Matchbook Magazine's "Best Of" Issue by Matchbook Magazine

THE

best of ISSUE

Issue No. 49 MARCH 2015

THE

M AT C H B O O K

G I R L . . . views the world

through rose colored glasses. loves to throw dinner parties, but has been known to burn the roast. values eccentricity over convention. is the first to laugh at her own bad jokes. knows the cha-cha, the charleston, and the tango. paints her nails bright coral when she's feeling blue. is infinitely curious. could happily live off of red velvet cake. pens hand written notes to her grandmother.

has

signature

shade

lipstick.

secretly

thinks she may be Babe Paley reincarnated. will never give up her library card. has a bucket list a mile long and dream a dime a dozen. is smart, but never a show-off. never says no to a sunday matinee at the theater. is quick to blush, but never short of a witty reply. has a skip in her step and a twinkle in her eye. always shares her last piece of gum. saves for an adventure. makes time to give back. cycles to the office. savors her morning latte. lives for all things letterpress. cherishes the changing leaves. throws an impromptu party. paints landscapes outdoors. favors kindness over perfection. offers a witty toast. dominates on the tennis court. bakes a mean lemon tart. sports madras in the spring. hits the gym in neon sneaks. finds eccentricity endearing. travels the world with her camera. is never too old to play dress up. practices her penmanship. has an appetite for adventure. is thankful for her faithful pup. tells stories by a cabin fire. tears up the dance floor. treasure hunts at the Sunday flea. still believes in fairy tales.

NOTE FROM KATIE

JANE

We write this letter with heavy hearts. After much thought, we have decided to move on from our beloved Matchbook Magazine. The past four years have been an unforgettable journey that has, in countless ways, shaped the women we have become. When we first conceptualized Matchbook, we were two starry-eyed 23-year-olds with minimal publishing experience, but lofty dreams. We are so proud of the brand we have built and the forty-nine issues we have now published. From Kate and Andy Spade to Jonathan Adler, Lela Rose, Rebecca Minkoff, and Cynthia Rowley among others, the Matchbook platform has allowed us to meet many of the brilliant creatives that inspired our traditional with a twist aesthetic. This â&#x20AC;&#x153;Best Of â&#x20AC;? issue includes a wide variety of features we feel best captured the "joie de vivre" of Matchbook over the years. Narrowing down the hundreds of stories was an overwhelming task and we hope reading it is a celebratory stroll down memory lane. The magazine archive will remain online for your enjoyment while we determine the future of our cherished Matchbook brand. A special thank you goes out to the immensely talented photographers, stylists, web developer, and interns that have helped create magic behind the scenes. We are so thankful for your contributions and you will always be part of the Matchbook family. Last but not least, thank YOU, dear readers, for your enthusiasm, kindness, and support. The emails and snail mail that have poured in from high schoolers and grandmothers alike kept us inspired and motivated month after month. We sincerely hope you will keep in touch and join us on our future endeavors. As they say, one door closes and another door opens. Bittersweet though this may be, at twenty-eight, it feels as though we are just getting started. Once a Matchbook girl, always a Matchbook girl. With immense gratitude, KATIE + JANE KEEP IN TOUCH:

hello@matchbookmag.com

FOLLOW KATIE!

FOLLOW JANE!

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CONTENTS

THE

STAPLES 2 MATCHBOOK GIRL QUIPS 3 NOTE FROM K ATIE & JANE 10 10 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT...

Cecil Beaton

12 ENCYCLOPEDIA

Pearls

14 HOW TO. . . STOCK YOUR BAR CART

21 PORTRAIT OF A L ADY

Diana Vreeland

186

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246

FEATURES 24 SOCAL CHIC

Trina Turk

38 LOVE STORY

Sid and Ann Mashburn

58 WELCOME TO THE GREENBRIER

68 QUINTESSENTIALLY CYNTHIA

Cynthia Rowley 86 INTERNATIONAL INSPIRATION

Caitlin Wilson 102 ST YLE IN SPADES

Kate and Andy Spade

102 202

120 SOHO DARLING

Cristiane Lemieux

120

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CONTENTS

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FEATURES CONT. 138 A DRESS TO BUILD A DREAM ON

Minnie Mortimer 154 WITH A WINK

Iomoi

170 THE TALENTED

MR. ROBSHAW

John Robshaw 186 TALKING TIBI

Amy Smilovic

202 HOME IN HOUSTON

Bailey and Peter McCarthy

230 JACK OF ALL TRADES

Nate Berkus

246 TEXAS TAKES MANHAT TAN

Cece Thompson

154

230

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A LOOK BACK . . .

10 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT... 10

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CECIL BEATON

Famed photographer was born in 1904 in London and enjoyed a career that stood the the test of time. While his portraits of stars such as Audrey Hepburn may be best known, the Brit was also a talented illustrator, prolific diarist, and an Academy Award-winning costume and set designer. Ever the personality, Beatonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s career spanned over six decades and the release of his unexpurgated diaries upon his death caused a great stir.

1. Beaton’s love of

photography was sparked by an early infatuation with the society portraits in Sunday newspapers. Upon receiving his first camera at age eleven, Beaton would dress up his two sisters, Nancy and Baba, in an attempt to recreate the glamorous photos.

2. As a young boy at

Heath Mount preparatory school, Beaton was teased mercilessly by his classmates for being a “sissy.” The cruelest of the bullies was future best-selling author Evelyn Waugh.

3. To get his foot in the

door, Beaton would often submit his photographs to London society magazines using a pen name to recommend his own work. The scheme eventually paid off when his first published work (a sitting with the Duchess of Malfi) appeared in Vogue magazine.

4. Beaton went on to

photograph some of the greatest personalities of the twentieth century. Hollywood stars included Gary Cooper, Marlene

Dietrich, and Katharine Hepburn. Among the artists were Salvador Dali, Picasso, and Warhol, and the musicians ranged from Stravinsky to Mick Jagger. Beaton was even commissioned to take portraits of Queen Elizabeth and eventually became the official portraitist of the royal family.

5. The openly flamboyant Beaton was known to be bisexual, though he never had a long-term relationship with a partner of either sex. One of his heterosexual love affairs was with actress Greta Garbo.

6. For fifteen years Beaton rented a now legendary estate in Wiltshire called Ashcombe. He renovated and decorated the property,throwing elaborate garden parties flowing with champagne. Beaton was devastated when he lost the lease to the landlord’s son. Years later the famed estate was bought by Madonna and then-husband Guy Ritchie and photographed by Tim Walker for Vogue.

7. It is said that Beaton’s

greatest goal was to write a play. The avid lover of the theater attempted to pen one for thirty years, never succeeding.

8. Beaton was left

partially paralyzed in 1974 after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. Never one to give up, in his last years he taught himself to use a camera and write in his diaries with his left hand.

9. Though six volumes

of Beaton’s diaries had been published during his lifetime, the unexpurgated version published upon his death caused great controversy. His daily entries often included catty observations of his subjects, once describing Princess Grace of Monaco as “a big bull puppy” (she had recently given birth), Elizabeth Taylor as “a monster,” and Audrey Hepburn as “homely.”

10. The last entry in

Beaton’s diary was in 1980 and read, “Timothy who had been 17 years my friend was no longer.” Timothy was his cat who had recently been put to sleep. That night the heartbroken Beaton passed in his sleep. matchbook

ENCYCLOPEDIA

pearls By Natalie Grasso

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Illustration by Katie Evans

“Oh, my dear, did you ever see such pearls?” whispered Gerty Farish to Lily Bart in The House of Mirth. And then: “Lily’s heart gave an envious throb as she caught the refraction of light from their surfaces--the milky gleam of perfectly matched pearls.” On reading this I couldn’t help but recall a similar sentiment, expressed by my first college friend, Alexandra, as we watched the pretty older girls file past us on movein day freshman year. It was hardly the stuff of Wharton, though pearls were as ubiquitous on campus at Saint Mary’s as football was across the street at Notre Dame. My favorite place to wear pearls was to Oyster Bar junior year. It is still unclear to me whether or not the Oyster Bar actually served oysters--all I know is that they made a mean vodka tonic, but no matter. Like lots of good things, pearls get better--er, upgraded--with age. I moved to D.C. after college, and you should see the pearls the pretty older girls wear now. Michelle Obama comes immediately to mind, ditto most all of the women who hold office on Capitol Hill. My neighbor, an important Washington lawyer, swanned out of the house the other day wearing a triple strand of opera-length baroque pearls. “Baroque,” she explained, “means they aren’t perfectly round.”

I find myself wondering who the first woman was to fall under the pearl’s spell, and I settle upon Cleopatra. Cleopatra’s pearls were legendary. The story that, in an effort to prove a point to Antony, she dissolved one of her priceless pearl earrings in vinegar and imbibed an especially chic cocktail? True. Or at the very least plausible. Crushed pearls do dissolve in acid (don’t try this at home). The Roman Empire wasn't exactly notorious for doing things on a small scale, and that the pearl was its most coveted symbol of wealth and power says much about the gem’s historic value. There is conjecture that one of the reasons Julius Caesar invaded Britain was to tap its stash of freshwater pearls. Indeed, his entrée into Merry England coincided with the first export of oysters to Rome. Lily Bart, of course, didn’t fare so well. Lest you suffer the same fate, we’ve compiled a list of helpful facts to guide you in this particular attribute of a charmed life. After all, Matchbook girl, the world is your oyster--you’ll need the perfect pearls.

glossary FRESHWATER PEARLS

come in all shapes and sizes and a wide variety of colors. SALTWATER AKOYA PEARLS are round, pinkish

in color, and known for their luster.

TAHITIAN PEARLS range

in color from an inkyblack to a bluish-silverywhite. GOLDEN SOUTH SEA PEARLS are rare and

lustrous with warm, golden tones.

WHITE SOUTH SEA PEARLS are the largest

and most valuable pearls, earning them the moniker “queen of gems.” PEARL NECKLACE LENGTHS:

Collar 12-13 inches Choker 14-16 inches Princess 17-19 inches Matinee 20-25 inches Opera 26-36 inches Rope 37+ inches CULTURED PEARLS are

“induced” in the shell.

NATURAL PEARLS grow--

you guessed it--naturally. matchbook

How to Stock your Bar Cart The Matchbook girl knows a well-stocked bar is a must for every hostess.

Read on for tips, tricks, and trivia sure to lift your spirits and leave you feeling extra bubbly! 14

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Hostessing tips When throwing a cocktail party it’s important to have plenty of water on hand. Add fresh berries to sparkling water for a fun twist. Certain items run out fast— be sure to stock up on napkins, ice, and glassware (a good rule of thumb is twice as many glasses as you have guests). To keep things manageable consider serving only a signature cocktail or two. In addition to wine and champagne there’s still bound to be something for everyone.

“Why don’t you use a gigantic shell instead of a bucket to ice your champagne?” DIANA VREELAND

Did you know? Our modern notion of the cocktail party wasn’t invented until the 1920s. Prior to World War I most home entertaining consisted of very formal teas, dinners, and balls. The term “cocktail dress” was coined during the late 1940s by French courtier Christian Dior.

What’s your poison? Icons and their drinks of choice Dorothy Parker William Faulkner Audrey Hepburn Truman Capote Marilyn Monroe F. Scott Fitzgerald Ernest Hemingway Queen Elizabeth II

• • • • • • • •

Martini Mint Julep Scotch Justerini & Brooks Champagne Gin Rickey Mojito Gin & Tonic

ITEMS: Ikat Cocktail Napkins, Shop Furbish, $12 for forty • Isabella Champagne Saucer, Juliska, $88 • Giant Clam Shell Bowl, Plantation, $250 • Ernest White Bar Cart, CB2, $149 matchbook

“I don’t think I’ve ever drunk champagne before breakfast before. With breakfast on several occasions, but never before, before.” HOLLY GOLIGHTLY, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S

Poison of Choice: French75 1½ oz gin • 2 tsp superfine sugar 1½ oz lemon juice • 4 oz chilled Champagne

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ITEMS: Mod Bar Cart in Pink, The Well Appointed House, $962 • Hollywood Coasters, Jonathan Adler, $68 for four • Library Stripe Flute, Kate Spade, $40 • Faux Python Tray, Shop Furbish, $55 • Medium Ice Bucket with Handles, Tiffany & Co., $150 • Pink Greek Key Cocktail Napkins, Shop Furbish, $12 for forty

“Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.” OGDEN NASH

Poison of Choice: The Old Fashioned 2 oz bourbon whiskey 2 dashes Angostura bitters 1 splash water 1 tsp sugar 1 maraschino cherry 1 orange wedge ITEMS: Fish Corkscrew, Urban Outfitters, $16 • Whisky Stones, Teroforma, $20 • Stainless Steel Shiny Cocktail Shaker, CB2, $15 • Villeroy & Bosch Whisky Carafe, Bloomingdales, $100 • Wool Check Coasters, Jack Spade, $38 for four • Tortoise Double Old Fashioned, C Wonder, $10 • Faux Crock Bar Table, Z Gallerie, $160

for the handsome fellow

for the southern belle

“One mint julep was the cause of it all...” RAY CHARLES

Poison of Choice: Mint Julep 24 fresh mint sprigs 2½ oz bourbon whiskey 1 tsp powdered sugar 2 tsp water

ITEMS: Skipper Blue Cocktail Napkin, Sue Fisher King, $7 • Country Estate Large Pitcher, Juliska, $165 • Maltese Coasters, The Well Appointed House, $120 for four • Skeleton Key Bottle Opener, Urban Outfitters, $12 • Mint Julep Cups, Amazon, $74 for four • Wicker Tray with Stand, Wisteria, $119 18

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ITEMS: Tavern Bar Cart, Pottery Barn, $699 • Rainbow Cocktail Napkins, MOMA Store, $20 • Blue and White Bowl, Wisteria, $19 • Red Wine Red House Wine, Swanson Vineyards, $25 • Stag Horn Corkscrew, Jack Spade, $110 • Amalia Stemless Red Wine Glass, Juliska, $50 • Soapstone Wine Cooler, Terrain, $78

Poison of Choice

“I cook with wine; sometimes I even add it to the food.” W.C. FIELDS

for the country girl matchbook

the Matchbook girl’s bar cart essentials

GRACE KELLY, TO CATCH A THIEF

Tools

Glassware

Odds & Ends

Bottle opener Coasters Cocktail napkins Cocktail shaker Corkscrew Cutting board Drink stirrers Ice bucket Jigger Strainer Paring knife

Champagne coupes Old-fashioned glasses Highball glasses Martini glasses Red wine glasses White wine glasses

Carafe Cocktail recipe book Cocktail umbrellas Decanter Stripey Straws Tray Toothpicks Vase with fresh blooms Vintage swizzle sticks Small Candle Matchbooks

Alcohol Beer Bourbon Brandy Champagne Gin Liqueurs Rum Scotch Sherry Tequila Vermouth Vodka Whiskey Wine (red) Wine (white)

“My nerves could use a drink.”

