maison21: decorative but not serious...

vroom, vroom! (metropolis II at LACMA)

2012-01-26T15:12:00.000-08:00

back when maison21 was just a little boy, his favorite toys were 1) legos and 2) hot wheels. our indulgent mother used to let lil m21 set up giant hot wheel tracks in teh living room (the only space with enough room to make the enormous tracks m21's grandiose child mind needed ), and we'd build houses, tunnels and bridges out of our legos to compliment.

but alas, we never had enough track or enough legos to make our visions really come true, so we were completely enraptured when we visited LACMA a week ago see the installation, "metropolis II" by chris burden... our childhood dreams come to life, put in a museum, and called art. totes amazing.

burden says this about the piece: ""The noise, the continuous flow of the trains, and the speeding toy cars, produces in the viewer the stress of living in a dynamic, active and bustling 21st Century city." and frankly, m21 calls bullshit- we think mr. burden is just another frustrated kid, who never had enough track or legos to build his dream, so as an adult got some wealthy art patron to give him the money to make his little boy dreams come true. ;-)

whether it's art or not, we don't know, but we do know it is totally and completely awesome (our heart literally started beating faster when we walked into the installation), and since LACMA is only 4 blocks from teh atelier, we plan on visiting it many more times over its ten year run at the museum. we also suggest if you have a little boy in your life, you get him to LACMA stat- though be prepared for him to ask for hot wheels and legos for xmas!

thanks mr. burden! you made 8 year old me, very, very happy.

on teh pinterest pipe...

2012-01-20T13:07:00.000-08:00

lately, we can't seem to go very long without another hit of our latest addiction, teh pinterests:

luckily, as an interior designer, collecting inspirational images is part of our job description... so we won't be sent to rehab just yet!

other peeps seem to enjoy our pins too (thanks design crisis and design manifest!), so perhaps you'd like to join us on pinterest - remember, your first taste is free!

ps- our pins are 100% pure design, never cut - trust us, it's good sh*t.

2 weeks from tonght!

2012-01-17T17:38:00.000-08:00

m21 gets down: the highlights of 2011

2012-01-08T14:27:00.000-08:00

oh irony, how i love thee so! 2011 was the year that my blogging started to pay off with some fabulous social media opportunities, and of course, it was also the year i was so busy, it seemed like i barely blogged at all (only 132 posts). in my defense, my social media has been more concentrated on the twitters & facebook lately, as it's much easier to squeeze in the time for 140 characters as opposed to being able to find a couple hours to write a full-fledged blog post (taking & editing photos, composing the text and sourcing the associated links is NEVER a quick proposition, at least for little ol' typelexic m21). still, whether i blogged as much as i would have liked or no, the 4 years i've spent slogging away in the social media world has begun to reward me in unexpected ways, and has provided me with some incredible highlights to my year...

photo courtesy of angeleno interiors magazine

1) i love LA: one of my new years goals from last year was to be more social offline so i've really made an effort to be more active in the design scene centered here in los angeles. this has paid off in the number of absolutely lovely people i've met and befriended in the last year. a few years ago, i dreaded attending parties associated with the los angeles design community because i didn't know a soul; now i'm inconsolable if i have to miss an event, because i'll miss an opportunity to see the warm, talented, funny, and supportive individuals i've come to know and love! too many names to name here (y'all know who you are), but each of you make the formerly dreaded work-mixer a now much anticipated event!

my first design panel, photo courtesy of blueprintbrands

2) my 1st design panel: the delightful people over at the avenues of art, fashion, and design, west hollywood were nice enough to include me in a panel on "blogging LA style" (thank you melanie!), and it was truly one of the highlights of my year. not only did i get to become friends with two of my awesome co-panelists, ashlina (the decorista), and gregory (apartment therapy unplgged and gregory han), i've since been asked to participate in 2 other panels. unfortunately, scheduling conflicts prevented me from participating in those two, but i'm hoping to take part in more panel opportunities in 2012. i'm a big mouth, so this is a natural fit pour moi!

from my glum expression, you can see what a dull trip my brizo fashion week was...NOT! (thank you fellow traveler kathy at live the fine life for this wonderful photo)

3) brizo fashion week: another huge highlight was being flown to new york to attend the jason wu fashion show by the good people over at brizo faucets. an amazing brand, and an amazing experience, but again, it was about the people, and i was so lucky to have the opportunity to make 19 new friends out of the fabulous crew of designer/bloggers on the trip. brizo has just announced the next group of designers to attend this fab experience in february, and i'm more than a little jealous of them!

