I recently had the honor of having my original couture design featured in the Construction Zone at IWCE in New Orleans. The design competition theme, The Academy Awards, was sponsored by the Custom Home Furnishing Academy. The guidelines provided for special consideration to those designs utilizing minimal fabric usage. This was the driving force behind my design! I hope that you will follow along as I take you through the design process from inspiration, frustrations, and realization!

My Inspiration! The Academy Awards 2009 Jennifer Aniston

This is the actual freehand drawing that was submitted to the judges.

 The above photo showed the design elements that would be utilized along with a small mock up of the finished couture technique.

This is the actual pattern that was drafted to scale on pattern paper using Phi, also known as the Divine Proportion or Golden Ratio. Thank you Gillian Wendel.

This is the pattern transferred to a medium weight tulle with a Sharpie marker. This pattern was placed over the silk and traced with a light chalk to apply the pattern to the silk. This is a common quilters trick that I discovered with a quick internet search!

 

The rattail cord was laid along the chalk transfer and stuck in place with a million silk pins! Then there was the gluing!!! Yes, glue on silk. A toothpick would have been the perfect tool, but we opted for tack strip instead!

Next, the sheer overlay, cut on the bias, was attached with another million or so silk pins!

Then finally to the machine..... where I was faced with what was the biggest frustration of the design. Using a twin needle and metallic thread sounded like such a great idea. The thread keeps breaking and shredding!! Thanks to Ann Johnson, a CHF instructor, my design was saved! The secret was silicon spray on the spools of thread!

Surprise! The original design was modified to include a sheer panel with a silk band and rattail cord along the banded edge.

This is a closeup of the silk banded heading with 2 inch tucks to accommodate the drapery pins.

This is Jennifer on display at IWCE in New Orleans. She was accompanied by an incredible slipcover that was created by Jeanelle Dech of Adaptive Textiles. The fabrics and hardware were graciously donated by Trend Fabrics. The Sherwin Williams wall color is Raccoon Hollow, or as we call it here in the South, "Coon Holler"! Holla Judy P.!

There are so many to thank for the success of my design ... Terri Booser, the school director, thanks for putting up with my failure to choose the appropriate fabrics the first time. In all fairness though, have you ever tried to choose a sheer fabric from a website? All that I can say is DON'T!

A Huge thank you to Susan Woodcock, editor of  Drapery and Design Professional, who spent three long days working by my side dealing with my OCD behaviors!! Couture is hard tedious work.

A final Big Thanks to the instructors of the school and the supporting cast for the laughs, the Ah Ha Moments, and the lasting friendships that were fostered during this incredible weekend of fun! If you have ever considered entering this competition and hesitated due to lack of skills or self confidence please do yourself a favor and jump in head first. Who knows, it might be your design on display next year in Vegas Baby!!! See ya there!

Lesa 

     If you're a drapery designer or workroom and you're reading this I know you've done it! I awoke this morning wondering just where in the heck I was going to find 10" Tassel Trim. After having a nightmare about a huge upcoming theater project the sourcing panic set in ... at 4:00 am. The OCD kicked in and I remembered where I'd seen such an animal .... Vegas Baby!
    On a recent trip to Las Vegas for the annual http://www.wf-vision.com/expo.aspx , my conference bestie and I made the rounds to all of the hottest casinos in town. Debbie did the gambling and I took the Magical Drapery Tour! I found out late into the tour that it was against the rules to photograph anything inside the casinos, oops! The photos were taken with my iphone so the quality isn't the best but I just had to share some of the incredible drapery art that I found. Most were Portieres and all were embellished with the most incredible trims I'd ever seen! And yes, they were at least 10" and most certainly custom designed!
   The drapery  photos below are from five star hotels,http://www.venetian.com/ http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/ and my personal favorite http://www.bellagio.com/ 
where I spent many wonderful evenings dining with my in laws whom have since passed, but those special memories remain close to my heart.

As usual, thanks so much for stopping by to share my little adventures! Now I'm off to find that trim!

Wow, has it really been months since my last post?! A very busy Spring has turned quickly into a very busy Summer.

You will notice that the pics that I am posting start with a brown lawn in the dead of  Winter, late February, and end with a very green lawn and temps in the 90's by April. Yes... it really did take me 3 long months to complete this project! It's a good thing that it was a friends chair and she knew from the beginning that I had very few clues as to how to proceed!

This chair was my biggest little chair challenge so far. It was a vintage piece from the 40's and had many layers from decades past. My rendition was the fourth transformation in what I can assure you was a very colorful life! I named her Melissa!

Her new frock is a combination of Robert Allen fabrics http://www.robertallendesign.com/, patterns Moroso and Palecek  in Lemongrass. Melissa is a nod back to the sixties with an antiqued ivory frame. She has found her new home at Salon Keriz'ma http://www.almostimpatient.com/kerizma.asp and has been spotted in the artful photography of Almost Impatient Productions.

Many thanks to April for providing me with the opportunity to discover that upholstery is best left to the professionals. Well, except for the occasional cornice or headboard! 

As always, thanks for stopping by and allowing me to share a bit of my recreational fabric adventures!

Don't ya just love a good transformation. I have recently found the joy of transformation in the form of sad little chairs that are just begging for a new lease on life!

The featured chair belongs to a dear friend who was brave enough to sacrifice her little chair to a novice (hack) who had never attempted a serious re-upholstery project! Thank you April!

