The Golden Age of Couture

I just adore the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, and many times when I had to go to London on business, I stayed at a hotel just down the street and stopped by the Museum in the evenings. I am on their e-mail list and today got the announcement of their new show "The Golden Age of Couture in Paris & London, 1947 -1957". The show runs from September 22, 2007 to January 6, 2008.

There are lots of gallery talks, conferences and conversations associated with this exhibit, and many of them are free or rather inexpensive. Ozwald Boateng is speaking and there are screenings of "Funny Face" and "The Devil Wears Prada". The Golden Age of Couture was launched by Christian Dior and celebrated the end of the Second World War.

The clothes of that era are defined by their incredible tailoring, their incredible details and the new look that ushered in a new prosperous life across much of Europe. If you scroll through the pages here, you will find a wealth of information about that bygone age.

Design/Decorating Books

As I've mentioned, the first place I head at the Book Thing, and at most other places that sell books (not just bookstores) is the section with design/decorating books. Before I moved to the UK, I probably had close to 100 design/decorating books that I'd collected over the years. I sold a lot of them on Ebay and at the salvage company I helped found, or gave them to like-minded friends.

On the right side of my blog, I've listed some of the favourite books that I refer to time and time again. Maybe I am thinking of a tabletop arrangement, so I look to Carolyne Roehm's great quartet of seasonal books. Maybe I want to do something creative in the guest room, so I look to Nina Campbell's Decorating Secrets. David Hicks' books are always inspirational for their trendy, yet classic design. I pick up other books as they interest me, and I like a lot of text and descriptions.

I also collect design and decorating reference books, as the information they contain tends not to change too much. Chippendale style is always going to be that. Unless France has another King Louis, that's not going to change, either. A lot of the older reference books have great line drawings.

This weekend, I picked up Homes & Gardens UK's Decorating, Style Advice, Design Options and Practical Know-How. This book starts out with finding a style, whether it be modern, simple, French casual, French classis, English or Scandanavian. It looks at each style and analyzes the elements that make the style special. Then, room by room, it illustrates the points, without overwhelming the reader with information. Case studies are done of rooms with furniture, window and wall treatment and flooring suggestions. Finally, there is a list of resources.

It is clearly a book not written in the US, but in the UK. The general architectural bones of homes there are very different than those in the US, and this comes through in the photographs.

If you're interested in design and decorating books, take a look at the Peak of Chic's Bibliostyle book blog. She's got some great books and reviews there. What are your favourite books? Why do you like specific ones?

Dorothy Draper Auction Catalogue Available

The catalogue for the Dorothy Draper Auction on September 29 at the Potomack Auction rooms is now available on-line. They are accepting on-line bids for the items. Here are some of the pieces that will be available. There are 209 lots in the Draper section.

One of the fascinating items on the block is a pair of screens that were used to hide the doors to the underground bunker at the Greenbrier. This was where Congress and the Cabinet would hide out in case of a nuclear threat during the Cold War.

The estimates seem very reasonable - chairs starting at $30, head and footboards for $100. There is also a lot of artwork in addition to the furniture and furnishings.

I think that there will be a lot of interest in this auction. I am certainly going to try and go!

Pillow Talk

I love pillows. I think that accent pillows are the jewelry in a room... especially if they're done well. I was reading the NY Times "Key" magazine on property this afternoon (it takes all week to read the Sunday edition) and there were four rooms from country singers in Nashville. One of them caught my eye and kept me staring, but in horror, not admiration.
LeAnn Rimes, the singer who had her first hit at age 13, had designed this and maybe other rooms in her house. I applaud her for that undertaking, but I am left to wonder what's up with the pillows! If you look carefully, there are pillows on almost the entire surface of both sofas, with barely room to sit. They're all chopped in the middle, too. And then there are the pillows on the floor. Not big poofy sitting pillows either. I can't imagine just plunking down on those!

This room adjoins the kitchen, so I am sure that it's a sitting room. But when you want to sit on the facing sofas, do you have to throw all of those pillows on the floor with the others? I need someone to explain this to me. Any helpers?

Brocade Bed Heads

I got an e-mail from Brocade Home this morning and it certainly cheered my Monday morning up - not that it was bad, it just got better! There are some incredible beds featured in the at Brocade Home but unfortunately, none of them would fit up the stairs in my tiny rowhouse. The prices are pretty affordable, ranging from $350 to $450 for the Silhouette bedframe above to $1500 for the hand-carved mohogany one in the bottom photo. The petite lace cut headboard below begins at $300.

I love the green bedroom above, but I am having a little bit of trouble with the rope that suspends the chandelier being wrapped around the headboard. Couldn't they just find a nice brass cleat and tie it down there? And if it's hanging from a rope, where's the electrical... or am I just being way too practical?

Paper Source

Around this time last year, I was in Chicago for the wedding of two dear friends of mine. I went with two other dear friends who had lived in Chicago, and so knew I would have a great couple days exploring the city. I was content to let others make the agenda, taking the architectural tour on the river, visiting Millennium Park, and eating at lots of great places. Oh, and the wedding at the Adler Planetarium!

