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