I Heart Eva Zeisel Life, Design, And Beauty

I became aware of Eva Zeisel when I was in art school. She was one of those legendary teachers that taught at Pratt before my time. Then my friends, the ceramists, Philip Maberry and Scott Walker talked about having met her, and showed me some treasured small pieces of hers that they had acquired.

Eva Zeisel designed this set of china - photo by Sara Essex Bradley

Over the years of her long life (she lived and worked until she was 105) I would see her wares. I never owned any of her designs, but always kept my eye out when I'd be in vintage shops. Yes she made things for Crate and Barrel, and many other modern outlets, but I was more attracted to vintage wares.

The sensuous undulating curves of Meito Norleans Midas china designed by Eva Zeisel

A few months ago I came across a set of china designed by Eva Zeisel circa 1949-1950. It was found at one of my favorite shopping haunts, Caravan Finds right here in New Orleans. They had a dazzling set of Meito china.

Caravan Finds - the china is hanging on the wall in the last picture on the right - You can also find Caravan on One Kings Lane

You could get a 101 piece set of Eva Zeisel Meito Norleans Midas for $69.95 in 1954

Meito is a Japanese company that partnered with United China and Glass Company (founded in New Orleans in 1830) to commission sets of affordable dinnerware  exported to the United States in the post WWII years. The result was the Norleans line designed by Eva Zeisel.

The curved handles are very much like the curves of the iron work in New Orleans - I used trendy CAKE Chrome Gnome salt and pepper shakers made in 2007 - mine are gold and look great with the Zeisel vintage china

Eva actually spent time in New Orleans, and her Meito Norleans line was very much influenced by what she saw here.  Eva tells us, "A Mr. Stolaroff (side note - he was the vice president of the company)  asked me to design a set for Meito in Japan...He asked me to go to New Orleans...I remember taking a boat to the tip of the Delta...I photographed many wrought iron crosses in graveyards."

Many sets of Mid Century Modern china sported the wheat pattern - but none were as beautiful as the one Eva Zeisel designed for Meito, and none would match the price - The set in this vintage ad  had 53 pieces for $59.90, and the far more beautiful Zeisel Meito Norleans Midas had 101 pieces selling for $69.95 in 1954!

The Norleans line was a hit at the 1950 design shows. In 1954 the American housewife could buy a 101 piece set of this beautiful porcelain for only $69.95! And she also got lagniappe - six extra teacups and a teapot! Even today, in comparison with other vintage china, Norleans is a very affordable collectible.

The plates and bowls feature a wide rim - The napkin is Trina Turk Palm Springs Block

The set I am showing is called Meito Norleans Midas. I love the soft color of the gilding, and of course the curves, both on the handles, and on the undulating rims of the pieces, which are classic Eva Zeisel motifs. The pillow top lid on the sugar bowl is a form that became known as the iconic Eva Zeisel belly button design.

The lid on the sugar bowl is very much like Eva Zeisel's "baby's bottom design" which is in the same vein as her iconic "belly button" design - The candlesticks are by Paul Loebach

The wheat pattern was a very popular motif in Mid Century Modern china made in Japan. I have another set called Eternal Wheat done by Crestwood China and also made in Japan. The Crestwood wheat design is far more delicate. It's pretty, but it cannot compare with the oomph and verve of the Eva Zeisel design.

Eva Zeisel with one of the rugs she designed for The Rug Company - note her iconic belly button design

Eva Zeisel just passed away in 2011. She worked until the end of her life. She not only designed ceramics, but also designed a rug collection for The Rug Company, and furniture for Design Within Reach. One day when I am have some extra cash, I would love to have the coffee table she did for DWR.

One day I will get this Eva Zeisel coffee table

Eva Zeisel with her cut out pattern for the design of the coffee table base she did for Design Within Reach

I was inspired by her cutting out paper patterns for the coffee table she designed,  so I cut out some letters spelling her name and hung them on the chandelier - this photo by Valorie Hart

There is new book about Eva Zeisel due out any moment, called "Eva Zeisel: Life, Design, and Beauty" by Pat Moore (Author) , Pirco Wolfframm (Author) , Pat Kirkham (Editor) , Brent C. Brolin (Photographer), Eva Zeisel (Introduction).

