So Sylvie

Global Rooms

April 8, 2007

I was sent an invitation today to join this wonderful site Normal Room. Here is an excerpt from the homepage:

"See how people live around the world! Explore the variety of lifestyles and cultural peculiarities!

Normal Room shows you interior design and home furniture from all around the globe. Search our image database and explore the differences and similarities in architecture and home decoration between people in different countries.

Join our community and upload your own photos for everyone to see!"

Here is the caption for the above photo:

"My kitchen/lounge with spring make-over done with small budget! I am a huge fan of Designers Guild fabrics, and this is the poor woman's version… I made the curtains myself."

It comes from Turku, Finland by way of user Peanutbutter! That's her dog Becky on the lower right of the photo.

Below is an entryway in The Netherlands:

I love the patterns of sunlight on the wall of this living room in Hungary:

And I can't resist posting this photo of lucky dog Rufus, in Belfast:

Here is the link to the Registration Page if you'd like to join. Have fun!
Peeks of the Shop

April 4, 2007

I thought I'd show some snippets of things in the shop and how they're displayed, just for fun, and so that you can virtually visit 🙂

I really love the embroidered wall art (from the 50s or 60s). I think it's a Scandinavian design. Any feedback you might have about this piece would be great.

I love using colorful fabric books for design. Here are some examples of how I used them in a Funky Versailles cabinet, click on thumbnails:

The Full Monty!! ….

If you're in the area, please come visit…
Blossoming at the Farmers Market

April 2, 2007

I set up a small display at the Los Gatos Farmers Market on Sunday to represent the kind of inventory I will have at my new shop. The weather was lovely as we handed out flyers to interested passers-by.

Marcel helped me pass out the flyers. We got a very positive response from the community.
Although you can see, as evidenced by this photo, I am NOT a morning person; either is Marcel for that matter. Witness his bed-hair! The only reason to get up at 6am is to go on a fishing trip!
Time to Blossom!

March 21, 2007

Bear with me…I've rented a shop space to sell my vintage furniture finds and have been swamped with innumerable tasks, some that I do in my sleep, trying to get it ready to open. Here is the new logo that Lara from Melbourne did for me:

She's so talented. What a dream to discover her. She also designed my new homepage. You can view her work at her blog, Kirin Notebook, and her Flickr site, birds & trees.

Here is a glimpse of the front of the shop. Little Marcel helped me to paint the sign:

And here are a smattering of items in the unfinished shop space:

I've coined the term Funky Versailles to describe the style of goods that I'll carry. It might be fun for you to see some of the little vintage pieces that I ordered from this wonderful company out of Chicago:

I ordered a box load of these (above). It's a spray mister from Holland, circa 1960, in the original box.

And I ordered a stack of these (above) sweet little 1920s Butter Chips made by the now-shuttered Shenango China Company of New Castle, Pennsylvania. How will I ever part with them?

Here are some things that they have, out of my price range, that I will only dream about:

Please, wish me loads of luck and buckets of good fortune. Merci.
Sunday’s Discovery! Design Bokja

February 25, 2007

I've seen the work of these designers, Maria Hibri and Hoda Baroudi, here and there, and been stimulated and inspired by their unique compositions in upholstery, but I never really explored their background until today. I saw some of their pieces on Eclectic Gipsyland's Flickr and I proceeded to meander down the internet garden path. I'll share with you what I found.

There is a Parisian shop, Zen Factory, who carries their original furniture designs. Here is an excerpt from their web site:
"Hoda Baroudi was born in Sidon in 1958 and Maria Hibri in Beirut in 1964. They grew in two of the oldest cities of the world…"
"…Hoda unearthed in their country of origin, in Central Asia and the Middle-East, all kinds of ancient fabrics, embroidered or printed – brocart of Damas, sarma of Alep, Beirut or Turkey, chatma Othoman or suzani of Ouzbékistan – each piece having its specific use, each region having its characteristic colors and motifs, fabrics of sometimes more than 100 years old. Maria has a passion for antiquities and traditional furniture to which she devotes many styles."

In more peaceful times Hoda and Maria were noted in an article on the Lebanese Lobby web site (2004):
"Maria Hibri and Hoda Baroudi's design firm Bokja keeps the bohemian set happy by upholstering old furniture in vintage textiles and selling it at invitation-only exhibitions."

They have since moved from Beirut.

What follows is an excerpt from an interview with a CNN reporter during the war in Lebanon last summer:
"ROBERTSON (voice-over): Hoda Baroudi, a designer, tells me she moved her family out of Beirut to the mountains for safety.
BAROUDI: I lived in Beirut throughout the whole war years, until '89 and I've had enough. I don't want to hear anything. I don't want to know anything and I want to be out of all this."

