Thursday, November 29, 2007

Jingle All The Way To SoDo



I snagged these photos from tabletop design diva Rosanna Bowles ... because
Saturday morning at 8 AM, there is a giant sale at Rosanna's south of downtown Seattle (SoDo)warehouse. Guess who's gonna' be first in line?! (Hey, I missed the summer sale that I talked about here after we got into an accident, so I deserve this!)

I am TOTALLY enamoured of the black pedestals and gold filigree dessert plates & Kings Road gold crown collection ('cause EVERY Diva needs a crown, right?!) and the graphic chandelier, tree, and reindeer plates.....I hope I score some of these at the sale. I don't even mind blemishes!
After I've shopped, I'm heading to a client's home to decorate.
Jingling all the way! It may even SNOW!

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Holiday Inspiration


My presentation at this years' Willows Lodge Girlfriends Weekend event was once again a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I just love this chance to provide inspiration, ideas, and resources to a wonderful group of women who are devoted to having a great time! It was a much smaller group than we normally have, and I have to say that I actually enjoyed it more, since I was able to stand right at the end of the conference table and chat with them personally all through the presentation. I had so much fun that I just kept on talking and talking....half an hour past my scheduled end time. Sheesh!!!

My goal at these kinds of seminars is always to get people to think in a new way about their decorating. No limits, no rules, no preconceived designer conceptions. The themes I create are just to illustrate, not to push some new 'hot look' for this year. (I was asked to write an article like that once...couldn't do it. I had to write it in a way that said stay true to your own style, express your own personality, don't be pushed into buying what's new if it's not YOU. It didn't get published because it didn't sell products!) I truly beleive that holidays are personal, so your style should come through.

This year my presentation was built around the theme 'Holiday BLING!' I featured three themed setups that served as neutral schemes that anyone could glean inspiration from...

'Whispering White' had a decidedly 'shabby chic' style. Varied tones of white & ivory, white metal accents, and antique linens & lace. For winter, this look is the equivalent of wrapping your home in a soft cashmere sweater.

'Glittering Gold' is a rich tapestry of golds, ambers, browns, and coppers. This traditional look speaks of Frankincense & Myrrh and is perfect for homes with Mediterranean colors.

The lamp above has a bare wire shade form decked out in gorgeous tapestry ribbons...

'Sparkling Silver' combines traditional silver and crystal for a shimmering update on traditional, Victorian, and even cottage decor. The lampshade above is a frame with crystals suspended from the bottom ring, and a crystal chandelier from IKEA sitting on top. It made the light dance across the walls!

And O I love tarnished silver! (With a slight tarnish not blackened!) I just think it has a gold shimmer that is so much warmer than perfectly polished silver is - but that's just me. So many people have family heirloom silver, that they don't use because of the upkeep. Well, let it tarnish a bit, and heap it full of ornaments to show it off for the holidays! No clean up!

Once I had talked about all three themes, I grabbed a few ornaments in bright colors and added them to each setup, to illustrate how color can change a neutral scheme. Really had fun with that - add hot pink to silver & crystal, and everyone says 'Sex and the City!' Add orange and blue to the gold, and it looks even more like a far Eastern bazaar. Add brown to the white, and it just looks even warmer. (One gal snapped photos to show her daughter for a winter wedding idea) It was fun to see them react to the changes. I popped the hot pink into the white, and then said it needed to be a softer pink - they were all shouting "Nooooo! It's pretty!" When I put soft sage green in with the white, they began raving about how you could go with the whole 'shabby garden' look and even add clay pots and moss balls. O how I love these gals!!!



Here's a not-so-great room shot. Ah well...

I told the gals that one year I'd love to be a GUEST at this weekend event, but I really don't want to give up my seminar. One of them said "Well, you could stand up there and talk for a minute, then come sit with us and say 'OOOh! WOW!' and take notes. Then get back up there...." Cracked me up! I was thinking more that I'd stay for the whole weekend, take part in all of the classes and receptions and winemaker dinners with them, and STILL do my Saturday morning seminar. We'll see...

Monday, November 19, 2007

A New Place to Play, Part Deux!


The holiday display at the Faded Elegance Antiques booth went in on Thursday night!
This tiny space is like a jewelry box, filled to overflowing with sparkling & glittering Holiday finery. Ornaments, wreaths, stockings, vintage paper packs, and fab gift items made with vintage materials await...

Replacing the previous 'leaves made from music sheets' are a bevy of bells.
I took old but not-quite-vintage paper honeycomb bells (from about 1970, I think) and 'aged' them with a few of my secret methods. Then I dangled them from the birch branches. They look a bit softer, more 'shabby' and in tune with things here now, don't you think?!
(Dona is so smart - she knew they weren't really old! It was really fun to meet one of my blog readers in person,too. She's such a lovely,sweet woman, and when I have time I am going to go back in and check out the goodies in HER booth!)

Vintage Shiny Brite ornaments and delicate tree topper spires, ceramic sleighs, and more whimsy in soft creams and warm reds. Makes me ALMOST ready to decorate at home! (Almost)

And Faded Elegance is having a Holiday Open House this week...23rd thru the 26th. Lots of giveaways, discounts, and treats!

Monday, November 5, 2007

Green Printing for Dummies

We're looking into organic cotton t-shirts this week at the shop. We recently started offering recycled cotton totes as alternatives to plastic shopping bags in our store. This was another foray into screenprinting for us that led to quite an education in green options for printing. Apparently there is no best option for eco-friendly printing as most have their positives and negatives. This isn't a big surprise though as most green choices involve tradeoffs of some sort. A quick search on the web turns up lots of info, but no clear winner. Plastisol inks (plastic derivatives) are the most commonly used in printing and are easy to deal with for most printers. They don't really dry out like water based inks and last longer than the material they are printed on. The water based inks don't have the nasty chemicals, but they dry out and have to be cleaned out of the screens right after printing. This puts more ink in the waste stream and causes cleanup hassles involving more water use and energy. I thought I had a better shot with the latest plastisol inks that use acrylic softeners instead of pthalates and pvc. The problem is, they cost at least three times as much. This drives the clothing price up and makes mistakes that much more expensive. Hopefully, as the usage increases of these new eco-friendly inks the prices will go down. For now, the searching and experimenting continues...

Saturday, November 3, 2007

A New Place to Play!

I had a new display opportunity come up this past week, and it was really fun to do something different than my normal 'contemporary' style displays at the wineries and gift shows.
Take a peek:

Antique Mall Space.....Before......

And After......

The best part was being able to infuse this dealers' space with a mood that I'm really drawn to right now. Old worn surfaces, textures, and colors that evoke Autumn. This is really more 'me' than anything I do for other clients. Though small, it was a fun space to decorate!

Just goes to show that visual merchandising is valuable no matter what kind of space you have. And Antique Malls...well, it seems to me that anything you can do to add personality and a 'story' to them will be a good thing. Shelves crammed with dusty tchotchkes is just so old. This shop is filled with gals who really know how to set their wares off to best advantage....I love shopping here!

Detail shot: Since the mall owner covered the one wall with sheet music, I cut a bunch of leaves out of old music pages, and fluttered them from the branches of a 'tree' in the corner. This adds to the 'story' of Autumn gatherings.

Such a nice break from the 'norm' for me...Thanks, Kimberly!

If you want to see this booth and a bunch of great Shabby fun from other dealers, check out Faded Elegance Antique Mall in Everett, Wa. - 2112 Hewitt Avenue, just East of the Events Center. The tea is wonderful, too!
And tell 'em DivaDeb sent you!