An adorable home decor and accessories store with a good cause

I was introduced to Nest a few weeks ago, and I finally got around to checking it out. Besides their products, the best thing about Nest is their mission:

"Nest is a nonprofit organization dedicated to changing the lives of women in developing countries. The mission of Nest is to support women artists and artisans in the developing world by helping them create sustainable entrepreneurial businesses. To do this, Nest provides micro-credit loans to be used for the purchase of the supplies and materials necessary to begin and/or maintain art or craft-based businesses."

I look forward to seeing what they have in the future as the companies grow! They also have a lot of cool, indie products by domestic designers.




Beautiful serving bowls from Mexico. The salsa bowls at the top were also featured in Domino.

Sweet little tea light holders






African baskets are always stunning

Pretty little tea towels.

Art for baby
I *LOVE* this bracelet. My sisters' pet name for me has always been Heart, so it's fitting. :)

A gorgeous cuff bracelet.

They also carry a lot of really pretty stationary

I always use handmade soaps - they are much nicer for your skin and last a really long time. Nest has a huge selection.

...Nothing But A Fig Leaf

At the Palm Beach Annual Arts and Antiques Show,

I saw something that stirred a sweet childhood memory.

When I was little, I lived with my Grandmother ( I called her Bebe ) she was so beautiful and sweet. I was an only child, so needless to say, Bebe indulged me in many ways.
We had a huge wisteria hedge, and there was an opening in this hedge where I would hold court with my imaginary friends ( don't worry, there were only 2, and it was age appropriate for a 4 or 5 year old ).

When lunch time came around,

my Bebe would bring me little cucumber sandwiches with the crust cut off ( I hated crust ).
She would hand little sandwiches to my 'friends' as well.

And I remember , even at the time , how sweet she was.

Bebe would look right into the faces of these imaginary friends, and ask them questions and talk to them, while nodding and smiling.
Don't you love her ???

I did, and I always felt loved by her.
This woman was so kind and loving to me.

I loved her more than anything in the whole world.

Spoken just like a child , I know.


Anyway, this is the 'something' that stirred my memories. I found this an amazing piece of functioning ART !

The Brilliant Artist is Tord Boontje

The Fig Leaf by Tord Boontje for Meta
Nominated for the Brit Insurance Furniture Award 2009


How is this for a fabulous coat closet. I can see a few furs hanging right now....

I can also see myself hiding inside, while my Bebe brings me and my little friends tea and tiny sandwiches

This is exquisite workmanship in my eyes.

The element of whimsy , makes it feel timeless to me .

Like the The Mad Hatter at The 'Mad Tea Party' is timeless.

The Devil is in THE DETAILS.

To me, this looks just like the under-side , or my secret place, in the wisteria hedge.

"The monumental fig-leaf encrusted doors open to reveal a bronze tree arching up and outward against the background of a peaceful landscape in silk. The Fig Leaf wardrobe reflects a time when craftsmen vied to outdo each other in demonstrating their skills in the hope of attracting wealthy patrons. This piece is widely viewed by the talented artisans who have undertaken its challenge as one of the most difficult and exceptionally finished enamel works of recent memory.
The 616 hand-painted enamel leaves, varying across 10 basic shapes, and each with a unique colour-way, use no ‘transfers’ which are otherwise the mainstay of nearly all enamels done today, but instead rely solely on hand painting of both front and back – another exceptional undertaking as rarely do makers apply as much attention to both sides of an enamel work. The colours used are bespoke mixes and not otherwise available. The overall size of the larger leaves as well as the enormous surface area to be painted were originally thought impossible tasks, but with ingenuity and perseverance, this has been overcome. The delicacy of essentially 616 pieces of glass suspended individually from a complicated tangle of hand-formed supporting vines required development of a novel mapping and hanging system. The matching of colours across bronzes, silks, enamels and iron challenged the ateliers to develop new techniques for finishing and matching.The interior is dominated by a lifelike lost wax bronze cast of a hand-carved tree upon which to hang clothing. The interior back-drop and base are upholstered in a custom hand-dyed and woven silk with an earth-to-sky motif. Each wardrobe also includes a bespoke bronze hanger as well as a custom set of handmade tools for adjustments and maintenance. The exterior rear of the wardrobe is finished with a hand-stippled trompe l’oeil."


