I saw a tweet from someone yesterday that said, “By the time you turn 30, you should have at least one piece of original art in your home.” I don’t know if that’s a hard and fast rule, but at some point, you’ll want to start using art — original or otherwise — to enhance your personal space.

If you’re just starting to collect art, or are thinking of collecting, or have been collecting art but need a bit of a refresher, you’re in luck. This Saturday, from 10:00 to 11:00, West Elm and 20×200, the online gallery of affordable art, are teaming up to teach the fine art (get it?) of art collecting.

Learn how to build a collection, ways to display art, and “tips for integrating art into your everyday life”. I’m not quite sure what’s meant by that last part — maybe it’s about having art in your car, or in your cube at the office? Either way, you’re sure to learn something new.

These West Elm/20×200 are happening at both West Elms in Massachusetts, in Boston and Burlington.

Saturday morning, Boston welcomed back one of our own, Decor8‘s Holly Becker!

Holly came to Boston from her home with her husband in Germany in support the launch of her first book, Decorate: 1,000 Design Ideas for Every Room in Your Home. The event  started with Holly giving a how-to all about mood boards. I missed this part but was told that the second floor of Anthropologie was PACKED — an impressive fact, given that the Back Bay is more a place for brunch on a Saturday morning than a place for design discussion.

Following the mood board event, Holly signed books. The book signing was scheduled to end at 12:30, but the line just wasn’t having it. I picked up my copy of Decorate and got in line around 11:45, and ended up in front of Holly about an hour later. As I got to the head of the line, Holly greeted me with a, “Gradon?”

Yep, six years after first becoming blogging friends — starting in the same city — we finally got to meet each other!

She stood up, walked around the table, and gave me a hug. We had a quick chat (as quick as you can have with a pack of ravenous fans waiting in line) about the book, about loved ones in other countries, and about starting families — at least Holly and her husband starting a family. That’s the plan for the Beckers shortly after Holly gets back from tour (so exciting!)

I had to run off to spend the day with my family, and now Holly’s on her way to Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and finally, New York… before going back to Germany and her husband.

It was a shorter visit than I would have liked, but it was great to finally meet one of my first friends from the blogging world.

5 Under 40 is New England Home‘s annual celebration of young talent, and this year’s awards ceremony is coming up.

On Thursday, September 15, join New England Home at presenting sponsonr Landri & Arcari‘s showroom on Stuart Street, where they will honor this year’s winners:

Architecture

• Jinhee Park, AIA – Principal at Single Speed Design
• Nima Yadollahpour – Founder and Principal at ONY architecture

Interiors

• Rachel Reider – Founder of Rachel Reider Interiors

Furniture & Home Accessories

• Debra Folz
• Kelly Harris Smith – Co-Founder of FilzFelt

Each winner was given the chance to design a custom rug, which was then produced by Landry & Arcari. The rugs will be auctioned off at the event, with the proceeds going to benefit Barakat, Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.–based charity promoting educational opportunities for women and children in central and south Asia.

I’m excited about this year’s event, as I’ve been a big fan of two of these designers for some time. The work Jinhee and her partner John Hong have done around the region — particularly the modern residences throughout the suburbs — are outstanding. Their Big Dig House is an icon of modern (as in of the present time) design.

Always a collaborator, Kelly’s been involved in the Boston design community for many years. I first came to know her through Etcetera Media, a textile product company she started with her husband, Chris Grimley of Over,Under. Then there’s Design Nearby, an annual holiday sale she curates with Ann Karash (of smartdames and the 47th.)

Tickets are available for $35 in advance, or $45 at the door. This is most certainly a can’t-miss event, and I look forward to seeing you there!

Through its previous events, SHIFTboston has asked designers to rethink Boston, rethink experiencing Boston Harbor, even rethink the Moon. This time, SHIFTboston wants you to rethink… a commuter rail line?

For “WHY STOP?”, SHIFTboston has partnered with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s South Coast Rail Economic Development and Land Use Corridor Plan (great name, huh?) to challenge “urban planners, architects, urban designers, designers and landscape architects — professionals and students — to explore and visualize destinations along the proposed South Coast Rail extension, which will connect Boston to Taunton, New Bedford, and Fall River, Massachusetts.”

