From My Journal: Detail Spotlight
Restaurant Decor, Gallery Picks, and New Lighting.
Oiji Mi: A Study in Sensory Alchemy
Stepping into Oiji Mi feels like entering a dream designed by someone who understands both restraint and opulence in equal measure. The space is moody but never cold, elegant yet completely unpretentious — a harmony of rich textures, clean lines, and old-world romance layered with contemporary verve.
Every corner hums with intention. Polished walnut paneling and soft lighting create a cinematic quality — thinking Wong Kar-wai meets mid-century Seoul with a whisper of New York edge. The bar, carved like sculpture, invites you to linger; the banquettes feel inviting.
And then there’s the food.
Oiji Mi delivers a menu that reads like poetry and lands like a symphony. There’s a clarity to each dish — a reverence for Korean tradition married with the quiet confidence of innovation. The caviar service is the best kept secret. A masterpiece. The lobster ramyun is rich, deep, and layered — a tactile experience in flavor. The Oiji Bowl at Oiji Mi is, quite simply, a revelation — and my absolute favorite.
It’s the kind of dish that feels like a perfectly styled room: layered, unexpected, and deeply satisfying. The uni, the ikura, the silky chopped toro — all nestled over warm, seasoned rice — create a textural symphony that’s both luxurious and grounded. Each bite is a study in contrast: creamy and briny, delicate yet bold. Oiji Mi has many stars on the menu, but the Oiji Bowl is the one I return to — a design lover’s dream disguised as dinner.
But beyond the design and the culinary brilliance, what truly elevates the experience is the service — intuitive, gracious, unhurried. It’s hospitality as a form of art. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Lance Strickland who is a part of the Oiji Mi team who continuously gives me a sense that it’s not just about serving unforgettable food, but truly curating a moment and experience. I recently had the pleasure of hosting my family here for my 40th birthday, and it was nothing short of transportive.
Oiji Mi is not just a restaurant. It’s an environment. A visceral, considered, beautiful environment that engages all the senses and leaves you a little more inspired than when you walked in.
Scenes from Frieze: Where Art Meets Design
Stepping into Frieze New York this April at The Shed felt less like visiting an art fair than wandering through a living, breathing installation — an exquisite collage of vision, tactility, and courage. Through corridors of pristine white walls and cultivated tension, each booth unfurled its own moodscape. The architectural rhythm of the fair — the soaring ceilings, the fluid booth arrangements — felt meticulously thought out, like walking through a living interior designed by invisible hands.
Lynda Benglis truly stole the spotlight at Frieze this April with her radiant bronze sculptures — six newly minted works from 2021-2024 that unfurled across Pace Gallery’s booth like liquid metal poetry. These coiling, twisting forms glow with vitality. Benglis uses bronze not just as metal, but as performance — each piece a captured movement, buoyant yet anchored, sensual yet monumental. In that context — among curated booths of stark palettes and whispered shapes — her presence was felt.
I had the absolute pleasure of walking Frieze New York this year with art advisor, Sarah Jane Bruce. Based in Los Angeles, Sarah Jane brings a rare combination of scholarly depth and sophistication to every conversation — her knowledge runs deep, yet her taste feels effortlessly current. With her by my side, the fair became something entirely more dimensional; each piece opened like a story, a dialogue between history and the now. I highly recommend working with Sarah for any modern and contemporary art needs.
What can I say. . . New York always delivers.
Light as Sculpture: Discovering GEO at High Point
Discovered at High Point Market this spring, GEO Lighting out of Brazil completely captivated me. Their pieces feel less like fixtures and more like illuminated sculpture — bold, architectural forms softened by the warmth of natural hand-finished materials. There’s a soulful tension to their work: organic yet refined, grounded yet otherworldly. Each piece evokes a sense of place and poetry, casting not just light, but mood. GEO understands that lighting isn’t just functional — it’s atmospheric, emotional, deeply textural. I’m in love with their vision and the way it so beautifully merges design with feeling.
— Michelle Waugh
First Image Taken From Oiji Mi Website