The J Schatz studio, listed on the national register of historic places, was originally the dye house for the Weybosset Mills in Olneyville, Rhode Island—a neighborhood of Providence mentioned over and over again in conjunction with things that are new, interesting, and just plain cool happening in PVD. Jim Schatz and Peter Souza of the J Schatz design and ceramics studio are major contributing representatives.

The two met in Florida three years ago, and later moved Schatz’s studio from Upstate NY to Los Angeles. But, as Souza remarks, “We felt really isolated in the city, so we took a trek last October and we scoured New England and the Berkshires looking for a community to be a part of. We fell in love with Providence; we found this gorgeous building that we were able to work and live in.” It is an ideal spot for them, with the roots they’ve put down, and are expanding upon, exhibiting their commitment to the area. The 160-foot long tunnel of a brick building houses two live-in suites on one end, their production studio in the middle, and their own apartment in the back. A continuous line of dormer windows along the top stream in natural light.

“We found a really great community here of artists and designers and folks that really welcomed us,” affirms Schatz. “We found a nice place to be.”

J Schatz studio | Photo by J Schatz

All work happens on site. Schatz started his ceramics career with the Star Egg Nightlights that project astral spots of light into a room, and then kept moving that ovoid shape forward through his work. It shows up in the company’s outdoor products of polished, modern, and colorful bird houses and feeders. The lighting line features table lamps, pendants, and uplights, all made of high-quality materials: glossy, brightly colored ceramics and rough, metallic, urban stoneware. The Porcelana Uplights are a standout, translucent porcelain cylinders with a glossy interior that throws the warmest tones of pink or orange.

Form following function is evident in all of the J Schatz products. Everything is beautiful to look at and touch, but these are real usable products, down to the brutalist coffee maker. “That happened because there was a Chemex coffee maker in our studio that kept breaking,” says Schatz of the origin of that design. “This is before I met Peter. His first visit to the studio he’s like, ‘What’s that?’, and I said, ‘It’s this coffee maker that I made because I was so frustrated with the Chemex breaking.’ And he said, ‘This is something we should be making.’ It looks crudely made, but it’s actually very ergonomic and nice to use. It’s now a production piece.” The dark, craggy look of the set is precisely what everyone’s morning cup of coffee should look like.

Brutal Coffeemaker | Photo by J Schatz

The two have recently purchased yet more property in the neighborhood for their Airbnb stock: a cottage with a terrific view and outside space. It will get the full J Schatz makeover, everything from tableware to room dividers, to vases and bird baths. “We’re putting the finishing touches on two more rooms and we’ve outfitted it completely in J Schatz custom work and new pieces,” explains Schatz. “And we’re going to have a yard and a garden, too.” Expect more outdoor work and housewares from them in the coming season. “Peter and I have a vision that complements each other,” Schatz says. Souza agrees. “We’ve integrated our products into environments that other people can share.” It’s a real treat to be able to live among a design team’s work, and the environments that J Schatz creates are a treat indeed.

Porcelana Uplights | Photo by J Schatz

J Schatz – James Schatz and Peter Souza, principals
Providence, Rhode Island
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Top photo J Schatz exterior | Photo by J Schatz

The post Community of Design appeared first on Take Magazine.

Our hearts sank, listening to Trump’s inaugural speech. It was dark and bleak, not-so-subtly dissing Obama as he spoke of the current “carnage” in our country, while offering nothing remotely inspirational or unifying in return. But the massive outpouring of strength and hope across the world, and our little corner of it, has truly bolstered us. Montpelier, Vermont? Your march doubled the population of your entire city! Portsmouth, New Hampshire held two rallies, and the state hosted four more: Concord, Keene, Francestown, and Wilton. Thousands came together in front of the Rhode Island statehouse—they will not. be. silenced—and PVD’s Mayor Jorge O. Elorza took his talents and constituents to DC itself. There aren’t too many people out there tougher than Mainers; they gathered up and down the rocky coast in powerful numbers. A plentitude of pussy hats were seen across Connecticut, from Hartford to Stamford. In addition, 80 buses packed with Nutmeggers headed down to the nation’s capital to be heard. New England had at least 200,000 people get out for Women’s Marches in our big cities alone. Bravo!

