david stark, stringing you along

this morning, i did my routine check on, the always stylish, 'peak of chic', and her great post on 'gourmet tablesettings'. a series of beautiful, photos taken from a 1992 book on the subject, gleam from the page with the opulence of the era.

it really had me thinking, how much has changed, aesthetically, in all of these years~ while, these photos show stunning photos of reclaimed and recycled pieces {the use of antiques always have my vote for the cause} i think there's an organic, earthiness that seems to have crept in since the reagan era.

recently the nytimes did a great feature on event designer, david stark {he's madly talented, btw} and his use of recycled, scraps to create table settings. his use of discarded detritus gives an updated, eco friendly twist to tabletop design, that is simply stunning.

biodegradable sisal twine wrapped around wire flowers:

a ball of twine goes a long way. {i love that heavy, simple flatware too}

bottles, wrapped {and wrapped} in twine and dipped in milk paint. {runner from ikea}

some of my favorites are from the david stark website,

sculpted topiaries made of {get this} 6,000 TONS of shredded office paper. i mean, anyone can pull a moss~ball topiary out their...bag of tricks, but come up with something crazy innovative like this...

birds, made of the maps of utah, for the sundance institute gala. so clever.

years ago, i used to cut up paint sample strips and hand stamp my information on the back as a cheap alternative to business cards. but, this takes it to such a grander level:

15,000 benjamin moore paint strips, create undulating curtains for the new york waterway pavilion, nyc.

check out david stark and all of his talents *here*