Eva Zeisel: Life, Design, and Beauty

Eva Zeisel was a Hungarian-born American industrial designer known for her work with ceramics, primarily from the period after she immigrated to the United States. Her forms are often abstractions of the natural world and human relationships. Work from throughout her prodigious career is included in important museum collections across the world. Zeisel declared herself a "maker of useful things"

Young Eva Zeisel a maker of useful things

 Go HERE to see this touching video clip of Eva Zeisel

I pre-ordered the book. It not only has her amazing life story, but tons of new photos of her work and snapshots from her amazing life. If you are a fan of Eva Zeisel this is a book you will love, enjoy, and treasure. And I think it's an important volume for every design book library.

Eva Zeisel never stopped working

Loving New Orleans as much as I do, paired with loving Eva Zeisel, and added to that my love for beautiful vintage and antique china, you can just imagine how I am thrilled to have and to hold this extraordinary collection of Meito Norleans Midas china.

Cholo under the table set with Eva Zeisel china - photo by Sara Essex Bradley

All the lovely photos in my dining room were taken by Sara Essex Bradley. I styled a table setting combining Eva's vintage china with current items. I love her designs and think they are timeless and cross all eras gracefully (much like Eva did in her lifetime). What kind of vintage china do you love and collect?


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Whatever Happened With Miles Redd Green?

It all started with the ceiling falling in. The bedroom had not been painted in seven years. So why not change the color, along with the ceiling repair? The Veranda cover featuring Miles Redd with its green wall beckoned. The green bedroom of Sara Silverman done by FORM Interior Design inspired. Nick Olsen's love of emerald green tickled my fancy.

After all was said and done, and all the paint samples collected and put on the wall, the all green bedroom was not the way to go. With only one window in the room, the color wasn't so much the issue, as what the lack of light did to the color. It would have been like living in a terrarium.

This is how it turned out!

Onto Plan Z. I painted the walls greige. My Vamp Greige that I have used over and over again for myself and for design projects for others. BORING?! Yes and no.

Greige walls with green accents -  A peek inside the door of The Visual Vamp's "new" bedroom - This is how it looked in transition to the fianal look

Determined to use the gorgeous greens I collected, I switched gears and decided to use them as an accent. First up was the Nanjing Toile, with props to Tobi Fairley. I saw photos from a show house she did, and while show houses are usually the stuff of make believe, I thought the vibrant green on a new padded headboard would be the major green moment in the room.

The other side of the room - You can see the greige walls with the hand painted green diamonds done by Mitchell Settoon

Equally important was the idea to hand paint pattern on the walls, using green of course. I had the idea of doing a huge diamond pattern. Ring-ring, I called fellow blogger and my friend Mitchell Settoon, a crackerjack designer and inspired decorative painter. Both of us are not that great in the exact science of straight lines and the uber precise painting of them. I suggested a free hand approach, so the lines would look hand painted, perfect in their imperfection. Doors and bump-outs got the pattern too. I think Mitchell did an awesome job. The hint of green of the greige walls gave me the best of both worlds.

The chevron rug provides more color cues to play with - Cholo loves it!

I purchased two chevron pattern rugs, a real bargain I could not pass up HERE. There are two put together to look like one large rug. The colors in the rug gave lots of opportunity to play, and pull them into the rest of the room. The turquoise silk drapes I already had, came back into the room. They work really well with rug.

The nightstands were painted a vibrant green

I painted the nightstands the same color as the green lines on the walls. A TV armoire got repurposed elsewhere as a linen press, The two dressers remained and got rearranged. The larger flat screen from the living room got moved in on top of one of the dresses. The chaise lounge was purchased three years ago, and moved around the house first in the living room, and then in the guest bedroom. It is a tricky piece of furniture to make fit, and I think it finally found it's proper home. I also moved some huge mirrors out, replacing one with a smaller one over one dresser, and creating a gallery wall where the other one was.

