Duende With Keren Bernard
Duende With Keren Bernard
A peek inside the designer's most cherished and personal collections.
Keren Bernard is a dear dear friend, who I met many moons ago when working on one of my earliest pop-up shops at Wilder in Nashville. I was instantly intimidated by how effortlessly cool she was, and in awe of her big heart and creative mind. I still look up to her in countless ways: she has incredible personal style, is an engaged and loving mother, a badass businesswoman and an accomplished interior designer. We’ve gotten to work together on a few fun projects, including the design of my brick-and-mortar for Goodwin. Keren is my favorite person to text with late at night — we both seem to be up at all hours, escaping down different home and design rabbit holes. She’s turned me on to so many designers and brands.
Her Nashville home exudes warmth and memory. It’s not hard to tell that she has carefully collected and cherished each item over the years. The ones most treasured connect her to her roots and her story. Keren has moved around many continents and many cities, living a somewhat transient life. These pieces call to mind all of those places: tiny (literally and figuratively) monuments to the special connections, people and experiences she has had.
Find Keren elsewhere:
Studio K
Love,
Elise
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The Water Tower, Vintage Jewish National Fund Poster, Designed by Zvi Berger
I purchased this original copy from the 1960s on eBay, along with 5 others (they were sold as a pack for nearly nothing and in mint condition), when I was young and single, freshly moved to NYC from Israel. The posters were part of a campaign in Israel initiated by the Jewish National Fund to celebrate local folklore and national symbols. I was a little homesick and studying interior design. At first it was the bold graphic style of these I found so appealing — the saturated colors, the fonts and the simplicity. Today they feel like a sweet innocent nostalgia for a land (homeland) of the past.
Royal Copenhagen Full Dinner + Coffee/Tea Set, “Annette” Pattern by Beret Jessen, 1960s
My husband Peter and I purchased this insanely rare set for 10 people for a mere $300, at a random estate sale in upstate NY. We didn't really “need” this at the time, as we were living in a small Brooklyn apartment, but I am so happy we did. I love the texture and color of this set. Like many other design objects in my home, I love the handmade vibe coupled with the playfulness and richness of the motif. These remind me of many endless weekends spent in Accord, in upstate NY, where we had a weekend home, getting to know Peter and exploring life together.
Custom Calendar Necklace, Small Pendant
This was designed and given to me by my grandparents in 1983 (it’s engraved in the back), and I have been wearing it every day for the last 25 years. It is an engraved monthly calendar (March) with my actual birthday studded by a teeny diamond. My sister received the same exact pendant for her birthday a few years later. When my grandfather passed away, we discovered blank un-engraved small disc pendants just like these in his safe. I love that he thought of our futures and imagined that he would engrave more of these for his great grandchildren. I love the clever design, but most of all I adore the tactile feeling of the tiny diamond in it.
Katherine Wolkoff, Parlour Print
This is one of my favorite pieces of art in my home. It was generously gifted to Peter and me for our wedding. I think we actually got to select this — our very cool friend who gave this to us had sent us a few images to choose from. I believe this was captured in the artist’s parents’ home during Christmas. I love the layers here and the depth of color, lots of texture and meaning, but what I love most is the portrait’s head covered by the tiny finial of the chandelier — a little detail that makes it cheeky. I love that this is a snapshot in someone’s home that reminds me of cherished moments and family.
Little Tiny Plaster Bust
I saw this in a window of a random tiny shop in Florence. I love small things (see images of tiny figurines I collect) and the woman inside the shop was the creator. She was an art restorer and was funding her work by selling plaster figurines. I think the asking price for this was 60 € — it’s tiny, less than one inch tall. She was really drawn to my daughter, Snow, who had on a particularly colorful outfit, and she told Snow the entire story of this head: It was made from a plaster mould of an ancient Roman statue, and this is the head of one of the cherubs that was around the main figure. She had helped restore this piece while working in the archives of the Met Museum. She liked Snow and enjoyed sharing her story so much that she just wrapped up the head and gave it to us as a gift. It reminds me of travel and how the arbitrary turn left down a side street is always a new adventure.Saccharin Tablet Holder
Handmade cut crystal with cherub body and detailed lid. This had little tongs that I lost. This saccharin tablet container belonged to my grandmother, who kept her lucky pig figurine in it. She would bust it out when playing games. She taught me how to play cards and I love a game of Gin Rummy to this day. Some of my fondest memories are playing cards in Germany (where I spent every summer of my childhood), and losing to my grandparents.
Boundless Brooklyn, DIY Brooklyn Water Tower Model Kits
These were cardboard kits that I purchased just as we were leaving Brooklyn for Nashville. They are simple and work so well with the rest of the colorful crap we have displayed on our shelves. They remind me of NYC and Brooklyn, and our old life.
Tiny Figurines
I love small things, tiny scale models and figurines. I’ve been collecting these almost unintentionally for so many years. Some of them are Preiser miniature figures used for train models (there’s a set of women in bikinis) and some are plastic Japanese characters, and a few are scale models of Bauhaus buildings. A scattered collection of things I have found or purchased all around the world that bring me joy (dusting them not so much).
Vintage Blue Lockers
These are old school lockers that have accompanied my family and I through every move. Originally purchased to serve as a pantry in one of our small Brooklyn apartments, I have not been able to get rid of them. The lockers are now the treasure chest of our daily lives, and are filled with cookbooks, games and cat toys. They’re the only magnetic surface in our kitchen so I have covered them in photos, love notes, birthday cards and assorted “stuff,” celebrating the mess of life.
Brass Banana Sculpture
Gifted to my husband and I by my mother-in-law who is an avid art collector. It is very very heavy and what I love most about this is the removable solid brass bitten banana — it actually slides out of the peel. It’s silly and big and reminds me of meeting my husband's family for the first time, and feeling like I was finally home.
Duende is the mysterious power of art to deeply move a person. It means a quality of passion and inspiration. With this bimonthly feature, we celebrate and honor our most meaningful possessions that go far beyond the physical — preserving memories, shaping identity, encouraging ritual, embodying experiences and loved ones. The things that surround us are not simply functional, beautiful, or aspirational, but encompass a soul and presence all their own. View past publications here.
Photo Credit: Duende custom collage designed by Meg Towle, featuring pieces from the home of Keren Bernard.