Tastemakers' Table

It's Sunday morning, I’m sitting at my computer after a long week, trying all the tricks to ground my mind. I need it to not think for a day, an hour, a moment. I turn on etherial music, lit up a candle and pour myself a cup of maple tea, the perfect fall cozy set up.

My DBO pieces will be cherished for years to come, becoming modern heirlooms much like the family vintage that I've incorporated in the shots pictured here.

We all love the way the table looks when it’s perfectly set, the napkins are folded, silver is polished, the coupe awaits the first splash of champagne. But the best tables, in our opinion, are the tables after the guests have left and the candles have burned down, creating a memory of the night before.

Photographer Hallie Burton introduced me to Bourke Street Bakery and I fell in love from afar.  When I learned the story of baker, chef and founder of the bakery/cafe, Paul Allam, I felt a commonality I could truly relate to.

This is such a special Tastemakers' Table experience, as Danny and I had the privilege of being dinner guests for this captivating story. We were invited to the beautiful home of interior designer Robin Klein, nestled in the charming town of Old Chatham, NY.  Through her expert eye for design and passion for cooking, Robin creates an inviting atmosphere that leaves a lasting impression. It was a delightful evening that not only treated our taste buds but also provided valuable insights into the art of effortless and stylish entertaining.

As the new season of spring arrives, we are reminded of the beauty and potential of new beginnings. The air is alive with the buzz of nature and the promise of growth, and the world around us seems to awaken from its winter slumber. A beautifully crafted table, set against a backdrop of vibrant greenery, invites us to celebrate this season of renewal and embrace the joy of nature's cycles.

This holiday season I was inspired to create serveware reminiscent of vintage ironstone and transferware. There’s something about the shapes and the patterns I’m drawn to. And food always looks cozy served on these collectibles. I loved working with these forms so much I tried a few ways to decorate them. There’s the tipped rims in indigo or bronze, the bronze speckle and the one-of-a-kind hand drawn pieces created in collaboration with artist Emma Bieber.

This has been a very long, cold winter, I think we can all agree. Now that we’re in the month of March, the hope of spring is tangible. Here in the northwest corner of Connecticut, we fluctuate between ice and mud in winter’s last ditch effort to bring us down. But oh winter…you just can’t. Because the small flashes of the new season pop out just in the nick of time. Like on an unusually warm day, you take a walk and spy the first flowers pushing their way up through the hard ground. Ah, relief.

This time of the pandemic has ushered in change, profoundly affecting how we work, with whom we socialize, where we live. It has been a challenge but there are ways in which it’s also been galvanizing and liberating. In 2020, Steven Randazzo and Bette Blau, life partners and creative collaborators, found rare free time to reassess and refocus.

I met Kat years ago when she was a Design Director at West Elm. Together we collaborated on a few collections of ceramic vases and tableware for the brand. As kindred spirits our friendship has grown over the years and our desire to work together hasn’t faded. Just this year, we collaborated again with a collection of one of a kind candles for her luxurious home fragrance brand Night Space.

June offers robust florals and a charged feeling of momentum as summer stands in the close backdrop. Everyone's mind seems to get very busy and the rush to travel surges through us like a large wave. I am reminded each...

I first came across Dana and Daniel’s beautiful products when I was at Time Inc. / Real Simple Magazine as the Style Director, probably way back in 2006. We bought a whole batch of DBO for our prop cupboard that we stocked especially for photo shoots. DBO fits really well into the magazines aesthetic and was used regularly on our food and lifestyle shoots. It was a joy to use their carefully crafted pieces.

In the depths of winter, nature’s palette is a simple monochrome of white and grey.  Bare trees and never ending snow can be somber, leaving us aching for spring. Here, interior designer and prop stylist Kate McCann teamed up with long time creative partner photographer David Prince, to show us how to embrace the stillness. The magic of winter’s minimalism.  

For our summer edition of the Tastemakers' Table we collaborated with photographer Dane Tashima and Chef Paul Pearson of Community Table to inspire you to gather your family and friends around a big table and delight them with a meal composed of seasonal offerings while at the same time keep it comfy and relaxed.

Our latest Tastemakers’ Table collaboration is a celebration of the changing of seasons and the idea that less is more. Here, photographer Johnny Fogg and stylist Katja Greeff show us how a few special pieces can make a big impact. And we agree,  a favorite bowl, a unique vase, it’s not about quantity it’s about quality.

Mariana Velasquez is a food stylist with more than a decade styling amongst New York’s most celebrated culinary circles and publications across the globe. A tastemaker who explores the intersection between food, fashion and art, Mariana’s work is an edible canvas where she invites the viewer to eat with their eyes.

Winter. Short days and cold long nights. A time for reflection and remembering how in our youth we made snowmen out of snowfall and never seemed bothered by the idea of a snow day. This season’s Tastemakers’ Table was created by stylist Christina Lane and photographer William Geddes. I’ll let Christina tell the story…

In the beautiful Hudson Valley town of Red Hook, New York, stylist Raina Kattelson and her architect husband Robert Butscher have created a home made for entertaining.   For this Tastemakers’ Table story Raina collaborates with photographer Pernille Loof to show us how they party…with cocktails and an outdoor movie.

For this Tastemakers’s Table we bring you a collaboration between creative colleagues who all met when working at One King’s Lane. The story takes place at the Woodhouse Lodge in Greenville, NY.

Meet creative couple Anthony D’Argenzio and Hillary Zio. This January, Country Living magazine named Anthony one of “The Country’s 100 Most Creative People”. And Hillary? She is a Certified Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers and holds an Advanced Certificate in Wines and Spirits with the S.W.E.T.

In a beautiful Chicago loft that combines industrial cool with pure romance, our featured Tastemaker Margo Breznik makes an end of the week girls night in a sexy rock n roll fete.