I have some fabulous MOM embroidered pillows left over from a Mother’s Day Craft Sale I was in. Please use coupon code:THANKSMOM and enjoy 20% off while supplies last at my store: www.etsy.com/shop/studiotullia
It’s not too late for the next day or two, they can ship priority and still arrive before Mother’s Day!
Visit STUDIO TULLIA to purchase one today.
I used to work for Randolph & Hein, a posh showroom in San Francisco, about ten years ago. I really wanted to work there because they had Osborne & Little and Designer’s Guild fabric lines. Old time favorites. The quality, colors, style, and marketing of these iconic English companies was wonderful to sell and be around. Not to mention the trade shows in NY, London, etc where I got to meet Tricia Guild, Nina Campbell, Anthony Little. Such characters, great style, and so many gorgeous fabrics! I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time when fabrics were discontinued and fabric wings were being given away. One of these great silks ended up in my collection, that I ultimately used for a pillow in my store.
Just my luck, HGTV magazine chose to feature the pillow with the fabulous fabric that is not available anymore in their debut issue hitting newsstands on October 4th.
http://www.chron.com/life/article/HGTV-Magazine-debuts-Oct-4-2191560.php#photo-1629511
I have tried to track down this fabric, made several phonecalls, emails… to no avail.
Well, I have been revisiting Designer’s Guild’s latest offerings and per the usual, everything is fabulous.
I did happen to find some wonderful silk fabrics that might be appealing to a reader who likes the above pillow. What do you think?
I thought I would also share a few other fabulous shots from Designer’s Guild’s website:
Here is the link, if you want to see more:
http://www.designersguild.com/fabric-and-wallpaper-showroom/fabric/
Just a weekend at one of the chateaus where they have their photo shoots would make me a happy girl…
I had a moment to myself late last June as I had dropped off the kids at the zoo with their grandparents. I had to stop at the Portland Rose Garden, despite the intermittent rain.
In retrospect I think it is best to go on a rainy day, with the fresh drops on the roses. Everything smells so sweet and fresh. I wanted to share these before Summer fully escapes us. Today was a grayish day and I am still really wanting Summer here in Portland. Have a look.
Some nice elements to the garden are the outdoor ampitheatre, Lee Kelly’s stainless steel sculpture provided by the Portland Art Museum, and the wonderful bench in honor of Jesse Curry, the first President of the Portland Rose Society.
For more information about this wonderful Portland treasure:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Rose_Test_Garden
On a recent trip to San Francisco I stopped by The Ribbonerie, a wonderful old world boutique shop for every ribbon you could ever desire. Paris has not been in the cards for me lately, but if you want to feel like you are somewhere else, for just a few minutes, step inside. They used to be located in the Design district downtown but the neighborhood has gotten pretty seedy and with their lease up recently…they moved to stylish Sacramento Street.
My favorite area of the store is the bargain bins, full of wonderful rolls I use for a variety of projects at a clearance price. My daughter had to have a little bit of many variations of pink, and she had quite a selection when she left. They also have a vintage cabinet full of velvet flowers, ribbon, pins, etc. that could keep a milliner entertained for quite some time.
I apologize for the quality of these pictures with my iphone. Here are a few more:
A fun stop next time you are in SF. There is a florist shop in the back that shares the space. I would imagine flowers from this store would be quite magical.
I saw some unique trees this holiday season. I am realizing that I have the more predictable, traditional tree; the same ornaments every year, same lights. I even bought the cranberries to string along with popcorn. I take the easy way out, I guess.
Our neighbor had a garage sale a couple of months ago and my 3-year-old daughter wanted the small pink Christmas tree for sale. Well, we got it for her and when we were decorating our family tree, Charlotte was working on hers. She got it out, assembled it and the girl decorated that tree. Until every branch was laden, then wanted candy canes, and lights. It looked terrific.
My mother hasn’t had a tree for a few years and so I finally bought her a small fake one from Target with pearl lights. Stationed in a brass pot between linen curtains and fully decorated it adds a lot to her living room and looks festive from outside in her upstairs flat.
My friend Kitsie Countryman had us over and introduced me to a flocked Christmas tree. I found it to be odd up close, as every bit of green was completely covered with snow, but I have to say it was a breath of fresh air, retro, chic, and I loved it.She chose to decorate with pink ornaments, new and retro along with large gold angels ornaments. It really worked.
