little augury

SISTERS

2013-05-20T23:20:00.001-04:00

Berry & Marisa Berenson in St. Tropez from the pages of 60's Vogue

Born "Berinthia" in 1948, perished on American Airlines Flight 11, September 11, 2001

photographer, model, actress, wife & mother

Marisa Berenson photographed by Berry Berenson, 1970.

Sister Parish favorites

2013-05-15T23:52:00.001-04:00

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One of my favorite Sister Parish rooms ever was in her apartment at 960 Fifth Avenue created in the 70's. The living room was a perfect square and within it-there was a room where style was paramount-but pretension banished-and that is a fine balance, and an art. It's what makes names like Sister Parish and Albert Hadley synonymous with the best of taste in the American design vernacular: Classic, Stylish, American Chic. Mixing the beauty of American craft and handwork-quilts & baskets with french antiques-silver tea papers with parsons style tables, staid Victoriana with neat sweet printed fabrics. I still can not find a thing tired or dated with their rooms. These rooms make me happy.

Now back to this favorite room. As with much of the work labelled Parish Hadley-Sister Parish's early living
room incarnation in the early 1970's was a collaborative effort. It is in a word- Timeless. As with her clients, I suppose she got restless for change and later reworked the room more formally. Its 70's Life is the one to study. With its deep brown walls and pink curtains on white wood rods, the room is filled with places to coze, or to sit back with a good book. Its what surrounds the room's contents-the backdrop-along with the room's layers- that work together so seamlessly together. Beauty, smarts & function (which mostly for me means Comfort) especially in this room.

the room
photograph from Sister Parish Design here

Hadley recalls: "I gave her high-gloss aubergine vinyl walls, polished aluminum Levelor blinds, a silver tea-paper ceiling that quickly tarnished to gold, plaster lamps, an abstract painting by Anthony Tortora, an entire wall of mirror, and billowy unlined pink taffeta curtains that she really wasn't read for. Over the floor-bleached almost white- I put a dhurrie rug... But the rest was all Sis-the enveloping sofas, the chaise longue... the masses of soft downy pillows everywhere."

The fabric used at the windows in the apartment is the newest fabric being made at Sister Parish Design called POCANTICO. In Linen, it comes in fresh colors-Blue, Parma (as in violet), Fern, and Chile. The fabric makes an impact with a diamond pattern within another, and both are composed of small crosshatches.In its totality, Pocantico makes for a graphically strong statement. While simple-there is complexity-I think that's what made Sister Parish's rooms so unique.

At first glance, we may see her smart rooms-light-comfort-tradition-but on closer examination-we see a panoply of small prints-floral-quilts-trims-along with petite tables-in patinas of all sorts. The room below is a prime example of Sister Parish MIX and smarts.

Even more simple as fabrics go is Sister Parish's BURMA. I love this fabric.

& it's not just because piglet, Pumba, is so adorable perched on their ~~dog~~ bed.

Pumba's pic from Sister Parish's Facebook page here

Sister Parish's Oldwick Green fabric holds the year round promise of Summer days-cool Summer days-preferably.

Sister Parish Design is making must have bags, and laminated home accessories with their fabrics & Oldwick Green looks great on tray. I happen to love their trays-and luckily for Us-Sister Parish's team has provided a extra large Oldwick Green serving tray, measuring 22 x 17. Serve up breakfast-lunch-or drinks, lemonade or juleps & mint, lots of mint.

to be able to serve up the drink of your choice on this tray in no time-Leave a comment here, Follow along with little augury on Facebook-or Follow along at Pinterest- or all 3 with 3 changes to win!

I'll have a winner next week-announced here and selected by the list randomizer at random.org.
I'll be monitoring your progress- here there-and everywhere. Good Luck!
SISTER PARISH is on FACEBOOK & PINTEREST too!
thanks to Sister Parish for the beautiful tray!

LINKS:

Sister Parish Shops- the goods

Sister Parish Design-what's new, their fabrics and papers, and a beautiful archive of Sister's famous and fabulous rooms.
my post about the book-SISTER PARISH, The Life of the Legendary American Interior Designer, here
here's a great post of the apartment by The Devoted Classicist, John Tackett.

