"Oh Christmas Trees, Oh Christmas Trees . . . "

Delores Arabian, California

Greetings,

So, how many of you took advantage of the weekend and put your Christmas trees up?  If you're still waiting, I thought I'd share a few of the entries in the "Christmas Tree" category for the Tartanscot Holiday Decorating Contest.

Kelly Farwell, California

Teri Elliott, Kansas

Laura Ritchey, Arkansas 

Carol Brademas, Indiana 

Christian May, California

Remember, there's a beautiful collection of ornaments from Gumps of San Francisco for the best entry!  

Cheers,

Scot

"Luxury need not be extravagant . . . "

Charlotte Moss and Scot Meacham Wood

Greetings and Salutations,

Where does one begin to describe the wondrously gracious Charlotte Moss? And how does one, such as myself, begin to tell you about the amazing evening . . . listening to Charlotte at Gumps in San Francisco - in conversation with Diane Dorrans Saeks - discussing design, windex, and life in general.

"The love of beauty costs nothing." Seriously, how can you beat that kind of inspiration. Charlotte opened the evening with a description of her love of fresh flowers. I think we've all mentioned how special fresh flowers make our homes feel. But now, she's up at the crack of dawn, going to the local flower market - buying wholesale and arranging them herself.

And a sea of homesickness swept over me as she talked of her childhood in the South. "My mother would always be the last one out of the house," she said. "We would just be waiting in the car. But, we knew she was inside, plumping the decorative pillows on the sofa before she would leave the house. Her reasoning was - 'You never know who might stop by?' And Mother wanted everything to be 'guest ready'." Like so many southerners, there just always seemed to be such a pronounced sense of hospitality in her upbringing. And that specific aspect of one's home, as a place to welcome guests, seems to permeate so much of her very gracious aesthetic.

And the advice wasn't limited to interior design, my favourite - "Don't spray windex on antique gold gilded mirrors. Spray the windex on a rag, and use the rag to clean the mirror. Otherwise - the gold gilding begins to turn blue." Good to know.

Cheers,

tartanscot

"The Art of Living . . ."

Charlotte Moss

Good afternoon,

Just getting back into the office from a very long (and very productive) meeting at the house in the east bay . . . so finally letting my brain take a little rest - and getting some much needed food in my system . . . lol.  It's always such a delight to work on a project when the client is SO decisive.  We made important progress.  But that's not the only good news today.

As I'm perusing my calendar for the next few days . . . there it is . . . my invitation . . . just a tiny bit over 24 hours away.  "The Art of Living" - a conversation with Charlotte Moss at Gumps in San Francisco.  Yay!  I cannot wait to meet her and hear her inspiring words.  (Oh, and what the heck am I going to wear?!)

"... our objects, bibelots, whatnots, and knickknacks - say 

the most about who we are. They are as honest as a diary."

- Charlotte Moss

So excited,

tartanscot

"Good, Gracious . . . "

Barbara Barry at Gumps, San Francisco

It is always kind of worrisome to meet someone in person that you've always found to be fascinating.  There's always that nagging fear that they won't live up to your expectations.  Well, I can gladly report that the delightful Barbara Barry is as wonderfully gracious as one would only expect her to be.

She spoke at an event this afternoon at Gumps, in downtown San Francisco, in a marvelous new space highlighting her beautiful furniture, lighting, and table service.  She opened the afternoon with her memories of living in San Francisco and the beginnings of her career in design.

She told of an early job as an interior decorator, but says she always knew that she wanted to design, 'I felt the desire to create a background for living.  These items, the bedding, the china, the furniture have such a profound effect on our lives.'  'Inspire' and 'create' were words that were used often.  When asked by someone in the audience where she finds her inspiration, she replied how deeply she valued her time in silence - a time when she can dream and create.  'There is so much noise, so much to do, in our modern society, when I get home, I need to be quiet, and think.'

So, I'm going to follow her advice, and turn off the computer, and the television, and think.  and dream.

tartanscot in San Francisco, signing off for the evening.

ps.  Ivan, I gave Barbara your greetings and she said to say "hi!" to you as well.

Orlando Diaz-Azcuy and Diane Dorrans Saeks at Gumps

Diane Dorrans Saeks and Orlando Diaz-Azcuy

Good evening,

There's nothing quite like a grand evening at Gumps in downtown San Francisco to celebrate the wonderful new book of Orlando Diaz-Azcuy's marvelous interiors.  

Such a great new book!  Full of inspiration on every page.

Diane Dorrans Saeks and Gene Ogden

With my brand new copy of the book in hand, the talented Diane Dorrans Saeks, the book's author, was my first stop.  My friend Gene Ogden, from Gumps, was helping move the line along and introduced me to Diane.  As she began to autograph my copy, I interjected that it was Scot "with one 't'," at which point she looked up and said, "Oh my, are you Tartanscot?  I've read your blog."  (and honestly, I may have fainted for one quick moment . . . lol)

There was a long line throughout the evening - including the SF design duo - George Brazil and Cecilia Sagrera-Hill.

Katie Denham and Lise Stubbs

Also waiting in line -  Katie from "Katie-Did."  Double YAY - We finally had a chance to meet and what a delight!  I wish the evening had been a bit less crowded and frantic so that we could have chatted more . . . but, we've already got plans to get together again.  I ran into Grant Gibson as well - but didn't manage to find him again once I had my camera out.

It's late here (well, not really late, but late for me to still be awake . . . lol) and I'm off to bed.