"It's In the Mix . . . "

Eric Cohler

Greetings all,

I was delighted to attend an insightful lecture from Eric Cohler at the Lee Jofa showroom during "Design San Francisco" last week. It was an hour packed with inspiration - but one particular quote of his seemed to resonate with me - "We all need a past in order to find the here and now." It was an expression of that 'duality' in design that many of the week's speakers all seemed to touch on. Mixing periods. Mixing styles. Mixing colours. Mixing patterns. And creating energy from that tension. Finding great style in that contrast.

Here are some perfect examples from Cohler's own portfolio. Such a great talent. No wonder he's referred to as "The Mix Master."

Classic oil paintings, but hung on grasscloth wallpaper.

European bombe chest paired with contemporary upholstery and lighting.

Love, love, love.

Classic space. Classic furnishings. But, paired with horizontally

striped wallpaper for some contrast and energy.

This might be one of my favourite images from Cohler's portfolio.

I love this collection of vintage photography and prints, but displayed with

just a clean modern eye. And pairing them with the geometric floor covering

is just genius.

Simply lovely. But the use of the photography over the mantle

gives it much more edge. and interest.

And this is just storage porn from Cohler's own home.

(oh, if I could only convert a bedroom into a closet!)

And a bit of shirting envy as well.

(with a great use of wallpaper on the ceiling!)

Keep mixing,

tartanscot

here's a bit more information on Cohler's collection for Lee Jofa Textiles.

"Meanwhile, Back in San Francisco . . . "

Jamie Drake, as inspired by Grace Kelly

Greetings All,

Well, it was the best of plans. This week - during the "Design San Francisco" events - my plan was to post jaunty updates each day of the lectures and presentations I was attending during the week. And, if you are a regular reader - well, you'll know that THAT just never quite came to pass.

So here - on a late Friday evening - I'm going to attempt to re-cap the highlights of this week's activities.

I thought I'd start working in reverse order . . .

Jamie Drake

Friday morning started fast and bright - right out of the gates (without nearly enough sleep and/or coffee in my system) with the glamorous Jamie Drake. Stylish. Witty. And a devilish sense of humour. The perfect beginning to my day. (and the perfect antidote to my slow moving morning!)

He had collected a series of images of his new book (with great stories of his own home and several show house projects) and each image was highlighted with memories of the specific projects - as well as some insights into his design process.

An shot from Drake's own home.

image from - drakedesignassociates.com

He admitted that he was not a huge fan of this bright yellow, but it gave the

space an amazing presence.

"Surprise and movement - that's what I like. Colors both ground and animate the space."

- Jamie Drake

Kip's Bay Showhouse, 2007.

Photographer Nick Johnson.

"I premiered my fabric line with Shumaker at the 2007 Kip's Bay Showhouse. Literally wrapped in the collection, I upholstered the walls in silk moire, covered the bed in cut-silk velvets, and draped the windows in snappy silk stripe."

- Jamie Drake

Bunny Williams

One of Thursday's highlight was a mid-day talk by Bunny Williams. She, as well, brought a collection of images - and delighted everyone her stories of design - and even better, her perspective on life and living in beautiful spaces.

Bunny Williams, from Elle Decor

"In her Manhattan apartment, designer Bunny Williams heightens the drama of a 1930s mirrored bed by embellishing it with an extraordinary embroidered Indian silk panel. The bed is dressed with a simple coverlet and linens by Léron."

After Bunny finished speaking - I sprinted upstairs to Shears & Window to hear Suzanne Tucker preview her new fabric collection. Yay. Beautiful.

Wednesday started out strong with the keynote speech brought by Margaret Russell, editor of Elle Decor, highlighting the images chosen from her new book "Style and Substance."

Followed by the great pleasure of hearing Eric Cohler speak at Lee Jofa - and I'm getting a post together from that lecture.

And Tuesday night - Margaret Russell was the special guest at an event at Gumps - that seemed to be absolutely packed to the gills with people. Here's a quick shot with Katie Denham (l) and myself.

And here's Margaret - charming as ever -

with Marta Benson (l) and Gene Ogden (r) of Gumps.

It's been a great week. And I'm practically packed with inspiration. And I'm practically pooped beyond exhaustion. The next few days I'll be curled up in bed - with Margaret's, Bunny's, and Jamie's books. freshly autographed. and packed with great ideas.

Best,

tartanscot