 |
Show your cards
Mark place settings with real signs of personality
By Betsy Lehndorff
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
As every great host knows, seating is critical to a dinner party's success. The liveliest conversation occurs when bon vivants are paired with bookworms, when great wits trade tales with great listeners.
To add even more pizazz to the table talk, we asked area artists and store owners to create or choose a place-card holder that reflects their personality.
Several are conversation pieces in their own right.
Jane Friedman, International Villa, 262 Fillmore St., selected a Waterford Crystal place card holder, $39 a pair at her store. The one here would fit perfectly on a table set with white linen, sterling silver flatware, Waterford stemware and platinum-rimmed china by Wedgwood. Crystal. (303) 333-1524.
Crowns hold special meaning for Kris Tait at Decade, 56 S. Broadway, and her husband, Dylan Moore. "We have crowns on our wedding rings and that symbolizes for us our marriage bond — forever king and queen," says Tait. Plated metal by Two's Company. Available at Decade. $12 each.(303) 733-2288
The Hanzon Studio place card holder is like the studio itself — eclectic and colorful. Eight artists there create parade floats, window displays, puppets, toys and painted furniture. According to Lonnie Hanzon, this place card holder is designed to look like a flag heralding the season. The jewels represent prosperity celebrated during the holidays. The white pearl arms represent the new year and a clean slate. Found objects. (303) 436-1895
Boulder artist Jesse Holmes re-creates the human figure and its spirit in Fiberglas, wax, plaster and marble. But the artist of many images is a man of few words. "It's a dinner party," he says. "It has to do with eating, hence the mouth." Pigment on cast plaster with gold paint underlay. (303) 447-8823
Interior designer Melinda Douglas juxtaposes the humble and the fine with this moss-filled place card holder. She says she envisioned a round table covered with a floor-length white damask tablecloth, sterling silver flatware, William Yeoward glassware and yellow orchids in large terracotta pots. We added the silver plate. Moss and terracotta. Douglas Associates, (303) 722-6979
Artist Sherry Allen encased her painted paper fish in an acrylic shadow box that a dinner guest can take home as a gift. Allen is known for her oil and rice paper collages and also for her African-themed works. Her studio is at 4986 Lowell Blvd. Rice paper and Plexiglas. (303) 458-1716
Long-time Denver artist Bob Ragland created "Handspring" as a place card holder because the hand directs people where to go. We've also included a smaller hand he made of copper wire. Ragland is an artist in residence at the Denver Public School Career Education Center. Brazed scrap metal and wire. (303) 839-5259
December 24, 2000
