Jim Walrod
Encyclopedia
Jim Walrod, often referred to as the “design guru" is a self-taught interior design consultant
and considered an expert in the field of mid century design. In the 1980s, he was an assistant art director for the Italian fashion house, Fiorucci,. Mike D of the Beastie Boys
originally coined another of his monikers “the furniture pimp”, used by the press in Rolling Stone
magazine. Walrod was born in 1966 in Jersey City, NJ.
and Richard Gluckman. His collaboration with boutique hotelier, Andre Balazs
, resulted in the The Standard Downtown LA hotel. Walrod also worked with club and restaurant impresario team Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson. to create The Park restaurant. After 9/11 Walrod designed the interiors of Colors restaurant which is operated by the former employees of the Windows on the World
restaurant in the World Trade Center
. Opened in 2006, Colors was "inspired by the optimism of the 1939 World's Fair
", according to Walrod. He has designed Nolita's
Steven Alan Annex the newest additions to the line of hipster fashion and lifestyle emporiums of designer, Steven Alan, completing projects for him in the West Village, at Steven Alan Upper West Side and NoLita. Walrod's most recent commercial projects include designing Gild Hall, a business class hotel in the financial district of Manhattan, and Thompson LES Thompson LES, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan on Allen Street, for the Thompson Hotel Group. He also co-curated a show at Cooper Union, in cooperation with the Drawing Center Drawing Center, on Paul Rudolph's drawings for a Lower Manhattan Expressway http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2010/11/paul-rudolphs-manhattan-megastructure.html. Additionally, Walrod has worked on various residential projects which have been featured in the The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, and Architectural Digest.
with partners, Fred Schneider of The B-52's
and Jack Feldman. For Ang Lee
's 1997 film The Ice Storm
, Walrod consulted on the period 1970s furniture and interiors.
In 2004, his design of the Tribeca restaurant, Pace, was featured on the television program Opening Soon on the Food Network
. In May 2009 Walrod's designs for Gild Hall, a Thompson hotel in the financial district, were featured as a primary setting in director Steven Soderbergh
's film The Girlfriend Experience
.
The New York Times Magazine
Fiorucci
Index Magazine
Mike D of the Beastie Boys
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
and considered an expert in the field of mid century design. In the 1980s, he was an assistant art director for the Italian fashion house, Fiorucci,. Mike D of the Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
originally coined another of his monikers “the furniture pimp”, used by the press in Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine. Walrod was born in 1966 in Jersey City, NJ.
Projects
Walrod has also consulted on interiors for architects Jean NouvelJean Nouvel
Jean Nouvel is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of Mars 1976 and Syndicat de l'Architecture...
and Richard Gluckman. His collaboration with boutique hotelier, Andre Balazs
Andre Balazs
Andre Balázs is an American hotelier and residential developer. He created the Standard Hotels line of hotels and operates many hotels and residences in New York and other U.S...
, resulted in the The Standard Downtown LA hotel. Walrod also worked with club and restaurant impresario team Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson. to create The Park restaurant. After 9/11 Walrod designed the interiors of Colors restaurant which is operated by the former employees of the Windows on the World
Windows on the World
Windows on the World was a complex of venues at the top floors of the North Tower of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan that included a restaurant, Windows on the World, a smaller restaurant called Wild Blue, and a bar called The Greatest Bar on Earth, as well as rooms for private functions...
restaurant in the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
. Opened in 2006, Colors was "inspired by the optimism of the 1939 World's Fair
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park , was the second largest American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people...
", according to Walrod. He has designed Nolita's
NoLIta, Manhattan
Nolita, sometimes written as NoLIta, and deriving from "NOrth of Little ITAly"., is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Nolita is bounded on the north by Houston Street, on the east by the Bowery, on the south roughly by Broome Street, and on the west by Lafayette Street...