The TV armoire is replaced by one of the dressers -   Now that the chaise is in here we use the room more - Note how the pattern continues on the doors

The flat screen is where the old armoire used to be

The chaise moved in

I found this green box in the closet and used it to elevate a basket of throws

The gallery wall over the chaise

The smaller mirror over the dresser

The Lucite tray Nicole Cohen made for Alberto

The guest room lamps with their bright shades came into the room, and the art work over the new headboard changed too. I hung three fabulous Philip Mayberry/Scott Walker platters over the bed. I have had these for twenty years, and never had a place to hang all three together.

Philip Maberry/Scott Walker platters over the Nanjing toile headboard - lamps with red shades moved in from guest room - Dwell Studio Hedgerow bedding - I over dyed the little Dwell Studio pillows and the Ikea duvet covers green

The guest room Dwell Studio bedding came into the room, and I over dyed two little Dwell Studio pillows and an Ikea Duvet in green. Later on I'll post the changes in the guest room. It is so great when you shop your house, and flip things around. It totally makes things new and fresh again.

Detail of over dyed throw and chevron rug - I spy some little kitty feet!

The bedroom now, is so much an expression of us - lots of unexpected color and patterns, and it's totally comfortable, even more than before. We really like the chaise and the bigger flat screen in the room. The room is much more useful as a bedroom and a sitting room.

Kitty Kitty Bang Bang loves the new room

Many of you think I change things all the time. It seems that way, but really the changes happen over the years. I use my home as my style lab, trying things out before I  do them for a paying customer. Also as repairs come up in this old house, opportunities present themselves for a change or two.

The Miles Redd Veranda cover that started me down the green slippery slope

I'm writing a decor book for Gliterrati; doing freelance writing assignments; doing local TV home decor spots; styling and doing some design projects; and still teaching tango. My time is flexible, and my own. It still takes effort and planning and energy to do the home projects, and  it is something Alberto and I enjoy doing.

Master Bedroom of Valorie Hart The Visual Vamp - November 2011

But it ended up like this!

This is the final finished  version of the room - I added a fabric wall and dust skirt in emerald green, a slipcover for the bench in  the Nanjing Jade, white lamp shades trimmed in black gross grain ribbon, four prints of Hermes Kelly bags done by Anne Harwell of Annechovie, and new white bedding with black trim and monograms

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To see what other bloggers are up to check out:  Mod Mix Mondays at Mod Vintage Life, and Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch.


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Phillip Maberry & Scott Walker - Decorative Style Infused With Optimistic Spirit

Welcome to the home and studio of ceramic artists extraordinaire Phillip Maberry and Scott Walker in Santa Monica, California.



Philip was a Texas transplant to New York, and Scott a California transplant, when I met them there years ago. I worked as the maitresse 'd at The Soho Charcuterie. Besides being a trend setting hot restaurant of it's day introducing French Nouvelle Cuisine to the USA, it was a magnet for artists and musicians. This is where I met "the boys".

I spy strands of ribbons used as draperies
Phillip and Scott have been doing this for eons
I used their idea to decorate tons of events

For over twenty-five years they have created one-of-a kind ceramic sculpture, reliefs and objects for gallery and museum installations as well having fulfilled numerous residential and commercial commissions. Their emphasis has always been on modern interpretations of past decorative styles, infused with an optimistic spirit.



The tiles they make are hand glazed. The pallet is varied, from clear jewel tones to metallics, utilizing the dryline technique to create a textural finish. Although they work in the time-honored ceramic tradition, they are continually expanding the focus of their work to include new technologies, such as digital transfer processes, glow-in-the-dark glaze and other new materials.


I am very fortunate to the beneficiary of their fabulous friendship. I have three large platters they made for me years ago.

