Dining By Design Boston, 2008

I've finally had time to post all the rest of my Dining By Design pics. There were a lot and it was hard to choose only one or two per display. Dining By Design is a national event which raises funds for AIDS related charities. The Community Research Initiative of New England is the local sponsor of Boston's DBD.

If you're still looking for some holiday entertaining inspirations, these might do the trick!

This was my favorite display, by Charles Fletcher:

Charles Fletcher Designs

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Tour the Paris Fleas

Contributed by Susan Schultz

When I first began traveling to Paris I was urged by both friends and the guidebooks to visit the famous French flea market, the Puces Saint-Ouen with its huge variety, multiple markets and permanent halls. My first visit to Saint-Ouen was just about learning to navigate the sometimes intimidating route from the Clignancourt Metro station to rue des Rosiers where the t-shirt and tube sock vendors finally give way to quality vintage and antique goods.

I returned several times to Saint-Ouen, introducing friends to my favorite cafes and explaining the layout of the market as well as I could. But for all my times up there, and all my ooohhing and aaaahhing over fabulous jewelry, fabrics, mirrors, lamps and more, I never bought a thing. It was just all too expensive for my budget and well, it didn't quite feel like a real flea market.

There's no denying the Clignancourt market is filled with wonderful, surprising and beautiful finds, such as this shell of a vintage racing car.

One vendor at Clignancourt specializes in meticulously restored leather club chairs from the Victorian, Art Deco and Art Moderne eras. Gorgeous and oh, so pricy!

I find solace in riches of another sort, spending my euros on bread, cheese and chocolate at many of the open air organic food markets.

I spent my money instead at some of the many open-air food markets, especially the 'bio-marchés' or organic markets that you can find on many of the boulevards early mornings. Finally, on one recent trip, I was determined to visit one of the other flea markets and decided on Vanves market, at the opposite end of the city from Saint-Ouen and just a short walk from the Vanves station on line 13.

I walk up to Ave. Marc Sangnier and I find heaven! Banged-up folding tables, crates and boxes all filled with goodies--jewelry, industrial items, lighting, tableware, flatware, clothing, books, décor and, of course, bric-a-brac--everything that makes a great flea market!

The crowd at Vanves is nicer also, many more locals, friendlier and much, much less uptight!

The Vanves market is so much more my style and budget, with the vintage jewelry crowded up next to old letterpress forms.

The vendors are casual and low-key, willing to bargain but no push-overs, for the most part they sip coffees and chat with their neighbors, answering questions in a friendly manner, even when asked by an American ;)

There are a couple of vendors who specialize in vintage buttons and other sewing accessories; several good vintage costume jewelry dealers and one of my favorites, a booth called Missy [missy.france@club-internet.fr] and run by a young woman named Juila. Her stand typically contains a mix of vintage wine, cheese and butter labels, pharmacy packaging and dead stock, vintage linens, buttons and trims and much, much more. I could spend hours just at her stand. She's usually on your right, about half-way down Ave. Marc Sangnier from the intersection with Ave. George Lafenestre.

The Missy stand is among my favorites, with vintage packaging, paper good, fashion accessories and much more.

Every time I visit, her stand is always busy. It's a favorite, along the costume jewelry vendors, of the Japanese tourists, as much of what Missy offers is very 'kawaii'

The market continues down Ave. Marc Sangnier to the next intersection and around the corner, usually anywhere from 70-100 vendors. But get there early, this low-key flea begins to shut down around 11:30am, with discount clothing stands eventually replacing all the wonderful bricoulage, Saturday and Sunday only.

This sums up what I love about the Vanves market, the chandelier hanging in the carrier van!




Photos and text contributed by Susan Schultz

Click here to read all of Susan's posts.

Another victim of the economic downturn

I was at a designer event recently and chatting with some colleagues when the conversation, as it invariably does these days, turned to the economy and "what little business there is". One of my friends - a sophisticated and successful professional - told us that he had just had a client postpone a project because "it wouldn't look good right now". Oh. So - not only are we dealing with folks who have lost actual money and those who are worried about future losses - but we also have to deal with "perception" factor - showy is clearly out. Meanwhile - the client's decision to postpone the project, not because of lack of cash, but because of how he felt he might be perceived, meant that the designer lost income. And so did every trades person associated with the job - painters, seamstresses, upholsterers, electricians, plumbers, etc. Income they all use to pay their bills, shop in their local stores and eat in local restaurants. Quite a domino effect. Of course, we all have to make decisions about how we spend - or don't spend - our money and no one really has a right to question us. But, it gets one thinking about the effect emotions have on our economy.

I then heard the following interview on NPR:

I've done a lot of chatting with designers over the past few weeks and everyone reports varying degrees of loss of business. From reduced budgets to postponements to full on cancellations. And these are designers who have been in the business for 20+ years.

