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PrintWESTERN DESIGN CONFERENCE best of show 2009
HARRIETTE ALLISON, LUCKY STAR GALLERY
A tour of Will Rogers’ home in Santa Monica some thirty years ago inspired the creations of Harriette Allison, owner of the Lucky Star Gallery in Reno. “That changed my life,” she says. “I fell in love with ranch house, Hacienda style, and the western designs of the 1930s.”
Much of her work pays tribute to the sharpshooters of the silver screen and homage to her love of the Hollywood cowboy. Harriette pulls inspiration from other influences as well, including the crafts and styles of American Indians, Mexicans, cowboys, and mountain men—anything that resembles the look and feel of the frontier.
Today, hunting the country for furniture with character and possibility is Harriette’s passion. Each work is tailored to an individual piece of vintage furniture and hand worked to meet today’s standards of comfort and quality.
The 2009 Western Design Conference Best of Show piece was a chair (shown above) called Painted Ponies; it began as collaboration with artist Sonny Tuttle but became a tribute when he was killed in an automobile accident in late July 2009.
Teton Home and Living caught up with Harriette by phone at her studio in Nevada.
Tell us about your art education.
I have had no formal training, although I started decorating the planet when I was about thirteen. I would bring home antiques and castoffs that I found strewn across the landscape. I started by using my treasures to create found art and landscape decor. By the time I was in my early thirties, I was refinishing and selling antique pieces. About the same time I took an upholstery class at the nearest community college. This training gave me the ability to develop my longtime passion: to recycle and reuse what I call the “old bones” of antique furniture, and give it a new life.
How do you describe your art?
It’s art furniture. One piece can make the room. I add western flair to recycled furniture; I take someone else’s bones and make them strong and beautiful again. This gives something old a new life, a new face. I’m changing the entire life of an existing piece of furniture. The bones of Pained Ponies came from an estate sale in
Nebraska—I look far and wide for a particular style that I can envision beyond its tattered state.
Can you describe the inspiration behind your 2009 Best of Show piece Painted Ponies?
I was very excited when I found out that my booth (at the Western Design Conference in 2008) was next to Sonny Tuttle of Red Nations Art. I had known Sonny for about eight years; I first met him through his friend, Artie Yellowhorse, whose jewelry I had been collecting for years. Sonny asked me then if we could collaborate on a piece for the 2009 Western Design Conference. We met up again, a few months later, at another show where we shared a booth; during that week, I developed a vision for our piece. I was led by the horses on Sonny’s spirit hide and I knew that I wanted to use them, but incorporating them in the piece was going to be tricky because I wanted to let them run free on the chair—not tie them down. So finding the right piece of furniture to accomplish this was my first task.
What are you working on now?
I’m doing a couch inspired by an American Indian headdress and a Cadillac once designed for Elvis by Nudie, “Mister Flash and Glamour” to the stars. [Note: Nudie was a North Hollywood-based designer who specialized in country western clothing and accessories. “The man who set rhinestones in fashion history,” he created jackets and more for just about everyone in Hollywood, from Roy Rogers and Dale Evans to Elvis and Sylvester Stallone, before his death in 1984.]
What does your studio look like?
I have about 3,000 square feet of warehousing, with racks and racks of old-bone furniture and decor. One corner of the warehouse is the shop, where I have a large work table, sewing machines, scissors, etcetera. I have a goldmine of American antiques waiting for a new life—the emperor waiting for new clothes.
What makes you proud?
My beautiful daughter and business partner Missy, who is an interior designer in her own right. I’m very proud of winning this blue ribbon at Western Design Conference 2009, with my tribute piece to my friend Sonny Tuttle. I am also very proud about the work I am doing to make others more conscious of the value of recycling good furniture. If a piece still exists today, it has already proven that it is well made and is in no way ready to be tossed into a landfill. I encourage others to capture as much of the good as possible in all facets of life, help save the planet, and embrace our western heritage.
What do you do for fun?
I enjoy traveling to places that inspire me. For example, I recently went to the Autry National Center of the American West (in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park) to find more ideas for my work. I have just returned from the High Noon Western Collectibles show and auction. Continuing to discover western design and its artists—that’s fun to me. I am also a big fan of massage, so I get them often; it’s one of my favorite treats. When I am rested and relaxed, creativity just happens for me.
2010 Schedule
Thursday, September 9
Noon–3 pm Lecture Series, Center for the Arts
WDC GALA EVENT, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
Center for the Arts
6 pm Jewelry Show and Champagne Reception
7:15 pm Design Excellence Awards Ceremony & Fashion Show
A runway fashion show in the Center Theater, Gala Reception to follow
Friday, September 10
10 am–5 pm Gallery Exhibit + Sale, Pavilion at Snow King Resort
Saturday, September 11
10 am–5 pm Gallery Exhibit + Sale, Pavilion at Snow King Resort
Sunday, September 12
10 am–5 pm Gallery Exhibit + Sale, Pavilion at Snow King Resort
4:30 pm People’s Choice and Exhibitors’ Choice Awards
Best Collection Art to Wear—Fashion
Best Collection Art to Wear—Jewelry
Reader Comments:
Harriette,
You are so obviously channeling beauty and talent from a higher place. I'm thrilled with your continued and much deserved success.
barb glover
I own a beautiful "piece" of art by Harriette Allison...it's a lovely Western chair that is highlighted with Pendleton fabric, gorgeous leather, and meticulously scupted leather in a pattern of leaves, acorns and berries. It fits perfectly with my western decor! Congratulations on winning the Design Award, Harriette!
Karen from Reno, NV