events – Client News and Media Recognition

Save the Date: “Hillside House” will be open for public touring Saturday, November 13

August 21, 2021August 21, 2021Blueplate PRLeave a comment

**The rear view shows “Hillside House” climbing up the natural hill on site.**

On Saturday, November 13, NCModernist.org will present a public “Trickle Tour” of Hillside House at 130 Old Pittsboro Road, Carrboro. Specific time slots and ticket information will be announced later.

NCModernist (aka NC Modernist Houses) hosts several tours of modern house each year. Executive director George Smart created the “Trickle Tour” format in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The format allows the public to visit new or newly remodeled modernist houses at a “trickle” of the normal rate for the nonprofit organization’s home tours. Timed admission assures that very few people are inside a house during each time slot.

Doug Pierson, AIA, and Youn Choi, founding partners and principal designers at pod architecture + design in Chapel Hill, created Hillside House for their own family of four on a wooded lot within walking distance of downtown Carrboro.

In April 2020, the house caught the attention of the Wall Street Journal. A few months later, Chapel Hill Magazine featured it in an article entitled “Labor of Love.” It has also been published in Builder Magazine, Architizer, and in Dwell and Architect magazines’ galleries of residential projects.

This will be the first public tour of the angular house on Old Pittsboro Road that’s wrapped in corrugated black metal and appears to be twisting and turning its way up a steep hillside.

To see more exterior and interior photos, go to the “Hillside House” page on Pierson’s and Choi’s website: podand.com/work#/carrboro-house.

Pictured Above: Doug and Sora on the first “living” level. Above them: Oscar at the cantilevered desk in the middle “work” level. Above right: Youn on the bedroom, or “sleep” level. (Photo by Cornel Watson for Chapel Hill Magazine.

The Branch Museum of Architecture & Design Hosts Lecture, Sketching Workshop with Celebrated Architect Frank Harmon

November 13, 2019Blueplate PRLeave a comment

The ‘Native Places’ author will be in Richmond Nov. 21 – 23.

FRANK HARMON, FAIA (photo by f8 Photo Studios)

__________________________________________________________________________

November 13, 2019 (Richmond, VA) – Frank Harmon wants to transform the way we see and enjoy the world around us. That’s why the multi-award-winning architect from Raleigh, NC, wrote Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See. That’s also why he’ll be in Richmond this month.

On Thursday, November 21, The Branch Museum of Architecture & Design will host a lecture and book-signing event with Harmon from 5:30-7:30 pm. Then on Saturday, November 23, Harmon will lead an Urban Sketching Workshop around the Museum’s vicinity on Monument Avenue from 10 am-1 pm. Both events are open to the public.

Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See is a collection of 64 of Harmon’s watercolor sketches – of buildings, landscapes and cityscapes, everyday objects and ordinary places — paired with 200-word essays. The pairs first appeared in his popular online journal NativePlaces.org. The sketches, some over 30 years old, convey the delight he finds in each subject. The brief essays offer his fresh perspectives on topics inspired by those sketches, especially places and things that we take for granted.

For Frank Harmon, sketching has always been an element of his education and his practice. He has made sketches “as a way to see” since his university days at the Architectural Association in London. Since then, he has kept a sketch pad, pens, and a pocket-sized water-color set in a small bag wherever he’s gone, from fields along rural highways where he spots old barns and sheds to urban centers and lush gardens throughout Europe.

“Usually I sketch something I’m curious about,” he notes.

As an architect and a professor of architecture at North Carolina State University’s College of Design, Harmon has conducted Urban Sketching Workshops for the American Institute of Architect’s National Conventions; for various AIA chapters and sections across the nation; and at Auburn University’s renowned Rural Studio in Hale County, Alabama. He began combining sketching workshops with book-signing events soon after ORO Editions published Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See.

In his workshops, Harmon helps participants learn to look more closely at the particulars of a place and the nuances of objects, then express both through sketching.

Ticket options for Frank Harmon’s lecture and Urban Sketching Workshop are available at branchmuseum.org. Click on “events.”

