PARIS< HERE I COME...next week.......

So I am ALMOST out of here...I leave Monday the 5th but I have SOOOOOOOO much client work to do before I head off. .....and if I don't get over this head cold by then - if I actually have to fly to Paris with it - I think I'm gonna hurt someone! There is not much worse than flying with a head cold.

I'm stopping back through Chicago on my way back from Paris for the Casual Furniture Mart - all outdoor stuff - to place orders for Spring.

I am sooooo excited! Mais Oui!!!!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

So sad.......

I had a plane ticket to Paris. It was for today. I should be on my way to the airport right this minute. But I'm not. Bummer.

As most of you know, we had a horrible flood-ish thing at the shop last month....we managed to re-open last Saturday - YIPPEE! But now comes the insurance stuff. YUCK! I felt that I just could not leave for two weeks with all of this left unresolved. We are making a claim against the business interruption portion of our policy and it is tedious. I would hate to be "unavailable for comment" with a 9 hour time difference and have someone make a decision regarding my claim without me there. So there you have it....I should be heading off to Paris and the Maison & Objet show, but I am not. So sad. On the upside, I was at least able to cancel my ticket and use the fare for another trip.

Alright then....I'm going to work in the garden this morning with a glass of champagne......that ought to do the trick.....

Have a great Sunday!

I cannot believe how many pictures I have piling up.......I thought I should put them out there before I procrastinate a bit more...

I found this line of fabric taxidermy at the Maison show in Paris. Ironically, this booth was literally right across the hall from a REAL taxidermy booth. Funny. All four of these images are by a French artist. I bought the camel (below) and the water buffalo (above) for the shop. I should have them in the next few weeks. I was completely blown away by the artistry of these. I can't wait to have them and I don't care if they ever sell!

Camel.....

Beethoven.......AMAZING! Note the red dot......it was sold before I got there! DAMN!

I would LOVE to have the whole wall! I LOVE LOVE THESE!

I've ordered this beautiful line of porcelain from Limoges in fully saturated colors - this collection has a beautiful toile-ish, fragonard-ish pattern. I chose the federal blue and the spice color.

I have ALWAYS wanted a Citroen 2CV..ALWAYS....so imagine my lust-meter when we found this version - completely upholstered in leather. Crazy cool!

Sorry, this photo is out of order and is from the Limoges collection I ordered. Look at the red chair and see the blue and spice colors.....yummy!

This was, by far, my favorite thing at the show...and there is a bit of a story behind it. So I was in New York at the gift show in August and I went into the DROOG gallery one afternoon while wandering SoHo. There was this AMAZING art installation of a long and wide wooden table with hand blown glass vessels that had been blown directly on the surface of the table - thereby allowing it to ooze over the edges of the table and singe/blacken the top of the table where the glass was placed. Needless to say, it was outlandishly priced and completely out of my reach, ever; but it was truly one of the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and the image had been stuck in my head for weeks. So, imagine my surprise while wandering the aisles in Paris and running into these...... The best part......totally affordable....so what choice did I have but to order them for the shop? (or me!) These are actually made in France but the wood is reclaimed teak from demolished Thai houses and the glass is blown directly onto the top of the stump..... So freaking cool!!!!!

The above is the new palette for my living room, thanks to the darling Miss Stella. As you will see in the photos below, Stella decided to eat the top edge of the chair - nice - which means it now has to be recovered. This is the chance I have been waiting for - the chance to use my favorite fabric of all time - Schumacher Chiang Mai Dragon. I am using the dragon fabric on the inside back and on the seat of the chair and I am using the Kravet Sunburst pattern in the rest of the chair. The sunburst pattern in the fabric mimics the mum pattern on the dragon fabric. The green is by Pindler and Pindler and will be my draperies which will frame the window the chair sits under. The chair is one of the coolest pieces ever.....Heywood Wakefield......such a cool shape! I will post the after photos in a few weeks. I am so excited to see how it turns out!

Stella thought that this looked tasty.....

Such a sexy shape.......

This is a client project in the works......getting closer to completion photos...it is going to be a stunner!

In June, I was in Victoria, BC for the HPSO (hardy plant society oregon) for a study weekend. We visited a number of killer gardens and I lusted after so many plants! Enjoy the photos...

ooooooohhhhhh...succulents.

This was an artist from Victoria - great pairing....

What a combo.....Eryngium & Euphorbia

Looks fake doesn't it?

I love the acid green....

Martagon Lilies - I am kind of obsessed with them at the moment - so dramatic in the garden. These were about 5 feet tall - unbelievable!

I have never seen pine-cones quite like these. I have no idea exactly what conifer this is.......maybe someone could identify it....oh please, oh please.......

My favorite of all magnolias- sieboldii - note the Martagon Lily in the background and the color echo....a beautiful combination!

So clearly a David Austin rose - but unknown which variety - anyone? anyone? Bueller? I do have a rose in my garden with the same coloring - a little orange - a little brown - the one I have is called Hot Cocoa. It is amazing in the garden...so unusual.

