Chinoiserie Memory Game and More!

I have found THE most wonderful Etsy shop!! If you have a Chinoiserie lover in your life, you can thank me now for providing you an endless number of fabulous gift-giving ideas.

My love affair began when I stumbled across this Chinoiserie Memory Game...did you know such a thing even existed? And look how fantastically beautiful this set is!!

This card game is whimsical, beautiful and would make the most perfect keepsake. But the fun doesn't stop there. Etsy shop Nancy Nikko Design is FULL of amazing products with her hand-drawn illustrations.

Look at these bookplates:

And these business cards:

And I have only pulled out some of her Chinoiserie items...she has many more drawings and styles in her Etsy shop. You really must check it out - click here to visit.

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Virginia Traditional

Growing up in Richmond, Virginia I stepped inside many a traditionally-designed home and remember always loving the aesthetic. Orderly, pretty and formal.

I found a perfect example of how beautiful traditional design can be with designer Heidi Brooks' portfolio. Heidi is based in Charlottesville, Virginia (ie. Heaven) and her designs are Virginia Traditional at its best. Not sure if all of these homes are actually in Virginia (likely not), but they carry off this design style perfectly.

I think I'm most drawn to the traditional wood furniture...there is something to be said for a beautiful piece in its original (or restored) condition. Check out Heidi's portfolio here...

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Friday Crush

Did you hear the news from here and here that Jack Rogers has teamed up with Quadrille to create some bananas beautiful Navajo sandals? I literally LIVE in my JRs over the summer. They have been my go to sandal for as long as I can remember...so once I heard Quadrille and Jack Rogers were combining efforts it was mind-blowing.

The sandals are awesome and you can buy them at Piperlime here and here. BUT, I didn't know JR was also creating some resort wear with Quadrille - check out the above dress, the "Tessa," that uses Turtle Batik - so cute! I spotted it on Rue La La yesterday and it's unfortunately sold out, but now we know that dresses exist so keep a look-out! I think the model should look a little more excited.

Have a fab weekend...see you Monday!

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Brunschwig & Fils Settee

Another highlight of Blogfest was visiting the Brunschwig & Fils showroom at the New York D&D building...what a gorgeous place! I went crazy over this amazing settee they had on display:

It had THE most beautiful fabric upholstery - it's hard to tell, but the pastoral scene has foxes! I am slightly obsessed with foxes and I love how this fabric takes the russet hue of their coat to create a pattern in oranges, dusty blues, ochre and browns. It's so beautiful in person! And paired with the lines of that settee...stunning!

Only problem is that I forgot to ask in the showroom what the name of this fabric is...anyone know??

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Waylande Gregory at Gump's

I've discussed Waylande Gregory's ceramics before - they are elegant and preppy with a slight ethnic feel...beautiful pieces that could easily be small family heirlooms. I recently came across an exclusive collection done for Gump's that is gorgeous.

The Shou Collection features Gump's signature insignia in gold adorned atop beautiful ceramic trinkets in orange, black, blue or white. These pieces are not at all inexpensive, but would make absolutely gorgeous hostess gifts for someone very special. Or the perfect collector piece to celebrate a special occasion. The orange and gold combination is killer.

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Chenonceau Bedroom

I love a serene bedroom and this one uses Schumacher's Chenonceau to perfection.

 Photography Van Chaplin, Charles Walton IV / Styling Buffy Hargett via Southern Living

Wouldn't this same exact room look just as fantastic with some of the other softer colorways too?

I think you know that I really, really love silhouette patterns in fabric and wallpaper. And to go with that, I am constantly enamored with spaces that stick to a duo-chromatic (that's not a word) color scheme of white and the background color. And yet I've never had the guts to do that in my own home. Most people are afraid of committing to color, but I'm afraid of committing to the lack of it!

Hope you had a restful holiday weekend!

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A Tour of Kravet's Studios

I interrupt regular Friday Crushing to bring you some pictures from the tour we took of the Kravet, Lee Jofa, and Brunschwig & Fils studios during Blogfest. This was absolutely my favorite part of the three day event. My jaw was literally on the floor from the moment I walked in until the moment I left...it was a fabric WONDERLAND. I was in a frenzy taking pictures on my phone, so these aren't great and they are out of order, but hopefully you'll understand the kind of gorgeous I was exposed to.

(Below) A hand block print with the actual blocks...can you imagine the process to create this fabric by hand??

(Below) That's Beth Greene on the left, Kravet's VP of Marketing. Blogfest is her team's creation and she was a lovely host.

(Below) The Brunschwig studio...you have no idea how gorgeous it was in there!

(Below) Showing us hand-coloring at Lee Jofa...

 (Below) These are outdoor fabrics! They were beautiful in person.

We got to meet many of the teams that work on these beautiful products and they each explained to us how they do it - it was FASCINATING. We learned how they design their showroom displays, how they design their fabrics, how they work with hand-drawings as well as computer software to achieve their looks, how they work with mills, how they work with their licensed designers...the list goes on. I was in a fabric fantasyland.

Have a fantastic Memorial Day weekend...see you Monday (or possibly Tuesday)!

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