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Blogfest on Design

20130522-082015.jpg The last 2 days have been action packed. I have been attending the Blogfest on Design, which is an event hosted by the wonderful Kravet fabric company. It all started off at the Kips Bay Showhouse on Monday, finishing up with studio tours at Kravet yesterday. With tons of interesting things in between. Here is a quick look at some of those events.

20130522-082437.jpg An afternoon was spent at the Hearst building and offices for an introduction and look into the world of the HGTV magazine.

20130522-082616.jpg The magazine is fairly new to the market, but it has just taken off and is immensely popular. After meeting the incredibly upbeat editor, I can see why. Her positive energy & attitude infuse the colorful, idea filled magazine.

20130522-082859.jpg A yummy lunch was served and we were treated to a presentation by Thom Filicia, later being joined for a panel discussion with Alexa Hampton. What an energetic duo they are.

20130522-083224.jpg Fab hot pink with a smidge of green to mimic the pink and green chairs at the lunch. Great attention to detail.

20130522-083423.jpg With a lively cocktail party at the antique emporium Newel. I use the word emporium because the word store does not even begin to cut it. Newel is 5 huge floors filled with world class antiques. I have never seen anything even close to that scale of antiques in one setting. Kind of mind blowing, really.

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20130522-083850.jpg Beautiful vignettes are set up on the first floor, along with incredible artwork at every turn.

20130522-084017.jpg Loved this idea from the cocktail party. Crudités set about on a flat bed of grass. So clever, so creative.

20130522-084222.jpg A highlight of the 2 days was meeting Aerin Lauder, who presented her new line with Lee Jofa. What a cool gal. Here new fabrics are just stunning. They work beautifully along with her new brand of lifestyle goods, Aerin. It was such a pleasure meeting her.

20130522-084616.jpg One of her new Lee Jofa fabrics.

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20130522-084839.jpg Touring the Kravet studios is such a visual experience. Above are some of my favorite fabrics I spotted.

20130522-085004.jpg It was such a fun 2 days filled with tons of interesting people and experiences. The best!

20130522-085145.jpg I then met Ted and Bailey at Eataly and we picked up things for a meal outside at Madison Square park. If you have not yet been to Eataly, put it on your list, for sure. Another mind boggling experience of LOTS. Packed with food, packed with people–really an amazing spot.

More NYC adventures tomorrow. I wonder why I am really tired when my head hits the pillow each night…



 

 

Kips Bay Decorator Show House

20130521-053650.jpg Yesterday was the kick-off of the Blogfest on Design. Some of you might remember, this was the event I attended last year too. Folks from around the country coming together (who write blogs where design is part of the mix) for a few action packed days of design heaven. Pure fun for me. The day began at the Kips Bay Show House. I remember reading about Kips Bay when I was a kid, interested in design and thinking how cool it would be to see it. It is a townhouse filled with inspiration and design ideas. A different designer does each room, creating a design laboratory that is just visually amazing. It is quite hard to describe, so I will let the photos do the talking. Enjoy!

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The Gift of a ‘Thank You’ Dinner

20130519-055448.jpg We end our stay at our friend’s home in the country this morning and head into the city where I will attend the National Stationery Show today. It is our tradition when we stay here to set the table and make the dinner the night before we depart. It is a fun way to say thank you, as the host can just sit back and be feted in their own home. One of my most asked questions at the shops is what to bring as a gift when you are staying as an overnight guest. While we enjoy taking our host out for a meal as a gift, it can be so much more relaxing to have a home cooked meal. Setting the table, putting together the flowers, choosing the wine, cooking the meal–all become part of the gift. For someone who has everything, the festive evening becomes part of a memorable gift. It was an evening filled with friendship, a tasty meal, good wine, and much laughter.



 

 

Hudson, New York

20130515-060857.jpg Yesterday was a fun day bumming around Putnam and Dutchess counties seeing the sights and vintage shopping. The area is rich in history and incredibly visual at every turn. Today we will be in Columbia county where our property is located. We will spend time in historic Hudson, which is home to a slew of mind-blowing antique shops on Warren Street. The city is named after the adjacent Hudson River and ultimately after the explorer Henry Hudson. It is a place filled with inspiration–just wandering from shop to shop is good for the creative soul. Be sure to put it on your list if you are ever traveling in the area. The train ride from the city along the Hudson River is one of my very favorite. Making it an easy day trip if you want to add a little country to your city visit.



