As usual, I'm facing a busy week and wanted to put it all out there just to keep you caught up and me on task!!
I'm on the hard deadline of this week to complete the little girl's bedroom I've been working on. Her birthday party is this weekend! This fabric above (pardon the iPhone quality photo) is what we're using for the the drapes on the Anthropologie Campaign bed which is shown with the custom bed end inserts I designed. The fabric is Anna French's "Eden" which is a printed cotton. It's beautiful and handles really well. I am making the drapes myself. I usually don't do the bulk of the sewing work on my design projects, but these tie-top 120" drapes are fairly easy to make and I like to have some of my handiwork in my projects. But the window treatments are coming from my workroom. I'm also making some cute pillows, including a faux mink pillow. Pics to come! The chandelier is Lamps Plus'
Leila and actually is a plug-in, so no need for electrical work!
New England Home magazine has just launched their new
blog and I'm honored to have been asked to be their inaugural guest blogger. NEH will be having guest design blogger's from around New England on Tuesdays and I am sharing the next month (starting on January 18th) with my friend and fellow designer
Leslie Fine. So I'll be writing my guest blog post this week, so stay tuned!
Banks often catch a lot of flack for being cold and distant. While some of it is deserved, there are many local banks who do what they can to support their small business clients. Many local banks offer a "spotlight" table in their branch for a business banking client to showcase their work and this is my two weeks of local fame! If you stop by the Kingston branch of the bank, you'll see my portfolio. Just please ignore my crazily un-iron tablecloth. Thanks Sovereign!
I wrote an article on assignment this morning on 7 great new kitchen appliances. I wanted to thank
Susan Serra,
Corey Klassen and
Paul Anater for providing me with their wonderful insights and expertise on the subject. I'll let you know when it's posted.
Before the holiday madness, Megan, Joni and I interviewed
Suzanne Rheinstein , designer and owner of LA's Hollyhock, at
The Skirted Roundtable. I will be editing the podcast this week and will get it up on the website asap. We had a great chat so be sure to listen in when it gets posted.
I have been slowly working on my next issue of
Surroundings mag::E::Zine. Am hoping to have it done next week at some point.
We're expecting a big snow storm (6-12" on top of the several inches we currently have on the ground) on Wednesday. I teach on Wednesdays and I have to admit, I'm kind of hoping to have a snow day. I wouldn't mind staying home and getting some of the above work done.
---------------------------------
U.S. Navy Captain Mark Kelly and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords at their November 2007 wedding
On a non-designy note, like everyone else, I am saddened and troubled by the shooting this weekend in Tuscon. My prayers go out to all the people involved in this terribly tragedy. By all accounts, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is a lovely woman, a centrist Democrat who supports gun rights, solar energy, abortion rights and strong border control. I don't often talk about my personal politics and the reason is because as a centrist Republican in Massachusetts, I have personally experienced the intolerance of some members of the left of my right to my own viewpoint. I don't agree with all of Ms. Giffords views, but I respectfully support her right to have them. I am troubled by the right wing of my party and the strong rhetoric they espouse. But I am equally troubled by the commentary that comes from the left. And I was appalled this weekend as regular people and politicians clamored to use this tragic event to support their own viewpoints. Before we knew anything about the shooting suspect, Facebook, blogs and major media outlets lit up with shouts for the arrest of various Tea Party members and other prominent voices on the right as being directly responsible for this terrible tragedy. Come on people! Take a moment and wait for real information to come forward. The picture that is coming together of the young man in custody is that of a seriously ill person and so far, there hasn't been reporting of strong political beliefs. We simply do not know and shame on those people who immediately rushed to judgment, assailing the Right for a climate of intolerance and violence, while they themselves do the same thing. Even our
President used "gun" language in his campaign - so the Right is not the only source of explosive rhetoric. All I ask from people is a reasonable amount of respect and patience, and yes, a cooling down of the language used by all parties. I appreciated Mr. Obama's moment of silence this morning as a way to bring us all together in this trying time. I hope he regrets his quote “If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun" when referring to the Republicans during his campaign. And I hope Sarah Palin regrets her use of gun sites to pin point the Democratic seats they wanted to go after. Neither used good judgment. Shame on both.
Meanwhile, I pray that Ms. Giffords heals quickly and fully and gets to resume her life with her dashing husband and serve her district with the same passion that brought her to the ironically named Safeway on Saturday.
Stepping off the soapbox now. This is just my personal view that I feel compelled to share. I'm not looking for supporters or opponents. Please don't respond unless you can do so with respect for all parties and opinions.
If you would like my help on your design project, I would love to chat with you! Please
email me. Thanks!
Subscribe to ::Surroundings::
