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    Hello, art... meet food

    London designer and Houston furniture maker help Mary Ellen Carroll unlock theart of dining

    Tyler Rudick
    Jan 17, 2012 | 5:00 am
    • Mary Ellen Carroll with furniture design Helmut Ehrmann at master craftsman'sHouston studio.
      Photo by Tyler Rudick
    • The table-chair units can be combined into a large semi-circle or a singlesinewy line
      Photo by CYB Furniture
    • Open Outcry furniture study models by Simon Dance Design
      Photos by Richard Davies
    • Open Outcry, architectural study models by Simon Dance Design of its intendedsite at the Chicago Board of Trade Building
      Photos by Richard Davies
    • Carroll, center, at an Itinerant Gastronomy piece on the elevated railway thatwould become New York's Highline park.
    • Formica donated its unique ColorCore laminate as black surfacing material forthe project
      Photo by Tyler Rudick
    • Working drawing from knot theory specialist Philip Ording,
    • Mary Ellen Carroll beneath 2010's prototype 180, in which the artist turned aSharpstown residence 180 degrees.
    • Dining on the Goethals Bridge between Staten Island and New Jersey

    ''Haven't you noticed that food all by itself is really boring to read about?'' famed restaurant critic Ruth Reichl wrote in 2001. ''It's everything around the food that makes it interesting."

    Mary Ellen Carroll, the artist and Rice University architecture lecturer who famously turned a Sharpstown home 180 degrees in 2010, likes to use this quote to explain the basic idea behind "Itinerant Gastronomy," her series of culinary-based performance pieces that each resemble a sort of guerrilla dinner party.

    Since the mid 1990s, Carroll has taken the "it's everything around the food" mantra to heart, launching events in some of the most awkward settings one could imagine — a busy New Jersey bridge, an abandoned elevated railway, a museum construction site, a technology start-up.

    Carroll's guest lists are as unexpected as her locations, ranging from construction workers and school teachers to post-colonial theorist Homi K. Bhabha and actor John Malkovitch.

    "It's about the notion of bringing people and food together at a particular location," she told CultureMap in a recent interview about her latest Itinerant Gastronomy piece, Open Outcry, which will be staged on Monday at the CME Group, formerly know as the Chicago Merchantile Exchange.

    As with any dinner, each performance comes alive in the encounters between the food, the setting and, of course, the guests themselves.

    "I'm never an invited guest myself," Carroll said. "I do the inviting." Typically, the guest lists are as unexpected as her locations, ranging from construction workers and school teachers to post-colonial theorist Homi K. Bhabha and actor John Malkovitch. For Open Outcry, invited guests include Michelle Obama and Ruth Reichl as well as former and current Chicago mayors Richard Daley and Rahm Emanuel.

    In the past year, Carroll teamed up with London designer Simon Dance to create a unique sculptural dining set for the upcoming Chicago event. In a recent email, Dance listed a variety of inspirations — the boardrooms of the Paris Peace Talks, knot theory, an ancient Greek theater, Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove — that led to the design set of 12 arced table-chair units that can be combined into a large semi-circle or a single sinewy line.

    Since December, Carroll and Dance have worked with Houston furniture fabricator Helmut Ehrmann, whose work can be found at Jenni's Noodle House near the Galleria, to realize the seating arrangement, the first specifically designed as a part of an Itinerant Gastronomy piece.

    After Tuesday's meal, the dining arrangement will be sent to the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago for an exhibit entitled Feast: Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art, running Feb. 16 to June 10, 2012. The exhibtion will travel to the Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston in fall 2013, with tentative dates from Sept. 15 to Jan. 5, 2014.

    So, for all those wondering... What's on the menu?

    "The food itself will mirror what's traded at the commodity exchange," Carroll said. "We'll have five courses, starting with items made from butter and eggs before moving onto dishes featuring soy and pork. Dessert will probably be based on coffee, but we're still finalizing the menu." All food will be sourced from local purveyors.

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    Emily Cotton
    Dec 26, 2025 | 4:30 pm
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    Photo by Joshua Caldwell / PureHaven Homes, Clayton Vance Architecture
    Houzz documented the latest kitchen design trends.

