Terra Nova Nurseries’ president and well-known industry horticulturist Dan Heims recently made an exciting guest appearance on the Martha Stewart Show. Aired by the Hallmark channel late last week, the show included two full segments featuring Heims, who was introduced by Stewart as one of the nation’s leading breeders. The photo below features Dan with show producer Barbara Fight rehearsing for the taping.

The first segment included an interview between Stewart and Heims, during which Heims discussed plant discovery and breeding. Stewart asked about Terra Nova Nurseries’ process of plant exploration trips, tissue culture and propagation. Heims detailed the process for Stewart and a live audience during the taping of the show by including a demonstration of the stages of tissue culture. Additionally, the first segment also focused upon qualities Terra Nova Nurseries seeks in plants that lead to hybridization, and how this translates to robust plants with superior characteristics for gardeners.

The second segment provided Stewart and her viewers a look at Terra Nova Nurseries’ select new plants for 2011, specifically, Acanthus ‘Whitewater’, Cyclamen ‘Something Magic’, Heuchera ‘Georgia Peach’, Tiarella ‘Jeepers Creepers’, and Heucherella ‘Solar Power’. Stewart commented that she very much liked the plants and asked Heims to send the varieties to her. She concluded the final segment by showcasing the Terra Nova Nurseries’ plant catalog, saying that each member of the studio audience would be sent home with a copy.

The televised segments may be viewed on the show’s website at: http://www.marthastewart.com/article/new-plant-varieties.

Heims guest appearance is one of many speaking and similar engagements on his part each year, including a list of trade shows, garden shows, radio interviews, university events, and other public events. Heims was also featured as a radio guest on the Martha Stewart Living Channel, Homegrown, which aired via Sirius/XM on Tuesday March 15, 2011. To learn more about Terra Nova Nurseries, visit www.terranovanurseries.com. The photo to the left demonstrates part of the Martha Stewart Show production team prepping for the show.

For our media contacts, feel free to contact us at ECPR if you have interest in having Dan appear on your radio or television show. Byline articles on a variety of trade and consumer topics are also available. Garden Writers, industry pros, and friends in the business, post your comments about Dan’s news below.

~ Don

Matsuoka International, an affiliate of Matsuoka Kagu Seizo located in Fuchu City, Hiroshima, has been introducing custom designs since 1866. The company makes case goods in Fuchu City, and partners with exceptional craftsmen in the United States for the creation of fine upholstered goods. The company has been renowned as an artificer of custom designs, executed in exotic materials.

Making an appearance at the New York Architectural Digest Home Design Show later this week, Matsuoka International will be showcasing several unique custom designs, including the Martini Cocktail Cabinet. Crafted from Celebes Ebony, one of the world’s rarest and most exclusive cuts of exotic decorative timber, the cabinet is ideal for those who settle for nothing less than luxury.

Celebes Ebony grows in the Sulawesi rain forest, now a UN World Heritage Site. For centuries, it has been the most treasured wood traded on the Oriental Spice route and “Silk Road” which runs between Europe and Asia. Admired for its sharp grains and charcoal black stripes, the chocolate colored wood is deemed extremely desirable.

The interior of the doors are overlaid with silver leafing, featuring a traditional Japanese pattern called “Celebration Cloud”. The apron is designed with a primitive method called Kamakora adazing. Kamakora adazing is a technique applied by the artist involving creating texture in the wood with an adaze, then sanding to a smooth finish followed by lacquering and polishing for the final touch up.

The Martini Cocktail Cabinet is just one of many custom designs from Matsuoka International. To see more of the company’s collection, visit www.matsuokainternational.com. If attending the show this week, be sure to see their exhibit display.

To our media contacts, please feel free to contact us with your questions, comments and editorial needs as this concludes our “Sneak Peek” series. When we return from the show next week, we will begin the process of the post-show “Best of Products” articles, featuring the show’s best of the best for home and commercial space design.

The Architectural Digest Home Design Show in New York City will open its doors to some of the world’s top designers and manufacturers. From first time exhibitors to veterans, the diversity of the show is what makes it such a prestigious event. This year, custom furniture designer and sculpturist Jeff Soderbergh will be gracing the show with the House Beautiful “Kitchen of the Year” dining table.

He designed and created the table by way of collaboration with Bravo’s “Flipping Out” TV personality and designer Jeff Lewis. Their goal was to creatively combine a traditional table design with a contemporary flare to complete the Kitchen of the Year display at Rockefeller Center in New York City.

