Kirsten Blazek | Collector Profile
Kirsten Blazek, principal designer and founder of acclaimed L.A. design firm @A1000XBetter, is celebrating the launch of her first book A1000xBetter: A Rebel By Design. Kirsten's newly released book shares her design philosophy and inspiration for creating an authentic, functional, and livable home. She has an incredible eye for design, and her eclectic interiors showcase her love of vintage treasures, bohemian style, moody spaces, and penchant for the American Southwest. Kirsten's book is all about the importance of color, finding your "unique," and the spirit of individuality. She shows readers how to create spaces that are comfortable, stylish, and personal while revealing her favorite interiors and sharing her fundamental design elements, including color theory, layering of texture and pattern, and the importance of art and personally meaningful objects. A1000XBetter is one of the most sought-after design firms in the Los Angeles area, and their work is beloved by celebrities and high-profile clients. Her firm's work has been featured in California Home + Design, Architectural Digest, Domino, Dwell, Emily Henderson, House Beautiful, Martha Stewart, and more.
Artwork by Tappan artist Alarah Gee pictured on the right.“As a designer, I always want to feel like I am finding items that are unique for my clients, and using the art of emerging artists is such a great way to achieve that. For me, art is one of the most important aspects of design; great art can truly make or break a space!”
“Art is such a personal expression of yourself, so be yourself in your choice of art.”
Q&A:
Why would you recommend Tappan to someone looking for art?
The fine art world feels so off-limits to most people. Walking into a gallery is so incredibly intimidating, and the process of acquiring an original work from an artist is not transparent in the slightest. Tappan makes discovering new artists, sifting through their work, and understanding the process of buying art clear and approachable, something that anyone at any point in their collecting journey can experience without fear of judgment.
What inspires you to collect the work of emerging artists?
Why would you recommend Tappan to someone looking for art?
Tappan is one of my favorite resources for sourcing art because it has such a large variety of styles, mediums and they represent a lot of talented emerging artists. If you live in LA then you can take the opportunity to visit their physical gallery space and see many of their available online artworks in person prior to purchasing and the staff are both friendly and incredibly knowledgeable. They also offer a range of helpful services including art advisory and online tools that can help finding the right piece even easier. Tappan allows us the opportunity to find original and inspiring art at a price point that isn’t intimidating to our design clients and to either start their journey as collectors or continue it!
What inspires you to collect the work of emerging artists?
As a designer, I always want to feel like I am finding items that are unique for my clients, and using the art of emerging artists is such a great way to achieve that. For me, art is one of the most important aspects of design; great art can truly make or break a space! Using emerging artists allows us to both support new talent and to feel safe in the knowledge that the art we have sourced for our client’s is one of a kind or a limited edition in print format.
What is your earliest memory of art, and what led you to start collecting it?
I grew up in Scotland and one of my relatives was a talented Scottish artist (Stephen Macgruer), my parents had quite a number of his pieces in my childhood home. Being around his art as a child definitely made me more aware of the importance of original art and the gravitas a good piece of art can bring to any space it lives in. The first piece of art I bought for myself was a museum poster that I bought, at the age of 15, while on a family vacation in the south of France. I remember feeling strongly that I had to own it and to this day I still love it. It adorned every room I decorated for myself as a young adult, and when I moved to America, I brought it with me. I believe art is a lot like cats—you don’t find it; it finds you!
How has the sentimentality of your collection evolved over time?
Absolutely, I started collecting art in earnest when I founded A1000xBetter. We started as a staging company and very quickly I found myself needing a large and varied art collection. I realized very early on that I was not attracted to any art that was mass-produced, so I spent many hours in thrift shops and at flea markets building my art collection. I am sentimental about almost every art piece I own. I can remember exactly where I found each piece and even what I paid for it, and when I look through the art in our inventory, it brings back memories of the houses it has been hung in. My art collection is akin to a group of old friends.
Artwork by Tappan artist Alarah Gee pictured on the right.Is there a particular type of art you collect?
That is a hard one! I love many different genres of art and all for different reasons. When designing a room for a client, I like to mix mediums and styles, with the end result being a collection where each piece brings something different to the room, but they work together symbiotically. In my personal home, I also have many different types of art—from vintage oils to illustrations, and a smattering of abstracts and photography. I do, however, have a penchant for western-inspired art, so you definitely won’t find it hard to see a more-than-average amount of cowboys and horses on my walls.
Where and when do you feel the most creative?
There is nothing like a road trip or travel to spark my creativity. I love getting out of Los Angeles and being inspired by new surroundings. A few of my favorite drives from LA are to Ojai and also Yucca Valley. They are very different places, but both fill my soul with their ancient and wonderful landscapes and always spark a renewed curiosity about life and rekindle my creative energy.
Artwork by Tappan artist Alarah Gee pictured on the right.Where do you draw inspiration from?
Everywhere! I believe in an “eyes wide open” approach to life. Even the mundane can be inspiring if you are truly paying attention to the details. The color of a leaf, graffiti on a building, a front door color, a passing person, a well-designed store are all examples that can be inspiring and spark something in me that leads to inspiration for our work at AXB.
For new collectors, do you have any advice you wish to impart? Do you have a collecting ethos or philosophy that you want to share?
Art is such a personal expression of yourself, so be yourself in your choice of art. Art should always provoke something in you, some kind of feeling. Art can be so many things: calming, loud, controversial, simple, complex—it is, in fact, the perfect representation of everything life is! So my advice is for it to feel authentic in your own home, then collect pieces that mean something to you!
Describe your collection in three words.
Personal. Varied. Layered.
Share three people in the creative space who are inspiring you right now.
Jason Koharik.
Green River Project.
Mark Maggiori.
Blazek's Favorites
“Hannah’s work has a lovely balance of simplicity but with the ability to be very impactful in a space. This color palette, in particular, is one that works well with many different colors and would be easy to integrate seamlessly into many different designs.”On Heatwave 1 & 2
“I often find myself looking for abstract works to finish off a room; they provide a modernity and balance to a space that may have other patterns that can be difficult to pair with an art piece. I find Lisa’s work particularly sophisticated and layered; there is a depth to her art that I feel very attracted to.”On Journey
“There is such a strength to Irinka’s paintings and this piece in particular was so evoking to me that I immediately started imagining designing a space that was perfect for this art to live in. Every design has a creative jumping off point and finding an art piece that can act as a muse for the space is invaluable.”On Irreversible
“When I am designing a space I always want there to be an unexpected or unique element and I found myself very attracted to Caroline’s art because there is a quirky and eclectic element to it that really makes you stop and look. I find this piece thought-provoking but I also like that it isn't distracting to other design elements.”On Burnt Circus
“I always try to find a nice balance of different types of art that can live together in a symbiotic way when designing a space. I was very attracted to the layered mixed media work of Fanny; it serves to introduce additional depth and movement but with an abstract simplicity that would make it impactful in many different types of spaces.”On Marquee
