Life's been a little crazy lately and I feel the blog has gotten the short end of the stick for sure, so thanks for hanging in with me even though there've been a lot of days without posts. I decided to do another throwback-style post today and share something I worked on three years ago.
Trad Home, Traditional Home's digital magazine was still under wraps and being produced during the early months of 2011. There was a lot of industry buzz around the issue and it was a very exciting time. We were really trying to turn people's notion of "traditional" on its head. At the time, I was also producing my first major trend feature story completely on my own (plus a bunch of other stories) for the print mag, so I actually didn't have a lot to do with the digital version, but this was my contribution. Each editor had to select a color and source several products for the premier issue. The thing I like about this story—aside from the sorely-needed shot of sunshine it's providing—is that I would absolutely choose all of these products again. None of them seem dated; they're all as classic and relevant as they were three years ago. And not only would I choose them all again for the editorial, I would actually choose each of them in my own life. Sadly, DVF Home no longer exists. I really liked a lot of their tabletop and bedding pieces, so that's a shame. Another thing this does is illustrate that even if you're afraid of a lot of bold color, there are small-scale ways to bring in some brights in order to add interest without overwhelming yourself. I'm a bold color girl, but I can appreciate that some might like to keep their house toned down. (A little surprise here and there never hurt anyone, though.) A bright yellow business card holder, aside from being chic, is practical, too, for finding-it-in-the-abyss-of-your-purse purposes. In addition, you get to see what I look like with a blow-out and my head tipped at an angle, so there's that, too. photo: my own Xx a
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Insert obligatory sentence about how I can't believe Thanksgiving is only a week away. We are still at that age and stage in our lives when our parents host the holidays, so while we host a lot of less-formal gatherings, we have yet to host a big family holiday meal. Right now, I'm okay with that, but I do look forward to hosting sometime, maybe when the girls are just a bit older and can both feed themselves fully!
I have wonderful memories of a Thanksgiving in Hoboken (pre-children) when I had to work during the day at my retail job and some great friends came over for a late dinner. We cooked an excellent meal, I had a special woodsy centerpiece made at the florist, we used our wedding silver and china (Wedgwood Oberon, goes great with a fall palette), and we had a great time. I felt like such a grown-up. It was so much fun. Until we host again I shall live a bit vicariously. I've pinned a few of my favorite table ideas (and some additional inspiration) for Thanksgiving to a board on Pinterest. Check them out and if you're so inclined, feel free to follow me, too! I haven't been pinning as much as I'd like lately, but hoping to change that soon. Do you host Thanksgiving? How do you style your table? I have this great coat that I wear faithfully each fall. It's well over a decade old now, though I can't quite remember when I bought it. I love the colors of the coat, and it receives a lot of compliments. However, buttons are missing and the lining is torn. I continue to wear it, but it definitely needs some TLC. I'm not ready to replace it completely, but while it worked well in New York, I'm finding it's sometimes a little thin for Syracuse. I like a coat that stands out in the crowd, and these coats are just the type that would keep me warm and dry in style.
Kelly Wearstler's style is immediately recognizable and endlessly inspiring. Her interiors and objets always feel so swanky—which, frankly, is a word I wish more people would use again. I was just perusing her site the other day in fact, getting lost in some of the color combinations.
This week, Wearstler's collaboration with Paperless Post launched and it's as chic as you would expect. Signature animal prints, metallic and stone motifs, drawn details, and wit translated to stationery and showcased throughout 40+ designs give you plenty of options to choose from, whether you're planning a cocktail party with friends or want to send a far-flung loved one a note on the personal stationery. Nearly all of the online styles can be printed on paper, and four of them can be customized further with a photo. A few of my favorites, including Feline-Horizontal (above), which I previously loved as a linen fabric (available through Groundworks/Lee Jofa): A couple of years ago at the NY gift show, I discovered then-new home accessories company Pehr (pronounced pair). I immediately asked founder Jennifer Kelly to borrow napkins and table runners for an entertaining story I was working on and carried them right off the floor on the last day of the show. Jen and childhood friend and partner Rebecca Perren are based in Toronto and their designs are bright, modern, and easily mix-and-matchable. Since that gift show they have introduced additional patterns and expanded their product offerings to include other home items beyond the table linens they began with. Now comes the launch of Petit Pehr—a collection for the younger set—inspired by their own growing families' needs and demand from customers and retailers. Bedding, swaddles, and storage come in three color ways: blue/red, pink/citron, and grey/yellow with complementary patterns mixed in. A sampling of the new collection:
The last several days have been a bit insane, so I'm glad it's Friday! Hope everyone has a fun weekend planned! A few lovely things I saw this week (click images for purchasing/details): This 14" diameter bowl ($40, Horchow) is made of recycled metal and jute rope. The pattern reminds me of dream catchers without the feathers and it's always nice to have natural materials mixed in with your decor. I have an oval dining table, and it seems so hard to find placemats that I like and will fit well all next to each other. But regardless of fit, I love the colors of these ($36 each, ABC Home) and the metallic thread woven throughout the raw hemp. I also like that they're handcrafted at an economically sustainable embroidery co-op in Vietnam. I know, I know. These have been around a while, but I do truly love the color combos and the space-saving quality of these nylon whisks ($18 each, Gretel). And I never got to feature them when I wanted to, so let me get it out of my system. There. I'm curious to know how they stand up under regular use. Has anyone used one? This is one of those cases where something functional has been made beautiful. Looking at this piece you almost don't realize it's meant to put flies and other pests down ($14, Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co.). It's handcrafted in Germany and made from leather and beechwood. Little Sun ($28, MoMA Store) is a solar-powered LED lamp developed by artist Olafur Eliasson and solar engineer Frederik Ottesen. Every purchase makes it possible for Little Suns, which provide clean reliable light, to be sold at locally affordable prices to the 1.6 billion people worldwide living in communities without access to the electrical grid.
