"The Antidote . . . "

Lee Jofa Showrom, New York City
(photography by Scot Meacham Wood)

Greetings,

We're having one of those rainy, dreary days here in San Francisco today - and I have the perfect antidote - the new collection of textiles from Lee Jofa by Lilly Pulitzer.  Almost bracingly bright.  Saturated with happiness.  Bursting with flavour.  And all ready for your summer.

I had the great opportunity to preview the collection last week while I was in New York for Blogfest 2011, sponsored by Kravet / Lee Jofa, and it was an excellent antidote to an equally rainy, dreary day that seemed to wrap that city.  

Florals.  Turquoise.  Checks.  Watermelon.  Linens.  Limes.  Textiles.  Trims.  Lemon.  Prints.  Happiness.

Enjoy . . . 

Practically perfect in every way.
Lee Jofa Showroom, New York City
(photography by Scot Meacham Wood)

Lee Jofa Showroom, New York City
(photography by Scot Meacham Wood)

Selection from the new textiles at Lee Jofa, from Lilly Pulitzer.

Seriously, the sun JUST came out here . . . almost in response to my posting.

Wow - the power of textiles,
Scot

"Kravet Inspired News . . . "

Greetings,

Just so pleased and proud to have one of my articles featured in the new edition of Karvet/Lee Jofa's Inspired News.  Click over and find some of my ideas for Fall decorating.

Cheers,

Scot

"And the Oscar goes to . . . "

Greetings,

Well, I'm sure if you've been shopping on Madison Avenue any time in the last few months - or read more that one blog posting in the last 60 days - you're most like aware that Oscar de la Renta has launched a new collection of textiles with Lee Jofa.  And to celebrate and publicize the new fabric line - a collection of skirts were made from a small selection of the textiles.

Seriously beautiful.  

Seriously dreamy.

Seriously couture.  

And NOW, they're being auctioned off for charity!  With all proceeds going to Casa del Niño.

Casa del Niño

"Founded in 1982 by Ziomara Menendez and Oscar de la Renta, Casa del Nino is regarded as the most complete project of child assistance in the Dominican Republic, and is considered to be a model of efficiency and quality care. At Casa del Nino every child receives food, full dental and medical care, and vocational training for the age appropriate - all in hopes of a better tomorrow for the youth of the community.  Today, this worthwhile organization cares for more than 14500 children, from newborns to young adults. "

"Custom designs created by Oscar de la Renta for the launch of his exclusive collections of fabrics with Lee Jofa will be auctioned for charity. The items were created by hand in the atelier of Mr. de la Renta, and feature the hallmarks of his superb quality and workmanship.

Each skirt is fully lined, women's designer size 4, and created from fabrics from Oscar de la Renta's Home collection. There are nine floor length skirts and one caftan made from various patterns from Mr. de la Renta's collection. Each item is exquisite and a one of a kind collector's item. Bidding will be hosted online from September 7, 2010 through November 30, 2010 at biddingforgood.com with an opening bid of $750 for each item."

To see the complete collection, and to get involved with the bidding - go to biddingforgood.com - and see which one might be perfect first those upcoming holiday parties.  Remember, it's only 88 days until Christmas!

Which one is YOUR favourite?

tartanscot

PS. and seriously, if anyone from my little blogging world bids on and ends up WINNING one of these beautiful pieces - you HAVE to let me know - and pictures WILL be posted here.  lol.

"Some Weekend Sewing . . . "

Greetings,

Well another week finally comes to an end, but our adventurous tour through the "Love Letters" series continues. And this was actually one of the first ideas that I came up with when I began working on the series (but, of course, I'm still writing like a madman at the last minutes - why does it always seem to work that way - lol)

So prepare yourself for a lengthy look at our next letter.

"J" stands for . . .

"Jacobean Crewel"

Suzanne Kasler, from Traditional Home

And for me, one of the best resources for these amazingly versatile textiles is Lee Jofa. A prime example is their wondrous "Sohil" fabric - detail images open this post and also below - but, above - see them in their full glory in this wonderful seating arrangement from Suzanne Kasler.

"Sohil Crewel," from Lee Jofa

Oscar de la Renta, for Lee Jofa

And speaking of fabulous, this is a sample of the new textile collection from Oscar de la Renta for Lee Jofa. Isn't this brash, vibrant crewel work simply perfect?

Gary McBournie, from Traditional Home

Armchairs in "Arbre de Vie," Lee Jofa

Maybe something a bit more traditional, but with that same vibrant colours?

