Aspen and LA; Perfect Together

I'm off to LA for the Design Bloggers Conference.  This is the first of its kind.  Seminars include:
         The impact of blogging
         Blogging with the stars, popular bloggers who have paved the way
         The business of blogging, you can make $ at this
         How to build/ promote your business
         Foundations for success
                                                      
I am really excited to meet other design bloggers; kindred spirits, if you will.   People whose blogs I read and admire.  When you do something well, it looks so easy.  I had no idea when I jumped in how immense an undertaking this would be, but I love it!  Everyday I get excited about my next story, and all I want to do is share it with you.  I will no doubt come back full of inspiration and armed with the knowledge to be a better blogger.  I'm sure we'll laugh, cry, and share stories; hopefully all with a martini in hand.  Stay tuned for updates from LA!  The fun doesn't stop there.  I'll be buried under tons of snow the following week skiing and frolicking.  What a roller coaster ride...

 Well, the roller coaster ride has begun and I haven't left Philly yet.  Our flight out of Phila. was canceled due to  high winds and thunderstorms, Aspen is getting "dumped on", a technical term meaning heavy snow, so the airport is closed.  I am considering going from Chicago right to LA. WHAT TO DO??

Spotlight On: Mary Katrantzou

This story is about the evolution of a young designer from London.  We are witnessing a career "take off."

I was sitting on this story waiting for Mary to present her Fall 2011 show.  She did not disappoint.  Her cleverness and creativity are set on brilliant at the moment!  She is a conceptual artist of the textile medium.

Fall '11 was a Chinoiserie dream.  The koi, flora, Faberge eggs and landscapes create a perfect symphony on cloth.  Mary looked to Diana Vreeland and Coco Chanel's apartments for inspiration with a little Babe Paley and The Duchess of Windsor thrown in.

Mary really caught my attention with her last collection.  The homes and interiors that inspired her were literally lifted from the pages of Architectural Digest or World of Interiors.  They were then digitally manipulated onto the fluid silks and knits.  Her imagination and the computer are her tools for limitless possibilities.  Mary's clothes look completely fresh; something we have not seen before.

The trompe l'oeil and three dimentional embellishments create a new language.  Curtains, pelmets and lampshades come to life.  It is a visual feast for the eyes.

 Chandeliers and candelabras are turned into necklaces.  Mary said, "I want to put the room on the woman, rather than the woman in the room."

There were undertones of jewel encrusted, Belle Epoque inspired, Napoleonic references as well.  And somehow, it all works magnificently.

To think ~ it all started with a perfume bottle.  Miss Mary's first collection referenced the beautifully blown bottles, the shape and the movement of the glass.  Tres magnifique!

These 2 dresses are my favorites.  They're as beautiful on the runway as the real way.  As a matter of fact, I might need to do a little more research because I am in need a dress!

Do you think I am a fan?

Take a look at her work on the sites below. You need to see it a little larger to appreciate the beauty.

photos: Fashionlover.com, Style.com, Vogue.com

Brass is Back...

...in a big way, and it's not like your parents' brass knick knacks from the 1980's.  It's fresh and of the moment.  Maybe we have Kelly to thank for its resurrection?  She's been using it in her designs for years, but I for one was not ready to embrace it till now.

Kelly in her Bergdorf's boutique

Kelly Wearstler

  

Sally Sirkin Lewis

Martha is a fan

via  MS Living

Used as accents, like jewelry in a room, brass brings a little added sparkle.  It's like gold's older, bohemian cousin.

Does anybody have a hookah?

Brass is mixture of copper and zinc alloys.  The lacquered brass is sealed and shiny.  The unlacquered brass patinas much like copper.  You can clean it with commercial brass cleaning polish and fine steel wool.

D'Aquino Monaco

 I die ~

Maison Charles Sunflower scones, 1st Dibs

Jonathan Berger via HB

The popularity of kitchen and bath hardware wearing brass again is gaining momentum, and mixing metals is perfectly OK!

Kitchen Designs.com

This bed is a Modernist Dream (as is James)

RL cube bed via What is James Wearing?

Fluff and Stuff

Did I my last post somehow inspire Issac Mizrahi??  He sent dyed poodles down the runway yesterday after I had posted the last picture in the rainbow bright story.  Coincidence or not?  I'm just sayin...

photos: style.com

Rainbow Bright

Everything under the sun is in tune, there is no dark side of the moon ~ Pink Floyd

Piero Lissoni  Dark Side of the Moon Table

With a little warm up on the radar the next couple days,  I want to feel the sun on my face and think of rainbows and renewal, even though Spring is still a ways away.  A few ideas to bring a little color into our lives in anticipation.

Love these vases as much as I love Chris' lamps (I feel like I know him well enough that I can call him Chris)

Christopher Spitzmiller

I am totally into bringing a little color onto my wrist!  This bracelet could make me forget about the gray days yet to come.

Solange Azagury-Partridge

WOW, a definite focal point without being a huge investment, the gypsy chandelier

Urban Outfitters

The easiest way to bring color into a room and your life.  Flowers are an instant pick me up any day

Where couldn't you put these lovely lucite canisters?

Zac Designs @ laprimakitchen

It is not too soon to prepare for those Spring showers

More wrist candy in the form of recycled resin rainbow bright 70's inspired bracelets

Sobralusa.com

Capture the joy and share it

Flip.com

A lightning rod of lucite.  The sun table could take your breath away. 

Versace

Paul Smith's signature stripe sure looks good on a mini cooper. It's like a smile on the highway

Paul Smith

Pooch Pride, grab your dog and go crazy!

 

HomeGoods Home Run

I was asked to tweak a little girl's room.  Translation:  transform her room on a shoestring budget.  "No problem", I say.  I love a challenge.  I took a stroll through Home Goods the other day and the planets must have been aligned because....SCORE!  I saw a beautiful turquoise Mongolian lamb pouf from across the room.  As I was racing towards it something distracted me.  Could it be,  a balloon dog sculpture a la Jeff Koons?  Unbelievable!  Then I looked to the left, and sitting in a corner amongst a few things was a side table that reminded me of the little gem I had admired at the New York Gift Show by a popular vendor.  GRAND SLAM!!

We are keeping the mint green wall color, black headboard, and the sisal looking carpet.  With the addition of a beautiful floral fabric remnant, a BIG cork board, butterfly wall stickers, and some paper lanterns, Viola!

Beautiful Bedding fabric

close up of similar , more expensive table

Museum worthy Jeff Koons balloon dog. 

In the end, whether it's small job or a full blown renovation with the ability to dream big, making the client happy is all that ever really matters.  That's where the satisfaction lies.

I ♥ Expressions of Love

on Valentine's Day and everyday

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

                                     W.R. Eubanks & Mitchell Brown
                                     The Greystone  Show house via Veranda