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Mixers Club soda Fruit juice Soft drinks Tomato juice Tonic water Water (sparkling) Water (still)

Flavors & Garnishes Bitters Ice Lemons Limes Maraschino cherries Olives Simple syrup Sugar

"Why Don't You?"

PORTRAIT OF A L ADY

WRIT TEN BY

iana Danziel Vreeland liked to embellish the facts. In her memoir D.V., Vreeland leads the reader to believe that she and her younger sister had a glamorous upbringing in Paris, complete with house visits from members of the Ballets Russes and weekly Wednesday trips to Le Louvre with their grandmother or their nurse, Pink. Although she was born in Paris (on July 29, 1903, to be exact), her family relocated to the Upper East Side of Manhattan in April 1904. Born to a beautiful American socialite mother and a bourgeois English father, Diana’s childhood was one of privilege. To Ms. Vreeland, fabricating a new, more

Fallon Hogerty

interesting Parisian background for herself was not a lie—it was simply, as she put it, “faction.” A self-described ugly duckling, Diana knew that she could change the way others thought about her by improving her character and dress. At the age of fourteen, she decided to put her beliefs into practice. Lo and behold, it worked! Later that year, in her diary, she wrote of her success. “I have become much more popular with everyone. ... all the girls at school the latter part of April and May were awfully nice to me. I’m going to make myself the most popular girl in the world.” By her December 1922 debut,

Diana had blossomed into a magnetic young woman and her ball was one of the highlights of the social season. In 1924, Diana married Reed Vreeland and the couple eventually relocated to London. Once in Europe, Diana yet again transformed herself—this time, into an international socialite. She began to frequent Parisian fashion houses and befriend the important “movers and shakers” of the world, including Cecil Beaton, Elsa Schiaperelli and Coco Chanel. Her biographer, Eleanor Dwight, notes that Diana would pour over the latest issues of Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, cutting out articles matchbook

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she admired and pasting them in her scrapbook. Additionally, she would paste photos of herself amidst sketches of “It Girls” of the time, like Marlene Deitrich and Greta Garbo. Diana never hesitated to dream big. When the Vreelands returned to New York in 1935, Diana received an offer from Harper’s Bazaar’s Carmel Snow to work as a contributing writer. Her “Why Don’t You” column, which first appeared in the magazine’s August 1936 issue, quickly gained attention. “Why Don’t You,” Diana would suggest, “Tie black tulle bows on your wrists?” or “Put all your dogs in bright yellow collars and leads like all the dogs in Paris?” Harper’s Bazaar readers adored her for her eccentric taste and, in 1939, the magazine promoted Diana to fashion editor. Working alongside photographers such as Richard Avedon, Vreeland transformed the American fashion scape. On March 2, 1962, Diana resigned from Harper’s Bazaar and a few weeks later joined Vogue as an associate

editor. In January 1963, she was named editor-inchief. From the moment she joined the publication, Diana quite literally breathed color into the office. As editor-in-chief, she immediately ordered her office walls to be lacquered a deep red and installed leopard carpeting. She sent out outrageous morning memos, proposing absurdities such as asking her staff to wear “bells that little kittens wear so that they don’t get lost in closets.” The Vogue staff adored her. The start of her tenure at Vogue coincided with the popularization of the jet plane, which made international travel more accessible than ever before. To Vreeland, it meant that the world of fashion was now without boundaries. The editor was not keen on working within a budget and spared no expense to be certain that her editorials were to her liking. In the end, it was her extravagant tendencies that ousted her from Vogue. By the late 1960s, in addition to record low advertising sales, the reader had

changed. They no longer wanted to see outlandish couture, but rather clothing that was a bit more conventional. In January 1971, Diana was replaced by Grace Mirabella, her business-minded assistant. The day Diana left, Mirabella painted her new office beige and installed beige carpeting. It truly signified the end of an era. Vreeland quickly found work as a consultant for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. Between 1972 and 1984, she curated twelve exhibitions in total for the Met, each to much acclaim and success. She spent the last two years of her life confined in her Manhattan apartment because she could no longer dye her own hair (she refused to allow anyone else to touch it), and she couldn’t stand for anyone to see her in a such state. Diana died in August 1989 at the age of 86. Till the very end of her days, Diana held true to her belief that dress does indeed make the man.•

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SoCal Chic matchbook

rina Turk’s infectious laugh rings through the foyer of her mid-century modern Los Angeles home. Her eponymous clothing line, favored by the likes of Hollywood starlets Leighton Meester and Kristen Bell, is as sunny and optimistic as Ms. Turk herself. Today she’s graciously invited the Matchbook team over for an insider’s look at her highly coveted and unmistakably chic Southern California lifestyle. From what she would have worn to Truman Capote’s iconic Black and White Ball to her career’s greatest motivation, we got the full scoop. 26

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THIS PLACE IS STUNNING! DID YOU GROW UP IN A MIDCENTURY MODERN HOME?

My parents had Danish modern furniture, but I wouldn’t say they were hardcore modernists. My mom is Japanese and we definitely had a lot of Japanese things in our home. That aesthetic obviously has a lot to do with mid-century modernism. Even this house, I think, has a really Japanese feel to it. TO WHOM OR WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE YOUR WILDLY COLORFUL AESTHETIC?

Growing up in California in the ‘60s and ‘70s, aesthetically it was a colorful time. People wore a lot of color. There was a lot of color in interior design as well. I don’t think I was aware of it as a kid, but it definitely seeped in. My mom was an extremely creative person and made everything. She made all of our clothes, she made drapes, she even made Christmas decorations. My dad was kind of a culture snob. He would rather have gone to a national park than to Disneyland. So, we took a lot of family trips involving nature, and that’s where the best colors are--particularly in California, where you have close access to the 28

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mountains, the ocean, and the desert.

I THINK IT WAS FINALLY REALIZING THAT I WASN’T GETTING ANY YOUNGER, AND SO I HAD TO GO FOR IT... I WAS INSPIRED BY THE NOTION OF, “CAN I REALLY PULL THIS OFF?” I’M STILL INSPIRED BY THAT IDEA EVERY SINGLE DAY.

WHAT IS ON YOUR DECOR WISH LIST?

I saw a prototype of an hourglass-shape brass table while at Jonathan Adler’s house in Shelter Island, New York. Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to produce it! So, that’s one thing that I’m currently coveting. But most of the time, we just find stuff. You’ll never find the brass table for your library when you go out in search of one. You’ll find it on the day that you’re searching for, say, a lamp. Since we didn’t work with a decorator at our house, our home has been an evolution. IS THERE ONE INTERIOR THAT YOU CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF?

My favorite home is the Irwin Miller residence in Indiana. The architect was Eero Saarinen, and Alexander Girard designed the interior. It’s a mix of cool, modernist architecture, ethnic textiles, and objects and splashes of color that add up to an amazing space. It’s perfection! I’d love to move right in. YOU TOOK A BIG LEAP OF FAITH WHEN YOU BEGAN YOUR COMPANY IN 1995. WHAT MADE YOU TAKE THE PLUNGE?

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At the time, I had been working for twelve years as a designer at various companies. In the back of my mind, I always wondered if I should try to start my own line. My husband, Jonathan, was so sick of hearing about it. He would always say, “Just quit your job and do it!” I think it was finally realizing that I wasn’t getting any younger, and so I had to go for it. I thought, "Worstcase scenario it won't work out, but at least I’ll have something interesting to put on my resume!" Also, I was inspired by the notion of, “Can I really pull this off ?” I’m still inspired by that idea every single day. 32

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WHEN WAS YOUR FIRST “PINCH ME” MOMENT?

You know, I think it was when we opened our first store in Palm Springs in March 2002. Up until then, we were only selling to department stores and specialty boutiques. Having the opportunity to create an environment in which to display our clothing and then being able to look at the finished picture--it was incredible. It was like, “This is what it’s supposed to be. This is how it’s supposed to look. This is what this brand stands for.”

DID YOU WORK WITH ANY DESIGNERS WHEN YOU CREATED YOUR STORE?

Yes, Kelly Wearstler did our first store. I believe our store was the first retail space she’d ever designed. When I approached her about the project, Kelly was just wrapping up another project in Palm Springs and had spent a lot of time in the area. I had been keeping track of her work, and thought, “if I ever have a store, I want to work with this woman.” Since then, she’s done three of our boutiques. I should say that ten years later, the store still looks great. It doesn’t look dated. That’s definitely a testament to her skill.

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WHAT IS YOUR DREAM PROJECT?

During Palm Springs Modernism Week, I went to a lecture given by Brad Dunning on Alexander Girard, which is why I’m obsessing about Girard as of late. Part of Dunning’s presentation was Girard’s rebranding of Braniff Airlines in the ‘60s. He redid all of the airport lounges, the planes, and even dressed the flight attendants in Pucci! I think it’d be fun to do something like that. LIKE THE MATCHBOOK GIRL, YOU’RE VERY MUCH INSPIRED BY THE PAST. WHICH RETRO PERSON OF INTEREST, IN YOUR OPINION, SIMPLY “GOT” IT?

I love Iris Apfel because she goes for it on the jewelry. She wears jewelry that’s actually meant for camels and horses, and I think that’s completely amazing. It’s sort of a cliché, but Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis had really great style. Ali MacGraw in the ‘70s was kind of genius. Oh, and Millicent Rogers. She was a wealthy heiress so she could afford those glamorous couture gowns, but then she started mixing it with Navajo jewelry from around Santa Fe, New Mexico. That, at the time, was 34

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GROWING UP IN CALIFORNIA IN THE ‘60S AND ‘70S, AESTHETICALLY IT WAS A COLORFUL TIME. I DON’T THINK I WAS AWARE OF IT AS A KID, BUT IT DEFINITELY SEEPED IN.

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considered a weird thing to do, but it was fantasticlooking. WHERE ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE PLACES TO EAT AND SHOP IN LOS ANGELES?

To eat, we love Mozza. We like The Hungry Cat, too. As for shopping, I find most of my vintage clothing at various shows. There’s the Vintage Clothing and Textile show at the Pickwick Gardens in Burbank, which happens about three times year per. There is the Vintage Fashion Expo at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium about four times per year, as well. When I buy vintage, that’s usually where I buy it. LET’S END ON A FUN NOTE. PRETEND THAT YOU’VE BEEN INVITED TO TRUMAN CAPOTE’S 1962 BLACK AND WHITE BALL--WHATEVER WILL YOU WEAR?

I guess I would wear something severe and stiff. Like a long column dress, with some sort of graphic color blocking. Or maybe a big, giant, graphic pattern. I would have worn some sort of headdress, too!

•

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LOVE STORY Written by Mackenzie Horan Photography by Ali Harper Styling by Ginny Branch Stelling

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Ann and Sid Mashburn met in New York in their early twenties-he designing for the likes of J.Crew and Ralph Lauren and she working for Vogue and then Glamour. Since then they have married, had five daughters, and launched two eponymous stores in Atlanta. We caught up with this Southern power couple on family life, personal style, and love at first sight...

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Tell us a little about how you met.

Sid and I met by chance on the beach and then on the train when we were both very young and living in New York. I laid eyes on him and had to figure out a way to meet him. He looked pretty great in his swim trunks and had that killer Southern accent that for me made him all the more charming. ANN:

What do you recall about your first date?

Other than being nervous, I remember how pretty she was, what she was wearing (a Norma Kamali jumpsuit), and where we obvious. At Polo, I learned went (The Odeon). the importance of finesse. SID:

Sid, you started your career designing for J.Crew and later Ralph Lauren. Did you always know you wanted to launch your own brand?

Yes. When I left for New York, I knew I wanted to be a designer, but that’s evolved into something a bit broader. At J.Crew, I learned the design process and the fact that I really liked to design clothes that were accessible but not SID:

Both valuable lessons! Ann, what did you take away from your time at Vogue and Glamour?

