The Eye is Benjamin Reynaert’s monthly edit of people, places, objects and ideas that have made him stop and look twice, a glimpse into his camera roll and what’s shaping his eye right now.

My first month at has been something of a whirlwind, in the best possible way. New York in September has provided no shortage of things to do and see: our first pop-up at Officina 1397 (above, center) produced with my friend and former colleague Hannah Milman; the annual Kips Bay Decorator showhouse kicked off to much fanfare; I spoke about collected, layered interiors at Designing Greenwich to promote my book ; scouted new product introductions; celebrated with the New York Design Center; toured the East Fork pottery workshop and previewed new interiors work by new talent at the Brooklyn Heights Designer Showhouse.

So, for the first edition of , here is a little of what I saw, loved and haven’t stopped thinking about.

Dallas-based designer Chad Dorsey’s “Editor’s Office” at Kips Bay was the kind of room I wanted to spend more time in, richly layered with personal touches like polaroids, burnt out cigarettes, novels and old magazine piles, this room felt really collected rather than just decorated. Walls were lined in fabric and framed in wood panels to create a massive pinboard, effectively creating a room surrounded by one’s own inspiration, handsome furnishings set a foundation for desk accessories and personal mementos of a fictitious character, one that I wanted to get to know better. The room was lined with postcards tacked to the wall, inspiration imagery torn from magazines and the bookshelves were quite literally, bursting at the seams. Chad’s room reminded me that the best rooms are layered, personal and tell a unique story, and oftentimes the little things, objects and ephemera styled to a T bring those ideas forward most clearly.

I flew down to Asheville, North Carolina to peek behind the scenes at East Fork, the pottery and tableware brand co-founded by Alex Matisse, Henri Matisse’s great-grandson. In addition to a flagship retail shop, new workshop concept reintroducing 100% hand-thrown pieces and a beautiful creative studio space, there’s a mighty series of factory buildings with teams of artisans and craftspeople specializing in the complex chemistry of glazing, mold-making, slip-casting, hand-building and even the production of the clay in which pieces are created. What I’ve been familiar with as a boutique tabletop brand has grown at scale to become a true force in the home and design market. We also had the pleasure of visiting Alex’s mentor, Matt Jones, at his studio in the “Sandy Mush” region of the state, where Matt scoops clay from his backyard to throw and has his own wood-firing kiln (that he built, of course) that looks like a spaceship. Driving around town with Alex in his 1990s pickup truck, I’m most excited to hear about his love of the craft, support and promotion of American pottery traditions and how he intends to grow his business.

A New Furniture Collection, with a Little Excess

In Manhattan’s Chinatown there’s something wonderfully optimistic about Love House’s first foray into original furniture. Founders Jared Heinrich and Aric Yeakey have teamed up with longtime friend and textile designer Spencer Malinski on a collection of five ottomans featuring original patterns with a touch of 1970s excess. The sculptural forms are dressed in four exclusive fabrics including two jacquards and two lush printed velvets inspired by the era’s unapologetically bold “maxi-maxi” prints. I loved seeing how seemingly frivolous flourishes, heaps of Samuel & Sons fringe for instance, become almost architectural through precise draping and cutting. There is a rigor behind all that exuberance, and it’s all a wonder to see.

In Chinatown, a Dealer’s Trove

Just down the street from Love House is my new favorite antiques shop called France Ici Antiques. There’s no sign but the space is filled with unique pieces collected from across the globe by dealer and owner Ian Rosoff who is also a participating vendor at The Ticking Tent this fall. What I love most about the shop is the wonderful lack of preciousness to it. The walls are covered, some artworks are significant pieces while others less so. A small French landscape painting might be hung on top of a verdure tapestry next to a marble bust on an antique wooden column. Pieces from different provenances, periods and even price points live happily together. You have to look twice to not miss anything and you never know what will jump out at you. The delight in spending time in Ian’s shop is less about finding that perfect thing but more about discovering something you didn’t know you were looking for, which to me is exactly the point.

Beneath a Brooklyn Mansion, Something Strange

I stopped by the Brooklyn Heights Designer Showhouse press preview and loved the feeling of stepping into a series of entirely imagined worlds. Set within a landmarked 1852 corner lot mansion, the house has been transformed room by room. I was especially drawn to Brooklyn-based designer Rachael Rosenblum’s wonderfully strange garden-level space. Tucked beneath the main living quarters and featuring a hidden entrance to the sidewalk, the moody, almost otherworldly mix of emerald snakes, plaid wood, unique upholstery details (Rachael also operates a custom workroom) and even a pattern covered Tarot-inspired elevator. There’s something I always enjoy about a showhouse at its best: designers giving themselves permission to push an idea further than they ordinarily might and completely step inside their imagination.

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