Scroll to the bottom of the page on the Zen Factory site for a link to view the catalog of this strong and dynamic pair of women. Their work is also distributed by Masina House of Dubai, United Arab of Emirates, who also have a showroom in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Global Warming Comes to Ballroom Dancing

February 17, 2007

It was hot here yesterday. 75 degrees in the middle of February, whew. We decided a couple of years ago to step back from a business of ours, French Paintbox, where we hosted groups of people from all over the world for painting holidays in the French countryside. It was a lot of jetting around by a lot of people and we just didn't feel good about the contribution to global pollution. We decided to live with a smaller "footprint". So now we recycle furniture locally and are on the verge of opening a little shop, fingers and toes crossed.

But here's what I really wanted to get to – last night on America's Ballroom Challenge a couple from Elizabeth New Jersey, Igor Litvinov and Yulia Ivleva, left a rather large "footprint" on the dance floor. They made the bold move of doing their show-dance number to Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit! It was explosive! They tore the roof off of Ballroom Dancing. We were laughing and screaming at the same time. Video HERE. And in the Show Dance category they danced to a James Brown medley. So much fun! Video HERE.

I always enjoy the performances by young kids that they feature between the competetive dancers. 13 year-olds Cole Mills and Anna Viagast from New Jersey (what do they put in the water there?) were great, dancing to the sophisticated selection of Summertime by Billy Stewart. Cole is an especially powerful dancer.

You might want to watch on February 21st when they have The International Latin Championship.

I want to close by sharing a link to a fun site called Found. There's also a magazine, but I like the site better. Here's an excerpt about the origin (pardon the language):

"One snowy winter night in Chicago a few years back, Davy went out to his car and found a note on his windshield — a note meant for someone else, a guy named Mario:

We loved this note — its amazing mixture of anger and hopefulness — and so we shared it with as many folks as we could. Each friend we showed the Mario and Amber note to seemed to have a few finds to show us in return; clearly we weren't alone in our fascination with FOUND stuff! As a way for everyone to join forces and share their finds with everyone else, we decided to start a magazine called FOUND, a showcase for all the strange, hilarious and heartbreaking things people've picked up."

Do you have any interesting found items? Does anybody know of a Flickr group dedicated to this? I could only find one and it was rather meager.

P.S. Here are two great films that might help initiate you into the world of Ballroom Dancing:

Strictly Ballroom and Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School (starring my favorite actor Robert Carlyle).
Charlie & Lola, and Coffee

February 11, 2007

I’ve discovered a new show on TV with Marcel that we’ve been enjoying ever so much! It’s Charlie and Lola . It’s an animated children’s show that’s done in mixed media collage. Wonderful little stories of a brother and sister, with fun interiors to boot.

The series is an adaptation of author and illustrator Lauren Child’s books, like I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato".

Another fun discovery that we’ve made is Ralph, from Ralph’s World. We got a great CD of his that includes a song that has become a fast favorite, The Coffee Song! Sing along with me now,

"M-O-M-M-Y NEEDS C-O-F-F-E-E,
D-A-D-D-Y NEEDS C-O-F-F-E-E
I love my kid…I love my kid…gosh, I love my kid
But I need what I need,
and I need a lot of what I need…C-O-F-F-E-E…"

In looking up the links I found out that we just missed seeing Ralph perform live at The Fillmore in San Francisco, a couple of days ago. Wah! Well, gotta get to bed so I can get up and have more COFFEE!!!
Beautiful Bloggers

February 1, 2007

I’ve been anxious to continue where I left off with introducing other bloggers. It’s funny because all three that I was intending to share with you all just happened to visit my blog on the same day, and commented on the other blogs that I listed 🙂

So here they are, in no particular order.

For Veronica, over at Petunia, I thought I’d insert her amazingly eclectic and dreamy profile…

"I am a mother, wife, yoga teacher, crafter, friend, dreamer, daughter, sister, meditator, magazine reader{addict}, music listener, Neruda fan and much more.
I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina but now I live in the USA"

She is so talented in so many ways. Her sense of home design is quite unique. Here is a delicate wall hanging that she made for her baby girl (now 1 year-old. Feliz Cumple Fiona!)…

And this is the kind of time she takes to plan and create…

I love her style and kind spirit (smiling).
Additionally, here is her Flickr link.

Enter Barb, over at Green Wellies. I’ve always loved that blog name, Green Wellies. It conjures up the great whimsical, free, and lighthearted personality that is Barb. Wouldn’t you just expect that if you walked up to a cozy wooden house that had teapots hanging from the trees in the garden.

If I approached a place like this I would be so ready to meet the character inside. Is it Mrs. Tittlemouse? Or Tasha Tudor? Oh do invite me in for a spot of tea!

I’ll bring the pastries Barb!! Also, while we’re in Barb’s neck o’ the woods (British Columbia to be precise), I should also mention that her daughters are bloggers…Gwen, and Em (who, like me, is fond of Johhny Cash and Dolly Parton), and her sister Jayne.

And one more for today, Pink Mohair. She’s doing a fascinating thing, whereby she is redesigning her home via a long-distance collaboration with the talent of Anna of Absolutely Beautiful Things. Pink is in an undisclosed location in the U.S., and Anna is in Brisbane, Australia!