I was very influenced by the older women that I worked with at both magazines. They were all so incredibly confident and chic! It had very little to do with outer beauty; it all came from the inside. I swore I would never be afraid of getting old if I could just be like them! ANN:

That’s such a lovely sentiment. Was there anyone in particular who influenced your sense of style?

Probably Polly Mellen, who was the fashion editor of Vogue and my first boss. It was like going to Harvard for fashion. She was completely no nonsense and practical–but also completely smitten by something beautiful. ANN:

Would you say that you both have a similar sense of style? matchbook

“My personal style is...my own.”

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;[Vogue] was like going to Harvard for fashion. I was very influenced by the older women that I worked with there... I swore I would never be afraid of getting old if I could just be like them!â&#x20AC;?

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“I laid eyes on him and had to figure out a way to meet him.”

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ANN:

My personal style is... my own. That is actually a repeat of an answer that Sid had given to someone and I think it’s so polite! Sid and I have very similar tastes. Every once in a while, we both crinkle our foreheads at a choice, but not very often.

versatility and have the pieces there when you need them for special occasions. We want to dress men so that they will not have to do a wardrobe change if they travel from south Georgia to New York to Italy. We like items that are “evergreen” — always fresh, globally.

Our tastes are pretty similar, but I would say I’m a bit more adventurous.

Speaking of south Georgia, I would love to know how you decided to launch your stores in Atlanta.

SID:

Ann, does that mean you tend to stick to the classics?

We pretty much just pulled Atlanta out of ANN:

a hat! We knew we were going to open this business and looked at opening in New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago... Atlanta came up at the last minute as a lark and we fell in love with the feeling it had. It was February and there were daffodils blooming. That pretty much did it for me! You have five daughters: Elizabeth (22), Louisa (20), Daisy (18), Harriet (16), and Pauline (11). How involved are they in the family business?

I love really classic clothing because at the heart of me is a real practical gal. I pick and stick. I hate to get rid of things so I tend to love things that will never go out of style. That being said, I have worked in fashion my whole life so I love change and something just of the moment as well. I have said before I love fashion, I just don’t like to wear very much of it. ANN:

Sid, part of your mission is to “help men navigate the uncertainty of their wardrobe choices.” What should a man keep in mind as he outfits his wardrobe? SID:

The key is to maximize matchbook

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“We like items that are ‘evergreen’ —always fresh, globally.”

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Elizabeth really helped me with the startup of my store, coming home for her spring break two years ago to work on the logo, business cards, design, etc. She does copy for the web, some illustration, art directs all the email campaigns, and I just took her on her first buying trip with me. She will come on board full-time when she graduates from the University of Texas in May. All five girls put their two cents in on just about everything and help in my shop when they can, doing anything they are tall enough to do. ANN:

Ann, what’s your favorite item in Sid’s store?

That’s hard! It changes all the time. Right now it’s a pair of very English-looking dress shoes called the Cap-Toe Balmoral. They are very grown-up to me and I look at Sid differently when he wears them. And to counter, his hand-dyed Day-Glo Tretorns, which I have as well. Sid actually plays tennis in his! ANN:

Sid, what’s your favorite item in Ann’s store?

That’s so sweet. What does a typical weekend in your household look like?

Chaos and catch-up, mixed with a bit of extra sleep. Sports, homework, church, family dinner, night out with Sid... ANN:

How would you describe your relationship?

I am so grateful to have made it to the beach that day! We really kind of grew up together in many ways. ANN:

Ann is my best friend, the love of my life, and a gift from God. SID:

Ann [herself], in one of her dresses. SID:

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FROM THE BOTTOM UP: Wardrobe Essentials for the Man in Your Life (According to Sid)

• A good pair of Sid Mashburn welted shoes that work with jeans or a suit • Dark blue jeans--your best bet is a pair of rinsed Levis 501s, slightly tapered • A great pair of Sid Mashburn dark grey two-ply tropical wool trousers, plain front • A simple leather dress belt that matches your shoes • A couple of Sid Mashburn two-ply white and blue spread collar dress shirts—again because they work with jeans or when you’re wearing a tie • A navy knit tie • A Sid Mashburn full canvas navy sport coat and/or a dark grey suit

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FROM THE BOTTOM UP: Wardrobe Essentials for the Matchbook Girl (according to Ann)

• A white Ann Mashburn shirt: I recommend the classic fitted and the longer "boyfriend" version that has a more weekend feel without being sloppy. • Your own best-fitting jeans: we carry J Brand at the store, and love the fit. • A "drink and pray" dress: a friend used this perfect description and I can't let it go. This would be something, perhaps black, that is simple and pretty enough for either a cocktail party or a funeral. • A safari jacket of some kind: I love this for travel. It pulls together a tank top in hot weather, a turtleneck when it is cool, and you can travel the world and pretend you are Christiane Amanpour. • One absolutely gorgeous, extravagant silk scarf 56

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• A tailored jacket to wear with a pencil skirt or dressed down with jeans: this is harder to find than you would imagine, and we hope to be making our own (up to my husband's standards!) by next season. • Essential underpinnings: tanks and short and long-sleeved t-shirts. Our current favorites are from Petite Bateau with pretty necklines and beefy cotton. • A striped French sailor shirt (Petit Bateau or St. James): it never gets old to me. • Shoes are my favorite accessory: a perfect simple heel (Manolo Blahnik), a ballet flat (we carry Pretty Ballerinas but will carry Bloch for fall), a sandal (K. Jacques), an espadrille (Castañer), a sneaker (Tretorn or Superga), and a cowboy boot (Lucchese).

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WELCOME TO THE . PHOTOGRAPHY BY COOPER CARRAS

Nestled in the quiet town of White Sulpher Springs, West Virginia the Greenbrier Resort is legendary for it’s dramatic decor, classic architecture, and sprawling 6,500-acre landscape. Built in 1778 the original structure played host to everyone from Dolley Madison to Davy Crockett. After World War II the resort was in dire need of a makeover and astutely enlisted decorator Dorothy Draper to take on the task. The queen of the Baroque Modern style and a daughter of one of America’s wealthiest families, Draper infused the luxury hotel’s interiors with her trademark over-sized floral prints, checkerboard floors, and sparkling chandeliers.

Today, the Greenbrier is a National Historic Landmark and continues to serve as a holiday destination for America’s rich and famous. Draper’s iconic interiors are carefully maintained by her protégé, the equally exuberant Carleton Varney. An on-site upholsterer fixes slipcovers at a moments notice -- and there are many of them, the hotel boasts over 700 rooms and ten lobbies. Rescued from bankruptcy in 2009 by a local billionaire, the Greenbrier, as the following images can attest, has once again been restored to it’s original grandeur. A reminder of bygone era luxury sheltered by the wild and wonderful Allegheny Mountains. matchbook 59

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u o Y d i D Know

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor vacationed at the Greenbrier and have danced in its iconic ballrooms. Dorothy Draper was a first cousin of another American decorating icon, Sister Parish. Parish was twenty years Draper’s junior. The Greenbrier has hosted twenty-six of America’s forty-four Presidents. The hotel’s impressively wide hallways were preserved by Draper and were originally built to accommodate hoop skirts.

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4 1

touches of regency gl amour for your home

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Channeling the Greenbrier 1. Sherwood Forest Paint,Vermilion Paint, and Salmon Peach Paint, Benjamin Moore 2. Fantastic Fern, Diane James Home $540 3. Madeline Baroque Mirror, Neiman Marcus, $575 4. Ralph Lauren Chandelier, Circa Lighting, $3,780 5. Vintage Brass Eagle Door Knocker, High Street Market, $38 6. Antoinette Fainting Sofa in Gold, Urban Outfitters $579 7. Southampton Pillow, Jonathan Adler, $98 8. Delray Stool by Lilly Pulitzer, Vielle + Frances, $329 9. Garden Fern Rug, Burke Decor, from $563 10. Hutton Table by Lilly Pulitzer, Vielle + Frances, $2,600 11. Black Staffordshire Dogs, Furbish, $72 12. Floral Ladyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lamp, Furbish, $160

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QUINTESSENTIALLY

WRITTEN BY MEGAN KAPLAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY RIMA CAMPBELL

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on a Thursday afternoon, and Greenwich Village is in full spring bloom. Pedestrians are filling up the sidewalk cafes and walking out of plum Bleecker Street boutiques with bags of new summer dresses and accoutrements. Fashion designer and multi-tasking wonder Cynthia Rowley dashes into her own shop among the throngs to pick up a few things for our Matchbook shoot. We know and love her for creating whimsical womenswear since the 80s, gussying up the home goods arena as an original collaborator for Target, designing beautiful Band-Aids, and co-founding the art retail site Exhibition A. 70

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She arrives at her nearby Greek Revival townhouse in her working mom attire â&#x20AC;&#x201C; leggings and a t-shirt. Her four-story home is filled with bouquets of fresh white hydrangeas and chocolate chip confections. That evening she and her husband, gallery owner and author Bill Powers, will be hosting a reception for an opening at Half Gallery on the Lower East Side. Between wardrobe changes, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a flurry of interruptions. Bill asks how many steps they should build on the new deck at their Montauk house, daughter Kit walks in from school with a friend and heads out to the pool to lounge and do homework, and through it all, an unfazed Cynthia puts on her characteristic charm. matchbook

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DESIGNER, AUTHOR, ARTIST, TV PERSONALITY, MOTHER OF TWO… CYNTHIA, HOW DO YOU MANAGE ALL OF THIS?

Life is definitely a little chaotic. YOU AND BILL ARE KNOWN AS ONE OF NEW YORK CITY’S MOST CAREFREE COUPLES ABOUT TOWN. WHAT’S A TYPICAL NIGHT OUT?

A lot of our friends are artists and Bill co-owns Half Gallery, so we’re very involved. The ideal night: come home, cook dinner for all of us, eat,

put the kids to bed, then go out. And our Vespa is great because we can pretty much go year round. TELL ME ABOUT YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN THE ART COMMUNITY. IS THAT HOW YOU TWO MET?

We first met when Bill interviewed me for BlackBook magazine in the late Nineties. Bill has Half Gallery and we also have a joint venture, ExhibitionA.com, an art retail site born from our Pretty Penny initiative that we started to fund employees’ entrepreneurial ideas.

IT’S CLEAR THAT YOUR PASSION FOR ART INFORMS YOUR CURRENT SPRING COLLECTION. WE LOVE THE ABSTRACT FLORAL PRINTS, STITCHED BODICES, AND METALLIC TEXTURES. WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION?

Every collection always has a bit of pretty, a bit of sporty, and a little bit of a dark side. HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR DESIGNS HAVE EVOLVED THE MOST?

Every collection is like reinventing the wheel, it’s totally

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LIFE IS DEFINITELY A LITTLE CHAOTIC.

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different. I never look back, never think about what I’ve done in the past – it’s always something new. I’m interested in creating fabrics and materials that have never been done before in fashion. YOU’RE ORIGINALLY FROM BARRINGTON, ILLINOIS. TELL US ABOUT GROWING UP THERE.

I had the idyllic small-town childhood. Growing up there gave me a lot of time to develop a very wild and vivid imagination. SO WHEN DID YOU FIRST LEARN TO SEW?

I have sewn all my life and made my first dress when I was seven years old. I used to lie down on the floor and trace my body like a crime scene. IT MUST BE FUN TO WATCH YOUR DAUGHTERS KIT AND GIGI DEVELOP THEIR OWN SENSES OF STYLE. WHAT ARE THEY INTO WEARING RIGHT NOW?

They’re in an anti-fashion phase where they just wear jeans and t-shirts…which is fine with me.

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WHAT ARE YOUR CURRENT WARDROBE ESSENTIALS?

WHAT DO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY DO FOR DOWNTIME? WE’VE HEARD RUMORS ABOUT POGO STICKS IN THE HOUSE AND WINTER LAP SWIMS IN WETSUITS.

I go through phases where I wear basically the same thing every day. So now it’s our printed bonded leggings and a t-shirt, dressed We’re a very active family. up with heels. No sport is left out… And we 80

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all love to travel. It’s amazing what you can do and see in a forty-eight-hour getaway. AND TO THAT END, WHAT’S ON YOUR AGENDA TOMORROW?

Wake up at 7 a.m., make breakfast for my older daughter, get her to school

by 8, come back home, make breakfast for my younger daughter (while she eats, I swim laps), get her to school by 9, then straight to work.

is really exciting. We’re also EVERYTHING.” IS opening a bunch of new THAT YOURS TOO? stores and planning our tenth anniversary celebra- Maybe even more so. tion in Japan and a Summer Stage event for our beach Every day is a balance of Band-Aids. business meetings and designing. Right now we’re putting the finishing touches on I READ THAT BILL our Resort collection, which FOLLOWS WARHOL’S PHILOSOPHY: “DO

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I NEVER LOOK BACK, NEVER THINK ABOUT WHAT I’VE DONE IN THE PAST – IT’S ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW. matchbook

CYNTHIA’S HAUNTS: THE BEST PLACE FOR...

A cup of coffee: Doma A pedicure: Monday night is girls’ night, so we go to a local spot and we all get pedis Family takeout: Pop Burger Date night: Low key dinner at RedFarm. For more excitement, we’ll check out a new band. Vintage treasures: Melet Mercantile in Montauk and Soho A shopping splurge: Lingerie at Brooklyn Fox A shot of art and culture: I have to plug my husband’s gallery—Half Gallery on Forsyth. Also, the Exhibition A blog lists all the art happenings, practically as they’re taking place. A Vespa ride: It’s fun to go anywhere on the Vespa. Most thrilling (and a little scary) is going over any of the bridges: Brooklyn, Williamsburg, or Manhattan.

