Social Interiors + Circle Tweet Up

Before jumping into this post on the first official Boston tweet-up organized by Social Interiors and held at Circle Furniture in Boston, let’s just appreciate this beautiful peacock bedding and more importantly the never-go-to-bed-angry accent pillow. 

Julieann Covino, Social Interiors founder, with Sarah Cooney of Circle Furniture

There was a full house of designers, design bloggers and industry related design partners last week at the recently opened location of Circle Furniture on St. James Avenue in Boston. Lately I have been spending a lot of time at their Danvers location since they will be part of my decorated space for the North Shore Design Show at the Wenham Museum in May. This was the first time I have visited their Boston store and I really liked its urban vibe.

I met up with Ann Murdock and Linda Hentschel of Rennaissance Interiors in North Reading and headed in with them to the event. Linda, among other projects, is the interior designer of the Jules Verne Steampunk-outfitted room at Audio Concepts, also in Boston, which was just unveiled last night. You have to stop in to see it to believe it!

The point of these tweet-ups is to get to know other professionals in a related industry who can help with resources and recommendations and who can simply relate to being in the business of design. Kristine Kennedy from the online shopping mecca Wayfair (which used to be CSN stores) is seen here with Winchester-based interior designer Kristen Rivoli.

Rachel Reider, Kristen Rivoli, Greg Premru, Julieann Covino

We are very lucky to have these opportunities to get together socially when most of us work independently in our respective creative fields. Thank you, Julieann, for organizing this event!

Also seen at Circle ...

Erika Johnson of Radiant Republic, pictured here with her fiance, has been very busy: on  Joyous and Joss & Main.

I met designer Mally Skok for the first time at this event. Along with being an interior designer, she also has created a line of fabrics including this one that I just saw at the Architectural Digest Home Design Show in New York. It is called Ikat Crazy Pink/Orange and I just love it! So whimsical yet sophisticated.

Of course the furnishings at Circle deserve some special attention, too! I loved the pairing of the verdant green carpet with the more subdued sofa. The two occasional tables are a cool coffee table alternative.

And how about this extra long tufted leather sofa? Very Mad Men looking to me, even in forest green. The fluid rug pattern below is a pretty counterpoint to the lines of the sofa and the trio of ceramic baby doll heads certainly caught my eye (these would last all of 3 minutes in my home!)

Thank you, Richard and Harold Tubman of Circle Furniture, for hosting the first Social Interiors tweet-up in your Boston location. If you are a Boston-area (or from the North Shore like me : ) design professional, be sure to follow Social Interiors on twitter to be notified of the next event, which hopefully will not be too far off in the future!

Kristin Drohan Collection @TwelveChairs

John Canopy Bed from the Kristin Drohan Collection

available at Twelve Chairs in Boston

A couple of weeks ago I attended the launch of the Kristin Drohan furniture collection at Twelve Chairs design studio in Boston. The owners of Twelve Chairs, Miggy Mason and Roisin Giese, are interior designers and purveyors of sustainable furnishings. Their pretty shop, filled with organic wares, has a warm and inviting ambience. It is the perfect spot to host a party! They recently started to carry pieces from Kristin’s line, and the rooms were filled with guests who were invited to check them out “in real life.”

Each piece from the collection is made from reclaimed woods and is marked with its own “Provence.” The fabrics are extremely durable and the eco-friendly soy-based cushions have extreme bounce back (inner coils = no bootie prints on these seats!) The upholstered pieces are also quite beautiful in design, scale and proportion.

Click here to see Kristin describe the anatomy of her collection in her own words.

The Sydney Lounge Chair available at Twelve Chairs

With Kristin Drohan at Twelve Chairs launch

Kristin Drohan Collection in New England Finery Magazine, summer 2011

Kristin was featured in the summer issue of New England Finery Magazine. Shortly after, she moved with her family to Atlanta. It was so nice to meet up with her during her return visit to Boston. Read her design story here.


One of Kristin’s goals when I first interviewed her, was to expand the offering of her collections to a variety of showrooms and geographical markets. She recently had a very successful sale on One Kings Lane in addition to launching at Twelve Chairs. Lots of designers are finding out about her custom-build options ... I think she is well on her way!

Congratulations, Kristin, and thank you Twelve Chairs for hosting such a fun evening! Below are more pics from the party.

My friends and feature contributors to New England Finery:

 designers Rosanne Palazola and Katherine Hawkins

 

Rosanne lounging on The Reagan Sofa at Twelve Chairs.

Dunes and Duchess: Michael Partenio and Stacy Kunstel

with designer Linda Merrill of Surroundings

FYI: Stacy is the honorary chair at this year’s North Shore Design Show at the Wenham Museum. Order your tickets to the Gala event now! It’s always a fun time (I will be there : ) 

This Dunes and Duchess Chappy Table was stunning,

painted in a rich, charcoal blue-gray. 

The console table by the window is another

pretty piece from Dunes and Duchess.

Photographers Greg Premru and Michael Partenio

Window treatment expert Sarah Devaney-O’Neil, designer Barbara Elza Hirsch  
and Elizabeth Wilcox who works with Sarah at Storibook Designs 

Wendy from BDCs Ralph Lauren Home with Erika Johnson from Radiant Republic

and another designer seen in New England Finery Kristen Rivoli

Katie Stinchfield From House Rules (and Rue La La)

with Kate Van Geldern from DomestiKatedLife

Yours truly catching up with Kate.

With designer Julieann Covino, photographer Sarah Winchester

and her adorable new baby girl - the youngest guest on the list!

