Showing posts with label tablescapes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tablescapes. Show all posts

Thursday, January 20, 2022

A Birthday 'Look Book' Celebrates Life's Mix of High Points and Sad Lows With Love and Hope

 

I just celebrated another wonderful birthday. Lucky me! And marking a birth day so close to the start of the new calendar year offers the chance to both look back and plan ahead in a tidy way. I’ve had a mix of lovely high points and some sad lows with an unexpected loss that has left me unmoored… Yet, I remain grateful and genetically happy.  Efficiency being a kind of attribute of my zodiac sign, I can happily check off a few boxes at the same time. 

While I’m preternaturally superstitious, it’s also true that I cling to the idea ~ or I daresay promise ~ of astrology. Who doesn’t look to celestial bodies and the stars to help plan their lives?  A “Look Book” portfolio beckoned…

Friday, March 26, 2021

Learn How Lava MaeX CEO Doniece Sandoval Brought Dignity To Her Community: View My Ladies Who Lunch Conversations on Facebook Live Interview & Discover What Radical Hospitality Is

 

Forget the Ides of March; its spark of a civil  war. 

While the month of March is named after the Roman god of war, Mars, I find the month really one of the happiest months of the year. 

There’s an abundance of things to celebrate: It’s the start of spring, the traditional partying surrounding St. Patrick’s Day, and then there’s Pi Day -- and the premiere of the year’s celestial Supermoons. 

And of course, we salute Women’s History Month and International Women's Day.


But after some thoughtful introspection, I got to thinking… 

Then a wee bit more research to support a burgeoning theory. Ultimately, I came full circle to very much embrace the March moniker and its war myth as it related to this blog post. 


I found that not only was the Mars altar in Rome dedicated by Numa, the peace-loving semi-legendary second king of Rome; moreover, I read that there is a connection to “a kind of life force or virtue that is an essential characteristic of Mars.”

And then I saw this: “As an agricultural guardian, Mars directs his energies toward creating conditions that allow crops to grow, which may include warding off hostile forces of nature.” 

I added the italics to mark the correlation of where I’m going with this.


Clearly, I was feeling ~ and seeing ~ more of the connection and cosmic link to my March 10th, Ladies Who Lunch Conversations special guest.   

The incredibly inspiring, visionary community advocate who triumphs over such systemic adversity that would stymie, thwart, or even freeze lesser spirits is Doniece Sandoval, the Founder & Advisor, LavaMaeX 

I hope she will forgive me but I now see that Doniece was indeed at a kind of “war” with the lack of providence and care for those not living in a structured home. The “those” are the folks we most often refer to as “homeless.” I recoil from this label. There is so much more to their human condition than a lack of housing but that’s what these people are called so I’ll honor them and the reference in this way. 

The point is, Doniece is an acknowledged idealist and activist ~ a warrior ~ who has been consistently recognized for her work “restoring dignity to Californians experiencing homelessness.” Amen. 

She talks about when the idea was born and as noted on her James Irvine award, “When she encountered a woman on the street crying, “I will never be clean!” Learning that San Francisco has only 16 public showers for as many as 7,000 people living on the streets, she got to work.

She discovered that San Francisco planned to replace old public buses and promptly crowdfunded $75,000 to secure and retrofit the vehicles with showers and toilets. 

Together, we laughed about how when she first reached out for her Go-Fund me campaign, she asked for monies for a “little project” she was starting. I was all in. 

Little project? Now look where that little project is. 

So impressive. Networking and good karma matters… 

You can do it too.


City buses become showers for the homeless - CNN Photo, courtesy of CNN.com


Sanguine Solutions and Radical Hospitality

On my Ladies Who Lunch Conversations Facebook video interview you’ll hear and see how Doniece’s assiduous efforts to conceive, create, and construct a means to demonstrably change her community’s streets is no less that kind of life force and essential characteristic of the god, Mars. And that the god ~ or shall we say, Goddess, created conditions that may include warding off hostile forces of nature, well, that’s Doniece! (see how the connections really do resonate?)


