Sun Valley Home and Design / Fall 2005 / Objects of Affection

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Objects of Affection

(page 2 of 3)

GIA GUDDAT
Figure skater, retailer, crystal gal

The curtain opens on a huge green ceramic pineapple from Oaxaca. It doesn’t move; it just sits there, next to a couch covered in leopard-print silk velvet, looking large. A small pug dog wearing, oh . . . perhaps a tuxedo, or maybe something with feathers and crystals . . . takes center stage. Over on the wall, a huge bronze sun looks on approvingly. While the fireplace, robed and entirely encrusted in amethyst crystal, waits patiently for its turn as star.

This is The House (her house), as skater Gia Guddat has choreographed it: a virtuoso performance in purple, orange, and green. In her work, directing ice shows around the country, Guddat thinks about camera angles, elements of focus, and contrasting colors and patterns. At home, she’s created the same sense of artistry, theatricality, and play.

“I like my living space bright and colorful,” says Guddat, owner of Tequila Bay in Ketchum. “It stimulates my creative energy. Colors, crystals, and artwork nurture me. When you have a hectic life and travel a lot, it’s nice to come home to a place that’s grounding.”

HER OBJECT

Cue the spotlight, quiet the music: a 100-pound, pure white quartz crystal—the “perfect crystal”—is about to perform. Om. It does nothing perceptible. (That’s the point.) Its job is to be the still point in the middle of the colorful, eclectic room. From its many facets and points, it sends out invisible vibes to cleanse the energy of the room.

“Some people can’t feel the energy from crystals, but I can. It’s very healing. I love the way this one looks in particular, like a frozen crystal of ice.”

Ice! It makes perfect sense. The object of Gia Guddat’s affection has been the subject of her life, all along. >>>