The big apple

So, just wanted to rave a bit more about how much I loved New York….
Design-wise, it has to still be the capital of the universe for sure. I had so much fun just wandering the streets and checking out shops that are not available outside the US including Distant Origin (stockist of Chair Couture), Kate Spade and Anthropologie (where I bought a dress by Corey Lynn Calter – so cute! – see the photo of me wearing it) as well as heaps of fabulous book stores like Barnes and Noble, Strand (tones of 2nd hand as well as end of runs, great bargains to be had, and I’ve just discovered they ship overseas..) and Potterton Books (in the foyer of the D&D Building – specializing in rare and hard to find design books).

I picked up a few great finds, a great book on Andre Arbus that I purchased through an Amazon vendor and had delivered to my friends apartment (they won’t ship outside the US). What an amazing designer he was. His pieces are so timeless and graceful in proportions. The book is written in French (I’ll have to get my husband to translate it for me!) but the photos are amazing, and have inspired me to change the décor of our apartment…You can click on this link to see some of the designs that are currently in reproduction, or see 1stDibs for a selection of originals.



Speaking of the D & D (Decoration and Design) Building in New York, I spent an afternoon there, which I thought would be plenty of time, but with 18 floors of showrooms (a decorators paradise) I barely got through half! I did manage to check out some of the fabric and furniture showrooms including Clarence House, Quadrille, F. Schumacher (I checked out the Kelly Wearstler and new Jamie Drake collections up close), Brunschwig & Fils, Ralph Lauren, Holland Sherry, Donghia, Nancy Corzine, Kravet, Patterson, Flynn & Martin/Rosecore (for Kelly Wearstler’s rug collection, which is much more beautiful in the flesh), as well as the furniture collections of Maxine Snider and Jan Showers at Tui Pranich & Assoc.

All in all it was a fantastic trip, and I’m now counting down the days til we can go back again….