I went to my hairdresser Ivan Dollar’s holiday party at his studio in a historic building above Schoolhouse Electric. Huge windows, exposed brick, dark shiny wood floors, that he has decorated so understated and elegantly; yards and yards of natural cotton drapes on one side offset the traditional brick walls and he has chosen black leather Eames sofas and clean lined tables, simple tall mirrors. He did something so charming for his party. Ivan drove to Mt Hood National Forest and with his permit, cut down several different very natural looking evergreens. In their varying heights, many very tall, you felt you were walking through a forest as you entered the event. They were not decorated at all, left natural, only white Christmas lights adorned the room. He anchored the trees in large burlap bulk tea bags weighted with rocks. It was understated, bold, elegant and lovely. I wish I had a picture but it was too dark for a good shot with my iphone.
Lastly, I must mention a talented artist and visual display extraordinaire who I ran into dressing Anthropologie’s windows in the Pearl District a few weeks ago. Her indoor display of logs upright on a table inside sparked some decorating ideas at my children’s preschool Harvest Party, which became a Winter wonderland from gathered greenery several of us found at nearby parks.
Nicole Faivre, is this gal’s name and she along with some other talents at Anthropologie, have created one fabulous window display after the next. They take ingenuity and resourcefulness to astounding heights. Here is a shot of her posing next to a Christmas tree being created from torn green rags. She showed me her sketchbook and we talked briefly of her creative process. What a treat to meet her and watch her work. I was impressed with the level of crafty items in the store. It was so ETSY. I mean crocheted banding along the display shelves and appliqued felt pillows on the furniture. Craft is hot. Anyway, let’s hope next year I leave the same old in boxes in the basement and do something else.
Love it when our dear friend comes to visit. JoJo has become quite the Auntie for the twins and if one photo could sum up who she is, it would be this one of her feet with new slippers. Of course, I went with the bright yellow and orange ones. Fun. The kids love her. 
She’s been coming up to Portland from the Bay Area since we moved about 5 years ago and has even come up to take an intensive Portland Flower School course to become a certified florist.
We visited a few venues while she was here that were loaded with flowers: The IRIS FESTIVAL and CYRSTAL SPRINGS GARDEN.
I had always thought the IRIS to be a bit frivolous. I mean how many more purple irises does one need in this world? They seem to grow by the 10’s, 100’s even just in my neighborhood alone. Well, I have been educated. The Iris Festival exposed me to hundreds of irises and I now have an appreciation for this charismatic and prolific bud. Just the names alone: Polished Manners, Again and Again, Spiced Custard, Ever Cool, Let’s Elope…inspire want. These kind of events feel so quintessentially OREGON. The festival runs through the end of May.
To top it off, it was Mother’s Day weekend. You can pick up a unique iris specimen for $15-$25. The real fun is with the cut flowers that are $6 for a dozen. Jo was in her element and gathered up enough irises to make a beautiful arrangement for me, my mother in law and my mother, not to mention a corsage for my mother to wear to church.
This is my first blog and I am happy to announce I have just launched my online shop STUDIO TULLIA on ETSY. If you need a Mother’s Day Card or a hand-crafted party favor please visit: www.studiotullia.etsy.com There are only 6 items for sale as of today, but when you have three year old twins and are able to find some time to yourself, husband willing, nothing seems trivial. It is a start. I am hoping this blog will motivate me to be creative, to wake up my mind, which has been in baby land since my children were born in April of 2007. I hope to share my thoughts and inspiration with a budding audience in exchange for insight, resources and great ideas. I chose the image of the flowers for my first post because they are PINK and because it feels like SPRING. And, I dedicate my new beginning with STUDIO TULLIA to my daughter. I shot this image the other day with my iphone while we were on a walk. My daughter, like many other girls her age, really loves the color PINK. She has been my biggest fan so far as she has managed to discover many objects that I had made a few years ago while I was developing the concept of STUDIO TULLIA. She has found three pillows that I made in the garage which are all very little girl-like. I am not sure who I made them for, maybe my two young nieces, but for some reason I kept them. Now it seems as if I had made them specifically for her all along. Maybe I had. Maybe they were the pillows I wanted to give to my daughter, which I had wanted for so many years before having, and I just never admitted it to myself. It has been quite awhile now since she has found them and she still seems quite comforted by them. She has come across some of the cards I have made in my studio and has been quickly drawn into the details and sparkle from the vintage glass glitter. She knows they are special, has been given a few, and seems to really enjoy them. From as far back as I can remember she has had a keen eye for fashion, color, and details and I actually really respect her opinion. So, thanks to my dear daughter, in part, I am reigniting STUDIO TULLIA this Spring. And we all know that Spring in Portland is a magical thing.