Tord Boontje
Tord Boontje has long cultivated a delicate marriage of design with emotion that is as broadly accessible as it is enticing. His work draws from a belief that modernism does not mean minimalism, that contemporary does not forsake tradition, and that technology does not abandon people and senses. Boontje’s designs often temper edges with softness, borrow inspiration from nature, and employ a décor of forms and layers to engage and entice an observer’s imagination and emotions.
Many of his seminal works are held in public collections throughout the world including multiple pieces in London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and the Groninger Museum. Tord has received a number of public and private commissions and clients include Alexander McQueen, Murray Moss, Pearl Lam, Nadja Swarovski, and Ian Schrager.
Tord Boontje was born in Enschede, Netherlands in 1968. He first studied industrial design at the Design Academy in Eindhoven (1986 –1991). Following several internships, including Alessandro Mendini’s Studio in Milan, he returned to studying and completed a Masters at the Royal College of Art in London (1992 - 1994). He later taught at the same school on invitation from Ron Arad who was Professor of Design Products at the time, before eventually establishing his own studio in 1996. Tord Boontje lived and worked in London from 1995 to 2005 and currently lives and works in Saint Etienne, France with his wife and daughter. A biography of Tord’s work was published by Rizzoli New York in 2007.
dutch born
Meta's blue-sky philosophy allowed Tord Boontje's limitless imagination "a unique opportunity to design very special pieces in the knowledge that they are realized without any compromise but every time enriched by the most skilled hands".

Part of the assembly process.

Can you imagine the task at hand ??

Amazing.

Tiny, Tiny, Tiny and tedious, tedious.

The enameling process.

Thanks for indulging me. Have a sweet weekend.

xx's

For More: http://madebymeta.com/designers/tord-boontje and then just poke around

( enlarge any picture for more info and a closer look )

Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her BLOG.....

One big tick

I'm a list writer from way back. Shopping lists, lists of books to read, places to go, spring cleaning jobs...the list goes on! It keeps my head in order, and provides me with a sense of achievement when I tick something off.

Above is my list of 2009 house projects. And now, two months in to the year, I can finally cross off the first thing! Today I picked up removable covers which I had custom-made for the seating on my two couches. I'm not a sewer, so I left this to the professionals. And they turned so out well!

You see, I was the dumb bunny who bought creamy white couches with 'removable covers' only to find that the frame of the couch had a removable cover, but not the seating - each cushion has a label just inside by the zipper saying 'do not remove' and 'do not wash'. Great! Have you ever heard of a couch with a removable cover where you can't actually wash the seating covers? And to add insult to injury the removable cover on the frame had a 'do not wash, dry clean only' label - even though I had chosen a washable fabric specifically made for slip covers. So for the last 18 months, with the rough and tumble of normal life, my couches have been getting grottier and grottier.

I broke a couple of nails fitting the covers on, but hey, I can live with that! I'm curled up on one of my couches now, happy in the knowledge that when (not if - I'm a realist) the next splodge occurs, I can chuck the seat cover in the wash. I took the picture (above) tonight after I rushed home from work and fitted them on. Now my couches look as good as new.

Best wishes,

My China Hutch Gets a Face Lift

We bought our china hutch five years ago at a thrift store for $35. It was painted hot pink when we bought it and it has been about six other colors since then.


A few months ago, I painted it a pale blue (above, behind the chairs) which I liked, but felt the hutch needed a little more. I never really liked the fussy hardware, so I bought new bin pulls and a couple knobs from this eBay shop on the cheap (I think it was around $30 for everything). The new hardware instantly updated the hutch and helped brightened the room.


Then I bought a few sheets of pretty paper for a couple dollars each from Paper Source, cut the paper to size (being careful to line up the pattern) and double-stick taped the sheets to the backs and sides of the inside of the hutch.


My original plan was to spray glue or even mod podge the paper in place, but so far the double stick tape has served me well. Which I've decided will make my life really easy when I will inevitably want to change out the paper in six months or so. {Is there a medication for whatever it is that I have?}


Have a great weekend! My parents are in town and I'll be busy taking advantage of full-time sitters and my mom's unfailing eye for home decor. See you Monday.

Designer’s Portfolio, Hair, Magazines and Saladino!

I’d like to share a few finds with you that you might find pretty interesting, or at least new and exciting!

First of all…. HGTV has a feature called Designer's Portfolio, where they feature over 2,000 spaces from HGTV’s professional designers.  It’s fun to look around and see how the pros do it.  Here is a sampling…

This colors in this Master Bedroom are wonderful!  The mossy green with the black is a big hit in my book because of it’s earthy and sharp at the same time.  Love the striped wing chair.  Designer Erin Valencich.

Candace Olson’s Master Bedroom make-over.  Dreamy blues and beiges bring this room up to date.  One of the things I love about this room are the side tables.   I like different side tables, rather than matchy-matchy.  That goes for lighting too on the side tables…. sometimes.