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about Pink

2013-05-14T17:49:00.004-04:00

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according to the great editors-Pink is-the navy blue of India (Diana Vreeland) , and Anna Wintour declared Pink to be the color of PUNK, she says so- according to curator of the Met Costume Exhibit- Punk: Chaos to Couture, Andrew Bolton.
Still in all-Pink is the color of Pretty.

things are finally blooming some color here in the South-though today it is quite chilly.

Peonies & Mistinguett.Charles Gesmar 1928

Colors of-Pinks, rose pinks & the hot pink variety-along with a pinky red. The Peonies, most of mine are Sarah Bernhardt-are all knobs and nubbins, but soon to be bursting in Sarah pink. I've added a some pale pale-almost white pinks with them and a some deep pinks- the pinky red kind to my row of Peonies for appeal and to dot into arrangements of Sarahs- these are some of my favorite flowers to bring into the house en masse.

from last year in my favorite container

Others agree...

Christian Dior Fall 2012 Couture, Paris

from Veranda -years ago, the scenes at the home of William Howard Adams are such evocative photographs from Lisa Hubbard. Inspired-each image is a perfection of color and mood. The house is divine-the dog equally so.

(photographs above All by Lisa Hubbard)

Chanel-as always turned to these colors.It is inspiring to see CHANEL's soft side, and there is a lot of soft~ and here she pairs the palette we love with an earthy peat color~ that's only natural.

still life with Peony the garden of William Howard Adams

photograph from Veranda by Lisa Hubbard

the team of Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli at Valentino are feeling it too~just beautiful.

Surely-she was thinking pink...

the Constance Spry climbing rose

photo by Dorling Kindersley Limited 2009

& floral designer-

Amy Merrick~feeling Spry pink herself.

the harmony of CLASH

2013-05-13T00:39:00.001-04:00

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Spring no longer exists in the South-there's a sort of Autumn and a sprint to Summer from there-with a few weird winter days scattered in May, and occasionally in the appropriate month of January.

the North Carolina mountains-at the moment are flush with frail green leaves shivering in the wind.
farther down the mountain at my house-greens are morphing into pinks-and whites-and lavenders-the colors I cultivate with the occasional deep purple-almost to the black. Sometime I think-why not add Yellow (I admit not a favorite color of mine in flowers)-with tangles of orange and red? Maybe if I had an estate-or even and acre-I'd be more at home with this arresting garden palette.

along with questions of clashing color-I can't help but think about clashing decoration.
Where are the Rose Cummings of interior design today? The decorator that dares to rival Rose's raunchy room I so love?

The question is- would it be magazine copy? Could it be published? I recently saw this room captioned: "the worst! what was she thinking?"
I say: (oh clueless little one)

ROSE was in complete and total abandon of expectation-especially in her day. She was a Rebel.

She was thinking, Fearless Design.

a close call to the answer Rose-would be Sig Bergamin, his own home (as was Rose's room), is much the same.A clash or color-but not of wills. Bergamin is in total control.

There are rebels-and there are rebels, more in design please. How I yearning for a Rose Cumming -Vivienne Westwood mash up. There's just something so simpatico about these two-don't you think?

Always reaching beyond a mood or period-but grounded in classical design elements-both.
Rose Cumming used fantastic chintzes to their fullest.
Woe, to a single chair in with its legs primly crossed in the corner-that's the last one taken in the room. Vivienne Westwood takes historical dress and molding it into a modern way-swathes of silk wrap around a body or like Rose-a canopy?

I must try the harmony of Clash in my flower beds this summer-

I vow to plant obnoxious dinner plate Dahlias-clanging riots of Zinnias- Reds, Pinks, Purples...
reds, pinks, purples,
and maybe a spray of orange for Vivienne, and Sig, and of course Rose.

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Lady Honoria & a hat

2013-05-10T21:37:00.003-04:00

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Milliner Philip Treacy has described mass-produced fascinators as "no more than headbands with a feather stuck on with a glue gun". (linked in text),
they are dead-and he's happy to burn them in effigy.

