Popped the Pop-Up!

Well, the Pigtown Anglo-American Pop-Up was a huge success! Actually, so successful that I kept it open for an extra two weeks at the request of the shopping village where I had opened.

We had planned to open with a little sip & shop party, but I ended up not getting into the space until the day before I had planned to open, so that plan was scrapped. And working all day to set up the shop didn’t really put me in the mood to party. Plus, we had a huge storm that evening and got 2.5” of rain! Just what we needed (haha!).

My friend, Stiles, helped me finesse the shop’s final look and made it really look spectacular. He knew exactly how to arrange the display shelves and tables perfectly, and brought along risers and stands, as well as ladders from his shop, Halcyon House Antiques.

I was fascinated to see that almost all the really HUGE pieces sold first. Platters, trays, tureens, candlesticks, bowls and pitchers, all went in the first two weekends. In fact, I had sold so much, that I had to plunder my house to get more items to fill the shelves.

The shop was located in a 50-year old mixed-use development, and one of the things I loved about it was that it was full of light, no matter how dreary the day was.

As always, my favourite pieces are the glass domes! Most of them sold, but in the meantime, I had fun filling them with both items from the shop and seasonal Baby Boo pumpkins.

And who doesn’t love transferware! I had it in a range of colours, including the rare mulberry!

All in all, it was a fun experience. At times, I felt like it was a revolving cocktail party with all of the friends coming and going. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to buy or just to say hello!

Quilts, Again…

If you’re following me on Instagram, you have seen that I am have been seriously collecting Amish and American patchwork quilts in preparation for the upcoming Pigtown Anglo-American Pop-Up Shop.

One of my theories of retailing is that I would never sell anything that I don’t love, would not have in my house or would not collect. When I began thinking about these quilts, I realized that I have been collecting them for several decades!In fact, over the weekend, I opened a container only to find my first quilt purchase.

But it’s not just me who has a renewed interest in quilts. This recent piece in Fashionista outlines the resurgance in using quilts in fashion.  And in the recent article on my friend’s house on Nantucket in Architectural Digest, there were quilts everywhere. In the “Design Notes” there was a mention of the quilts, with a reference to Calvin Klein. It was noted as “price upon request” which generally means that if you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it.

From the Calvin Klein website, comes this:

CALVIN KLEIN is pleased to present a series of vintage quilts, hand-selected from across the country, exclusively for the brand’s Madison Avenue flagship. Emblematic of both American heritage and a homespun, handcrafted ethos of days gone by, these one-of-a-kind pieces range in origin, dating from the 19th to early 20th centuries. Some arrestingly graphic, others intricately wrought, these heirloom objects are entrenched in America’s visual vocabulary, and synonymous in many ways with Chief Creative Officer Raf Simons’ vision for CALVIN KLEIN. At Simons’ debut for Fall 2017, vintage quilts lined oversized, utilitarian parkas, or became panel detailing on classic Wall Street topcoats; most recently they were seen on the Spring 2018 CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC runway, tucked under models’ arms.

Click the image above to see all of the quilts in the collection. No prices!

But Klein is not the only one who is using patchwork quilts in their designs. Rosetta Getty had these designs, using the Log Cabin pattern, in her spring 2018 collection.

I would murder for this jacket, from the collection of Emily Bode,

this is from Libertine,

and these are from Mimi Prober, all from their Fall 2018 collections

Quilts in fashion is such a trend that the New York Times has even written about it, in a piece amusingly titled, “This Old Thing?” For quilts that aren’t in museum condition, you can always re-purpose them like these pieces from Kelsey Parkerhouse’s Carleen.

So, I am letting you know that quilting is having a moment, and I am here to help!

#Instagram: Whirlwind Few Months!

It’s been a whirlwind few months, with work events, a trip back to England and all of the other things I try to fit into my weeks! I will have a fun announcement in a few days, so stay tuned for that, both here and on my Instagram.

Sadly, a lot of magnolia trees were badly damaged over the winter. Luckily, this one wasn’t!

My friend did the flowers for this spring wedding. Just stunning.

Friends with benefits! In this case, a huge hedge of lilacs, and permission to snip away!

We took a quick trip up to historic Odessa, Delaware, a completely charming village.

It’s always fun to spot your childhood home on someone else’s Instagram feed!

I was invited to a beautiful dinner at the Walters Art Museum.

Before it got too hot to eat outside!

There’s nothing quite as refreshing as a gin & tonic on a steamy afternoon.

Our hearts were completely broken by the newsroom murders in Annapolis.

This might be a hint.

This might be a hint, too.

Check back soon for a big announcement! I hope that you’ll be as excited about it as I am!

There Was a House in Nantucket…

… that is owned by someone I know, and was recently featured in Architectural Digest, with an article written by former blogger, Mitch Owen of Aesthete’s Lament. I’d had a bit of a preview of the piece when the owner shared the book that Markham Roberts, the decorator, had produced for her. The house isn’t exactly nautical-themed, as many there are, but it does have dashes here and there of the ocean and beaches that surround the island. One thing that I noticed was the number of quilts scattered around the house. You KNOW I love quilts, so it was fun to see so many!

I thought I’d share some of the pictures of this wonderful house, all from Architectural Digest’s June issue.

Symmetry rules in the entrance hall, where a pair of Delft-vase lamps and objets d’art sit on an antique table from John Rosselli antiques.

Painted panels by Bob Christian hang in the living room

In the paneled living room, a mix of patterned and printed fabrics covers the custom sofa and pillows, along with an antique quilt.

Custom dining chairs are slipcovered in a No. 9 Thompson linen. Painted floor by Bob Christian.

Raoul Textiles linen covers the seating at the kitchen table. Custom pot rack by Ann Morris.

A pair of 19th-century English armchairs in a GP & J Baker stripe cozy up to the living-room fireplace.

In the master bedroom, Roberts deployed the same Bennison floral chintz on the walls, curtains, lamp shades, pillows, and vanity skirt.

A John Robshaw Textiles linen covers the master bath’s vaulted ceiling.

A flock of painted-wood shorebirds by Pat Gardner perch above the guest bathtub.

A stone path leads to a marsh.

Hope you enjoyed this tour!

Ascot Opening Day + Ladies Day

One of my favourite scenes in “My Fair Lady” is the one at the Ascot Races. The costumes are by Cecil Beaton and they are entirely black and white.

This year’s Ascot races are taking place this week, and on the first day, new fashion icon, Meghan Markle channeled the classic movie in a black and white outfit.

There were also other elegant black and white outfits at the first few days of the races. All of these images have been collected on my Pinterest page: What to Wear to the Races… Or Not where you can see several seasons of races and what people wear.

It is always so much fun to Google “Ascot Hats” and see what amazing creations the guests are wearing!

Which hat do you like the most?