Jeff Soderbergh hails from Newport, RI, a historic New England town and home of the famed Vanderbilt family. For nearly 21 years, he has been designing and crafting reclaimed antique structural pieces. His collection ranges from tables and home accents to mirrors and custom furniture pieces, all of which are carefully handcrafted from historical artifacts.

The House Beautiful “Kitchen of the Year” dining table design was based on Soderbergh’s refined reclaimed antique harvest tables. The stunning table was crafted using traditional hand tools from a magnificent, reclaimed Southern Yellow Pine tree located on the Vanderbilt family farm just outside of Newport. Four inches thick and eleven feet long, one end of the table rests on a highly polished chromed X base while the other end is supported by a cabinet or has the ability to be attached to a wall.

The surface has strikingly beautiful wear and tear from a water-driven saw mill used back in the early 1800’s. Combined with a deep espresso finish, the table’s surface is smooth and refined. While the table is a one of a kind, Jeff Soderbergh will be offering custom orders based on the original table design or stemming from other designs. Visit the company website at http://www.jeffesoderbergh.com/ to view more of his remarkable pieces. To view photos and videos of Lewis’ Kitchen of the Year, visit http://tinyurl.com/24mg99x.

Art Donovan, born and raised in New York City has embraced a style of design called “Steampunk”. While this genre surfaced on the internet several years ago, the actual label “Steampunk” originated in the 1980s as a twist on the term “cyberpunk”. It describes a design movement encompassing repossessed objects from the Steam Age to create art. Most “Steampunk” artists focus on the Victorian and Edwardian Era of technology. Influenced by scientists and inventors such as Madam Curie, H.G. Wells and Benjamin Franklin, this movement personifies the art of fantasy.

Art Donovan’s new collection aims to provoke dramatic emotion and innovation. His “Steampunk” lighting designs will be on display at the Architectural Digest Home Design show. To see more pieces from Donovan Designs, visit the company website at http://www.donovandesign.com/.

Haller MetalWerks will be launching its new collection at the New York Architectural Digest Home Design Show this week. Specializing in abstract wall sculptures printed on aluminum, artist Camit Haller is expanding into a whole new era with her designs. The 3-D shapes are available in vibrant colors and are sold as limited editions or as commissioned work.

The new collection embodies circular shapes with the intention of creating a spatial and airy presentation influenced by the Neo-Impressionists, Fauvist color spectrum as well as Cubist design principles. “Nous”, featured in this blog, is a futuristic piece ideal for serene and contemporary atmospheres.

To view more abstract wall sculptures by Carmit Haller, visit the company’s website at www.carmithaller.com.

Suzanne and Greg Evans, owners of Tuscan Hills, were first inspired by Italian design while touring through Italy in 1980. With admiration for the Italian culture, the serene and beautiful countryside, fine craftsmanship, and enchanting villas located upon the rolling hills of Italy, they decided to start a new business venture. Bringing Italian ideas and concepts to the United States, the Evans have created a wonderful niche in the American market. Specializing in two areas, home furnishings and real estate, Tuscan Hills has the ability to imitate the Italian lifestyle.

Tuscan Hills will be exhibiting at the New York Architectural Digest Home Design Show this month. Among the pieces the company will be showcasing is the Piero della Francesca table top. Handmade exclusively in Italy and being imported and distributed in the U.S. by Tuscan Hills, the Piero della Francesca table top is ideal for outdoor landscape designs.

The table top measures 84’’ long and 42’’ wide and is named after Piero della Francesca, an Italian painter whose artwork is most known for the use of geometric forms and perspectives. He passed away on October 12th, 1492, the same day Christopher Columbus discovered America. The travertine stone used for the table is quarried, cut and carved in Umbria, Italy by the Corneli family, whose workshop is not far from where Piero della Francesca was born. Notably, the table is inlayed with handmade terracotta and designed in a geometric pattern on the table’s perimeter.

To learn more about Tuscan Hills and the company’s products, visit www.tuscanhills.com.

SA Baxter is one the premiere crafters of high-end, exceptional quality Architectural Hardware. We are utterly impressed with the fact the company’s architectural hardware pieces are handmade to order by a group of local, world-renowned artisans who use both modern and old-world manufacturing techniques. Highly beautiful yet fully functional door, window and cabinet hardware items are offered in an extensive palette of patterns and finishes.

