A Bed End — Sferra’s Newest Answer to Designing a Gorgeous Bed

I’m sure you are asking — what’s a bed end????? Introduced at August market, a “Bed End” is a duvet cover designed to be used at the foot of the bed (like a foot quilt or bed scarf).  It comes in two sizes — queen and king and in two alternatives — all down or Arcadia down free.  We have so many clients who want the look of a gorgeous down comforter at the foot of their bed — but then don’t sleep with it!  This let’s you have the look for a much smaller investment — and it can still be used as an individual size comforter.  Only certain patterns come in the bed end duvet covers — but we’ve been making them for clients as a flat sheet is usually enough to make one. Happy Turkey Day!

One of the New 2011 Patterns Available in a Bed End

A Bridal Luncheon — Pretty in Pink

A View Towards The Fireplace

It was a lovely fall afternoon yesterday — high around 65 degrees and lots of sun. What a perfect day for the Bridal luncheon I hosted for Katie Callaghan of Washington, D.C.  Katie is marrying Ryan Gross — whose mother, Diane took on the job of Nanny to my son Christopher when I was in the corporate world! I had the luncheon in the Community Room at the Lauritzen Botanical Gardens here in Omaha, Ne.  My biggest challenge was warming up all the dark wood in this room and “lightening” it up! The other challenge was trying to make the setting more intimate — which was difficult because of the wide (60″) tables.  But I think we succeeded!

Angele Parlange's Maltby Lustreware China

I brought in my Lustreware China — in shades of pale pink or fuschia and used a pretty pearl napkin ring to dress it up. The china was designed by the designer Angele Parlange from New Orleans and although it has been discontinued, I still occasionally find pieces on Ebay. I have these great fuschia hurricanes for candles and I filled several vases with great little bouquets from Trader Joe’s. And of course, my infamous candleabra came out with all its crystals!

Thanks to our caterer — Hap Abrahms, for the wonderful Beverly Hills Hotel “McCarthy Salad” with mini pecan rolls — and of course, the M

Another view of the Table

Katie & Ryan's Wedding Invitation

imosas! A fun time was had by all!

The Luncheon Invitation

The Infamous Shabby Chic Candleabra

Announcing Sferra’s iPhone/iPad Table Linen App

New this fall, Sferra has launched their new Festival linen program with 101 colors (100 colors plus white) and to support it there is a great new app. Upload a photo of your plate and the app gives you up to six color choices.  Or, stop in the store and we’ll have samples of all the colors on hand.  We are rushing out to get our iPad today!

101 Colors of Festival

To read the featured article about this new app in the October issue of House Beautiful, click below.

House_Beautiful_October_2011

Charlotte Moss at The Omaha Botanical Gardens Antique Show

One of my personal favorites — Charlotte Moss was the guest speaker at the annual Friday luncheon for the Lauritzen Gardens Antique Show Fundraiser.  A fabulously well known designer from New York, I have known of Charlotte since she first began doing design work in the 80′s.  A one time investment banker with my girlfriend Joann W. , she did Joann’s first two Park Ave apartments — and they were gorgeous!  Joann first introduced me to the Virginia candle from Charlotte Moss — which I immediately went out and bought in New York and brought back to Omaha.  Then, when I opened my store, I sought the candles out and had them in my store.

Ann Stinson Chatting With Charlotte

Charlotte was captivating, tying in gardens from all over the world into her design work for clients and her own garden.  Then she had a fun little video clip put to music showing still images — all of which lent themselves to flowers or gardening.  I suspect many of them are from the vast collection of magazine “clippings” that she says she brings in every Monday morning for her staff to file.  I really should have asked her if she digitizes them — I have hundreds myself and just can’t seem to get them organized!  (If a reader of this blog has a tip on this — let me know!)