Another Martagon Lily.......such a beautiful and rich color! Must.....have......martagon.........

This oak tree had the most beautiful branching patterns - it was stunning against the super blue sky - we had a great weekend!

OK then...that's it for now........

Day 2 at the Maison et Objet show......

First off.....I have been a slacker, after the second day at the show I got tired and could not commit to a blog entry. Truth be told, I was submitting information to Bridget Otto at the Oregonian about what I was seeing at the show and that kept me busy. Then, I had to get ready to head off to Amsterdam with the lovely Miss Cindy. It was a blast - she took me out for bday drinks at the College Hotel - so swank - such great Dutch design.

Before I forget, on our last night in Paris, we had the loveliest evening - the weather was perfectly mild - we had dinner at the place "to be seen" Cafe Marly - overlooking the Louvre - so damn cool - sitting outside - the Louvre in front of you, Napoleon's apartments above you - the sunset.......

Anyhoo........ I am now back in Portland and getting ready for the DIGS "please make it go away" sale from the 12-20 at my shop. Everything is 50% off. Seriously.

All right then......here is what I had from the show...I will add photos later, when I actually get around to taking them off my hone and camera. Ok...so we are out of the outdoor section and have moved to the indoor stuff. Dear God! There is just so much stuff! There is an ethnic section, home textiles, table top, furniture, home accessories, holiday and kids. YIKES! As we wandered in and out of different showrooms in different sections, there were a few commonalities that stuck out. It seems that there are three distinct style directions going on at the moment. The first one is a very organic look. Lots of wood in natural tones as well as natural fibers, wool, cashmere, leather. There was also alot of wicker in modern shapes and very organic cane colors. The look is very rustic, but still very fine. Kind of Gustavian, kind of Dutch/Belgian beach house, kind of Ralph Lauren-ish. For example, a louis 15th dining chair in a cerused and greyed out wood with a chunky linen seat and a huge distressed leather chesterfield sofa ala Ralph Lauren. Did I mention that chesterfields are huge trend?

Then is the modern slick and smooth....lots of lacquered surfaces. Black, white and reds. Acrylic chairs, chrome , Italian modern.

Third is my personal favorite which is more in the steampunk style. Lots of metal. tables, chairs, beds. Lots, of rivets. Wheels on tables. Semi-Gothic, semi-Victorian, industrial revolution-ish. Looks great with the Belgian beach-house style. Actually, if done well, all of these styles can look great together.

Before, I forget....my color predictions for interiors next year are navy blue and taupe (mushroom-ish). Let's just wait and see what happens....

Ok....gotta run, more later~ must take the Stella to doggy daycare. All hail doggy daycare.

Day 1 at Maison et Objet - the outdoor stuff....

Whew! That was an exhausting first day at the show. But before I go on I must apologize, again, for my lack of photo documentation. Lame, I know, but we are a little technologically challenged with getting the photos posted thing at the moment. The connection we have here takes forever and then freezes up while trying to download and blah, blah, blah. So I give up!

Anyhoo.....we started off in the outdoor section where I needed to visit with a bunch of my vendors, www.EMU.it, www.fermobusa.com, www.lafumausa.com and to meet with some new ones, Sywawa, Freek, Blofield. EMU had a stunning booth, as usual - lots of white wire and powdercoat - very Italian design. Some of the new dining tables are really fantastic. At Fermob they have tons of new stuff including a small bistro slatted deck chair - like a steamer chaise really, as well as a few new seat belt pieces - chaise, lounge and dining chairs by Andree Putman - quite a coup for them - ANDREE PUTMAN! She is soooooo cool and the new collection is called Inside Out. Near and dear to my own heart.....

La Fuma is putting together a striped beach chair collection that is so colorful and fun that it really reminds me of Toile du Soliel's fabric line Perfect for next summer.
On to the new...... Last year I saw three new lines that I had to think about a bit and now I am ready to move. www.freek.nl produces a line of astro turf-is, but way cooler, shag-ish rugs for outdoors in unbelievable colors and stripes. Perfect to put under a blow up, outdoor chesterfield sofa by www.blofield.com in orange. Seriously, a blow up sofa, made out of outdoor safe, UV safe material in fun colors! It even comes with its own pump. I think I will put one in my own garden! Then I visited with Pierre of www.sywawa.be.com and placed an order for the coolest garden parasols I have ever seen. The Shady Lace is a white umbrella that is laser cut to resemble leaves and lace in a slightly cut out way. It is incredibly beautiful and the shadowing effect you get with it is an extra bonus. It come is kelly green as well and I am so excited to be getting this in for spring! Their coolest product, by far, though is the Frou Frou Parasol. It is hard to explain, but it looks like a Mexican palapa collided in a big way with a hula dancer. Google it. Dear God! I think I will order just one to start and maybe put it in my backyard and show it to clients. OK, I know what you are thinking. "Your back yard must be full". Yes, yes it is. But it is super cool and one of the great advantages to being a designer is getting to be design fickle and try out new stuff and get rid of old stuff. It is so much fun!