4) eleanor lambert: still here: in one of those serendipitous moments that has me thanking the universe for my good fortune, my trip to brizo fashion week coincided with the publication of this fabulous book by one of my oldest and dearest friends, john tiffany, so i was able to attend the launch party at lincoln center to celebrate its release. seeing someone i love achieve great success was another highlight to 2011, and the fact that it fell during the week i was already in NYC courtesy of brizo was the best kind of unexpected kismet!

with my girls crystal (plush palate & rue magazine) and ash (the decorista) on our way to sunset cocktails. in anticipation of the coming april market, crystal just posted some pictures of our hijinks, of which this is but one- go visit!

5) high point market: i was also honored to be part of a group of designers/social media cognescenti attending high point market in october, and i gots to tell you, it was hands down the funnest thing i did all year. you can read all about my adventures here, but i'll paraphrase for you: 3 days in an entire CITY devoted to furniture, lighting and accessories, surrounded by the best group of people in the universe, while attending a non-stop string of cocktail parties, and, well, it was basically this designer's idea of heaven! i am dearly hoping my schedule allows me to return this april, as i have so much more to see and do in high point!

6) joss & main: ok, this one is a shameless plug for good things to come in 2012, but i was approached about it in 2011, so for me, i'm counting it as a 2011 highlight! we are delighted to announce on january 31st, 2012 (a little over 3 weeks from now) that we are having a maison21 curated sale on the joss & main site. the theme for our sale is black, white and BOLD, and essentially it is a curated selection on how to get the maison21 look: liberal use of black and white, paired with bold splashes of color and pattern; as well as touches of glimmering metallics, and the gleam of lucite and mirror- and a maybe little something for the furkids too. selections aren't finalized yet, but i'm excited by what we've put together so far, and i think y'all will like it too!

of course, the support and continued readership of all my friends here on maison21 was another highlight of 2011, and i appreciate y'all sticking with me for these many years. i hope to blog a bit more frequently in 2012, but remember, if you can't get enough m21 in your life, you can always find me (in smaller doses) on the twitters & the facebooks! (pinterest sometimes too!)

happy 2012 to you all- i can tell this is going to be a year of good things for all of us!

free pretty! don't forget to enter our jewelry giveaway!

2012-01-07T07:44:00.000-08:00

don't forget to enter our acme1225 bracelet giveaway! deadline is monday! deets here.

sparkle in 2012- an acme1225 giveaway! (this one is for the ladies!)

2012-01-02T16:29:00.000-08:00

hey girls, did santa forget to bring you a new piece of jewelry?

well, m21 and acme1225 are going to help fix that for you with our first giveaway of the year!

acme1225 is the brainchild of our dear friend, rochelle mayfield, an in-demand wardrobe and fashion stylist working out of the san francisco bay area, and also "the dame" behind the "the dame's got moxie" blog, "a fashion and beauty resource for the stacked woman".

