I am Giving Away Billy Baldwin, so Let Me Know if You Want Him.

I stopped in at the Book Thing today to see what was there, and to drop off a dozen or two books. Some of the shelves were pretty bare, but Saturday is their busy day because there’s a farmers’ market a few blocks away and a lot of people go both places.

On the shelf, under some other books, was a pristine copy of Billy Baldwin Remembers. As I opened it, a few pieces of paper fell out. One was a letter from the publisher to the book reviewer, asking for a review of the book. And if the reviewer didn’t want to do it, then a request to pass it along to the women’s or society editor.  How times have changed! The other papers were photographs to be used in the review. One was a picture of Baldwin, standing in a room, and the other two were rooms he decorated, including Diana Vreeland’s famous Garden in Hell Red Room. So, just leave a comment telling everyone which designer you think is heir to Baldwin’s classic style, and Connor-pup will pick his favourite on Friday, September 25th.

Billy Baldwin Symposium in Baltimore

Next month, the Evergreen House Museum will be hosting an all-day symposium of Balitmore’s Billy Baldwin and his work. The symposium is being offered as the culmination of the months-long exhibition on Billy Baldwin at Evergreen. The events of the day are varied, with some terrific speakers leading the way.

From Evergreen:

Furniture, textiles, fine art, and photographs illustrate the professional evolution of Baltimore-born William "Billy" Baldwin (1903–1983), probably the most ingenious of 20th-century interior designers. Throughout a career spanning five decades, the so-called dean of American decorators introduced a more relaxed and practical interior design sensibility with guiding principles that could be followed by anyone, and which still are today. The exhibition focuses attention on Baldwin's life-long pride in his Monument City origins, and includes vignettes representing three of his Maryland-based commissions that show the development of his now-iconic design vocabulary

SYMPOSIUM: "Thoroughly Modern Billy: The Career and Legacy of Baltimore's Billy Baldwin"

October 9, 9:30am–4pm, Evergreen Museum & Library

PROGRAM

8:45–9:30am / Registration & Continental Breakfast Reception

9:30–9:45am / Welcome

9:45am–12pm / Session One

JAMES A. ABBOTT, Director and Curator, Evergreen Museum & Library, Johns Hopkins University: "Baltimore's Billy Baldwin"

STEVEN SUTOR, Senior Interior Design Associate, Chambers: Title TBA

12–1:15pm / Lunch & Exhibition Viewing

1:15–4pm / Session Two

EDWARD ZAJAC, Interior Designer and Former Assistant at Baldwin & Martin, Inc.: “My Life with Billy B. in NYC”

ADAM LEWIS, Interior Designer and Author: "Billy Baldwin: The Great American Decorator"

PANEL DISCUSSION — Moderated conversation featuring Baltimore-based friends of Billy Baldwin, symposium speakers, and a question-and-answer period.

For more information on this event, please click here or e-mail here.

The Dowager Duchess

I was poking around and remembered that I had referenced the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, the former Deborah Mitford on several other occasions.

She became the Duchess when her husband’s older brother died during World War II. At that time, he was married to Kathleen (Kick) Kennedy, the older sister of JFK. She died several years later in a plane crash and is buried next to her late husband at Chatsworth. They spent their honeymoon at a cottage on the Chatsworth property. In a book entitled “The Englishwoman’s House”, by Derry Moore, one of the women he interviewed is Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire, who had this to say about the house where she lived:
You can sit in the drawing-room on the first floor and be unaware that a thousand people are in the house at the same time. So well built is it, that the faintest murmur, like a distant sea, is all you hear…  I also found some more images of the young Duchess, who was really quite a beauty. Here she is in 1941. Attending an event in 1954. Becoming a Dame Commander of The Royal Victorian Order, bestowed by her friend, HM QEII. The Duke and Duchess’s 50th Wedding Anniversary, which they shared with 500 other couples celebrating theirs. An elegant and, no doubt, charming Lady.

Yoga Bear

There is a bear called Santra who lives in a zoo in Finland. Upon awakening from her naps, she routinely does a round of yoga exercises which lasts about 15 minutes. And, relax…These delightful photos were taken by Meta Penca, a 29-year-old web programmer from Slovenia.

Sale @ Halcyon House – You MUST Go!

