Probber,Wormley, Kagan Oh My!
By Steve Miller • Category: Featured Articles, TastemakersBy Steve Miller
Mid century furniture and appointments gallery, Contents, has opened its doors on LA’s Melrose Avenue, known internationally for the renowned restaurants, art galleries and design showrooms that occupy this precious bit of real estate.
Contents is a gallery where the furniture of mid century design purists such as Harvey Probber, Vladimir Kagan, T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings and Edward Wormley interact with each other to create a wondrous pallet of form, function and beauty. The gallery is a creation of leading interior designers Stephen Tomar and Stuart Lampert of Tomar Lampert Associates. The duo are great admirers and frequent purchasers of classic design’s from around the world, whether it be grand and intricate furniture from the master artisans of Europe and Asia dating to the 17th – 19th centuries or the timeless appeal of art deco.
But it is the goods designed by the great mid twentieth century craftsmen, who have made what Stuart Lampert calls “livable furniture which constantly evolves with every room in which they are placed,” that they most wanted to fill their showroom with. “It is these furniture makers,” Stephen Tomar continues, “that prove iconic design can influence and intrigue and where adornments and embellishments so prevalent in other periods are neither necessary nor warranted.” With mid twentieth century design, Tomar and Lampert both agree that “scale, content and materials take precedent in an understated simplicity.” It was also important that they sell furniture that was economically viable for a larger client base who can afford great design but are looking for a suitable substitute to fine, period antiques and furnishings that are seemingly getting more expensive every month.
It’s for Contents that Tomar and Lampert have also had fun sourcing diverse collections of decorative items such as old mercury glass, Sumida Gawa pottery, Eiffel Tower models and replicas as well as an array of rubber sculptures by Gaetano Pesce. These pieces not only bring out the personality of a room, but are an instant conversation starter.
Tomar-Lampert Associates: at 8900 Melrose Avenue, Suite 200, Los Angeles, California, 90069. Telephone number (310) 271-4299, Email: tomarlampert@aol.com
Contents ▪ 8268 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90046 ▪ (T)323.655.2700