This bergère - round disk-like hat with crown only slightly elevated, foundation of linen completely covered with polychrome feathers; lined with pale pink taffeta, one pale pink silk ribbon.. English or French, 1750–75, is just what's in order. Why not something of beauty & of the bizarre?

but something a little more Boucher-than Braque.

François Boucher - Madame Bergeret holding her bergère

no need to fret about the rain. these feathers have a deliciously melted effect and really now- is this exquisite?

obviously- lured back to the 18th century...a pair of gentlemen, Edward Meadham and Benjamin Kirchhoff of Meadham Kirchhoff

& anyway-who could deny Honoria Lyndon?

scene from Barry Lyndon

Lady Honoria Lyndon is now on Pinterest here.

when Punk met the MET

2013-05-08T16:27:00.001-04:00

a little late for the Met Gala-doesn't matter-since I wasn't on the guest List-along with most Punks in the country. I have to refer you-dear Punk reader-to ANOTHER's page with an airing of Jefferson Hack's interview with Malcolm McLaren.
McLaren and Vivienne Westwood are "the father of Punk"-and mother respectively.

PUNK Parents, the original Adam and Eve

mclaren and westwood, from Harper's Baazar, 2013

After reading the interview McLaren emerges as the soul of reason, how the worm turns. I can't help but think the PUNK: Chaos to Couture-Met Gala could have made the most PUNK of all statements in bypassing a party and have the money raked in via paypal.

Excerpted from AnOther's Malcom McLaren Moment:

Although in Warhol’s universe you had to be beautiful and buy into the image in order to be famous. Punk took that notion and subverted it. Punk was never about having to be beautiful to be famous. It was about having the democracy of being ugly…It was making ugliness beautiful. The Sex Pistols’ whole premise was: I’m going to be the artful dodger. I’m not going to accept that. I’m going to search for the authentic. I’m going to fucking write songs that I believe in. I’m going to write lyrics that haven’t been used before. I’m not following the old-fashioned template. I’m going to declare the ultimate culture: DIY.

I'd say the exhibition was aptly named-chaos to couture-from the looks of things traipsing & posing on the grand steps of the Gala.

"Authenticity is to be found in the ruins, in reclaiming the past. That was how you preserved the authentic."MM"

PurePUNK

practically perfect-Pure PUNK

the EVE of PUNK

Vivienne Westwood-in Vivienne Westwood -her jewelry-a photograph of Bradley Manning

Westwood's Lady in Waiting, model actress Lily Cole in Vivienne Westwood

singer songwriter Grimes, far right in Chanel.

Grimes fits the mold-she too, is a Natural, Punk that is.

appropriately played Punk

actress Lily Collins in Vintage, with a Moschino gown

Miley Cyrus in Marc Jacobs-her current incarnation as singer is Punk looking

Julia Macklow in Zang Toi

couture PUNK

Rooney Mara wearing Givenchy

Cara Delevigne in Burberry

Punked

Sarah Jessica Parker in Giles Deacon-love the dress as a stand alone

Madonna in Givenchy

Purists (they know who they are-and present that image irregardless of a theme) Impressive.

amusing, the lovely Carolina Herrera

Sienna Miller-in Burberry-dressed as Sienna Miller-something she would wear together to any event, no doubt-and looking every bit Pure Punk.

Stella Tennant with designer Christopher Kane

Pulchritude (plain and simple, pretty)

Alexa Chung wearing Erdem

Bella Heathcote in Chanel

Anna Wintour in Chanel, Pink is the color of Punk, appropriately following in Vreeland's vernacular.

nature's PUNK

Somehow wearing a simple seersucker gown? amidst the poseurs in PUNK

is PUNK,

Zooey de Chanel in custom designed Tommy Hilfiger

J. Crew's Jenna Lyons

Damian Lewis and Helen McCrory, don't they seem like naturals? She could easily play Westwood-and he-a convincing McLaren.

& a taste of Grimes aka Claire Bouche

now-I wonder what the actual exhibition looks like? hope to see it in June.

Screening Room I

2013-05-06T10:08:00.001-04:00

from L Officiel, 1961.

right now I'm thinking-what a perfect piece to use in a new project-the Coromandel Screen. I've written about the beauty of pieces done in lacquer with Chinese decoration often -and with good reason. There is nothing more powerful in a room than a Coromandel Screen-as attested to by Chanel in her classically beautiful Rue Cambon rooms.

