Pickett's Press

Last week, my friend Elizabeth Pyne of McMillen Inc. introduced me to Kate Pickett, owner of a letterpress stationery line called Pickett's Press. Elizabeth raved about Kate's stationery, and during the course of conversation, two more people approached us to share their praise of the line. Needless to say, as soon as I got back to the hotel that night, I visited the Pickett's Press website to see the stationery for myself.

There is a lot of letterpress stationery on the market today, but much of it isn't quite formal enough for me. What I like about Pickett's Press is that the designs resemble what one might see in more traditional engraved stationery, and yet the letterpress printing of it makes the stationery seem fresh. It's the best of both worlds.

The line includes boxed note cards and gift enclosure cards as well as place cards and fill-in invitations. I love using fill-in invitations for small cocktail and dinner parties, so it's nice to see that Kate has included these in her line. Custom letterpress stationery can also be designed. You could order change of address cards with an architectural rendering of your new house or personalized menu cards or...well, the sky's the limit.

Seeing that the holidays are just around the corner, I urge you to visit the website to see the full range. I think that Pickett's Press is a great resource for social stationery during the holidays and the rest of the year too.

Entertaining in the French Style

A few weeks ago, I posted on both the Manhattan and Paris apartments of designer Jean-Paul Beaujard. Well, my fascination with Beaujard's work has only intensified thanks to the book Entertaining in the French Style. I guess you could also say that because of this book, my interest in French food and tableware has been piqued as well.

Eileen Johnson, the book's author who also owns and operates FlowerSchool New York, has written a charming book that really captures the essence of French entertaining. Each chapter profiles an intriguing person (subjects include Beaujard, an artist, and an antique textiles collector) who lives in some beautiful part of France (think Paris, L'Isle sur la Sorgue, and La Perche.) The book's sumptuous photographs show the various tableware and food that each subject uses and serves when entertaining. There are even a few recipes included for dishes like Algerian Couscous and Plum Clafouti.

If you are at all interested in French style and entertaining, you really should consider purchasing a copy of this book either for yourself or as a gift. (The book's smaller size makes it perfect for gift-giving.) Reading it really is like taking an enchanting but all too brief trip to France.



A beautiful Maison Jansen games table set for dinner in the Paris apartment of designer Jean-Paul Beaujard. The porcelain is Sevres.




A table set beneath a pear tree at a bed & breakfast in Saignon. The wine, cheese, and fruit look scrumptious.



In the L'Isle sur la Sorgue home of designer and textile collector Michel Biehn. Biehn designed the cicada and pine decorated china and had it made in Mouspiers, France. I'm fascinated with the earthenware cicada knife rests.



Biehn set this table in his garden.



Artist Tony Ramos, who lives near Eygalieres in Provence, laid out hors d'oeuvres including saucisson, olives, and olive paste, in his studio. This was a precursor to a meal of roast chicken, string beans, and fresh tomatoes. Vin d'orange was served alongside.



A jasmine tart is garnished with crystallized mint leaves and rose petals.

All photos from Entertaining in the French Style by Eileen Johnson; Brie Williams photographer.

Katie Ridder Rooms

I couldn't have asked for a better weekend: a fun cocktail party hosted by neighbors; a leisurely Sunday night supper at a friend's house; and reading the soon to be released Katie Ridder Rooms. I have long been a fan of Katie's work, so I had a feeling that I would enjoy this book. Still, I didn't realize just how much I would enjoy reading it.

There is much that I admire about Katie. She has an amazing sense of color, an ease with both traditional and contemporary furnishings, and a keen eye for detail. (In fact, the book has pages devoted to details like upholstery, lighting, and wallpaper.) The result, I think, is that her rooms are layered and full of life. They are rooms that you want to pore over, soaking in the details. And fortunately, the book's photos really capture the beauty of Katie's work. The colors leap from the page.

The book's text is interesting too, giving the reader a sense of how Katie works and what her design philosophy is. In addition, Katie's tips on things like "The Ideal Dining Chair", "What Every Entry Needs", and "The Best Bookcases" are all highlighted. It's informative and inspiring too.

And going back to what I said about Katie's eye for detail. Take a close look at the book and you'll see that it is decorated with some of Katie's great fabric and wallpaper prints including Wave and Attendant. Very clever!













