Small Wonders Copyright Vladimir Kagan, May 18, 2013 On a recent visit to my Daughter Jessica in Connecticut, I was enchanted by a simple music box we bought together in a touristy gift shop on our trip to Paris. It is encased in a tin box and wound with a little red knob to emit a “tinkley” rendition of the Marsaeille. The box is decorated with historic images of the revolution…It’s a cheap toy that one buys on impulse and tosses into a drawer, never to be seen again. However, it’s simplicity and sophistication is quite amazing - a detail... Continue reading

An Interview with Nathaniel Ross Copyright 2013 Haute Living Nate Ross is a writer and designer, based in Chicago, who recently conducted an in depth interview with me for his client Haute Living, my Chicago showroom. “I am evolutionary, not revolutionary. I’ve always designed to fill a void in the lifestyle of the modern home.” ~ Vladimir Kagan It can be said that designer Vladimir Kagan’s work eludes categorization due to its amoebic form, and eschews interpretation by its mere simplicity. His lines parallel the legato of a Paul Desmond saxophone solo, but can also embody the expression of a... Continue reading

‘I’m supposed to be a minimalist’ By Shannon Bond Vladimir Kagan has designed furniture for clients from Marilyn Monroe to Tom Ford. At 85, he is expanding his business ©Brian Shumway Kagan in his daughter Vanessa’s sitting room Vladimir Kagan’s elegant mid-century furniture has graced the home of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Tom Ford’s Gucci stores and a Giorgio Armani restaurant in Italy. But the German-born designer’s Upper East Side apartment is a far cry from the “less is more” philosophy that inspires his work. In the living room, his sculptural chairs and zigzagging green sofa compete for space... Continue reading

How To Cure the Doldrums In Palm Beach Copyright Vladimir Kagan, March 29, 2013 Ten days of sitting by the poolside, baking in the sun, or alternately dodging the wind, can become tedious. sittin' by the pool and getting bored When the small kids got restless, we headed for Disney World. Now my adult family is afflicted with the same syndrome: boredom. We all need diversion. What’s a better thing to do than to see how the world beyond ours lives? Our world is Palm Beach Island – separated from the mainland by three bridges, an active water channel from... Continue reading

Disney World Revisited Copyright Vladimir Kagan, March 20, 2013 Grandpa Vladi with two granddaughters, Annecy and Ondine at Disney World What to do with visiting grandchildren in Florida? Take them to Disney World, of course! Don’t think of it as only a kiddy park . Disney World is a family affair. Disney World is a colossal Empire. Well done! because it is Disney. I returned to Disney World forty-years after our first visit and entered a time warp! Nothing has changed. (At least, so it appeared). They may have added more chilling rides, (I was terrified to do them then... Continue reading

The Armory Art Show Copyright Vladimir Kagan, March 12. 2013 Marcel Duchamp's Nude Descending A Stair - The controversial painting that started it all in 1913 A New York happening not to be missed… and miraculously, I was in town and had the good fortune of persuading a dear friend to push me in a wheelchair around this vast exhibit. Unfortunately, from my low vantage point (almost a worm’s eye view) I did not get the pertinent information on the Artists or gallery’s name. As a result I am treating you to an anomalous tour of the exhibit with random... Continue reading

An Archive Sixty-five Years in the Making Copyright Vladimir Kagan, February 24,2013 The Vladimir Kagan Archives, a fledgling idea that has simmered for years and is finally coming to fruition. It is an offshoot of a well-organized entity called the Vladimir Kagan Design Group Inc.; the successful home base of all of my diverse activities. This organization carries on the tradition of my father’s cabinet shop to make the finest handcrafted furniture made today. Yes, our craftsmen use some aspects of modern technology to accomplish our traditional comfort and high standard of quality. We have switched from a mouthful of... Continue reading

Nantucket During the Storm Copyright Vladimir Kagan, February 12, 2013 Yesterday I showed you the tranquil side of Nantucket in a snowstorm; this is the real McCoy! – When a Blizzard hits the East coast, Nantucket gets a real Nor’easter complete with massive flooding. These photos were sent to me by our Yacht Club and I thought worthwhile sharing with you. Looking up Main Street - Erica Wilson's Store is hidden off to the right Now, take a look in the opposite direction - Steamboat Wharf and all the shops flooded photo by Chad Piere Notice the people slogging throught... Continue reading

