Halloween

It’s really amazing what a HUGE event Halloween has become. I think that it’s now second only to Christmas in terms of buying and decorating. But it’s really easy to go overboard and veer into the tacky category of decorating.

If I had children, I am sure I’d put a lot more effort into decorating for Halloween than I do now. Having access to old medical books and their scary illustrations would make a perfect launching point for a line of Halloween decorations.

However, I thought I’d share some of the prettier and more elegant decorations I’ve found.

My friend Loi at Tone on Tone has Halloween down to an elegant science.

Black rails + orange pumpkins + white stairs = Perfection

All you need to make these is a drill.

You knew I’d have a dome in this collection!

Spiderweb tablecloth

Oh, look! More domes.

If you’re going to have spiders, make them elegant!

Wine bottles spray-painted matte and gloss black, with black candles.

A good use for the antique apothecary bottle I found earlier this year.

Because of the big tea caddy exhibition I am working on that starts on November 4th, I am probably not even going to be home on Halloween. I usually just leave a big bowl of candy, and I have to say, it’s usually got a few pieces left when I get home.

What’s Happening

People ask me all the time to tell them what’s happening in Baltimore, so I have two upcoming events to tell you about that I am involved with.

First is the Valleys Planning Council’s Art  for Land’s Sake Show & Sale, a biannual event featuring local artists. The Valleys Planning Council’s mission is to conserve land and resources, preserve historic character and maintain the rural feel and land uses in the valleys just north of Baltimore, a place where I spend a lot of time.

Here are some of my favourite pieces in the show.

Art for Land’s Sake is held at the stunning Caves Farm, a large historic equestrian center just north of Baltimore. Tickets to the Preview Party on Friday, October 20th are available here. Tickets for Saturday and Sunday are $5.00 per person. Click here for more details.

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I am a charter member of Team Tea Caddy, three of us working on a major exhibition of historic tea caddies at Homewood House at the Johns Hopkins University, beginning Sunday, November 5th. I didn’t know much about tea caddies until recently, and have discovered that they tell the fascinating history of the movement of tea from China to England and then on to America. In the 1700’s, tea was more valuable than gold, and these caddies show how it was treasured.

The earliest were made of china and porcelain, and then silver, wood, tortoiseshell and ivory.

While many of the forms are similar, their decoration and origin is literally all over the map!

This amazing collection has been assembled by Mark Bramble, Broadway producer, director and the writer of 42nd Street, which just re-opened in London earlier this year. Because of his extensive travels writing and producing Broadway shows, he’s had the opportunity to add pieces to his collection from all over the world.

The exhibition will be open from November 5th through December 15 at Homewood House & Museum. Mark will be giving a free lecture (tix are required) on his collection and signing his book on November 16th at Johns Hopkins University.

I hope to see you at one or both of these wonderful events.

I’ll Take This… Even though it’s in the country!

I went out to see my friend Sam, who painted the beautiful portrait of Connor several years ago, and realized that another house on the huge old property where he lives is for sale. Then I saw some pictures of it on a friend’s Instagram feed and just knew I had to hunt it up.

It is a 6 bedroom/6.5 bathroom that clocks in at just over 9,000 square feet. But the best part is that it’s the original house on a huge farm property that has now been mostly tastefully subdivided.

Unlike a lot of houses, this one has been left to age gracefully. No one ripped the wisteria off the porch,

added a brand new “chef’s” stove,

tore out the old radiators with plate warmers,

added tacky plastic shutters,

glassed in the original sleeping porch,

or demolished the old picnic pavilion.

It would be criminal for the next owners of this house to modernize it.

If you’re going to own a place like this, you are obligated to be a good steward of the property, and not ruin it for the next generations of owners. For more inforation and images, please click here.