Boston Women’s March, 10:30am | Photo by Henry Amistadi

What a sight—what an inspiring day! We all needed that. Take made the trip to Boston to witness and capture some of our most creative voices, which we’ll bring to you shortly. The enormity of this march can not be understated; it’s reaffirmed our commitment to featuring and amplifying, our cultural response to the political climate we now find ourselves in.

Optimism is billowing, strength is gathering, the artists are coming. . .and we’re listening.

Time to get to work.

Boston Women’s March | Photo by Henry Amistadi

All images by Henry Amistadi

The post #TakeAction New England Numbers appeared first on Take Magazine.

Focusing on being an open space for all types of music genres, performance art, community events, and more, Aurora seeks to capture the creativity and energy that makes Providence vibrant in an accessible space for everyone.

Located on Westminster Street in the hub of downtown Providence RI, Aurora resides in the previous home of both The Roots Cafe and The Providence Black Repertory Company. The space consists of a full bar, main stage, and ample seating and standing room accompanied by a cozy lounge area.

Since their opening in the spring of 2014, Aurora has made a concerted effort to continue the previous inhabitants’ tradition of diverse programming and community engagement. The venue has quickly grown in popularity due to its being operated largely by Providence locals, hosting a variety of events appealing to multiple music, art, and cultural scenes, and striving to be an inclusive space for all identities.

Aurora | Photo by Justin Case

Aurora focuses on generating a calendar packed with events ranging from live music of all genres, to jazz and salsa nights, performance art, dance parties, comedy shows, movie screenings, and basically anything that is going to get people out and moving in a community-focused environment. While the venue has become a popular spot for the local punk and metal scenes in Providence, the space is welcoming to all music genres and types of events.

“We’re 100% involved in our community,” says Aurora Booking and Operations Manager Jenny Young. “We wouldn’t be where we were if it wasn’t for our friends playing here and putting on events. Providence is such a small community. When we first started and people didn’t really know where we were or anything, we were able to get local support by having ‘on the fringe’ events, stuff that would usually happen in more experimental DIY spaces. Having that connection with the local scene has helped us gain acceptance from the community.”

Aurora also focuses on being a safe and creative space for the queer community, hosting events like “Dyke Night” and “Gay Goth Night,” a sister event of a monthly queer and goth dance party in Montreal of the same name.

Aurora stage | Girls Rock! RI | Photo by James Latowski

Young holds the venue’s cover-nights that she organizes—where local bands each play up to two songs of a designated artist—especially close to her heart. This year’s cover-nights included music by Tom Waits, P.J. Harvey, and Fleetwood Mac. Aurora partnered with Providence local organization Girls Rock! RI on two of the shows. “It was a really fun event,” she says. “Everyone knew the songs and was jamming together. It had to be one of my favorites of the year.”

Upcoming events at Aurora include “Network and Chill: Fly Sweater Party” on December 14th, a sweater-themed networking party, and the second installment of “Gay Goth Night” on December 16th.

Keep up with what’s happening at Aurora on Facebook and Twitter

Top image Rafay Rashid of Ravi Shavi at Aurora | Photo by James Latowski

The post Aurora Catalyzes Variety and Community in Providence appeared first on Take Magazine.

Aaron Forrest and Yasmin Vobis met in architecture graduate school at Princeton University and established their love of architecture through informal projects together. After years of moving to various cities and pursuing different projects, Ultramoderne was born.

Ultramoderne is an award-winning architecture and design firm located in Providence, RI, run by Forrest and Vobis. According to their website, “The principals are driven by an experimental approach that leads to conceptually rigorous and well-executed designs. The office has experience working at a wide variety of scales, from single-family residences to urban-scale planning.” What makes Ultramoderne so unique, according to Forrest, is their focus and dedication to public space projects. They’re driven and passionate about figuring out different ways to engage with a broader public.