CHANEL
Photograph by Lipnitzki. 1937.

HE had 1 too-
of course.
...adding it to the required must haves for rooms with Baldwinesque Chic-

Billy Baldwin

She had 1 -in variation.

Brooke Astor

Designers know when to employ them-whether the power piece in a room- Rose Tarlow,

Or as an equal partner-Michael Taylor's rooms for Dodie Rosekrans,

& never sell 1 short-
a screen loves to show off in any room-Eliza Bolen's bedroom,

& in a second incarnation in her living room.

for Forever & a day-they've been appearing in fashion photographs- and portraits.

Balenciaga gown from 1954

photographer unknown

you often hear of the mannequins in these fashion photographs taking off with the clothes? the jewels? the shoes?

Me?

I'd be making off with the screen.

to sleep

2013-05-03T21:00:00.000-04:00

perchance, to dream.

& so to bed.

pictures

The Dream of St Martin by artist Simone Martini

Joseph's Dream, Bartolo di Fredi

Christian Louboutin's Bedroom
& verse

Shakespeare
Samuel Pepys

Books at WALTER

2013-05-01T08:37:00.001-04:00

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I return to the pages of WALTER magazine to offer up SIX DESIGN BOOKS to add to your library-or to revisit if you haven't read them in a while.

Anne Dalsace, in her parents'house in Noisy-le-Grand around 1920.

image from La Maison de Verre: Pierre Chareau's Modernist Masterwork

by Dominique Vellay and photographs by Francois Halard.

Let me know what you think of my picks.
Read the story here,
and LIKE it on Facebook!

WORLD TOUR with Francisca Mattéoli

2013-04-29T00:57:00.002-04:00

Louis Vuitton founder's grandson Gaston-Louis Vuitton was a lifelong traveller-and that seems appropriate in light of the Vuitton motto,

"Show me your luggage and I'll tell you who you are."

Gaston-Louis Vuitton

Author & traveller Francisca Mattéoli takes readers on an elegant trip through the first half of the 20th century with Vuitton when travel was an Art. Her most recent book-World Tour Vintage Hotel Labels from the Collection of Gaston-Louis Vuitton- is a get away to Vuitton's world of travel through a collection spanning forty years when travel was a luxury-an exploration-and ripe with innovation.

The Gaston Louis Vuitton Collection includes over 3000 hotel labels and World Tour is filled with them-along with photographs of grand hotels, of cities, and of travelers as they embarked on trips to the hot spots of the 20th century. Mattéoli makes 21 Stopovers in the book: "Taking The Waters," "Languorous North Africa," & "Magic Of The East" are just a few of the places readers are bound. The over 900 labels featured are filled in by Mattéoli with stories and glimpses of the places-like Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Paris and the Raffles Hotel in Singapore where the lives of society's elite, the great writers and thinkers- and movers & shakers of the 20th century were played out.

Francisca Mattéoli

about the book from Francisca:
"This book is very special to me - as a Chilean writer living in Paris - because I wrote about my family at the beginning of the book, when we arrived from Chile and lived the hotel du Louvre in Paris, not knowing what was going to be our future, and finding in that hotel a refuge. It was my family way of life. My parents knew the golden age of travel, they used to live in hotels, and loved authentic and stylish things - décors, objects and also memories that will last and give us strengh when we think of them."

I love the look of the book-all 500 pages of it!
Perhaps it the elegant embossed deep brown leather and the pages tipped in vivid marigold with the cities printed across them-or the sheer heft of the book.
Once you open the book- the labels' old colors and bold graphics spill out over the pages & their nostalgia takes one off to a bygone era-when three colour printing made less- definitely more. These bold travel labels were affixed onto luggage at hotels & served as a way advertising the stops a traveller made across the continent and farther afield to exotic locales. Vuitton collected these miniature billboards from his travels and had the most interesting labels removed from trunks in his work and put aside for his own collection. The labels in book are set against a backdrop of period photographs and a number of vintage postcards have been reproduced for the book.