The Blizzard of 2013 Copyright Vladimir Kagan, February 10, 2013 Just when I thought that I had nothing to write about, God sent me the Blizzard of 2013. As usual, life in my “ivory tower” on the upper East side is calm. New York had just under a foot of snow… manageable for both pedestrians and vehicular traffic. Parked cars were romantically covered with a heaping of the white stuff. We were spared Sandy’s devastation… Not so for the rest of the Northeast! Long Island got hit badly; in some places up to three feet. Except for the skiers and... Continue reading

Reminiscences of Europe Copyright Vladimir Kagan, February 5, 2013 I am finally back in New York for over two week - buried in work…the glow of Europe is rapidly evaporating… Before the last images fade away, I’ve gathered a few reminiscences. IMPRESSIONS IN BLACK & WHITE Photos of Europe in Black & White – snaps I took on my iPhone along the road from Gstaad to Geneva and the next day, on a high-speed train from Geneva to Paris…. Plus a rare glimpse of Paris in the snow. Europe was covered with a blanket of snow. The countryside was devoid... Continue reading

THE OTHER JOSEFOWITZ ARTIST Copyright Vladimir Kagan, January 12, 2013 Cathy Josefowitz's poster for her show as seen on Geneva street kiosks There are two Josefowitz artists in the family: my sister Tanya and her daughter Cathy. Both have been untiring painters all of their lives. I can never envision my sister without a drawing pad in her handbag. Cathy is a painter of a different ilk. She would need to carry a roll of canvas twice her size. Though Cathy also sketches prolifically in a Lilliputian sized, beautifully bound, blank book; hers are not spiraled drawing pages to be... Continue reading

Geneva: A Calm, Clean, Attractive City! Yes No Copyright Vladimir Kagan, January 6, 2013 Not so in the eyes of its citizens… and they are right… it is overrun with foreigners; the citizenry is no longer homogeneously Swiss! But this trend started after World War 1 with the League of Nations, The Genevese just didn’t wake up to this reality until now. Geneva is an ancient city dating back to Roman times. It is Switzerland’s second most populous city after Zurich. By world population standards, it is insignificant with only 450,000 inhabitants. But size isn’t everything; Geneva is the worldwide... Continue reading

The Age of the Super-Star Copyright Vladimir Kagan, December 29, 2012 When good is not good enough – even the best is not good enough.... You have the birth of a Super Star! He or she stands alone on a pedestal. In tennis, be it Bobby Riggs, Roger Federer or Serena Williams: Baseball’s Hall of Fame touts Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson while the Yankees have Derrick Jetter. American’s love affair with Football gives us Aaron Rogers and Victor Cruz: Hillary Clinton gets it as a Diplomat, General Patton and Eisenhower were bigger than life Soldiers. And in Architecture, you... Continue reading

How I’ve Learned To (almost) Hate Classical Music Copyright Vladimir Kagan, December 24, 2012 “T’was the night before Christmas, and all through the house, only the ‘telly’ was stirring, no sign of a mouse” In my sister’s household, a classical version of MTV is playing all day long on a huge TV screen. The decibels are kept discretely low so that the music won’t intrude too much on the daily routine of the house. What is left is a silent film version of musicians playing their instruments, led by a superfluous conductor, twisting his body, facial expressions and hands with... Continue reading

Have a very Merry Christmas and a fabulous New Year! Vladi with sister Tanya in Gstaad – 2012 I will be in Gstaad over the holidays with my Swiss family. While I won't be skiing... I'll have plenty of fond memories of playing in that white stuff... below are a few photos from years gone by… I’ll be thinking of all of you while sipping a hot chocolate on one of the mountaintops. Bonne Année – Grüezi – Happy New Year Vladimir Continue reading

Paris – Our Home Away From Home Copyright Vladimir Kagan, December 17, 2012 When Jessica was six or seven years old, (that was back in the 60s) she went to a little private school. The headmistress, an English educator, (Erica liked her for her Englishness) had a husband, an English Francophile, who rambled on about building a tunnel under the English Channel to France! No one could imagine a more harebrained idea. He held an influential position in England and campaigned hard to bring this wacky idea to fruition… Thirty-one miles under water? No way! It will flood. It will... Continue reading

In Memoriam to a departed Angel Erica Wilson Kagan October 10, 1928 – December 13, 2011 Copyright Vladimir Kagan, December 13, 2012 How the World remembers Erica I believe all cultures celebrate the anniversary of the passing of a loved one. And so the time has come for me to reflect on the sudden death of my darling wife Erica, just a year ago tomorrow. The time has not gone quickly. My life is bereft of the daily joys of being together. My incapacitation had never been an issue, now it is. The little joys, the good things she did... Continue reading

