Neglect, a Birthday, and Austin Hot-Spots

Oh, dear readers, I'm the WORST! I've really been neglecting you. Its with good reason, though, I promise. The fun news is that I turn a whopping 32 today! TIME FLIES. I swear, just the other day I was a toddler wearing a birthday hat, stuffing my face with cake without a care in the world.

Ok, you got me; I've never lived without a care in the world

Check out the rad birth announcement my dad wrote up when I was born (note: he is an accomplished tennis player and all-around funny guy):

Favorite line: "Balls…..None." Get it? I'm a girl. 

It's been quite a ride, and I have high hopes for my thirty-second year on this earth. Good things are already happening. For one, Oliver and I got a grill and some deck chairs, so we can dine alfresco and enjoy this amazing Austin weather. Tonight, we are going to try out a new-ish (less than a year old) restaurant in our neighborhood that's said to be pushing the boundaries of Austin's emerging foodie scene, Foreign and Domestic. I hope I can remember to bring the camera and snap some shots to share with you. I've been a Forgetful Franny lately!

Work-wise, things are getting busy busy busy, which is wonderful, but I miss my little slice o'the blogosphere! I have a few posts in the works right now, but none are quite complete, so I thought I'd whet your appetite (and hopefully keep you coming back to me), by giving you a sneak peek into a very special tour we took recently (thanks to the Architecture Enthusiasts of Austin) of a few projects completed by the office of one of Austin's most outstanding architects, Michael Hsu. I have a personal connection with Mr. Hsu's office, about which I will expound when I write full review of these spaces, but here's a little quickie introduction to the work his office does….

We visited Haddington's, a new rustic American tavern on East 6th with outstanding finishes, not to mention yummy food and cocktails):




La Condesa, a hip, contemporary-modern interior Mexican restaurant in the 2nd street district"


Love that custom light fixture, created from off-the-shelf lighting parts!

Malverde, a chic bar located adjacent to and upstairs from La Condesa, Malverde should be bumpin'!


The mossy, "living" wall is a great touch to this space the blurs the barrier between inside and out – a perfect Austin design element!

I have a busy week ahead, but I will do my best keep up with you. Happy Monday, and happy birthday to ME! xoxo

Happy 107th to Poppi (aka Max Scheer)

Today my Poppi (my paternal grandpa) would have been 107 year old. I didn't know Poppi, a born-and-bred New Yorker (Lower East Side–Brooklyn–Union Square), as well as I would have liked to. He passed away when I was fairly young and I was too into myself to realize how many wonderful stories he had to tell and how much history he could impart on me. What I do know is that he was a hard-working, handsome, dapper man with a twinkle in his eye, a joke at the ready and a scratchy mustache.

Noni and Poppi created a fine little family (my dad is the tall stud in the foreground–loving the socks and tie):


(My dad is on the right – he loves his little bro)

While this is technically Poppi's day, I can't ignore my Noni's contribution to the family. She was one of those rare ladies with a career, who contributed to keeping the family afloat through The Great Depression; she was an intelligent, patient, proud and regal woman, who helped me with my history homework; she only wore the sharpest of royal blue or deep purple skirt suits and the snazziest jewelry, whether it was costume or real and she always timed the intake of her coffee and pastries so "they came out even." She was quite a vision: I remember beaming with pride when one of my childhood friends told me she looked like a queen. She did:

Last spring, when I wrote about the passing of my maternal grandma, I neglected to include this wonderful picture of all four of my grandparents together in my parents' apartment in the 1970s:

Left to Right: Grandpa Killmer, Poppi (Max Scheer), Grandma Killmer, Noni (Yetta Scheer)

How great is that photo? The two couples came from completely different worlds – Grandma and Grandpa were life-long small town Southerners while Noni and Poppi could not possibly have been more New York – but they got along famously. I remember my grandmothers (both tall, stately women with lots to say), would talk for HOURS. Their vastly different backgrounds and life experiences somehow manifested in four adults who had oodles in common. I'm a lucky lady to have had such wonderful grandparents!

To my dear Poppi, a happy 107th birthday!