They have created a blog, CasaPinka, to chronicle the process as they go. What a great idea!

This brings me to my last installation. Anna has tagged me to list six weird things about myself.

1. When I was a small tot my nickname was:
a) Dolly Round Bottom
b) Miss Molly Grub
c) Beanie
d) all of the above

2. I like to read dictionaries and other people’s lost grocery lists.

3. I don’t have a cell phone.

4. I like to watch Ballroom Dancing competitions.

5. I have given names to all of my dust bunnies.

6. I tell strangers my life story; but you already knew that 🙂

P.S. One of the above is fictitious. Can you guess which one?

Now I have the honor of tagging three more people, who must in turn list six weird things about themselves and tag three people.

I choose Aurora, Amanda, and Rosa. Have fun ladies!
BHG in My Home!

January 28, 2007

Well I survived the photo shoot last Wednesday with Better Homes and Gardens. What I mean is, I survived my nerves, self-doubt, neurosis, and lack of sleep from doing so much at the last minute. Example: I made a slipcover for a wingback chair the day before the shoot. It’s a good thing that I didn’t unearth my book How To Make Slipcovers until I was halfway through the project because, therein were the words, "The wingback chair is the most difficult of all slipcover patterns. Do not attempt this as a first time project."!! I’ll photograph the chair for a later post.

The crew who came to do the shoot felt more like guests, and the atmosphere felt more like a ~~pastry~~ party. Below are the lighting maestro Chris, and the perfectly delightful assistant to the editor, Mikhael.

The photographer, Edmund, has the rare attribute of sharing my taste in music, and using my CD collection, he doubled as the DJ for the entire day (they were here from 9:30am til 6:00pm). He’s close to my age and shares my background of experiences with various bands and musicians. We know a lot of the same people in the business. So that was fun, gabbing and reminiscing.

I wish I could have gotten better, clearer photos of the action, but I don’t like to use flash and I didn’t feel like getting out my tripod. So the images are a bit dodgy, but you get the idea.

Below left is a shot of the perfectly lovely editor, Paige; my new best friend! Below right is a shot of Chris showing off his octopus tattoo. You can see my famous slipcover in this shot.

They were all very kind and generous with Marcel. Chris let him push buttons on the lighting equipment and Edmund even let him push the shutter on the camera for some of the shots. Edmund is a geography buff, so he and Marcel had lots to talk about. And Chris, like Marcel loves Johnny Cash, so of course we had to play his music during the shoot, as well as Cheb Kaled, Tom Waits, The Band, Dolly Parton, Otis Redding, and Wilco, among others.

I had such a wonderful time, and really felt like I had bonded with these beautiful people. In fact, Paige and I are planning to go thrifting together! Thank you all so very kindly for your good wishes. Love, Sylvie
More Femme Blogs

January 19, 2007

I want to continue my posting of blogs I hope you’ll visit. Here are some excerpts from Apron Thrift Girl Selena’s blog. She has a great sense of humor…

"Apparently in this small farming community you can sew and get sauced at the same time. Even when I spotted this sign, I figured that the two stores might be side by side and sharing a sign name. Nope. When I walked in there was your whiskey and vodka on one side and your quilting fabric on the other. Quilting classes must be really popular at Wild Flowers."

…and is really a fun Mom…

"I think my passion with thrifting may have influenced the children a bit. Today I found them in our yard doing this:

My daughter is quite the business girl. At the front of the table she is selling thread that we purchased for .15 each at a thrift store. She has marked them up to $5.00, $8.00 and $11.00. But like a good yard sale seller, she accepted less. I paid .45 for three. (she emptied my wallet). She was also offering free mint from our garden as an incentive to shop. That’s my girl."

She’s also quite the thrifter.

I’ve been enjoying Maryam’s site, My Marrakesh. If you’re interested in Morroccan interior design check her out. If you’re not sure if you’re into it, you will be after visiting her site. Her is the summary of her site: "The bemused tales of an American family’s quest to design, build, and decorate a guest house in Morocco. Life, culture, style, shopping. And a couple of belly dancers thrown in there for good measure…"

Now let’s hear it for Jes (the collector formerly known as Jes the Pea; or formerly known as ~~Prince~~ Princess and the Pea!). First of all her birthday is the same day as my Marcel’s, February 7th, and she’s in Maine where all of my relatives are, and she has the dream Mom…an antique dealer!!

Her blog is full of great vintage things…

And her lovely online shop, Junque Revival , reveals the beautiful jewelry that she creates…

I hope that you’ll check these ladies out. I will be sharing more femme blogs after the big Better Homes and Gardens ( or as we say around the house, BHG!) photo shoot Wednesday. I still have to get one slipcover finished for that. I actually thrive on having tight deadlines. I don’t know why. Another great motivator is if out of town guests are coming; my house gets clean as a whistle, and then I get to enjoy it even after they’re gone. I should take a before and after shot…the Before would be what the living room looks like when ready for the magazine shoot, and the After I’ll take about one week later. You’ll see how we really live!

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