Did you catch a glimpse of the photos taken by Portland Monthly Magazine at the PSO Designer’s Showcase 2011 Gala?  If you did, you may have noticed the smiling face of Tracy Davis…if you did not, here’s a glimpse.

Recently, I was asked a most intimate question, a question that a lover or intimate friend may ask.  It came to me on the heels of a conversation comparing life stories, family background, experiences both formal and informal, travel, and children.  Our friendship quickened, to MY core with a single question posed to me by new, and quick to be favorite, clients.  “How was it learned to you, to be aware.”  BANG! There I was, sitting in the back seat of a Prius with new clients–nervous, and now, very vulnerable.  My reply started with, “I wanted to be a nun” (it’s true)…”sailing and a boy”…and ended with the woes of being labeled as ”too sensitive.”  There, it was out…or I was out!

I quickly learned that our meeting was a cross road that allowed me to acknowledge a personal piece of myself that had become a tool for success.  A deepened sense of awareness to that of self, others and space.  The foundation of my professional choice.

My confession of being dubbed too sensitive as a youth hadn’t led me to the convent.  OH NO, quite the opposite!  Instead it evoked a drive for passion and discipline.  What I admired about the sisterhood wasn’t so much their ultra-hip fashion statement, but the passion and discipline to follow one’s own path and desire.  To embrace my unique talent of understanding and define it as such, so that MY goals, be they personal or professional, would be satisfied.

Smiling, I remember my father’s desperate and sympathetic heartfelt pleas: “be yourself,” “you’re special, embrace your differences from those around you,”  “you don’t have to be like everyone else.”  As a teen those words crushed me, left me waiting, needing a different response.

Now, as I’ve gained footing in the design world, father’s wise and wonderful words are the warp and weft that is my life’s tapestry.  My perceived flaws are now my greatest assets.  Assets that bring pure joy when I see their impact and their influence in the choice of others.  Many times over, society and culture have witnessed individuals that lead a life uncommon, passion-driven, disciplined.

As we observe the passing of cultural icon Steve Jobs,  I am again reminded that being different is an asset.

Embrace life BY its differences.  Make choices that ARE different and meaningful.  Stand and think, independently. The rewards are greater than these words can impart.

Design by awareness and difference.

Thank you Pops….

This week I am looking at a project which focuses less on the relationship that architecture has with its surroundings, but rather how architecture, solely, can shape an experience. Living Architecture is a project based in the U.K. consisting of six holiday homes designed by some of the most influential architects currently working in and around the U.K.  The rates are reasonable and the destination becomes the architecture, rather than its surroundings.

The project argues that on a day-to-day basis ,the works of these prolific architects are often limited to private homes of the wealthy,  or in public spaces such as museums, universities etc.  The result is the broadening of the reach of the work of these architects. It allows people to interact with the architecture at a personal level- a domestic pace.

The Balancing Barn, designed by the Dutch firm MVRDV, Suffolk, England.

The concept was developed by Alain De Botton, well known for his writing on travel and architecture. The project focuses on the implied significance of architecture, in relation to an individual’s state of mind.  Generally speaking, architecture fits a program, dictated by the surrounding culture, landscape and existing conditions. The program defines project, providing a platform for creativity through limitations and possibility. The building is meeting a series of needs. In Living Architecture, these programs exist.  Rather than facilitating a third party experience or service (ie: this library provides a place for books, this hotel provides a place for visitors to experience the Maine coast) Living Architecture, is the final experience.

The Secular Retreat, Peter Zumthor, Devon, England.

It would be interesting to visit, and truly study how each architect read into this flexible program, how their architectural perspective dictates and how the building interacts with the surroundings, and how they seize the opportunity to have a unique relationship and integration with visitors, towing the line between hotel and home, public and private, individual and communal. The big question being, is architecture enough?

I feel it is only appropriate to really dig in to my MARKINGS observations by writing about my designer crushes – Ray & Charles Eames. From my first semester of graduate school when I dissected their historic house in Pacific Palisades, I have had a deep respect for this design team.  Check out the Eames Foundation website for more information on this house, their architecture and design. http://www.eamesfoundation.org/eames-house-history .

Their innovative use of materials in their furniture designs was appropriate in post-war America.  They created affordable, comfortable, and beautiful pieces of furniture out of materials that were readily available. They mixed molded plywood with metals, manipulating both of these hard materials so that they had a softened look as well as achieving maximum comfort.  These same techniques were later applied to plastics. Just think, how your chair in elementary school would feel if Ray & Charles Eames had not brought molded hard materials into fashion?

Their style, aesthetic, and material use and manipulation has obviously stood the test of time, still seen in furniture being made today with the same techniques and looks.

