Inspired Design Notes

The Beauty in Olive Oil

My partner and I were perusing the temporary vendors at the 2002 Atlanta Gift Show when we happened to see a skin care line called Cali which is made from 19th century recipes using olive oil.  Pam stopped and said she had bought Cali foot lotion in Idaho and it was by far the best lotion she had ever tried for her feet.  In retail one spends more time standing than sitting and sleeping combined, so feet are very important.  Always looking for something new to carry at the store, we bought the line which includes Oliva and Tarroco.  I have used it ever since.  My favorite is the face cream, both day and night.  I had used many fine face products prior to the Cali, but none kept my skin as well moisturized.  Not long ago, a customer was looking at our Cali line and we got to chatting.  She told me she had a friend who had met Sophia Loren – she asked her what she did to keep her skin looking so beautiful and her answer - olive oil.  To read more about this fabulous product check out their web site, http://www.calicosmetics.com/beauty_secrets.php and if you would like to experience it, please visit the store.

Bamboo is not just for Pandas

Bamboo, a catch-phrase of the eco-friendly is turning up in myriad products from baby wipes to office furniture.  Used for centuries in Asia, it has become a very widely used renewable resource.

 

I have been having a love affair with bamboo for decades.  With over 10,000 species, the gardening and floral design options are infinite.  Neither of these however, are what has me talking about bamboo today.  Last fall I was at an accessories market and while choosing throws for the store, ran across Home Source--a company that sells bamboo sheets.  To quote a cliche--OMG--they are so soft and smooth.  After a fascinating discussion about the merits of bamboo fabric, the most important thing I discovered:  they are considered the best sheets for women suffering from hot flashes.  I was hooked.  Admittedly, they are somewhat expensive, but I have tried sheets from 200 to 600 thread count.  The 600 count pilled worse than any of them, not to mention how heavy they were, and wrinkled when they came out of the drier.  I have learned since buying those sheets that pilling is caused from improper weaving, however the point is apparently moot with bamboo.

I have washed my bamboo sheets at least a dozen times--no pills.  They are almost wrinkle-free when I take them, warm out of the drier.  They keep me warm when I am cold.  I can move to a blessedly cold spot when a hot flash attacks and perhaps the best part of all--the dog hairs don't stick to them the way they do cotton.  My cotton sheets were starting to look like mohair!  Reni and Rose, my Cavaliers have hair so fine it weaves itself into my furniture and clothes which being a neat freak, drives me crazy.  (I guess I should have mentioned I am one of "those"--my furry friends sleep with me.)

I am so enamored with these sheets that we sell them at a heavily discounted price because I think everyone should enjoy the luxury of sleeping on bamboo sheets.  Sweet dreams.
More information at http://www.shophouseofdesign.com/html/bamboo_sheets.html

A Fun Filled Girlfriend's Day

Last Saturday, downtown Red Bluff hosted its first annual Girlfriend’s Day.  With over 50 health care practitioners participating in the event there was something for everyone. To celebrate the day at the store, we invited several of our favorite and most talented colleagues to join us.  Gudrun Peschel-Vopat, who is an Eden Energy practitioner, shared her knowledge about energy basics and how we can tap into it to make our lives more balanced.  Lori of Facial Rejuvenation demonstrated micro-dermabrasion on customer’s hands – I have to say, I am convinced.  After seeing what my treated hand looked like – I agreed with a customer who wanted to know if she could do whole body ‘dips’!   Lynn and Toni from Hair Etc. did fabulous makeovers with Stript Mineral Makeup (which I have been using since they did our Lady’s Night last year – and love it).  No lady’s event at House of Design would be complete without Tom from TAS Photography to take fabulous pictures of everyone.  A master at capturing the beauty so many of us feel we don’t possess, he took portraits of friends, family and individuals to use for Facebook, blogging or web pages.  To find your picture just click on the Girlfriend's photo album, then follow the directions to download your picture. 

What is a Drop-In Bouquet?

We’ve been talking about the trend in drop-in bouquets and they are being shown in all the shelter magazines, but what does it mean?  In some cases it is nothing more than taking a bunch of flowers and placing them in a vase with very little artful thinking or process.  In its most beautiful sense, it is placing flowers in a vase without using floral foam, or other mechanic such as chicken wire, a frog, kenzan or tape to create an art piece.  It is a particularly good way to create designs in glass vases because there are no unsightly mechanics showing when it is complete.  While this method has its advantages, without a mechanic to hold the stems in place as they are being arranged, it can also be much more difficult.  Flipping through some of the current home magazines will provide a multitude of ideas for ways to use this style of design.