For more information on Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See, visit nativeplacesthebook.com and follow the book on Facebook.

The Branch Museum of Architecture & Design is located in the historic 1919 Branch House at 2501 Monument Ave., Richmond, VA 23220 (804-655-6055).

AIA Austin Welcomes Architect/Author Frank Harmon, FAIA, and His New Book “Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See”

November 5, 2019Blueplate PRLeave a comment

Frank Harmon, Native Places — Frank Harmon, FAIA. (photo by William Morgan)

Frank Harmon, FAIA, (right) a multi-award-winning architect from Raleigh, North Carolina, and the author of the critically acclaimed book Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See, will be in Austin Tuesday, November 12, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a lecture and book-signing event hosted by the Austin chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Austin).

As the architect of the modern, thoroughly sustainable AIA NC Center for Architecture & Design building in Raleigh, he will also address AIA Austin’s plans for a similar structure.

Frank Harmon’s appearance is part of AIA Austin’s “Design Talks” Luncheon Series held in the Lake | Flato-designed Austin Central Library.

“AIA Austin is thrilled to welcome an architecture and drawing master like Frank to Austin,” said Ingrid Spencer, Executive Director of AIA Austin and the Austin Foundation for Architecture. “Because Frank designed the only ground-up Center for Architecture in the country, and we’re striving to create such a place in Austin, we are extra excited for his visit.”

After a brief AIA Austin Annual Meeting, architect and professor Lawrence Speck will introduce Harmon, who will then discuss and read excerpts from Native Places and share his reasons for writing it. One of those reasons is his lifelong belief that drawing offers the opportunity “to transform the way we see” the world around us.

“Sketching allows us to see what we might not have noticed,” Harmon says. “It allows us to be present.”

Frank Harmon book

Published by ORO Editions, Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See is a collection of 64 of Harmon’s watercolor sketches paired with brief essays he’s written about architecture, nature, everyday objects, and ordinary places. The pairs first appeared in his popular online journal NativePlaces.org.

The sketches in Native Places, some of which are 30 years old, convey the delight the architect finds in these places and things. The short essays, inspired by the sketches, offer his fresh interpretations of what most people take for granted.

Seattle architect Tom Kundig, FAIA, calls Harmon’s book “a masterful legacy on all levels.” Architect Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, offers this:

“Native Places provides a reflective pause in my busy day to consider the humanity of buildings and places. I find my sense of hope and possibility renewed in these simple, evocative drawings and the wisdom that accompanies them.”

BookPeople, the leading independent bookstore in Texas since 1970, will make copies of Native Places available for purchase so attendees can get them signed by the author.

Advance tickets for the November 12 “Design Talks” event are $30 for AIA and Allied AIA members, $15 for Associate members and students, and $40 for non-members. Tickets purchased at the door November 12 will be $40 for AIA and Allied AIA members and $20 for Associate members and students. To register and secure advanced tickets click here.

Austin Central Library is located at 710 West Cesar Chevez Street, Austin, TX 78701 (512-452-4332). For more information on the November 12 event and AIA Austin, visit aiaaustin.org.

For more information on Frank Harmon and Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See, visit nativeplacesthebook.com.

Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington Presents ‘Native Places’ Illustrated Lecture and Sketching Workshop

October 12, 2019October 18, 2019Blueplate PRLeave a comment

Native Places by Frank Harmon — Cameron Art Museum

Cameron Art Museum (CAM) in Wilmington will host a reception and book signing event for celebrated architect/author Frank Harmon when he shares his new book Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See during an illustrated lecture on Thursday, October 24th, 6:30 – 8 p.m. Harmon will then lead an Urban Sketching Workshop in downtown Wilmington on Saturday morning, October. 26th, from 9 am – noon.

A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and a professor of architecture at NC State University’s College of Design, Frank Harmon lead his multi-award-winning firm in Raleigh for over three decades.