 

 

Basic Dempsey

20130513-051459.jpg We just received another order of the ‘Basic Dempsey’ from fab stationer Dempsey & Carroll. These are really just the perfect little mix & match sets. You buy 10 of the individual flat notecards in a set, and you can also buy 10 of the lined envelopes in another set. With a lovely range of colors to choose from, mixing & matching is a fun way to personalize your note writing. Or choose the same. I chose orange with orange lined envelopes (I know, very surprising) for a crisp and clean look, with a little Hermes-y, Veuve-y spin. So nice to have a stack of these at the ready to send off a quick note.

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We are off to the airport in just a bit to catch a flight to New York. 11 days of action packed goodness. Part upstate, part in the city. It is always fun to have you along for the adventure. Happy start of the week!



 

 

Happy Mother’s Day

20130512-100811.jpg From all of us at Watson Kennedy, we are sending happy & joyous wishes on this Mother’s Day. May it be filled with everything you want it to be.
Much love from Seattle, Ted



 

 

WestWard Snapshots

20130507-064841.jpg For those of you reading this in the Seattle area, you are smiling as big as I am right now as I type this. For you readers not in the area, we have just had 2 of the most spectacular May days in a row that I can ever remember. It was close to 90 degrees yesterday on Vashon Island. It really was more like a warm & sunny August day. Needless to say, we enjoyed each moment of it. Our days off are Sunday and Monday, so I am writing this from my favorite chair at our home on the island before we head to the ferry to head back to Seattle. Here are a few snapshots or “moments” from these 2 glorious days.

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Surrounding Yourself with What You Love

20130502-065448.jpg The world is filled with quite a bit of stuff. Some good, some quite good, some bad, some quite bad. It is just up to each of us to search out the things that have meaning to us. For this post I am talking about objects, but as I am writing this, I realize you could take out ‘stuff’ and insert quite a few other words, like people, experiences. Bottom line, we should be surrounding ourselves with stuff, people and experiences that bring us joy. Back to stuff. The above and below are of a game board that sits atop an ottoman we use as a coffee table at our home on Vashon Island. It is filled with things that bring us much happiness. The white pottery is something we have collected over the years, and this is a piece of that collection. It is filled with vintage pool balls with my favorite No.11 on them. The Diptyque candle is one of our very favorite scents. The tulips are, and you already know this, one of our very favorite flowers. Also included in this tableau is a gold hook that we bought from the estate of Albert Hadley, that was a gift that was given to clients when a project was completed by his firm he had with Sister Parish, Parish-Hadley. We actually bought 2, and the other one sits on the coffee table in town. I feel such a creative vibe just by having them around. And lastly, a small bowl we bought on a memorable trip to Maine, that has a piece of moss/lichen (not always sure of the difference) that TPS found on a walk with Bailey. It all conjures up this quote that I used to have painted on my showroom wall years ago about only having in your home what you believe to be beautiful and bring you happiness. Again, it really is just all stuff. But by surrounding ourselves with the things we love, it really does bring joy & fond memories of how you acquired the object. All resulting in happiness as your eyes glance over the things through the course of the day and then a lifetime.

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Domaine Tempier Bandol La Migoua

20130501-052231.jpg Wine Wednesday on this May Day continues with an entry of a very special bottle of wine from a very special family/vintner. Wines from Domaine Tempier have been one of those bottles that we enjoy on notable occasions. These are not inexpensive wines, but are worth every penny. The Peyraud family is legendary in the wine world, producing world class wine from the Bandol region in France. Their rosé (once praised by Robert Parker as the greatest rosé in the world), is a real treat each time we enjoy a bottle. But we really like the reds that they produce too. The La Migoua is one blend that is a particular favorite. We had not yet toasted the finishing of my manuscript, and were waiting for the right time and the right bottle. Monday evening out at WestWard was the right time and this was the right bottle. We had it with a simple roast chicken I made, and it paired beautifully. Kermit Lynch, the noted wine importer who initially exposed the greatness of Domaine Tempier and the Peyraud family years ago to the States writes. “If any wine can be said to have soul, it’s Tempier.” That quote could not be more perfect or more true.



 

 

A Tuesday Quote

20130430-060600.jpg Maybe it has something to do with turning 50 this year, but the quote today really struck me when I first saw it amongst the stack of quote cards when I was straightening up the shop at the end of the day Saturday. People I have admired along the way have always had a youthful spirit, regardless of their age. I think of myself as a small child and remember the feeling of all the possibilities the world & life had to offer. That should not be lost, at any age. “The wisest keeps something of the vision of a child.” Sage words indeed.