It’s a relatively new website to which you either have to request an invitation or be invited. Once you’re a member, you can peruse all the images on the homepage, or you can filter them out by category: home & furniture, gifts, food & drink, travel, art & architecture, design, DIY, prints, products, fashion and a slew of other categories. It’s like tearing great ideas out of a magazine and putting them in a folder to remember them, only it’s online and much easier to see all at once.

Pintrest Homepage. Everything.

The idea is that you have your own “boards” on your Pintrest profile. When you see an image you like you can “re-pin” it to the board you deem fitting. You can create your own fashion inspiration board, home ideas board, inspirational quotes board or beautiful photos board. You can have as many or as few boards as you like.

On the homepage, you can see the things that have been pinned and re-pinned by all Pintrest users, or you can simplify to just the pinboards that you follow (this could be your friends or favorite trendsetters), and draw inspiration from them!

My "Home Inspiration" Board. I'm a few years still from having my own place, but hey, I'll be prepared when I do!

There’s even a nifty application that can go in your web browser toolbar. With the “pin it” application, no matter what website you are on, if you see something you like, you simply click “pin it” on the toolbar. The application will ask which board you would like the image to be pinned to and then pin it there.

Another great thing about Pintrest, is that you can see the origin of the pin. By just clicking through on an image you will be taken to the original website where, perhaps, you just may find a number of other items to suit your fancy.

www.pintrest.com

Follow my pin boards on Pintrest @ Julianne Hilmes

Usually attributed to trendy stores and hipster subculture, “pop-up shops” conjure images of impossibly long-lines, cooler-than-thou gadgets, and frenetic teenagers swooning over the latest iPhone case. One certainly doesn’t equate that kind of tchotchke-filled hut with the elegance of bespoke furniture and a venerable name. Check your preconceived notions at the door as the father-son duo that make up the legendary establishment F.P. Victoria & Son have turned that idea on its head and done just that–married the pop-up shop and handcrafted, classically inspired furniture for a first-rate, luxury shopping experience, to be sure.

What began in 1933 as an antique shop specializing in museum-quality English and Continental furniture, F.P. Victoria & Son quickly expanded into a full-fledged custom furniture manufacturing business when high-profile decorators and clients commissioned bespoke pieces based on the antiques they admired in Mr. Victoria’s inventory. Instead of red they wanted blue, instead of wood they wanted plaster, instead of tooled leather they wanted honed marble.  Serge Roche, Syrie Maugham, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and Elsie de Wolfe, are just a few of the dazzling names that top the roster of clients who requested custom pieces.  Mr. Victoria quietly grew both arms of the business and eventually his son, Tony Victoria, took the reins.

When the youngest of the Victoria men, Freddie Victoria, segued into the family business, there were warehouses full of rendering, drawings, sketches, and prototypes. The father-son team knew they were sitting atop a gold mine of beautifully imagined pieces and decided to curate what is now The F.P. Victoria & Son Collection.

Elegant grandeur reigns supreme with everything from life-size Maccassar wood and beveled mirror obelisks to shocking blue lacquer Pagoda-shaped etageres. Subtle beauty abounds when contemporary mirrors are treated with a dose of the age-old Venetian glass-cutting techniques historically employed on girly-girl dressing mirrors (think Marie Antoinette meets Jean Michel Frank). Customization continues as their specialty. Been longing for one of Billy Baldwin’s iconic brass étagères but want it with an oxidized nickel-plated finish?  No problem. Dreaming about a 19th-century hairdresser’s chair with a heart-shaped back? Too easy. This line of bespoke furniture was intended for the designer and the consumer who won’t settle for off-the-rack pedestrian pieces but yearn for special and one-of-a-kind show-stoppers.  They’ve even expanded their line to include more contemporary silhouettes like ebonized maple stacking chairs that are reminiscent of the 50’s Danish modern aesthetic.

And while this esteemed 3-generation business will be around as they have for the past 78 years, their tasteful version of a pop-up shop will only be in action for a hot, New York minute. If you’re lucky enough to be in NYC from May 3 through May 15, stop by The Silver Peacock on Park Avenue and 90th Street for a peek inside a treasure chest of exquisitely crafted furniture and bespoke finery.

Belcourt chair in Grotto Cerulean

Old Course in Dover Jungle

If you’ve been to Cambodia, it’s a must-have. If you haven’t, it will persuade you to get there. And soon. I’ve tried for years to describe to people what it is about Angkor that puts it smack dab at the top of my favorite places list. McDermott’s book communicates visually what I have not been able to communicate verbally.

Through the use of special black-and-white film that is sensitive to infrared light, McDermott’s collection of photographs of the temples of Angkor is not just dramatic, but ethereal.