Five years ago he launched NativePlaces.org, an online journal that paired watercolor sketches he’s made over those decades – of buildings and nature, landscapes and cityscapes, everyday objects and ordinary places — with fresh 200-word essays that convey the delight he finds in each subject. The essays never repeat what’s visible in the sketches. Instead, they elucidate ideas and thoughts inspired by those images.

cover art_sm

Published by ORO Editions, Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See, is a collection of 64 sketch-essay pairings that Charles D. Linn, FAIA, former deputy editor of Architectural Record, helped Harmon cull from the online journal and organize into a book.

During his illustrated lecture at CAM, Harmon will share excerpts from Native Places and examples of his own architectural work to illustrate his belief that sketching “as a way to see” enhances the grace with which we observe and appreciate all sorts of “native places.”

“If I take a photograph of something, I’ll soon forget it,” he adds. “But if I draw something, it remains in my mind forever.”

After his presentation, Harmon will take questions from the audience then sign copies of his book, which will be available for purchase at CAM.

Then on Saturday, October 26th, the author will lead an Urban Sketching Workshop in downtown Wilmington. Through the workshop, he will share his belief that drawing in the digital age is far from obsolete. Rather, “it is transformative in the way we observe and interact with the world around us.” Participants should bring their own sketchpads and pencils.

Tickets to the lecture are $12 for CAM members, $17 for non-members, and $8 for students with valid IDs. Those registered for the Saturday workshop will be admitted to the lecture free of charge.

Cameron Art Museum is located at 3201 South 17th Street, Wilmington, NC 28412. For more information, including how to purchase tickets, visit cameronartmuseum.org.

For more information on Frank Harmon and Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See, visit nativeplacesthebook.com.

fhsketching_cs_sm — Frank Harmon sketching. Photo by Christine Simeloff

About Frank Harmon, FAIA

A Greensboro native and Raleigh resident, Frank Harmon has designed sustainable modern buildings across the Southeast for 30 years that are specific to their sites and use materials, such as hurricane-felled cypress and rock from local quarries, to connect them to their landscapes. Airy breezeways, outdoor living spaces, deep overhangs, and wide lawns embody the vernacular legacy of the South while maintaining a distinguished modernism. To see examples of his work, visit frankharmon.com.

Harmon is a graduate of the Architectural Association in London and a popular professor of architecture at the North Carolina State University College of Design. He has taught at the Architectural Association and has been a visiting critic at Harvard University, Yale University, and the University of Virginia. He continues to serve as a visiting critic at Auburn University’s renowned Rural Studio.

Charleston’s Blue Bicycle Books Hosts Architect/Author Frank Harmon and ‘Native Places” on January 17th

January 15, 2019Blueplate PRLeave a comment

Architect and author Frank Harmon, FAIA, who designed the modern, award-winning Sunday School addition to the historic Circular Congregational Church in Charleston and the “Seven Sisters” residence on St. Helena Island, will present his new, critically acclaimed book Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See when Blue Bicycle Books hosts a book-signing event on Thursday, January 17, beginning at 5 p.m.

Free and open to the public, the event will begin with an introduction of the Raleigh, NC-based author by South Carolina architect Whitney Powers. Harmon will then give a presentation about his book and his passion for hand sketching. After a Q&A with the audience, he will sign copies of Native Places, which will be available for purchase in the bookstore.

Delight in Ordinary Places: Published by ORO Editions, Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See is a collection of 64 of Harmon’s watercolor sketches paired with brief essays he’s written about architecture, everyday objects and sites, and nature that first appeared on his internationally popular blog NativePlaces.org. The sketches convey the delight he finds in ordinary places. The short essays, inspired by the sketches, offer his fresh interpretations of what most people take for granted.

Harmon’s goal for Native Places is, in fact, “to transform the way we see,” he says, and to promote his belief that hand drawing offers “an opportunity to develop a natural grace in the way we view the world and take part in it.” He will explain both concepts in his presentation.

What others are saying about Native Places: In his review of the book, Charles Linn, FAIA, architect, writer, former deputy editor of Architectural Record, wrote, “For those who love drawing, seek enlightenment and inspiration from the things they may pass by every day, and perhaps want to capture them in their own sketchbooks, I give Native Places my highest recommendation.” (Linn also helped Harmon select and organize the sketch-essay pairs for the book.)