Our guest room is ready for Phillip and Scott
I spy the fab platter

They even painted panels for a wall in my old New York apartment in The Chillage, a block on West 15th St that bordered Chelsea and The Village.



They always lived in the country, upstate New York. They rented a fabulous house from another friend, Annie Wright, whose father was Russell Wright. Annie was a chef at The Soho Charcuterie, and Philip and Scott were her friends and tenants.


Dragon Rock is the house Annie grew up in. It was so cool! Built into the rock of a hillside, it had stone floors, and huge boulders in the house, a stairway made of slabs of stone, and a tree trunk coming up through the dining room.
When Phillip and Scott bought a house elsewhere, I rented Dragon Rock as a summer getaway from New York City. I felt like Wilma Flintstone when I vacuumed the rocks in the house!


It was such a cool place. The words "mid century modern" were becoming meaningful, and all of a sudden the run down furniture and old Russell Wright pottery became important.
We celebrated many happy weekends at Dragon Rock, cooking in the vintage kitchen, swimming in the pond, hiking around the property.
Anne Wright and Adam Anik were even were married there, and I did the flowers and decor.


It was so cool to use all the Russell Wright pitchers we could find for the table centerpieces.
Annie spent many happy years in Berkeley, California, and she loved California poppies because they reminded her of those times. Of course we used lots of them! I even chose the marquee (tent) stripe to match the color of the poppy.



The wedding was meant to be a country wedding, informal and fun. We agreed to let the estate called Manitoga be the star decor attraction. It made a ravishing backdrop for the buffet table with stacks of Russell Wright plates.


Philip and Scott bought a 40 acre parcel of land in Platekill, New York. It was dirt cheap because it was swamp, and had an ugly run down hippie log cabin on it that had no utilities. They immediately christened the property "Hey Swampy" with a reference to Elizabeth's Taylor character calling her husband, played by Richard Burton, that in the movie "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?".
The boys were always working artists, which meant they lived on next to nothing. But they were very handy, and they made the hippie log cabin a very special home. Electricity, running water, heat - all the luxuries were installed by them.
They built a new shed for their kiln.
And they painted every log in that cabin with wonderful vibrant colors.
They collected great mid century furniture - it was the first place I ever swivelled in an orange Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair!
Their home became a destination for all of us city mice. Their next door neighbor, an artist named Virgil was great friends with Tim Burton. I introduced them to my great friend Danilo Dixon who was the hair stylist for an up and coming rock group called The B52s (Danilo also did the hair for the rock band I was in called Raven).

Interior of The Love Shack - Philip on the left,
Danilo seated a on a cool couch,
Bruce (another chef from The Soho Charcuterie) in the kitchen

Danilo introduced the Bs to the boys, and history was made at "Hey Swampy" when the music video of the B52's song "Love Shack" was filmed there.

Danilo still does all the wigs for the B girls

Flower power vamp top left
Top right Danilo & me in winter - check out how the boys painted the ends of the firewood!
Lower left - a group of city mice enjoying a weekend at "Hey Swampy"
Scotty is seated behind the red head vamp in front
A whole pig we brought for dinner from Chinatown in New York City

The last time I was at 'Hey Swampy" must be nearly 8 or 9 years ago! We had just moved to New Orleans. We were upstate New York in the Hudson Valley teaching tango, when I decided to look up my old friends. We spent a magical afternoon together, and Alberto got to peek into my past ha ha.


I'm glad Philip and Scott have a great new home and studio in California. The winters in upstate New York are brutal.
They have had regular exhibitions at the Garth Clark Gallery in New York City, Frank Lloyd Gallery in Santa Monica, Ca. as well as the Whitney Museum of American Art (1983 Biennial). Their work is included in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Newark Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Modern interpretations of past decorative styles, infused with an optimistic spirit

Attention interiors designers, decorators, and architects: Mayberry and Walker are currently developing a line of products for the home utilizing their tiles and glazes, including tables, functional objects, lamps and accessories.

Go HERE to see their site.