DVF in Your Home and Your Closet

I gave a lot of presentations in graduate school as part of my coursework; we worked on projects for two to four weeks, and were required to present them for final critique in front of peers, professors and guest critics (usually professionals in the design field). I learned early on that how well you presented your work was half the battle; a poor design could often be (somewhat) masked by a dazzling presentation, which wasn't necessarily fair, but it was the truth. I watched outstanding designs go completely unnoticed because the presenter muttered and had tattered posters and models while nonsensical designs were lauded because the presentations were slick and the student, adept at public speaking, sold the half-baked idea with fervor. Many of us took it a step further and actually dressed the part. That's right; my outfits almost always coordinated with the work I was presenting. No matter that I hadn't slept in two weeks or that my last meal took place a few days back or that I had forgotten what a shower felt like, I made time to pull together an outfit that reflected the colors and materials in my interior design projects. Thus the beginning of my interest in exploring how all forms of design are related.

True to form, I always see a link between runway and interiors fashions, so when I heard Diane Von Furstenburg recently launched a collection of bedding and tabletop designs for the home, I was eager to see what she showed at the just-wrapped New York Fashion Week. I figured there would be some overlap, especially because she took inspiration from her own iconic apparel prints. I've put together some comparisons to illustrate how Ms. Von Furstenburg's personal style, brand, favorite colors and fashion inclinations are reflected in her bedding and tabletop designs.




Bedding and tabletop products are available at Bloomingdale's and DVF.com
All fashion photos courtesy Vogue.com, and Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Runway Photos

Coincidently, I recently completed an assignment to write about 1970s wrap dresses, which Ms. Von Furstenburg is credited for inventing – she didn't exactly, but she certainly pushed the design into the mainstream (twice!) and women's fashion has been thanking her ever since! Read the full article here! A sneak peak:

A Misty TGIF

I don't think I've ever actually uttered the term "TGIF." Until now, that is (see above). Its a balmy Friday here in Austin with somewhat overcast skies, although the sun seems to be making attempts to come through the clouds. Overcast days usually make me frowny, except when I'm at or near the beach.

Today, I'll leave you with photos I took just before a wild, but short-lived storm on our last visit to Ocean Grove, a lovely historic seaside town on a quiet stretch of the Jersey Shore (seriously, nothing like the Jersey Shore with which we're all-too familiar). This town is breezy, stunning and filled with non-party-ers. It was our favorite summer getaway.




Have a wonderful weekend! xoxo

Weekend Loving: New Austin Finds!

I know its Thursday, closer to this weekend than last, but I've been busy this week (yay for work!) and I didn't have a chance to write about what I did last weekend, but let me tell you, it was truly awesome. On Saturday (2/26), Oliver and I went to We Heart Hand Made Art – A Pop-Up Event featuring thirteen local artisens from Etsy, sponsored by West Elm.
It. Was. Fantastic. Everyone had great work to show (and sell).  I wanted to share with you my personal favorites. By the way, get a load of the kid doing a backbend on the sofa in the background of the photo above. I didn't notice him until I was uploading these photos–hilarious!

Vertallee Letterpress

Vertallee's reputation precedes them; we'd heard of them before moving to Austin, but a new pal/fellow designer, Daphne, reminded us about them when she recommended that Oliver check them out in his search for local letterpress studios (Daphne also told us about the Etsy event–she's quite the lady about town!). A husband-and-wife team, Vertallee is a company to watch.

Check out Vertallee's etsy store and their blog.

Kimball Prints

Kimball Prints creates dreamy watercolors and pieces of art by printmaking. We were drawn in by the beautiful paintings.

Check out Kimball Print's etsy store.

Leah Duncan

Leah Duncan is an illustrator, designer and textile designer. At the etsy event, she was selling beautiful tea towels with her own custom designs printed on them. She also sells prints, cards, scarves, calendars and pillow covers.

Check out her etsy shop and blog.

Spruce

A furniture redesign studio, Spruce is one of the very few places in Austin carrying the latest (and jazziest) textiles on the market. They sell refurbished and reupholstered finds, but will also repurpose your furniture. Want to learn to upholster? Take a class!

Spruce has a brick and mortar store, so if you're in the area, stop in. Non-Austinites can find Spruce on etsy and keep up to date via their blog.