Doniece single-handedly produced a concept that she’ll be the first to praise her team for, yet she, nevertheless, brokered the way for the community to become part of the solution.

You will hear and see her journey from idea to overcoming seemingly insurmountable hurdles to achieve success. Granted, it’s a success that needs to be achieved over and over, every day. But Doniece created the template from which her team at Lava MaeX ~ and other committed, socially responsible candidates can follow. 

 


Ladies Who Lunch Conversations on Facebook live event. 

I have been abundantly blessed to know Doniece for many years. Her elegance, strategic thinking, and ultimately, her compassion, are indeed heroic. 

Doniece is a true “She-Roe!” 

She always has been. It’s been a privilege to know her and work with her. 

I am so very proud that her story will ennoble and elevate your own perspective. To spur you to take action. To better your community. And in doing so: yourself and your family.  

Doniece offers practical advice, networking options and hope…  Enjoy her perspective and style. 

And her concept of Radical Hospitality!


As in every genuine Ladies Who Lunch experience ~ just like we all did meeting up at our homes, gardens, local restaurants, or museums, Doniece and I share some laughs, near-tears about some of her experiences with her “clients” and the unfairness of so much… And a Lightning Round of favorite things. Plus our champagne toasts. I’m still smiling. 




To augment and give you more context to our lovely conversation - and do note Doniece’s charming hat and sublime tablescape!  Doniece Sandoval inspired Lava MaeX’s work to transform the way communities see and serve people moving through homelessness. 


She founded the organization in 2013 as a solution to the lack of showers and toilets available to her unhoused neighbors in San Francisco. 

According to her incredible bio (trust me, I can’t write this story any better than this! So here is her bio as provided by Lava MaeX: “The nonprofit, then called Lava Mae, started out with two retrofitted city buses and has grown from a three-person team to a staff of 24, with operations in San Francisco, the East Bay, and Los Angeles. In early 2020, Doniece restructured it as LavaMaeX, a nonprofit accelerator that trains communities around the world to deliver street-based services. 

Early in LavaMaeX’s development, Doniece conceived the philosophy of Radical Hospitality—delivering an unexpected level of care—based on her belief that opportunity unfolds when people are treated with dignity and that people everywhere will rise to the level of respect they receive. The concept continues to guide LavaMaeX’s work.

Today Doniece is focused on giving communities around the world the tools and knowledge they need to serve their unhoused neighbors. The LavaMaeX DIY tool kit, which launched in 2017, has been downloaded more than 3,000 times from the nonprofit’s buildIt platform, and LavaMaeX has trained, advised, and inspired more than 170 communities to build their own mobile hygiene programs. 

A former marketing executive with a long history of community involvement, Doniece moved to San Francisco following two years of volunteering with the Red Cross, helping the survivors of 9/11. 

Prior to starting LavaMaeX, Doniece was chief external relations officer for ZERO1, an organization dedicated to showcasing the work of some of the most fertile minds in art, science, design, architecture, and technology. Before that she was head of marketing at the San Jose Museum of Art, where she grew a young adult audience and raised the museum’s brand profile regionally. 

Doniece also led communications for the Family Violence Prevention Fund (now Futures Without Violence), worked with corporate brands such as Coca-Cola and ToysRUs.com, and helped brand a host of small San Francisco–based design companies. 


She has earned numerous awards and honors for her work with LavaMaeX, including Nonprofit HR’s Women to Watch (2019), a 2017 CNN Hero award, a 2017 James Irvine Foundation Leadership award, and the KIND Foundation’s KIND People Award (2016). In March 2019 she was a Social Entrepreneur in Residence at Stanford University’s Haas Center.


In 2020, Doniece stepped away as LavaMaeX’s CEO into an advisor role. As an expert source, Doniece brings street-seasoned insights to topics such as scaling and replicating a social enterprise or nonprofit; solutions for ending the cycle of homelessness; and how communities can harness the power of collaboration and partnerships to address pressing challenges.”


