Got Children?

Apparently the good people who design furniture for Restoration Hardware do not have small children. Otherwise, they would have never designed this:It’s a child’s industrial bunk bed, made of square stock steel. I don’t have children, but I can foresee many trips to the ER with your child who has fallen off the top bunk and landed on one of those nice sharp corners, or with the kids who were jumping on the bed and collided with a nice chunk of steel.

I think this has a very prison-industrial complex feeling to it, especially with the caged lights. I just do not understand what Restoration Hardware’s thinking. This children’s “industrial loft” look is such an tiny niche in the market.

Would you buy something like this for your child?

The 48 Hour Punchbowl Challenge

Several months ago, someone issued me a challenge to find a wooden tennis racquet. Which I did in less than eight hours. Here. So as we get ready to host the Baltimore Architecture Foundation’s 25th Anniversary next weekend, pal Tracey and I decided we needed a punch bowl for our signature drink for the party. We concocted a drink, riffing on the traditional Southside, a Maryland favourite for this time of year, and named it the East Side, in honour of the address of the party – One East Lexington Street. Tracey issued a 48 hour challenge to me to find a punch bowl. I am happy to report that it took just two short hours to find one!And it didn’t cost $6.96 as indicated on the price tag, it was half-price today! So, I got a glass punch bowl and eight cups, plus hooks to hang the cups from the edge of the bowl, which we probably won’t do for a whacking low price of $3.48, plus 6% tax.

I hope that you’ll join us at the BAF 25th Anniversary party as we whip some East Sides in our new punch bowl!

Bunny Williams Pop-Up in NYC in May

Well, it looks like I am going to have to take a day in May to go to NYC to check out Bunny Williams’ Pop-Up shop which will be opening May 1 to 11th at 306 E. 61st Street, 4th floor.

Click here to make an appointment or for more information.

I am looking forward to seeing the new Beeline collection when I am in High Point for the Furniture Market next week.

Chairy

In Baltimore, everything is connected. For example, my good friend Tracey has a son who attends a pre-school at a place called Cedarcroft School which was founded by one of my mother’s oldest friends, and I am talking a 70+ years long friendship here. Tracey told me that Cedarcroft was doing a fundraiser, and they were auctioning off chairs that friends of the school had decorated, and she asked me to decorate a chair for the school. Of course, I said yes, and got to thinking about what I’d do.I checked my stash of fabrics, and then decided to make a very girly chair from some Lilly Pulitzer fabric that I have. I used the Bimini print in dandelion linen. Then I found some huge lime green rickrack to trim the space between the cushion and the skirt. Next, I took some of the ribbon that I’d picked up at the Bosom Buddy handbag sale a few weeks ago, and put it on the back of the chair. I used a pale pink and yellow harlequin print on the sides, and a hot pink and white stripe on the back.The chair is very small, fit for a child, so it didn’t take a lot of materials… But it did take a lot of hot glue!

Ladew Named Top Tourist Garden in North America!

If you’ve been reading Pigtown*Design for more than a week, you know of my deep love of Ladew Gardens, one of the most special and extraordinary places in Maryland, if not the United States.It is located about 25 miles north of Baltimore and its grounds are filled with incredible topiaries, wide spaces, long views, small gardens, and a stunning house at the center.This year’s Garden Tourism Awards were just given, and Ladew was named as one of the top five garden tourist spots in North America, which is very well-deserved. In addition to the Garden Festival which is May 5th, Ladew also has series of lectures, band concerts and polo matches throughout the summer. Check the schedule here.And you can read a piece a friend at Baltimore Fishbowl wrote about Ladew’s award here.

Congratulations to everyone at Ladew who works so incredibly hard to keep the grounds looking stunning!

Party Venue

A few months ago, I wrote about the invitation I created for the Baltimore Architecture Foundation’s 25th Anniversary Party on April 28th. I'd been by the venue where we are having the party, but I hadn’t been inside. One of the reasons that I love old buildings is the sheer volume of detailing that fills them. The interior of this building, One East Lexington Street, is full of a creamy marble. From the small water fountain right as you come in the door, (shame about the hideous pipe!)to the double height walls, everything’s marble.

There are several of these brass sign holders, and I can’t help but wonder what they were for.Everything about them is perfection.

The old safe is still in situ, and we thought it would be fun to use for the bar, but knowing our friends, there would be a massive traffic jam.Love the locks inside of it.There’s some decorative element to each part of the safe.Even though they’ve replaced the bulbs with the hideous energy efficient ones, the lights are still pretty terrific.There are some small offices that take advantage of the double height of the space, and that’s where we’re putting the DJ.

One of the fun things I discovered when I explored this building is actually the building next door to it.I guess I will have to do a series of images on Dutch-influenced buildings in Baltimore now.

Tickets to the BAF 25th Anniversary Party are available here.

A Day at the Races

When we were children, my parents took us to the steeplechase races that are a fixture in Baltimore during the month of April. So when I was asked to join a group of friends at the My Lady’s Manor races, which benefit Ladew Gardens, I decided to chuck all of the day’s chores and errands and have a day in the country. And to be honest, there is almost no place prettier than Maryland in the spring. The land just north of Baltimore is filled with rolling hills, long vistas and beautiful valleys. And best of all, development is strictly limited, so there are no tacky housing developments to mar the landscape.

There are three races during the day, and because we’ve had no rain for ages, the ground was very hard, and a few of the horses were scratched by their owners or trainers. My friends at Ladew were kind enough to give me a press pass so that I could watch the races from the tower where the races are called and where you have an unimpeded view of much of the course, as well as several of the jumps and the finish line.

The jockeys headed towards their mounts, after first getting dressed in all sorts of protective kit, and mounted their rides and headed out to the starting line. If you’re envisioning a start like at the Kentucky Derby, think again. Basically, the horses line up, a flag is dropped and they all take off from a standing start.

Because this is a timber race, the fences are indeed timber. Many of the horses who were racing today, have spent the past few months fox hunting, and so are used to jumping fences separating fields at local farms. The riders then head along a course which takes them through the woods, up a long hill and then around the course past the spectators. Sometimes, things don’t go so well, and a rider is unseated.And then his horse continues running without him and decides to refuse a fence, right where you’re standing. A spectator grabs his reins, and the out-riders gallop over to lead him back to his trainer. All’s well, and I think again about all of the scary animals in the country. Whew!

Meanwhile, the race finishes and I have a bird’s eye view of the horses and their jockeys.After the race, the owners speak with the jockey and the trainer, talking about what went right and what didn’t.  I had a small bet on the jockey in the blue silks, or rather, his horse, owned by friends of my brother’s, but he didn’t win.

Almost as much fun, or maybe even more fun than watching the races, is watching the spectators. The Manor Races are more casual than next week’s Grand National, or the Hunt Cup on the last Saturday of April. Nevertheless, there are sartorial hits,

and misses.White suit, hat and flip-flops? I don’t think so!

The top half of this one is good, the bottom, not so much. I’d have rather seen trousers which weren’t so glaring white, especially this time of year. And then there were the animals! In addition to the littlest jockey in the first image, there were lots of dogs. From these hounds, to this, this… well, I am not sure what this is.I made another hedgehog cheeseball and it was a hit. This time I used Major Grey’s chutney and some Worcestershire sauce for the seasoning.

After the races, we headed back to our friend’s farm to see her Morgan horses, all such friendly gals. Thanks to everyone for a great day!