Dallas Market Trends 2010

 
 

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of market is seeing what is trending in and out.  The Belgian look has become very dominant since last year.  Its influence has been seen in the shelter magazines for most of last year.  This style can be dressed up or down depending on your lifestyle and has a much lighter feel than some of the trends from the last few years.  I know I have felt the need to ‘lighten up’ my surroundings after the last year.  Even the styles with darker palettes, such as Mediterranean are seeing a shift towards a lighter palette.  One of the aspects I particularly like about the Belgian is how found, collected, and heirloom accessories and furniture can be used in the mix.  Emerging from this look is another which is being called Farmhouse Country.  With a soft palette of pastels verging on lighter midtones, it is fresh, lighter in feel, incorporates many of the icons of American style design, and is a great way to update your current look.  Fitting in with both of these looks are the two colors most dominant at market – blues in the aqua range and pinks flushed with lavender and gray.  Gray is the predominant neutral, and while it has a history of being considered drab, boring and sometimes cold, it is now richer, more exciting and often warmer because of hints of color being added.  As a floral designer, green is considered a neutral because Mother Nature uses it as a backdrop for her beautiful flowers, and therefore from my perspective green, in one of its myriad shades is a neutral that can be blended into any palette.  In interiors however, it is treated as part of the color harmony and therefore should be mentioned as one of the dominant colors at market.  Still extremely popular in all of the yellow-green shades, it has also taken on the blue side of the color wheel and is prominent in every hue and shade of blue-green as it reaches toward the aquas previously mentioned.

    We were delighted to find a new lamp resource that gives home decor a new uplift.  Decorated with crystals, jewels, flowers, braids and ribbons, each lamp has a personality of its own.  Watch for their arrival in March.

Dallas Market Trends January 2010

        Animal prints are still very visible in both apparel and home décor, however they are generally a bit more subtle than in the past, and are often mixed with other finishes and materials.  There is a cross-pollination occurring between contemporary and traditional features within individual accessories and furnishings, which softens the contemporary aspect and gives the traditional a clean, updated feel.  Natural, organic materials and objects are more and more prevalent, used either to soften the hard edges of urban statements or as stand alone features.   Mixing the natural elements into our décor is a reminder that we live in a fragile ecosystem for which we are the caretakers.  Which leads to the eco-friendly products that are becoming a mainstay - whether recycled, reused, and/or renewed all kinds of things are being created for home décor that are environmentally-friendly in production and use.   

      As with styles of décor and other trends, we have become a very global community, with easy access to everything, and it has made it possible to find a trend to parallel almost anything we want to create.  It is exciting and liberating to be in a time when the choices we make for our homes, reflecting our own personal style can follow the trends so easily.  For most of us, creating an eclectic mix of what we cherish and brings joy into our lives is what is most important and with a little bit of tweaking, it can be right on trend.

Dallas Market Trends - Christmas 2010

Wow! We recently got back from the Dallas market where we were focused on purchasing product for Holiday Magic - crazy that we prepare for the fourth quarter all but three months during the summer.  It is always fun to see what is new and find out if the product we need to create the themes we have planned is available.  This year was completely opposite of last – there were so many new products that we came home with four more themes than we went to market with, and two more trees than last year.

This is definitely the year of tradition, which is no surprise when reflecting on the difficulties our nation felt last year.  Red and green were the dominant colors, religious icons were prevalent, fairies were relegated to the forest (we did find some hiding for all the fairy collectors) as angels took over, and Santa has taken back the spotlight from the snowmen.  Of the figures not specifically associated with Christmas, the deer was by far the most popular.  From traditional to contemporary it is available in every color and finish imaginable – and we bought a multitude for the store because they were so irresistible.  Whimsy is very popular, again showing our need to experience a lighter side, and whimsical figures of all kinds can be found, particularly in the pet arena which we will feature again this year. 

Our looks for this year are varied, but a few of my favorites are the Mary Englebreit tree, a red, green and black look we are calling American Christmas featuring Jane Seymour’s art, and the entry tree which will be festooned with all shades of burgundy, pink and violet, covered in flowers and the perfect backdrop to the angels which will be flying everywhere.  We also have plans to incorporate natural shells into one of the looks, and doing an encore is the fabulous line of realistic stuffed animals that lived on the woodland tree last year.  Of course there will be no shortage of birds, butterflies and bugs, and Mark Roberts has created lots of new elves which will have a tree to themselves this year.  I could go on and on….. it may sound like a bit of an illness to some, but I can’t wait to start Christmas! 

