NYC Day 1

I am lucky enough to live within a few hours drive of New York City, so when I get the urge to go up there, it’s not too difficult. Sometimes, I just go for the day, but on this trip, I went for two days, in part because I was going to an evening lecture. But then some opportunities presented themselves for the second day, so I was glad I’d chosen to stay over.

When I arrived, I checked in to the hotel, and hopped in a cab to head down to Soho. I’ve been hearing about the shop, C. Wonder for ages, and thought I’d check it out. The founder of C. Wonder is Tory Burch’s ex-husband and while there’s some overlap between their two styles, but he was in the fashion business way before she was. Although C. Wonder’s pieces look good on-line, I was glad I checked them out in person before I purchased anything.The store is great-looking and I especially loved the Chinoiserie paper in the back room with the huge skylight. The merchandising was great, the merchandise wasn’t.

After I left C. Wonder and had some lunch, I wandered around and took lots of pictures of great looking buildings, which are legion in NYC.

Finally, I headed uptown to the “design district” and before the lecture began, I had a few moments to stop into Gracious Home, an amazing store! They have everything from gorgeous china, glassware and silver, 

to aisles of kitchen equipment,

from kitchen towels to bath towels,

and even a sink or two!

Finally, it was time for Mitchell Owens’ lecture on decorator, Ruby Ross Wood, presented by the Decorators Club. I was greeted at the New York School of Interior Design by none other than fellow blogger and friend, Emily Eerdmans! It was such a treat to see a familiar face, the first of several that evening. I finally got to meet Mitch Owens, whom I’ve been e-mailing and Facebooking with for ages. He’s every single bit as charming, knowledgeable and interesting in person as I suspected he’d be.

His lecture on Ruby Ross Wood was fascinating and although she’s no longer well-known, her work stands the test of time. She was Billy Baldwin’s mentor for a number of years, until he went out on his own.  She was a very versatile decorator and even designed her own home on Long Island.

One house Mitch spoke about was in Jamaica and had the problem of only being used a few times a year (!) and termites. So Mrs. Wood furnished the house with pieces made of metal, including this faux painted cabinet.

This is the other side of the orange sofa,

I love the squiggly-legged side table! (Sorry about the bad pictures – they were taken with my phone of slides Mitch was showing. )

After the lecture, I was kindly included at a small dinner for Mitch. I met some new friends there, including Nancy Boszhardt, President of the Decorators Club, who was recently featured in the House section of New York Social Diary. Also at the table was Robyn Pocker, president of J. Pocker Framing, whom I will introduce you to tomorrow, and both Mitch and Emily. Lots of fun and fascinating conversation.

All in all, it was an excellent day in NYC, filled with new and old friends and lots of laughter!