This modern kitchen remodel by Designer Aimee Kim pleases me because of the sparkle!  The glass tiles, along with the stainless appliances  gives this space a clean, professional feel.  Love it!

I love all things Hawaiian… in fact I hope to one day own my own little bungalow on a beach someday in Wailea, Maui (if any of you out there know of a great deal… let me know!).  So, it goes without saying that this room speaks to me… the art panel behind the bed, the wood tones used in the room, the Hawaiian prints used on the wall and in the fabrics, all make this room scream Aloha!

O.K…. onto the next great find. .. this one isn’t design related, but it’s such great news, I had to share it with you…

I have really, really curly hair… like Shirley Temple curly hair!  All my life, I’ve fought these curls, but finally succumbed to living with them sometime about 10 years ago, when I realized I wasn’t going to change anything!

So, you can imagine my mission to find good hair products.  I’ve been using a hair product called Wen from Chaz Dean for quite awhile now.   I first saw it on one of those info-mercials and was hooked.   Damn those actors!   But, I have to say, that I was quite impressed with the product.

You see, I’m a bit of a proponent of organic products.  Not a lot of people know that most shampoos have a product in it called sodium laureth sulfates (SLS), which is a detergent and surfactant found in most shampoos, soaps and toothpastes.

The problem is that these SLS’s have been known to cause canker sores, and if ingested into the body/skin/mouth in large amounts over a long period of time, may cause cancer.  There are people who agree and disagree on this one… but why chance it?

Wen is free from these SLS’s.  And, up until yesterday, I thought Wen was only available through their website.  Additionally, you had to sign up for a service, which would require delivery of their products to you on a regular basis, whether you needed them or not.   Thanks to my friend, Nora, I now know that Wen is available on Amazon.com!  And you can buy the products separately! 

I use Wen mainly as a conditioner, not a shampoo.  It’s one of those all-in-one products and I LOVE IT!!!!

Next…I’ve just picked up my first copy of a great new shelter magazine called Loft Life Magazine.  It’s been out for a few months, but it’s new to me.  It’s a wonderful magazine, filled with an eclectic mix of articles, green design, and new design finds all with a funky urban feel.  I really like the magazine and you might too!

Article:  Viva La France Street

The photography is hip and edgy and even the paper that the magazine is printed on feels different from your typical magazine… a bit heavier.

The subscription is only $12.00 for 6 issues.  Quite the bargain I think.

And for you John Saladino fans, he has a new design book coming out on March 1, called Saladino Villa, where he tells the story through word and picture of his revival of a stone ruin in Southern California that he fashioned into his dream home over 5 years of painstaking attention to detail.

Anyone familiar with John Saladino will know that this book will be fabulous.  This is a man who knew what he wanted to do in life… even visiting Villa Rotunda when he was 19 to check out the architecture!  His work is beautiful and I can’t wait to read his new book and take in what might become my newest design bible!

You can get the book at Amazon here.

John Saladino dining room.  Montecito, California.

The master designer himself, John Saladino.

I’m off to Sonoma (wine country!) for the weekend.  Hopefully I’ll have some lovely photos to share of the architecture and landscape of the area.

Have a great weekend!

Staying In...

via Martha Stewart

This looks like an inviting weekend activity to me - yes I know I'm boring but after spending time away from my family this week, boring is great! Have a fabulous weekend - whatever you are doing! Tracey xx

A Dreamy Artist's Loft

I take a painting class every Friday. I love to paint seascapes. The teacher puts on some wonderfully soft music and brews us Cinnamon Tea. I sit on my stool and try to imagine the real sea. While I paint my mind wanders and I dream of where I would paint if I was "real" artist. Here is a picture of an artist's loft in NYC. It comes pretty close to my dream.

All photos Ochs Design

The 2700 sq ft abandoned warehouse space was converted and renovated into an artist's loft by Ochs Design. The painting studio retains the original industrial asphalt floor. The light is incredible!

The studio work table was fabricated from stone and wood left behind by former commercial occupants decades earlier. Only the steel frame is new. I love the wonderful mix of textures every where you look.

Platforms replace walls to define the living space. To the right is the painting studio to the left the living area. Raw industrial surfaces provide the backdrop for art and sculpture. A large skylight lets in daylight to paint by.

The client's desire to leave the space as open as possible led to this luminous fabric sleeping enclosure. Isn't this so romantic?

I love the spare furnishings - what a wonderfully unique side table.

The client likes to cook and entertain. The spacious open kitchen features a 1925 bistro table that seats 16 people. I could have some great parties here!

Just wanted to give you a peek of where I dream about painting when I finally get discovered!