Pick me up. I’m fainting with pride and bristling with respect for this extraordinary Lady. Cheers to you, Doniece. I humbly thank you for being such an exceptional guest at my Ladies Who Lunch Conversations. 


If you are as inspired as I am, and perhaps want to reach out to Doniece, you can find her here on LinkedIn and her Instagram or Lava Mae’s Facebook 


Next up: Wednesday, March 31st, I will host the artist and humanitarian, Jordan Robinson. 


Cheers to Ladies Who Lunch and our incredible networking and support of our glamorous gal squads.

Cheers to Ladies Who Lunch ~ that's me taking a photo of a Madison Avenue store window on my way to a ladies lunch! Talk about Karma! 



Some of The lyrics to Ladies Who Lunch: 

Here's to the ladies who lunch

Everybody laugh

… Choosing a hat

Does anyone still wear a hat?

I'll drink to that

Here's to the girls who stay smart

Aren't they a gas?

Rushing to their classes in optical art

Wishing it would pass

Another long exhausting day

Another thousand dollars

A matinee, a Pinter play

Perhaps a piece of Mahler's

I'll drink to that

And one for Mahler

… Just to keep in touch

I'll drink to them

Let's all drink to them


Let's hear it for the ladies who lunch

Everybody rise

Rise

Rise, rise

Rise, rise

Rise, rise

Rise


Thank you. Cheers, my dears.


Monday, March 8, 2021

View Inspiring, Intimate Career Journeys & Celebrate the Promise of International Women's Day & Women's History Month with Ladies Who Lunch Conversations & Pretty Tablescape!

 


At last… A true reason to celebrate. In fact, we are marking two joyful observances that have Women and Girls as the featured, honorable celebrants as the object of our collective solemnization. 

That makes sense, doesn’t it? Women are doubly talented. We manage to juggle ~ another word for doubling or more ~ managing work, home, and community. 


Therefore, let’s raise our glass to celebrate International Women's Day (IWD) today, March 8th.  According to IWD it is one of the most important days of the year to:


  • celebrate women's achievements

  • raise awareness about women's equality

  • lobby for accelerated gender parity

  • fundraise for female-focused charities


March not only celebrates International Women's Day to mark the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women but it also hosts Women’s History Month here in the U.S. 


Since its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed the resolution which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week” commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history.


I think it also makes so much sense that March should be the month to celebrate women. 

After all, it is the season of change - spring is thrumming, it’s the time of rebirth. 

And who better than our uber-mother, Mother Nature, to serve as a kind of backdrop to honor women and girls.


Where to Celebrate with Me and My Guests

This celebration of women is really the foundation and backbone of my initiative to produce my  Ladies Who Lunch, Facebook Live monthly Conversations. 


My goal is to offer a learning platform for all of us. These artisans and entrepreneurs are masters of their craft. 


I am so excited that I get to talk to my artful guests to explore the captivating & inspiring stories about their extraordinary art & learning journeys~that make our lives better, richer. 

They share their challenges & tips on how to turn a talent, hobby, or dream into a well-lived life. 

Once a month, I interview a remarkable person ~ mainly, or primarily, a woman (wink. Because… Well, women are so inspiring and supportive) to talk about their journey.  


My first guest describes these pillars of accomplishments as the “gentle people.” 

I couldn't agree more; my guests are “regular” people who were determined to better their lives and their families and communities. They took a leap of confidence and used their brains, hustle, strength, talent and girlfriends :) to achieve success. 

At Ladies Who Lunch, these life legends and pioneers share their story: their tips and advice on how they made it, (it’s not all rainbows!); how we connect with others to elevate the communication and collaboration. 

We aim to lift women up ~ to empower ladies to greater success.


Our networking ~ especially with great dames ~ changes our lives. 

Our conversations can spark a new idea, a business, a love, a travel adventure, and more.  Of course this was much easier pre-pandemic.  But we can do it together at Ladies Who Lunch.  