Following the lecture, Charlotte signed her newest book — Charlotte Moss Decorates — The Art of Creating Elegant and Inspired Rooms for those in attendance.  I brought along one of my old favorites — A Passion for Details for her to sign.  She commented on just how

Charlotte's Signature on Her New Book

old that one was — 1991 — one of her first books.  And, her signature is so beautiful and unique I just have to show an image of it!  A doctor she is not!  Having had a lot of books signed over the years, Charlotte has hands down the most beautiful signature  I have ever seen  — which probably comes back to her first book — a passion for details!

After the book signing, Charlotte spent an hour “Shopping the Show” with a select group of us (those willing to part with an additional $25). This was fun as well as educational.  It seems that in every booth we stopped in, the dealer spent time educating us on not only the history of a particular piece but also the history of that type of antique.  Charlotte was good at pointing out things and how

A Dealer Explains the History of English Pottery

to use them in decorating (and how not to use them).  Some very inspiring tips included how to frame architectural fragments (one vendor had put them in a shadow box — was quite creative yet simple), how to group a collection of objects (there was another vendor who had the most exquisite collection of colored glass boxes who was amazing at how she grouped and displayed — made you want to buy the whole shelf) and a new way to frame antique prints from books. This was my personal favorite — as I have had a group of botanical prints at my girlfriend’s to frame for over two years — just waiting on me to get the right silk for the matting.  These were not matted at all — basically they “floated on a mat” exposing their raw edges — very lovely — will post a pic tomorrow.

Charlotte also pointed out lots of items that could be used as vases for flowers — which is something I love to do.  Here we are looking at a beautiful English Blue and White oversized pitcher which everyone found enchanting. And I had the chance to talk to her about what ever happened to the Virginia candle — which she says has been distributed by Agraria for the last several years.  Appeared that that distribution might change in the near future. The Antique Show

A Unique English Blue and White Pitcher

runs through Sunday at the Gardens — admission is $10. Given the lovely weather we are having, its a great weekend to catch the show and walk the gardens! Remember to click on the pictures to make them larger!

SFERRA Celebrates 120th Anniversary

One of the great linens vendors, Sferra is celebrating their 120th year and threw a great party at the Italian consulate in New York which we can all attend.  I wished I’d been there! The first video from the cocktail party is What’s In Your Bedding Wardrobe?  It covers how people like to make their beds.  The second is How To Set the Perfect Bed.  It offers great advice about making the best bed.

And the final video is  What Your Bed Says About You.  It asks the question ” do you make your bed everyday and what does it say about you?”

Talking with the world’s best interior designers and magazine editors, Marissa Mark Antonio narrates this event for Editor-at-Large. Take a few minutes to listen to and see this wonderful party. Hope you enjoy!

An Old Fashioned Summer’s End

For the second year in a row, the Peters’ boys (Scott and John) have rented a summer cabin in Okoboji, Iowa on the west lake.

The Cabin -- Main House

West Okoboji is often considered to be one of three blue water lakes in the world. The other two are Lake Geneva in Switzerland and Lake Louise in Canada. Throughout the summer, they frequently offer the cabin to “extended” family like myself.  Labor day weekend was an absolutely gorgeous weekend to be at the lake.  We got to play tennis, watch the US Open, and spend a day on the lake.

Vintage Yves DeLorme from the Mid 90's

Jimmy, our master chef, created absolutely great meals for us — from breakfast to dinner and we got to drink our fair share of great wine too.

I took it upon my self to outfit the majority of the bedrooms (three in the main house, two in the cottage behind) with good bedding, down comforters and sleeping pillows — which does seem to help you not notice how old the mattresses are! (Click on the pics to see larger).

And then we sprinkled in a few fun tablecloths here and there to add some color.

One of my fun Sunflower Tablecloths from Years Gone By!

This place is truly a vintage cabin  — no insulation and winterized every year.  The majority of the walls are covered in great old pine (or is it oak) paneling and many years ago the sleeping porch (for the days before air conditioning) was added into the main house.  None of the rooms are large and you have to bend down to enter at least one of the bedrooms — but it is cozy and carefree.