This is the sort of book that a traveller would love-a graphic designer-or a lifelong student of social history would think a must have, but honestly it is the sort of book that should equally be held in the hands of the young. It's one of those books that has an Aladdin's carpet feel-the ability to ignite the imagination & transport us to scenes & cities from the past. Isn't that why we read & love books so? World Tour will take you there.

Francisca Mattéoli is the author of other travel books and has written stories for National Geographic France and Conde Nast Traveller.

Francisca's website here
at Abrams here

a deluxe edition at Louis Vuitton here

& available at local book sellers-and online.

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what they wore: the blonde & the Bard

2013-04-28T00:12:00.004-04:00

Yet mark'd I where the bolt of Cupid fell:
It fell upon a little western flower,
Before milk-white, now purple with love's wound,
And maidens call it love-in-idleness.- Shakespeare

Palma il Vecchio "A Blonde Woman"

more about the painting at the National Gallery here

Living ART in Sarnath India

2013-04-25T00:00:00.000-04:00

I write here about Living ART-nothing could be more emblematic of that phrase than the project friend and artist Kaveri Singh has just completed in Sarnath, India. Her words- and the powerful work she shares with us speaks for what is in my heart when I see such beauty in the faces on the Sacred Murals-and the artists who created them. Kaveri and TJ Singh led the artists & the project at the Sarnath International Nyngma Institute headed by Tsering Gellek & dedicated to the preservation of ancient Buddhist languages like Tibetan, Pali and Sanskrit.

"There was a need for the artwork to convey a depth of tranquility and stillness, and for the features of the composition to relate to Sarnath, the holiest of places. It was here that the Buddha gave his first teaching after attaining enlightenment, thus setting the wheel of Dharma in motion in all worlds." Kaveri Singh

"In my mind, the first order of business was to acquaint myself with the Buddha and ask his permission to commence on this historic task that had been entrusted to us. What better way than to first paint his image? So, the first thing that I did was to render the Buddha. For this, we all agreed to be guided by the iconic image of the Buddha of Sarnath,. From that point the pieces fell into place one by one." Kaveri Singh

One of the five panels depicting the life of the Buddha.

The Buddha with his first five disciples.

above, detail and below the panel 10' x 9'

"TJ photographed the monks nearby and these were based on those photos.

The specific way the monks sit is an indication that they are listening to the dharma." Kaveri Singh

"Both TJ and I were honored and privileged to have the opportunity to meet with Venerable Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche at Dharma College in Berkley and discuss the project. Brief and concise, his words brought clarity to our perspective and opened a world of creativity. It became clear that above all, the work was to be intrinsically Indian in nature. This meant that TJ and I had to re-evaluate and broaden our years of immersion in classical western tradition by embracing our own Indian roots. It was all about the sublimation of the ego, to allow a surrendering to the sacred space, or, as Rinpoche expressed it, a surrendering to the compassionate nature of the gentlest of teachers, the Buddha." Kaveri Singh

Mahaparinirvana.

The moment that depicts the Buddha leaving the physical world.

Detail of the bed based on a brocade from the Forbidden City, painted using traditional thangka painters from Bhutan.

The Birth of the Buddha, The Dream and First Steps.

panel is 15' x 8' (details below)

Palace Life

Prince Siddartha with his queen- Princess Yasodharā & attendant, Chandaka.

Nirvana

with Mara's demons and the Temptation of Mara's daughters.

The Altar

Altar wall is 45' x 23' with lotus ponds & the Bodhi tree, in detail below

Buddha sits in the Altar's center-

A day of celebration with traditional artists, students and professors from Banares Hindu University.

the work-the artists

a panoramic in process shot of the Meditation Hall.

Installation of the statue, the sculptors are from the state of Orissa.

"The amazing back story to this bird - this bird actually flew into the hall and tried to sit on the bamboo branch on which it's now painted.

I managed to take a close up photo of the bird and Kaveri painted it in. The first bird in the hall!!" TJ Singh

The scale of the Altar wall is set off by the artists at work

"Artists from all over participated ,traditional artists from Bhutan, Nepal, Sikkim, Tibet and Kerala. MFA and BFA students from Banares Hindu University and ShantiNiketan decorative artists from Italy and the United States.

