Atlanta Gift Show 2011

Hi Friends!

Sorry I haven't blogged in so long - we have been busy, busy bees around the studio lately!

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Atlanta Gift Show once again! It was a whirlwind of meetings, new products, signings, and lots of fun along the way. Every year I leave inspired by the new color and trend directions of the industry.

Here are a few photos from the trip!

I love my agent Sam! He always guides us in the right direction!

Our new Christian line with Wilton Armetale made its debut in Atlanta. I could not be more thrilled about this collection!

This is our friend Trieste from Ne'Qwa where they hand-paint beautiful ornaments from the inside!

We are so excited about our new "Holly Days" collection with Keller Charles and Magnet Works!

Thank you to all of our friends for a wonderful trip!!

A Visit with Claude

Claude Monet that is!

Well, not really (obviously)... but Joan, a designer at the studio, recently visited his home and gardens in Giverny! Her daughter Lauren is living in Paris, so she went to visit. Their pictures are so beautiful - see them below, and you too will feel like you have just visited with Claude himself!

I can just picture him gardening and walking around setting up his easel here and there. What a heavenly setup! I have read that he was a master gardener who loved flowers and let them grow untamed into lush, organic landscapes that outgrew their beds and created natural volume around his home. Simply gorgeous!

I know I am feeling very inspired - thank you for sharing your photos Joan!

California Dreaming

Well, it's not "such a winter's day"... but, we have been California dreaming at the studio! Our summer intern, Joni, has just returned from a fabulous trip to the west coast with her family. They visited Monterey, Big Sur, Cupertino, Muir Woods, and San Francisco. She took hundreds of great photos and said I could share some with you!

The "Lone Cypress" along the 17-mile Drive.

A shark at the Monterey Aquarium.

Can you see the sea horse? Joni said this little guy is called the weedy sea dragon because he blends into the seaweed.

This is a photo taken on their way to Big Sur. The west coast cliffs are so beautiful!

Baby sea lions at Point Lobos State Park.

Thanks for sharing the wonderful photos, Joni!

A Wedding Weekend in San Francisco

This past weekend I had the great privilege of taking a trip to San Francisco with Jeannie to attend her sister-in-law and my friend's wedding. Congratulations Lynn and Roy! The wedding was beautiful and we had a great time touring around the city as well. Here are some photos I wanted to share with you all!

First we did some sightseeing and took a ferry across the bay. It was such a beautiful day! We had a gorgeous view of the Golden Gate Bridge and also got to see Alcatraz.

At the ferry station we stumbled upon a wonderful farmer's market!

We had lunch on a beautiful outdoor patio. I loved the painted table!

This patio plant was looking a little rough (poor thing!) but the pot was beautiful.

And our little seagull friend was waiting for us to drop something for him... or maybe he was posing for our next beach painting??

Here I am with Jeannie at this amazing wine shop that was also an art gallery - the perfect spot for us!

And here are some photos of the happy couple - it was a beautiful, intimate ceremony and I feel so blessed to have been a part of the celebration!

It was an absolutely beautiful weekend in every way!!

Eric’s European Adventure

Beckie’s youngest son, Eric, just returned from Europe! He spent two weeks studying interior design at a university in Milan and then spent another 2 weeks traveling through the rest of Italy and Europe. Italy is such a beautiful country, with such a rich culture centered around fine arts and architecture – I couldn’t think of a more perfect place to study design! During his trip, Eric toured Rome, Florence and Venice. He also traveled to Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris. Today he came to the studio to share his photos with us. They were all so wonderful – I wish I was going back to Europe soon! One video he shared with us was from his trip to Venice. He went to the island of Murano and visited a glass blowing studio. The video he shot was of a man creating a small glass horse – it is such an intricate and beautiful process. I’m so glad that Eric had a wonderful experience. He is such a talented and creative designer, I know he learned a lot on this trip and will be able to use his many experiences to create designs for a lifetime!

Turning 88 on August 8th, 2008!

Today my Uncle Jim turns 88! It is his “magical” birthday as he turns 88 on 8/8/08. Last weekend we celebrated with him during our trip to Massachusetts with two cakes! Uncle Jim is a wonderful man and a phenomenal artist as well. I really enjoyed the time we spent together as he showed me his paintings and we talked about our love for art. He loves to paint beautiful scenes of nature, including horses! Hopefully he will agree to be a featured artist on the website soon.
Happy Birthday, Uncle Jim!

CLICK HERE> to visit our current featured artist page!