I'm loving "Arbre de Vie" - from Lee Jofa as well.

And some other favourites . . .

"Rosehill Crewel," from Lee Jofa

"Bartholomew Velvet," from Lee Jofa

Scot Meacham Wood Design

I actually used Bartholomew Velvet for decorative pillows in my own bedroom a few years ago.

So beautiful!

"Jardin Crewel," from Lee Jofa

"Sunflower Crewel," from Lee Jofa

And who could ever forget one of my favourite rooms - with Jacobean Crewelwork upholstered to the very walls of the bedroom . . .

The completely delicious, Roger Banks-Pye

Cheers,

tartanscot

ps. and a particular 'thank you' to Jennifer and the NY Lee Jofa showroom for the amazing detail images.

"There's an App for That . . . "

Greetings,

Some fun news for all y'all design nerds . . . Kravet/Lee Jofa launched their new iPhone app called 'eDesign Assistant.' Great for every aspect of shopping at Kravet/Lee Jofa :

"With this app, you can search more than 36,000 Kravet and Lee Jofa fabrics and furnishings to find the perfect color, pattern, texture and style in each product category. You can choose from a library of colors, or snap a photo with the iPhone for a color match, and the app will find coordinating fabrics styles."

"If you are registered with us through e-designtrade.com, you can use the app to check stock, order memo samples and check the status of an order 24 hours a day right from the iPhone."

You can just do a search on your 'app store' for 'edesign assistant' and, best of all, it's a free download.

Here's more info . . .

Enjoy,

tartanscot

for more information - check the Kravet website.

"Come Up and See Me Sometime . . . "

Greetings,

I'm pleased to announce that I'll be taking part in an exciting panel discussion examining the uses of social media in the interior design business.

If you're in the area next Tuesday (June 8th) please join us at the newly expanded and redesigned Kravet showroom at 11am for a lively chat with Jennifer Powell (Social Media Coordinator for Kravet and Lee Jofa,) Claudia Juestel (Adeeni Desgin Group,) Cristin Bisbee Priest (Simplified Bee,) and myself.

here's all the details (click to enlarge)

See you Tuesday for the discussion and lunch - and be sure to introduce yourselves - I love meeting my readers . . .

Cheers,

tartanscot

"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.

"The Crafts of Art . . . "

Stephen Elrod, VP and Creative Director for Lee Jofa

"Tree of Life" textile -from Lee Jofa

source - Veranda 2007

Greetings,

I have always thought it is so important to keep up with all of the latest technology and the newest trends in interior design and business management - BUT, it's also incredibly important to have a thorough understanding of the age-old crafts that create the furnishings and the textiles that inhabit our homes. And today, it's the time honored craft of textiles that has me tightly in its spell . . .

The Lee Jofa Showroom in San Francisco

I recently had a chance to attend an amazing lecture on the "Art of Hand Blocked Fabrics" from Stephen Elrod, of Lee Jofa, and to hear the entire process described. Lee Jofa carries one of the most spectacular collections of hand blocked fabric I've ever seen - and I've always been fascinated by how they are created . . .

So, as the radiant Julie Andrews once said, 'let's start at the very beginning . . . .' and see how the amazing "tree of life" fabric is created.

to begin - the greige goods (the name for unprinted textiles) is placed on the printing table and affixed so that it will not move during the lengthy printing process.

Each individual print block is checked, cleaned, and prepared to have the ink applied.

And then, each colour, one by one, is applied to the textile. There are a staggering total of 316 individual blocks used to create the pattern.

The process is clearly a work of art in and of itself.

Each new block and colour layered to create the pattern.

After all of the 316 individual blocks are printed, the entire length of fabric (with a 99 inch repeat) is reviewed.

The original pattern was created by Henry Wearne, an English textile designer who specialized in creating fabrics for the American market.

After the ink has dried, it is rolled onto the bolt, the table is scrubbed clean of the ink which bleeds through during the printing process . . . and a new length of fabric is affixed to the table to be printed.

Just a sample of the numerous hand blocks needed for the process.

and the almost shocking variety in sizes for the various colours in the design. And, yes, those tiny, tiny, tiny wood blocks are part of the process as well.

So have a look around the house, or maybe next time you're out looking at textiles (or maybe the next time you see a Lee Jofa showroom) - have a close look at some of these amazing textiles.

Now I'm starring at my needlepoint rug too . . . I wonder how these are made,

tartanscot

ps. I've been searching around for a project featuring the Lee Jofa "Tree of Life" textile - if you have one, please send it to me. I would love to feature it.