pottery tour

Apologies for my silence for the last few days, and apologies in advance for more of it to come. I'm working like crazy to get a major consulting project done before we head out of town for a long weekend.

Here's the exciting news about where we're going for the weekend, though. It's our annual pilgrimage to the 16 Hands Studio Tour in pastoral Floyd County in southwest Virginia. It's become a special ritual for us, one that involves a lot of sitting on the porch of the cabin we rent, drinking tea out of our 16 Hands mugs and watching the birds and the cattle in the field in front of us. And of course lots of great pottery! (And usually a few other media as well, between Brad Warstler and some of the visiting artists. But we're really there for the pottery. Sorry Brad!)

This year, we're excited to see the work of the newest 16 Hands member, Josh Copus, and to see what some of this year's visiting artists have to offer. And we're thrilled to see David Crane back on the tour after taking several years off! Part of what feels so special about the tour, though, other than the perfect combination of beautiful countryside and gorgeous art, is the act of visiting the same artists year after year, seeing the subtle shifts in their bodies of work and talking with them about the new things they're playing with. Here are the folks we touch base with every year...

Silvie Granatelli

Richard Hensley

Donna Polseno

Ellen Shankin

Stacy Snyder

We're delighted to have works by all of the 16 Hands artists in our collection (even a great rolling pin by Brad!), as well as pieces by a number of visiting artists from prior years and by former 16 Hands member, Davin Butterfield.

And now we're excited to see what new pieces are just dying to come home with us this year!

magnetic wallpaper

Want to be able to change your wallpaper with your mood? Moove offers scenic wallpaper that you mount on magnetic backer so that you can easily change out the images whenever you feel like it.

Click here to see a time-lapse video of the wallpaper being installed. And take a look at some of the striking installations you can create with this product. Be forewarned, however. If you fall and love and want to order some, you'll need to pay for shipping from France, which is where Moove is located.

window farming

NPR recently aired a story about window farming --  a low-energy, high-yield approach to growing vegetables and herbs in your window using recycled (or low impact) materials. A great way for people in urban settings to participate in the local food movement! Click here to listen to the NPR feature. For more info and instructions, go to the Window Farms website.

the British are coming!

British elements seem to be a hot decorating trend these days. I've run across a number of images of interiors recently featuring iconic British elements, as well as a couple blog posts (here and here) about this trend. Here are a few pictures to illustrate the ways this motif is cropping up...

By Jonathan Adler

From Urban Jane

Via Fresh Design

 Via Smokeye

Via DecoDir

From Cote Maison

By Karen Hilton Designs

the empty vessel

A friend of mine recently sent me a link to a cool blog called The Empty Vessel. Although it no longer seems to be active, the archives are full of wonderful eye candy for people like me who have an addiction to pottery and other things hand-crafted. Here are a few of the cool items featured on the blog in the past:

If the items featured here and on The Empty Vessel get you hankering to look at more of the same, consider heading to D.C. this weekend to attend the Smithsonian Craft Show going on there this weekend.

Smithsonian Craft Show, April 22-25

The Smithsonian Craft Show is coming up this weekend in Washington, D.C. If you're in the area, it's worth checking out, as there will be some very well-respected artisans exhibiting there. With my consulting practice so busy right now, I may need to end up working instead of heading up to D.C., but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can make time to go.

One person I'd love to go visit is Minnesota potter Bob Briscoe. A few years ago when he was a visiting artist on the 16 Hands tour, we bought a beautiful blue vase from him. It now lives on the mantel in our living room, and it delights me every time I look at it.

Poking around the website for the show, I'm also intrigued by the work of a number of other artists and hope I'll get to see their things in person. Here are a few of the items I'm drooling over...

Scandinavian rug by Kelly Marshall

Bottles and bowl by Ani Kasten

 Mugs by Sequoia Miller

rug lust: Serena & Lily sale

Serena & Lily are having a sale on rugs right now. Through April 30, you can get 40% off on any of the one-of-a-kind rugs in their "Bazaar" by entering the code PRIVATERUGSALE at checkout. I'm simply drooling over some of the gorgeous rugs in their inventory:

the power of white

I remember a sudden realization I had in an art class in college about the power of black. Use pastels or colored chalk on black paper, and the colors suddenly jump off the page.

In quantity, white can do the same. Wood tones, for instance, get lost in a multicolored roomscape. But with a backdrop plentiful with white, they come to life. Instead of being "just wood", they become a focal point, and we become aware of the variety of warm browns, golds, reds, and tans that can exist in a single piece.

I stumbled across an old House Beautiful article recently entitled "The Power of White," and it reminded about of this simple trick for making colors appear more vibrant. Here are a few of the photos featured in this article about a home interior by Myra Hoefer.

 

  

  

And here are just a few of the other photos I've come across that illustrate this same principle...

from Cottage Living

From Elle Decor via Shelter

From Cote Maison

diy furniture

Thanks to the amazing Young House Love blog (whose authors are located right here in Richmond), I recently discovered Knock Off Wood, a blog about a cheap and easy approach to building knock-offs of designer furniture. Ana even includes free plans for every project featured on her blog. Here are a few of the beautiful items she shows how to build:

Farmhouse table a la Restoration Hardware

Knock-off of a Pottery Barn console table

Table and bench in the style of West Elm's Modern Farm collection

 Rolling cubbies inspired by this Better Homes and Gardens image

coffee tables

In celebration of my new coffee table, which is now in place in the living room and looking great, here are a few more cool options out there. (So many great coffee tables, so little space.)

 Rope coffee table in an interior designed by Charles de Lisle Workshop.

 Santos coffee table from Environment Furniture.

Votiv coffee table by StudioWise

Fife (top) and Dundee (bottom) coffee tables, both by GalahadDumfries

"Native Dance" table by Peter Pierobon.