Lone Star...Texas or Bust...

All Images Photographed by: Maggie Wooldridge Campbell

The Lone Star State amazed me as we explored different venues and learned to appreciate the collections of various dealers and showroom owners.  Particularly fascinating was the collection at Abraham's Rugs, with a noteworthy clients, Sam Abraham began his collection in 1974...

We spoke of different tribes and families in Iran, Turkey and India perusing so many wonderful rugs.  The colors and knotting techniques intriguing and beguiling at once.  The patterns of the Oushak and patina of time make them universal in their inclusion of simple and monochromatic design intentions.  The wonderfully aged Serape & Sarouk rugs took my breath away as we looked at detail that one can only imagine in some faraway place was knotted by hand in a pattern so intricate that it puts the Sistine chapel on the same plane. 

This one amazing piece had this form  repeated over and over again reminding me of a Nautilus pompilius, cephalopod. 

"Fun with Math as far back as the ancient Greeks, the shell of the chambered nautilus has been a symbol of perfection. This shell can be described mathematically as a logarithmic spiral. It is often confused with a very specific type of logarithmic spiral that the Ancient Greeks described. This special logarithmic spiral has a ratio of 1:1.618 and is called The Golden Ratio or the Divine Proportion (See: The Nautilus Shell Spiral). In truth, while Nautilus is a beautiful example of a Logarithmic spiral, it is not in the proportions of The Golden Ratio. Please see the article by John Sharp that proves this." 

 from http://www.thecephalopodpage.org/

Here are a few of the amazing pieces we unrolled during our design seminar at Abraham's Rugs, Houston, Texas.  Special Thank You to Sam Abraham for hosting the event. 

Houston Decorative Arts Center

 http://www.abrahamsrugs.com/index.htm

Infusing Color & Pattern Where There Was None...Vol. 1 Issue 4 2010

Sneak Preview...To Tweet or are we Twits?

Photographs Courtesy of Brad Ford ID

http://www.designtherapy.com/

I had the pleasure of taking part in this wonderful discussion with Design Therapy’s Brad Ford hosted by ADAC last week. The topic was the use of social media marketing, Facebook, twitter, blogging and other web based media outlets. His view was that it is now a necessary credibility factor for small business owners and other creative fields. The circular movement between the different resources becomes imperative to convey strategic messaging. In his words great ideas and concepts 'become viral' in their nature on the internet...

There are so many blogs and other online editorial resources out there, it is important to differentiate yourself from the competition. “Websites are static, blogs are a constant conversation” Expert designer Brad Ford (a fellow twitter user with 13,000+ followers’) feels that the way we are connected is becoming a very necessary media.


Design Therapy’s Blog has timely and informative third party information that is not focused on self-promotion—a common thread among successful industry blogs. Of course the intriguing part of blogs is that they are somewhat personal and much more interesting than that of a highly edited editorial—and that can be the drawback if the blogger or owner does not focus on readership or relevance. The other great offering of blogs is much more detailed information on how to or unique ways to look at projects. It is almost like having a bird’s eye view into the day to day life of designers, artist, architects and photographers.

To get the most current design news and style secrets design enthusiasts must now look directly to the inspiration and sources/designers as so many journals and magazines have fallen. The great news is these are relatively free hobby reading and can become very much of a friendly resource. Bloggers & their subscribers are loyal and tend to be able to point one another in the right direction as well as Facebook fans and twitter users.  The jury is still out but I recommend several of the following to get you started reading up the minute industry news:  Enjoy!  Laura


Design Sponge— http://www.designspongeonline.com
Habitually Chic— http://habituallychic.blogspot.com
The Peak of Chic— http://thepeakofchic.blogspot.com
Tobi Fairley— http://tobifairley.com/blog
A Daily Dose of Architecture— http://archidose.blogspot.com

Oushak, Serapi, Kilim...

Won't You Join Us for Mimosas & Muffins at Abraham's Rugs in Houston, Texas?  We will be discussing 'Which Type of Rug Perfects & Compliments Your Personal Style.'  Question & Answer Session to follow. Bring a friend or two as we look at the age old art of rugmaking... 

June 25th 10am-12noon

5120 Woodway, Showroom # 6010

Houston, TX 77056

 

Hosted By:
Abrahams Rugs & L. Green Studios

http://www.lgreenstudios.com/

http://www.abrahamsrugs.com/locations.htm

And the Winner of the Tres Chic Room Makeover is...

Michelle Wlodarek!

Selected completely randomly, Michelle will have a room in her house redecorated for free. Congratulations! Stay tuned for pictures and more!

This really wonderful house...

Watch while we infuse wonderful layers of color

throughout this wonderful house...

Today I am working on this really great house with beautiful details, as we frame up the

interior finishes & millwork details, we are layering our own samples with beautiful

pots of paint to create this almond and platinum/palamino combination. 

While the homeowners are in Cabo we are tweaking the color theory behind the design...watch as we play with color and it's application...Enjoy!

Our Latest Editorial from The Roswell Current...

http://www.theroswellcurrent.com/

Join Us for...

Join us for a few upcoming events we will be designing & discussing 'Using What You Have Well & When to Know the Difference'...

July 22nd  10am  Mimosa's & Muffins

Now & Again Buckhead

August 19th 7pm  Wine, Cheese & Refreshments 

Sandy Springs Antiques & Interiors

September-December Events Details will be posted closer to the event time...

Looking forward to seeing you!! ~Laura