The Original Sleeping Porch Now Part of the Main House

The cottage in the back consists of two main rooms and a bathroom.  The most interesting part of it is this “built in” kitchen — which reminds me of the old St Charles metal cabinets as it is completely enclosed like an ice box — but contains a stainless steel countertop and sink, a small refrigerator, a stove top and and oven — as well as some storage space.

The Closed Metal Kitchenette

IKEA needs to take this picture and run with this!  I would love to be able to put something like this into the remodeling of the second floor  of the barn back in Council Bluffs! If anyone has seen someone that manufactures something like this they must let me know. If not, I think I can get creative and use it as a model for what I do with that space!

Thought you’d enjoy this picture of a vintage 1952 Cris Craft wooden boat in mint condition — a friend of Scott’s just bought it for his 60th birthday!

Joe's Vintage Cris Craft on the Lake

The “Kitchenette” Open

Kaneko at the Omaha Botanical Gardens

This summer Omaha has had a fabulous outdoor art show at the Lauritzen Botanical Gardens.  A week ago, I attended a wine and cheese (my favorite) tour of the show led by the Curator of the exhibit.  It was a beautiful (although humid) night for a tour of the gardens.

Jun Kaneko (金子 潤 Kaneko Jun^?, born 1942) is a Japanese ceramic artist living in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. In 1942 he was born in Nagoya, Japan, where he studied painting during his high school years. He came to the United States in 1963 to continue those studies at Chouinard Institute of Art when his focus was drawn to sculptural ceramics through his introduction to Fred Marer. He studied with Peter Voulkos, Paul Soldner, and Jerry Rothman in California during the time now defined as the contemporary ceramics movement. The following decade, Kaneko taught at various U.S. art schools, including Scripps College, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Rhode Island School of Design.

A Pair of Large Ceramic Heads

Jun established his third studio in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1990 where he primarily works. He has also created work in several experimental studios including European Ceramic Work Center, Otsuka Omi Ceramic Company, Fabric Workshop, Bullseye Glass and A.S.A.P. He created series of large-scale sculptures from 1982-1983 at his Omaha Project, from 1992-1994 at his Fremont Project in California and currently at his Mission Clay Project in Kansas. He produced a large ‘Dango’ series of ceramic pieces resembling vases without openings. (Dango means ‘dumpling’ or ‘closed form’ in Japanese.) His prolific roster of diverse work appears in numerous international solo and group exhibitions annually. He designed the sets and costumes for the Opera Omaha’s spring 2006 performance of Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.

A Horizontal Piece a top a Bed of Rocks

All of his pieces are large and most are ceramic (2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches thick).  They take months to do and are built from the bottom up.  At least one of the large heads we saw was cast bronze and it weighed less than its clay counterpart.  You can go to his website, www.junkaneko.com and click Links to see a great picture of the heads under construction.  All in all, there are probably 25 pieces placed strategically through out the gardens.

I think my favorite was in the newly completed Reflection Garden, dedicated to those who have gone before us.  There is a wonderful reflecting pool with benches all around that has been anchored by one of Jun’s most colorful pieces in the entire exhibit.

The Reflection Garden

Final Day at the International Gift Show

As much as I enjoy seeing all the new products at market, I find buying (ie, making the decisions) tiring and hard work.  But, almost done!!! I started off by returning to the Javits Center to finish up the aisles I didn’t get to on Sunday.  I found a great new line of print duvet covers that are sold as a set (including sheets) for around $229 for a twin set.  (Thought I took pics but can’t find them — so I’ll write about them later).  I also spent time with Nydel from France that makes great crinkly machine washable tablecloths with great attached borders — a couple of local French women in Omaha turned me on to this company.

Cable Cashmere Throw and Pick Stitich Mocha Blanket

Feeling done with time on my hands, I decided to visit Nancy Koltes at her studio on Broadway (across the street from the famous ABC Home store).  Nancy is bringing in this fabulous line of throws and blankets from Australia that we will be stocking. The cable knit throw (shown here in cashmere) also comes in an angora wool and they are all machine washable  — including the Cashmere Throw!  They had the most fabulous hand and were cuddly soft!  This was one of the best finds of  the day!