He puts it best himself. “It is the intangible spirit of a place that is most elusive when one is trying to create a visual portrait,” explains McDermott.

Not only do McDermott’s photographs capture Angkor’s physical beauty, but also that indefinable spirit that is so difficult to put into words.

For additional details, visit asiaphotos.net.

We started where most things do: inspiration. We briefly discussed the colors, research, home and fashion trends, and qualities (strength, beauty, protection) that influenced the Shaw designers. Regional inspiration boards and displays showing national and regional sales of existing products by color were interesting to study.

The group was paired off to create our own inspiration boards. The Shaw team wanted to see what we were inspired by and what we were seeing in the market. I worked with the fabulous Carmen Natschke from The Decorating Diva. Here’s our board (including some pieces you may already recognize from past TH issues):

If you want to hear me discuss our board, here’s a video. More of what I’ve been seeing in the market will be in our pages soon!

 
While explaining his board during this exercise, environmental lifestyle expert Danny Seo gave great advice that you may have heard before, even from your own interior designer, but I wanted to reiterate:  If you aren’t sure how you want to decorate a room, use your closet as inspiration. Look at the colors and textures you’re drawn to. Chances are if you are always happy wearing it, you’ll always be happy living in it.
 
Following that exercise we toured Shaw’s pilot factory, which is a super-scaled down working version of their larger plants. Here they can innovate, experiment, and do quality control without interrupting the workflow at the factories making carpet for sale.

We saw the machines involved in tufting, which stitches yarn into the backing material either as loops or cut pile, with patterns, textures, and pile heights controlled by computers.

 
We also observed the dye range that continuously applies red, yellow, and blue in various formulations to create the colors in which the rugs are offered, and a gravimetric dye dispenser, which carefully measures the exact amounts needed for each color.

 
Tigressá carpet yarn is extruded (nylon pellets are melted down, then squeezed through triangle shaped holes, cooled, strengthened and stretched into fibers for yarn), tufted, and then dyed which allows for more color options than using pre-dyed yarn.

Even with their recycled Nylon 6, Shaw is able to achieve bright colors because they go all the way back to the raw materials. The other way of recycling carpets is to shear the fibers off and melt them down, often creating muddy colors.

Before we left research and development, we participated in the stain resistance experiments I mentioned previously. Another point illustrated by that demo: Because Tigressá carpet stays clean and dry, it’s more hypoallergenic, which is great news for allergy sufferers.

 
At the previously top-secret technical center we got to see the real science in action.

The editors and bloggers. Yes, I’m wearing my safety goggles.

There were several laboratories, each dedicated to a specific function or test of the product. Some highlights:

A humidity-controlled lab lets Shaw check how the carpet and backing fare in real applications in different environments. While we were there, a carpet that had been installed was curling so they were going to send it back for more work. A tip: a warm installation helps to avoid re-stretch problems.

In the cleaning and maintenance lab we tested out Shaw’s patented R2X spot treatment product. You may remember this is also the formula that the carpet is produced with, but it’s also available as a stand-alone spot treatment. Another tip learned: agitate a stain lightly from the outside in, do not rub.

 
In the microscopy lab, college interns were observing Tigressá fibers. The strength and softness come from high-tensile denier filaments, which are thinner than human hair, and are shaped like distorted triangles or Ys.  Because they are so fine, they are soft and can be tightly packed together for added strength.

Can you see the fibers on the computer screen? The larger oval-shaped one is a human hair.

What that essentially means for you is that it takes a lot of stress before the filaments wear down, and because so many fibers can be twisted together, the pressure of daily wear is spread out (similar to how laying on a bed of nails doesn’t hurt because of the large surface area). So it will take an extremely long time before your Tigressá carpet ever looks worn.

Other grueling tests the carpet endures before it’s ready for you to purchase include: its backing being torn off to check yarn strength, a roll test to check for backing separation, a tumbler that simulates human foot traffic, and a chamber that approximates the exposure to light, heat, and ozone that a carpet experiences in its useful lifetime testing for color fastness and any degradation.

If you’re buying carpet, interested in more of the science, or want to find out about the health and environmental impact of carpets, check out the Carpet & Rug institute’s website. And if you’re interested in Tigressá carpet, don’t forget to Tweet to Save the Tigers!

]]> http://www.traditionalhome.com/blogs/companion/2010/06/10/shaw-tour/feed/ 16 http://www.traditionalhome.com/blogs/companion/2010/05/22/tigressa-softstyle/ http://www.traditionalhome.com/blogs/companion/2010/05/22/tigressa-softstyle/#comments Sat, 22 May 2010 22:19:44 +0000 Amy Bleier Long http://www.traditionalhome.com/blogs/companion/?p=1055
 
In the market for new carpet? I just got back from a slightly whirlwind trip to Dalton, GA, for a press event hosted by Shaw, the world’s largest carpet manufacturer, and CCA Global Partners, where I toured Shaw’s corporate headquarters and had an exclusive preview of their brand new line coming out this weekend.
 