when looking for that chic and unusual accessory to finish off a look, rochelle's search came up somewhat lacking, so she set out to create her own line of chic fashion jewelry, and provide herself with a ready resource! rochelle's inspiration for the line "acme1225" came from a group of native craftspeople in johannesberg, south africa known as the inkwenkwezi, who took materials others discarded- like safety pins and telephone wire- and refashioned them into bangles and baskets to both adorn themselves, and sell for extra money. rochelle has updated the concept of these recycled craft projects by re-imagining them in luxe and unusual materials like colorful crystals imported from czechoslovakia, and safety pins in matte black and gunmetal finishes, and turned them into exquisite, one of a kind, works of art for the modern fashion-conscious woman. rochelle also realized that she could honor the indigenous african roots of her jewelry, after reading the shocking fact young girls in impoverished areas of africa are absent from school several days out of the month because they don’t have access to feminine hygiene products- something any western girl would simply take for granted- so she decided to donate a portion of her sales to the galkayo education center for peace and development, a program providing educational opportunities for young girls and job training for women in somalia. fashion & good works- a great combo!

so as our first giveaway of 2012, maison21 and acme 1225 are giving away one of rochelle's cool creations! simply visit the acme1225 shop and select your favorite bracelet, and leave a comment on "the dame's got moxie" blog letting us know your selection (if there isn't an email connecting to your comment profile, be sure to click the link in rochelle's sidebar to send her your email info so she can contact you if you win, and please put "bracelet giveaway" in the subject line). to spice things up, if you want to double your chances of winning , follow the dame on twitter, and if you want to enter a third time, simply like the dame on facebook! (again, be sure to email the dame with your comment and "bracelet giveaway" in the subject line, along with your twitter and FB info, so we can attach the right number entries to the proper person). also, please note that if the bracelet you've selected is no longer available at the time of our drawing, rochelle will reserve the right to substitute something equally chic to the winner- no matter, they're all good!)

we'll be announcing the winner on monday, january 9th! good luck, and may the moxie be with you!

burn bright in 2012!

2012-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

merry xmas!

2011-12-24T20:00:00.000-08:00

automatic xmas

2011-12-21T19:43:00.000-08:00

we have pretty much every light in the house on a dimmer and a timer, including our xmas tree, and tonight, we finally got around to adding both to our new garland. richard approves.

winter wonderland, LA style

2011-12-18T21:49:00.000-08:00

the other day, while walking to starbucks for a cup of xmas cheer to help put us in a holiday mood (m21 lurves an eggnog latte- thank goodness they don't seel them year 'round or we'd weigh 10,000 lbs), ted and m21 were greeted by one of our favorite local phenomena, the raucously loud and colorful flock of parrots living in our 'hood. they never fail to bring a smile to our face, and on a gorgeous crisp, sunny december morning, we thought ourself especially lucky to see them. we may not have traditional white christmases in los angeles, but that's okay- we'll take a bright, sunny, and loud xmas any day!

can you see my loud friends? the parrots are up there, trust.

now can you see them? click to enlarge if you need to (yes, resolution is crappy -sry, taken with my iphone)

click to play to hear my little feathered friends (video is brief 'cuz it was taken completely by accident while attempting to snap a photo. once again, darn iphone!)

greystone 'maison de luxe' showhouse

2011-12-09T15:00:00.000-08:00

a couple weeks ago, i had the pleasure of being material girls' jill seidner's date for the press preview of the luxe magazine sponsored 'maison de luxe' showhouse at the amazing greystone mansion in beverly hills. luxe gathered some serious talent for the showhouse, and it shows in the results- fabulously inventive and beautiful rooms... all pretty, some jaw-droppingly so.

since the show house is now open to the public we thought we'd show you some of the rooms and details that made our heart sing, so you can be sure to buy your tickets and get your booty on over to greystone. if you are in los angeles anytime between now and december 22nd, you'll not want to miss this one as it's pretty darn amazing...

when we grow up, we want to wrap the m21mobile in the same print...


