Is there anyone in New York City who has more fun with the design pages of a magazine than New York's Wendy Goodman?
No. But her associate, Trupti Rami, comes close.
The two of them spent three months earlier this year culling through hundreds of sparkling gems of furniture, decorative items and objects d'art from all over the city. Then they winnowed them down to 50, and turned them over to the photo department.
The results can be found in New York's new Fall 2016/Winter 2017 issue of Design Hunting, in a delicious 10-page spread called The Hunt.
"It's an intensive, gathering, editing, and collaborative process with an editor and an incredible photography department all getting together with what stands out - what's super-super-special," Goodman says. "It's a collaboration in the best sense of the word - and that's always the fun of putting the issue together."
"Slice" Armchair, The Hunt, Design Hunting
Their exuberance spills out onto all 10 pages jam-packed with items like Slice, a multi-colored armchair (from $2670) and ottoman (from $840) at Ligne Rose, 250 Park Avenue South near 20th Street. "I really love that opening piece - the ottoman," she says. "I don't have a house to fit it in, but I just want to sit in there and get cozy."
The idea, first of all, is to invigorate the readers - to give them some real entertainment, some surprises, some news and some things they don't know about. "And then to make them dream a little deeper into what's possible for them," she says.
Softline orange "Noomi" swivel chair, The Hunt, Design Hunting
And here's the important part: The Hunt is not about money, but about how someone really lives and what makes them happy. "There's enough range - so you can say: 'That's not for me but that might be for me or my apartment," she says. "If you invest in anything for your home, it could cost five dollars - but it has to have some design significance."
"Icing" Bowl, The Hunt, Design Hunting
That means first-rate items that resonate strongly, with real character that matches the reader's.
And nobody makes that match better than Wendy Goodman and Trupti Rami - and they're having a ball doing it.
For more, go here.
J. Michael Welton writes about architecture, art and design for national and international publications, and edits Architects + Artisans, where portions of this post first appeared. He is architecture critic for the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., and the author of "Drawing from Practice: Architects and the Meaning of Freehand" (Routledge, 2015)