Seen above, the Eames Molded Plywood Chair, a classic design established in 1946 with Herman Miller, has obviously impacted these pieces of furniture. Moving clockwise around the iconic Eames chair:

1. The Cherner Chair, a molded plywood chair created in 1958 by Norman Cherner. [More Info]
2. Offi Mag table designed by Eric Pfeiffer, created to be both a magazine table that when needed, transforms into a laptop stand. [More Info]
3. The Buttercup Rocker from Blu Dot. [More Info]
4. Zesty Chair by O4i, a stackable chair designed in Sweden.  As all of the other pieces listed, available in a variety of wood species. [More Info]

Whether created in the late 1940’s or 2011, the Eames’ design concepts are still current.

Friday, September 9, 6 to 8 PM

149 Western Promenade, Portland, Maine

Tickets: $100  |  Contact the PSO office at (207) 773-6128 x 311

Join us for a Gatsby-themed lawn party on the Western Promenade.  In addition to wonderful food, floral decor, and live music, guests will have private access to the Show House the night before it opens to the public.  This is an opportunity to meet the designers who have brought their own color, style and flair to creatively showcase this 1920′s Portland landmark.

Costumes of the ’20′s are invited for this festive event.

Music by: 5 Cylinder Jazz

Catering by: Aurora Provisions

Flowers by: S. Scollay Design

Event Sponsor: Wright-Ryan Construction

Special Thanks: National Distributors & Stella Artois

Ever since I was a small child I knew that the views of my world were different from the views of those around me.  I saw art/design  as a means of communication, the way to live a life fulfilled, thinking that one cannot co-exist without the other.  Large thoughts for a little person!  I was influenced very simply:  The smell of the linseed oil used to thin paint in my uncle’s studio.  Shyly watching my grandfather from the doorway of his studio, as he smoked his pipe and cut glass, listening to the opera on Saturday afternoons.  The garden to table food that my mother so gorgeously prepared.  All have been as influential as the pundit Masters that would soon become a well spring of icons to emulate.

As I grew older, I followed the mandatory path of higher education, albeit unconventionally.  Everything that I have done has been on my own terms, my poor, patient, parents!  The day after college graduation,  the real education began.  Travel.  I set out to sojourn as much of the world as I could (still do) to find a deeper understanding of culture’s influence on design; spatially, emotionally, and  historically.  Minding the “Gap”, I was looking to find the hole between acceptable and exceptional.  Looking at the world with a critical eye, to build on the founding principles of form and function.  For me design brings me back to center, the number of 1, humbles and feeds me.  It takes one idea, one detail, to influence the execution of a design concept.  I draw on the center of my being and look to both my formal and informal education for design inspiration.  It is at my center that I continue to strive to produce design that is unique and enriches the lives of those around me, making art a livable option.

In this, my first of many new accessory pieces, “Everything but the Shoes” is a wonderfully designed mirror that comes in three sizes: small, medium, and large.  Influenced by my time living aboard,  looking through the porthole of my berth out to the majestic white caps against the array of oranges and pinks of the setting sun.  Life is to be enjoyed and shared through the passionate connections that embrace our daily life.   Living one’s live by design.

On June 1, the Urban Dwellings team was honored with a Perspective on Design award in a ceremony held at Twelve Chairs Home Furnishings.  We had a great time, and were extremely excited to see these great photos of our team posing with the Perspective Magazine editors appear on the pages of the Perspective New England Summer 2011 Issue.

The design experts at Project Nursery recently took note of our project for young client, Thea, a nursery turned special personal space that she could enjoy all through her growing years.  As a result, they featured an interview with Tracy Davis on their blog.  Read the full interview here, and for more details on the project itself, keep reading below.

Child’s Name: Thea

Child’s Age: At the time of completion Thea was 2

Location: Coastal Maine

Description: This project was designed to be a special, personal place for a little girl to enjoy throughout the many stages of youth.

Design Inspiration: My design inspiration for Thea’s bedroom and adjacent playroom was based on the desire to create a unique, individual space — a space that was so personal and fun that as she grew up, she would enthusiastically return to share it with her friends….and maybe even with her own children someday.

Decorating Style: Imaginative and decorative.
Project Details: A large portion of this project design was customized — the story that inspired the room mural, the soft goods and the puppet theater. The play room accessories were selected from the Land of Nod and Pottery Barn Kids. And I loved using Serena and Lily’s oversize green and white paisley bedding and fabric for the bedroom.

Favorite Items: The monkey!

Advice: Yes — enjoy the process, making it a personal extension of your child’s personality. It’s a wonderful opportunity to combine those special moments of your childhood into the world that is created for your children.