"The Irish Country House . . . "

Greetings,

There are several perks to the 'design blog' trade.  Firstly, it provides a place for me to share all of the flotsam and jetsam of my life - you know - those things that make life worth living.  And of course, the opportunity to share my design inspirations . . . and I love knowing that there is such a large community of folks who are as passionate about design as I am.

But, one of the other perks is - getting an advance look at design books coming down the pike.  And this is a CLEAR favourite.  The Irish Country House.

I've scanned in a few images . . . seriously - it's a beautiful book - filled with amazing photography.  And with great style.

Enjoy . . . 

"The Irish Country House chronicles a remarkable group of houses and castles that have survived the vicissitudes of Ireland's history and are still in the hands of their original families. From breakfront cabinets filled with generations of monogrammed heirloom china to canopy beds keeping the chill of an Irish winter at bay to cabbage-rose slip-covered sofas nestled under tall Gothic windows, this book takes the reader on a tour of these residences, many of which have never been published before, providing an intimate look at 'a marvelous hotchpotch of rooms and decoration.' "

Cheers,

Scot

ps.  a big 'thank you' to Vendome Press for the advance copy of this wonderful book.  

"Prepared to Launch . . . "

Crystal Gentilello, Anne Sage, Caitlin Flemming, and Alaina Kaczmarski

of Rue Magazine

(image from Coco+Kelly)

Greetings,

For those of you who thought maybe you'd missed something - yes - I was in New York for about 26 hours the first of this week.  I had a quick client meeting Monday morning . . . and then the great pleasure of attending the launch party for the premier issue of Rue Magazine later that evening.

But, let's start at the very beginning . . . 

After landing Monday morning from the red-eye - and after a quick meeting - I was fortunate to run into Jonathan Legate whilst shopping my way down Madison Ave.  We'd planned to connect later in the day - but, realized we were just 6 blocks apart - so ended up window shopping together for most of the afternoon.

Then Jonathan and I met up with Maybelline Te for a quick drink at Campbell Apartment in Grand Central Station.  

Such an amazing location.

Jonathan and me, waiting for the subway.

And then, there was the party.

Seriously.

It was like being dropped into the middle of social media heaven.  There was such an amazing energy in the room.  Bloggers and designers from around the country.  And endless conversations beginning with "it feels like I've already met you!"  

Eddie Ross, with Crystal Gentilello (Rue's Editor in Chief), and Anne Sage (Rue's Executive Editor)

Vicente Wolf with Crystal

(Vicente has a wonderful profile in Rue's first issue)

And more shots of the crowd. 

Cassandra LaValle and myself

(image from Coco+Kelly)

And then - after a busy day - and despite several invitations to dinner - I finally admitted exhaustion.

and quiet stroll back up Lexington to my hotel - and I was planted in the comfy bed within 13 minutes of getting to my room.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . . .  

With one other meeting Tuesday morning - and then a quick trip around Central Park - then off to the airport.  

Just another of tartanscot's 'adventures,'
tartanscot

(images pulled from Coco+Kelly, Design Calendar, and from my own Canon camera)

"What a Swell Weekend It Was . . . "

Nathan Turner's shop in West Hollywood

Greetings,

As a song once asked, "How can I begin . . . " to tell of my most wonderful weekend in Los Angeles. Great weather. Great old friends. Great new friends. Great parties. Great memories.

Thursday morning started early, with a 5:30am car waiting to take me to the airport for a 7am flight. But an early start was needed - for I had one busy day ahead of me.

As soon as I landed in LA, I gave a quick call to Megan (from beachbungalow8) as we had planned to meet for breakfast. We've been chatting by email forever, met ever so briefly here in SF a few months ago, but never had an opportunity to really talk. I guess the good news is - the restaurant wasn't very busy - because we talked for so long that breakfast had turned into lunch before we knew it . . . lol. It was like chatting with someone I'd know all my life. These 'blog' relationships can be quite amazing. Thanks Megan for spending so much of your day entertaining me.

Aaron Stewart (creative director for SFERRA Linens), Kelly Wearstler,

Scot Meacham Wood, and Ronda Rice Carman (from AlltheBest Blog)

Thursday evening was the SFERRA "Lose Count"/All the Best Blog Cocktail party - with special guest, Kelly Wearstler - held at Nathan Turner's charming shop in West Hollywood. It was such a great space - filled with wonderful furniture, great textiles, and everything for the home (and a huge crowd of people!) - and featuring the new collection of bedding from SFERRA by Kelly Wearstler.