Mike Welton, the architecture critic for the Raleigh News & Observer, calls Harmon’s book “delightful” and suggests that it is “destined to change how we see this world.”

Tom Kundig, FAIA, of Olsen Kundig Architects in Seattle, WA, praises Harmon and his book for “reminding us in brilliant, thoughtful, quiet meditation our unbelievable luck to be alive and to think. A masterful legacy on all levels.”

Owned and operated by Jonathan Sanchez, Blue Bicycle Books is located at 420 King Street, Charleston, SC 29403 (843.722.2666); bluebicyclebooks.com.

For more details on Frank Harmon and Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See, visit the book’s website (nativeplacesthebook.com) and Facebook page.

Edisto Art Guild to Host Architect/Author Frank Harmon and ‘Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See’

January 4, 2019Blueplate PRLeave a comment

Architect and author Frank Harmon, FAIA, who designed the modern, award-winning Sunday School addition to the historic Circular Congregational Church in Charleston and the “Seven Sisters” residence on St. Helena Island, will present his new, critically acclaimed book Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See when the Edisto Art Guild hosts a book-signing event on Monday, January 14, in the Edisto Beach Civic Center.

Free and open to the public, the Art Guild’s event will begin at 6:30 pm when South Carolina architect Lloyd Bray introduces the Raleigh, NC-based author. Harmon will then give a presentation about his book and his passion for hand sketching. After a Q&A with the audience, he will sign copies of Native Places, which will be available for purchase in the civic center.

What others are saying about Native Places: In a letter to the author, Fred Chappell, poet, author, and former North Carolina poet laureate, wrote, “Native Places…has afforded me happy pleasures, different from any that I have before derived from a book. It is unusual in many ways, one of which is that it defies strict classification. It is a sketchbook, a memoir, travel journal, aesthetic experiment, a collection of small familiar essays, and maybe in some respects even a manifesto.”

Mike Welton, architecture critic for the Raleigh News & Observer, calls Harmon’s book “delightful” and suggests that it is “destined to change how we see this world.”

The Edisto Beach Civic Center is located at 42 Station Court, Edisto Island, SC. (edistoartguild@gmail.com)

For more details on Frank Harmon and Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See, visit the book’s website (nativeplacesthebook.com) and Facebook page.

* * *

Production Details
Designer: AnLe Bahn
Editor: Charles Linn, FAIA
Publisher: ORO Editions
Binding: Hardbound with Dust Jacket
ISBN: 978-1-940743-45-5
Pages: 168pp published in four colors
Publication Date: October 1, 2018
Size: 7″ x 9″ Landscape
Retail Price: $24.95

So & So Books To Host An Afternoon with Frank Harmon – a book signing event for ‘Native Places: Drawing as Way of Seeing”

November 21, 2018December 4, 2018Blueplate PRLeave a comment

Blueplate PR client: Frank Harmon, FAIA, author

FRANK HARMON, FAIA (Photo by William Morgan)

So & So Books, an independent bookstore in downtown Raleigh’s trendy Person Street commercial district, will host a book-signing event for architect/author Frank Harmon, FAIA, and his new book Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See on Saturday, December 1.

Beginning at 5 p.m., Harmon will discuss his book and his passion for hand sketching. After a Q&A with the audience, he will sign copies of Native Places, which will be available for purchase in So & So Books.

Frank Harmon book

Delight in Ordinary Places

Published by ORO Editions, Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See is a collection of 64 of Harmon’s watercolor sketches paired with brief essays he’s written about architecture, everyday objects and sites, and nature. The sketches convey the delight he finds in ordinary places. The short essays, inspired by the sketches, offer his fresh interpretations of what most take for granted.

Harmon’s goal for Native Places is, in fact, “to transform the way we see,” he says, and to promote his belief that hand drawing offers “an opportunity to develop a natural grace in the way we view the world and take part in it.” He will explain both concepts in his presentation.