The first interview was February 10th with the award-winning interior designer and networker extraordinaire, Toni Sabatino. Thank you, Toni. You and your style ~ and your fascinator ~ are too fabulous!   

For those of you who haven’t yet seen this popular post on Facebook (or YouTube or LinkIn), here is the link, below. 

Please enjoy the pretty-in-pink tablescape, the bubbly conversation ~ and the champagne toasts!  

And I humbly ask that you Follow and “Like” the fledgling Ladies Who Lunch platform.

Ladies Who Lunch Premiere: Conversation with Interior Design Toni Sabatino


Next Up

My next guest is the astonishing Doniece Sandoval, Lava Mae founder and community activist and entrepreneur. Lava Maia is a free global online community of homeless service providers bringing mobile showers and other care services to the street.

Doniece has changed lives in a profound way.  She’ll change yours too…


Please look for the link, Wednesday, March 10th. This will be a fascinating, remarkable, conversation.  

And my tablescape is springtime green, brimming with happy hope. Green is rejuvenation… (Do you want to see a sneak preview?)


Cheers to Women and Girls. We are changing the world.


Thursday, February 7, 2019

Best of Show at NY NOW - Home and Garden Designs




Straight out of the press room - Alsop caught my eye. While there’s no doubt I go weak in the knees at most everything magically glittery and twinkling - the design firm also appealed to my more pragmatic nature.

See, Alsop offers pendant lamps and lanterns, string lights, and speakers - all solar powered. I can’t wait to spec them into my garden designs!



I always say that every good garden design tells a story; and accessorizing the garden with products such as these sustainable creations adds abundant, unique charm - and of course utility.

It’s a true luxury to indulge in the garden, patio or terrace, post-dusk. Even if you have fireflies (or lightning bugs as we call them), these solar-powered lights create their own style-rich ambience. This is not task lighting, rather it’s that romantic glow.

It was explained to me that Alsop - and father and daughter owned business launched nearly 20 years ago with an updated, ergonomic wheelbarrow, has patents on their designs and they continue to innovate.

There is a “built-in photo light sensor that turns on the LEDs. The handmade lanterns and lamps use both TyvekⓇ so they are durable in all weather, punched metal, glass, treated canvas, or the original, Soji™ UV-treated nylon -- in solid colors or very pretty graphic patterns and prints.


All the lanterns and lamps come in a variety of shapes - from round to teardrop to pods or “cans.”


There are stringed lights too - so your garden rooms can take on the look of a sophisticated resort. The Stella String, for example, features ten, cylinder-shaped lights in a pearlescent tone punched with a sunflower pattern - conjuring the classic tin luminaries.



And then there’s the Marrakesh Metallic String is silver, copper and more than a few sexy shapes.

Part of the magic is the punched designs -- no matter the material - there are intricate patterns that look good in the day and then allow the subtle solar light to glow through.



I could readily see layering and/or mixing and matching not only the styles but the shapes too. Alsop offers their own accessories so that you have the unlimited option of using the lights in a variety of ways, depending on the party or your mood. For example, you can transform a hanging light to a table top or a use on of their stainless steel stakes to line a garden path.

I love the possibilities.

And finally, there’s Mooni© (I just love saying that moniker!). Mooni is a glowing lantern and/or a glowing lantern with a speaker - in seven colors and four light modes -- all controlled via a remote, charged up with a USB; 
plus you can customize your settings with a BluetoothⓇ device to stream your favorite music. Easy and portable -- just in case the party flow moves from pool to patio…

Look for these innovative Alsop products to add glamour to your outdoor garden rooms -- or ask your garden designer (or me!) to create a glowing, artful evening decor that is guaranteed to delight you and your guests.

I also saw very handsome pots from Campo De’ Fiori terra cotta pots and planters with their lush, trademarked moss that adds an artful faux patina for an aged look. The company’s name means “Field of Flowers: in Italian). Nice. The firm also showed a number of garden accessories from vases to sculpture that will punctuate garden room design.

