Welcome New Sponsor: Donna Elle Seaside Living

I wanted to take a moment to welcome a new sponsor of ::Surroundings::. Donna Elle Seaside Living is based, fittingly, on Nantucket. Surrounded as she is with such natural beauty, its not wonder that Donna, an interior designer, was inspired to create a collection of beautiful textiles, pillows rugs and more.

Life’s a Breeze™ began in Donna Elle’s sketchbook—pages filled with visual impressions from faraway travels, scenes from Nantucket Island, and recorded memories of childhood summers spent by the shore and aboard her family’s boat. Sea-inspired artwork of another form also influenced her furnishing designs: Nantucket Breeze fabrics owe their shell forms to drawings by Elle’s daughter, Katie Lou, completed in high school art class.

With creative vision and a passion for textiles and sewing, Elle began her entrepreneurial journey as a workroom owner, later evolving into a textile and furnishings designer. Currently her role as product designer and director of DONNA ELLE seaside living allows for expanding her product line and servicing clients on the east coast renovating and designing their homes along with updating interiors for seaside resorts. Recently Elle completed the interior renovation of the White Elephant Cottages on Nantucket. Donna is a member of IFDA and ASID Allied member.

Purchase online or from retailers across the country and select islands such as Bermuda and Grand Cayman. Click here for a list of stockists.

I so appreciate the support of Donna Elle Seaside Living and hope all my readers will take a moment to visit her site and bookmark for future reference. As she says "Life's a Breeze"! And even if you don't live near the ocean, you can always get a little taste of it!


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Mailbox finds

I receive a lot of mail with a lot of product pitches. So, every month or so, I have to clean out my inbox! Here's a round up of my favorite items that came floating into my in-box over the last six weeks or so.

How fantastic is this Peacock toile by Suzanne Tucker Home? Love it! (actually, this is a Facebook find, not a mailbox one, but hey...)

Katherine Rally is an American couple with homes in Bali and Colorado. Their bright and snappy textiles, pillows and accessories are available through many US showrooms.

Randolf, MA based WallPops isn't the only wall decal company out there, but what they have is pretty sweet. J'adore La Tour!

LOVE!

Turner Pocock wallpapers are a witty and whimsical take on sporting and animal themes that aren't for kids only! I am totally in love with their styling as well! Haus Interior is now stocking their papers in the US.

Designer to the stars Martyn Lawrence-Bullard has launched a new fabric line that features a spritely collection of colorful graphic and ethnic inspired prints.  His fabrics are available through Hollywood at Home Martyn will also be appearing on the upcoming  Million Dollar Decorator on BravoTV with Jeffrey Alan Marks and Kathryn Ireland. Waiting anxiously for this show to air!

 Cute traditional chairs at a reasonable price. At Cath Kidston in the UK. Unfortunately, these aren't available in the States, but maybe soon?

 Designer's Guild and Bemz have teamed up to create a fantastic new line of slipcovers for Ikea and included in the range are iconic Merimekko and Stig Lindberg fabrics. What a great partnership!

Olioboard.com is a new online mood board website. These sites are so much fun, but you can spend hours just trying out different ideas. It's a lot of fun and they have a large library of products, but it seems to not allow image sharing, which is a shame. Perhaps they will release that feature. Meanwhile, the image above is a screengrab of the board I created.




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Deborah Parker, fashion and textile designer

And old colleague of mine from my days at WGBH TV emailed me to let me know that local fashion designer Deborah Parker is hosting her first fabric sale.

Deborah has been selling her overstock fashion fabrics to the likes of Emma One Sock, The Material Girls and others for a while now. Now she's opening up her studio to fabric and textile enthusiasts here in New England for a special one-day sale. Fabrics will include rayon prints, wools, cotton prints, voiles, silks, velvets, home decorator weights and lots of fashion fabrics, rich in texture, all at wholesale prices.

Date and time: November 15, 2008, from 9am to 3pm.

Location: 37 Broadway, Arlington, MA (Entrance is at the rear of the building.)

Parking is available at the rear of the building.

Antiquing with Josef Frank

After reading my Mamma Mia post from the other day, my friend Tricia at Avolli Scandinavian Antique Furnishings sent me this image of a fantastic antique she'd had upholstered in Josef Franks' Manahattan pattern.




How great is this?!

Playing Hookie and Mamma Mia!

I played hookie today and went to see the new movie Mamma Mia. Loved it! The colors, the water, ABBA! And for design enthusiasts, Josef Frank fabrics figure prominently in the movie. The colors were just so perfect for the setting on a Greek island - from fluttering sheets in a courtyard to the same fabrics used in a dream sequence. More images below and check out my movie set blog ::Silver Screen Surroundings:: for many more pics!





Movie images courtesy of Universal Pictures © 2008.

Maison et Objet 2008 - In the Pink

Since it's Valentines Day, I thought I'd post the pink pics I took while at Maison et Objet.

Here are some amazing displays by Designers Guild:

Isn't this flocked wallpaper just to die for?

Little tip: click here for Designers Guild US sales!


These lucite pieces were amazing. But I can't say who the manufacturer is because he was the only person at the show who yelled at me for taking photos! He was trés unimpressed with my International Press Pass. So, off I stalked to a booth right beyond his which also carried lots of cool lucite pieces. I have a post coming soon on their products. Which they were happy to share.

Anyway - Happy Valentine's Day everyone. May you be surrounded with love of family and friends!

Couleur Nature

I'm loving the unique beauty and versatile design of COULEUR NATURE’s vibrant collection of Provencal inspired textiles. Perfect for Fall table settings and early holiday parties!

All COULEUR NATURE textiles are made using the technique of hand-carving teak wood blocks to apply design and color to cloth. Over 100 precise movements are required to create the intricate effects on textile, which are applied one color at a time. The cloths are washed and dried between each application, then hand cut and stitched, thereby guaranteeing that each item is inherently unique with its own character of tone and finish.


When the leaves start falling and the frost is on the pumpkin don't you just want to snuggle up with a cup of spiced tea, a good book and a beautifully set table?

Meet The Artist: Laura Lienhard, Textiles

Laura Lienhard Textiles is a design studio located in Burlington, Vermont offering a diverse range of woven and printed fabrics for interiors. Laura studied textile design at the Rhode Island School of Design and pursued a career as a fine artist, concentrating on tapestry weaving prior to the founding of her company in 1998.

The color palette of Laura's fabrics is so soft and natural looking! Modern in feel, they would work in any interior setting - from traditional to contemporary. Click here to view thumbnails of her entire collection. Below are some of my favorites!

These fabrics are sold "to the trade" only
click here to learn how to purchase.

Fun Finds at GroovyQ

Take a close look at these linens and wrapping papers from GroovyQ. An ironic and saucy sense of humor make these items perfect for gifts or guest room bedding.







I can't wait to pick up a few pieces of the "Girl Power" wall paper!