November Happenings

Sister Parish fans in Atlanta will be happy to know that Mrs. Howard is hosting a book signing for the new release, Sister Parish Design: On Decorating, from noon to 5 p.m. on Thursday, November 5 at 425 Peachtree Hills Avenue. Authors Susan Bartlett Crater and Libby Cameron will be on hand to greet guests, sign books and chat about Parish’s work. Sounds like a great opportunity to pick up a holiday gift.

Later in the month on Thursday, November 19, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., the Birmingham Museum of Art's curator of decorative arts, Anne Forschler-Tarrasch, will discuss the Buten Wedgwood Collection. In celebration of Wedgwood’s 250th anniversary, Lord Wedgwood is scheduled to be there to present a gift to the Museum, and while supplies last, lecture attendees will receive Tricia Foley's latest book, At Home with Wedgwood: The Art of the Table, compliments of Wedgwood and signed by Lord Wedgwood. The Museum is located at 2000 Reverend Abraham Woods, Jr. Boulevard.



And just in time for the Thanksgiving table, Pacific & Rose is offering its popular blocked paisley print linens in new colorways including black-and-white or green-and-white. Tablecloths are also available. My mom has purchased some of these cotton textiles, so I can report that they are even lovelier in person and quite durable.

If you want to try your own hand at making holiday linens, Elizabeth continues to sell the wood blocks too.

Update: 10.27.09

This morning I purchased a copy of Sister Parish Design: On Decorating. As expected, Mita Corsini Bland's watercolor illustrations are seriously charming. Many of her room portraits capture contemporary designs from talents such as Tom Scheerer, so that is a nice surprise. The book's tone is conversational, and a gathering of decorating heavyweights (Miles Redd, Bunny Williams, Suzanne Rheinstein, Todd Romano, Jeffrey Bilhuber, John Rosselli, Mitchell Owens, Jane Churchill and Peter Dunham, just to name a few) share what Sister's legacy has meant to their work.

The topic of comfort seems to be a big theme; not simply furniture placement but the importance of a client feeling attractive and fascinating in his or her own home. In short, many say, let the client outshine the decor. Although there are interesting anecdotes peppered throughout the chapters, the book has distinct focuses ranging from how to display collections to working with textures, so I think design enthusiasts in search of a new "bible" or handbook will like the approach. Bonus: Underneath Mita's dust jacket the book is bound with Sister's "Burma" in blue.


Below are the latest colorways.


Oh, and yes, I'll be picking up at least one more copy for a Christmas gift!

In other book news, Taschen's spectacular Ornament, a tome I covet each time I'm at Sam Flax, is now available in a more budget-friendly $75 edition. Quite a savings from the original large-scale $200 version. The new volume also includes access to an online image library with over 4000 high-resolution scans of ornamental designs and patterns.

Remember this post about late-17th/early-18th-century artist Maria Sibylla Merian? Taschen has also released a lavish volume of her work.

Update: 10.29.09

Don't miss Grant's conversation with Lord Wedgewood!