The above 20×20 is the work of Lee Monts. A “home grown” artist, his work always reflects the area in which he grew up. Souvenir Moon, created in the spring of 2010, is no different. Painted on canvas, this piece strayed from Monts’ typical palette of brown, blues, and creams, using mostly greens instead. The exquisite texture was produced using long brush strokes, a palette knife, and Monts’ index finger. Together, the hues and the textures capture and convey the beauty and tranquility of South Carolina. Souvenir Moon, along with many other Monts originals, may be purchased at Verve Interiors in Columbia, SC. You may also find his work at Gallery at DuPre and Wink Gallery, in Columbia, and Michael Mitchell Gallery in Charleston, SC.
Okay. I have to level with you all, because I can’t brush off my frequent absences anymore. Last week, I was in Dallas with the full intention of making appointments and bringing back reports of beautiful things and interesting people for you all. Instead, I spent the majority of the time in my hotel room sick as a dog. Mr. M and I had planned to share duties that week so that he could attend his conference and I could write, but it didn’t quite work out that way.
You see (insert drumroll here)… I’m 9 weeks pregnant and apparently the second time around has turned me into a big ol’ wimp! We are thrilled (and quite surprised) about the new baby coming in February, and have enjoyed the love and support of our family and friends while I’ve been spending a lot of time in bed and in the restroom.
Yesterday I visited the doctor, who prescribed some medicine which I have very gratefully accepted, and am happy to have the will to eat and therefore a little bit of energy return, and I can actually return to my everyday life. Hooray!
So again, my apologies… again, I’m still here… and again… I do have some lovely things for you to see starting tomorrow. Thanks so much for sticking with me through this!
Finally, I can share some of my exciting news (it’s been a busy summer!). As many of you know, the wonderful author, Jane Green, has recently come out with a new book entitled Promises To Keep. This is the touching story of Callie Perry, a successful photographer, wife and mother who has to endure the horrible pains and complications of breast cancer. The story focuses on the rallying of Callie’s circle of friends and family and how her story changes all of their lives. This is a very personal project, as when it was written she had recently lost one of her own dear friends to the disease. It is touching and emotionally evocative, and a story that needed to be told. Therefore, I was absolutely thrilled when, via some conversations with Jane via Facebook and Twitter, the idea came about to have a party here in Columbia to celebrate her book and draw attention to the need for support and rallying around those dealing with breast cancer.
On September 16th, we will be hosting this wonderful cocktail event here in Columbia along with a committee of fabulous and committed women, raising money for Share Our Suzy. This nonprofit organization’s goal is to allow patients to focus solely on recovery and not the financial stress brought on during this very difficult battle. For more information, please visit their website to hear the story of Suzy McGrane and the organization that operates in her honor.
Stay tuned for more information as this benefit develops. I am so excited about this venture, and can’t wait to work with this amazing group of women to make it a grand success!
I’ve been a bit under the weather lately, which has resulted in a severe drop in productivity and a big jump in time spent on the sofa or in bed, watching television. When I’m back to 100% I may return to our TV ban from Lent, but in the meantime, I’m pretty excited about tomorrow’s episode of Man Shops Globe on the Sundance Channel. You may recall my post from April regarding Anthropologie’s partnership with stylist and interior designer Sibella Court for the Into The Lighthouse installation. Tomorrow night we’ll have the opportunity to get to know some of the participating artists. Show host and Anthropologie buyer-at-large Keith Johnson travels to Australia to meet with Court and find the most unique and talented artists to match up with the Anthropologie project. As he talks with the artists, we learn their stories and what drives their art. It is going to be such a fun episode! It airs tomorrow at 10pm, Eastern and Pacific.
Here’s a little teaser from the Sundance Channel:
After you watch it, come back and share your thoughts.