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I N T E RNAT I O NAL I N S P I R AT IO N

Mackenzie Horan B Y Courtney Apple

WR I TTE N B Y P H OTOGR A P H Y

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AITLIN WILSON AND HER BUSINESS STUDENT HUSBAND LIVED IN LONDON, DUBAI, AND HONG KONG BEFORE SETTLING IN PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. CAITLIN FILLS HER DAYS AS AN INTERIOR DECORATOR, TEXTILE DESIGNER, AND THE VOICE BEHIND ONE OF OUR FAVORITE BLOGS. DID WE MENTION SHE’S ALSO A NEW MOTHER OF TWO? WE CAUGHT UP WITH THIS MULTITASKING WONDER WOMAN FOR A TOUR OF HER PHILADELPHIA HOMEAND THE 411 ON HOW SHE DOES IT ALL... matchbook

First of all, congratulations on your new little one! Penn is absolutely adorable. How does Olivia like being a big sister?

Thank you! She is so in love with him. She repeats everything I say. “Hello, little buddy!” “You’re so cute... Yes, you are, yes, you are!” It’s so sweet. I love hearing her little “conversations” with him. Some of the best moments I’ve had have been in the last few months as I experience being a mother of two. The combination of funny toddler talk and newborn cuddles is heavenly. That’s so sweet. I’m very impressed that you work from home raising your family, running your interior decorating business, and creating your textile collection. How do you stay on top of it all?

It’s hard to stay on top of anything these days but I try my best to be really organized and keep a running list of to dos. I work well under pressure so I usually have a million things going on at once, partially by choice. My assistant Mari has been amazing during this transition to two kids. I come in and out of the office throughout the day and often feed Penn on the 90

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couch while I answer emails. saw on mosques, in buildings, and on rugs all over Dubai. Hong Kong was Quite the multi-tasker! Let’s talk a full of incredible florals little about your textile and geometric patterns — designs, which you sell I would walk down Holas fabric as well as lywood Road and stare at pillows. What was your inspiration fretwork on antiques and for launching the collection? tapestries. The Fleur Chinoise pattern was inspired My inspiration came from by some beautiful gold floral my travels in Asia and the Middle East. I fell in love with the beautiful chevron and trellis patterns that I

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“I WORK WELL UNDER PRESSURE SO I USUALLY HAVE A MILLION THINGS GOING ON AT ONCE, PARTIALLY BY CHOICE.”

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screens I found! Right now I’m working on a handful of new patterns and colorways for the fall collection. We can’t wait to see! You’re originally from the San Francisco Bay area but have lived in London, Dubai, and Hong Kong with your husband. What did you love most about each city?

Living abroad was such an incredible experience that I feel so blessed to have had. I love the tradition and charm, the sophistication that comes with being a Londoner. Dubai was next and the place we lived the longest — I really miss it there. I loved the food, the shopping, and the melting pot of cultures you find there. And I loved the energy of Hong Kong, bustling and busy and everyone in a hurry to get somewhere. My style is probably most influenced by Asia. The patterns and motifs are timeless! Speaking of your style, we’re smitten with your home! The gallery wall in your foyer is amazing. How would you describe your aesthetic?

I’d say it’s traditional with a twist, polished and refined

without being too serious. I like classic silhouettes but always add a bright color or bold pattern — better yet, both! I am a gold fiend so in my foyer I added some handmade art, prints, photos, and antlers into the mix of all the gold gilded frames to give it some quirkiness. It’s the perfect mix! Your blog is an excellent resource for decorating on a budget. What advice would you give Matchbook girls looking to redecorate without breaking the bank?

Thank you so much! I would say to save on furniture and accessories and splurge on fabric and pillows. They make such a statement in an otherwise normal space. Get creative with what you have. Paint an old piece of furniture, reupholster your parents’ old wingback, or reinvent an old classic piece from their attic. And look everywhere for good accessories — you can find them in the darndest of places!

“I LIKE CLASSIC SILHOUETTES BUT ALWAYS ADD A BRIGHT COLOR OR BOLD PATTERN — BETTER YET, BOTH!”

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CAITLIN’S PHILADELPHIA FAVORITES Classic Lighting El Vez Fabric Row

for beautiful chandeliers for Mexican food

on 4th Street for fabrics and trim

JAck B. Fabrics for

upholstery chenilles and velvets

Parc Restaurant for

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a French café feel

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STYLE I N S PA D E S Katie Armour PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg WRITTEN BY

The glossy black door swung open. “Hi, I’m Katy!” There she was standing before us--our hero, Kate Spade...the Kate Spade. A fluffy white Maltese scampered about her feet yapping protectively. Do not step on the dog, I noted to myself as we anxiously stepped inside. It was just as I’d imagined it, but somehow better. In person the apartment I’d seen published many a time before was more colorful, quirkier, richer. Sophisticated, yet unpretentious, much like the Spades themselves. A Warhol drawing framed beside a flea market sketch...but of course. If you’re anything like Jane and me, you’ve watched the careers of husband and wife team Kate and Andy Spade closely. They founded the Kate Spade handbag collection in 1993, eventually winning two CFDA awards and establishing the brand as a household name. In 2006 they sold the company to Neiman Marcus and moved on. Kate stayed home to raise their daughter, Frances Beatrix (affectionately called Bea), and Andy went on to found the brilliant creative agency Partners & Spade. Please meet Kate and Andy Spade--still thick as thieves, the original partners in crime.

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hot dog stand. I didn’t get promoted, so I was like, “I’m outta here.” The only place I could find that paid enough was this biker bar called Desperados. Andy would laugh because he would come in and I would be wearing a tennis sweater and these big pieces of fabric tied around my hair in a huge bow. They were like, “Are you serious?” Amazing. Fast forward to New York and the early days of Kate Spade. What kept you motivated? Was there a moment you thought, “this is really going to be something”? Kate: Andy kept me motivated. When we won the first CFDA I thought, “Okay, wow, people are actually taking notice.” I mean we were in stores, but only a few...

So let’s start at the beginning. You and Andy met back in college in Arizona. How do you think you've each changed since then? Kate: Andy was really shy. Andy’s still a little shy. I’m trying to think--pretty much the same I’d say. Just older and grumpier. [laughs] 104

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Speaking of college days, I read somewhere that you worked in a motorcycle bar. There must be a story there? Kate: A friend of mine was working at a golf course as a beverage girl and making a fortune. Well, I get there and I wasn’t very good, so they started me off working at the

So Andy was the one that kept you going? Kate: Oh yeah, he kept saying, “But Katie, these are the stores you want to be in!” And I would be like, “Okay, but we didn’t even make enough money to pay for the show we were just in.” Did you have some concept of just how big it would someday be? Kate: I would say Andy might have, but I definitely did not. We took on two partners...between the four of us we really were scrappy and very conservative in terms of how

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What else? [looks to Andy who just walked in] Andy: We turned it into a Christmas tree store...Our CFO eventually suggested we let go of the space. So what was it like at Kate Spade towards the end? First you sold a percentage to Neiman Marcus and then eventually you sold them everything. They’ve since sold the company to Liz Claiborne. How did you know the timing was right? Kate: It was a great partnership. It really was. We ended up selling the rest of the percentage because Neimans was selling themselves... We agreed to stay on for six months with whomever they sold it to. We didn’t want to up and run, but after that it was just a good time. Andy had really already begun doing all his other things and Bea was born and I was like, “This feels like it’s meant to be.”

Once we moved on to Mercer, that was our flagship... we turned the old space into a travel store, a bookstore... but then we were buying all these vintage books and the girl was opening them up and selling them for what we paid What year did you open for them, so that wasn’t really the first store? working out. There’s this little Kate: In 1995. It’s gone now. thing called “profit.” [laughs] 106 matchbook we spent our money. Even once we started getting some of the larger accounts, we weren’t tooling around town in a town car. It just wasn’t our thing.

Many people still think it’s your company. Is that strange at times? Kate: It oddly doesn’t phase me in the slightest. Except when people say, “Oh my god, I just bought the most darling Kate Spade,” and I don’t want to go into some big story. So I always just say, “I’ll pass that along.” [smiles] Andy: People say, “How could you sell your name?” and I’m like, “What else can

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scious decision? A reflection of your personalities, perhaps? Andy: It was a conscious decision. There are two ways to run a business; you can motivate people out of fear or you can motivate people by inspiring them. Katie and I were always motived by people that inspired and challenged us. Kate: We had a lot of people that stayed for a long time. Andy: People want to come work for you if it’s a good environment. To work for us you had to be talented and nice. You couldn’t be talented and mean. I read that you gave every employee a copy of Emily Post’s Etiquette. Kate: Yeah. They were like, “Umm, we were really looking for a check...” Andy: Right, “Merry Christmas! Remember to put your napkin on your lap!” No, we gave it to them when they started working for us. Kate: It was not as a bonus. Andy: Don’t ever give it out as a bonus. [chuckles] you do?” You can wait until you’re sixty like Calvin Klein or you have a family dynasty and you want to carry it on forever. The only thing to do is to try to find a place for it to go...There were so many other things in the world I wanted to explore. Kate: Andy always said, “People always tell you how

to start a business, but nobody tells you how to get out of one.” But I feel like we did it the right way. To me Kate Spade has always been a more approachable brand without the elitism often associated with the fashion industry. Was that a con-

Okay, let’s talk about those amazing early ad campaigns. I’ve literally bought them off eBay to frame in my house. Kate: They were the best. Andy and Julia [Leach] did those. Andy: You can really get them off eBay? matchbook

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Yeah! I bought the one with the handbags hanging out the windows of the house. Kate: Tim Walker. Yeah, I mean, you worked with Tim Walker. Kate: Early, early on. Andy: I always thought that fashion advertising looked very phony and over-styled and not real. I couldn’t relate to it. I appreciated family pictures and things that showed how people really lived. I would collaborate with the photographers like Tim [Walker] and Tierney [Gearon] and we would just run around--we didn’t even have a plan. We’d have a general idea--a location, a family--and then we’d just come up with things. We’d have them play hide and seek and then shoot it. Almost like little slices of a film. Almost like theater? Andy: Yeah, like theater. And then maybe people see a moment that they were in at some point in their lives. I think their being so relatable is why I loved them so much. Okay, let’s shift gears a bit. How has having Bea changed things? What’s it like being parents? Kate: It’s just the best thing, except when we have to get 114

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up early in the morning for school. [laughs] ...She’s super sweet, which is so nice. She’s a good girl. Andy: I think we’re both finally getting a formal education through our daughter because she’s coming home with so much homework.

Kate: She’d talk about the solar system when she was in preschool and I was like, “what?” Andy: She really just inspires us. I’m not kidding, she’s just the most fun. We have the Avant Garde Preschool at my shop now with people like

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want to change the footprint of the place. Are you in New York for good or would you ever consider moving somewhere new, say out West? Kate: We have. Andy: I think San Francisco or somewhere near San Francisco we would consider and So do you travel as a fam- we have considered. ily often? Kate: Well one of us is go- I’ll try not to get my hopes ing to Bali! [referencing an up! Okay, what about upcoming trip Andy is taking business plans for the futo shoot a Quicksilver cam- ture. Do you think you’ll paign] We’re going to Lon- ever want to go back to don soon to visit friends (Bea work, Kate? Do you two says she wants to meet Prin- think you’ll ever collabocess Kate and see her dress). rate again? And we’re going to Mexico Andy: I think we will. Absoover Christmas with Andy’s lutely. family. Kate: Yeah. I mean, that’s Andy: Every spring we go to the first time I’ve said it. For Jackson Hole to ski and then so long it was the last thing I we spend the summers in was thinking of, but now Bea California. sometimes doesn’t get home Kate: It’s harder with Bea in until 6:30 p.m. school now. Andy: We have an idea...We registered a name. Understandable. So the apartment...it’s been Registered a name? This published multiple times is breaking news! We and I always get a kick don’t have to publish it... out of how it’s changed. Will it ever be finished? Andy: I don’t mind. Or is it ever evolving? Kate: But now everyone’s Andy: It will always be evolv- going to be like, so when? ing. When Bea gets older Time for me to get out of lazy we’ll probably have to change mode! the dining room into a ping pong table or whatever they No pressure, just gives call them. us something to look forKate: It will change for sure. ward to! Okay, now for Or we’ll move. I wouldn’t some fun quick quesThurston Moore of Sonic Youth speaking to the kids. She’s always inspiring new projects. Kate: Someone once mistook that drawing behind you as Bea’s work. Andy was like, “Um, that’s Jean-Michel Basquiat.” [everyone cracks up]

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tions. What is your cocktail of choice? Andy: I think a Southside. Kate: Yeah. Both of you? Andy: I don’t want to have the same one as you. I’ll change mine. Kate: Fine! I’ll take a Heineken. [both laugh] How many years have you been married now? Kate: Well, we moved in together in 1987, so how many years is that? Twenty-four? And we lived together for nine years before we got married. Andy: What’s twenty-four minus nine? Anyone got a computer? And you used his name before you got married, which I love. Kate: Yeah, well, my mom didn’t. I was like, “Mom, it’s like Dolce and Gabbana.” And she was like, “Who the hell’s that?” What do you admire most in each other? Kate: I’d say your kindness-your generosity. Andy: You never tell me that. I would say your kindness too. Kate: [cooing] Awww, aren’t we just the sweetest little couple?

"THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO RUN A BUSINESS; YOU CAN MOTIVATE PEOPLE OUT OF FEAR OR YOU CAN MOTIVATE PEOPLE BY INSPIRING THEM. KATIE AND I WERE ALWAYS MOTIVED BY PEOPLE THAT INSPIRED AND CHALLENGED US."

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men’s shirts with rolled up sleeves, jeans or khakis. All the artists and writers of that generation--Hopps always looked great. They weren’t styled, they were just dressing like real people. Very cool. Okay, favorite places in New York? Kate: Raoul’s. Like forever. They remember us from when we would sit at the bar and split the bar steak and have a glass of wine. Oh and The Ear Inn. It’s great...Oh, and Bar Hemingway at the Ritz, but that’s in Paris. I have an ashtray from there which I did not steal, by the way. I bought it. Andy: Great Jones Cafe I love. And we love Indochine. Kate: For shops I love Ted Muehling. Just love, love, love.

Andy: Okay, I like her sense of humor. Does that work for your story? [laughs] Who are some of your personal style icons? Kate: I mean this is no news to anybody, but I think Kate Moss hands down. She just gets it--so effortlessly. And I think Lauren Hutton still to118

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day. Oh, and Michelle Williams--pretty cute. Very cute. Andy: I would say this guy named Walter Hopps who ran the Ferus Gallery in L.A. during the Sixties when they first showed all the New York abstract artists. All those guys-Rauschenberg, de Kooning-the way they dressed in old

Last but not least, Matchbook is all about simple pleasures. What is your idea of a charmed life? Kate: I’d say summer off with my daughter. I’m like a kid waiting for summer. Andy: Yeah, I can’t wait for summer. Or Spring Break. I can’t wait to have her home for Spring Break. You can sleep in, go to the pool, play a game with your daughter, maybe get a milkshake and a hot dog after. It’s exactly that.

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SOHO

DARLING From her vintage cookbook collection to her insatiable wanderlust, DwellStudio founder Christiane Lemieux is a Matchbook girl through and through. Since founding her home furnishings company in 2000, the Canadian entrepreneur has delved into furniture design, penned a book, and collaborated with Target. Her first title, Undecorate, won critical acclaim and the Ottawa native is already hard at work on a second. Our team dropped by the SoHo loft Christiane shares with her husband and two children for a glimpse of this thoroughly modern Matchbook girl in her super chic element.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAROL DRONSFIELD T E X T B Y K AT I E A R M O U R

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YOU’RE A PROUD CANADIAN. DO YOU THINK CANADA INFLUENCED YOUR A E S T H E T I C I N A N Y WAY ?

It definitely has. Canada is interesting; it kind of has one foot in the American aesthetic and one foot in the European aesthetic. There’s a lot of Scandinavian influence up there. I moved from Canada to New York when I was twenty to attend the fashion design program at Parsons. AFTER SCHOOL YOU WORKED FOR ISAAC M I Z R A H I A N D T H E G A P. W H AT WA S T H AT LIKE?

I learned a ton about a very high-end business and then a very well-run business. For Mizrahi I would go to the fabric mills and look at unbelievable

fabrics. We were designing prints. It was very cool. Then the Gap had Mickey Drexler at the time – very well run. I purposely had two very different experiences. I took in a lot from both jobs. HOW DID YOU TRANSITION INTO THE S H E LT E R I N D U S T R Y ?

I had a friend whose husband bought a home furnishings brand and he wanted to start to do proprietary product. He got me to come on because he knew I was doing surface textile design. I eventually put some of my own stuff on the floor and it sold, so I was like, “I’m just going to start a company.” And I did. matchbook

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DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR VERY FIRST D W E L L C O L L E C T I O N ? W H AT WA S I T L I K E ?

It was very geometric, very Scandinavian influenced. It had bedding, tabletop, pillows, and throws. It was a lot, but I knew that stuff was easy to ship. The last thing you get into is furniture – it took us ten years to get there. The logistics can be very difficult.

I would say eclectic, modern, luxe. Like this carpet – it's silk, but it’s a neutral. I like clean lines, but I like a little extra. I also like to mix periods. I think that defines my style. YOU JUST RELEASED YOUR FOURTH FA B R I C L I N E W I T H R O B E R T A L L E N . W H AT WA S T H E I N S P I R AT I O N T H E R E ?

I’m in the middle of writing a book T H I N G S H AV E C E R TA I N LY G R O W N S I N C E ! coming out in September 2014 and A R E Y O U S T I L L I N V O LV E D I N T H E D E S I G N I’ve been spending a ton of time in the T O D AY ? Condé Nast archives. I was so inspired Very involved. Nothing goes out the door by the thirties through the sixties in American decoration – that really at our office without me seeing it. informed this fabric collection. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONAL AESTHETIC?

WHO ARE SOME DESIGNERS IN HISTORY T H AT Y O U A D M I R E ?

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There are so many. When I was in the Condé Nast archive I went through years of old House & Garden magazines and what amazed me is that people like Billy Baldwin and David Hicks and Dorothy Draper – now obviously we think of them as greats, but even then their work leaped off the page. Even then they were truly great. WHERE DO YOU GO TO GET NEW IDEAS A N D I N S P I R AT I O N ?

I travel all the time and before I go places I do a lot of research. I always hit the flea market wherever I am, whether it’s Frankfurt or Shanghai, and I always go to the local museums. Also, just walking the streets of New York is inspiring. Living here in SoHo I am 128

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bombarded by amazing street style every day. HOW DO YOU KEEP TRACK OF IT ALL?

My iPhone is indispensable. I’m a serial Instagrammer. I sketch, I take photos. I have a whole inspiration folder on my phone. L E T ’ S TA L K A B O U T T H E F L A G S H I P S T O R E H E R E I N S O H O.

It’s just around the corner. I’ve always lived in SoHo. Our office is here. It felt very authentic to us to be here. Sometimes on my way home I’ll drop in and check on the merchandising. There’s also a whole renaissance happening in lower SoHo for furniture and we wanted to be part of that.

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W H AT ’ S I T L I K E R A I S I N G Y O U R T W O K I D S IN THE HEART OF IT ALL?

It’s amazing. My kids are exposed to so much. I can take them to see Willem de Kooning at the MOMA. There’s always something interesting for kids to do whether it’s exploring one of the city’s new parks or going to the Big Apple Circus. We also have a little house in the Hamptons and I think the balance is good. They run around on the weekends. D O T H E Y E V E R TA G A L O N G O N Y O U R T R AV E L S ?

All the time! My kids are intrepid travelers now. We went to Morocco over Christmas. They loved it. They’re up for anything which is so great. I took my daughter along with me on a business

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trip to San Francisco recently. We had so much fun. L E T ’ S TA L K A B O U T T H I S A M A Z I N G L O F T YOU LIVE IN. HOW DID YOU FIND THE S PA C E ?

It was a lot of space for not a lot of money six years ago. The place was kind of crazy and people couldn’t see past it. We saw a great open space that we wanted to transform. We gutted it and we did it. We renovated for a year. Designing it all from scratch was so much fun. T E L L M E A B O U T Y O U R L I B R A R Y. Y O U H AV E Q U I T E T H E B O O K C O L L E C T I O N .

I’ve been collecting them over time. I love to collect vintage cookbooks and

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Christiane's MATCHBOOK QUESTIONNAIRE TEA OR COFFEE?

Coffee – when you have two kids you need the extra caffeine. I C O L L E C T...

Vintage cookbooks, cutlery and drinking glasses. FAV O R I T E C I T Y ?

New York, Paris, London, Bangkok, Shanghai, Saigon

S P R I N G O R FA L L ?

Spring. When you are from Canada you worship warm weather. BLOOM OF CHOICE?

Hydrangea

ST YLE ICON?

Pauline de Rothschild C H I N A PAT T E R N ?

My mother-in-law's '60s Royal Doulton. It's got a chocolate brown band. So chic.

I’M LUSTING AFTER…

A trip to Myanmar

MOST PRIZED POSSESSION?

My children

GIRL CRUSH?

Kate Moss

BOY CRUSH?

Jason Segel

ON WEEKENDS…

Family adventures

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my first degree was in art history, so a lot are about that. I spend a lot of time at the Strand. I think it’s the greatest place to find vintage cookbooks. I also just love books with beautiful linen covers. I always pick up a book if I’m at a museum exhibition. I go back and look at them for inspiration.

an artist named Robert Swain. They bought it down the street at the OK Harris gallery and brought it all the way back to Canada. It lived there for thirty years and then we brought it back. Now it’s just around the corner from where it was originally purchased. It’s come home.

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L A S T, I H AV E T O A S K ABOUT THIS AMAZING PIECE OF ART ABOVE YOUR S O FA .

That is from my husband’s family’s collection. It’s by matchbook

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A DRESS TO BUILD A DREAM ON PHOTOGRAPHY BY BONNIE TSANG T E X T B Y N ATA L I E G R A S S O

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CULTURE CLUB

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plucky pioneer

t all started with a classic. Sitting with her husband at a well-known Parisian shirt maker’s shop, Minnie Mortimer turned her discerning eye to the crisp and clean fabrics just waiting to take up residence in a man’s closet. “Shouldn’t women have that same luxury?” she thought. On her return home to Los Angeles, she designed the first Minnie Mortimer shirt dress for herself. It was a hit among her friends and the rest is history--with a full line of apparel available in stores and online. Matchbook sat down with the designer at home in LA to talk style, inspiration, and giving the crispy classics a dose of California cool.

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plucky pioneer she says. “And when I started designing, I found myself referencing those roots.” Mortimer traveled extensively in her 20s, landing first in Paris and then dotting the globe as an assistant to Italian photographer Oberto Gili. “Oberto opened all sorts of new places,” she says. “I got to know cities in a different way. We spent a lot of time in London, Paris, Milan...when you’re working there, you see a different side of the city and you feel more connected to it.”

“For me, it’s all about Growing up on the Upper the dress,” says Mortimer, East Side, she recalls childconsidering the whole range of garments she’s designed for her eponymous label. “I like that femininity. I think a dress is the most satisfying thing.”

hood days spent in Manhattan’s all-girls private schools: “I would line my blazers, dart my skirts, I’d change all of the buttons, I would do anything I could to make them unique,”

It was along these travels with Oberto that Mortimer met her husband, Stephen, an Oscar- and Emmy-winning writer. The two currently live in California with their daughter, their dogs, and a gorgeous eclectic library full of fashion books and novels (his awards tucked between the stacks). “Our house is kind of a big circus, like a big messy circus,” she says. “But it’s very satisfying. Our outlet is that we both love to surf, and we have our house that is our creative nexis and the heart of our activities.” matchbook

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“

Our house is kind of a big circus, like a big messy circus. But it’s very satisfying.

”

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plucky pioneer Mortimer’s genius lies in marshaling all of this into her work. “I am totally on both coasts,” she says. “And I have all these different [things] within me. I am artsy and creative, and I am traditional and I’m a mother, but I still have my foot in the feeling that I am still really young and a party girl. I have pieces [in the collection] for all those different personalities.” As for her upcoming collection, Mortimer says she “can’t get enough stripes.” “It feels like Europe on vacation. I love nostalgic pieces and to me stripes are so nostalgic.” Currently Mortimer is working with textile mills in Los Angeles to design and print her own fabrics. “It’s fascinating,” she says. “The way the needles are thread for the yarn dye and the stripes, and figuring out how things work. Being able to have your ideas realized in something like fabric or textiles is incredibly satisfying.” 

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"It feels like Europe on Vacation. I love nostalgic pieces and to me stripes are so nostalgic."

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matchbook questionnaire tea or coFFee? both! an ything with caFFeine, pLease. i coLLect... art and design booKs Favorite city? paris spring or FaLL? spring bLoom oF choice? gardenia styLe icon? babe paLey perFume? Fr acas Linens? d. porthauLt

china pattern? my mother's iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m Lusting aFter... a steve mcQueen roLeX with the or ange hand circa 1974 girL crush? the one and onLy dvF boy crush? James saLter (i Just can't heLp it; i have aLways had a weaKness For oLder Liter ary gu ys!) on weeKends... the beach! best part oF Living in La

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ether you're on the hunt for an elephant tape dispenser, monogrammed tote, or Lucite ice bucket, California based lifestyle brand

iomoi has

got you covered. Founded in 2001 by husband and wife team Matthew Grenby and Irene Chen, iomoi has since amassed a cult following for their luxury goods "with a wink". Their wide array of product artfully walks the line between modern and traditional (How very Matchbook!) and has charmed our team for years. Irene has extensive experience in product development and licensing (she earned her spurs at Donna Karen and Calvin Klein.), while Matthew is a born entrepreneur, spearheading the company's digital, graphic, and management aspects. Matchbook paid the duo a visit at home in San Francisco's East Bay to meet the darling family behind our favorite Lucite tray.

Text By Clare Whitaker Photography by Cooper Carras

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FIRST THINGS FIRST, WHERE DID THE NAME IOMOI COME FROM?

iomoi came out of our search for a unique name that suggests the essence of our brand without being too literal. Ultimately, it is an abstract word, pronounced “i-owe-moi” that suggests “i owe myself (this little pleasure).” This reflects our focus on personalization and gifting. We also like how the symmetry of the word reflects our partnership. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO LAUNCH THE BUSINESS BACK IN 2001?