...we used on our showhouse chairs. kudos to michelle nussbaumer of ceylon et cie for this extra credit brilliance to her beautiful room. we also met michelle briefly for the first time, and my companions, jill and alyssa swedlow of the goods and i, all decided we want to have cocktails with her some time! fun lady!

jamie drake's living room was over the top gorgeous! (photo courtesy of luxe)

ah-mazing.

kendall wilkinson's twilight room was also a showstopper- so cool! (photo courtesy of luxe)

really digging the custom cowhide rug martyn-lawrence bullard designed for his room (from kyle bunting, of course)


mlb also used one of our favorite mirrors from rose tarlow for this serpent inspired vignette

wendy schwartz made fantastic use of a hallway with this oversize rope chandelier, and the most gorgeous abstract (removable!) wallcovering from black crow studios! imma use some black crow studios wallcovering soon, as it's the coolest sh*t, ever.


i mean, it makes even a fire extinguisher box look good!

wendy also used a marc phillips rug in her chic dressing room, which you can enter to WIN over at the marc phillips facebook page!

oliver furth swathed his chic bedroom in black, and must have pulled every cool piece of art avaible from the vintage shops of LA to use in his room (it was dark, so most of my pictures sadly didn't turn out, but trust, it was chock full o' art beside this chic c. jere vignette).

jaime and ron of woodson and rummerfield's house of design seemed to be inspired by a color, i think, for mrs. doheny's glamtastic boudior- though i can't quite put my finger on which color... ;-)

speaking of jaime and ron, this picture taken with jaime's adorable son, jack, was the highlight of my day! such a lil cutie pie! (taken in front of brad ford's woody trailer/party bar). would it be weird to use people to whom i'm not related on my xmas card? 'cuz i just might...

ok- now run , don't walk, to the greystone maiosn de luxe- there are many more amazing rooms to see which sadly our lil iphone pics were too blurry to preview- as showhouses go, this one is a winner!

note: our apologies in advance to the good people at luxe- we were given a stern warning not to publish any photos but the ones in the press kit until february, but as we've seen pictures of the showhouse all over the blogosophere, we're presuming that prohibition has been relaxed. if we are in error, we'll happily pull the post, but we wanted to get something published while the showhouse is still running so everyone's hard work gets the attention it deserves!

MAISON DE LUXE SHOW HOUSE

905 Loma Vista Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

December 2-22, 2011

Tuesday-Sunday

10am-3pm

ADMISSION: $35*

DESIGNER LECTURE SERIES

December 2, 9, & 16

Fridays, 11am or 2pm

ADMISSION: $50*

(includes Show House)

Dec. 9th, 11am Lecture is sold out!

in the closet

2011-12-05T07:00:00.000-08:00

the first step is admitting you have a problem, and we admit, we are powerless over gingham (and obviously a little mad about plaid as well...)

do you think there is a connection between one's wardrobe, and one's decor? well, while there isn't a single bit of gingham or plaid in the atelier (upholstery-wise), we suppose this is a fairly accurate reflection of our personal taste as we love plenty of bold color and pattern, all mixed up with some classic black and white.

how about you? is there a connection between your wardrobe, and your decor? come out of the closet and let us know!

white xmas, fakedy-fake style (and thanx, treetopia!)

2011-11-27T16:26:00.001-08:00

you know maison21 likes his christmas white, and he also likes it totally and completely fake. i mean what's the point in trying to recreate a traditional winter wonderland when it's 85 degrees and sunny outside? also, although we incorporate lots of traditional and vintage into our decor, at the end of the day, we consider ourselves a modernist, and frankly we find layering traditional xmas decor over modernist interiors to be jarring, and usually not so nice (we said *usually*, so before you start to yellin', like everything else in life and decor, there are, of course, exceptions to every rule).

here's some reruns of our xmas decor...

our wreath:

simple red and white.

our decor:

we keep our decorations simple and sparse- white poinsettias (out of the reach of richard) and some silver balls scattered about.

our tree:

ok, maybe not so simple, but our tree of a million ornaments is pretty, even if a little over the top.

and our newest addition, courtesy of the nice folks at treetopia, who sent us tons of garland to make our christmas just a little bit whiter (and a little bit faker- treeopia is like the holy land of fake):

the view of our new garland from our upper hall. we're stopping here with the decor btw- we don't want to look like we live in santa's village!

how about y'all? have you finished your holiday decorating? (to be honest, we haven't yet. tree is still in storage and we hope to find time to get it up this week. maybe.)

whaddyamean where's your turkey?

