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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

cool klismos......



I love a good klismos chair.....it is almost my favorite style - my favorite being the Series 7 by Arne Jacobsen....anyhoo......flipping through a trade publication this morning and I found this little lovely by Acrylicore. This is the Fantasia chair with a nailhead trim outlining an incredibly sculpted back. I love the acrylic legs - so sexy! ($1,850). Wouldn't it make a great dining chair????
I realize that I have been more than a little remiss on this whole blog thing, but DUDE, I am tired! I feel like I have been travelling for 8 weeks straight and my head is a little foggy. Thanks for your patience! I will get caught up soon, but for now, you've got the Klismos Chair - it could be worse!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Zuo's version of the ghost chair

Global Views. Hmmmmm.........

More TOB. I think I will get two of these for a client. Perfect

Hickory Chair bookcases. Thomas O'brien of course.

Day 2 in High Point...

What a day! I arrived at 7 and left at 7...actually, they almost kicked me out. Almost. I never even left the IHFC building - it is soooo easy to just get sucked in. There are no clocks, no windows, no natural air - kind of like Vegas...time just slips away from you.
I discovered a new vendor today http://www.stevenshell.co.uk/ case goods in great colors - all finished to order with so many options! YIPPEE!!!! I ordered at http://www.robertabbey.com/ and http://www.paragonpg.com/. Then I had an appointment at http://www.hickorychair.com/ to see the new collections - the showroom looked great. The new Alexa Hampton collection is so sophisticated. Any the best part.....I got to meet her - Alfred, my lovely rep. introduced me. She is a total rock star! As I was heading downstairs, I passed the www.Globalviews.com and was shocked to see a new addition to their product line that was SO SIMILAR to the Thomas O'Brien Hallings Secretary that it stopped me in my tracks. The fact that it had an orange interior finish also helped. Anyhoo, sooo similar.....
I also ordered from http://www.bungalow5.com/ and http://www.nafurniture.com/, and http://www.zuomod.com/. Zuo has their new version of the Ghost Chair in clear orange, solid red, black, white and clear. Guess what color I got?
I know there was more to my day, but I am sooooo tired I can barely think. I am not sure how I got to my car....then it found its own way to Country Bar-B-Que and through the drive thru window and back to the hotel...and here I am...or there I go...off to bed....DUDE. TIRED. MUST.SLEEP.NOW.

Monday, October 19, 2009

My first day at High point....

DEAR GOD I AM TIRED! I took a red eye from PDX last night and got in to Greensboro at 9 am. Should I check into the hotel and freshen up perhaps? Uh - no! I headed straight for High Point and talked a lovely fellow named Dedrick into letting me have the last free parking space in the city and headed off to work. I will definitely bring him coffee and donuts in the morning to say thank you! I was severely under caffeinated and had to fix that situation before I could do anything else. Thank god for free coffee!
I placed two orders today - one with www.soicher-marin.com , from their new SM2 collection. A little more hip and a little more affordable and super good looking and well framed. They also have the Suzanne Kasler collection and the Marette Hines-Gomez collection that will fit in perfectly with my new www.HickoryChair.com stuff. Ms. Gomez is speaking tomorrow and sharing her thoughts on "...classic, modern design with an unpretentious sense of luxury". SIGN ME UP! I think I will get me a seat in the front row. I am a back of the bus front of the classroom kind of gal. Show up and pay attention is my motto!
Once again, my iphone is having issues getting pictures into my blog - so if you want to see some of it, you will have to go to my Facebook page. Sorry - lame!
I placed another order with one of my favorites - www.design-legacy.com. Their product line just gets better and better. Again, Facebook. I ordered a bunch of 26 x 26 pillows (linen) with HUGE poppies - a rubber duck water game (sooo cool!), linen bug pillows......LOVE IT!!!
Let's see, what else....I went to see Visual Comfort, Company C, Arteriors, Eurostyle, Kenian, Surya..stopped for a few drinks on the way - gotta love those hallway bars - and I totally blew off the Elle Decor party to go to dinner with my friend Miss Susan and her lovely husband Greg. Their hotel is close to this KILLER BBQ joint and she goes to it every time she is at market and now she shared it with me. YIPPEE! It's called Country Bar-B-Que st 4023 West Wendover Ave - right off Hwy 40 at the Wendover exit - North of the Hwy. UN.B.LIEVABLE. After a hard day of shopping, it was the perfect finish. Que so good it makes you weak in the knees. Go - run screaming! YUM!
Anyhoo - I am dead tired and almost in a food coma - so I best get to bed - especially if I need to go and get donuts in the morning!
I swear by the end of this week I will have pictures - thanks for your patience! Tune in tomorrow and see what I find...... I can't wait!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