Steven Alan Annex the newest additions to the line of hipster fashion and lifestyle emporiums of designer, Steven Alan, completing projects for him in the West Village, at Steven Alan Upper West Side and NoLita. Walrod's most recent commercial projects include designing Gild Hall, a business class hotel in the financial district of Manhattan, and Thompson LES Thompson LES, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan on Allen Street, for the Thompson Hotel Group. He also co-curated a show at Cooper Union, in cooperation with the Drawing Center Drawing Center, on Paul Rudolph's drawings for a Lower Manhattan Expressway http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2010/11/paul-rudolphs-manhattan-megastructure.html. Additionally, Walrod has worked on various residential projects which have been featured in the The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, and Architectural Digest.
Retail and film
One of his furniture and design retail ventures in the 1990s was Form and Function in TribecaTriBeCa
Tribeca is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York in the United States. Its name is an acronym based on the words "Triangle below Canal Street", and is properly bounded by Canal Street, West Street, Broadway, and Vesey Street...
with partners, Fred Schneider of The B-52's
The B-52's
The B-52's are an American rock band, formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976. The original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider , Kate Pierson , Cindy Wilson , Ricky Wilson , and Keith Strickland . Following Ricky Wilson's death in 1985 Strickland switched to guitar...
and Jack Feldman. For Ang Lee
Ang Lee
Ang Lee is a Taiwanese film director. Lee has directed a diverse set of films such as Eat Drink Man Woman , Sense and Sensibility , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , Hulk , and Brokeback Mountain , for which he won an Academy...
's 1997 film The Ice Storm
The Ice Storm (film)
The Ice Storm is a 1997 drama film directed by Ang Lee, based on the 1994 novel of the same name by Rick Moody.The film features an ensemble cast of Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, Elijah Wood, and Sigourney Weaver...
, Walrod consulted on the period 1970s furniture and interiors.
In 2004, his design of the Tribeca restaurant, Pace, was featured on the television program Opening Soon on the Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
. In May 2009 Walrod's designs for Gild Hall, a Thompson hotel in the financial district, were featured as a primary setting in director Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and an Academy Award-winning film director. He is best known for directing commercial Hollywood films like Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and the remake of Ocean's Eleven, but he has also directed smaller less...
's film The Girlfriend Experience
The Girlfriend Experience
The Girlfriend Experience is a 2009 experimental drama film shot in New York City. It is directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars then-active porn star Sasha Grey. A rough cut was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2009. The film has also been made available on Amazon Video on Demand...
.
See also
Rolling Stone MagazineRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
Fiorucci
Fiorucci
Fiorucci is an Italian fashion label founded by Elio Fiorucci in 1967. The first shop exposed Milan to the styles of Swinging London and American classics such as the T-shirt and jeans. By the late 1970s and early 1980s this would be reversed, and the New York store would become famous for the...
Index Magazine
Index Magazine
Index Magazine was a prominent New York City based publication for art and culture. It was created by Peter Halley and Bob Nickas in 1996. The publication featured a mix of interviews with famous arty folks like Björk with not so-famous New York personalities like Queen Itchie or Ducky Doolittle.It...
Mike D of the Beastie Boys
External links
- Jim Walrod, 1999, an interview with IndexIndex MagazineIndex Magazine was a prominent New York City based publication for art and culture. It was created by Peter Halley and Bob Nickas in 1996. The publication featured a mix of interviews with famous arty folks like Björk with not so-famous New York personalities like Queen Itchie or Ducky Doolittle.It...
magazine - Article on 1970's furniture, DetailsDetails (magazine)Details is an American monthly men's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications, founded in 1982. Though primarily a magazine devoted to fashion and lifestyle, Details also features reports on relevant social and political issues.-History:...
magazine - Interview with photos, WWDWomen's Wear DailyWomen's Wear Daily is a fashion-industry trade journal sometimes called "the bible of fashion." WWD delivers information and intelligence on changing trends and breaking news in the fashion, beauty and retail industries with a readership composed largely of retailers, designers, manufacturers,...
- "Wallpaper Magazine design awards" for Gild Hall
- "Fortune" magazines best business hotel award for Gild Hall
- Thompson Hotel Group website
- "Revel in New York", an interview with Jim Walrod and Hester Diamond
- "JimWalrod.net", contact info
- New Yorker review of Paul Rudolph museum show