Wise guys
PERHAPS it’s the big, searching, inquisitive eyes nestled within that ball of soft feathers. Or maybe it’s the stout chest puffed out just so. Regardless, the owl has emerged as the “it” bird of the season, appearing as a design motif on pillows, salt and pepper shakers, lamps, rugs, even mod mobiles.
“I love everything about the shape and design of owls,” says film and TV producer-director Randy Barbato, a keeper of all things owl. “It’s their feathers, the beautiful shape of the body, the barrel-shaped tummy; the design is unique, and there’s something soothing about them.”
Barbato -- quick to deny the label “collector,” preferring instead to call himself an owl “enthusiast” -- has been amassing owl-themed objects for two years. The most recent: an artist-friend’s painting that hangs over Barbato’s sink.
“There is good owl art and bad owl art,” he says. “In good owl art, the eyes follow you around the room.”
That’s certainly true with many of the owl merchandise on the market, including lighting. San Francisco-based furnishings and lighting designer Rick Lee’s owl floor lamps have been a hot item at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art store.
“My desire to design an owl product of my own came during many antique shopping trips with my wife in the last several years,” Lee says. He saw the motif in many different forms and functions, most from the 1950s to early ‘70s, and decided to create “my version of the owl for the 21st century.”
Eco-friendly retailer Viva Terra offers its own porcelain night owl lamp. For more mood lighting, Anthropologie’s quaint Swaziland owl candles come in various sizes and colors, including a chic Delft design.
The L.A. Phil store at Walt Disney Concert Hall recently introduced life-size, carved-wood owl bookends, and Soolip Bungalow in West Hollywood carries linen pillows with the whimsical birds in metallic leather applique.
Why owls, and why now?
Kit Dombrowski, buyer for the San Francisco museum, attributes the bird’s popularity to a recently closed exhibition of work by Joseph Cornell, who used owl nests and other owl-related ephemera in his work.
But Maria Neuman, owner of Yolk in Silver Lake, sees the recent popularity of owl items in a bigger picture.
“I think it is part of that trend for all things folklore and fairy-tale,” she says.
Yolk carries candles, fabric prints, floor pillows and kids’ clothes with owl themes. Standouts include a striking mobile by Los Angeles artist Helene Ige and a set of amusing yet beautiful owl plates.
Barbato points to the bird’s symbolism.
“Spirituality does play a role in my home design,” he says. “I like objects that connote an idea of searching for wisdom and self-knowledge. Owls demonstrate a balance; they are both knowing and ironic, and jolly and playful -- and at the same time potentially dangerous.”
For potential collectors, he offers a bit of advice: “As long as you stay away from the macrame owl route, you’re fine.”
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