Interview

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It's been a long few days at the Jacob Javits Center for ICFF—long enough to sit down on an Eames La Chaise. From the heap I'd like to highlight the Jaime Hayón for Baccarat collection, vases and lamps that boldly re-imagine the French crystal glassware manufacturer's traditional cut crystal by combining it with ceramic and plastic. It looks like what (I think) it'd be like to wander around Tavern on the Green on LSD. Elsewhere, The Pratt Institute's exhibition of items made for under $1—a conceit that could have easily gone awry—like a bookshelf made from string and a purse made from a grocery bag—was instead a wry, susprising treat. In the category of ridiculous, the mad luxuriators at Swarovski showcased a wall of crystal-bedecked interior panels. You might decide to bedazzle an entire wall. They are on some kind of trip as well. Swarovski's Gaudi-inspired panel (made from an Acrylic Casa Mila Graphic, tricked out with bling-age) by CRYSTALLIZED-Swarovski Elements was, well, gaudy. The salesman at the Swarovski booth let me borrow his pen, which had—you guessed it—Swarovski crystals floating inside. He watched me very intently. I wasn't intending to steal the pen.