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the artistry of Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo

the fabrics

Fortuny Fabrics.  Synonymous with Timeless Beauty.  Unique works of Art.  So visually designed that they have been described as “layered colors of proprietary dyes and patented artisanal application of gold and silver powders”.  

images from https://fortuny.com/

the beginnings

“From his early beginnings, Fortuny’s deep curiosity about how things work, what they are made of, and how they become what they are led Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo to approach work through interdisciplinary lenses of art, technology, and science. “ 

Words like “authentic antiquity” have been used to describe Fortuny’s textile design which were handmade in Venice in 1907.   Fortuny is an artist and creator inspired by Venice, Greece, Egypt, Florence, Persia, Asia, South America and the Far East.  His work is innovative from transforming history to formulating his own dyes and pigments, all based on historic techniques and practices as well as the influence of his designs.  

The Fortuny factory, manufacturing the collaborative work by Mariano Fortuny and his wife Henriette Negrin, is and has always been located on Giudecca Island, a lagoon in Northern Italy since its opening in 1922.  It is built on the grounds of an ancient convent.  You can visit the gardens and the showroom, but the factory and the weaving process remains secret.  

Fortuny was part of a family of renowned artists. He was born in Granada, Spain and lived his formative years in Paris, France and then in Venice, Italy.   He began his early work shifting from painting to set design and stage lighting and then to fabric and printed textiles and then back to painting in his retirement.  The iconic Delphos plisse silk dress is one of his most famous pieces in his collection and launched his work worldwide. 

the iconic fold

image on left from the fortuny.visitmuve.it website; image on right Photo by Brian Bohannon © Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum from this website

image from the Fortuny Blog

to learn more

The Fortuny Museum can be visited in Venice and include printmaking, typography, with presses and etchings.  There is a textile laboratory of gowns and fabrics, original matrices for printing and models for pattern cutting and a theatre with wooden stages made by Mariano to experiment with lighting and stage effects.  

I have always been inspired by nature, travel, history, fashion, textiles and innovative artwork, and I will continue to be drawn to the work of Fortuny.

Who, What, When?

This past May, I had the opportunity to help host an outdoor graduation dinner party for my niece in Auburn, Alabama. Celebrating friends and family is a great reason to have a dinner party!

I am sharing images and items I used recently for this dinner party. The hosts for this event included family and close friends. Our group got together to plan this event by first getting some ideas from our guest of honor! She loves barbecue (especially cheese biscuits)! We had a theme! 

Planning the Event

We created a list of items we needed and began designing this event. My niece’s school colors were blue and white. Wanting the event to be casual and fun, I looked for items that would express this design direction.  Wooden tree stump trays, galvanized metal items, blue and white gingham table cloths and napkins, natural woven placemats, and white hydrangeas made up the design list. We used lime green as an accent.

To inspire a design,  take into consideration who your event is for and the guests. What is the event celebrating and what time of day and / or season is your event?

The Set Up

We had over sixty guests and set up round and rectangle tables in the backyard of one of the hosts. We used rattan folding chairs and white tablecloths as our base. The table design varied from using the wooden tree stump trays on the round tables to burlap runners on the rectangles food, dessert and beverage tables. Details such as clear, tall water bottles and small glass vases with votives were used on the tables. I had several inspiration images using rattan vases. We knew we wanted to use 10-12 of these on the tables. Using a clear glass mason jar, we wrapped a piece of rattan around the jar and held the sides together with fishing line. This was an easy, less expensive way to create this look and still be able to use the jars and material in other ways.  We used green and white flowers in the clear and galvanized vases to add natural elements to the table design. Pictures of the guest of honor from childhood to her senior year are displayed on gold place card holders to add personal expression. 

Final Thoughts

Get the Look / Collect the Basics

13″ Woven Water Hyacinth, Seagrass place mats, Natural

Burlap Table runner (used on long rectangular tables for food, beverages, desserts)

Blue and White Buffalo Check table cloth (used on the food table over white tablecloths)

Acrylic Beverage Dispenser (we used 3 of these, sweet tea, lemonade, water)

Galvanized bucket, large (used for flower arrangements on round tables)

Galvanized bucket, small (used for condiments and extra utensils)

Galvanized 3-tiered display stand

Galvanized serving platters

Acacia Wood round serving tray / tree stump (used on round tables)

6 1/2″ Blue and White large check napkin

9″ Blue Dinner Plate, rectangle

9″ Blue and White Checked Dinner Plate

Lime Green Dessert Plate

Lime Green Plastic Drink Cups

Gold plastic cutlery

Natural Kraft paper silverware bags

Table card holder, gold (used to label food and hold pictures of our guest of honor on tables)

Black index cards (labelled food, beverages, desserts)

Chalk markers

Mason jars (added the cane webbing and used as vases)

Natural Rattan Cane Webbing (cut / wrapped around mason jars, used as vases)

Dandelion, Green (added to flower arrangements)

6″ glass cube vase

60″ ht Shephard hook (we hung vases / candle votives on the shepherds hooks and got extra to hang votive tea lights in small vases with wire in surrounding trees)

Matte Black S Hooks (used to hang flower vases / candles on shepherds hooks)

Hanging jars (can be used to hang flowers and / or votives on hooks, hangers can also be removed to be used as vases on tables)

Flameless votive candles

Chalkboard labels

Bamboo folding chairs

Rectangular Table Cloths, white (table cloth calculator line below, this one fits both 6′ and 8′ tables with a drop)

120″ Round Table Cloths, white (table cloth calculator link below, this one fits 5′ diameter table to floor)

6′ plastic folding table, white

5′ round folding table, white

Williams and Sonoma Table Cloth Guide! (This is a great resource when you are trying to figure out what size table cloths to buy or rent for the table size you are using).

Another good resource for calculating table cloth size to floor (also allows you to input table dimensions and drop you prefer).

Celebrate any day!

Being a creative person, My brain never stops thinking of ways to organize and express artistic design elements. This is why flower arranging and table design has become so interesting to me. It is easy to do and I don’t even need an important holiday or event to grab a few seasonal paper plates, napkins and flowers to celebrate any day! This brunch table design and recipe for sautéed spinach with a fried egg is a great way to get started. I am working on developing a group of items that can be used over and over for place setting, but with varying accents to express different design ideas. This will be a like a table design kit of parts. More to come on this idea in my outdoor gathering post and a menu category to share these items.

Why I love Brunch!

I am not an early riser, so a late breakfast / early lunch (brunch) is about my speed. It is also my favorite category of food. You can get both sweet and savory in one meal. This recipe focuses on the savory, but you can add fresh fruit or a cinnamon roll, as well. We have four chickens so I am always looking for creative ways to use our fresh eggs. I like to eat super healthy and have a dairy allergy so vitamin D sources interest me, as well. Add a little more coffee and fresh orange juice and I am ready to conquer my day!

The Design Elements

This place setting design can be used for a bride’s maid luncheon, wedding day brunch, birthday and / or anniversary celebration, etc. Layering items in art and design is an element I experiment with a lot. This place setting uses a hot pink fretwork napkin (unfolded) as the first layer building with a woven water hyacinth (rattan) placemat, a plastic mint gold rimmed dinner plate, a folded hummingbird napkin, a moss green square salad / dessert plate and finally the sautéed spinach and fried egg. The gold plastic utensils are an important detail to compliment the edge of the plate. Don’t forget the little things! I added a few cut flowers (most from my yard) because flowers are just beautiful! You can click on links above to get more information about these products!