Tigressá SoftStyle is an innovative line of nylon carpet, but it’s also the culmination of a lengthy development process, one I learned a great deal about over two days. Shaw let us (9 bloggers, 3 trade editors, and me!) see the evolution of Tigressá by literally opening their doors so we could examine each step in the production cycle.
 
 
The Tigressá name comes from the company’s consideration of the new fiber system to offer strength and softness, vibrant colors, and protection—much like the qualities of a tiger. And after seeing it, feeling it, and observing their manufacturing and testing processes, it’s hard not to be impressed.

The superfine super-strong Nylon 6 fibers, root-to-tip yarn dyes, and their patented stain-resistant R2X coating technology hold up under a number of grueling tests. (If you are interested in a more scientific explanation, I plan to go a bit more in-depth in my next post.)
 
Check out this demo illustrating Tigressá’s stain-repelling ability. (The link will take you to YouTube; please excuse my amateur videography skills.)

What this means for you is a carpet that will stay soft, clean, and beautiful for a long time regardless of what your family can throw at—or drop on—it.
 
 
Something else to love: Shaw’s process is cradle to cradle. Tigressá carpet, like all their new carpet, is made from recycled Nylon 6 fibers, and can be recycled back into the original raw material and turned into new carpet fibers. They take sustainability very seriously and have a network of around 50 carpet recycling partners plus their own revolutionary facility. Even the backing and adhesive are made with environmental consideration and sustainable materials where possible.

Tigressá comes in 31 styles and a multitude of colors. We even got a sneak peek at—and opportunity to weigh in on—the designs they’re considering for the next group of patterns to be produced.

Even if you’re not looking for wall-to-wall right now, any of their carpets can be cut and bound into area rugs of your desired size.

Tigressá is available exclusively through Carpet One Floor & Home and Flooring America retailers starting May 23^rd.
 

Between now and August 20^th, a portion of Tigressá carpet sale proceeds will go to the Save the Tiger Fund which works to protect the existing—but almost extinct—tiger population and its habitat.

And, if you’re feeling lucky, you can enter their sweepstakes: the grand prize is a trip to India to see some gorgeous tigers in person. If you tweet, you can also earn an additional entry to the sweepstakes through Tweet to Save the Tiger by logging into Twitter and tweeting a Tigressá/Save the Tiger Fund related message. Shaw is donating $1 for each tweet, up to $25,000. Check the site for official rules and instructions.
 
What do you look for when you’re buying carpet?
 
Stay tuned: My next post will be the behind-the-scenes shots from my tour of Shaw including their mini-factory, color inspiration center, and top-secret testing facilities!

“Exhibition 1935-1955: Inspiration & Realism of Fabrics” celebrates the whimsy of Pierre Frey’s early years and brings to New York a curated collection of textiles, drawings, and paintings usually held in their Parisian archives. The beautiful patterns are lively, and feel as fresh now as ever.

Author, textile historian, and Pierre Frey archivist Sophie Rouart was on hand to present the history and inspiration as she highlighted the designs featured in the exhibit.

The company began in 1935 with founder Pierre Frey, partner Jean Chatanay, and only 2 looms, though he bought out Chatanay the following year. During the WWII period, Pierre was classified as an artisan/artist and was granted special permission to continue buying and selling fabrics. Though the fabrics are usually cotton, linen, or wool, the company developed a plastic-cotton to make use of the only materials that were available at the time. Post-war, the company began exporting to the US, UK, and other countries in continental Europe.

Pierre Frey was not a designer, but was the “eye,” identifying talent, and the designers he worked with were the “hands.” Freelance designers such as Chatanay, Geneviève Prou (who charmed Pierre with her drawings and self—she became his wife, and mother of current president Patrick Frey), Janine Janet, Irène Rohr, and Jean-Denis Malclès lent their considerable talent in creating dozens of patterns that fell into four themes: Between Sea and Sky, Nature, Decorative Fantasies, and Myths and Reveries.

Between Sea and Sky: heaven and sea motifs, inspired partially by the rising popularity of beach vacations.

Nature: the surrounding flora and fauna. One pattern in the archive, Fouillis de Fleur, was turned into a dress worn by Brigitte Bardot.

Decorative Fantasies: the alternative to figurative designs.

Myths and Reveries: influenced by 1940s surrealism, these patterns were fanciful and looked to literature and mythology to transcend reality. See the unicorns on the right?

