I’m on my way to London for design immersion. I will be there during the week of The London Design Festival, which takes place 17-25 September to celebrate and promote London as the design capital of the world and as the gateway to the international creative community. Events that I plan to attend cover the range of classic to contemporary: [Read more…] about London Calling…
Shop Provence with Me
Today I have a nice surprise for you readers- a guest who will visually transport us to her small medieval village near the Roman town of Vaison-la-Romaine. She could be the most exciting French interior design resource you have come across in a while. Susannah Cameron is a devoted Francophile with a successful career in architecture and construction. Based in Provence she and her husband Hugh are uniquely positioned to offer exquisite French décor to the world with their online boutique Chez Pluie. She provides the decorative arts history to position her beautiful inventory into the rich context from which it comes. The back story makes all the difference, and can we ever learn enough? (<–The answer to that would be the one exception to the never say never quote.) Please welcome Susannah- today she will school us on armoires, french glass bottles, wine, wine tables, and the love of all things Louis. So pour yourself a great glass of wine and enjoy Susannah’s decorative arts lesson: [Read more…] about Shop Provence with Me
Visitor's Guide to San Francisco
This guide is for the San Francisco tourist, from a recent visitor: a photographic guide of pointers that bring together a list to choose from when planning your visit. Points of interest, noteworthy areas of the city, factoids, historically famous San Francisco spots, best views, shopping suggestions and recommended restaurants. The good news is that the city is not so big that you can’t fit in quite a few of these items onto your agenda during trip to the area. Come explore the beautiful city of San Francisco here: Come explore the beautiful city of San Francisco here: [Read more…] about Visitor's Guide to San Francisco
Lucullus, Culinary Antiques in the French Quarter
Today I am going to take you inside of one of the greatest shops on earth, LUCULLUS, which specializes in culinary antiques. Located in New Orleans’ French Quarter for almost thirty years, the shop offers antiques from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Every object depicts or complements the grand pursuits of gastronomy. This is the first store to specialize exclusively in “culinary antiques”, a phrase coined by LUCULLUS. [Read more…] about Lucullus, Culinary Antiques in the French Quarter
Art Deco – Influences and Furniture, and a Resource
Art Deco (c.1908 to 1935)
Art Deco began in Europe, particularly Paris, in the early years of the 20th century, but didn’t really take hold until after World War I. As the world let its hair down after the hell of WW1, Deco truly reigned until the outbreak of World War II. This particular era of decorative arts seems more nostalgic than most. Perhaps because it yielded such creativity, or maybe because it is reflective of a time where so many things happened on the historical time line. A sampling of this active time in history: the Empire State Building “scraped the sky”, assembly lines were created, Edison invented the first talking films, Lindbergh forever changed aviation with the first solo flight across the Atlantic, Penicillin was discovered, Pluto was discovered, Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered, the “unsinkable” Titanic fatefully set sail, jazz was born, the Charleston and the Tango were the rage, Cubism was the hip art style and Picasso was leading the way. It was the era of Prohibition, Fascism, Darwinism, Surrealism, the Great Depression and gangsters. Certainly not dull. How did all of this translate into the decorative arts of the time? [Read more…] about Art Deco – Influences and Furniture, and a Resource