National Tropical Botanical Gardens in Kauai

It is our last day in Kauai, which is kind of a bummer, but as much of a nice time that I have had, I am ready to come home. You know how everyone says - you need to take time for yourself and slow down a bit? Slowing down sucks. I really enjoy staying busy and I love what I do - alot. Don't get me wrong, sitting on the beach is lovely and beautiful and everything, but I actually missed not working. ...and I am ready to get back to it.
Over the weekend, there was a local art/product fair at Poipu beach and we found some lovely little hand made treasures to bring home, like simple small baskets woven out of acacia and octopus tree twigs. There were also some beautiful carvings out of raw pieces of ironwood. Unfortunately for all the artisans and attendees, it was raining like mad. It doesn't rain for weeks and then it does on the day there is an outdoor festival. figures. Needless to say, the beaches were deserted. So we went just slightly south and took in the Allerton Garden, part of the National Tropical Botanical Garden. It was a little drier at the garden, but hey, we are from Portland right? The rain was totally warm and so we trudged on.

In case you did not know, I love gardens...and gardening....and plants. You could go as far as to say that I am indeed a plant geek....and my geekness was well fed.

We went to two Botanical Gardens on Kauai, the Allerton Gardens and the Limahuli Gardens. "Allerton Garden (Lāwa`i-kai) lies between the Pacific Ocean and the McBryde Garden in the Lāwa`i Valley, on the south shore of the Hawaiian Island of Kaua`i. It is a garden paradise, transformed through time by the hands of a Hawaiian Queen, by a sugar plantation magnate, and most significantly by an artist and an architect. The endless possibilities found in this dramatic topography led to the creation of this masterpiece of garden art.

A series of garden rooms unfold between the Lāwa`i Stream and the cliffs of the Valley. The sound of water is in abundance in pools, miniature waterfalls, and fountains. Statues grace this former estate and resonate with a European influence. Towering rainforest trees with tall curving roots grow near bronze mermaids, a grove of swaying golden bamboo, a cut-flower garden, and tropical fruit trees. Here the focus is on landscape design, but among the plantings are botanically important species of the tropics, including varieties of palms, ki (ti), heliconias, and gingers."

The Limahuli Garden and Preserve "is set in a verdant tropical valley on the north shore of the Hawaiian Island of Kaua`i. The Garden is backdropped by the majestic Makana Mountain and overlooks the Pacific Ocean."

"In Hawaiian, the name Limahuli means “turning hands,” which recognizes the ancient Hawaiians who built agricultural terraces out of lava rock and planted cultivars of kalo (taro), an important cultural food crop."

"These and other plants that were significant to the early inhabitants, as well as native species, make up the Garden's collections. The property includes a plantation-era garden, as well as invasive species that were introduced by modern man. Limahuli Stream, one of the last pristine waterways left in the Islands, provides a habitat for indigenous aquatic life."

Behind the gGarden is the Limahuli Preserve where conservationists and restoration biologists are working to preserve species native to this habitat.

Limahuli Garden was selected by the American Horticultural Society as the best natural botanical garden in the United States, having demonstrated the best sound environmental practices of water, soil, and rare plant conservation in an overall garden design."

I got most of the above information from the http://www.ntbg.org/ website. I am a little too punchy tired to phrase things myself......

I think the coolest fact I took away from the gardens is the emphasis on research, preservation, conservation and education. The most impressive thing are the programs they have in place to help "feed the world" with a breadfruit program for impoverished countries.

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry family that is native to Malaysia and the western Pacific islands. It has also been widely planted in tropical regions elsewhere.

Breadfruit trees grow to a height of 66 ft. The large and thick leaves are deeply cut into pinnate lobes. All parts of the tree yield latex, a milky juice, which is useful for boat caulking. Seriously.

The trees are monoecious, with male and female flowers growing on the same tree. The male flowers emerge first, followed shortly afterward by the female flowers, which grow into a capitulum, which are capable of pollination just three days later. The pollinators are Old World fruit bats.

Breadfruit is one of the highest-yielding food plants, with a single tree producing up to 200 or more fruits per season. The www.ntbg.org on Maui - a sister garden to the Allerton, has been working on their Breadfruit Institute and is shipping thousands of tree shoots to developing countries as part of a sustainable agriculture initiative.

Shipping the breadfruit trees over long distances is only possible because NTBG’s researchers have found a way to propagate the trees “in vitro” and then ship these tissue cultures.

