Rima Suqi

I love seeing how things are made. After interviewing Rhett Butler of E.R. Butler I invited myself out to his factory in Brooklyn. It’s an amazing old compound he bought 15 years ago. He tells the story much better than I ever would  – you can read it  here. My take on the factory, in pictures, follows:

This is a crappy shot of the entrance. All those cobblestones are from the 1800s – Rhett collected them. It took years. The guy is a fanatic. I loved the large “B” at the top, with those three dots. Like an umlaut, but not.

I am very into tools, especially old tools and machinery – and he’s got plenty of that (along with a lot of state of the art stuff I didn’t shoot but was pretty fascinating).

Some other random moments:

did you know the Muehling candlesticks come in mixed metals? yes they do. they also come in all-gold versions. This batch was for a Middle Eastern client (not moi).

And finally, a sign Rhett claims came from an abandoned brothel in Chinatown.

A studio visit with Karen Kimmel:

Seen earlier today at L’Olivier Florist on 14th Street. Priced at $350 (box) and $500 (round).

From Artware Editions.

Damien Hirst, $425

Gary Hume, $375

Keith Tyson, $375

The opening was tonight at John Derian (not the store, an extra space he uses for storage, which btw is GORGEOUS in that John Derian way). The crowd was fascinating. The finger sandwiches tasty. The wine flowed.

My photos aren’t great (brightly lit dark space, if that makes sense). To see better images, click here.

larger works were priced at about $9,600

prices started at $2200