Which brings me to me. I've run my own firm Chameleon Interiors for seven years. Two years ago I had a waiting list of clients, a bookkeeper and an intern. I've appeared on television and have been interviewed in many national publications and local glossy magazines. Since that banner year, my business has fallen off in lock step with the downturn in housing values, the credit crunch and now the full on implosion on all fronts. If designers with 20+ years in the industry are losing clients - what's a relative newbie going to do? The bookkeeper is gone, there are no interns - how does one lay off oneself? Is there a severance package available? Anyone...? [crickets...] Just to be clear - Chameleon Interiors is not officially closed. I left a lucrative job in public television business management because I was looking for a more creative career. And I found it. But the reality of the situation is that I am single and have only my own income to support me and this is a bad time to be self-employed in the housing industry.

Well, my blog has flourished and I am so grateful for all my blogging friends, those who comment and email me with questions, virtual design clients and all the bloggers whose work inspires me every day! I am, basically, a glass is-half-full kind of person and while I am job hunting (anyone have any leads?) - I am grateful for the creative outlet of the blog and all that it brings. Yay blogging!

My resume is available upon request!

Color is Everything

Contributed by Lori Dolnick




Color is everything. From high-end sinks to contract wallcoverings – the trend spotters work hard to stay on top.

I’m just getting back from Germany where I visited the Blanco SILGRANIT factory. Blanco is an 85-year old family-owned company that makes some of the world’s finest and most innovative sink and faucet designs. European heritage. German engineering. Wow.

They introduced the world’s first granite sink and continue to lead the industry today in this growing category. The Blanco SILGRANIT sink is made from 80% granite. The other ingredients are a company secret that took them 25 years to perfect and make these sinks far tougher than the countertops surrounding them. They resist heat, chips, scratches, stains and they won’t need maintenance treatments to keep these properties – as granite countertops do. While the durability and design is remarkable, I was most impressed by the color options and kept my German tour guide busy with questions about how they develop sink colors.

Blanco’s SILGRANIT® line comes in five shades: Biscuit, Metallic Gray, Anthracite, White and the newest – Café Brown. Anthracite is the most popular – a stunning accent for light counters or an integrated matte for darker surfaces. Café is a rising popular color as natural, organic colors continue to be high demand design elements. Blanco is constantly researching kitchen color trends to keep these sinks in perfect alignment with the surfaces being specified around them. The growing popularity of granite sinks in the kitchen also points to overall color and design trends in the home. Matte finishes in counters and surfaces are very popular right now – as are color features throughout the home from laundry appliances to wallcoverings. What once was neutral – is now in living color. What was shiny is sometimes matte – contrast is key to material choices.

Julie Landis, Creative Director for J. Josephson travels the world to spot the latest trends for their popular to-the-trade wallcoverings. Her recent trips resulted in the following notes: “Gray is the new neutral. Influenced by fashion, gray prevails on the runway and on the wall. Browns have led for a long time, especially browns with blues. But now browns are getting warmer and yellower to make room for cool grays. At NeoCon Chicago, we noted more contemporary ethereal whites and IMM Cologne gave insights into exciting combinations of purple and brown. And we can’t forget ‘green’ eco-haloing in both color and design.” Julie’s color design notes are clear matches for Blanco’s sink colors. It’s cool when the trend spotters converge. From fashion runway to home fashions – it’s all in sync – and it doesn’t happen by accident. These color experts are hard at it year-round to spot the next new color wave that will elevate their brands and enhance our homes.


These new Symphony Wallcoverings show off the latest color fashion trends. (Patterns: Impromptu, Minuet, Rhythm)



This new café brown Blanco SILGRANIT® sink points to the growing use of fashion color in home design today.



Contributed by Lori Dolnick.

Click here to read all of Lori's posts.

Christmas in Colonial Williamsburg

What better way to get inspiration for a natural, homespun kind of Christmas than a quick trip to Colonial Williamsburg. With no Target or Christmas Tree Shops to head off to, how did our forebearers celebrate the season? By heading towards the woods and garden, of course! (OK, historically speaking, they often did not actually decorate, but hey...)











Click here to visit Colonial Williamsburg for more inspiration!

Festival of Wreaths

I wrote last week about the Festival of Wreaths designer showhouse sponsored by Van Millwork in Needham, MA. I ended up going to the black tie Gala finale party on Saturday and took some of my own pics of all the very beautiful rooms and thought I'd share them. Some pretty great decorating inspiration - if you're still in the market for ideas!

"North Pole throws a Black Tie Affair"
Barbara Prossne and Mark G. Silipo for Babel's Paint & Decorating
Winner of the Premier Award

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