“The perfect space came up, so we pounced,’’ designer Jonathan Adler says of his Newbury Street store.
(F. Scott Schafer)
G FORCE | JONATHAN ADLER
New spot just dandy
“The perfect space came up, so we pounced,’’ designer Jonathan Adler says of his Newbury Street store.
(F. Scott Schafer)
Eleven years after opening his first store in New York, acclaimed potter, designer, and all-around dandy Jonathan Adler has landed in Boston. Earlier this month he opened a Boston outpost for his ceramics, furniture, and retro-inspired bric-a-brac on Newbury Street. It’s a welcome treat for Bostonians who have been missing the Adler products once carried by the dearly departed Motley Home store on Tremont Street. We rang him up last week to chat about the new Boston store.
Q. What took you so long to get here?
A. I wanted it to be just right. Then the perfect space came up, so we pounced. I’m really excited to be there. I’ve been a Boston-ophile for a long time.
Q. Do you and Simon [Doonan, Adler’s husband and Barneys creative director] come here often?
A. Well, there’s a Barneys, so Simon goes to Barneys, and I like to go get my shop on. But mostly I used to come up when I was in college. I went to Brown, and I would get in my car and shlep to Newbury Street all the time because it was so great, never thinking that one day I would have my own glamorous emporium.
Q. Have you changed the way that you design product or interiors based on what’s been going on with the economy? Have you amped up the happy, or toned it down?
A. I think I’ve been doing the same thing all along. Making design that is chic, but has an element of levity and makes me feel good. I think that perhaps the world has finally come around to my way of thinking a little bit more.
Q. You recently worked on a line of Barbie-inspired products. Was she one of your favorite toys as a child?
A. Well, just to explain, Barbie called me up and asked me to design her Malibu dream house for her 50th birthday. She was a great client. Sometimes plastic clients can be more fun than real-life ones. It was a blast working with her, but she was not one of my toys when I was a child. I still feel guilty about decapitating my sister’s Barbie and burying her in the backyard. Working with Barbie was a chance for me to make amends.
Q. Was she also able to overlook your shameless advances toward Ken, or did that make things awkward?
A. Barbie’s kind of a carefree, problem-free girl. I don’t think she was paying attention.
Q. If only Simon could be so understanding. I haven’t seen you on basic cable lately; I’m wondering if you’re done with television. What’s going on with “Top Design’’ [the Bravo reality show that Adler judged]?
A. “Top Design’’ ran its course. It was really fun being on TV. But it was kind of a major distraction from being a designer. It was great while it lasted, but now it’s great to focus completely on design. It was really difficult having to move to LA for six weeks. I missed Liberace, my Norwich Terrier. Oh, and Simon.
Interview was condensed and edited. 
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