With Gem Home, Flynn McGarry’s Design Eye Sharpens Its Focus

SHOP
With Gem Home, Flynn McGarry’s Design Eye Sharpens Its Focus

The latest iteration of chef Flynn McGarry’s Gem culinary universe takes shape at Gem Home: a neighborhood grocer, cafe, and destination for found objects in Nolita. Alongside its cafê, pastry, and coffee program—the latter of which is from the Danish cult phenoms La Cabra—the space is as much an ode to McGarry’s love of interior design and vintage décor. The chef-owner outfitted the space with Louis Poulsen pendant lights, paint by Farrow & Ball, and his own carpentry in the form of its dining tables, pastry case, and product shelving.

True to its name, the café-shop also offers home goods sourced from his travels to Japan, Sweden, New England, and beyond. Between handmade soap vessels by New York–based ceramicist Shane Gabier, heirloom-inspired linens from Dutch studio Autumn Sonata, and a slew of 20th-century vintage finds, we’d be hard-pressed to pick a favorite. Don’t sleep on the stainless steel cafétieres. While they’re designed in the U.K. by David Mellor creative director Corin Mellor, Gem Home is the only place for stateside design lovers to acquire them. —Jenna Adrian-Diaz

READ
A Focused Look at Dieter Rams’ Illustrious Career

When the writer Sophie Lovell started working on the first edition of Dieter Rams: As Little Design As Possible, the nonagenarian industrial designer was fatigued with the limelight and had one request: “it should be an empty book that says something important.” The resulting monograph, newly reissued this year by Phaidon, may not be empty, but gracefully examines Rams’ illustrious career of designing functional objects that embody the ethos of its title. Throughout his decades-long tenures at Braun and Vitsœ, he single-handedly transformed each brand into a global powerhouse, yielding beloved products like the KF20 coffee maker and the 606 Universal Shelving system. Fellow design heavyweight Jasper Morrison has referred to the latter as the “endgame in shelving”—as close to perfection the design could possibly get.

Beyond the hundreds of such emblematic objects in Rams’ portfolio, the book also delves into his architectural work (it pays a visit to the Kronberg House, as well as his own) and his “ten commandments” about living sustainably that have practically become design scripture. One of the volume’s most meaningful moments can be found within Jony Ive’s foreword, in which Apple’s former hardware design mastermind vividly recounts childhood memories with a Braun juicer that he describes as perfectly considered. “His products seem inevitable,” Ive writes, “challenging you to question whether there could possibly be a rational alternative.” —Ryan Waddoups

SAVOR
Beau-Rivage Palace’s Pic Exudes Modern Romanticism

After 15 years spent helming the kitchens of Switzerland’s Beau-Rivage Palace hotel, decorated chef Anne-Sophie Pic recently tapped Paris-based architect Tristan Auer to reimagine the interiors of Pic, her namesake restaurant at the Lausanne hotel. A serene palette of cream, lilac, burnt orange and warm ash pay homage to the surrounding Alpine valleys and greenhouses whose harvests of lavender and saffron accentuate Chef Pic’s cuisine. On the menu, Swiss cheeses, veal, and seasonal fish from the nearby lake Léman feature prominently in dishes like angus veal, sourced from Lucerne and infused with rose geranium and gentian root, and Tarbouriech oysters imbued with white fir, sea fennel, and served with Swiss fondue. —J.A.D.

SEE
A Luminous Portal Inside One of London’s Most Ornate Halls

The London Design Festival may have drawn to a close, but ample discoveries still abound in the English capital. Chief among them is a glimmering suspended structure in the richly adorned Painted Hall at Greenwich’s historic Old Royal Naval College. It was envisioned by Melek Zeynep Bulut, the Turkish-born artist whose creative process is informed by peculiar sensory crossovers caused by synesthesia. “First, I perceive an abstract energy field,” Zeynep Bulut says, “and then I find myself shaping it.”

The installation assumes the form of a rectangular prism evocative of ancient architectural thresholds, and is held together by an interdependent system of magnets, sensors, perception-altering surfaces, and acoustic reflectors that respond dynamically to the presence of visitors. As they pass through, miniature microphones and reflectors amplify their physical responses; no two journeys are the same. It shines like a beacon in the cavernous interiors, which are adorned in 40,000 square feet of Baroque paintings. “Energetically,” she continues, “I believe it serves as a space for dimensional transition, with a very high aura.” —R.W.

FASHION
In London, Chandigarh Furniture Meets South Asian Art

Last time Surface caught up with Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, the duo behind Proenza Schouler were in the midst of paring back their label to its most essential elements: craft, material, and styling signatures that catapulted its trademark “lowkey-cool” to the stratosphere of Chloë Sevigny and Weyes Blood. “For us, she represents the woman,” Hernandez said of the baroque-pop musician who walked and scored their Spring/Summer 2024 runway. 

Fast-forward to their Spring/Summer 2025 collection, which has seen McCollough and Hernandez focus on outfitting their muses in authoritative silhouettes that balance everyday wearability with an ever-so-subtle edge that leaves a lasting impression long after she’s left. Alas, even the Proenza woman has to be prepared to face the elements. To that end, the label teamed up with outdoor outfitter Sorel to send their spin on a weatherproof mule and Chelsea boot down the runway. Heavy contrast stitching joins a glossy, full-grain leather upper to a vulcanized rubber lug-sole that will see its wearer unbothered through showers, slush, and sludge. —J.A.D.

STAY
Glamour Reigns Supreme in the St. Regis’ Sparkling Refit

The 120-year-old fixture of Midtown Manhattan’s gilded past sparkles anew thanks to local studio Champalimaud Design, which reimagined its public spaces, including its lobby, King Cole bar, and two restaurants: The Drawing Room and La Maisonette. Classic touches like Waterford crystal chandeliers, original crown moldings, and de Gournay wall coverings pop against velvet-upholstered slipper chairs and club chairs as a nod to the hotel’s heyday, when the Astors held court in its Beaux-Arts halls. For a more personal take on the finer things, guests can partake in the Astor Library’s private book collection commissioned by John Jacob Astor IV himself. —J.A.D.

PLAY
In Lisbon, a Duo of Intimate New Listening Bars

Spiritland has long been a gravitational force within London’s audiophile scene, hosting album launch parties for the likes of Beck, Jack White, and Depeche Mode. Now, founders Sophie Uddin and Paul Noble are bringing the party to Lisbon, having recently christened a Spiritland outpost and sister bar called The Kissaten in the Locke de Santa Joana. Musical touches abound, from the vintage JBL speakers and mirrored columns to the golden disco ball rotating underneath the 33-foot-tall vaulted ceilings, but even casual listeners will find something to love. Inspired by the Japanese listening bar scene, the dimly lit Kissaten features Lisbon’s largest whisky selection—more than 100 bottles—and a cocktail menu serving no-frills compositions with local Portuguese ingredients at the fore. The extensive vinyl collection, however, might be the real draw—records from all eras and genres are spun in their entirety, and anyone can pick one to be played. —R.W.