  

I found myself lingering at the CDI Design booth. Because I am a horticulturist, there a time not all that long ago, that I would’ve just sped by a maker of faux plants and flowers, I’ve “evolved” - (as politicians are wont to say, of late…)

I do mix faux with real - or for some clients - I use faux entirely in container arrangements or full-scale compositions. Why not? There’s a host of environmental reason to do so; plus they make them so very realistic -- and there’s no getting around the no to low maintenance. So for site-specific reasons or circumstances, I’m on board. Moreover, everyone knows those “green walls” simply do not hold up. Too much work. Messy. And more. With rich, lush, faux flowers and foliage - I could design for a patio, terrace, or bathroom spa. (I saw this at a recent Kips Bay Design House but with real plants -- and thinking of all the ferns and soil that would soon “litter” the tub, I got the shivers.)

But this is a green wall of a different design. You can control the look.




Also, I’ve been on the research hunt for someone who could make a faux topiary that would pass muster with a favorite garden design client. The ones we had seized up in a crash freeze a few years ago. I’m nurturing them back to health but not soon enough. Topiaries are singular luxury - because they take so long to cultivate.

And then there’s espalier. So much easier on the tortured plant. Although I do love my apple tree espalier and one of my garden design client’s whole house pyracantha espalier that we not only prune for more than a dozen years - but lovingly nurtured in Superstorm Sandy’s aftermath.

The folks at Creative Displays reassured me they could create anything I design. I believe them! They invited me to their facility in the Garden State (naturally) and I’m going to do it. In the meantime, check out their floral arrangements: tabletop and potted. The tropicals and succulents ts are a wonder…

Another innovative lighting designer I found was SonnenglasⓇ a South African-based company that produces -- prety much all handmade -- solar-powered, eco-friendly light source. Available in two sizes, (about seven inches tall and the Mini (almost three and half inches tall), the glass looks like mason jars.
t



The lids contain four solar-powered LEDs, which charge the solar cells and includes a micro-USB charging port. Sonnenglas claims they offer the most efficient solar cells on the market - providing up to 24 hours of “warm, bright light.” Lorenzo Maggi, export sales manager at the show booth, delicately pointed out to me that many countries don’t have electricity so the product was originally developed for people in these underserved areas. I felt rather guilty then, because I saw the jars as conduits for a kind of mini terrarium for garden parties. I thought I could create darling or elegant compositions inside -- blooms, charms, sea shells, layered, colored sand, cool insects, stones -- I was off and ruminating on the design possibilities…

Nevertheless, the Sonnenglas is weather proof; it has a wire handle for easy transport -- I’m thinking entertainment or tablescapes, of course, but these would be ideal for a picnic or beach night. The company refers to their glass lights as “bottled sunshine.” Gotta love that.

Chive could’ve been voted as the number one “happy” vendor booth due to its rainbow of both whimsical and elegant vases and pots made from ceramic or glass. I use these hanging ones a lot

 

New to me in a very usable size are these beauties.
     

I can see these used in so many Tablescapes, office environments, and vanities.



Chive’s shapes and designs are inspired by nature: coral from the sea, or the cutest animal pots -- look at this piglet pots -- perfect for a Lunar New Year celebration because it’s the Year of the Pig. Can’t you just see these making your guests smile?



There’s also turtles, snails, rhinos, elephants -- and shhhh - unicorns.

Speaking of animals -- one of two very favorite birds - flamingos - lured me over to Jacaranda Living


A true discovery was handcrafted Whole Harmony - medicinal, wellness plant healers.



These two herbalists/entrepreneurs: David and Stacey have a great story
 --and offer tonics, elixirs, and teas -- all grown and harvested and blended on their Connecticut farm. Ahhhh. I tasted the teas -- very tasty and rewarding.