Bookstore + design studio

So & So Books shares space with in situ studio. One of the studio’s founders, Erin Sterling Lewis, AIA, will introduce the author at the event. Sterling Lewis worked with Harmon in his multi-award-winning architecture firm for several years before he retired. She considers him her “greatest mentor,” she said recently, and “remains grateful every day for the opportunities he afforded me during my time at Frank Harmon Architect.”

Praise for Native Places

In her review of Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See,, author and entomologist Eleanor Spicer Rice, PhD., wrote, “Like a child picking up fistfuls of seemingly commonplace stones, Harmon gathers places in all their forms and meanings and thoughtfully lays them in his book, where the ordinary becomes extraordinary and everyday life takes on a new texture and meaning.”

In a letter to Harmon, Fred Chappell, former North Carolina Poet Laureate, offered, “Native Places…has afforded me happy pleasures, different from any that I have before derived from a book.”

Mike Welton, architecture critic for the News & Observer, called Harmon’s book “delightful” and suggested that it is “destined to change how we see this world.”

So & So Books is located at 704 North Person Street, Raleigh 27604 (919-426-9502). For more information, visit the store’s Facebook page.

For more details on Frank Harmon and Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See, visit the book’s website: http://nativeplacesthebook.com.

SICILY: LAND OF LOVE & STRIFE Is Coming to The Triangle

October 31, 2018December 4, 2018Blueplate PRLeave a comment

Blueplate PR client: Mark Spano, filmmaker

New documentary will change public perception of the island nation while raising funds for food for the homeless.

The Triangle Sons of Italy (TSOI), Lodge 2817, will present the North Carolina premiere of “Sicily: Land of Love & Strife,” the new feature-length documentary by Mark Spano, a first-generation Sicilian-American who hopes his film will change public perception of the mysterious island nation.

The film will be shown at The Cary Theatre, 123 East Chatham Street, Cary, NC 27511 on Sunday, November 11, at 3 p.m., followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker. The TSOL Lodge will also host an optional buffet dinner that evening at nearby Mayton Inn (301 South Academy Street). All proceeds will support Lodge 2817’s efforts to provide food for the homeless throughout the Triangle.

Sicily documentary — From “Sicily: Land of Love & Strife”

Writer/producer/director Mark Spano, a first-generation Sicilian-American, explains the inspiration for the critically acclaimed documentary he crafted over a period of five years:

“Fewer places on the planet compare to Sicily as a place of wonder and intrigue,” he says. “Yet little has been produced about the cultural or historic relevance of Sicily. But for crime, Sicily has gone unexplored. The island’s association with the Mafia, so deeply entrenched in popular consciousness, has obscured more rounded and accurate depictions of its history and culture.”

Until now. Through “Sicily: Land of Love & Strife,” Spano is introducing sold-out audiences across the U.S. and Canada to the many facets of the island nation that are relatively unknown to the public: the natural beauty, epic human struggles, depth and diversity of culture, historic sites, and philosophic influence.

The buffet dinner will begin at 6 p.m. Tickets are $26 per person.

Tickets to the film are $20. Anyone purchasing tickets for the film and dinner must do so in advance at https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/8241717/sicilyland-of-love-strife-cary-the-cary or by sending a check made out to TSOI 2817 to Bob Giannuzzi, 548 Clarenbridge Drive, Cary, NC 27519. Film tickets only may also be purchased at the theater.

The DVD and Companion Book

The film’s recently released companion book, Sicily: Land of Love & Strife – A Filmmaker’s Journey, will be available for purchase in the lobby on November 11 or ordered now at this link. Dreamscape Media (distributor) will release the DVD on December 1. Pre-orders can be made at the same lin

For more information on “Sicily: Land of Love & Strife,” visit markspano.wordpress.com and follow the Facebook page for updates.

About filmmaker Mark Spano

Mark Spano is the son of Sicilian immigrants and holds both US and Sicily citizenships. He grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, in a vibrant Sicilian-American community. Since the 1980s, he has lived in Orange County, NC. Yet for five years, he spent a huge chunk of his time in Sicily as he worked on the documentary of his family’s homeland. Recently, Thunderfoot Press released the 130-page companion book he wrote for the film, entitled Sicily: Land of Love & Strife – A Filmmaker’s Journey. The book is available on Amazon.