Thoughtfulness! Our customers are always looking for a thoughtful, personal way to gift and stay in touch that is reflective of their timeFOR US WE TRULY FIND THE WHOLE TO BE less (with a GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS, AS wink) sense WE CONSTANTLY CHALLENGE EACH OTHER TO of style. GROW CREATIVELY AND PRACTICALLY. When we started, we were also inspired by the notion of chops. For us we truly find the whole bringing an aesthetic sensibility from to be greater than the sum of its parts, the fashion world to less traditional as we constantly challenge each other categories like paper, home goods, and to grow creatively and practically. accessories. IRENE, WHAT IS YOUR ROLE IN THE BUSINESS? AND MATTHEW, YOURS?

Basically, we do it all together. We both bring a unique set of skills and experiences to the table that we find to be complementary and useful in the various aspects of the business. My fashion product development background dovetails nicely with Matthew’s graphic design, technical, and business

IS IT CHALLENGING RUNNING A BUSINESS WITH YOUR SPOUSE? ARE THERE EVER DISAGREEMENTS?

We have found working together to be the most rewarding and challenging experience of our careers. At times, it may be a struggle to maintain our professionalism during the inevitable disagreements inherent to building the business. However, secure in the knowledge of the trust we have in each matchbook

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other, we know that ultimately we are both motivated by the best interests of both iomoi and our family. Finally, we count ourselves lucky to share an aesthetic sensibility, sense of humor, and inspiration from a timeless tradition of entertaining and social graces. DO YOUR CHILDREN HAVE ANY INTEREST IN SOMEDAY ENTERING THE FAMILY BUSINESS?

At seven and five, our daughter and son both enjoy drawing and building and are intrigued by the idea of making and selling things. Only time will tell! WHERE DO YOU LOOK FOR INSPIRATION FOR NEW COLLECTIONS?

Sometimes Irene feels a little “trapped in time” in her love for old books and photos about entertaining, style, and etiquette. Inspired by the past, making a product that is relevant and useful in our modern lives is an ongoing goal. An example is the personalized Lucite tray we introduced back in 2007. Tradition teaches us that one should always be ready for entertaining. Our trays are born from this tradition, but they are also a “now” item, made from fashionable, practical materials that can be used for more than just entertaining. IRENE, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIECE FROM THE COLLECTION?

It’s a toss-up between the Lucite trays and canvas totes because they both put a smile on the face of those who use it. Both get better as they are used, and I love our client’s stories and photos matchbook

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about how these items are woven into the fabric of their lives. AND MATTHEW, YOURS?

The hand-sculpted Ling the Elephant and Monkey tape dispenser is a personal favorite. I use it every day and I love how, in its own subtle way, it elevates an otherwise mundane, practical task. WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT RAISING YOUR FAMILY IN CALIFORNIA?

Irene grew up in California, and her family still lives nearby. This is a gift for our kids (and for us!). Of course the weather and natural environment are amazing, although sometimes we are nostalgic for “the seasons” and associated traditions we came to love during our time on the east coast. We celebrate the opportunity to have access to world-class mountains, beaches, and wine country all so nearby. WHAT'S UP NEXT FOR IOMOI?

Look for a big website refresh this fall and our new wholesale line in the coming year.

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FOLLOW IOMOI WEBSITE I N S TA G R A M TWITTER FA C E B O O K

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MATTHEW AND IRENE’S

BAY AREA FAVORITES DINING

SHOPPING

LAFAYETTE

SAN FRANCISCO

Swanson Vineyards

The Tail of the Yak Trading Company

The Cheese Board Collective

Castle In the Air

Authentic Bagel Company

Alameda Point Antiques Faire

Johnny’s Donuts NAPA

BERKELEY

OAKLAND

The Fremont Diner SONOMA

Ad Hoc

YOUNTVILLE

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Bell’occhio BERKELEY

BERKELEY

ALAMEDA

CULTURE

The Exploratorium SAN FRANCISCO

Legion of Honor SAN FRANCISCO

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THE

TA L E N T E D

M R . R O B S H AW Stepping inside textile designer John Robshaw’s Lower East Side home is akin to crossing continents. The walls are painted an inky blue hue and are covered from floor to ceiling in a menagerie of artwork collected around the globe. It seems likely we’ve tripped down a rabbit hole and landed in India, Thailand, or Indonesia--anywhere but downtown Manhattan. With all its ethnic extravagance (doesn’t everyone have a porcupine quill headdress?) the space perfectly reflects the devilishly handsome bachelor's insatiable wanderlust. Before discovering his passion for textiles, John was a painter studying fine arts at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute. The Buffalo, New York native proudly recalls having made ends meet with a variety of jobs--working as a deck hand a tug boat, assisting painter Julian Schnabel, even transporting lavish sequin gowns back from Bombay. He eventually found his calling in textiles and the design world is eternally grateful. Today the jet set textile darling does things a bit differently. When he’s not in his New York design studio scheming with his team, John can be found traveling the globe to oversee, study under, and work alongside skilled local artisans from India to the Philippines. One week you may find him in Bolivia as a consultant for the nonprofit organization Aid to Artisans, the next in Egypt exploring temples on holiday. His burgeoning lifestyle brand has grown to encompass everything from furniture (he’s just launched a new fantastic new collection with Cisco) to bath robes and is growing by the minute. An artist at his core, John is still eager to push the envelope of textile design and continues to scour the globe for inspiration. Despite all he’s accomplished, it would seem the talented Mr. Robshaw is just getting started. PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAROL DRONSFIELD STYLING BY MEREDITH POWELL T E X T B Y K AT I E A R M O U R

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L E T ’ S S TA R T W I T H Y O U R S C H O O L I N G . WHERE DID YOU DO YOUR UNDERGRAD?

Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We had like a little commune – one art building where all the weirdo art people hung out. It was fun. W H AT M A D E Y O U C H O O S E R U R A L P E N N S Y LVA N I A ?

Well, I met a really pretty girl on the college tour. Maybe not excellent decision making. It’s a really pretty campus. Lancaster is all old brick row houses and Amish countryside. We all rode bikes around. A N D W H E N D I D Y O U S TA R T T R AV E L I N G ?

I went to Rome for my junior year,

which is an amazing city for printmaking. Then I traveled around Turkey and a bit east from there. After college I applied for some obscure grant to study block printing in China and actually got it. I went there for six months when Tiananmen Square was happening. The riots began and they kicked us all out, so I came back to the States and went to Pratt to study painting and printmaking. I worked at Gagosian Gallery during school. Then I worked for Julian Schnabel as a painting assistant. W H AT WA S W O R K I N G F O R SCHNABEL LIKE?

Kind of crazy. He’s a character. He’s such a showman and salesman. He would descend from the staircase in his silk bath matchbook

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robe and opera would be playing and we’d be shuffling these huge canvases from wall to wall so he could see different combinations for the collector. He could really sell. S O U N D S T H E AT R I C A L .

It really was. It was interesting to see the inner workings of the art world. S O B A C K T O Y O U, I S A N Y O N E I N Y O U R FA M I LY A R T I S T I C ?

My mom used to do knock-off Picassos in college. She wanted to be a decorator but her parents thought it was an unsavory business, so she became a teacher and had a bunch of kids. And my dad is a lawyer, so no, not really. HOW MANY KIDS ARE THERE?

There are four of us. I’m the second. My little sister makes kids' clothing from our remnants. She loves textiles. My mom and sister understand it, but my brothers are like, “Ummm, get me some for my wife.” WERE YOU WORKING WITH TEXTILES IN SCHOOL?

I just sort of fell into textiles. One of my teachers had a sequin company in Bombay that did runway dresses, so we got free tickets to go to India. They would have students fly over with the patterns and sequins and drop them off in Bombay. They’d make the runway dresses and ten days later we’d have to smuggle them back. If you got stopped by customs you’d just say, “Well, it’s my size.” They were like $10,000 dresses. matchbook

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I was there taking photographs and people were making everything by hand. You could go and get a cup made or design your own shoes. I had learned about block printing so I found printers and was making paintings with blocks. I brought all these fabrics back to my studio (I had a little studio on Broome Street back when you could have a studio on Broome Street.) and had piles of textiles. Decorators that bought my paintings came in and were like, “Oh and we’ll take twenty yards of that fabric on the floor.” A light bulb went off and I started making fabrics. FA S T F O R WA R D T O T O D AY, A R E Y O U S T I L L THE ONE DESIGNING THE PRODUCT?

Yeah, I have a design studio and we do

all the artwork in house. I have design assistants and we work on all the prints together. They’re all textile people. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR ST YLE?

I’m like, “More, more, more.” I like print on top of print on top of print. Coming from an art background I don’t mind mixing things up – my team is always editing me. HOW MANY PRINTS DO YOU COME UP WITH EACH YEAR?

We do the spring and fall seasons and probably have between fifty and seventy new prints each season. They’re made in India, Thailand, and the Philippines. matchbook

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W H E R E D O Y O U G O T O G E T I N S P I R AT I O N FOR ALL THESE NEW PRINTS?

I went to Egypt over the holidays. There were no tourists and the temples were empty, which was amazing. Then I went to India in March. I go to India in spring and fall. This time I went down to Puducherry, which is French Colonial. I was actually there to do little travel pieces for The Wall Street Journal. It’s kind of fun because it makes me go see all the restaurants and hotels–otherwise I’d just go hang out and have a coffee, but if you have to do research you have a mission. SO WHERE ARE YOU JETTING OFF TO NEXT?

I have to work now. I’m going to Los Angeles in a week for the opening of my Cisco furniture collection. We just introduced it at High Point. And I’m trying to figure out if I can get to Zambia in July. I go through spurts – if something good comes up... TELL ME ABOUT THE NEW CISCO C O L L A B O R AT I O N .

It’s about fifteen pieces and is sort of Anglo-Indian. There’s a canopy bed with an arch headboard, a trunk, an Arabesque coffee table, a cool sofa, a kind of a lounge-y low chair... It’ll be on our site soon. WHO IN THE DESIGN WORLD DO YOU ADMIRE?

I worked in Thailand for a year and went to the Jim Thompson house. I’m a fan of him because he kind of brought back the Thai silk ikats. He was this cool textile guy and was in the secret service. He matchbook

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I L O V E T H AT T H E E G G I S L E O PA R D. L E T ’ S C H AT A B O U T T H I S A PA R T M E N T. D I D Y O U PA I N T A N D D E C O R AT E I T Y O U R S E L F ?

I’ve always liked blue. I used to live with an ex-girlfriend who was a decorator so luckily I moved in when we were dating. She definitely ran the project. I originally had low benches around the whole room like a Syrian tea house or something – so not practical. She was like, “John, you need a sofa and side tables.” S M A R T G I R L . A N D WA S A L L T H E A R T W O R K COLLECTED OVER THE YEARS?

disappeared one day in Malaysia. I think I have to disappear in upstate Connecticut or something. WHICH ARTISTS DO YOU ADMIRE?

I love postwar stuff. Have you been to Dia:Beacon? YEAH, I JUST WENT THERE L AST MONTH.

It’s great. John Chamberlin, Blinky Palermo, Twombly...I like all those old classic guys. Then I have a good friend, Alexander Gorlinsky, that does miniature paintings. He has a show right now at the Van Doren Waxter Gallery on the Upper East Side. There’s a marble egg over here that he hand painted. He’s super talented. 182

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I always buy art and textiles when I’m traveling. Like that bottle cap piece over there – there's a guy from Rio that makes all this stuff from recycled garbage. I thought it looked modern. He sells them on the street in Brazil. Those etchings I did in Rome, and then the sequin painting is by a friend of mine, Noh Sang-Kyoon. I F T H E R E W E R E A F I R E , W H AT W O U L D YOU GRAB?

Well, my painted egg is new. Actually, when I stopped painting I threw away all of my paintings so I’m glad I kept a few. I would probably try to haul my canvases out. It’s nice to have art. I have a place that I’m fixing up in Connecticut, a weekend house, and I have a big barn for a studio so I’m trying to paint more which will be fun. It’s how I started. W H AT A R E S O M E O F Y O U R FAV O R I T E PL ACES HERE IN THE LOWER EAST SIDE?

I love the shop Top Hat. You should check out their stationery. I go to Fat

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Radish for dinner--it’s nearby. Oh, and Les Enfants Terribles is a great bar just around the corner. There’s a good Austrian place over here called Cafe Katja and there are some great little art galleries on East Broadway. B I G P I C T U R E – W H E R E D O Y O U WA N T Y O U R C O M PA N Y T O G O ?

You sound like my board members! It’s fun to do different licensing projects – to learn about furniture. I did a fabric line with Duralee, and my book and stationery with Chronicle Books. It’s great to learn about different techniques and processes without messing them up yourself. I F Y O U W E R E N ’ T D O I N G T E X T I L E S W H AT W O U L D Y O U B E D O I N G ? PA I N T I N G ?

I’d love to paint, or I’d be gone. Yeah, I’d be off traveling. 184

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•

JOHN'S

M AT C H B O O K QUESTIONNAIRE Coffee by Chilmark Coffee Company. A college pal started roasting like mad up on the Vineyard.

TEA OR COFFEE?

FAV O R I T E C I T Y ?

Rome

S P R I N G O R FA L L ?

Spring

BLOOM OF CHOICE?

Agave

ST YLE ICON?