Architectural Elements,Panels & Columns that surround the work, in detail

"Once in a lifetime there may come an opportunity when we, as artists, become merely an expression of the collective human spirit, when the awareness of community allows us to create art that expresses our need to connect to our own Buddha nature. This is the most rare and precious of gifts. For this blessing, and for the matchless opportunity to share it at this holy place, We are forever grateful." Kaveri Singh

all images are from the artist, Kaveri Singh, and used with her permission

BACK

2013-04-23T16:03:00.001-04:00

The genius of Lacroix will be back in Fashion as he designs a 15 piece homage to SCHIAPARELLI. Diego Della Valle,owner of Schiaparelli. will unveil Lacroix's interpretation of Schiap's Surrealist wanderings in July. Combined with Schiaparelli's sharp tailoring & wit the collection will launch the house's 21st century revival. It is surely to be a schooling in Schiaparelli History with Lacroix as its Professor with wand. What a brilliant move from the house.

from Suzy Menkes NY Times piece about Lacroix and Schiaparelli:
“I would not have signed up for a revival of Schiaparelli, whom I love for the idea that she is midway between fashion and history, between costume and couture, the past and the life of today. I was always attracted to her since I was first offered her book ‘Shocking Life’ 40 years ago. I am fascinated most of all by what people talk of least when they speak of her work. It is brought down to a caricature, forgetting her eccentricity, her innovative fabrics, even a certain sense of purity.
“That is what I want to find again.” (texted Link to the entire article)

we are working

2013-04-22T00:43:00.002-04:00

Well my dear, we must ALL work at something...

the Rooms of Pierre Bergian

2013-04-18T09:30:00.002-04:00

As a designer I was instantly drawn to the paintings of Pierre Bergian. Artist renderings of interiors has long been an aspect of interior design & architecture-with artists producing great works that beautifully-& accurately record beautiful rooms. Bergian's "rooms" go far beyond that-in fact his work remembers rooms. There is a frisson of mystery there.

Paintings might be prominently displayed, or propped along the wall in Bergian's rooms- lending impermanence to them. All his rooms are beautifully architectural and while we know someone has been there, we less certain they will return.

Palazzo Mora in Venice-Pierre Bergian

‘Underlying layers of paint, or even other interiors may be visible in my paintings.

This makes the work more like an archaeological object.’Pierre Bergian

Abandoned Room-Pierre Bergian

One of The Three Sisters-Pierre Bergian

Temple-Pierre Bergian

The Two Small Doors-Pierre Bergian

Pierre Bergian's home and studio in Bruges is in extreme contrast to his paintings: life in full flow.

the artist and his studio

Bergian's home is filled with classical elements-formal chandeliers-books and light, music & noise-can't you hear it humming?

images of Bergian's work provided by Purdy Hicks Gallery

photograph of Pierre Bergian's home are the artist's and are provided by the Purdy Hicks Gallery

Bergian's work is currently on view at the Purdy Hicks Gallery in London through 27 April.

seen & heard

2013-04-17T00:13:00.001-04:00

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as I begin a new project, I run through things in my mind before anything ever touches pen to paper, formally.
Yes, everything still goes into a notebook.

I do take notes when I meet with clients-and after I always fill in the notes with more details I need to remember-and things that I have an immediate affinity for at the house.

A painting-an old box-a cherished collection-a family photograph that tells me things a client doesn't think to say- a story about the dog-the cat-the baby.
There are the obvious signals
and then there are the quiet ones, and the hidden.

photographs are my own.

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TALK this way?

2013-04-15T14:22:00.004-04:00

a high school English teacher brought this to my attention on facebook this weekend after participating in a dialect study.

She writes: Dialectical shifts, like sands on the Outer Banks, mark the sounds of a time and a place, that may no longer exist in real time.

Being able to 'tune' in like this to a region is most entertaining...at least to some of us nerdy wordy syntactical geeks! PB (in case she wishes to remain anon)

though I never took an English class from her, (sad)

I did trod the boards with her in our theatre group.

would she be scandalized by my lack of capital LETTERS,

odd use of punctuation?