Make ATX

Comprised of two former architects/lovers of all forms of design, Make ATX is creates laser-cut, hand-assembed note and art cards. The company is also putting together a member-based design and fabrication workshop where creatives across all fields can pursue their interests and produce their work.

To purchase Make ATX's cards, visit their etsy shop. To learn more about the workshop, check out their website.

Letterpress Delicacies

Another husband-and-wife duo, Letterpress Delicacies creates lovely (and funny) cards and prints, including business cards and ephemera. Their work has made its way around the blogosphere, and with good reason.

Visit their etsy store to browse or purchase.

But the fun didn't stop at Saturday! On Sunday afternoon I met the most wonderful person: Brooke, a fellow blogger and outstanding Austin floral designer (you MUST check out her company, Pollen Floral Art) reached out to me, welcoming me to Austin and asking if I wanted to have coffee (people in Austin are unbelievably nice). I am so excited to introduce you to her her amazing company. I can't wait to learn more about her myself. Here's a sampling of Brooke's work.



Be sure to view more on her website and check out her lovely blog.

Here's to hoping for another great weekend ahead! xoxo

Hand-Smocked Window Treatments

I recently wrote this little fact sheet for ehow.com on hand-smocked window treatments. My article was limited to 200 words (I think I wrote about 250; what can I say, I'm verbose!) and it got me in the mood to expound a little on the subject. I can't say I didn't know what smocking was, I did – I even own a few sun dresses with smocking details on the front (and my Aunt Barbara added a hand-smocked embellishment to a dress she made for me when I was little). Maybe because its somewhat familiar, I've always sort of overlooked it. Well, this little blurb, which I wrote in exchange for some money, piqued my interest, so here I am, modifying my fact sheet for the blog in order to quench my knowledge-thirsty readers' questions. A version of the article also appears on examiner.com).

First things first: what is smocking? It is an embroidery technique used to gather fabric to create a ruffled repeating diamond pattern. In curtains, it runs the length of the header.

Smocking detail via The Shabby Nest

Unlike other embroidery methods that are purely decorative, smocking is unusual in that it was often worn by laborers. Developed in England in the 13th and 14th centuries and used extensively in apparel through the 18th and 19th centuries before elastic was available, smocking allowed practical garments for farmers and other workers to be both form-fitting and flexible. It was also employed in garments like cuffs and necklines, where buttons were undesirable.

Painting by Ambrosius Holbein, 1518, showing smocking on garment; Image courtesy Wikipedia

The use of smocks declined among farm workers in the late 1800s, but the embroidery technique later became a popular specialty detail added to high culture dresses and tea gowns. Decorative English smocking resurged in the 1920s and became even more popular in 1940, when the smocking pleater was invented, saving time and making it possible to use the technique on a variety of fabrics. Soon designers were inspired to add smocking embellishments on a variety of garments and, finally, curtains. I believe we saw a lot of smocking in the 1970s, which lead to our current terrycloth-ish-beach-cover-up-with-stretchy-smocking-fad

Due to its intricacy, smocking is best used on light- or medium-weight fabrics; solid silks and cottons are most common, but those with small or simple patterns work well without overshadowing the delicate details, and historically cashmere, pique and crepe de Chine were also smocked. According to Good Housekeeping: The Illustrated Book of Needlecrafts, “any fabric can be smocked if it is supple enough to be gathered.”  

A variety of patterned smocked curtains are available at Elizabeth's Embellishments:





Luxurious hand-smocked curtains in different embroidery styles, from Varang

Hand-smocked curtains evoke an old-world, casual elegance that coordinates with many decor styles, but is most often combined with dressy feminine country or cottage-style decor. For best results, hang smocked window coverings with a decorative curtain pole or track using drapery hooks.


Check out Pottery Barn's options:

After poking around the great wide interwebs for smocking photos, I realized smocking is all over the place right now! Isn't it funny how something can be right under your nose but you don't see it until you're forced to really look at it?

Hand-smocked pillow cover by artfire.com


DKNY's Watercolor Field Daisy and Willow Flowering Print smocked decorative pillows





Juicy Couture's smocked purses


Smocked pleated silk lampshade from Besselink & Jones in a recent World of Interiors 

We end this tour on a country casual interior, featuring Bella Home Fashion's Chandler Collection smocked curtains:

Detail


In situe