“Providence has been amazing,” Forrest says. The space they occupy within Rhode Island is certainly significant to them. They lived and worked in New York before moving to Providence, and both experiences were incredibly different. Forrest and Vobis truly seem to love the region in which they work now.

SOUTHLIGHT Performance Pavilion + Public Garden 2016, project in collaboration with RISD students and faculty | Photo by Jo Sittenfeld

“The thing I love about Providence are the many old industrial buildings that exist around the city.” explains Vobis. “Many of these are incredible spaces — large, open spaces with lots of natural light and a clear expression of structure. The challenge we face will be to understand how to reuse many of these buildings in the future — how we breathe new life into them and re-imagine them — instead of tearing them down and replacing them with cheaper, faster and less flexible buildings, which happens all too often.”

But Ultramoderne is just getting started. While they’ve had lots of business thus far, with past clients including the Van Alen Institute, National Parks Service, Chicago Parks District, and the Boston Society of Architects, they are ready for the next challenge. “I would like to see Ultramoderne tackle larger public projects,” explains Vobis. “Our office started with small-scale installations, which were a great opportunity for us to test new ideas and techniques… we relish the idea that architecture can be for everyone, not just those that can afford to have something commissioned.”

Forrest adds, “We’d love to be so lucky to continue what we’re doing and find out how architecture can do more to help the community at large.”

Weir Farm wayfinding project with Jessica Forrest, Noah Klersfeld, Suzanne Mathew, and Dungjai Pungauthaikan 2015

Yasmin Vobis received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California, Berkeley and her Master’s Degree from Princeton University, where she was awarded the Butler Traveling Fellowship and the Suzanne Kolarik Underwood Thesis Prize. She has taught at Princeton University and currently teaches at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Aaron Forrest (AIA, NCARB) is a licensed architect who teaches at the Rhode Island School of Design. He received both his Bachelor’s Degree and Masters in Architecture from Princeton University. He has extensive professional experience, having practiced in New York with Bernheimer Architecture and Guy Nordenson and Associates Structural Engineers, and in Madrid with Ábalos & Herreros Arquitectos.

The post UltraNow UltraSmart Ultramoderne appeared first on Take Magazine.

Providence’s Raina Belleau comes to us by way of Minnesota and one can see a mid-western influence in her work, especially in the treatment of the faux-taxidermy elements which figure prominently. While they may be positioned at odd angles or made up critters altogether, there’s a sense of Native American spirituality with the respect paid to them, and nature in general, represented in her work.

The Oracle, 2016 | 60 x 24 x 42 Acrylic paint, apoxie sculpt, bandage, chair, door mat, electrical components, extension cord, faux fur, jeans, LEDs, mirror, paper mache, plaster and spray paint

We watch miniature bugs crawling through a tiny campsite in her video Everlasting, there’s The Oracle sculpture, a human-polar bear hybrid with two left feet, and she’s also shown us a shaggy faux fur piece called Companion with fleshy bits that could be creating or consuming marshmallow-shaped objects – a most interesting pet indeed. All of these odd pieces carry a sense of fun, but her work seriously reckons with ideas to our relationship with our natural environment. There’s always something a bit decrepit that’s happened, mushrooms show up in a few of her installations.

Still from Everlasting, 2014 | Duration: 2:54 Video, color, sound

Ian Alden Russell, the self-described curator/strategist/educator, points out that Raina’s status as an emerging artist may be evolving towards the next step, “They’re someone who is already having shows, transitioning from self-started projects, to where opportunities are manifesting themselves…”

We’re looking forward to her collaboration with Caleb Churchill, entitled Fantasia Colorado, for Satellite Art Show, coming up at Miami Art Week with GRIN contemporary gallery and congratulate her on her recent Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) fellowship grant for 2017.

Top image Companion, 2014 | 38 x 12 x 18 Faux fur, recycled insulation, polymer clay, foam, cast resin, dog collars, acrylic paint, music stand

All images by Caleb Churchill

The post Raina Belleau – A Modern Menagerie? appeared first on Take Magazine.