Two of my legendary heroes died last week Copyright Vladimir Kagan, December 10, 2012 Oscar Niemeyer, whose lyric architecture was influenced by Brazil’s Samba beat, articulated the spirit of “Form follows Beauty” (his description of his work). It’s where I have found my life’s creativity Dave Brubeck’s rhythmic jazz always sparked my best moods and inspired my designs. “Take Five” still makes my heart beat a little faster and my creative juices flow easier. Their stars will shine forever. Both lived fulfilling lives to a gracious age (Niemeyer 104 - Brubeck 91), which gives me hope that there might still... Continue reading

From the Cotswold to London Copyright Vladimir Kagan, December 8, 2012 What have New York, London and Paris got in common: they are beautiful cities! - They are all too big for me! As I am oblidged to hobble about on two ski poles, a walker and from time to time in a wheel chair, my range in a city’s peripheral has shrunk! – (Give me boring little Geneva or Palm Beach to tootle around in - more my speed these days.) That, however, doesn’t slow down my daughter Jessica, and when we travel together, she guarantees that we achieve... Continue reading

A Day in the English Countryside Copyright Vladimir Kagan, December 2, 2012 A one lane road in the bucolic countryside of the Cotswold Dictionary description: Bucolic, 1) of or characteristic of the countryside; 2) of or characteristic of shepherds and their flock; pastoral (from the Greek boukolikos). Bucolic is a word especially created for the English countryside. This fairytale landscape unfolds abruptly a few miles outside London, (if you can close your eyes long enough, past the dreadful council houses and pseudo-Tudor cottages with rows of pubs, small stores and multi-family housing, you’ll open them up in the country). We... Continue reading

Night Shift – an Art Show Copyright Vladimir Kagan, November 25, 2012 I am in Europe and in Geneva for one purpose: to consummate a promise given six months earlier – to help my sister, Tanya Kagan-Josefowitz mount her gallery show of drawings, paintings and “creatures”. Meet Tanya… In the day, she lords it over a complex household - she is a superb cook – her soups are world-class – she is the matriarch of her scattered family – she mothers her husband, who has Altzheimer and in her spare time, she entertains ceaselessly. By night she turns from Jekyll... Continue reading

My Flight in a Virgin Galactic Space Ship Copyright Vladimir Kagan, November 22, 2012 (This article was started over two weeks ago, but my energetic travel schedule kept it on my back burner until now…. Happy Thanksgiving from Geneva to all of my friends in America) I have just flown Richard Branson’s latest brainchild, the pre-curser to his Virgin Galactic Space Craft…the new Airbus A330 -300. Not the advertised $250,000 half hour excursion into outer space… I flew Virgin’s short six-hour flight from New York to London for a mere $6,044.70 (using frequent flyer miles!) This service is called Upper... Continue reading

Hurricane Sandy Progress & Demise Part 2 & 3 Copyright Vladimir Kagan, October 30, 2012 It’s Getting Serious Monday 29th of October:Twelve Noon – The storm is 150 miles south of the city but the impact can now be felt all around. The trees are no long docile, their leaves are blowing off like a snowstorm. From my window, the limbs are thrashing in all directions, sucked up into the vortex of the wind that is rushing through the canyons of New York’s high-rise buildings. There was early flooding at the Battery, the southern tip of Manhattan, that is now... Continue reading

Hurricane Sandy in New York 1st installment of a trilogy Copyright Vladimir Kagan, October 28, 2012 As devastating as it has been coming up the East coast, causing death and destruction in the Caribbean, Anticipating hurricane Sandy in New York has been more of a party event. For us New Yorkers, it was business as usual only pleasanter… Museums were empty but the queues at the grocery stores stretched around the corner. These stores are being emptied of water and comestibles… in fact it is the best selling day that they have enjoyed in years. Gourmet purveyors have run out... Continue reading

The International Art & Antique Dealers Show Copyright Vladimir Kagan October 23, 2012 If you love Modern… you must go see this exhibit! No, not for the one piece of Kagan in the show, or for that matter the modest glimmer of any modern at all. Yes, there was some exquisite Art Deco, a reasonable representation of tepid modern art…one brave modern dealer and a plethora of beautiful antiques…. And, if you were hungry, a decent catered restaurant. The reason I want you to see this show is to enjoy the elegance, quality and style… I love this show for... Continue reading