I was introduced to BDDW furnishings through my very talented friend, Paul Isabella. Paul thought I would appreciate the BDDW style and boy was he right! I fell in love instantly. It was like seeing myself in the shape of cabinetry and clocks. Tyler Hays is the master mind and head designer to BDDW. The company's style is a perfect blend of simplified modern shapes with dark old fashioned edges, just my style. Every piece seems timeless to me , which is probably another reason why I am so drawn to the BDDW look. Some of my favorite details in their collections are the dark all natural finishes, the brass table legs, the nixie tube clocks (i love!!), and I especially favor their rugs. As a textile design post graduate I am very fascinated by Hays' rug designs. It is so hard to come by a decent looking rug and I think he has some of the most beautiful ones out there. Hays, of course, staffs a team of 20 or more between his New York showroom and his Philly based studio/ work shop, located in my very own neighborhood of Fishtown. How exciting to be neighbors with such spectacular craftsmen and fellow artists! Not only is BDDW great at furniture and rug design, but check out their great styling in these photos of their furnishings that I have posted(click on pics. below to see larger). It is rare to come by a company so well rounded. All of the amazing props in the photos belong to Tyler himself, they are things he has collected over the years. I wish I could move right on into these photos, how about you? I must mention, that I contacted BDDW to write this post and I got the most amazing feedback from Kelly who works in the New York showroom. She was so very helpful and prompt. Thank you Kelly. To see the BDDW collection you can visit their showroom at the address postedhere. Also, be sure to check out their great website. There is so much more to see!!
Isaac Mizrahi has transformed the Liz Claiborne label as the new creative director and taken it back to a classic fun look. I have always been a huge fan of Isaac, as a personality and a designer. When I was only 16 I was totally obsessed with The (original) Isaac Mizrahi Show on the Oxygen network. If you never saw an episode, you totally missed out!! Isaac had a knack for picking the most brilliant, quirky, and fun guests to interview. Every Saturday morning in high school I would wake up just before 11am to grab a bowl of cereal and sit down to watch an hour of Isaac. Also, I absolutely love the documentary Unzipped that Isaac and his partner at the time, Douglas Keeves, created. It is a fun and crazy insight to the behind the scenes of fashion, specifically Isaac's world of fashion. I am so excited that he is putting such creative efforts towards Liz Claiborne now and reviving their image. I was pretty sad to learn that Isaac was leaving Target, anyone who knows me knows I shopped the Isaac for Target label most often! So, I can't wait for my next paycheck so I can go shopping here.
p.s. how cute is this video of everyday girls wearing the latest Liz fashions in NYC!!
Edouard Vuillard and Ezra Jack Keats are two of my all time favorite artists. Vuillard was a French impressionist painter of the late 19th century and Keats, a children's book illustrator and author of the mid 2oth century. I love each of their styles for the beautiful colors and their incredible applications of texture and pattern, just a few of my favorite things. Recently I took note of the similarities between the two artists' works. I am inspired by Keats on a daily basis. As a nanny I spend a ton of time reading children's books and I am always sure to pull a few of Keats' works from the local library shelves. The little boy that I watch (19 mos.) loves Peter from The Snowy Day and Whistle for Willie. We spent half an hour on Tuesday twirling around to make ourselves dizzy like little Peter does in Whistle for Willie and then we tried filling our cheeks with air and blowing, for a whistle.I'm not sure when I discovered my love for Vuillard, but one of my favorite paintings is The Meal by Edouard Vuillard and I discovered it here in Philly at the PMA. It's really sweet because I discovered this painting last spring when my parents were visiting and I remember dragging my mother over in excitement to stare at it. I was so in love with the colors and the subjects that I was positive it was my favorite in the entire museum. Then, about 6 months later, one of my very best friends, Emily Cox, was is town and after visiting the PMA too, she declared that her favorite piece in the whole museum was this same painting!! What are the chances? I love things like that. I guess we are just two of a kind, just like these paintings here. p.s. if you have never read Jennie's Hat by Keats- it is my new favorite.
xo
from top to bottom: 1.National Gallery of Art, Washington; Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection Girl Wearing an Orange Shawl, c. 1894-1895, by Edouard Vuillard. 2.Whistle for Willie illustration, watercolor and collage (1 p.) 25 X 51 cm, original by Ezra Jack KeatsIn book: pp. 6-73.Mrs Vuillard Sewing,1893 by ÉdouardVuillard. In Private Collection Oil on cardboard, 18 x 24.8 cm 4.The Snowy Day, Ezra Jack Keats5.Feeding the Birds, from Jennie's Hat by Ezra Jack Keats6.Intèrieur à la table à ouvrage by ÉdouardVuillard, 1893.7.Edouard Vuillard The Cradelsong: Mary Rousell in Bed End of 1894 Oil on cardboard glued on a wood panel Donation Picasso, 1973-1978 RF 1973-93 Paris, musée national Picasso8. The Snowy Day, p.1 Peter in Bed by Ezra Jack Keats
I found this video on my dear friend Chelsea Cook's blog and it absolutely made my day. I am pretty sure it is the most insane thing I have ever seen and loved!! I hope it brightens your day too. xoxo
p.s. it reminded me of this wonderful painting my other dear pal made just for me!! p.p.s. does this seem at all cruel to you? ordering these cute little sheep around to do silly things just to amuse us humans? i kind of feel bad for them. but i also really love it, it makes me laugh and it is truly impressive!! i have mixed feelings, you see. how do you feel?