While continuing to wander the aisles of the outdoor section, we stumbled across another new line that I HAVE TO HAVE. It is TOTALLY different from everything else being show and it truly is one of the most beautiful lines I have ever seen. Even though most of the outdoor stuff being shown at market has been leaning toward the contemporary or modern, www.massant.com has the most beautiful, classic and well thought out line I have seen. When you look at this line, it would never even occur to you that these pieces are intended of the outdoors. Beautiful Louis XV carved teak chairs with outdoor fabrics. They will even do COM. YIPPEE! Regency armchairs, a Louis XVI settee, a Victorian bamboo caned canape, a parquet topped dining table. So completely unexpected and so beautiful!! Their booth was also so simple, yet beautiful with a living wall of white hebes to see off the beautiful furniture.

I can't wait to pour through the catalog and decide what to order for spring!! So many choices! I am so happy we get to come to these markets and just stare at things. It is so inspiring. I'm a lucky girl.
That being said, I gotta go, I am also a late girl and have to head out for day # 2. Get me some coffee.....and a croissant! Au bientot!

DEAR GOD PARIS IS GREAT!!!

Another fab day here in Paris. I apologize that I have no photos to go along with this but I have having difficulties getting photos from my iphone to my email. ARGH!!!!!!

We spent the morning in the Canal St. Martin area which is going through MAJOR gentrification. The area had become quite run down but the became one of the most affordable areas in Paris, although I am sure that has now changed. The canal itself is beautiful and is only made more lovely to look at through a series of bridges, foot bridges and locks. The canal was put there by Napoleon to ease the access of freight into Paris. The area is now starting to brim with cute little shops and cafe and has a very arty feel. We stumbled upon quite possibly the cutest shop I have ever seen - 3 little shops to be exact. Antoine & Lili is a women's clothing store a kids stuff and a fun (and not at all serious) home decor shop. www.antoineetlili.com. Each store front is a different cheerful color and they are all incredibly merchandised. They were not fond of the whole 'tourist taking a picture' thing, so just check out their website to see their aesthetic. Amazing!

I think all we did today was shop and eat - and that is NOT a bad thing! Last year I got some 'crinkle cups'(by Rob Brandt, 2006) as a birthday gift from my husband and had always wished I had more - so here was my big chance. There is this great little kitchen store in the Marais tht for the life of me I cannot remember their name, but they are on Rue San Antoine. Anyhoo....they carry these cups in about 20 different colors, although I prefer the white ones. The cups were designed to look like throwaway platic espresso cups, or those little cups the dentist used to give you before you spat. Anyhoo....super cool and now I have 10 more than I did before. oooooooohhh...I found a great picture on the web.....

Lunch was at the typically French Bofinger in the Marais. www.bofingerparis.com. You can't really get more French than this...and if you have never tried choucroutte...I highly reccommend it...with a little glass of good Belgian beer, of course! YUMMY!

Lastly, we were taking this open top bus down the Champs Elysee toward the Arc de Triumphe and guess who we saw - right in front of our bus...wait for it...the President of France, Sarkozy and his wife, Karla Bruni. Seriously. totally unexpeted and kinda cool! There was a ceremony at the Arc de Triumphe today to commemorate the beginning of the 2nd world war. somber.

Tomorrow, it is off and running to the Maison et Objet show - finally! Time to get to to work! I plan to visit the outdoor furniture section first to see what some of my vendors are up to with their Spring '10 collections. I will be visiting Fermob, La Fuma and EMU just to name a few. Last year they were showing purple/aubergine as a hot color and just look at us now - purple is everywhere!

So it's 11 pm and I am beat - off to sleep with visions of chaise lounges in my head. More later. Bonne nuit!

MAISON ET OBJET PARIS

Twice a year, there is a furniture/accessories show that is unlike anything else! It is called Maison et Objet and it is held in Paris (oh darn!) in January and September. The show consists of 7 million sq. ft of furniture and accessories. 7 MILLION!! Dear GOD!!! After the first 2 million sq feet, your eyes actually start glazing over and you start to drool....seriously. Your brain can only absorb so much...... and then there are your feet! Mon dieu - mes pieds! Somehow you manage to get through the whole show over a 4 day period and come back with a whole new set of inspirations!

I go every year in September......to go to the show, of course, but can I help it if ALOT of shopping, eating and playing happen at the same time? I mean, is there ever a bad time to go to Paris? My designer friends Julie and Misty are going with me this year - usually I go by myself - and Miss Cindy, who currently lives in Amsterdam will be joining us as well! YIPPEE! Girls week in Paris! I found the LOVELIEST hotel close to the Tour Eiffel - Hotel Ares-Eiffel. I can tell you that booking a room for 4 in Paris is a SERIOUS challenge! FYI.

Anyway...we will be gone Aug 30 - Sept 7. YAHOO! Of course, I will give a full report upon my return so stay tuned! Bon Voyage!