my floors are painted black, all the walls are gray, and there?s no...