Amy Parry Projects is enjoying a relaxing week in celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday. Wishing the same for all of our many friends and contacts!

*Thanksgiving Turkey + Math Lesson*, 1917, uncovered in an Oklahoma City Elementary School classroom. Read more about this fascinating 100 year old art discovery here.

APP Out of Town

In the spirit of gratitude, we are thankful for our work within the highly creative
Boutique Hospitality Industry.

We had a very inspiring trip to this year's Boutique Design New York (BDNY trade fair) where we could see and hear firsthand from leaders in our industry. The work of a lot of creative minds goes into each and every hotel and it was greatly affirming to see how much collaboration is truly happening.

The public spaces of our global hotels are being designed with greater connectivity in mind. There are amazing innovations in lighting, A/V and modular furniture. Accessories and mirrors are truly standing out. And punctuating all of the spaces, artwork is still cited as the icing on the cake - offering guests a sense of time and place which is an essential element of memorable travel. We saw inventive design elements that allow endless possibilities for integrating art. We are moving so far beyond the framed print these days!

BDNY proves this industry to be flourishing, with an abundance of exciting resources. Not surprisingly, the most fruitful part of our trip was the face time we had with some of the great Designers who bring all of these resources together. We are grateful to be one part of creating successful hotel experiences that guests will remember and we cannot wait to see what collaborations 2019 will bring about.

We were also fortunate enough to catch Nick Cave at Jack Shainman, the Salon Art + Design Show at the Park Armory and an absolutely incredible showing of Hilma af Klint's "Paintings for the Future" at the Guggenheim. Inspiration overload! (please visit our IG feed for more images from our trip!)

On this most recent NYC visit, we made a stop in the Lower East Side to see this boutique hotel gem which was completed in summer of 2014. Hotelier Sean MacPherson (also known for the Bowery and Maritime Hotels among others) turned an empty, concrete building into an effortlessly cool and comfortable hotel offering 184 rooms in 10 different types. While the spaces of the Ludlow look great, what the entire hotel offers most importantly, is an amazing, whole-picture feel - like you’re staying in NYC as a local. You can really slip into the feel of the neighborhood and MacPherson’s impression of it from the gritty, glory days of the 1980s. In fact, MacPherson has gone on record explaining his wish that the lobby serve over time as a living room for the neighborhood. The mix of new and vintage furniture in mahogany and cognac leathers, printed tweed, purple velvet, animal hides and fur seem inherited down many times from a favorite relative, and no detail (hand-stitched curtains, worn and whimsical tchotchkes, Indian rugs, tiny iridescent tiles) seems the least bit out of place, contrived or curated. It all just works.

What to notice...

1) Check out the custom reception desk and admire the old school drawers behind it.

2) Enjoy the legit, word-burning limestone fireplace, flanked by burnt out brass sconces and Marshall speaker cabinets hanging down from chains. Look around for a Ron Gorchov painting and freak out a little.

3) Try to think of a place in your house you can work in one of the vintage de Sede Snake Non Stop Sofas and how you would ever be able to afford one.

4) Imagine the past life of the recycled factory windows separating the Lobby from the Dirty French restaurant and all the stories they reflect.

5) Order a $16 Lilikoi cocktail at the zinc coated bar in the corner and enjoy it sitting under the hotel’s greenhouse structure that is apparently pleasant year-round.

6) Covet the black and white brushstroke pants of the cocktail waitress.

7) If you stay the night, you’ll sleep on a four poster bed from Portugal, surrounded by inserted and white-washed ceiling beams and even more amazing brass fixtures (including Hollywood style vanity lights in the bathrooms).

8) Marvel at the museum-quality guestroom art, curated by the NYC magnate, Vito Schnabel.

9) Witness the room literally expand after dark as the city view becomes the centerpiece of the small, simple space.

10) Enjoy the authentic, surprisingly low-key street, capped off by the iconic Katz’s Deli on your way to the F or the 6 and the rest of the great city where unique experiences are the norm.

reception

"living room"

light fixtures...

recycled factory windows...

Lillikoi...

Greenhouse...

patio details...

floral arrangement and tile work...

standard suite bathroom...

Portugal four-poster...