Kreative Blogger Award

Many thanks to Ms Francine Gardner of Art de Vivre for passing this award along to me, I am beyond flattered that she even reads my blog much less finds it worthy of an award...seriously.  I have been a fan of her NYC showroom, Interieurs, for many years.  Through her beautiful blog, Art de Vivre, I have had the opportunity to become better acquainted with the woman behind Interieurs.  She not only has an incredible eye but she is a woman who has a great appreciation for the gifts which nature has generously bestowed upon us.  A wife, a mother, an entrepreneur, a designer, a collector, an avid skier, a passionate gardener, a global citizen...a bon vivant without a pretentious bone in her body. In other words, Francine is my kind of woman, which makes this gesture by her all the more meaningful to me!  If you have not already done so, please visit her blog, you will be both entertained and inspired, and it should go without saying, definitely make a visit to her beautiful showroom, Interieurs.  Again, many thanks Francine, much appreciated and all the best!

So apparently as part of the acceptance of this award I now need to share 7 things about myself that perhaps you may not know...as I have stated previously, between this blog and Facebook, I can't imagine there is much more to tell but here I go:

1.  I have the dream of living on an island one day, preferably a sleepy fishing village like Treasure Beach, JA, in a charming little home with an organic garden. 

2.  Travel is a serious passion of mine, and quite frequently I select my destination based on a hotel I wish to stay.  That is exactly how I discovered Treasure Beach as I read about the world's best beach shack, Jakes,  in Vogue magazine and I booked a trip for the following week, I went alone as while I love traveling with friends and family I equally enjoy traveling alone..it's a different experience and one I quite enjoy.  While there, I loved it so incredibly much, I booked my second trip while still on my first!  That was pre recession;)

3.  Vicente Wolf's work was my inspiration for entering the world of interior design.  I remember seeing his house in Montauk and it just really connected with me. His color palette which truly spoke to the environment of the landscape around his home, his use of classic furnishings offset by clean lined pieces, the utilization of natural materials and reflective surfaces, his understated use of layering contrasting materials all accented with global finds....I just loved it and wanted more of it.  In fact I went home and painted my place out in all the non descriptive greeny/greigey/bluish colors he is so famous for, however I was living in a heavily shaded apartment and it just did not translate ( I now realize I needed more white and sparkle to bring it to life...but I was a newbie, give me a break)...the paint colors I used threw me into a fit a depression and I quickly made the appropriate adjustments!  However, I  learned the importance of acknowledging the light nature has or has not blessed you with;)  At the time I was a buyer for a shop which specialized in eclectic furnishings and artifacts from around the world and we introduced Vicente Wolf's collection for Carter Furnishings...I was a devoted VW junkie I tell ya.  Unfortunately, Carter's production capabilities were not up to par and the line just did not cut it in terms of quality control so we had to drop it....I would love to see him recreate that (price point) concept with a factory which has better production as I believe there are many more out there in this day and age which could pull it off.  If this happens...note to Mr Wolf, we would love to carry it at DOXA Home;)

4.  I LOVE tapas, it may speak to commitment issues, simply put I would rather have a little of a lot rather than a lot of just one thing.  I prefer to believe it is in response to my love of Spain but let's move on;)

5.  Kehinde Wiley is my most favorite modern day artist...I WILL have a piece of his in my home one day.  I actually featured him and his work in a post a few months back, but I had only been blogging for like 5 weeks which means probably two people actually read it, lol,  you can check it out here.

6.  The Holy Trinity of Fashion (in my book).  Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano and the recently departed Alexander McQueen...all British and all three celebrate the dichotomies of life and blur the line between proper, prudent 18th century fixings and all things deviant...their work is always cheeky, always provocative, always engaging and always beautifully executed.

For my recent post honoring the great Alexander McQueen, click here.  

7.  Soccer...Lol.  Need I say any more...back to my love of tapas;)




Now I am to pass on this lovely award to five blogs which I love and appreciate, as there are many this is the hardest part of accepting this award, trust me!

The Skirted Roundtable
Dumbwit Tellher
My Favorite and My Best
Chic Coles
Design Therapy

A very big thank you again to Francine!!

XOXO

Jaime