Roman and Williams turns dining into a high-art affair at New York restaurant Marcel, Pamela Anderson makes a foray into outdoor furniture, and Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza may trade traffic for green space. All that and more in this week’s Five on Friday.
Pamela Anderson launches outdoor furniture
Photo by Michael P. H. Clifford
Beloved Canadian-American icon Pamela Anderson is adding yet another tier to her CV—furniture design. The avid gardener (for real, go look it up) has collaborated with Los Angeles furniture company Olive Ateliers on a 40-piece collection of outdoor furniture. Described to Dezeen as “a little French, a little wild,” the series is dubbed the Sentimentalist, as it draws inspiration from Anderson’s memories of her grandmother’s farm along the Salish Sea in British Columbia. The range comprises outdoor sofas, lounge chairs, tables, and baskets—all made of natural rattan as well as blue and white-striped upholstery. A weathered teak dining table rounds out the Sentimentalist, which is protected from the elements with 100-percent olefin covers.
Mamdani eyes a pedestrian-friendly future for Brooklyn
Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York; photo courtesy of Adobe Stock
This writer cannot even pretend to hide his pedestrian bias. In fact, he thinks it’s a civic failure to concede public space to cars, which is why he’s overjoyed to see New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s proposed vision for a pedestrian-only reimagining of Grand Army Plaza. The New York Times reports that the mayor has announced plans to eliminate a portion of road surrounding the Brooklyn nucleus, which is often affiliated with hazardous conditions for pedestrians on foot or on pedals. The plan would ban cars along the southern end of the oval-shaped green space from Union Street to Eastern Parkway, doing away with a congested four-lane crossing. Mamdani’s vision would also reconnect the plaza to Prospect Park and restore the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch. Upgraded bike lanes and pedestrian walking paths would add nearly an acre of public space to the plaza as well.
LA’s modern furniture bandit has great taste
A Togo sofa, similar to one of the pieces Vincler allegedly stole; photo courtesy of Ligne Roset
Los Angeles is experiencing a crime wave at the hand of a thief with exceptional modernist taste. It all started with a woman named Amanda Hallberg who sold her Eames chair online for $684, only to learn the buyer’s credit card info had been stolen. After a little sleuthing, Hallberg uncovered the recipient of the order listed under the name Zack Vincler at a delivery address in Washington, DC. Turns out, Vincler was also behind a similar scam that involved high-end LA vintage store Merit, which approved the transaction for a $7,800 Togo sofa also under a stolen credit card. Vincler is also the prime suspect behind the theft of a $58,000 21-piece sofa lifted from the store during a late-night break-in. A new website, Stolen by Zack Vincler, serves as a hub for the thief’s victims—of which there are more than a dozen—and if you’re wondering why nobody just went and confronted this guy…they did! And they even found his Hinge profile. Seriously, dive into this wild story from NBC News. You’re gonna gag.
Roman and Williams debuts a restaurant and auction house
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Roman and Williams has unveiled the design of their second New York eatery, Marcel. Located inside Manhattan’s recently reopened Breuer building, the 104-seat restaurant is endowed with all the classic cinematic fixings of a Roman and Williams interior. Conceived as a glamorous clubhouse, Marcel features walnut paneling, dusty cocoa mohair upholstery, and a jewel box bar topped with metal lamps designed by Marcel Breuer himself. What really sets this new dining mecca apart, however, is its art program. According to The Wall Street Journal, rotating masterworks like Joan Mitchell’s “King of Spades” will adorn the walls courtesy of Sotheby’s, which will showcase pieces for upcoming sales and art loans alongside diners. Work from Andy Warhol, Alexander Calder, Henri Matisse, and John Chamberlain are also included in the lineup, along with fine jewelry, asteroid chunks, and a T.rex tooth.
ICYMI: The 2026 HD Awards Finalists
The Saguez & Dash-designed Kimpton Miralina Resort & Villas in Paradise Valley, Arizona, a 2026 HD Awards finalist; photo by Joe Thomas
In case you haven’t heard… the finalists for the 22nd annual HD Awards have been announced. Two dedicated judging panels evaluated more than 1,000 entries to select this year’s winners and finalists across 34 project and 15 product categories. Winners will be announced during a live ceremony on May 5th in Las Vegas during the HD Expo + Conference. Buy tickets to join us there!