Kentucky bourbon and brisket: pod architecture + design hosts Thirst4Architecture August 16

July 13, 2018July 13, 2018Blueplate PRLeave a comment

For the first time since moving back to North Carolina from the West Coast, Youn Choi and Doug Pierson, founders and principals of pod architecture + design (pod a+d) in Carrboro, will host Thirst4Architecture (T4A) to celebrate modern architecture and the people in the Triangle who love it on Thursday, August 16, from 6-8 p.m.

Free and open to the public, the event is one of the monthly happy hour networking social occasions established by North Carolina Modernist Houses and will be held in the firm’s studio in the historic train depot in the heart of downtown Carrboro.

T4A is an opportunity for anyone interested in and associated with modern architecture to mix, mingle, and build relationships with other modern design enthusiasts in a relaxed, casual environment. Pierson and Choi will provide the location, food, and beverages while participants get an up-close look at pod a+d’s work through models and drawings.

A Special Treat for T4A Guests

Award-winning architect Doug Pierson, AIA, recently attended the grand opening of one of his firm’s most ambitious projects to date: Rabbit Hole Distillery, a state-of-the-art, 55,000-square-foot, $15 million bourbon distillery and campus in downtown Louisville, Kentucky.

For their T4A event, Pierson and Choi are having Rabbit Hole’s award-winning bourbon shipped to Carrboro. The bar staff provided by Drew Moore, owner of CrossTies Barbeque (201-East Main Street) and several other local establishments, will serve special bourbon-based cocktails as well as “straight” and “on the rocks” options, and soft drinks for pod a+d’s August 16 event.

Moore is also providing CrossTie’s popular “Brisket Slides” for the evening’s savory selection.

“As local as possible”

Pierson and Choi, partners in life as well as work, are relative newcomers to the Triangle architecture and design community, having recently returned from living and working on the West Coast. Their new modern house in Carrboro, which they designed together for their family of four, is under construction and will plant their roots here even deeper.

“We’re so happy to be back,” Pierson said, “that we’re doing everything we can to be as ‘local’ as possible. That’s why we chose space in the old depot for our offices. We’re active in the community, we shop at the Farmers Market and Weaver Street, and we’re working with one of the best high-performance, or ‘green,’ homebuilders for our new house: Kevin Murphy of Newphire Building in Chapel Hill. We’re also hiring all-local subcontractors and vendors, including the lumber supplier.” He smiled. “And we’re always free to talk when people walk in and tell us that our space doesn’t look like a barbeque joint.” He explained that people often mistake the firm’s front door for the entrance to Cross Ties.

pod architecture + design is located at 201-A East Main Street, Carrboro, NC (919.246.6466) For more information, visit www.podand.com. pod a + d is also available on Facebook.

Triangle Architects, Artists Raise Funds for Homeless Cats and Kittens

July 1, 2018July 1, 2018Blueplate PR1 Comment

Modern cat houses and original art are auctioned off to benefit SAFE Haven for Cats

A sleek black cube, a “cannoli” rendered in walnut veneer, a maple cat house/side table… These were among the modern, indoor cat houses that Raleigh-area architects and designers created for The Cat’s Meow 2018, the second annual fundraiser for SAFE Haven for Cats.

Founded in 1994, SAFE Haven is Raleigh’s no-kill shelter and low-cost spay/neuter clinic. Since opening, SAFE Haven has orchestrated the adoptions of more than 9500 cats and kittens and spayed or neutered over 25,000 animals in its clinic.

Five modern, one-of-a-kind indoor cat houses, four original works by Raleigh artists, and an iconic Eames Shell Chair comprised this year’s live auction held in Trig Modern in Raleigh on June 7th. Professional auctioneer Ben Farrell sold every item.

Presented by Trig owner Bob Drake and Ann Marie Baum of Baum Shelter interior design, the event raised nearly $3000.

