Recently, V+P secured one of more than 25,000 “Keys to the City,” part of a citywide public art project by local artist Paul Ramirez Jonas. Our key came with a little book detailing dozens of spots normally reserved for authorized personnel only. The keys promise to unlock secret boxes, rooms and gates at each spot, offering a little-known slice of New York. We carefully plotted our course, chose a single day (July 13,) and set out to conquer 5 spots in 3 boroughs in 8 hours. Esther, Nicole, Margaux, Josh and I got a steamy start yesterday morning, meeting in…

The Caniato family is back from our annual pilgrimage to Tuscany, where we stayed at the beloved Le Torre Alle Tolfe estate just outside of Siena. It’s named for its tall tower that was once the highest look-out point between borders during some of Italy’s greatest battles. Today it is simply a paradise to us and we are lucky to share it with family and friends. How great is a life that revolves around the table?  In Tuscany there appears to be a table ready for dining around every corner, inside the villas and outside. I am now striving to…

Last week, I attended Maison France—a pop-up exhibition by 30 French manufacturers of luxury housewares, including furniture, tableware, lighting and textiles. Organized by the French Trade Commission Ubifrance, the 3-day design showcase gave me several reasons to “ooh-la-la” for French design. Although I got slightly misdirected on my way to Maison, the large banner and–instead of red, purple–carpet signaled that I had made it to the right building: Not only was my welcome colored this royal hue, the whole exhibit was wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling pourpre: I visited quite a few displays, but my three French favorites include an abstract, the letter…

In addition to Major League Baseball (see Nicole and Josh’s heated debate below), V+P is also hot on following the World Cup. You had no idea we were such sports fans, did you?! Well, maybe the truth is that we like wearing face paint (even of the digital persuasion) and a good office competition. Enter: V+P’s World Cup allegiances! As you may already know, the V+P team loves placing bets–Nicole won a STEAK last week! The winner of this contest (I’m declaring as I write this…) is going to win the Crumbs “World Cup” cupcake, funded by the two losing…

On a recent weekend getaway to New York’s Catskills, I fulfilled several of my most secret dreams, dancing the night away like Frances “Baby” Houseman and catching a glimpse of one of the rarest of celebrities… well, read on and you’ll see. A Berkshires girl myself, I was lured to the lovely mountain town of Fleischmanns, New York with the promise of a dinner dance and silent auction,  a stay in a quiet bed and breakfast and huge pancakes. I’d highly recommend the beautiful Breezy Hill Inn, which featured a lovely, soothing palette of Benjamin Moore colors (People tell us…

Monday kicked off the first day of NeoCon, the annual trade show for contract furnishings at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. V+P is reporting from the Windy City with our Day 1 experience. We hit Majora Carter’s keynote speech, sponsored by our client, Allsteel. Majora, a Bronx native and founder of the Sustainable South Bronx, a work placement program for “green” jobs, discussed her inspiring mission to revitalize the Bronx by creating eco-friendly initiatives that also provide local jobs. One of my favorites: Green roofs! Majora has one on her home where she actually grows strawberries! Beyond the awe- inspiring…

Veeder + Perman is blessed with great clients- and we’re not just being nice. They’re smart and funny and adventurous and they keep our lives very interesting. Don’t take our word for it though. Our very first guest contributor, Davis & Warshow Executive President David Finkel, proves my point regularly with laugh-out-loud emails about his culinary adventures, and has agreed to let me share the latest, weirdest one with you. After a small disagreement about the best Banh Mih place in town (see here) David emailed to say that he was thinking about going here: Looks fairly unassuming, right? David…

My mom is pretty cool.  In addition to making the best homemade bread in Beadle County, she’s also a text messaging maven. (I wonder if she texts while making the best homemade bread in Beadle County…the thought is blowin’ my mind!) Beyond making its way into “cool mom culture,” text messaging has been influencing art culture around the world. Here are a few reasons that SMS made me “:)” today… The Göteborg Museum of Art in Sweden has mounted a “Talking Art” installation.  Visitors to the exhibit are basically asked, “If a work of art could talk—what would it say?” …

We nearly lost our heads with excitement when we got word of our BIG PR Award.  Well, actually, it was the award that lost its head, but these are just details. Kind of like the details our award apparently lacked. But who cares if your name is spelled correctly? As it turns out, Ester (pronounced Es-STARE) Perman from Veeder + Peerman (perhaps a close relative of Esther’s?) won an award for Extraordinary Achievement in Media Relations. We were honored with a replica of a headless Thinker. Rather than toss our lovely award, we quickly repaired it and added him to…

I’m just back from a whirlwind tour of Israel, a trip my husband and I planned to coincide with our nephew’s Bar Mitzvah. Besides the rites of passage, we toured the Golan Heights, took a dip in the dead sea (and a wrap in the smelly, sulfur-scented mud) and explored the tunnels below Jerusalem. It was an amazing trip, but the highlight was a visit to one of the world’s ancient wonders- Petra. We’ve all got stone on the brain with Coverings coming up next week,  but it’s not just the timing that makes the Petra stand out for me….