We are merging to new blogging software, so the news section will look incomplete for a couple of days. Sit tight.

Featuring Winter ‘07 collection c-parakeets – limited edition of 25 birds

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Our Story

There was this old woman who, as far as we know, had no family or friends; from the looks of her home, she experienced psychosis of tragic proportions. Her grotesque behavior manifested itself in what can only be described as a perverse affection for her birds. These birds—no one knows exactly how many—appeared to be the only source of joy in this woman’s life. They lived in a steel cage in the bedroom of the woman’s house. The woman, incidentally, slept on the floor in front of the cage because there wasn’t enough room for the cage and a bed.

Any attention the woman might have given to housekeeping was instead invested in the birds. She would stand in front of the cage for hours, talking to the birds, all the while oblivious to the decrepit state of her home. The floorboards were in particular disrepair. After years of absorbing bird waste, these neglected wood slats could scarcely withstand their own weight.

It happened that one day, as the woman stood at the foot of the cage, singing to her birds, the floorboards gave way, causing the woman and the cage to fall through the floor to the crawlspace below. It was here, pinned to the crawlspace by the heavy cage, that the old woman awaited death. We would like to think the birds sang her, once more, to sleep.

Within a month, creditors found the dead woman and proceeded to liquidate her estate in an effort to reconcile her outstanding magazine subscription debt. It was at such an estate sale that Contraposto Home Décor identified the singular opportunity to purchase the old woman’s home, which we did for pennies on the dollar. With a little work, we retrofitted the old place into our new boutique store, c (pronounced /k/). In addition to our staple line of home accents, we will offer limited edition accoutrements. In honor of this old woman, c is proudly selling a signature series of parakeets—twenty-five in all—each signed and numbered with a decorative leg band.

For Immediate Release

Stoicism and other character flaws

A former department store display window is converted into an exhibition space for contemporary art. The newly established home decorations boutique, c (pronounced /k/), proposes to re-convert the window back into a display window. The type of display the window will assume will be that of the aviary, an often-used display strategy at pet stores. The physical nature of the space—wide open windows, tall ceilings, and a shallow depth—privileges many aspects of this re-conversion.

At over 300 square feet, with ample, 12-foot high ceilings, the aviary more than accommodates the 25 parakeets who, for three months, will reside as guests. This palatial abode will feature postmodern array of accoutrements, including rustic furniture, modern paintings, edible, classical sculpture.

In a perverse display of shameless self-promotion, the aviary’s floor will be lined with newspaper advertisements announcing c’s new boutique, a shoppe which promises to become the Northwest’s finest purveyor of limited edition home and garden decorations.

The installation at Tacoma Contemporary will coincide with c’s Grand Opening in Seattle, on May 18, 2006 at 319 S. Washington Street.

In August, at the conclusion on the installation at Tacoma Contemporary, the parakeets with vacate their abode and relocate to c’s boutique, in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. At their new residence they will be outfitted with custom-made anklets and sold as pets to c’s discriminating clientele.

Lotion testing at c (pronounced /k/)

PRESS INFORMATION: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

APRIL 20, 2006

Who: c (pronounced /k/), the couture division of Contraposto Home Decor

What: Exclusive product testing event

Where: c’s new space at 312 S. Washington Street, Studio E.

When: April 20, 5-9 pm in conjunction with Pioneer Square’s 1st Thursday Art Walk

How: You are cordially invited to participate in a unique product testing experience, in which you evaluate one of c’s hand-crafted hygiene products in a sensory-based trial. Individual sessions last approximately fifteen minutes and all participants receive a limited edition gift from c.

Why: To explore the unlimited potential of couture to reach beyond high fashion and into everyday hygiene products. With the assistance of a leading consumer science firm, your feedback will inevitably improve the quality of consumer living in Seattle.

Soap testing (David Soap) at c (pronounced /k/)

Exclusive product testing event

PRESS INFORMATION: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MARCH 16, 2006

Who: c (pronounced /k/), the couture division of Contraposto Home Decor

What: Exclusive product testing event

Where: c’s new space at 312 S. Washington Street, Studio E.

When: April 4, 5-9 pm in conjunction with Pioneer Square’s 1st Thursday Art Walk

How: You are cordially invited to participate in a unique product testing experience, in which you evaluate one of c’s hand-crafted hygiene products in a sensory-based trial. Individual sessions last approximately fifteen minutes and all participants receive a limited edition gift from c.

Why: To explore the unlimited potential of couture to reach beyond high fashion and into everyday hygiene products. With the assistance of a leading consumer science firm, your feedback will inevitably improve the quality of consumer living in Seattle.

The flowchart/design for the new website . . . in watercolor.

Left: Detail from the flowchart: Gargoyle Candle. Right: Screen shot from upcoming website.

Left: Detail from the flochart: Venus of Willendorf Soap. Right: Screen shot from upcoming website.

As proprietor of a thriving, young business I rarely have time for my hobbies. After spelunking and mycology I miss watercolor painting the most. In my undergraduate days, had actually been a pretty good painter. (I minored in art, you know.) This summer I had planned to take residence in an artist commune and let my creative juices flow. But the week before I was to leave, the server went down on the e-business portion of my company and I had to schedule an emergency retreat with my web development team. In addition to feeling glum over my ruined plans, the retreat was a complete failure; for three days I sat in a room with graphic designers, computer programmers, and accountants, each speaking a different jargon. It was as if we were trying to rebuild the Tower of Babel.

The night before the final day of the retreat was the worst. I lay in bed, wide awake, wondering how I could have ever called myself an entrepreneur.  It was then that I remembered the words of David Antin, one of my college art professors. I recalled he once said, that to be avant-garde (which I always associated with being an entrepreneur) one need not invent entirely new tools if what one has in his toolbox gets the job done; one need merely invent what is lacking in the toolbox as it currently exists. For me, watercolor is a toolbox unto itself—a toolbox that contains an ever-expanding set of tools—such that I have never been at a lack with watercolor.

For the next eleven hours I worked at a feverish pace, using watercolors to create a schematic of the website. I entered the meeting, and with the help of my assistant, pinned the images to the wall in a flowchart arrangement. With an economy of language the group began to interact with the images, communicating their ideas freely and easily. I hereby offer Untitled (flowchart) as a mildly aestheticized recreation of that sublime moment.

-Brian Goeltzenleuchter, President
Contraposto Home Décor Co.

PRESS INFORMATION: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 16, 2004

The Scoop: Projections estimate Fall 2005 to be an ideal release date for Unpacking Iraq, a limited edition box set of Near Eastern-inspired candles and soaps.

Why: As we are all aware, Baghdad Museum was looted during the height of the conflict in Iraq. Legislation has recently passed that confirmed our suspicions that cultural objects looted from Iraq will be sufficiently difficult to procure from art and antiquities markets in the United States and Western Europe.

What: Unpacking Iraq is designed to function as a conciliatory gesture—a service, if you will—to those who would normally wish to purchase an actual stolen artifact, yet, due to the aggressive legislation are prevented from doing so.

Where: Contraposto’s top tier customers will receive an e-mail with an access code to reserve an edition from our limited pre-sale inventory. Everyone else can see a teaser at unpackingiraq.com.