2011-11-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

that's ridiculous. i mean, where on earth would i have room to hide a big ol' turkey around here?

happy turkey day!

2011-11-23T09:48:00.001-08:00

it may be a holiday for some of you, but not for richard! he'll be hard at work, being a slave to the keyboard all day, and into the night!

happy turkey day!

falling in love again...

2011-11-21T20:18:00.001-08:00

the crisp cool days of fall are making me fall in love with my beautiful city all over again...

yeah, they are just grainy iphone pics, but like the city of angels, they are a bit gritty, a little out of focus, and completely saturated with glamor.

i love you, LA.

not the missoni throw!

2011-11-19T19:32:00.001-08:00

i mean, we've all felt like taking a match to our living room decor before, haven't we? but i'd for sure take the ONE nice thing out of this room before i torched it!

source: "Arson Forensics Sets Old Fire Myths Ablaze" on the NPR website

are you a fan?

2011-11-17T11:09:00.001-08:00

are you a fan?

no, not of our maison21 facebook page (though we think you should be a fan there too), but rather, are you a fan of ceiling fans?

residential lighting magazine recently asked a panel of designers with a twitter presence to vent their feelings about ceiling fans (as you may know, designers and ceiling fans are usually natural born enemies in the wild), and much to our shock and delight, we found several models we were a fan of!

take a look at the article and let us know if you are a fan of our choices!

high on high point (220 elm and palliser furniture)

2011-11-13T21:30:00.000-08:00

today our high point coverage continues as we go on a tour of 220 elm, one of the 188 showroom buildings in the city of high point (and one of the sponsors of our trip). 220 elm has dozens of showrooms, most with a contemporary point of view, and as usual with high point, it's not only the furniture that draws buyers to 220, but also the incredible people working in the building who make it such a wonderful experience. our tour guide, heinz kattenfeld, the chief operating officer of 220 elm, couldn't have been more accommodating, knowledgeable, or gracious, as he escorted us through the building (and the tenants of the building seemed to agree, as we were greeted by choruses of "hi heinz" along with smiles, waves, and hugs, everywhere we went!)


crystal of plush palate & rue magazine, ashlina of the decorista, heinz of 220 elm, marissa of styebeat, and moiself, enjoying a rest stop on a deep and loungy nailhead studded sofa by outer limits, who fed us lemonade slushies while we waited for my phone to recharge.


also loved these overscale, modern wing chairs around a dining table at outer limits. (thanks for the pictures of this showroom, crystal- as stated, my phone was dead during this stop). and bonus, outerlimits upholstery is made right here in LA- we love made in the usa products!


great minds think alike- ashlina and i simultaneously had the idea to custom color this rug from mat the basics in green tones to resemble malachite.

loving the lacquer at leif peteresen inc- lots of great modern design in this showroom...


"ghost-y" illuminated outdoor pieces at terry seitz inc, another great 220 elm showroom. crystal almost looks like she is floating on clouds, and we can definitely see these used outside in a glamorous palms springs setting.

the last of our high point sponsors was actually another showroom in the 220 elm building, palliser furniture. palliser furniture is canada's largest furniture manufacturer, and the showroom sprawls across the almost the entire 4th floor of 220 elm (all of their product is made in north america too- another plus!) as usual, the people who worked at palliser couldn't be nicer, and we were treated to an amazing catered lunch in the company's cafeteria, followed by barista-made cappucinos and dessert!

sometimes, it's the little things that make the difference- loved the branded pens and notepads at the entrance to the showroom to make notes once inside...


palliser is big on leather, with 88 leather options to chose from (in addition to 200 fabrics)

we've had two clients recently request recliners for television viewing, and we were hard pressed to find anything modern and not grossly overstuffed to use, so we are keeping this bristol sectional in mind for the future. it's sleek and modern enough to use in a contemporary interior, especially if we put it in a brightly colored leather, like maybe a hermes orange on white floors...