For our magazine editor and television producer blog readers, please take note that the company’s expertise stems from the fact its artisans marry the ancient process of lost-wax casting to 21st century advances in green technology. SA Baxter would make for a well-informed source for article quotes, photography and show segments. Please comment, or contact us through email or phone with your ideas or questions.

For show attendees, in addition to the SA Baxter’s unique hardware designs, the company is now introducing metal flooring into the mix. The metal flooring design is engineered in various lengths and widths of tongue and groove planks. Offered in Brass, Architectural Bronze, and White Bronze variations, the solid metal floor designs are ideal for homes, hotels, restaurants, and bars. Exhibiting the metal floor design at the Architectural Digest Home Design Show, SA Baxter is sure to make an impact. In fact, we are considering them for our “Best of Products” article series, taking place during and after the New York show. Stayed tuned for more updates.

To see more extraordinary Architectural Hardware designs from the company leading up to the show, visit www.sabaxter.com. For those unable to join us in NYC next week, enjoy an online tour of the SA Baxter foundry and atelier for a special inside look: http://sabaxter.com/foundry.

~ Don

NanaWall Systems is the leading supplier of operable glass wall systems for large architectural openings. For over 25 years, the company has provided glass wall systems for homes, condos, restaurants, stadiums, schools, and the like. Manufactured in the United States and Germany, NanaWall Systems have an extraordinary high level of quality structural performance.

In the summer of 2010, the company announced the launch of its newest product, the NanaWall SL82 Structurally Glazed Folding Glass System. Upon rave reviews from industry experts, designers and architects, and impressive to us for sure, the SL82 has won two prestigious awards, The Red Dot and iF Design Award.

Several outstanding and notable features of the SL82 include the superb quality of its all-glass look which can easily fold to merge indoor and outdoor spaces as well as the sleek glass panels in front aluminum profiles which create a stunning entrance to any home or building. The SL82 can extend up to 39 feet for commercial and residential projects. Additional characteristics of the all-glass, thermally insulated folding door include a concealed integrated multi-point locking system, single track with bottom supported rollers as well as a slim line profile surrounding the glass panes for ultra clean lines.

The SL82 Structurally Glazed Folding Glass System will be on display at the Architectural Digest Home Design Show this month. For additional information about the SL82 or other products from NanaWall Systems, visit the company’s website at www.nanawall.com. – Editors of both trade and consumer magazines, this Sneak Peek is worth an in-person look if you will be attending the show in New York next week.

Miele’s new 3D design Ceran glass electric cook-tops are top of the line. Crafted for precision, performance and longevity, the Ceran is no match for its competition. This new generation of cook-tops is designed with a high-speed ribbon, allowing for fast, yet precise controlled heat.

Miele, founded in Germany in 1899, has dominated the industry and is the largest family owned and operated appliance company. With over 16,600 employees and 12 production facilities, Miele’s state-of-the-art design and engineering concepts are considered by many as the “Mercedes” of household appliances.

The KM 5600 series Ceran will debut at the 2011 New York Architectural Digest Home Design Show and will officially launch on April 4, 2011. Miele’s 3D design is sleek, modern, and even after years of usage, is expected to still look brand new. In addition, culinary perfection can be achieved by home chefs with the ability to sear or simmer using the Vario cooking zones. For editors looking for the latest home appliance technologies to report to their readers, the Ceran is also equipped with safety residual heat indicators that will illuminate if the plate is on or still hot, and will turn off once the heat has dissipated.

For more information on the 3D Ceran glass electric cook-top or other first-class appliances, visit Miele’s website at http://www.mieleusa.com/.

Alex MacMaster is a young, up and coming designer specializing in contemporary lighting and furniture products. He launched his business in 2009 and since then has won several awards for his designs with business partner Limahl Asmall. MacMaster’s style is influenced by contemporary design, while at the same time, he uses traditional British craftsmanship techniques.

MacMaster Design will be showcasing several pieces at the New York Architectural Digest Home Design Show later this month, including the debut of the Reveal Pendant Light. This is the latest piece from MacMaster’s collection. It is an open structure pendant light consisting of eight stunningly laminated timber leaves. The exposed energy efficient light bulb radiates light onto the inner surfaces of the ribbon like timber leaves, thus creating a unique contrast of the leaves by highlighting and silhouetting the leaf profiles that mirror each other.

Aiming to target the commercial industry, MacMaster’s light design would make a lovely addition to hospitality designs as well as restaurant lighting décor. This is the first of three light designs being launched by Alex MacMaster over the coming months.

Visit the company’s website at www.macmasterdesign.com for additional information.

~ECPR