Using the information gleaned from the Kravet upholstery road show and many hours spent on youtube.com I managed to give this little gem a much needed face lift and booty lift too!

April cringed at my choice of coverings, but the orange seemed to be the perfect choice to perk up this charming piece of craftsmanship! The carved back is stunning, and the channeled upholstery on the back just adds to the details that make this chair so special.

My first transformation still needs a name! Any ideas out there? If you happen to live in Austin you can go by and visit her where she is proudly displayed at Salon Kerizma awaiting her next photo shoot!

http://www.almostimpatient.com/kerizma

 

                                       MY CHAIR AFFAIR

8 Way Hand Tied Springs

I am finally digging myself out from under the fabrics and trim for a while! Time to indulge in my favorite subject . . . CHAIRS!
           
Last week I was invited to attend a Kravet Furniture From the Ground Up  presentation at my local design center, Stockton Hicks Laffey,  I had the opportunity to see a Kravet chair upholstered on sight by a Master Upholsterer. What a treat for this chair obsessed girl!

No cardboard found here!

Kravet still produces quality furniture in the USA. Many innovations in the industry have made the process more efficient and environmentally conscience. The frames are being produced with a CNC process which saves time and waste in raw materials using laminated layers of hardwood that are actually stronger than  traditional wood frames. The cushion inserts are at a minimum 18% soy product, providing a biodegradable feature. All scrap materials are recycled to further increase their earth friendly efforts.

14 layers of laminated hardwoods

 Their upholstery facility is located in North Carolina where generations of artisans produce exceptional custom furniture pieces one frame at a time. Kravet quality is is evidenced in their lifetime guarantee on their frames and a Customer Advocate Dept to support the original client for life!

Steve Bolick Master Upholsterer

Our presenters Master Upholsterer, Steve Bolick, is a third generation master artisan, and his accomplice, Susan Lorenz, VP of Furniture Sales were both informative and entertaining. Not to mention they were giving away great door prizes which included the Kravet Pelham chair that Steve built on site!

TA DA . . . The Pelham

The chair build took less than 4 hours and the Kravet road show was on it's way to the next stop, Dallas!

I left the presentation with lots of tips from Steve ( I picked his brain after the show ) and a new appreciation for the art of building a beautiful chair! You guessed it I didn't win the chair, but I still left a winner with lots of new info and some new friends too!

The Round Top Antique Show is right around the corner and my accomplice Marta will be by my side in the search for my perfect little chair! Thanks to Steve, I will have a better idea of what to do with this chair when I finally find "The One"!

       After a week of fabric dilemmas, client consultations, and lots of decisions made on behalf of others, I am taking today for myself.  An indulgence I encourage for everyone! No matter how you honor yourself, taking the time to do so renews your spirit, mind, and body.

       I want to share the spoils of my semi annual pilgrimage to Round Top Antique Fair . I made the trip without my dear Sister Friend , European historian, and fellow designer Marta Inanchy, but made the most of  my adventure knowing that she was there with me in spirit! As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was searching for the perfect little chair to recover. Much to my disappointment I left without the chair but did find many other treasures that made the trip a huge success.

       While exploring the acres and acres of opportunities over the past few years I have found a few special friends that I always make time for. One of those friends is Margaret Meier, owner of Vintage Fabrics & Etc. in Oakland Park Fl.  She travels to Europe to shop the flea markets and estate sales for incredible quality vintage textiles, she also has "pickers" that are always on the hunt for treasures on her behalf. She has written a book, Vintage Textured Barkcloth, in which she gives the rich history of Barkcloth. She always has a wide selection of Barkcloth, French Tickings, Silk Brocades, European Bed Linens, and incredible hand woven French trims. I never leave without a little treasure that someday will find its' way to a Berryhill Drapery Design creation!

     Today provided me the opportunity to enjoy the incredible quality and history of these European gems, imagine what these special treasures will someday become, and share their beauty with my friends. These are few of my favorites, a pink French Silk Brocade with a hint of gold, a beautiful rich brown Cotton Velvet with an intricate embroidered pattern in gold metallics from Belgium and a beautiful blue Eastern European Brocade circa 1940s'. The rich colors and  lush textures are artisan qualities that make these textiles both a visual and tactile feast for the textile obsessed! ME!!

 
Thanks for stopping by, and as always, your questions and comments are welcomed!

Today in my little corner of the world I spent the day paying homage to my favorite season and all of the beauty that it brings. Oh yeah, it means football season is here too! I brought my fall door wreath down from the attic, cleaned my front entry top to bottom, and even gave my front door a fresh coat of paint. Oooh, which color to choose? I opted for Classic Black for added drama. I wasn't sure of this choice and my hubby had even bigger doubts but with the help of Sherwin-Williams color visualizer I had convincing proof that this would be the perfect choice! This nifty tool allows you to load a photo and apply color to your room ( or Door) with a simple click of the mouse. How easy is that! No more guessing.

If you are longing for the splendid colors of fall and that slight chill in the air as I am, you will find a real treat HERE! The science behind those incredible colors of fall foliage is quite surprising. Those incredible colors are there all year long but hidden away by the chlorophyll. As the daylight wanes the chlorophyll production slows and those beautiful reds, purples, and oranges begin to peek through. A gift of the season! 

Thanksgiving is right around the corner.... I'm giving a lot of thought to what and most important, who I am thankful for.

Thanks for stopping by!