And clearly, any party hosted by the always gracious blogger Ronda Rice Carman, would, of course, have more than a fair number of bloggers present. The photo below only proves the point. It was so great to meet so many people in person that I've only known 'online.'

Ronda (of All the Best), Brooke (of Velvet and Linen), Megan (from Beachbungalow8),

Christian (from Maison21), myself (from the blog you're reading),

and Jill (the LA corespondent from Material Girls)

(image from Maison21)

Kelly Wearstler's line for SFERRA Linens.

But, fair reader, the weekend had just begun. Friday was spent catching up with old friends (thanks for lunch Patrick!) and old co-workers, some shopping in Beverly Hills (Yay Barneys!), and enjoying the beautiful southern California weather. And glad of the fact that I had a convertible.

And Saturday? Well, Saturday was a well-needed day of relaxing.

Not at a spa.

Not at a museum.

Splash Mountain, post-splash.

But, at Disneyland.

Sometimes, you need to let your inner-child run around and ride roller coasters all day.

Somewhat fearful of tomorrow's workload,

tartanscot

"Press Enter . . . "

Good morning,

I hope like many of you, I had the great delight of watching "Julie & Julia" this weekend. And I wonder how many of my fellow bloggers had chills of recognition watching Julie publish her first blog post. In the middle of a dark night. Lit only by a bright task lamp. "Press enter to publish." Wondering if it would have any impact. Or any readers. "Press enter to publish." The music swells. "Press enter." In the darkened theater, I think I may have even cried a bit - lol.

I remember the night that I published the first entry on my blog. I had been to a seminar on adapting your design business in the current economy and one of the speaker's first questions was, "How many of you have a blog?" I think two hands went up. And neither of them were mine - I only knew 'blogging' from reading "The Sartorialist" everyday. But, I did some research - it was shocking to see how vibrant the design blogging community was. So I registered with blogspot. And wrote a post. And 'saved' it. And re-wrote it the next day. And 'saved' it again - my hand sliding over the 'enter' button, but too unsure to press it. "Press enter to publish."

Well, clearly, I eventually pressed enter. (If only out of frustration that I was being so damn wimpy.) And that one "enter" has been evolving into "The Adventures of Tartanscot" that is now such an important part of my life and my business. And it has affected me in ways I could have never imagined at the time. I usually write and publish most of my posts fairly quickly. I see something, I write about it, I publish it. And it's a system that works for me. But as my blog boasts - these are the things that inspire me - lol. Well, sometimes it's tough to be constantly inspired whilst surviving a crowded city and running a busy design studio. So - I know I need to keep my eyes wide open constantly. I like it. So many times - 'being inspired' involves 'being aware.'

And, of course, I remember the first time that someone that I didn't know left a comment. There was a significant amount of giggling. And now I have new friends circling the globe. And new ones almost everyday.

So this brief missive functions to document my evolution to this point - but, more importantly, to say 'hi' to you fine folks out there. Those that I see in my day to day life. Those of you who leave comments that I've never met. Those of you who read. Those of you who enjoy. Those of you in 'the business.' Those of you who find inspiration. Those of you who inspire me.

my humble thanks and gratitude,

tartanscot

*pressing enter - - - now*

*walks up to the microphone*

Good morning faithful reader,

I've only been blogging for about 5 months now and I can't believe the amazing people that I have met through my contacts here with "tartanscot."  So this morning I want to acknowledge a few special people.

firstly, ArchitectDesign.  Of all of my new blogging friends, you were the first.  We've chatted about practically everything from light fixtures, vintage homes, design inspirations, and all points in between.  You were also the first person to add me to your blog list.  My thanks knows no bounds.

and the lovely and gracious GrannySmithGreen.  We share a great love of English design and I know when we first meet . . . we'll sit in the corner of some coffee shop and giggle for hours.

PigtownDesign.  Anyone who can chat with me about the glories of design AND can geek-out about Doctor Who and Torchwood is 'tops' in my book.

and sweet PatriciaGray.  You were so kind to list me as one of your favourite new blogs on Saturday.  I was (and still am) quite honoured.

KatieDid, you were SO sweet to list my blog yesterday . . . glad you enjoyed the images and good luck with the tour of your home.  As I've always said, if you want to get things done around the house - have a party.

I encourage anyone who hasn't already, to swing by and meet my new friends.

tartanscot