I snapped a picture of Eric Prokesh during our lunch yesterday at Cafe Pacific. I love a man wearing seersucker in summer, don't you? Men in New Orleans still wear them, but you don't often see them in Dallas any more. Cafe Pacific is one of Eric's favorite places in Dallas, mainly because he likes to people watch, and the decor is also like a Paris bistro. We both ordered the sole, which turned out to be pretty good. "I buy sole at Costco in bulk and eat it like fast food," Eric said. "I freeze them, then take one out at a time and wrap it in [parchment] paper and bake it. It only takes a few minutes."
Here's Eric, after lunch, in front of the Hermes boutique in Highland Park Village. How many men do you know who can pull off a candy stripe tie and white pants and not look like an ice cream vendor or Tom Wolfe?
Eric told me about a table he just had made for a client on Beverly Drive, whose design he based on a circa 1935 Biedermeir table he saw in a German book (above). Below is the iPhone shot of it after it was delivered to the house earlier in the week:
The original was in walnut, but the craftsman who built it (I know who it is, but Eric won't let me tell you. Ask Michelle Nussbaumer if you want to know, or James McInroe) suggested bird's-eye maple for this one. Says Eric: "Bird's-eye maple, which is also a biedermeir wood, lightens it up, I think. Of course the prototype was a center table so I adjusted the proportions to compensate for the increased scale. The folding star and some other details, you will notice, have been changed or added."
The house will be finished sometime around Christmas, and from the way Eric describes things, it'll be a symphony of beautiful greens, blues, and lavenders -- the colors he's known for.
In Other Design News....
[Photo by Terri Glanger]
Dallas designer James McInroe has put his Vandelia Street duplex up for lease where his design business has been based for many years and is making plans to open a store/showroom in the Design District. We will post updates on this blog as we get them.
More Sad News in the World of Layoffs....
Will Kolb (left) who had been one of Sherle Wagner's top regional district sales managers, was laid off yesterday. Will is known by everyone in the design business in Dallas, and he's looking for work, so contact him at bratprince@aol.com if you have any leads.
[Photo by Billy Surface]
Donald Fowler, who was synonymous with Stanley Korshak's home store for years abruptly left this past spring, resurfacing recently as buyer for The Nest. I first came across Fowler and his brilliant eye when he worked at the now-defunct Translations with Mary Bloom. I think that's where he honed his skills for buying unexpected and beautiful handmade things. It'll be fun to watch what he does next.
Fowler was replaced at Korshak by the store's former creative director Sandy Ceppos [above], who has a background as an interior designer and entertaining expert in New York, according to her press release. Among the ideas she plans to implement in the home division are monthly entertaining and tabletop seminars and a design tips blog, hosted on the website.