long days at high point mean taking any opportunity to relax, like ashlina is doing in the bristol sectional. love the "dream big" on the wall behind ash. if you knew ashlina, you'd know how appropriate that sentiment is- girlfriend is going places!

living in the center of movie making means that lots of show biz clients want dedicated screening rooms, so it was good to see palliser's many options. these recliners have laptop and ipad holders, as well as optional ipod docks. crazy! they do everything but help you out of your chair at the end of the movie...


oh wait- palliser has an ejector option for that too! (no reason you can't have fun while working, right? and boy did we have fun on our tour!)

this rick lee designed sectional for palliser is seriously chic. slick modernism, but without a scary italian import price tag.

thanks again to 220 elm and palliser furniture for being such gracious hosts, and we hope y'all aren't bored with our high point market coverage, 'cause we've got more to share!

wanna get published? (ca home + design awards 2012)

2011-11-11T11:45:00.001-08:00

designers, wanna get your project published in one of the coolest mags around? well, our friends over at califronia home + design are calling for submissions for their 2012 design awards, and the deadline for submissions is fast approaching (next friday the 18th, so get your pictures in an envelope already!)

ca home + design is looking for whole-house projects, excluding product, showcase house design, and kitchen or bath categories, so there should be a category for everyone to submit something. imma stamp and mail my envelope as soon as i'm done posting, and you should too!

high on high point: distinctly duralee

2011-11-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

when we found out that duralee was one of the sponsors of our trip to the high point market, we were over the moon- a product that maison21 already knew, loved and used? a match made in heaven!

and lemme tell you, we were so excited to see the duralee collection in their high point showroom, because the showroom, designed by eileen kathryn boyd, is simply gorgeous and showcases the fabrics and furniture so beautifully (whereas the LA showroom, is well... a bit utilitarian, shall we say). my cohorts, crystal gentilello and ashlina kaposta, and i could have relaxed there all day as the color palette was so cheerful, yet calming. eileen did an amazing job.

eileen is just as lovely as her designs, so it was delightful to talk with her and hear the behind the scenes story of her fabric collection for duralee- her color sense literally blew me away! i know we designers aren't supposed to admit to this, as it seems like cheating in a way, but i love the 5 color palette books she put together with duralee; sometimes it's nice just to have everything that coordinates in one convenient spot. i wish more fabric houses did this for those times when matchy-matchy is simply the look needed. why not make things easy? and seriously, with a juicy color palette like this, i guarantee you, m21 will be using these beautifully coordinating fabrics in a future project. the geometric cut velvet you see in many of our photos is a particular favorite. so chic.

but maybe our favorite feature of our tour was duralee's line of custom dog beds, available in any of their fabrics- ted really wants one! (ok, ted could care less, but his dad would really like him to have one- how awesome is the coordinating bone pillow?)

a big thank you to duralee for their hospitality, as well as for their chic product, which we now know and love just a little bit better!

high on high point (a market primer)

2011-11-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

my girls, ashlina and crystal, capturing a high point moment...

as a lover of all things decorative, what's your favorite type of place? shops and showrooms, right? nothing better than going somewhere where a bunch of pretty things are all gathered together for your visual (and shopping) delight. now imagine an entire city, devoted to furniture, lighting and decorative accessories. that's right- not a shop, not a showroom- but an entire CITY full of pretty things! too good to be true, right? well, such a city exists, and that city would be high point, north carolina, where maison21 had the privilege of spending a few days last week during the bi-annual extravaganza known as the high point international home furnishings market (every october and every april), and lets just say we were OVERWHELMED with furniture fabulousity.

the hub of high point, the IHFC bldg, 3.5 million sq feet of furniture. the place to start exploring during market- i spent over a full day here alone, and still didn't see everything- maybe because half my time was spent being lost ;-)

according to wikipedia, there are are over 3000 exhibitors in 188 separate buildings with over 11 million square feet of showroom space at high point. i think i managed to take in about 1 percent of that while i was there- seriously- but luckily, what i didn't get around to visiting, other people did... approximately 70- 80 thousand people attend market each fall and spring, and let me tell you there is something incredibly synergistic to have that many people gathered in one spot for the same purpose. think the energy of a stadium rock concert, but focused on furniture. i'm still riding on a contact high! incroyable!