I don't think so

she is a wonderful writer-and celebrant of creativity!...!!!

North American English Dialects, Based on Pronunciation Patterns

where do you fall?

Me?

somewhere between North Carolina & Virginia.

go to the MAP here

take aways (sp) from this story:

How do you talk?

Facebook can render useful and thoughtful information

I was a thespian in high school-playing the roles of Aunt Eller in Oklahoma! and Eliza Dolittle in Pygmalion.

thanks to - Mr. Cruikshank and his Georgian cohorts for illustrating this bit.

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schooled

2013-04-13T09:18:00.004-04:00

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an article by Nicky Haslam in T Magazine caught my eye. It's a brilliant, "billy baldwinesque" read on TASTE,
What is it about TASTE? here

Colette van de Thillart & Nicky Haslam, from their website here

on the SHELF: (there's another book-I know it,) but-at the moment.

everLasting Style

2013-04-09T23:16:00.004-04:00

The beautiful Chessy Rayner featured in the pages of Vogue, October 1976. Mitchell Owens, friend and colleague, describes her: "She was rail-thin, exotically featured and crowned with a lion's mane of hair that gave her the look of a space-age Nefertiti." She and her partner Mica Ertegen founded their design firm MAC II in 1967.

the ever elegant Chessy Rayner, decorator, at her best.

A move in tomorrow- perfect for 2013 apartment CR shared with her husband Bill, decorated in the 1970's.

Classic Blue & White with flat weave rugs in blue & white stripes-turkish rug pillows.

Blue shirred walls, loads of black lacquer furniture-Chinese Screen, Sketched Walls-& more black lacquer in the Bedroom.

"a fast-paced, superattractive couple,"
Vogue

"Take one part comfort,add proportion & style, mix. Result:Easy,modern Romantic"

Vogue

Easy Entertaining, Relaxed Elegance-again in Blue, highlighted on dark navy walls, Audubons

Mitchell Owens wrote her obituary for the New York Times, read it here

all photographs from collages are from Vogue October 1976

a great admirer of the glamorous Chessy, I purchased this Indian Jacket that belonged to her from a One Kings Lane Sale, and at right, a photograph of CR I purchased that once belonged to Carrie Donovan.

very PINteresting

2013-04-07T22:01:00.002-04:00

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I'm getting on with Pinterest. I will have to say it is too too addicting, but it is a perfect spot for jumping off and swimming in technicolor seas searching for things to bring back to little augury. It wakes up little augury's grey cells. Some of the topics I've explored on little augury are just taking hold there-while others have multiplied.

Fortune and the Author, Paris 1410.

My mother has also joined in the thing and has her own boards-but we have several we share. Each of us has a board with our initials or in my case one for little augury. Here we can swap ideas that catch our attention and Pin It! I've incorporated my design projects into boards of their own where I'm sharing ideas for clients-textiles, furniture, color, inspiration, etc. It's a quick way to make notes and add details without downloading lots of images and emailing them. The Pinterest board seems to open up the "dialog" with clients - immediately.

Oh Grow UP is a place where I can hoard the images that shaped my design taste as a child and young adult. You would be surprised at how strong these influences remain in my design DNA today.

Me, Myself & I is a place where I can drop things I'm considering wearing, or buying-or recovering-(it happens). Though I never plan to replace my Clarence House camel mohair sofa -a chair in the same fabric after 20 + years has suffered under the CAT.(no I don't have a place to PIN the CAT) Zetta has been digging up Rose Cumming's silk damask on an antique Swedish bench for awhile. Truth told-the fabric was beginning to wear a bit-and with that inch-she took a mile. This board holds some fabric possibilities for recovering these pieces of furniture.

Boards like Summer Straw-SphinX and Kaftan are topics I've explored here in the past and they continue to blow on these boards. Renaissance Art has a place of its own along with the artists Crivelli, Liotard, and Helleu all splintering off into boards of their own.

I've found a Pinner whose boards are All Things Proust-it's impressive.
As with any thing we get the most out of a thing that we put into it.

billy boy

2013-04-05T12:03:00.000-04:00

Millicent Rogers and her dachshund, photograph by John Rawlings,1945.

friend Barbara over at my dog eared pages...

you know where this is going?
that "dog eared" is the giveaway No?

this is Billy-he belongs to Barbara.