The only thing that I wanted to do was to go shopping at the Paper Source. I love their motto: Do Something Creative Every Day! Somehow, I had gotten onto their e-mail list and with every mailing they showed the yummiest papers, most creative ideas and gorgeous cards, envelopes and wrapping papers. So before the wedding, I left everyone in a bar watching Colorado play football and headed off to Paper Source.

It was like walking into a treasure chest. They have papers from Japan and India, calendars from Italy, incredible book binding and journaling supplies, papers of every colour and size and much more. They also have a comprehensive set of instructions for projects you might want to undertake on your own. They have wonderful letterpress cards and notes.
There is a great colour-scope on-line that explains why you might like one colour over another. I bought a few little Kolo photo albums and gave them to my hosts and the wedding couple as presents. I had taken photos all weekend and assembled them into these mini 2.5 x 2.5 inch books.

Great place...

French Marché aux Puces

As I mentioned, I went to a great flea market this past weekend. It's sort of "curated" and the vendors have to be approved by the Load of Fun group before they're allowed to sell. Load of Fun wants to make sure that the monthly market doesn't get trashy. I got some great things, and would have gotten more if I could have found an ATM.

When I was travelling to Paris on a regular basis, I would always try and visit the amazing marché aux puces or flea markets. Some flea markets here in the US have a bad name as a place to get rid of stolen goods, or sell multiples of white tube socks. I have been to flea markets in London and Rome, as well as some of the really fun ones in Los Angeles but I love the French ones the most.

Clignancourt is the most well-known of the Paris markets, but there are two other large markets, as well as smaller brocante (second-hand) markets that pop up around the city on an irregular basis. Bargains at these markets are less frequent than in the past, but there are always a ton of interesting things that you won't find in the States.

Lile also has a huge annual sale, La Grande Braderie de Lille, which took place the first two days in September. This market is much older than Clingancourt, dating to medieval times. Any resident of Lile can find a spot and set up shop. You are always expected to bargain at these markets, but be polite about it. Now's not really the time to be looking for bargains, especially with the pitiful exchange rate for the US dollar.

Photos of the Lile Market: The Guardian UK

Looong Weekend

It was the end-of-the-summer weekend in the US, and I was glad to have three days off, since I've been working six days a week much of the summer. I had a list a mile long, and was delighted to be able to check many of the items off the list. Brunch and dinners with friends, a lot of errands and chores done and HGTV Design Star Marathon today.

I went to the Book Thing and among other books, got a copy of What Remains by Carole Radziwill. Most of the reviews I've read have been mixed, but leaning towards good. I think this will be one of those books that I have to be in the right frame of mind to read. It's going to be devistatingly sad with the deaths of John Kennedy and his cousin Anthony Radziwill two weeks apart. Continuing on sort of a Kennedy-family theme, I got P.S., an autibiography of Pierre Salinger who was witness to many of the century's most fascinating moments. On Saturday morning, I did a bit of flea marketing, stopping by the Station North Saturday market. For you Baltimore types, it's the first Saturday of the month, and is in the parking lots across from the Charles Theatre. I picked up about five yards of Manuel Canovas fabric for $.50/yard, considerably less than the retail price. It's an old pattern, Bienaimee', but the gorgeoushot pink flowers and blue and white ginger jar design hooked me. Now all I need to do is figure out what to do with this!

I also got some small stretcher frames for a fun project I am working on. Earlier this summer, I learned how to print directly onto fabric from my inkjet printer. It involves freezer paper, an iron and some fabric... Here's how. The print detail is incredible, and so I am printing out some digital pictures and then putting the canvas on stretcher frames.

I always find September to be a bit melancholy, heading down the slippery slope towards winter. I've got a lot going on in the next few weeks, so maybe that will distract me!

In Memory

Thomas Paul

I was looking at the brilliant Brilliant Asylum's blog the other day and she referenced Thomas Paul, a maker of home accessories (with the most annoying website). Coincidentally, I had picked up a couple of his pieces earlier that afternoon. I am a collector of notebooks, being the slightly obsessive person that I am. I used ruled notebooks, but not ring or spiral bound. I use coloured pens, changing colour with each meeting or new conversation.

So I bought a silk-covered notebook that looks like one of those old marblized black and white composition books, except in red, a double silk photo frame, in a damask print and a small photo album, in a 60's looking print. I had a red composition book before and filled it, so was glad to find another one.

Thomas Paul's colourways are wonderfully named: aqua-peacock-leaf, chocolate-orange-marigold, persimmon-pink, kabuki black and goldfinch green. His things are fun and creative. He seems to work mostly in silk, linen and twill, and has a line of malamine plates. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to have a store, but his items are carried in Gracious Home, Elsewares and Fred Flare.

Thomas Paul graduated from FIT in New York with a degree in textile design and went on to work for as a silk colourist and making ties for Bill Blass, Calvin Klein and DKNY. In 2001 he launched a silk pillow collection, utilizing the silk mills which had done the ties. He hopes to have Thomas Paul accessories for every room in the house.