    Editor’s Note: As 2025 draws to a close, it’s time to look back at which Home and Design topics Houston readers flocked to the most. Not surprisingly, articles that offered affordable finds proved popular, with the closure of a warehouse devoted to vintage home supplies taking the top spot. Other popular stories showcased local experts in thrifting, a Houston family who received a new home on national TV, and pro tips for reducing clutter.

    With sustainable living more popular than ever, we expect readers will continue to be interested in where to find thrifted and affordable items. Here are the 10 most read home and design articles of the year.

    Houzz top kitchen remodel trends in 2025
    Photo by Joshua Caldwell / PureHaven Homes, Clayton Vance Architecture

    Houzz documented the latest kitchen design trends.

    1. Houston warehouse full of historic home supplies holds massive closing sale. Historic Houston’s salvage warehouse announced in January that its rented First Ward warehouse space had been sold to developers (gentrification, we know thee). A series of warehouse sales ensued, and owner Lynn Edmunson promised to find a home for future pop-ups.

    2. These are Houzz's top kitchen remodel trends for 2025. According to interior design platform Houzz, homeowners are shifting what they want in a kitchen. The data shows a sharp decline in searches for Rustic and Farmhouse styles, while Traditional kitchens made a nice rebound. Also popular in the search bar was the ever popular “sustainable.”

    3. Houston's massive antiques mall is full of hidden treasures. The Antique Gallery in Spring offers 85,000 square feet of vintage and antique finds sold through over 240 vendors. The classic Main Street theme is anchored by Pam’s Cafe and coffee shop, a counter-service eatery that offers shoppers the opportunity to take a break and try Pam’s delicious and revolving menu items.

    4. Houston designers shop this River Oaks store for eclectic accessories. Will Hunt Lewis’ expertly-curated vintage, antique, and new accessories boutique shines as the culmination of a career spent buying and merchandising for Jonathan Adler, One Kings Lane, and Kravet — plus his own floral design and events business in Mississippi. Lewis’ keen eye and excellent taste have made him indispensable to top Houston designers.

    5. Houston family dishes on life after Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The Elrod family’s devastating house fire left them grieving a beloved grandmother as well as the family cat. This resilient family was nominated by their local community to be the recipients of a brand new Taylor Morrison home — as did all of the family’s for this year’s revival season, which was led by The Home Edit’s Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin.

    6. Houston organizational expert shares 8 tips for reducing clutter. Carroll Cartwright of Neatly & Co shared tips for getting organized in the new year. The one-time corporate hotshot turned sought-after organizer spent 2025 going viral for an over-the-top walk-in pantry and has since seen Neatly & Co become personal organizer to Kourtney Kardashian.

    7. Hidden gem Houston store offers timeless antiques at affordable prices. Frustrated by the lack of authentic antique Greek and Turkish decor to buy locally for their own home, Melis and Umit Aktura turned a personal project into a thriving import business that attracts designers and the public by the literal truckload. The Spring Valley store sells imported decorative goods from Greece, Turkey, Indonesia, and India — all 100-years-old or more.

    8. This Houston furniture store sells big name brands at deep discounts. For 35 years, everyone from college kids to design pros have shopped showroom-condition secondhand furniture at this longtime Houston staple. Proprietor Sherri Enroth, colloquially known as “Sofa Sherri,” tells CultureMap that Gen Z’s passion for thrifting has given the store new life.

    9. Houston's 'Patron Saint of Thrifting' is always hunting for fresh finds. Meet the Lady behind Houston’s popular Resale & Thrift Guides, successful weekly YouTube series, and thriving group antiquing trips. Lady Mary Beth has taken a career in corporate gift buying and used her expertise to turn her passion project into a real success.

    10. 6 Houston experts dish on their Round Top Antique Show favorites. Six stylish Houstonians shared their top picks for the fall season of the quarterly antiques fair. From Lily Barfield of The Marlene Inn, to restaurateurs like Latuli’s Allison Knight and Truth BBQ’s Abbie Byrom-Botello, readers learned some of the best places to pick up stylish home decor at the sprawling shopping extravaganza.

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