Newest Introductions!

Those of you who know my routine, know that Wednesday night is when the magic happens.

Last Wednesday night was a long night of transformation. *sigh*

The first of my fall offerings found their way out of the stockroom and almost every major surface was re-merchandised due to 5 large new pieces of art that were hung. Quite a team effort. Sneelock, myself, Anne and Shannon. Anne fueled our energy at the beginning of the effort with her delicious seviche,guacamole and chips. Fabulous, I might say.

Then, we set out to flip the store and give new life to the 8000 square feet of showroom. I have a great team. Creative. Fun. Talented. Hardworking. Visionary....a pretty good formula. Let's just say, it makes the "night shift" possible and sometimes even enjoyable.

A peek into my new front window...yes, it's all about style!

This season it's all about "fresh cuts" in permanent botanicals. It looks as if we have gone out into the yard and pruned our favorite maple or birch. I love it.

 We sorted through the new fall offerings and of course, I had several motifs of crow-related objects! I may have cut down on whimsical Halloween, but I've always got to have a few crows and a little bit of glitter (see the framed crow print in black glitter frame!)

The color peacock cannot be denied in this season's color pallet. It's importance is being seen in art,

accessories and fabric alike. Several months ago, I painted this vintage console in a Sherwin Williams color to herald the trend. I've gotten lots of great comments and put it to good use! Love it.

 If you are looking for great aspen leaves, here you are. Shannon designed this dramatic and breathtaking focal point using our fall leaves, the aspen and various berries.The table is supported all around with stems for the taking. Beautiful. Fresh. Oh so Fall.

I'm so excited to announce our new idea for your front door! Black-eyed Susan has been so well known for years for our signature grande wreaths. This year, I've introduced an idea that you can easily design yourself (or with a little help from me and my staff)!  This door basket will easily take you from season to season with the simple change of a new selection of your favorite picks. Holiday, spring and summer will be just as stunning as this fall selection. 

One more feature of a realisticc Fall branch cutting. I love this!

 

So there you have it. Your own preview of the real magic that happens on Wednesday night when the merchandising crew comes in. Looks like Thursdays could be the day to find the newest looks.

Color Makes My Heart Sing!

I've been asked to do another whole house project in Charleston, SC. 

It's always a pleasure to work in the South...even nicer if we try to install it in early winter instead of mid summer! Last December, Jackie and I flew down to take a look at the project. It was inspiring and exciting! As we drove through the downtown suburb, Jackie made the comment, "This is beautiful. It's like Bucks County meets the Live Oaks"! She was correct. The neighborhood was full of historic charm, lush vegetation and  live oak trees with Spanish moss! Bucks County and Charleston married into one fabulous neighborhood. We knew we were off to a good start and a project that we would enjoy. I think you'll enjoy following our progress.

 You'll have to admit, it's a pretty happy pallet! I've always been a lover of color and this vision of chartreuse, coral, cream and taupe just makes my heart sing! 

We proposed it to our client and she did not hesitate. *sigh*

We're out of the gate and running!

 We'll be using some graphic and colorful papers for the dining room, powder room, master vestibule and possibly foyer...

 

We selected graphite and coral for the great room, a slight variation on the theme.

Can you just imagine the fun we'll have with accessories and art?!

You can watch for some further updates over the next few months! It will take most of the remainder of 2012 to complete the design, but I'll keep you posted for a fun ride. 

Yes, definitely installation in early February! A great time for a trip to Charleston. 

Come see the magic.

Accessorising 101

We had a great event tonight! A good turnout, always rewarding. Lots of sales, good and bad! I'm famous for not wanting to see my "stuff"...

For one thing, I'm attached to it. For another thing, it translates into more work. Oh, the bare spots. Things moved-favorites gone. So, while the financial team is cheering, I'm crying. I know it's crazy. What can I say, I like my "stuff".

So, after a long "night shift" session last night, looks like Kara and I might have another one coming a little too soon.

All in all, it was a successful night. Why not join us next time? Come join the party!

A portion of the crowd watching the hands-on demonstration and entertainment!

Fabulous color! Chartreuse. Lots of ideas for fabrics and the coordinating accessories.

My friend and co-designer, KC, with her stash! (Wow, how about that blouse!)

I just had to peer into these two Black-eyed Susan bags to bid farewell to a favorite set of Shakespeare...39 volumes to be exact. Sad, sad, sad. (I really hate loosing my books!) The size was to die for and the complete set a real treasure. My cute client really didn't think she needed all 39! Oh my. I told her I was sure I could show her how to use them without hesitation!

Goodbye darling books. Good thing they went to a favorite client's home.

Too many areas looked like this at the end of the night...bare. Bare, bare, BARE! My cool blue story was raided by Betsy and Lisa. Together, they left me with this. Can you feel my pain?!

So...that's the report on my event tonight. Like I said, good, and bad. I hope to see you next time.

Set-ups, day 1: Merry and Bright

• Hang exterior garland and wreaths from what surely feels like 185 windows

• Work holiday magic on three large fireplace mantles
  
• Hang 3 dozen+ kugels from client's windows and many-armed entry chandelier
• Feel relief at finding switch for lowering said chandelier from second story to lower level
• Hang, primp, and trim something close to 300 miles of banister garland
• Assemble, light, and decorate 12' tree in two-story entryway
• Feel grateful for energetic team of six willing workers
• Feel grateful for Costco-sized bag of M&Ms left in the car from last week
• Make list of night-time to-do's on the way back to the store
• Brainstorm creative presentation for Thursday night's Light the Candles! class
• Bring out new holiday merchandise from stockroom
• Work holiday magic in store to showcase said merchandise
• Make last-minute sweep of store to check for empty Coke Zero bottles before heading home
• Enjoy night-cap of microwave kettle corn and herbal tea
  

Haul out the Holly! . . .