Jim Thompson C H I N A PAT T E R N ? Iznik pottery, of course. I’M LUSTING AFTER…

An around the world trip for a year. MOST PRIZED POSSES-

Indonesian tapis wedding sarongs...all gold SION?

GIRL CRUSH?

Elliot Puckette, an amazing painter from the Deep South. BOY CRUSH?

Bruce Chatwin O N W E E K E N D S … I'm at my Sharon, Connecticut farm.

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TA L K I N G

TIBI Amy Smilovic just may be the coolest mom in Connecticut. The founder of SoHo-based fashion brand Tibi, she and her husband Frank (the company’s chief operating officer) call Greenwich, Connecticut, home in an interior that is anything but typical. You won’t find any chintz here – instead, true to Amy’s hip taste, pops of color and bold prints abound. From her blue high-top sneakers to her chic ear cuffs, the mother of two boys is far from cookie-cutter and we love her all the more for it. Since founding the company in Hong Kong in 1997, Amy has grown her brand and its trademark feminine designs into an international powerhouse with a die-hard following. (Trendsetters Michelle Williams, Olivia Palermo, and Florence Welch are all fans.) Join us for a morning chez Smilovic to get the dish on Amy’s southern roots, passion for textiles, and cool custom china. PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAROL DRONSFIELD T E X T B Y K AT I E A R M O U R

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W H AT WA S I T L I K E G R O W I N G U P O N AN ISL AND?

A D V E R T I S I N G H A D Y O U A LWAY S B E E N I N T E R E S T E D I N FA S H I O N ?

Growing up on St. Simons Island, Georgia, there’s a strong sense of community, and children are encouraged to be outdoors. We had a good amount of activities to keep us busy – horseback riding on the beach, oyster roasts, painting (My father and grandfather are artists.), seining (catching shrimp), and boating.

I’d always had a strong interest in fashion, as well as a desire to start my own business. My husband and I relocated to Hong Kong for his career with American Express – it was there that I found the idea of being an entrepreneur less intimidating. There were endless opportunities for small businesses, particularly pertaining to fashion. The factories were accessible and I worked closely with local artisans developing fabrics and prints.

HAVE YOUR SOUTHERN ROOTS INFLUENCED YOUR PERSONALIT Y OR AESTHETIC?

The relaxed ease of island living, coupled with highly creative and artistic parents, are my strongest design influences. THOUGH YOU BEGAN YOUR CAREER IN

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONAL ST YLE?

I believe in dressing in a way that is effortless but never lazy – I like clean matchbook

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styles, minimal details, and designs that don’t take themselves too seriously. Most importantly, I like to feel confident in whatever I’m wearing. W H AT W E R E S O M E O F T H E H I G H L I G H T S O F Y O U R T I M E L I V I N G I N H O N G KO N G ? D O YOU GO BACK OFTEN?

every day and learning from them. I also traveled frequently to the Indonesian island of Java, where I worked closely with small textile printers to develop unique patterns in vivid colors. We employ a dedicated print designer who oftentimes makes use of various techniques (both modern and old) to custom create our prints.

I absolutely loved the energy of Hong Kong but my most memorable highlights R U N N I N G A B U S I N E S S I S N ’ T E A S Y. A N Y were our trips to Bali. When I began ADVICE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE? designing, my fabrics were inspired by all things Indonesian. It’s such an amazing, I received a great piece of advice from an entrepreneur living in Hong Kong. amazing place. I wish I could make it He encouraged me to forego the back there more. traditional business plan. His advice HOW DID YOU LEARN ABOUT TEXTILE was: "Make a product. If you sell the PRINTS AND DESIGN? product, you have a business. If you do not sell the product, you do not have Living in Asia, I was visiting factories matchbook

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a business.” In essence, he pushed me away from overanalyzing and into just doing. Had I delved more deeply into the latter aspects of running a business, I may have been too intimidated. W H AT A R E S O M E T H I N G S Y O U 'R E C U R R E N T LY I N S P I R E D B Y ?

Inspiration comes from anywhere and everywhere – much of the time it’s travel. I’m constantly flipping through books, looking at photography, drawings, and paintings, watching old films, gazing at architecture, and traveling overseas, drawing inspiration from whatever is going on around me. W H AT I S A T Y P I C A L W O R K D AY L I K E FOR YOU?

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My husband and I drive in to our New York City offices from Greenwich, Connecticut, every day. I spend most of my time with the design team, looking through patterns, prints, and new silhouettes. We have weekly meetings with our technical team, perfecting the fit of each sample garment before sending them to the factories for production. I work regularly with the PR and marketing teams, meeting editors, scheduling interviews, and planning events. W H AT D O Y O U L O V E A B O U T H AV I N G T H E C O M PA N Y B A S E D I N S O H O ?

Tibi’s headquarters have been located in SoHo for thirteen years – I can’t imagine being anywhere else. It’s a creative,

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diverse, and energetic area offering every form of street art and a wide range of restaurants and shops. I use the area for much of the inspiration I mentioned. W H AT I S Y O U R M O S T T R E A S U R E D F I N D I N YOUR HOME?

A vintage Chinese birdcage I have in our bedroom that I bought when I was last in China. W H AT A R E S O M E O F Y O U R FAV O R I T E PL ACES IN CONNECTICUT?

Tarry Market and Tarry Lodge are favorites for fresh food. Stamford is the next town over and has excellent antique shopping in old lofts that have been converted to amazing furniture spaces with great finds. Greenwich Avenue is 194

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great for just strolling in a neighborhood environment that happens to have some fabulous shops. H AV E Y O U TA K E N A N Y F U N T R I P S R E C E N T LY ? A N Y O N T H E B O O K S ?

I’m just back from Stockholm, Sweden, with blogger, Elin Kling. We hosted an event at the amazing Nathalie Schuterman boutique. Stockholm is an incredible city. I’ll be traveling with my family to Sea Island, Georgia, in July and Watch Hill, Rhode Island, in August. L A S T LY, I F Y O U W E R E N ' T A FA S H I O N D E S I G N E R W H AT W O U L D Y O U B E ?

An artist.

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AMY'S

M AT C H B O O K Q U E S T I O N N A I R E TEA OR COFFEE?

Coffee, black I C O L L E C T...

Shoes...

FAV O R I T E C I T Y ?

Prague

S P R I N G O R FA L L ?

Fall, I love layering BLOOM OF CHOICE?

Light green Amaranthus

or Celosia

2014 collection

ST YLE ICON?

MOST PRIZED POSSES-

Lauren Hutton C H I N A PAT T E R N ? I recently printed my own sketches on three solid white plates. I love that they’re one of a kind. I’M LUSTING AFTER…

Stella McCartney Resort

SION?

My two boys

GIRL CRUSH?

Miroslava Duma BOY CRUSH?

Designer crush – Riccardo Tisci

My kids’ hockey games and tennis matches ON WEEKENDS…

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HOME in

Houston

Bailey and Peter McCarthy welcome us into their charming Texas abode

f you’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting Bailey Quin McCarthy you know she’s a girl you won’t soon forgot. The vivacious young interior designer, Peppermint Bliss

blogger, and Biscuit Home founder is refreshingly real and terrifically funny. Formerly a Chicago resident, Bailey has since relocated to Houston, Texas where she, husband Pete, and their darling baby, Gracie, have created a spectacular new home. We caught up with Bailey to get the latest on her hubby’s exiting new start-up, the decor tips she lives by, and of course, all things Biscuit. Katie Armour PHOTOGR AP H Y B Y Emily Anderson TE XT B Y

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YOUR PLACE IS DECORATED TO THE NINES! HOW LONG HAVE YOU LIVED IN HOUSTON?

That is sweet of you to say. We moved in five days before I opened Biscuit in October! I am from Houston, but we just moved back here from adventures in Chicago and Austin. We bought the house in May and moved at the end of October. WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR YOUR NEW HOME?

The style of the house itself was the main inspiration. I am normally drawn to brighter, crazier colors but the house is a cozy, proper fellow and we wanted to dress him appropriately. We have moved three times in the past three years, and have collected items we really love along the way, and luckily I didn’t really have to buy many pieces for this house. It has been such a great exercise to reuse the same pieces in such vastly different ways. And even though this is the house I probably spent the least time decorating – it is definitely our favorite and the most “us." 208

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DID HAVING BABY GRACIE INFLUENCE YOUR DECORATING DECISIONS?

It did and it didn’t. I have never believed in having items that are too precious to be enjoyed, so we didn’t have to babyproof or anything. I have gotten

much more sentimental and this house is full of pieces passed down from our families. The piano in the living room is one hundred years old and belonged to Pete’s greataunt, who he is named for. His parents gave it to us

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for Christmas this year and it means so much to me that Gracie will have that piano to learn on. A lot of the art is my mom's and they are pieces I grew up with. It is important to me that Gracie grows up with special, meaningful, beautiful things that she can form her own memories around and that we can hopefully pass down to her one day. DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE ROOM IN THE HOUSE?

I am still in the honeymoon phase where I pretty much love every room. I think I am proudest of the living room. All of the main pieces – sofa, wingbacks, side tables, consoles, lamps, and coffee table – were in our first home together in Chicago. I love that we reused everything, and yet it looks and feels totally different. The antelope rug, the gallery wall, that fabulous orange gloss on the plaster walls – it gives everything a completely different feel than its previous iterations. THIS HOUSE HAS A GREAT MASCULINE AND FEMININE BALANCE. HOW DOES PETE FEEL ABOUT PINK WALLS?

I am proud of how masculine a lot of the house is (or at least man-friendly)! I am always surprised by how many emails and comments I get from people asking me how I get Pete to “let” me paint things pink. I do what I

want! But seriously, Pete is super supportive and loves my taste and doesn’t really care what color anything is as long as it looks good. However, it was fun this time to show some other tricks I have in my bag. matchbook

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WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR ALL-TIME BEST DECORATING FIND?

Lamb-ar Odom, our Lalanne lamb. I had been obsessed with them forever and would dreamily type “lamb” into 1stdibs hoping someday one might be up for adoption, and like magic one day there he was. He makes us all very happy. WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT LIVING IN TEXAS?

The weather and the sunlight. And being around my friends and family. LET’S TALK ABOUT THE AMAZING BISCUIT HOME! WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO LAUNCH THE BUSINESS?

I had been decorating for clients for a few years but took a break when I had Gracie. When I started back with clients I had several bedrooms in a row all around the same budget, and had such trouble finding affordable, quality bedding with any sort of flare. There was this huge gap between the highend of the market with its fabulous colors, details and prints, and what the mid-level had to offer which was…not great. matchbook

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SO TRUE! WHERE DID YOU GO FROM THERE?

My good friend Isabel is a textile designer, and we had always talked about doing something together. When I told her my idea she totally got it, but I was nervous about starting a business with a new baby. It took our other friend, Christina, to convince me to go for it. We met in July to work out the logistics of forming the company and immediately got to work designing the prints. We had all of season one designed in August, and were at the factory printing in September. Along the way we renovated our brick and mortar space in Houston, developed our website, and started buying for the retail side of the business. IT HAPPENED SO FAST! WERE THERE ANY ROAD BLOCKS ALONG THE WAY?

There have been so many challenges along the way â&#x20AC;&#x201C; issues and delays in production, stress and exhaustion â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but I think we are all feeling pretty pleased with what we have managed to create! Our 214

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B A I L E Y ’ S D E C O R AT I N G T I P S EXPLORE 1STDIBS

I love searching 1stdibs for that special impactful piece in a room. I search often and am always surprised what will turn up in an otherwise straightforward query. MAKE AN INVESTMENT

Invest in pieces you love. Even cheap couches cost a lot of money. The amount you will spend upgrading a few lackluster sofas is always better spent on quality from the beginning. And if you can’t buy high quality new, get a great vintage piece. C O N S I D E R V E LV E T

Don’t be afraid of velvet upholstery. Velvet is far from precious, it holds up to spills surprisingly well and only looks better as it ages. L O V E L AY E R S

It’s all about the mix. Don’t try to force a room together at once. Decorate in layers. KEEP IT COZY

Every cozy room needs a throw blanket.

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second season of prints will come out late spring or early summer, as well as eight more accent colors for our white bedding. WHAT PLANS DO YOU HAVE FOR THE BRAND AS IT GROWS?

We dream big. We are developing other bedding items like bedskirts, coverlets, and throws as well as looking to do our prints in towels and shower curtains. We have some exciting partnerships in the works – I can’t wait for people to see our second season of prints! We’re also expanding the retail offerings in the store and will be upgrading the website as well. We would love to bring the Biscuit experience to other cities, and I don’t really see any limits as to what items we can design and offer. Right now we are focused on making the bedding the best it can be. We want to be the Beyonce of affordable bedding. Your equally entrepreneurial husband, Pete, is gearing up for the launch of his new endeavor, decorBase. What can we expect from the site? When we were designing our house, he noticed

that a major problem with interior design is you know what you want, but not where to find it. DecorBase addresses that problem by aggregating major home goods stores from across the nation in one place, online. Coupled with the fact that you can create design boards and hire interior designers, he’s hoping that it changes the way you approach designing your own home. WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE HIS SITE! WHERE DO YOU SEE YOU, PETE, AND GRACIE IN FIVE YEARS?

Hopefully still here in this house – our gypsy days are behind us – with many more babies.