          

Fall Open House/Celebrating 100 Years

Two-thousand-and-six was a very busy year for us.  We began the restoration of the Kraft in January which took us nine months, and then in three short weeks moved the House of Design to our new location.  We have much to celebrate this year.  On September 25^th and 26^th our Annual Harvest Open House will honor the 100^th anniversary of Red Bluff’s, Kraft Memorial Free Library building.  Elizabeth Kraft entrusted it to the city in 1909 and it remained an important part of the community for many decades.  If only it could talk – the stories we have heard from visitors!  It was the gathering place for many.  Used not only for reading, education, and enlightenment, but it also served as a place to meet with friends, play sports on the lawn, and for some the hand rail was even used as a kind of jungle gym!  I’ve heard from more than a few visitors that it was a way to get away from home, and mom.  One just told her you were going to the library - which was true – hooked up with your friends and headed downtown.  It was also a place where children waited for parents to get off work, retired folks enjoyed the paper, and others buried themselves in the stacks of books. 

It is unfortunate that the library was moved from this grand building, but it is our good fortune to be its  guardians.  In celebrating 100 years we have created a written and pictorial story for our web site, of the restoration, as well as history of the Kraft family who were its benefactors.  We hope you will come visit us September 25^th or 26^th for our Harvest Open House where we will have the story boards of the restoration, music, and complimentary refreshments.  We would love to hear your stories of the library. 

P.S.  The elves are just weeks away from starting set-up for our fifteenth season of  Holiday Magic, which is shaping up to be our best one yet.  Mark your calendar for November 5^th when the sights, scents, tastes and sounds of the festivities begin! 

For more information about the restoration, Kraft family  and the Kraft building, please visit our web site:
www.shophouseofdesign.com

A Gift from the Kraft Family

History and time unfortunately have a way of letting us forget about people and things.  I had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. and Mrs. Walton about the Kraft Memorial Free Library and Mr. Walton’s great, great Grandparents, Herbert and Elizabeth Kraft.  The Kraft family’s philanthropy was extremely generous to Red Bluff.  Mr. Kraft was a self made man, landing in Red Bluff in 1852 with $2.50 to his name.   He had apprenticed as a tinsmith with his later to be, father-in-law in Louisville, Kentucky.  With that skill, hard work, great intelligence, and integrity he segued his few dollars into a financial empire, operated from the heart of Red Bluff.

 

The great great-Grandson, Herbert Kraft Walton shared some of the family stories and history with me.  He related a picture of a couple who adored one another.  When looking at the magnificent library Elizabeth had built in memory of her husband it is not hard to believe.  Mr. Kraft went back to Louisville, Kentucky and while he was there, on his 30^th birthday, married Elizabeth Kreuth on March 15, 1861.  At just 18 years old, she packed her belongings and left for California with her new husband the day after they were married.  What incredible courage, faith and trust she had in her partner.  They traveled by train, stagecoach and perhaps ferry to reach Red Bluff where Mr. Kraft had a home being built for his new bride.  The Kraft family gave much to Red Bluff and although the library has since moved, the beautiful building Elizabeth had built is still part of Red Bluff’s heritage.

 

The building has 1908 carved in the pediment and dedication stone, however, the actual completion and ceremonies entrusting the library to the community took place on May 24, 1909.  We are celebrating the first 100 years of the Kraft building on September 25 and 26 as part of our annual fall harvest open house.  It is with heartfelt thanks that we acknowledge all those who helped bring the Kraft back to life, and all of you who have supported House of Design and the Kraft, keeping us a part of the community.

For more information about the restoration, Kraft family and the Kraft building please visit our web site www.shophouseofdesign.com.

Amaryllis - The Gift that Keeps on Giving

One of my favorite catalogs arrived a couple weeks ago; John Scheepers, Inc., Beauty from Bulbs.  It is filled with beautiful bulbs just waiting for me to choose.  I hardly know where to start – tulips, Narcissus, Amaryllis, or the very special little species bulbs, and let’s not forget the lilies.  You see what I mean…. the list goes on.  I know if I will just take one day during the fall to get them in the ground I will be treated to a spring filled with indescribable beauty.  But I digress.  In the back of the catalog are the pictures and listings for all the Amaryllis bulbs.  The gargantuan bulbs that produce the same kind of flower.  Blooming just about eight to ten weeks after they are potted, depending on the indoor environment, their spectacular display can be loosely scheduled to suit your own.  And, a green thumb isn’t even necessary for growing these beauties. 

 Second only to their fabulous show during the dreary days of winter, is the fact that in our area they can be happily grown outdoors.  After mine have finished blooming and I know we are past freezing temperatures, because their foliage will freeze I plant them in an area where they will be protected from the afternoon sun.  I amend the soil with plenty of organic material and give them lots of room to grow.  After a few years your one bulb will have multiplied dramatically, producing many stems topped with gigantic blossoms for one of the most incredible floral displays your garden will ever have from such a small plant. 

(If you don’t feel like watering we have absolutely gorgeous botanical Amaryllis that will fool most people and require no attention, except an occasional dusting.)