I have been eyeing the work of Michael McDowell for quite sometime now on Etsy, and I figured this would be a good follow up to my previous spring resolution post about bringing more green life into my living space. McDowell is the artist behind Mudpuppy, a popular ceramics shop on etsy.com. I love the wares sold here at Mudpuppy for their simplicity in color that is contrasted with the definition of handmade textures and shapes. My favorite items in the shop are these Favela Stacking Vases, especially the brick design. I also adore the planter pals & decorations by Mudpuppy. I would never want my plants to get lonely, so I will be needing some of these cute little lichen ceramic mushrooms and perhaps a few owls too. Be sure to check out the rest of Mudpuppy's merchandisehere, and check back often. It seems like everytime I return to this shop, something new has been added to their inventory!
xoxo
p.s. Have you ever seen a real mudpuppy before? I remember playing with one when I was a kid. All I remember is that it was the ugliest thing I had ever seen and I think either my brothers or my cousins had caught it and put in a 5 gallon bucket. I probably never touched it, but I remember looking in at it. Take a lookhere. They are so creepy. I am probably going to have nightmares tonight. I once found a big ugly slug in my bedroom when I was a teenager and I still have nightmares about giant slugs taking over the world. Sick!
This past week my dad and I visited Terrain At Styers when he came to town to see me. It is such a beautiful place and being there was very therapeutic and inspirational. I am always so sad to admit that I, Haylie B. Waring, was born with a black thumb! I am pretty positive that I get it from my mother, but I am making it a point this spring to hone in and find my inner green side. I know it must be in there somewhere. My grandmother, Edna Pearl Brinton, loves to garden and has a beautiful and lush back yard in Tampa, Florida. Her green side was passed on to my father, LowryBrinton Waring and I don't want it to end there. My other excuse is that I live in the city and I find it so very hard to keep a plant alive indoors. When I left Philly for a few days this winter I killed my brand new maidenhair fern that I was so excited to own. I also came home to two shriveled succulents that I struggled to keep alive for over 6 months. This spring I will be channeling my "Brinton" green roots and it is my goal to fill my next apartment, wherever it may be, with lots of lush green life! I will also be looking to my horticultural friends, Maura Grace and Amy Merrick for help in this new chapter of my life!! Both of these girls make me green with envy for the lovely thriving plants in their beautiful homes.
Special Note: Happy Birthday Daddy-O!! It was such a treat to have you here last week. Even though it was only for one day, it was a truly wonderful time. I miss you. xoxo
In the past few months I have been on the hunt for just the right teapot. I have already come to a decision on which pot to purchase, but I would love to hear what you, my dear friends, think of my top choices as well as any recommendations you may have for a great teapot source. Do you know of any good spots to pick up a good one (one sans the badly done granny chintz of course)? This has been a challenging hunt to say the least. As you can probably imagine, there are endless amounts of bad teapot shoppes online!! So, I am very curious to learn of anything remotely good. Above is a classic English teapot, the Brown Betty, that you can pick up in this wonderful online shop, McMaster and Storm(image by mimpy). I love that little round, brown pot. Below is an ikat patterned teapot, which I spotted on D*Sponge a few months ago, it's a really beautiful color and has a great shape. The last three teapots can all be found on Etsy. The pale blue one I like for it's wispy gold line work. It can be purchased from the soft plate. The little handmade black and blue teapot I love for its "finger waves" made by etsy artists, Grace and Ev. Then, my final teapot option is a vintage Hall pot which is near and dear to me because my Mema Hall is a collector of such sweet teapots, she has a rainbow of a collection of Hall pottery that my cousins, sister and I have always admired. She must own a hundred or more in every color available! Really her collection is so beautiful and has been highlighted in her Florida home for as long as I can remember. I am pretty sure she must own this yellow Hall teapot that I have found and admired from my sunshine vintage. Now, can you guess my top pick?? Also, don't forget to share any shops or designers where we can hunt for more great teapots! xoxo
In the past year or so photographer Tim Walker's photos have exploded into the world of fame, you can see why here with some of my favorite shots. The first time I heard of Walker was from reading this issue of Vogue a few years ago when he photographed Madonna and her English Manor. I still have the article torn out in a folder of inspiration somewhere in my studio. I just remember being so in love with the colors and the dream like imagery. Still to this day I totally fall for Tim's colors over and over again. Looking at his photographs is like being submerged in a daydream for me. In other words, I love his work, and no matter how popular he is these days, I still think he is pretty wonderful. I think another reason that I love Walker's work is because he loves to play with scale and uses gigantic props and in my own work I tend to shy away from such drama, when really I want more of it. Tim Walker has inspired me to dream bigger and to not be afraid of working on a larger scale. I will also be dreaming of owning this book by Walker, ahhh... maybe one day.