Katie's Attendant print appears on the book's spine.


Take off the dust jacket and you'll see that the book's front and end boards feature her Wave print.


Images of interiors from Katie Ridder Rooms by Heather Smith MacIsaac, Eric Piasecki photographer (Vendome Press).

Until Next Week

I had hoped to write a bevy of posts before I left for New York, but, well, that didn't happen. I'll be back next week with regularly scheduled posts. And for those of you who are planning to attend my talk at Leron on Wednesday, I look forward to seeing you there!

The photos above are a sneak peek of my Leron presentation. For more info, click here.

Let's Talk Linen

If you plan to be at next week's Fall Market 2011 at the D&D Building, Leron Linens and I would like to invite you to join us at the Leron showroom next Wednesday at noon. We will be hosting a casual get-together where I will present a slideshow of how linen and other accessories has inspired designers through the decades. (I've found some terrific photos of linen from the 1930s onwards...and most of the photos have not yet been seen on my blog!) You can also view the latest Leron collections. Light refreshments will be served.

For more information, please see the invitation above or feel free to email me. I hope to see you on Wednesday!

Weekends at Winterthur

The Dining Room at Winterthur


I hope that some of you are planning to attend next week's Chic It Up! event at Winterthur. Seriously, you will be so glad that you did. When I toured Winterthur a few years ago, I was absolutely fascinated by Mr. du Pont's connoisseurship in all matters of living including decorating, collecting, and entertaining. His efforts at designing a home that was both historically accurate and aesthetically dazzling helped to cement his reputation as one of this country's most esteemed tastemakers. But what has especially intrigued me is the way in which H. F. du Pont approached entertaining. It seems that a night or a weekend at Winterthur was absolute perfection with no detail overlooked. I asked Maggie Lidz, Estate Historian and Curator of Garden and Estate Objects at Winterthur, to send me some archival information about du Pont's style of entertaining. I have to say that some of the anecdotes blew my mind. This is the kind of entertaining that one doesn't experience today.

If you were invited by the du Ponts to be weekend guests at Winterthur, you would arrive on a Friday afternoon, just in time for tea. As Mr. and Mrs. du Pont greeted you, footmen would take your coats while the houseman would deposit your luggage in your room. A maid would then unpack your suitcase. After tea, you would retreat to your room so that you could dress for cocktails and dinner. Cocktails began at 7:30 with dinner served at 8:00.

Brooke Astor recalled that the cocktail hour at Winterthur was most special. du Pont would have small card tables set up outside of the drawing room or in the hall at which guests could enjoy caviar and iced vodka. This was a seated affair where, according to Astor, "one could enjoy the delicious treat comfortably and to the full, which one cannot do standing up with a plate in one hand and a glass in the other." Susan Mary Alsop was also impressed by "the caviar on the pink covered card table outside the conservatory on our cozy Friday evening."

Afterwards, it was into the dining room where dinner was served á la russe with one footman to every two guests. By all accounts, the food was delicious. Mr. du Pont also paid much attention to his table settings. A few days before the dinner, he would start to plan the setting with the head gardener who would bring a selection of flowers to Mr. du Pont. Once du Pont chose flowers for the table, he then selected the proper china which best matched the flowers.


A Butler's Pantry filled with candelabra and Battersea candlesticks

After dinner, the male guests would retire to the library or the Marlboro Room where they would enjoy cigars and drinks. The ladies went to the Chinese Parlor for coffee. But even then, the evening was not over. Guests would then play bridge, watch a movie in the Court, or even tour the house.


The Chinese Parlor

Breakfast was served in one's room. You would fill out a menu card the night before, one which read: "M__ (name)___, Hour, Coffee, Tea, Hot milk, Cream, Eggs, Bacon, Toast, Fruit, Remarks". The next morning at the requested time, a footman would deliver a tray with your breakfast, a copy of the Herald Tribune, and a rose in a silver bud vase.

The day's activities included an informal lunch, tennis, swimming, golf, bowling, touring the gardens, and at times trips to Longwood Gardens and Eleutherian Mills.