. . . and the magnolia wreaths, and the glittery floral picks, and the boxes and boxes of sparkling ornaments, and the army of Santas, and the yards and yards of ribbon, and the forest of trees, and the breath-taking table-top accents, oh—and did I mention the silver tinsel tree sporting miniature pink sparkly shoes, feathered birds, and polka-dotted balls? Whew! It makes me tired just thinking of it—oh, wait a minute—I am tired!

Thanks to my handpicked Christmas Set-up Dream Team (and our combined total of roughly 150 man-hours since Monday morning) the store’s holiday transformation has begun! I knew it would be a bit more of a project this year with a larger store to bedeck; I didn’t quite realize what a difference the addition of nearly 9,000 square feet would mean to my aching feet. When I see everything start to come together, however, I quickly forget about my sore extremities as the excitement of season and the anticipation of sharing all of the beauty with my customers keeps me going.

While there there hasn't been much time f0r blogging, I did want to share a bit of what we've been working on this week. So here's my pictorial review of the progress thus far, but trust me--you have to see it to believe it!

It all begins in the stockroom. The crowded, glittery, and magical stockroom.

Then the piles—oh, the piles! Merchandise is stacked everywhere throughout the store, making it difficult to walk anywhere.

After the unpacking and sorting, the creative work can begin! With six trees to decorate, we've got our work cut out for us.

Whoever said you can't have shoes that are both cute and comfortable?

Then there are mantles and table tops to adorn. One room at a time, girls. One room at a time.

All of the furniture has been moved to create new inspiration for holiday style.

Back in what we've dubbed the Williamsburg room a beautiful magnolia garlands graces the mantle.

Here's a closeup of the aforementioned girlie tinsel tree!

And here is the elegant mantle that will be featured on the cover of Suburban Life

By Wednesday evening our shoes were off as we continued to work into the night.

We were wishing we had life-sized versions of these cute slippers on the champagne and red tree!

We have to chuckle when we see this common sight throughout the store—a half-empty bottle of Diet Coke sitting among the decor.

We've still got a busy few days ahead, and the store is still in a bit of a mess, but things are starting to come together. Come and see the holiday magic!

There's a Change in The Air!

It's always a happy time of year when the fall/Halloween merchandise is ready for merchandising!

Sorry about the slightly out of focus snapshot! But what about this "Treats" pumpkin for your trick or treat give-a-ways! (And check out those glitter witches and spooks.)

You'll find mahogany colored pumpkins in three sizes...

Vintage reproduction figures....

These battery operated black glitter candelabras set the stage for a real Adams Family dinner party!

A slightly new take on past years Caspers with personal greetings...

I saved the best for last! You know how I love crows (of the statue variety!). Add that seasonal black glitter and some orange tinsel and you've got my heart. This little guy is named appropriately, "Edgar Allen Crow". Check our twitter contest to see more.

Yes, fall is in the air. None too soon for me. It's pretty magical inside the old stone walls of Black-eyed Susan. Come see for yourself.

Taking Shape!

The bedroom retreat is beginning to take on personality! Today, we delivered load after load of accessories, lamps, a very stylish chandelier, books, art, all of the key ingredients for style.

Boxes of special inventory from the shelves at Black-eyed Susan! This is the fun part. The floor has been mopped and shined,the painting completed, the heavy furniture has been hauled into place...now the magic begins. The room begins to sing with personality with the next stages.

At times,the chaos is overwhelming. "Stuff" everywhere, and when your room is on the small side, it gets difficult to have a staging place.

Check out these fabulous vintage chairs, courtesy of my cute friend's father-in-law. These are the real McCoy's! Sneelock helped me take them out of Mr. Giler's home about a year ago and they have been taking up residence in my garage, just waiting to be put to good use. I think I found their purpose. Taupey grey strie velvet with orange piping! Gotta love 'em.

A note of interest, all this time I thought they were identical...only to discover today in the unveiling that one is slightly shorter than the other! Were they "his" and "her's"? My friend, Paul might know the answer from his childhood!

This is the beginning of a fabulous window treatment. Soft, open-weave linen roman shades with "eyelash" fringe! Now that's what I call style. Watch for the panels to be hung in the next post.

Here's another shot of the room "in preparation" for the finishing touches and custom bedding. Where to put "this" while I unpack "that"...the challenges of a small room can be vast. The trick is to make the room seem like you planned it that way, that things are not just crammed into it, but purposefully planned. (Thus, the painting of the closet door that will really not function! Make it seem like part of the wall).

Lampshades and harps are being exchanged to ensure the proper scale to the height of the bed.

Here is a shot of the upholstered bed with three of my Paris botanicals crowning the headboard.

Mirrored mahogany chests flank the bed. Several of the custom pillows have been placed for inspection on the bed. Love that natural linen pillow with the orange grid.

A bit of interesting trivia about the room: this room was designed for one of my very stylish clients, Lauri Osterstock. She graciously agreed to loan me the contents of the room prior to installing them at her home. Thank you, Lauri! It has been fun to collaborate with her in the design of the room. Most of the elements will transfer to her master bedroom (minus the orange accents). We have chosen a beautiful soft grey/blue, SW Sea Salt, as her accent and wall color. The result is ethereal and I'll show you the "reinvention" of the room with a different color when we install it in her home. It was fun to "co-design" the room with the help of a trusting client. And, it makes me happy to think of my design being resurrected after the show!

Watch for more additions in the days to come...along with the "before" photos of the room in all its glory.

Looking forward to more progress tomorrow and the next few days. So far, we're ahead of the crowd, nearing the finish line. *whew*