This is a great idea. As a Bostonian that doesn’t own a car, the idea of traveling out to New Bedford or Fall River would need to include a lot of planning — let alone a reason for making the trek. Why would we go through the effort?

This is where SHIFTboston comes in.

The planned extension of commuter rail lines from Boston’s South Station to the Massachusetts South Coast has the capacity for broader re-conception and re-imagination of the region. We encourage competitors to investigate and to explore the potential of this new network and its RESOURCES. Competitors might animate the rail system by adding to or enhancing the latent urban NETWORK. These NEW destinations could draw from the regional and local resources, industry and culture such as, universities, agriculture, arts, marine industry, historical institutions, tourism and recreation. FUN? Consider what has not yet been considered — contemporary communal and PUBLIC meeting places, open markets for local food production, a regional cultural campus of performance space and theaters connected by rail, or new research and development campuses or dense residential districts. The submission might explore these stopping points along the rail as part of system of supporting links which make up a greater network. The competitor might also choose to focus on further developing the central core of one or more of the cities on the line, such as Fall River or New Bedford.

Competitors can choose to submit a proposal for one of four locations: the New Bedford stop, the Fall River stop, Environment, or “You Tell Us” (which sounds at once like a cop out AND much more complex).

The jury includes representatives from architecture, urban planning, academia, and government:

• Julia Czerniak, Director of UPSTATE and Associate Professor at Syracuse University School of Architecture, Syracuse, NY
• Diane Georgopulos, Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency (Mass Housing), Boston, MA
• Greg Guimond, Deputy Director and Comprehensive Planning Manger of the Southeastern Regional Planning & Economic Development District (SRPEDD), Taunton, MA
• Scott Lang, Mayor, New Bedford, MA
• Edward Mitchell, Assistant Professor at Yale University School of Architecture and Principal of EMA, New Haven, CT
• Chris Reed, Principal and Founder of Stoss Landscape Urbanism, Boston, MA
• Adèle Naudé Santos, Dean of Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Architecture, Cambridge, MA and Principal of Santos Prescott and Associates, San Francisco, CA
• Michael Sorkin, Principal of Sorkin Studio, New York, NY

The winning competitor, as chosen by the jury, will present his or her concept at the SHIFTboston WHY STOP Forum in Boston in October among members of the jury, government, community and business leaders, local developers and regional economic development groups.

The winning entry will be featured in a new game for mobile devices which will be featured at the Forum and as part of the WHY STOP Exhibition. Winning and select submissions will be on public display as part of a traveling exhibition which will begin at South Station in Boston, the New Bedford Public Library and then Fall River begining in January of 2012.

Interested in submitting an entry? The deadline for submissions is one month from yesterday, Friday, September 16, 2011. To register, visit http://shiftboston.org/competitions/register.php

I love Reside. Walking around the Huron Ave/Concord Ave/Fresh Pond triangle, Reside is a standout in an already outstanding area. Which is why my initial reaction to the news of their new location on Washington St in the South End was a mix of excitement and apprehension.

How would the cutest, nicest store with the most fantastic furniture in the prettiest part of Cambridge do in a new neighborhood, let alone the South End?

Not that I have anything against the South End. It’s one of the most vibrant design neighborhoods in the city, and I often spend time there. But it’s a bit… fancy compared to Fresh Pond. How will Reside hold up?

I headed out to Washington St to find out.

All in all, Reside holds up well in well in the South End. The space on Washington St feels like a perfect fit for all of the twentieth century modern furniture and accessories.

Yes, I said “twentieth century” and not “mid-century.” The range of options at the new store expands beyond the mid-century focus of the Cambridge store. The space is packed with furniture, yet not so much that you can’t browse. I think this is one of owner Pamela Watt’s special abilities — filling a space without overfilling it — and it’s something that not every vintage retailer grasps.

Aside from the furniture, Reside South End seemed like it has more accessories than the original store. There were vases, a bunch of glasses on a shelf unit when I visited, as well as a case of jewelry handmade by Pamela’s daughter Nicole.

Every time I walk into Reside Cambridge, I fall in love with a different piece of furniture, and this was no different in the new space. This time, it was this Scandinavian teak dining table. Utterly gorgeous, and it would look great in our new dining room (more on that later.)

All in all, Reside holds up well in the South End. It’s different than the space on Concord Ave, as it should be. Now the only problem is deciding which one I want to visit more.