5 under 40 Snapshots

Clockwise from the top:
Debra Folz, Nima Yadollahpour,
Kelly Smith, Jinhee Park, Rachel Reider
photo credit: Michael Fein

Thursday, September 15th at The Galleria in Boston

Hosted by New England Home Magazine at the Galleria in Boston, the 5 under 40 event showcased carpets custom-designed by 5 of New England’s talented design stars (of the under 40 crowd ; ) Woven by Landry & Arcari, these unique textiles were a brilliant backdrop to a lively evening of industry socializing. Each carpet was auctioned off to the highest bidder with all proceeds donated to Barakat, Inc., a charity based in Cambridge, MA that promotes educational opportunities for women and children in central and south Asia. I took a few photos of the carpets, and a lot more pictures of the crowd ...

Carpet designed by Rachel Reider of Rachel Reider Interiors

Carpet by designer Debra Folz

Designed by Kelly Harris Smith of FilzFelt

With designer Rosanne Palazola of Focus on Design

With new friends of mine, Robin Davis and
Sharon Hunt of Designer Bath in Beverly

Rosanne with event sponsor Leslie Fine of Leslie Fine Interiors and
latest New England Finery cover photographer Michael J. Lee, who
with his dapper white-trimmed jacket ended up in a lot of candids!

Michael with Linda Merrill of Surroundings
and The Skirted Roundtable

Michael with New England Icons photographer Greg Premru

Michael with John Kelsey of Wilson Kelsey Design

In the middle: Joanne DiFrancesco of JD Communications
Left: Adam Graber, Vice President of Sales at GerrityStone

Chris Kelly, Fifth House PR with Sarah DiFrancesco, State Street

Julieann Covino of Jace Interiors on the left

with interior designer Katie Rosenfeld, and on
the right with Sage from Mally Skok Design



Thank you New England Home Magazine
for hosting another fun design event!

End note: Photographer Michael J. Lee will be getting on his bike to ride 100 miles next weekend to benefit the Big Brothers, Big Sisters foundation. Click here to read more about Michael’s ride and to support him in reaching his fund raising goal.
Good luck, Michael!

Lunch with Holly Becker of Decor8

In late August, I was invited to attend a book signing at Anthropologie in Boston featuring Holly Becker of the well-known design blog Decor8, where for the past 5+ years she has featured “fresh finds for hip spaces.”

Holly, along with lifestyle writer Joanna Copestick, has taken the design philosophy of her highly followed blog and has turned it into a really fabulous book filled with “1,000 professional design ideas for every room in your home.”

photo Debi Treloar; designer Sania Pell
Decorate is available at local Anthropologie
stores or through Amazon.com.

Peppered throughout with inspiring quotes from talented designers, and image-rich with a wide range of decorative styles, Holly has created an extensive guide that encourages readers to uncover their own personal design aesthetic while providing tips and techniques to decorate with confidence.

Meeting Holly in person was such a treat! Even with her cross-continental fame (she lived in the Boston area for 20 years but now lives in Germany with her husband) she is very approachable and truly values connecting with others. There were lots of people in line who had taken her e-course on how to establish a meaningful and creative blog (Blogging Your Way) and many others who have followed her creative journey throughout the years. She was warm and gracious to all, even after signing books for over 2 hours!




Before sitting down to sign books, Holly shared decorating tips with a group of attendees who had signed up for her mood board presentation. I wasn’t able to make it to this part of the event, but a lot of other bloggers in attendance wrote about it (see list below).




After finishing up at Anthropologie, about 20 of us headed to the Back Bay Social Club which was just a short walk down Boylston Street. We filled two long tables and Holly encouraged each of us to stand up and introduce ourselves to the group and share a little bit about why we blog and what else we do to fulfill our artistic impulses. The room was filled with a creative buzz and there was lots to talk about!

While I did not get a chance to speak with everyone personally, I was really impressed with the accomplishments and goals of these women who had gathered to meet Holly. I was happy to spend some time getting to know Rochelle Greayer, a landscape designer turned editor, who is on the verge of launching Leaf Magazine. Just like when I started New England Finery Magazine, she was full of contagious enthusiasm! Being a gardener myself, I am looking forward to reading their first issue (due out in October) which I am sure will be beautiful and informative.

Photo credit: Amisha Thakkar-Kashyap

I sat next to a handful of Boston bloggers who I have met at other design events (at the Boston Design Center and again in NYC on the set of the Nate Berkus show). I was also introduced to other area bloggers that I have been following online. Here I am chatting about blog writing and life in general with Laura of Journey Chic. Laura’s blog focuses on sharing easy and affordable design style tips. During lunch she told me she used to be roommates with Boston blogger Erin Gates of Elements of Style.


Here are some more photos from our end of the table:

Artist Sarah Ahearn with lifestyle blogger/writer Katy Elliott.
Photo credit: Amisha Thakkar-Kashyap

This was my first time meeting the two Kates who blog:
DomestiKated Life and Katy Elliott

It’s always fun spending time with Boston bloggers!

Julieann (CreateGirl)

Stephanie (Sabbe Interior Design)
Lindsay (EverythingLEB)
Katie (Domestikated)

Thank you, Julieann, for getting us all together. It is always a pleasure to connect with and support other creatives!

Photo credit: Monica Lee

Check out the blog posts below. Most of them share their personal thoughts on gathering to meet Holly Becker, along with providing insights on what it is like to travel a creative path. The first two posts are from Holly : ) Enjoy!


Decor8

HausMaus

CreateGirl

Sabbe Interior Design

Everything LEB

DomestiKated Life

Katy Elliott

Monica Lee Studios

WellerWishes

Studio G

Sarah Ahearn Bellemare

Journey Chic

Gorgeous and Fun Things

Pretty Neat Design

Lolalina

The Desha Show

The Patterned Peacock

Graceful Whimsy

Ellen Crimi-Trent

D.S. Brennan Photography