Veronique Dalla Favera is a native of Beaunne, Burgundy, and the creator of the LivenLuLu figurines pictured above. As the granddaughter of Burgundian wine grower Louis Jadot, Veronique’s first passion was gastronomy. This led her to open Galerie Verodalla, a gourmet restaurant. After becoming sick and fighting an internal battle against disappointment and grief, she decided to exhibit harmony, purity and beauty through art. Thus, LivenLuLu was born. Made from cellulose fiber and chalk, each piece is handcrafted, unique, and made to order. Lacking faces or expressions, they convey the joys of life through posture and gesture. Featured at the 2010 Fair of Paris and the 2010 Maison France Showcase in New York, these stunning figurines can be ordered by contacting Verodalla at info@verodalla.com
I was reading through some past installments of the New York Times“Dear FloFab” and came across the following exchange from April 22:
Q.
Dear FloFab,
What’s the proper procedure if somebody brings a bottle of wine to your dinner party? Is it rude not to open it? If you do open it, do you acknowledge who brought it when it makes the rounds?
A.
Bringing a bottle of wine is thoughtful, but not if your guest expects you to open it and serve it immediately. If you are a good host or hostess you’ve already lined up your wines, and their one bottle is probably not going to be enough to go around anyway.
If they bring you flowers, yes, you are expected to put them on display. Anything else, no. If somebody brought you salad servers, you wouldn’t be expected to put them into the salad bowl for dinner.
One night, we had nine people at our house. We were making cocktails before dinner and a guy walks in with a bottle of ice-cold Korbel and says, “Serve this!“
Well. I knew that one bottle of Korbel was not going to make it for nine people. I didn’t know what to do because the only other bottle of sparkling wine I had chilled was a very fine bottle of blanc de blancs. French. But I bit the bullet and poured the guest’s wine and when people needed refills, I poured the blanc de blancs. Sometimes you have to break your own rules.
I had to laugh out loud when I read this because it reminded me of one of a party that we had a few years back. Mr. M and I used to have these huge Christmas parties before we had Jr. This is a tradition that we plan to bring back once we have made the Big Move to the Big House (yes, we are still eyeing the same house, and hopefully we will have news to share sooner than later). We would spend days preparing for these parties, and there was always ample food and drink to go around.
One year, Mr. M invited a couple whom I had not met before (and, honestly, have not seen since). They appeared on our doorstep looking properly jovial and ready to have a good time. I opened the door and they handed me a wine bottle that had been carefully wrapped in seasonal paper. I thankfully accepted the gift, showed them inside, and offered them a drink at the overly-stocked bar. About 10 minutes later I was in the kitchen checking on one thing or another, when the lady whom I had just shown in appeared, bearing the gift that I had placed under the tree with the others that had been brought in that night. The exchange went something like this:
Me: “Hi! How is everything?”
Lady: “Um, good.”
Me: “Can I get you anything?”
Lady: “Um, aren’t you going to open my wine so we can drink it?”
Those of you who know me are aware of the fact that I’m not the best at hiding my facial expressions, especially in surprise situations. It’s a flaw that I’ve tried really hard to work on over the years, but it’s a part of my personality that soldiers on. So, needless to say, I was speechless. Luckily, Mr. M walked in at that very moment and overheard the last part of the exchange. He swiftly took the package, opened it and proceeded to pour each of us a glass from the bottle. On the spot he made up a little toast that revolved around thanking her and having a Merry Christmas, and we all drank. The wine turned out to be one of the most disgusting things that Mr. M and I had ever put to our lips. I vaguely remember the smell of dirty feet emanating from the glass. Somehow, we managed to smile our way through until she left the kitchen.
We don’t know what kind of wine it was, but we did set the remainder on the bar for the night, where it remained untouched.
The moral of the story: another reason one should treat the bringing a bottle of wine to a party as a gift is that you may not want to be around when the gift is opened!
Maybe you’ve noticed that I haven’t been around much over the past couple of weeks. Things have been a bit eventful, and as I mentioned on Facebook the other day, still waters run deep.