“All of us in the SAFE Haven family are amazed at the generosity of the designers and artists who created all of these cat-centric works of art for The Cat’s Meow,” Miller said. “We are grateful to our local business sponsors Trig Modern and Baum Shelter for creating and hosting this event. Because of them, we will be able to save the lives of many more stray and abandoned cats and kittens in June and July.”

The 2018 Cat’s Meow auction items were:

Cat Cannoli

1. Cat Cannoli by architect David Cole, founder and principal of Inclusion Studio. Low and cozy, the cannoli features a walnut veneer exterior that brings to mind paneling frequently used in mid-century-modern houses. A real, cat-sized cowhide rug slips inside the bright red interior.

Cat's Loft

2. A Cat’s Loft by Will Alphin, founder and principal of REdesign.build, and his talented team. The sleek black cube features the smooth, satin finish of a fine piece of furniture. The cube sits on a metal frame base, allowing the piece to do double duty as a cat’s modern loft and a side table. The opening lets the resident peek out from this elegant hiding place. A removable lid allows humans to locate their feline friend quickly, vacuum up the accumulated cat hair, and get rid of the occasional fur ball with ease.

CatHouse_ModSideTable

3. Cat House/Modern Side Table by Corey Baughman of Clearscapes. The piece is composed of solid maple and brass with a painted light-blue exterior and wax finish. The inverted form is reminiscent of a traditional concept of “house.” The interior is carved. The exterior is smooth. And elevated on tapered legs, it can serve as both cat house and modern side table. There’s also a cup holder on the surface.

Vertical Modern Cat Tower

4. Vertical Modern Cat Tower by artist and interior designer Clark Hipolito, founder and principal of The Art Co. Created with a cat’s love of climbing in mind, the tall Tower features lots of scratching surfaces and a very “climbable” structure. A couple of dangling green balls for batting around complete the contemporary composition.

Ca.CliffHanger

5. California Cliff-Hanger…on Casters! by Jamie Smith of Xylem, Inc. cabinetmakers. Utilizing the economy of the “S” shape, this creative cat house offers three levels – internal and external – rendered in white and wood-grain laminates. Today, a real California Cliffhanger might feature a “green,” or vegetated roof. This roof is covered in carpeting, however, that inspires hours of scratching. And napping. And the casters let the owner’s human move it around to find a sunny spot, offer a view out a window, tuck into a dark corner if strangers come in the house…

Eames Chair plus Cat Illus. copy

6 Eames Molded Fiberglass Shell Chair donated by Bob Drake, owner, Trig Modern, and “Smalls on Eames Chair” original illustration by Karen Kluttz. The chair, originally designed in 1950, and Kluttz’s illustration of her own cat, “Smalls,” on two red Eames shell chairs, were auctioned off together.

SofaSnoozer_KK copy

7. “Sofa Snoozer” and “Fish Market,” original illustrations by Karen Kluttz. A Visual Arts Exchange artist, Karen Kluttz donated three cat-related pieces to The Cat’s Meow 2018.

Louis St. Lewiis 2018

8. Untitled by Louis St. Louis. To borrow some words from critic D. Eric Bookhardt, Gambit Weekly, New Orleans, the artist created this piece especially for The Cat’s Meow as one of his series of “smallish collages…a mix of pop and classical images cut up and sandwiched between sheets of glass. Touched up with paint and displayed in ornate frames…”

2018 HEADER

About The Cat’s Meow: The Cat’s Meow is an annual party and auction of modern, professionally designed indoor houses for cats to benefit SAFE Haven for Cats in Raleigh, sponsored by Trig Modern and Baum Shelter, both of Raleigh. For more information, visit this year’s Facebook page.

For more information on SAFE Haven for Cats in Raleigh: www.safehavenforcats.org.

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The ‘Native Places’ author will be in Richmond Nov. 21 – 23.

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Blueplate PR client: Frank Harmon, FAIA, author

FRANK HARMON, FAIA (Photo by William Morgan)

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Blueplate PR client: Mark Spano, filmmaker

New documentary will change public perception of the island nation while raising funds for food for the homeless.

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Modern cat houses and original art are auctioned off to benefit SAFE Haven for Cats

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