Design

Going SoLo

Not having been to San Diego since I was a teenager (and suffice it to say, that was more than just a couple of years ago), I had no idea what to expect design-wise when I made my way there a few weeks back for a shoot.

Knowing I’m always on the prowl for beautiful shop locations for the magazine, a friend suggested I check out the Cedros Avenue Design District in Solana Beach. The shops were wonderful, and varied—quaint garden shops, chic clothing boutiques, coffee shops…you name it.

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I got a feelin’: new textiles big on texture

Metaphores, a French fabric house opened by Olivier Nourry in 1981, has always been as much about texture as it is the  other design elements (color, pattern, style, weave or print, and weight). At its Paris showroom in the St. Germaine district a couple of weeks ago, I was pleased to get up close and personal with Metaphores’s  2010 introductions. My pick for most interesting texture from their new “New York, New York” collection is:

maison-objet-25

"Empire State"

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The Lost Art of Letter Writing

When was the last time you received a letter, I mean a real letter? I have to confess I’ve begun doing something I swore I never would, that is, sending thank you notes via email. These days “Take a Letter, Maria” and “Return to Sender”  already seem nostalgic; before long, they’ll be downright quaint.

So I was delighted when the book The Art of the Personal Letter (A Guide to Connecting Through the Written Word) crossed my desk.

076792827X_l

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