I truly loved the Elderberry Syrup

   

And most especially - the Folk Fyre

According to Whole Harmony’ - their “Folk Fyre is an old-fashioned herbal remedy crafted to warm up your digestive tract. Unlike regular apple cider vinegar, Folk Fyre’s impressive list of natural ingredients includes a variety of powerful additives. Potent and fiery, this blend includes freshly shredded horseradish, ginger, and turmeric to name a few. Once steeped in raw apple cider vinegar for a duration of six weeks, we then strain and bottle up this potion for your consumption!”

I was readily conjuring up cocktail recipes with the Folk Fyre and the Elderberry Syrup. I had the distinct impression Whole Harmony focused on the pure health elements of their homegrown and hand-crafted creations - (meaning please don’t talk about wicked cocktails with regard to their farmed and healthy blends) -- but I can’t help create and promote a delicious, pure, garden-to-glass ingredients for craft cocktails.

A truly charming product I discovered is sure to create memories -- and a lifetime of gardening joy. Serial entrepeneurs, husband and wife Sheri and Clyde Hutchinson --


launched Backyard Safari Company based on Sheri’s experience in the garden with her grandchildren. There are 10 different “gardens” with everything you need to start a garden, including soil.
For example, their newest garden, “Tranquility” includes: Seed envelopes that are FCS Certified, 30% Post Consumer Waste, 100% Windpower with the Egg Carton Garden including:

  • 6 packages of Heirloom Seeds
  • Starter Soil
  • Plant Recipes
  • Wooden Plant ID Stakes
  • Growing Instructions
  • Pencil 
  • 100% Recycled Fiber Egg Carton Planter
  • Seeds: Chamomile (calming), Holy Basil (reduces stress), Lavender (relaxing sleep), Peppermint (cooling & energizing), Wild Bergamot (soothing), Sage (memory & focus)


 
Other gardens are Chili, Cocktail, Honey Bee, and Sunflower.  

Sweet success. I just love this!


Another cute garden idea is from dZi Handmade. They showed hanging planters made from felt. Very cute and colorful. The felt can absorb the watering. Succulents would work very well.  

I also like Bees’ WrapⓇ Basics sustainable food wraps made from harvested beeswax, organic jojoba oil, and tree resin. I’ve been on a mission for a number of years to rid the kitchen of plastics -- and have some very good products I use, including Pyrex and another beeswax wrap, Abeego. But these are so very pretty!

Introduced this year is The Oceans Print line that celebrates "our shores, seas, and waterways; partnering with 1% for the Planet to donate a percentage of sales from this print to organizations that support ocean conservancy and water stewardship.

I also was very enchanted by Kim Seybert’s line of extraordinary placemats, runners, napkins and napkin rings. Their line offers up very sophisticated table jewelry that will highlight any number of Tablescape compositions.



    



NY NOW®, is the largest retail focused exhibition in the Americas, held at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City. The market “fully embraces the sweeping renaissance that is reinventing retail. The winter 2019 market, with its 2,300 exhibitors, demonstrated the success of what they term “chore” shopping versus “cherish” or chosen shopping. Point being - the vendors and makers at this show appeals to small, usually family owned shops - and top-tier designers and decorators.  Cheers to KBIS - as the best example.  
The Show folks say, “Growing faster than GDP, the millions of independent retailers responsible for 96%+ of all retail sales are beginning to experience a totally new and exciting reality. Online commerce, long assumed to be the future of retail, now makes up less than 9% of the total market and all about “chore” purchasing. Meanwhile in-store or “cherish shopping” is on the rise. Millennials and Gen Z buyers prefer the brick and mortar environment and want to discover unique and inspirational pieces and experiences.

