Papercity October 2015

STYLE
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FASHION
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SOCIAL
HOUSTON OCTOBER 2015
TOM
Ford
OPENS
IN
HOUSTON
FALL
FASHION
THE
Hotel
STORIES
SECRET
WORLD OF
DAVID
BROWN
GORGEOUS
DECAY
A GARDEN
DESIGN GENIUS
HOME+ART
LUCIANO GIUBBILEI’S
FIRST PROJECT
IN TEXAS
Haas
THE
HEE
BROTHERS
VERSAILLES IN THE SKY
PAPERCITY ’S GUIDE TO HOUSTON’S LUXURY HIGH-RISE BOOM
SPECIAL PORTFOLIO
PAPERCITY DESIGN AWARDS AT THE HOUSTON DESIGN CENTER
AND THE WINNERS ARE …
TOM FORD PHOTOGRAPHED BY MARTIN SCHOELLER
V I S I T T H E N E W PA P E RC I T Y MAG . CO M .
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CELEBRATED
POTTER CHRISTOPHER
SPITZMILLER HEADS
TO HOUSTON WITH
A CACHE OF LUXE NEW PIECES.
BY REBECCA SHERMAN
C
Small Alexander lamp
in peacock
with 23K gold
water-gilt
base, $2,635
Delft lamp in
amber with
bleached-oak
base, $2,930
Top right:
Brown-and-white marble
plate, $95
Right: Naturalistic handthrown gourd in gold luster,
$2,625
3600 KIRBY DRIVE
HOUSTON, TX 77098
eramicist Christopher
Spitzmiller started
bucking the status quo
during his boarding-school
days in New Hampshire,
where he first studied potterymaking in earnest. “I told my
mother I wanted to major in ceramics, and she
pulled the car over to the side of the road and told
me to pick a career I could make some money at,” he
remembers with a laugh. Undeterred, he went on to
study the craft at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design.
“To be a potter, you have to decide you don’t want to do anything else in
life,” he says. “RISD was the really big push I needed. They work you hard.”
A former artist-in-residence at Mecox in Southampton, Spitzmiller’s early
pottery drew the attention of noteworthy designers who commissioned
his work and became lifelong fans, including Richard Keith Langham,
Suzanne Rheinstein, Bunny Mellon, Bunny Williams and Albert Hadley,
his longtime mentor. Spitzmiller is now one of the most highly touted
ceramicists working in America.
Best known for his luxurious hand-thrown lamps drenched in rich
jewel glazes and set in hand-turned, 23K yellow-gold and 9K whitegold water-gilded bases, his company has created lamps for several
White House administrations, including the Obama Oval Office
and private dining room and Blair House. Lamps range from $2,000
to $4,000 and are sold through Found and Mecox in Houston. Spitzmiller — who
works out of his New York City studio where he employs 15 people, including a cadre
of skilled artisans — clearly has made a success from the humble art of throwing
clay. Weekends are spent tending exotic hens, beehives and vegetable gardens at
his 1830s Greek Revival retreat in Hudson Valley, Clove Brook Farm, which was
featured in the July 2015 issue of Architectural Digest. His mother needn’t have
worried. “Mom can’t believe it all,” he says. “I can’t believe it all either, except I’m
too busy to think about it.”
Currently, Spitzmiller is turning out a collection of well-priced tabletop pieces
(starting at $95) in his signature marbleized pattern that includes a rimmed
soup bowl, dinner plate and soon-to-come lunch plate, which are sold online
(christopherspitzmiller.com). Like his lamps, all of Spitzmiller’s creations are made
on a potter’s wheel — first by him, then each is finished by an artisan skilled in
the art of glazing, gilding and turning wood. “Showing the artist’s hand is what
makes them come alive,” he says.
Meet Spitzmiller at Found Wednesday, October 14, 11 am – 3 pm, for a
trunk showing of one-off accessories for the table, large bowls, vases and cachepots
($95 to $3,000), in addition to already stocked lamps. Found, 3433 W. Alabama,
713.522.9191, foundforthehome.com.
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LONDONGREYRUGS.COM
LONDON GREY
RUGS
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