Barbara's Billy, by Eric.

you could say Billy is a beach bum-but don't tell his Mistress that
she'd say he's a beach stud.

photograph by Toni Frissell, Vogue, 1938.

the dachshund is one of the breeds that seems to be destined for celebrity-as Billy attests to.

it must be their photogenic qualities...

Lillian Bassman photograph for Harper's Bazaar, 1954, from Christie's

Princess Caroline of Monaco with pups

Picasso with his "Lump"

destined for more than just 15 minutes-

the dachshund has taken its place in the celebrity dogs Hall of Fame.

and below by Andy Warhol.

(but why is it so darned difficult to spell?) why not just spell LOVE.

caninus

2013-04-03T09:21:00.001-04:00

a soon to be Princess & her dogs aboard ship headed to Monaco

More than a few of you mistakenly thought the last post called Requiem:Sophie's Choice was about my dog. No, this is The Sophie I've written about a number of times. She will be missed by her friends (me) & family.

Sophie

stories about Sophie here

My Zetta, (alive & well), wishes not to go by the way of urban legend-she is making her own.

Zetta

stories about Zetta here

Then- there is My Beloved, in fact- some of my first posts, Dog Gone, are about Moses,(deceased).

Moses

stories about Moses here

Finally there is Argos, Sophie's adopted brother, written about initially- when he was skin & bone-literally.

& about Argos here

this photograph is indeed of Argos-mistakenly identified as Sophie in the last post. We all make mistakes-but luckily there are few when it comes to our dogs.

Sophie & her mistress

(photograph by Missy McLamb)

then, there are other dogs in my life-but that's another story...

but for the moment-this blog-officially Gone to the Dogs.

Requiem: Sophie's choice

2013-04-01T10:42:00.004-04:00

.
She loved Sophie.Sophie adored her.
She found a kindred spirit. Sophie found her soul mate.
She would question. Sophie never asked.
She would speak. Sophie remained silent.

Some dogs choose their own masters. Masters choose their dogs.With Sophie- there could be no other master. I like to say the dogs that are rescued have been temporarily misplaced- & as owner of Moses, there will be other dogs-but never again Moses. The same can be said of Sophie.
Sophie is her dog- my dearest of friends, Now that Sophie has found her- her world seems complete. This is Sophie's choice.
& so it continued-day in & out-until last month when She discovered Sophie had cancer-and it was killing her.
Sophie was dignified to the end.She was not.
Sophie traveled swiftly. She is left behind, bereft.

Our dogs have infinite capacity to love us. It is remarkable. What they know of Us surpasses our understanding of them. If it were up to them they would live alongside Us forever.

Sophie was one of my dearest dog friends, & other stories about Sophie and her brother ARGOS, and family here
(photograph by Missy McLamb)

.

jelly bean

2013-03-30T12:18:00.002-04:00

apologies to Ellsworth Kelly

just wild about Howard

2013-03-28T08:22:00.001-04:00

SLATKIN'S RUGS!

this is "Howard"

from Howard Slatkin's Collection of Carpets at Stark

lately you can find me prowling around Pinterest.

I know I was a skeptic, and it is a gaping rabbit hole Alice never dreamed of-but you do meet the most fascinating people.I've often admired the work of Howard Slatkin, especially his own home. It's one of my favorite sets of rooms to date, and I refer to again and again. Howard Slatkin's collection of carpets at Stark is just brimming with intricate pattern-but it's subtle. His apartment strikes me in the same way-there's an opulence to be sure-but it is understated-in just the right way.

the Slatkin apartment

the pattern "Pauline", above & below

another pattern I just love is "Henri."

the hand-embroidered carpet 'Liliane' was used by Slatkin in the home of Laura and Harry Slatkin, Howard's brother.

photo credits to Douglas Friedman, from Harper's Bazaar August 2012 here

a Patchwork of Patterns from Slatkin's Collection

& it's exciting to note that a book is on its way this Fall!

I can hardly wait, but til the book's debut, Howard is here, and & better yet here on Pinterest...