220 elm, one of the 188 showroom buildings in high point, and one of the sponsors of my trip- everyone here was so fabulous and hospitable; more to come in a dedicated post!

besides all the amazing home furnishings, one of the highlights of market was how welcoming everyone was. i don't know whether it was just good southern manners, or if everyone was just in as good a mood as i was, but virtually every person we came into contact with couldn't have been nicer, or more accommodating. from cab and shuttle drivers, to waiters to showroom employees, and especially the organizers of the market, the high point market authority, everyone, was faultlessly friendly and delightful! truly the best of southern hospitality!

wait- is that north carolina whizzing by outside my taxicab window?

the authority has set things up well, so even though this market is in the middle of nowhere (no offense to the locals ;-), it couldn't be easier to navigate, as well as have any questions a newcomer may ask readily answered. there are shuttle buses directly to market from the two major airports serving the city, charlotte and greensboro/triad, as well as shuttles from all the major hotels in the region (we stayed in greensboro, 15-20 mins outside HP proper). once in high point, there are shuttles running all over downtown to take you anywhere you need to go, and lots of information kiosks scattered about to answer questions and provide maps. easy peasy... except for that big IFHC building- you need to be born with an internal GPS unit to navigate that place!

where do we want to go today? doesn't matter- the peeps at high point will get you there

it wouldn't be possible to talk about the nice people of high point, without talking about the fabulous people flew in to market from places far and near... so many friends from the world of interiors, it was kinda of nutty at times. it really seemed that every single blogger, decorator, twitterer, PR person, manufacturer, retailer, and editor was there. it was power networking to the ten thousandth degree! i couldn't be more grateful for the wonderful friends i got to meet for the first time (like erin from elements of style and michelle from my notting hill), as well as to be able to spend time with old friends whom i'm lucky enough to occasionally see at design events, like stefan from architect design, marissa from stylebeat, and julia from the editor at large (there are way too many friends both old and new to list here, so pardon me if i didn't list you all- it doesn't mean i don't love you!)

my #HPmkt crew: (l-r) moi, Julieann of Create Girl, Jill of Material Girls, Cassandra of Coco + Kelley, Ashlina of The Decorista, Crystal of Plush Palate & Rue Magazine, and Katie of The Neo Traditionalist & Matchbook Magazine.

i have to give a special shout out to my group of homegirls, with whom i spent virtually every waking moment, and who made this adventure so much freaking fun- by day two i was hoarse and almost lost my voice just from laughing so much. a nicer, prettier, funnier, more intelligent, group of women i can't imagine, and it is a privilege to call each of you my friend- you ladies rock!

with my girls in the high point market authority media center- we are actually all waiting for our phones to recharge before stepping out to the next event. can't live our lives offline, can we? and how would we tweet, facebook and blog without our phones? this was a common theme of high point- i don't think i've ever asked so many strangers if they had somewhere where i could plug in my phone!

from the minute i got into high point, until the minute i left, it was one big rollicking party- and i mean that literally- there is good food and drink available everywhere at the market, and parties galore. once again, these folks really know how to take care of you, and make you feel special!

my literal first stop at high point was a b-52's concert, where i kept it klassy, southern style, with a bud light in a can (love that the b-52's still rock after all these years- i first saw them over 30 years ago as a teen in san diego)

the architectural digest party, where it seemed every single name in the world of decor was in attendance (via The Decorista)


you never know who you'll run into at high point- like meeting up with eddie and jaithan at the ka-ray-zee four hands party (also via the decorista)

so have we whet your whistle, and made you want to attend the next high point market this spring? yes? but we haven't even got to the really good part yet- all the goodness of a city devoted to pretty things!

like this:

color at palacek

and this:

chromey and brassy goodness in c. jere reissues at artisan house

and this:

hable construction vignette at hickory chair

so y'all come back for more posts dedicated to all the furniture-y goodness of high point- we have lots of amazing things to share, so if you aren't already convinced to book a flight for spring market, you soon will be!

cute level rising...

