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3 weeks ago | 
kelseykeith.substack.com | Kelsey Keith
header hereI’m guessing I’m not alone in that, during an especially distressing era for news, I alternate between googling “global talent visa 3-year UK” and scratching the mental itch to do something crafty, productive, or mindless with my hands.
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1 month ago | 
kelseykeith.substack.com | Kelsey Keith
Everyone has a house they’re obsessed with. This phenomenon is very much not limited to architecture people, or design writers, or erstwhile shelter magazine types— it is simply a statement of fact. It might be a derelict house under a blanket of ivy in an otherwise-manicured neighborhood, or one of the 20th century’s masterpieces of domestic architecture.
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1 month ago | 
kelseykeith.substack.com | Kelsey Keith
I am famously behind the zeitgeist when it comes to mainlining movies and television, so forgive me if this feels like yesterday’s news. (In the case of The Brutalist, literally yesterday.) But I was chatting with my pal Eric Petschek, one of the sharpest-eyed, hardest-working photographers today, on the topic of the former Bell Labs in New Jersey and we had a few things to say.
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2 months ago | 
kelseykeith.substack.com | Kelsey Keith
Hello from Northern California, fresh off an entire, proper art + design week that has sprung up around the FOGfair. My one-sentence review? Refreshingly legit, and focused enough that the tackiest parts of the fair circuit were nowhere to be found. Still gathering thoughts on what it all means, but my snap conclusion is that it felt pretty true to how people make, respect, and consume culture in the Bay Area.
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2 months ago | 
kelseykeith.substack.com | Kelsey Keith
Upon the news of Paul Reubens’s death last week, I did what I do, and started rabbitholing on the interiors. Artnet has a decent interview with the set designers who brought Pee-Wee’s Playhouse’s unique vision to life, and yes, it is Memphis-leaning Postmodern. B…
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2 months ago | 
kelseykeith.substack.com | Kelsey Keith
The situation in LA is ongoing and given the amount of brain (and heart) space it’s occupying in our collective lives, today’s issue is focused on sharing a few thoughts and resources. I love LA—the place, the people, the buildings—and seeing yet another climate disaster unfold so swiftly and intensely is a dark sign of the times. (Anyone able to write cogently about this, I salute you.) The Will Rogers estate—home of an original German silver sink—burned to the ground.
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2 months ago | 
kelseykeith.substack.com | Kelsey Keith
In case you missed them, here are a few things published this year on Ground Condition:#15: Derelict MCM masterpiece in Berkeley, a coven of Ted Meuhling earrings#16: RIP Pee-Wee, International Style houses in [redacted], the best dish towel#17: Plywood storage, a trip to Oaxaca, aluminum light fixtures#18: THE Marimekko dress, a Sheila Hicks st…Keep reading with a 7-day free trialSubscribe to Ground Condition to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.
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2 months ago | 
kelseykeith.substack.com | Kelsey Keith
Me in my element (ogling concrete, trespassing imminent). All photos by Laure Joliet. In this issue, I have a very special guest: Laure Joliet, who is sharing the photographs she took earlier this fall on our friend date to the Unité d’Habitation in Marseille, designed by Le Corbusier and completed in 1952. The building embodies a post-war housing concep…
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2 months ago | 
kelseykeith.substack.com | Kelsey Keith
Programming note: I am changing the cadence of this newsletter ever-so-slightly, now that I have turned on paid subscriptions. Archived posts are now behind a paywall, alongside longer-format monthly dispatches. Roundups, news briefs, informal design industry analysis, studio visits, and gift guides will remain free to browse.
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2 months ago | 
kelseykeith.substack.com | a Building |Kelsey Keith
A quick note of introduction for new readers: I am Kelsey Keith, a longtime editor-turned-creative director and former New Yorker.