One of the easiest ways to create a look that's truly your own is to include handmade products in your house. The best thing about handmade goods is that they're generally limited in quantity, so few people will have the same pieces as you, and even those that aren't so limited are still special because it's very difficult to achieve uniform precision on each creation. But, I bet artists and designers prefer it that way; the happy accidents and imperceptible mistakes behind each piece may be totally unrecognizable to you but tell the story of their process. The story behind each piece, or more precisely, the story behind the Maker of each piece, is exactly what the site BRIKA is after. How the designers got started, what music they listen to when creating, what inspires them—all of that matters and creates a connection to people all over the country pursuing their passion. One of those people is Karen Young (above), the Brooklyn-based designer behind Hammocks & High Tea. Karen is a joy—I've been lucky enough to work with her in the past—and is just one of dozens of women (mostly) and men featured who've dedicated their lives to the imprecise, but monumentally fulfilling, work of crafting their products by hand. Karen is selling some of her fabulous dopp kits in exclusive patterns for the site. Also, completely randomly, I came across jewelry maker Penelope Rakov who went to my high school, graduating only a few years ahead of me (I remembered her name)! Small world. Many of the products featured on BRIKA are modern interpretations of traditional techniques practiced by past craftspeople and artisans, and the founders of the site hope that the pieces bought today will become new heirlooms to be passed down. Here are my favorite products available at BRIKA right now (click the images to purchase or see more): Check out the site and let me know which pieces are your favorite! product images via Brika
Xx a I have done some minimal fashion and beauty coverage here and there, but it's not my forte. With all the spring 14 runway shows happening though, I thought I'd give fashion a nod with my under $50 picks for this week. The upshot of suburban life? The new designer collections at Target aren't totally decimated when you stroll in there at 8pm on launch day. I scored this pullover ($35, above), a skirt, and another top. I love coats with funnel collars; whenever I wear them it makes me feel like some sort of undercover operative. For this baby ($49.95) from H&M, it's a toss-up between the gray and the black version, which has imitation leather sleeves. I don't wear tons of jewelry because I'm sensitive to metals (not real gold or platinum, lucky for my husband), but I like the matte finish and style of this cuff ($48) available at Macy's, so I would wear it as regularly as I could. For some reason I don't usually go for cap toe shoes, but I do like the blue and black pairing here ($49.50) from Loft.
We had a fun afternoon Sunday at the local Parade of Homes. We toured eight houses, each from different area builders, and I think it was a successful show. It's always amusing listening to all the other people touring the houses to see who likes what.
For the most part, I think everyone played it pretty safe design-wise. These showhouses generally aren't about trends or pushing the envelope, so I didn't see any extremely bold colors, patterns, or off-beat design choices, but I saw a lot that I liked that would appeal to the average homeowner. There were a few things that weren't necessarily my taste, sure, but nothing that really turned me off—that has happened in the past. I wanted to share the elements and ideas I liked best that, for the most part, anyone could do. Well, today was a lot of things, but let's just say today was a Monday. One thing did go well, which was a quick meeting with the event coordinator regarding our vow renewal. I looked at some options for where we can have the brief ceremony if the weather is nice enough to hold it outside. I also chose the tablecloth and napkin colors, now that I have a tentative plan in place for the decorations. It's going to be pretty low key, because I am going to try and do it myself (party decor I tend to do DIY, that's about the only thing). Since I'm still going to be really busy between now and October fourth, I'm getting a little stressed about fitting it all in. Some days I catch myself calling it "the wedding" and I'm trying to find a balance between having enough decoration that it looks pretty and not so many that it looks like I am trying to recreate the big day. I am using a slightly more grown up version of our original color palette and I modeled the invitation after our original. But most of our wedding decor was floral, and we just don't have the budget for that. So I'm going to try a few things and hope they work out. If they do, I'll post them. Here is a 10-year vow renewal I came across today from Green Wedding Shoes. It's more "done" than ours will be; of course, they had an event planner and photographer. I can't afford to rent the fancy chairs or put up a big backdrop but I do want to make sure it feels special and pretty. And apparently, this site is like a secret weapon for engaged girls: Cloud Parade, which is probably the most dangerous thing to happen to me right now. Someone hide my wallet. |
#checkout this blog with shop-themed puns
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