2011-10-28T18:32:00.000-07:00

here's a brief moment of cuteness while we prepare our posts on our amazing high point market experience...

i missed my daddy when he was gone.

and oh wait... here's another (slightly more self-indulgent) cute break taken during our amazing high point market experience!

enjoying the heck outta the high point market with some truly awesome peeps (l to r): crystal gentilello of rue magazine, ashlina kaposta of the decorista, marisa marcantonio of stylebeat, and one of our gracious high point hosts, heinz kattenfeld, COO of 220 elm, one of the great buildings housing part the thousands of showrooms in the city of high point.

in progress...

2011-10-17T23:29:00.000-07:00

after a few design tweaks, like adding cabinets to the lower half of our built-ins, and increasing the size of the marble surround to meet code (and changing color from creamy carrera to negro marquina), our client's fireplace remodel is start to look like something...

before:

the inspiration drawing:

an "on the fly" drawing to clear up some design details:

selecting a slab at the marble yard (many slabs at many yards rejected):

marking the cuts:

and marble installed: with rough framing for painted wood mantel (mantel will be white, wall color to be determined):

we love when projects go from drawing board to taking shape in reality! finished product soon... (not soon enough for our client who is more than ready to have their room converted back to a usable room from a work shop! but you can't have beauty without pain, right?)

on our nightstand: the business of design by keith granet

2011-10-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

m21 has had the "business of design" on our nightstand for about a month now, and we were literally too skurrd to crack it open. it looked just too much like a textbook, you see, and while m21 was always a pretty good student, he hated reading dry and boring textbooks, so sadly the "business of design" remained untouched due to residual school-age antipathy.

but the subtitle of the book kept nagging my subconscious: "'balancing profitability and creativity' is surely an area we could use some outside input about, right?" my sub-conscious implored, "creativity, we gots in spades, but that profitability thingymabob? well, a little practical advice in that area certainly couldn't hurt!" (especially if we want to put some of those increased profits to work by opening up a real, live, brick and mortar store sometime in the near future). also, the interior design world is a small world, and the los angeles interior design community is an even smaller subset, so author, keith granet's reputation as a design business builder has far preceded him. while maison21 might not be a big enough fish to get a meeting with him at the current time (his client list includes household names like barbra barry, rose tarlow and charlotte moss), we would certainly love to pick his brain for some of practical advice for our small, but hopefully growing business, so our free advance copy of the book suddenly seemed an attractive and "profitable" way to get some of keith's wisdom at a bargain price. in essence, by finally cracking the book for some of that free advice, we're already halfway to that whole "balancing profitability and creativity" thing by not having to pay a granet and associates consulting fee. woo hoo, making money already!

after we finally gathered up our courage to start reading, we were left wondering why the hell didn't we get around to this sooner? (isn't that the way with so much of life?) the book is an easy read, full of practical advice, delivered in a way that you are constantly reminded this book was written by a real person with a wealth of real experience, and not merely a dry, dull, textbook written by a faceless committee. is my business more profitable yet? well, maybe those extra dollar signs aren't raining down just yet, but we also haven't finished the darn thing either, so there is definitely hope for the future! in the meantime, the book has certainly already given me some great insights about how to make some improvements to my present business plan (like the ability to say "no" to clients who you know aren't going to be a good fit for your business- always good advice to remember!)

you can get your own copy of "the business of design" at amazon for a really low price- maybe not as low as our free copy, but we guarantee that you'll get more than your money's worth, and then you too will be on the way to balancing your creativity with more of that elusive profitability stuff, just like m21!