Two more I loved:

close-up detail with the designer’s notes in pencil (gouache on paper)

 
There are many more wonderful examples, so if you are going to be in New York, I encourage you to go see the whole collection in person. The exhibit is open to the public at their showroom in the Decoration & Design Building and runs through July 30.

In my house—and probably yours—there is a lot of technology: multiple computers and TVs, DVR, iPhone (his), BlackBerry (mine), a Wii, a Roomba, and iPods for everyone (mine’s custom-painted by the fantastic company Colorware - it makes a great gift).  And the devices are all fun or make our lives easier.

Except when they don’t—how about our remote that doesn’t work for the first 5 minutes the TV is on? —though, we tend to live with it. Occasionally, I get wistful for simpler times when people wrote letters instead of emails, had to crank their phones, and men wore hats (possibly I’m watching too many Cary Grant movies, if you can do such a thing). Thankfully, when I feel that way, I can turn to Thomas Paul’s wonderful Luddite collection.

I’ve been loving everything about these for a while: the hand silkscreened iconography on these pieces, the reminder of technology that revolutionized modern life, the simple cotton canvas material, and the sense of humor in naming the line after the Luddites, an early 19^th-century movement of British textile artists who protested the technological changes that were robbing them of their jobs and altering their lifestyle.

I think the irony of placing these images on cases meant for modern gadgets is what makes me like them so much.

laptop case

camera case

mp3 player case

mobile phone case



Other Luddite collection items include a cosmetics bag, totes, melamine dishes, and a book pouch. Velocity Art and Design has the entire collection, and more, from Thomas Paul.

Do you think these are as cute as I do?

Of course the range self-cleans, has a variety of settings, and five sizeable burners (with 5,000-15,000 BTUs), but the feature that’s most interesting about the range is its Energy Saving Panel, or ESP. I’ve never seen anything like it and frankly, I love it.

Essentially it’s a divider that is inserted into the oven, splitting it into two cavities. You cook on the right side and the left⎯automatically switched off by the ESP⎯becomes a warming oven via the residual heat. By using the ESP when the full 4.9 cubic feet of oven space isn’t needed, you reduce your energy consumption up to 30%!

This would be great for me because I’m always looking for ways to save energy, and a whole huge oven isn’t necessary to cook everyday dinners for my family of 3 (one being a five-month-old infant just starting solids). The right side appeared plenty big enough to handle anything I’d make for an average dinner. Plus, while trying to cook and feed the baby, things are always getting done at different times. With the ESP, I could keep my finished dishes warm without wasting reams of aluminum foil, as it seems we do now.

A few more highlights:

-products are in colored finishes for the first time (I like Cranberry, above)

-dual-fuel range with gas burners and electric oven

-two very quiet fans provide even distribution of heat

-safety shelves must be lifted first, so you can’t accidentally pull out shelf and burn yourself (as I’ve been known to do)

-deep storage drawer holds ESP and all oven racks when not in use

-heats to 375 degrees in only 8 minutes in full-oven mode making preheating unnecessary

-Sabbath mode

-$4,399



*Ranges and ovens are called cookers in the UK. Fun Irish chef and home economist James McIntosh performed the demo and provided us with a variety of translations from British to American.

Caldrea’s cleaners and detergents are some of those special things.

I’m terrible about cleaning, but I always think: If I had nice-smelling products, I’d be so much better! I’ve used Caldrea’s Ginger Pomelo dish soap in the past and, I swear, it makes doing dishes a lot more pleasant. Actually, another editor and I were saying that when the solutions smell this good, you don’t mind cleaning.

Lucky for my (however reluctant) spring-cleaning needs, their new Essential Collection will be available at Target stores starting April 1.

The three homekeeping scents are Citron Ginger, Herbs of Provence, and Olive Oil (super realistic, but not heavy). You have to go and give them a sniff, because my describing them wouldn’t do them justice. (Don’t you wish the Internet were scratch-and-sniff? Or is that just me?) Plus, how pretty are these? A heads-up, though, the collection will be in the kitchenware aisle, not the cleaning aisle.

And lest you worry about dishpan hands, the Home Ambiance line includes a Hand Care set available in five scents (along with candles, diffusers, and fragrance spray, all found in the candle aisle).  Pomegranate Fig was my favorite.

Another reason I like their cleaners: The solutions are biodegradable and made with plant-based ingredients and natural essential oils. With no harsh chemicals, you avoid the headache-inducing fumes other cleaners have, making you feel as though you need to air out your whole house afterward.

Also dreamy­­—the new Sandalwood Riceflower fragrance in their main line of products (available at specialty shops and their website).

And while at their site, check out the beautiful wood-handled brushes and dusters. If you hurry, you can score some at a discount until 3/28.

p.s.: Isn’t this light fixture so fun? It’s in the Miele showroom where the launch was held.