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B A I L E Y ’ S FAV O R I T E HOUSTON HAUNTS UCHI

Yummy contemporary Japanese ARMANDOS

Scrumptious Mexican bistro TOOTSIES

Great fashion boutique BOXWOOD INTERIORS

Fun home store BISCUIT HOME

Come and visit us at our boutique! matchbook

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BAILEY’S M AT C H B O O K Q U E S T I O N N A I R E TEA OR COFFEE?

Neither, but I have been thinking lately that a caffeine habit might be a really civilized way to start my day. I C O L L E C T...

Monkeys.

FAV O R I T E C I T Y ?

Chicago or Austin. And all of the places I have yet to visit. S P R I N G O R FA L L ?

Fall, there is no time of year more optimistic, romantic, and energizing! BLOOM OF CHOICE?

Ranunculus. ST YLE ICON?

Zoey Deschanel C H I N A PAT T E R N ?

Simply Anna by Anna Wetherley I ’ M L U S T I N G A F T E R ...

My husband.

MOST PRIZED POSSESSION?

A pewter, oyster shell candy dish that my Grandmother gave me. That is what she chose to spend her very first paycheck on, and I just love that. GIRL CRUSH?

Britney. It is not so much a crush as a deep abiding love. BOY CRUSH?

Seth Meyers.

O N W E E K E N D S ...

I am occasionally overserved.

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JA C K O F A LL TR A D ES TE XT BY P H O T O G RAPH Y BY

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Katie Armour

Carol Dronsfield

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ECORATING MAVEN NATE BERKUS IS TRULY A JACK OF ALL TRADES. WHEN HE’S NOT DECORATING HOUSES, YOU CAN FIND HIM DESIGNING PRODUCT, PRODUCING MOVIES (HE WAS AN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER FOR THE HELP.), TRAVELING THE WORLD, AND WRITING BOOKS. THIS FEBRUARY THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF HIS TARGET LINE HITS STORES AND A TEXTILE COLLECTION FOR CALICO CORNERS MAKES ITS DEBUT. THE MATCHBOOK TEAM PAID NATE A VISIT AT HIS WEST VILLAGE DUPLEX TO GET THE DISH. SO YOU’VE OFFICIALLY MADE THE MOVE FROM CHICAGO TO NEW YORK. WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION FOR YOUR NEW SPACE?

The architecture here is what drew me to this place. I like things that have patina, I like things that are imperfect, I like 232

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salvaged wood floors with the knots visible, I like painted wood that shows the brushstrokes...I like traditional rooms. I tried living in a space that was very modern and it was beautiful, but it never felt like home. This space felt like it had been here for

many, many years – it’s a nineteenth century building, there are stories here. Something about that feels right to me. SO THE ARCHITECTURE INSPIRED YOUR DESIGN?

Sort of. I think you always

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have to play with the architecture because architecture is about proportion. I think the most important thing is that you fill your home with things that you love. I have a connection to every single lamp, bowl, vase, sofa, chair, and table in this entire apartment. I can tell you where it’s from and who I was with when I bought it, and that, to me, is as important as what it looks like. WOULD YOU SAY THAT HAVING THAT SENTIMENTALITY IS WHAT MAKES A HOUSE A HOME?

Yeah, definitely. I think the mistake that a lot of people make is that they want an interior to be instant. Whether you hire a designer to do that on your behalf or you set out to do it on your own over the weekend, the truth is that a good home feels layered and assembled over time – there’s no shortcut around it. WHO IN YOUR LIFE HAS INFLUENCED OR INSPIRED YOUR LOVE OF DESIGN?

Wow, so many people. My mother is a decorator and I grew up in the kind of home where we rearranged matchbook

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furniture and took apart bookshelves and put everything back just for fun. I remember being six years old and my mother asking me to come see the mantle in the family room and asking me if I thought there was too much tortoiseshell glass on it. I’ve been around it for my whole life. WHAT

SORT

THINGS

INSPIRE YOU?

Many, many things. I love architecture, I love travel, I love going to markets, I love being in cathedrals, I love seeing the way people live in different countries... It’s really always the people that I meet that I find most inspiring because I’ve always thought our homes should tell the story of who we are and who we aspire to be. So when you meet somebody and you see their personality shine through, those are all the cues you need to do a good job in design. AND THAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR YOUR LATEST BOOK, THE THINGS THAT MATTER?

Exactly. Absolutely. HOW DID YOU DECIDE WHO TO FEATURE IN THE BOOK?

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5 T H I N G S T O T R Y W I T H FA B R I C

W H E N Y O U WA N T T O G E T I N S P I R E D A B O U T D E C O R AT I N G YO U R H O M E V I S I T A FA B R I C S T O R E ! T H I S I S O N E O F T H E F I R S T T H I N G S I D O WH E N WO R K I N G O N M Y TA RG E T L I N E . T H E C O LO R S , TEXTURES, AND PRINTS ARE AN E N D L E S S S O U RC E O F I N S P I R AT I O N A N D YO U C A N G E T A LOT O F G R E AT I D E A S . F I V E O F M Y FAV O R I T E S A R E : • D O A WA L L I N FA B R I C ( A S A N A L T E R N A T I V E T O PA I N T I N G O R WA L L PA P E R ) • C R E A T E Y O U R O W N H E A D B O A R D • R E VA M P A N O L D L A M P B Y RECOVERIN G THE SHADE • U P H O L S T E R E D WA L L PA N E L S • R E C O V E R A B E N C H , S T O O L OR OTTOMAN

I sat at this very table with tons and tons of photographs and submissions. Recommendations from friends, from clients, from staff, from producers of my show, and I had to narrow down basically a lot of really beautiful spaces – there may be a second book coming because there was so much great material I didn’t use.

stories of the people who live in them. I took all the labels off of what I thought was “good design.” I wanted to get a collection of beautiful spaces together, but more importantly than that, I wanted to make sure these people had the capacity to talk about why they chose the things they live with every day.

I’LL KEEP MY FINGERS CROSSED! SO

GET PIECES HITTING STORES THIS

WHAT WERE YOU LOOKING FOR?

MONTH. WHAT CAN WE EXPECT?

LET’S TALK ABOUT THE NEW TAR-

The truth is I had one re- There are going to be new quirement and that is that products added all the the spaces really told the time. The line is never going to be one note or style.

I’ve never been the guy that designs to one look, even when I’m very inspired by one period of time or one country or one color scheme...It’s important to me that this collection has things that people connect with. I don’t expect them to buy everything. It goes against everything I believe in. My hope is that they’ll connect to a couple pieces and bring them home and use them with something they already have. It brings some freshness to a home. WAS THERE A SINGLE INSPIRATION FOR THE NEW COLLECTION?

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There’s a pretty large focus on metallics and metallic details. I guess you could say it’s a little bit 1970s inspired, but it’s pretty organic feeling and has a lot of mixed materials. It’s very heavy on decorative accessories – all inspired by vintage finds that I’ve lived with for many years and have never been able to find again. I LOVE YOUR NEW CALICO CORNERS COLLECTION. HAD YOU EVER DESIGNED TEXTILES BEFORE?

Not really, though I’ve always loved and been really drawn to textiles. I have an incredible collection of vintage textiles – things that I’ve turned into pillows and place mats and table clothes and runners. I think it’s something that I’ve always gravitated toward because it ’s easy to bring home on your travels. When I started designing the collection of textiles I wanted to focus on three things: one, fabric and color combinations that people hadn’t seen before; two, really fantastic quality that anyone could afford; and three, I wanted there to be a breadth of textiles in the collection –

a big range. I’m really involved in social media and it’s been great for me to see how people used the Target line in their homes. I can’t wait to see how they use the fabrics. HOW DO YOU ENVISION USING THE FABRICS IN YOUR OWN SPACE?

My sofa is already recovered in my new linen. I love natural linen – there has not been a design project I’ve done in the last twenty years that did not have a solid natural linen in it. I think it’s a great foundation and is really timeless. I’m sure I’ll end up using the fabric for different things. I have a house in LA where I’m thinking of actually tenting one of the rooms with the black and white fabric. I’m really excited about it. SO WHAT’S COMING UP NEXT FOR YOU?

I’m going to be the executive producer of a second feature film, which I’m really excited about. I was one of the executive producers of The Help and it was a really wonderful experience for me. The new movie is based on a book called Little Princes by the author Conor Gren-

nan and it’s about this Nepalese home for boys in Kathmandu.I read the book first and loved the story. I’LL HAVE TO PICK UP A COPY! YOU JUGGLE SO MUCH – HOW DO YOU PRIORITIZE?

I like being involved in many things at the same time. My life is a bit accelerated. My friends and family are always like, “What are you doing now?” But for me that’s one of the great joys of life – of being alive. I almost lost my life many years ago [during the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka] and I made a conscious decision that I would involve myself in as many things as I feel I can handle.

A D D N AT E T O YOUR BOOKSHELF!

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TEXAS TAKES MANHATTAN Text by Katie Armour â&#x20AC;˘ Photography by Rima Brindamour

Slivesouthern belle CeCe Thompson to decorate.

A designer at the legendar y firm Bunny Williams Inc., the young Texan is passionate about ever ything f rom fabric to flatware. After majoring in art histor y at New York University, CeCe chased her decorating dream with courses in interiordesign and historic preser vation at the Pratt Institute. Today she and her husband Will share a cozy one bedroom in the heart of Manhattan. We dropped by the sophisticated space to see the future design icon in action.

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What did the apartment look like when you moved in? The apartment definitely had a little work done before I officially moved inafter we got married last March. When I first met Will, he had all of his furniture pushed up against the walls. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a dorm-room mentality I think. You know, make the most floor space so you can wrestle or whatever it is boys do at boarding school.Â Luckily (and thanks to my wonderful motherin-law) Will had good furniture, and the space just needed a little fluffing. Before I moved in, the apartment was a study in hunting prints, taxidermy, leather, and oriental rugs. Some of the

pieces stayed (note the mount in the entry) but the rest is in storage with Willâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents, waiting to be placed in the man cave of his dreams. What was your goal for transforming the space? The thing I kept telling myself while planning the transformation was to make sure the apartment was a reflection of both of us. In a way, Will became my client. I would come up with ideas, run them by him, and go from there. The result is something we both love and feel comfortable in. How was decorating your newlywed matchbook

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home different from your previous single-girl apartments?

pieces, even if that means only buying one great object every couple of years.

The process involved a second opinion, so that definitely changed things!

How would you describe your decorating style?

Decorating for us as a couple has made me focus on investing in quality instead of following trends. My old apartment felt like a design lab of sorts. I was constantly rearranging furniture, repainting rooms, mixing in new patterns, and swapping one flea market find for the next. Now that we're married, I'm much more focused on forever

Who in your life has influenced your decorating philosophy?

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Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ever evolving! I would say it's traditional with modern touches and a mixture of styles and periods. Too much of anything gets boring.Â

Bunny [Williams] has had a huge impact on my style. She approaches every project with fresh sensibility and stays focused on the specific needs of the client. The focus of any project, no

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matter what the style, should be to make “living well” easy. This requires more planning than some might realize. In addition to the practicality Bunny has imparted on me, her fearless combinations of periods, styles, colors, and patterns are a major influence. It's important to keep things interesting! Having something unexpected in a room gives it character. My mom has also had a huge influence on me, especially in terms of entertaining. She is the most gracious and outgoing person I know. She 252

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welcomes people into her house as if she has known them for years. Growing up, our house had an open door policy. She would say, “If the car is in the driveway, come on over!” This spontaneity makes life much more fun. Any fun decorating advice for us? Elsie de Wolfe said to always have a red chair in a room in which you can place a shy guest. Once seated, the bright chair will attract everyone else and that shy guest will blossom into a charming companion. Isn't that clever?!

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Where do you look for inspiration? Whether it’s visiting a garden, gallery, or antique shop, firsthand experience always inspires me to try something different. My favorite places for inspiration in New York are the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, the Met, and the Frick. I also love the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris and the Villa Borghese in Rome. The total vision of great collectors is so thought-provoking and inspiring. What are some of your most treasured pieces in the apartment? Basically anything that reminds me of 254

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a special time or place – the photograph of my mother and me in front of my grandmother's portrait that sits on my vanity, the silver elephant on our coffee table purchased in Cambodia during our honeymoon, and our little Borein watercolor that reminds me of South Texas. Do you have a favorite room or area in the space? My bedroom! I love the canopy over our bed. It was in my old apartment and made the move with me. The fabric is Moondance by Lulu DK. The print is exotic and feminine but feels tailored at the same time – my favorite combination!

Do you entertain often? We try to entertain as often as possible. Dinner is much more fun at home where conversations can linger into the night over good wine and food. Can you share any hostessing tips or tricks? Above all, entertaining should be stress free! A relaxed hostess is a good hostess. To make entertaining easy, keep things in the kitchen that can be served without a fuss so you can entertain on a whim â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Parmesan that can be served in chunks for appetizers, some homemade frozen meals that can quickly be cooked (I try to keep some sort of stew or casserole in the freezer.), and of course a full bar with both soft and hard drinks. If you have these things on hand, all you need from the store is matchbook

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greens, and voilà, you have dinner for six! To easily set the mood, just turn off the overhead lighting, put some tea candles down the table, and turn on your favorite playlist. How do you see your space evolving over time? Our apartment is such a reflection of our personalities that I can't imagine it changing dramatically. My hope is that over time we’ll upgrade a few pieces when we can and we’ll continue to collect things we love.

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BE WELL , DO GOOD WORK, AND KEEP IN TOUCH.

garrison keillor