But the highlight was Ann Gish’s new retail store (which also doubles as her showroom) at

Overall Pic of the Ann Gish's New Store

20th and Fifth.  Not only is the store big, spacious and so beautiful — I loved everything in it! (Remember to Click on the pics to see them enlarged).  I only had a few minutes, but I placed an order for both of the bed throws/foot quilts shown along with matching pillows.  The first is ivory printed on dupioni silk with gold and platinum flowers -

Gold and Platinum Ann Gish Foot Quilt

- lovely!

And just as great was the foot quilt in another printed silk done in great fall colors — a little more contemporary than traditional — but can be mixed up with a whole host of neutrals to really “make the bed”!  Overall conclusion — a great market this year!

Another great Silk Foot Quilt From Ann Gish For the Fall

Day Two at the NYIGF

Day two started off bright and early as the Javits Center opened at 9:00 am for its first day.  I spent the morning visiting a large number of our great vendors — Sferra, Peacock Alley, Pine Cone Hill, John Robshaw — just to name a few.  I’ll write about what’s new and great from each of these vendors in a later post.

Click to enlarge picture

But the day really belonged to Yves DeLorme.  They have a permanent showroom at 230 Fifth Ave and it was lovely as always!  There are six new patterns being introduced for the fall and each are great in their own unique way.  But my personal favorite is the new pink and taupe jacquardpaisley like pattern that reverses to a solid (sorry — the pattern names are packed away in my suitcase).

Close up of Paisley pattern -- click to enlarge

I also loved the new color of solid blue (called Baltic) and the coordinating print pattern of blue flowers on a printed taupe background — has that personal country french flavor attached to it. And there is a great quilt that is symmetrical on one side with the boutis like border and floral boutis on the reverse side.

Blue on Taupe Floral -- Click to Enlarge

There is also a new more contemporary horizontal stripe pattern in neutral tones that is a jacquard weave — one side of the duvet is the positive side of the fabric and the other is the reverse (negative).

Jacquard Stripe in Neutrals -- Click to Enlarge

And there is a toile like print in grey and black on a white background that reverse to a light solid grey.  A new solid pattern — Corfu (???? I think) is a combination of four select Triomphe colors which create a large border all around a white background.  And then finally there is a great fern print on a neutral back ground — shown here on the tree trunk/bark bed.  This culminated in our theme for the evening — “A Walk in the Woods”!

My overall opinion — the Fall 2012 Collection is a  home run!

The New Solid Collection

The Fern Bed

New Toile — Click to Enlarge

Market Update — Day One

Vintage Indian Textiles Used as Throws or Tablecloths

In New York for the semi annual New York International Gift Show — probably one of the best shows in the country.  Started at the 7 West 34th (across the street from the Empire State Building) with Le Jacquard Francais bright and early Saturday morning.  Great new tablecloths, tea towels and a new limited edition Holiday collection . Will be stocking it all. Continued on and found a wonderful show

Cute Patio Chair and Side Table

room where I bought all kinds of great Paris themed items for the holidays. Then it was off to the Piers — that’s where I found the lovely Vintage Indian pieces shown in the photo above.  Done in throws and pillows, I bought a ton of these for immediate delivery to the store.  One of my vendors who has really had very little of interest to us over the last couple years had great new stuff — including the wire patio chair and table set shown above and great baskets (double click on pictures to enlarge).

Baskets, Benches and Chairs

I also had fun buying great pillows and wall hangings from a company called Design Legacy.  I loved their Eiffel Tower lit sign — but just can’t figure out how I’d use it in the store (or I would have bought it). And I love their upholstered furniture!  Day

Design Legacy Sofa & Pillows

one over — more tomorrow!

Eiffel Tower -- Should I buy it or not?????