Aside from that incredible 24-hours spent in New York two weeks ago, I’ve been working hard on our new mayor’s transition team, helping to shape a vision for the arts and historic preservation in Columbia. Our city is teeming with creative energy and spaces that are just begging to be used, and it has been so inspiring to work with some of the best and brightest minds I’ve had the privledge of working with on this important project. I also didn’t quite realize how much time the project would take, and had to focus my leftover energy on the home front.
Also, I’ve been working on the start of a very special project which will be announced on Monday. I know that you will all be so excited to hear about it, as it is for a wonderful cause.
In the mean time, I’m happy to say that I am back and have lots to share with you! Thanks for sticking with me!
Last week I had the opportunity to return to New York for some wonderful events, including the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club Decorator Show House Summer Soiree held at Christie’s. The evening, in honor of the Kips Bay designers, was held by the show house committee, which has been hard at work finding a new location for the postponed event that the design world looks forward to every year. The show house brings about $1 million to the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club every year, money which provides services such as performing arts education, teen empowerment programs and health education to children in Bronx, New York.
Most of the designers who were originally involved are still participating, and were all too happy to donate lovely goods for Wednesday night’s silent auction, which included a wide range of goodies from lovely embroidered pillows donated by Jamie Drake to the chance to participate as a judge in the Robb Report’s Car of the Year contest (including test-driving priveleges and luxury accommodations).
Everyone was excited and buzzing about the new possibilities arising with the search for a new location for the show house, as was reinforced by Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club executive director Daniel Quintero as he addressed the crowd and and thanked the sponsors who have been so generous over the past few months.
Here are some photographic highlights from the evening:
Joan Michaels, Michael McGraw and Jayne Michaels
Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club executive director Dan Quintero and friend
Jim Aman, Anne Carson, and John Meeks
Myself and Brett Beldock
Keep checking back here and at the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club web page for updates on the show house. It is sure to be an even more spectacular event than originally anticipated. We are all chomping at the bit to get there, and commend the designers and committee for their amazing work.
This gorgeous statement piece from The Clara Williams Company is made of pink freshwater coin pearls and 14K gold. Like many pieces in the flourishing company’s collection, it is quite versatile and can be worn with many outfits. The clasps are magnetic, allowing it to be worn by itself, with an exquisite center piece, or as a handbag strap. These luxurious accessories can be found at several fine boutiques including Mildred Hoit in Palm Beach, Florida, and Planters Exchange in St. Simon’s Island, Georgia. You can also visit the official CWC Studio in the heart of Chicago’s jewelry district or www.clarawilliamscompany.com.
*Today’s Post was written by CamilleMaurice.com’s wonderful intern, Epiphany Keels. Please join me in giving her a warm welcome to our team!
If you are looking for an intensely delightful visual treat, head over to Nella Vetrina’s new and improved website. The company’s name can be translated as “inside the window”, and with the site’s new zoom capabilities, it certainly does feel as though you are right there, peering at sensuous textures of their tiles, bath fixtures, furniture and lighting.
Included on the new site are some of Nella Vetrina’s new product lines, including amazing Murano tiles that can be customized for the needs of your design project. The turnaround time on these beauties is only 6 weeks, plus shipping, further adapting the line to the needs of different types of projects. The tiles include luxurious touches such as a baked-in solid gold leaf, or similarly baked gold flaking.
Nella Vetrina's Aria tiles
Nella Vetrina's Fuoco tile in red
Other new additions to the site include the breathtaking Zante hanging light, handmade out of Murano glass, and featured in crystal, white or amber.
Zante hanging light
Look no further for inspiration, ideas and products for your next project. Click through Nella Vetrina’s site and I’m sure you will fall in love.
I’m back in New York and am spinning from all of the gorgeous inspiration around me. I spent the afternoon perusing products from amazing French designers such as Elie Bleu, D’Argentat and Ercuis & Raynaud (who recently merged). Tonight I’ll be toasting the designers involved with the Kips Bay Designer Show House. Expect a full report on the soirée and an update on the progression of the postponed show house tomorrow.