As you know, if you’ve been reading Pigtown*Design for any length of time, Halcyon House Antiques is my absolute favourite shop in Baltimore. I love every single thing in there and I love the two owners, Stiles Colwill and Jonathan Gargiulo, whose impeccable taste is reflected in the items in the shop. And I adore Eric, the manager of the store. Visits to Halcyon House are always a highlight in my week.Halcyon House is having a sale, beginning September 14th, to make room for a shipment of goods from London and New York. As Stiles said, there’s only so much room in the shop, and even less in the storage areas!  But you need to hurry out to Halcyon House because the sale’s only on for two weeks!

Here are some of the goodies on offer.

Beautifully-shaped lime green vases in a craquelure finish.  Gorgeous dogwood plates reminiscent of a de Gournay wallpaperCanvas and leather carry-all bags. I can think of hundreds of uses for any of these. Blanc de Chine figurine Bird and Birdy salt and pepper shakers. How much fun would a few pairs of these be on a table! A great silverplated lantern – one of two. Two bamboo-shaped pitchers. A beautiful lamp from Bunny Williams’ Beeline premier collection.For more information:
 Halcyon House Antiques
11219 Greenspring Avenue
Lutherville, MD 21093
410-828-8999
or e-mail here.

Some Very Kind Words

Do you read “To the Manner Born"?

It’s an excellent, free-ranging blog that veers from lovely essays about Toad, the writer’s, grown children, to sartorial advice, to good books to read.

He shares with me a love for the author Roald Dahl, who was born and raised in Cardiff, just a few blocks from where I lived. One of my favourite buildings was the tiny Norwegian Church, which is now an arts center. There is also a plaza in Cardiff named for Roald Dahl – it’s called Roald Dahl Plass. Plass being plaza in Welsh.Roald Dahl’s birthday is today {it’s RoaldDahlDay} and Toad is celebrating it all month. On the BBC Radio 4, they were reading a biography of Dahl as the “Book at Bedtime”.  So I gave a heads up to Toad, and he graciously thanked me thusly:

You know those indispensable girls who know everything? Who, what, where, when, how, they know exactly the right answer, without research, it just comes to them, mostly because they work hard to not let it show that they are smart and they work hard. Meg of Pigtown Design is one of those women who grease the skids for we malingerers. The sad part is they rarely get the recognition they so so warmly deserve.

Today is "Let us give thanks for Meg day" for she put me on to BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week program. This week's book is Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl, by Donald Sturrock. You may hear it here.
Thanks, Meg.

Thank YOU, Toad. For all of your kind words, and for all of the lovely things that you write. We’re richer for reading your blog!

Interview with the Duchess of Devonshire

On the publication of the Duchess of Devonshire’s new book, Wait for Me, the Guardian newspaper has a terrific interview with her.  The Duchess, known as Debo, is the youngest of the famous and infamous Mitford sisters.  She resides at the amazing Chatsworth House. In the image below, she and her husband, the Duke of Devonshire tour a sculpture show on the grounds. To read the full interview in the Guardian, please click here. What a great chick!

No Flowers on Sunday

Today was a perfectly nasty day, but that’s a good thing! It rained much of the day, a light rain which is the most beneficial to plants and trees. We have not had any rain for several weeks and the trees are already starting to lose their leaves. There were flowers at the Market this morning, but none that I was interested in having on display at the house.  Maybe next week!

I won another lobster today at the market by correctly answering who two of three women were who had taken time off to have a baby and then come back to win a major tennis tournament. Of course, everyone knows Kim Clijsters, but who are the others?

Some things coming up this week:

• Huge sale at my favourite store!
• Details on the Pop-Up Curated Flea at Housewerks
• Review of Baltimore’s own Laura Lippman’s new book

Thanks for all of your kind words on my 1000th post!

1000+

I just realized that I posted my thousandth post this week. Thank you so much for reading Pigtown*Design and being with me on this great adventure. It's been more fun than I could have ever imagined.

Sixth Annual Duchess of Windsor Celebration

The annual Duchess of Windsor celebration is this weekend in Baltimore. There’s a house on the street where she lived that’s been converted into a mini museum in her honour!   

Here’s the schedule of the day’s events:

Royal Segway Race
Baltimore's answer to the Royal Ascot

Royal Dog Costume Parade
With prizes for most bejeweled, most royal and most ornery (see below)

Royal Cake Bake
With prizes for most bejeweled, most royal and most deliciousDonation is $20 at the door and all proceeds will be donated to the local SPCA, a cause we can support wholeheartedly! 
For more information, click here.