The Enclosed Porch

And in terms of the guest rooms, it seems that they never ceased to impress guests. They were beautifully appointed with the finest antiques. One guest, Joe Kindig III, recalls that a "period textile was present on the bed upon your arrival, but was replaced when you retired to your room. A valet was available for my needs and a maid for my wife's." Antiques dealer Bernard Levy was quoted as saying that H. F. du Pont "had a staff that gave you the feeling that when you turned over at night they fluffed the pillow." And Walter Heacock said, "One [footman] checked the labels in the clothes of the guests to find out how much service they were accustomed to." Heacock went on to say that during one of his visits, he retired to his bedroom one evening to find that his shoelaces had been pressed and toothpaste had already been applied to his toothbrush.

Like I said earlier, I can only imagine the cosseting that the du Pont's guests must have felt during a weekend at Winterthur. It's no wonder that people like Jackie Kennedy, no slouch herself, were enthralled by Henry Francis du Pont. I didn't know the man but I am enthralled by him as well!

And by the way, the relationship between H. F. du Pont, Jackie Kennedy, and the Fine Arts Committee of the White House is just one of the topics that will be covered next week at Winterthur. If you do attend, please let me know. I want to hear all about it!


I would like to thank Maggie Lidz for providing me with the information used to write this post. The first and last photos are courtesy of Winterthur. The middle two were taken by me.

T. Gordon Little Redux

Auction catalogues are a wealth of information. Obviously, they are an invaluable resource for both budding and seasoned collectors. But what I find intriguing is that oftentimes interior photos are included alongside the lot photos. So, for example, if an estate is being auctioned off, photos showing the lots in situ are included. It's like taking a peek behind closed doors to see how somebody lived.

I recently purchased a 2005 Christie's catalogue that included the estate of the late Atlanta designer T. Gordon Little. You might remember that I posted photos of his former apartment on my blog a few months ago. The photos seen below show Little's last apartment as it appeared at the time of his death. If the lots that were up for auction weren't tempting enough, then surely the photos of Little's gorgeous apartment helped to entice potential bidders. They certainly would have done so for me.



The Study



The Guest Bedroom



The Master Bedroom



The Living Room



A vignette in the Dining Room



The Guest Bedroom



The China Cabinet

Michael Devine on MYHABIT

If you haven't already done so, make sure to visit the MYHABIT website today to see my friend Michael Devine's sale. Michael is selling some fabulous pillows, trays, and coasters, all of which are made from his very popular fabrics. I purchased a set of Dottie coasters in graphite. Oh, and did I mention that the prices are very reasonable? The sale ends tomorrow morning at 9am, so you need to be quick!

Click here to visit the sale site.

Dreamy Beds

As I was reading my copy of Architectural Digest Designers' Own Homes, it struck me that a third of the thirty designers profiled slept in fabric shrouded beds. Some, like Leonard Stanley and Lee Radziwill, had more formal canopies and bed curtains, while others went for simple panels hung at each bed post. And one designer- Michael Taylor- had a rather grandiose 17th c. Spanish gilded bed hung with voluminous curtains. (You can see it above.)

The book was published in 1984, and perhaps poster and canopy beds were in vogue at that time. What I find interesting is that this type of bed found favor amongst both the devotees of traditional design as well as those who worked in a more contemporary idiom. Even Albert Hadley got into the act with his version, one that was simply dressed so as not to obscure the beauty of his antique bed.


Designer Leonard Stanley's bed was draped in antique velvet bed hangings.



Lee Radziwill's early 19th c. English four-poster bed appears to have been decorated with a printed glazed cotton fabric.



The bed of designers Loyd Ray Taylor and Charles Paxton Gremillion, Jr. was a blend of tailored, masculine bed draperies and frilly bed linen.



As one might expect, Sally Sirkin Lewis took a more modern approach to her bed, wrapping each poster with contemporary brown bed curtains.



Albert Hadley allowed his late 18thc. English lacquered bed to be the star of the show by crowning it with a very simple canopy.




A rather elaborately outfitted canopy bed, this one in the home of the late designer Rubén de Saavedra.




Diane Burn's lit à la polonaise was draped in two hundred yards of gauze.



Joseph Braswell's tranquil bed was simple and luxurious: neutral colored panels gathered at each corner. The headboard wall was covered in mirror.



The late Kalef Alaton chose tailored draperies for the corners of his headboard only.


All images from Architectural Digest Designers' Own Homes.