Page 44 - Ocean Blue World 28th Edition

ART & DESIGN
PDaPer Cuts
esigner John Derian is unassuming in interviews, hospitable, enthusiastic, and utterly delighted to talk about his passion for decoupage and the creations that crowd his three, side-by-side East
Village storefronts, which he first opened in New York in 1989.
His shops and home (he lives just upstairs) have been featured in Vogue, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Bon Appétit, New York Magazine, GQ, Details, and numerous other publications.
For lovers of whimsical decor, it’s like entering into a candy shop.
Derian has joyously, and somewhat unexpectedly, turned a hobby into a business that is all-consuming, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. His passion takes him to antiquaries and old bookshops where he pours through 18th and 19th-century books looking for illustrations that catch his eye and inspire.
He’s a collector of beauty and on a continual treasure hunt for objects and images that speak to him.
Photos Courtesy Of: ©Stephen Kent Johnson, Jhon derian 44 | www.OceanBlueWorld.com
One wall in his home he purchased in Antwerp and held in storage for nearly two decades before finally finding just the right
place for it.
Stacked away are myriad suitcases full of fancy buttons he collects, and he’s still not sure what those will be used for, but they are at the ready should
inspiration ignite.
It’s almost as if he acts as an archaeologist, taking images from the past and, with scissors, glue and glass, repurposing their beauty for a new generation.
“I gravitate toward things that are made by hand.”