Back to the makers: A few other noteworthy makers at the show here -- because I love all things botanical:   

Lucy Jade Sylvester; exhibited her jewelry alongside other designers who were brought to New York by Craft Scotland. Lucy believes you cannot compete with the beauty of nature, its perfect lines and textures, so uses it as directly as possible in her jewelry.
After walks near her Oxfordshire studio, she takes moulds from her delicate woodland finds. Lucy casts into the cavity they leave, the process allowing her to create exact replicas of life in solid gold and silver that retain the finest details.
"These natural forms with beautiful textures would decay into the ground and be gone forever; with direct casting from them I've created something that will now be here forever, to be worn for a lifetime."
Botanical bridal engagement rings cast from twisted twigs and leaves are set with brilliant cut, rose cut and uncut diamonds. These can be paired with woven grass, leaf vein or lichen textured woodland wedding bands in widths to suit all. These rings provide a timeless alternative for those who love the patterns and textures provided by the natural world.

How lovely is this?  “Landscapes you can hold in your hand. Or The landscapes you hold dear to your heart”

Sol Proaño debuted her globally inspired jewelry line at the February 2019 edition of NY NOW. With the name Origin, the collection embraces the designer’s roots while maintaining a simple yet refined aesthetic.



“Inspired by the landscapes of her native Chile, Sol Proaño’s jewelry marries the soul of the Andes with American minimalist style. The collection mixes both clean lines and organic shapes, as well as metals like recycled sterling silver and 14k goldfill. In this way, Sol integrates her very dissimilar visual experiences in South America and the United States into a very distinctive body of work.

The Great British stag beetle, bees, and hawk moths have all been given a new life in solid silver and gold by the nature loving jeweler. Her Hawk moth ring was chosen by costume designer Michele Clapton to be worn by Sansa Stark in the hit medieval TV series Game of Thrones.
The Lifestyle Collection’s new indie NOW feature attracted retailers who were quick to take advantage of unique never before seen fragrances and personal care products.

The newly co-located and fully curated National Stationery Show® featured “Emerging Artists” where retailers could find over 50 totally new introductions plus 400+ better stationery product designers and producers, all ideal sources or products for their store to add to a successful buyer experience.

A few nice tablescape compositions caught my eye:    

 
Look for handsome botanical, hand-embroidered napkins to highlight your tablescapes:    

I love the look of Metal Lace - the art of metal.  Their baskets, vases, bowls, coasters, candle holders, and more are intriguing, mysterious, and true conversation pieces.  So unique.

  


As a related aside, I researched this process and was delighted and intrigued to learn that historically, metal lace "describes a type of lace made from metal or metallic threads, such as gold, silver, or copper. The designs can be worked on a textile ground, or the lace can completely be made from metallic threads. It is mainly used as an embellishment for military uniforms, fashionable, ceremonial and theatrical dress, and ecclesiastical textiles."
Metal Lace reinterprets this artful tradition in extraordinary ways.
Voted Best in Show were the gorgeous wood bowls from Lily Juliet -- also kind of "lacy."


A tasty product discovery is Sugarfina's sweets.  Who can resist chocolate vodka or bourbon balls?! Put that in your Valentine's Day gifting.

I was particularly attracted to their patterning with spirits and wine -- especially with my friends at Desclan's pretty in pink, "Whispering Angel" rose.

 
and with Tito's handmade vodka 

A too-beautiful bureau took my breath away:  Ercole's Blossom chest of drawers:   and bar: 

Made right here in Gotham, these truly one-of-a-kind pieces deserve a space in your home (I gotta find a nook for that bar!)
According to Ercole: "Every collection is designed and directed by Ornella, and each piece is hand made in New York, in a studio principally staffed by women artisans."  Love the women solidarity and girl power!

About NY NOW
The winter 2019 edition of NY NOW®, the Market for Home, Lifestyle, Handmade + Gift, takes place February 3-6, 2019 at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. NY NOW features three comprehensive collections - HOME, LIFESTYLE and HANDMADE - that encompass tens of thousands of products in hundreds of product categories. For the first time, NY NOW welcomes the co-locations of the winter market with the National Stationery Show® and SURTEX®, which will take place during the same time, all under one roof and in the same location. Attendees from all 50 states and nearly 70 countries worldwide attended.

Thank you NY NOW.

*all photos are mine or the makers'.