Breadfruit trees also have a beneficial impact on the natural environment creating organic mulch, shade, and a cooler micro-climate beneath the canopy. The trees also give shelter and food for important pollinators or seed dispersers such as honeybees, birds, and bats.

I thought I was going to have a good picture of a breadfruit tree to add to this post, but my camera is being less than cooperative. sorry!

Well, then, there you have it for now. I am exhausted after a long day of doing nothing and have to go and pack. Thanks for listening to my ramblings..... Next week will be something completely different as I am leaving for the Fall Furniture Market in High Point. What a change.......from flowers to furniture. After that trip, I am done travelling for the year! WHEW!
This photo falls into the WHAT THE HELL category........I could not find someone to ask what this is...so if anyone can identify it, please let me know!
All the waterfeatures in the garden are gravity fed...and you can hear running water from everywhere in the gardens.......lovely!
Super cool Adenium - desert rose......love the thorns!
The timber bamboo was HUGE and beautiful...
Beautiful tunnel of bamboo.....
Bamboo palm seeds......
Gorgeous palm!
Red emerging Palm. Red. Wow!
OK....this was the most amazing tree. Moreton Bay Fig. The roots were amazing. These 3 trees were used in the first Jurassic Park movie. I am going to have to rent it again to see the part.
Poipu beach..........nice!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Sunset...

Ok. Is it just me or does this cloud at sunset look like a gun????? A colt 45 perhaps. Weird. Beautiful and weird.

So I have finally figured out how to add photos from my iphone directly to blogger. Actually, Frenchy figured it out. Smarty pants.
Perfect feature for when you are travelling.

Once again, it is time for a cocktail and a BBQ. Tomorrow, snorkeling at Poipu beach thanks to Snorkel Bobs.

Red dirt......

On the way down from the canyon.

Waimea Canyon

Kauai is lovely..........

Hilarious!!

Stella once again trying to take over the cat bed......most
successfully, I might add. Good thing she's cute.

Frenchy looks lovely with a flower in his hair. Note the can of
pineapple juice as a drink mixer........it's 5 o'clock somewhere.

Goodbye Gourmet Magazine


So I get this email this morning from SFERRA linens (who I just ordered the Kelly Wearstler wool throws from).  The point of their email was to tell its retailers which publications would be featuring their products in their holiday editions.  I read something that really made me sad.  Apparently, Gourmet magazine, which has been around for 70 years, will cease publication with its November issue.  Then I went to their website http://www.gourmet.com/ and down at the very bottom of the page is a very small message confirming the closure.  What a total bummer!  I love that magazine.  Now I have lost two of my favorites this year.  Domino (I am still REALLY bitter about that one) and Gourmet. Dude.  I am sorry to see it go.... sigh.






Wednesday, October 7, 2009

yippee!!! i can add a blog from my iphone. dear god technology is good!!! stay tuned.

cute rug!

i love jonathan adler - he is just so damn cheerful (and a heck of a nice guy!)- and so are his products.....i found this lovely purple wool rug from his "marrakesh" collection on a trade newsletter this morning. a 5 x 8 will only set you back $895 - and to sweeten the deal - if you go to his website - jonathanadler.com, you will get an additional 20% off at checkout - nice!!
ok then....back to my vk. we are off to a few botanical gardens today. i am very excited about the moir gardens, which is supposed to have an extra large collection of succulents and cacti - oooooooooohhhhhhhh........and the largest personal collection of aloe. sunscreen and a hat are in order......see ya!

hukilau......

we are having a blast in kauai...and today was our 9th anniversary. yippee! we had read that in princeville - at the st. regis - a new restaurant by jean georges vongerichten opened on oct 1 st...ooooooooo.....thought it would be the perfect place to have an anniversary dinner - so we called to make a res. and were told that they did not make their open date (it was the target date) and instead would open on nov. 1st....total bummer. so what now? so we were reading through fodor's kauai guide and they totally recommended a restaurant in kapaa...the hukilau - and it was perfect! we are soooo going back. curry coconut lobster bisque and probably one of the most amazing things ever made - poke nachos - oh. my. god. we did all but lick the plate. way to go fodor's - you nailed it. so.....if you are in kauai...run screaming to hukilau at the kauai coast resort by the coconut marketplace and dig in! I took pictures with my iphone and posted them to facebook but am having a serious amount of trouble getting them into blogger.....grrrrrrrrr. tomorrow, it is off to the botanical gardens - so many gardens, so little time. i will actually bring a camera and stop taking pictures with my phone - which will probably work out better........
ok then.........aloha until tomorrow!.....it's definitely time for a cocktail.....
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