NW"
Continued from page 15
news source. "Instead, they found a
pasty potter."
Nonetheless, his parents, both
lawyers, gave in to their son's pleads for
a wheel and kiln of his own, which they
put in the basement of their modernist,
Knoll-filled house. "I spent my entire
adolescence in the basement throwing
pots," he says.
At the same time, Adler, raised in a
Conservative Jewish family and attend-
ing a high school that was "incredibly
WASPy and preppy," began cultivating
what would years later bloom into a full-
fledged obsession with "WASPy coun-
try-club style — needlepoint, chinois-
erie and acid-green lacquer."
Studying art history and semiotics
(the structure of language and, in his
case, a catchall for his interest in pop
culture) at Brown University in
Providence, R.I., Adler spent most of his
time throwing pots at the neighboring
renowned Rhode Island School of
Design. After graduation, following a
brief stint working at a talent agency in
New York City, he brought some of his
pots to Barneys New York, who placed
an order. (Coincidentally, it was two
years later that Barneys turned up in his
life again: He went on a blind date with
Simon Doonan, Barneys' creative direc-
tor and the man responsible for the
store's famed window displays, and
they've been together ever since.
They've also adopted the light of their
lives, a Norwich terrier named Liberace,
whose comfort is foremost in Adler's
thoughts when designing fabrics and
Above: Jonathan Adler lives it up at his bar mitzvah, circa 1979. Top:
Recline on the basket-weave patten of the Lampert Lounger, cushioned
by bolsters and supported by a hand-carved wood base, and you can't
help feeling a bit like Audrey Hepburn, whose character in Charade the
piece is named after.
Continued on page 18
Adler's book, due out this
month from ReganBooks
(5311.95), is about "how to be
GET THE GOODS
immoderate," he says. Its
Jonathan Adler's complete collections can be found in his
basic premise is that your
catalogue (call 877-287-1910 to order) or online at
home should be like a good
dose of Zoloft. You will find
www.jonathanadler.com . Planning a trip to Chicago any-
peer design work, gorgeous
time soon? Jonathan Adler Chicago opens this month, at
images, strong opinions,
676 Wabash (312-274-9920). Otherwise, find selections
wayward rants and lots of
very cute pictures of my
of collections locally at: Art Loft, Birmingham (248-647-
Norwich terrier, Liberace."
4007; www.artloftonline.com ); Shine, Royal Oak (248-
Also included: a foreword
414-5277; www.shopshine.net ); Bright Ideas, Royal Oak
penned by Adler's longtime
partner, Simon Doonan.
(248-541-9940; www.brightideasfurniture.com ).
JNPLATINUM • NOVEMBER 2005 •
17