Reside South End
1409 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02118
857-350-3594

The Globe, Herald, and Universal Hub have reported that apartment developer Avalon Properties has proposed building a 29-story residential tower on Stuart St. in Boston.

If approved, the 404-unit apartment tower, designed by Boston’s own CBT Architects, will take the place of a parking lot adjacent to the Jacob Wirth tavern. The building will feature “luxury studios renting for $1,800, one-bedrooms in the low- to mid-$2,000 range and two-bedrooms starting at $3,000 a month.”

While the image doesn’t show much detail, the building will be shaped like a T, with narrow street frontage. The design is generating split opinions on the ArchBoston forums, with some negatively comparing it to Vancouver’s residential towers, and others wishing it was an even stronger reflection of the West Coast Canadian city’s noted architectural style.

Personally, I think it’s a tasteful — if not terribly awe-inspiring — design, and it will be a good addition to the downtown landscape.

Mine is an opinion shared by some… and not by others. The Herald article quoted Ken Ham, president of the Bay Village Neighborhood Association: “It’s a great project,” he said. “It gets rid of another parking lot, puts another great building near us, and fills a void between Bay Village and Chinatown in a rundown area.”

Conversely, the Globe quoted Lydia Lowe, executive director of the Chinese Progressive Association, who said in response to the proposal, “It sounds like the same old kind of thing we’ve been seeing a lot of in Chinatown. I don’t see it adding to the community’s priorities.” This is similar to Chinatown’s response to another 29-story residential tower on the other side of Chinatown back in 2007.

What do you think? Do you like the look of the new tower? Do you hate it? Do you think a luxury apartment building is what Stuart Street needs?

If you consider yourself an “emerging interior design pro”, make plans to head to New York next month.

On September 16 and 17, the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) will introduce GO PRO: NYC, “a weekend of events tailored specifically for emerging professionals in the interior design industry.”

The two-day event will start with PROject, a tour of the  New York Times building, guided by FXFOWLE Architects, the building’s designers. After, enjoy a reception and talk by Guy Geier, Managing Partner, FXFOWLE Architects, in the offices of Covington & Burling, featuring 360-degree panoramic views of Manhattan.

Saturday includes two information-packed sessions. PROduct will feature carpet designer Joe Carini of CariniLang, discussing his experience working with Nepalese weavers and creating innovative maps of New York at his showroom.

In the afternoon, PRObono Work is a panel discussion on “the responsibility of the design community to take an activist stance and embrace pro bono work.” As part of the panel, there will be a case study of the Harlem-based Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS) facility—an organization that empowers young women who have been sexually exploited.

The panelists will include John Cary, President and CEO of The Next American City and author of “The Power of Pro Bono“; Sonya Dufner, FASID, Associate Principal, Director of Workplace at Perkins + Will NYC; Rachel Lloyd, Founder and Executive Director of New York-based Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS); and Courtney E. Martin, author of “Do It Anyway: The New Generation of Activists“.

The weekend will end with PROfessional Development at the Vitra showroom, a chance to “mingle with design professionals by practice area and expand your professional network in the sectors you want to pursue.” And what design event would be complete without “delicious fare, libations and dancing”?

Visit GO PRO: NYC for more information, and to register.

Jill Rosenwald is Boston’s favorite potter — or at least DesignBoston’s favorite! Since I first met Jill (I think it was at an event at Vessel), I’ve loved Jill’s sense of style and craftsmanship, and her ability to mix Yankee preppiness with the clean lines of modern design.

Jill recently launched a new website. Along with the bio, catalog, and contact information, Jill’s now offering e-commerce, meaning you can order her lamps, bowls, vases, and more with just a click.

But what if you’ve already bought a piece by Jill? Well, there’s something for you, too. Between now and October 31, take a photo of your Jill piece and send it to her for your chance to win a custom monogrammed mug!

We spend three weeks sculpting, painting and caring-for each item so, when we box up the finished piece it is a bittersweet goodbye. What comforts us is knowing it arrives at a stylish pad. Show us just how stylish! Whether you fill it with sunflowers, stir cookie dough in it, or simply place it on the mantle for all your guests to gawk at… let’s see your Jill in its new home!

For all the details, check out the giveaway page on Jill’s site. And, while you’re at it, Like Jill on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

The New England Telephone Building and 225 Franklin Street, Friday, March 11.