28 Mar Deborah Main Kicks Off #BlogTourNYC In Soho

Well, hello world!!  It’s great to be back home in Austin, Texas after a whirlwind of a #BlogTourNYC trip,  but I am confident that I can speak for all my fellow bloggers:

#BlogTourNYC was THE most enriching experience ever! We can’t believe it’s over!  We miss everyone!  AND, we wish we could relive it all again!!

Yes, it was that good!!!  And a little withdrawal from such a fabulous week is perfectly normal, right??  For me personally, it kind of seems surreal.

• Was I just in NYC on a Modenus blog tour?
• Did I make friends with 11 other creative design bloggers from the U.S and Canada??
• Did I meet and learn from the most talented designers in person AND talk to them??
• Did I see the incredible showrooms of our generous sponsors: BLANCO, Miele, Prizer Hoods, DXV, West Edge Design Fair, and Rutt Cabinetry??
• Did I attend the Architectural Digest Home Design show??
• Did I fly back home to Austin, Texas??

I’m still a little star struck and trying to wake up from what was the most magical and inspiring design event I’ve ever attended!  Truly it was!!!

It was so fabulous to meet each and everyone of my #BlogTourNYC teammates and the incredibly talented and adventurous leader of the pack, Veronika Miller – the shining star of all Modenus‘ blog tours (she’s headed to Milan next). Thank you Veronika and all our sponsors for a trip of a lifetime!

To kick off the first blog post, I thought I’d share some highlights and then dig deeper into details of the trip as I blog along.

But as I got into the photos today I realized there are over 1000+ photos! How on earth am I going to pick highlights from the most inspiring design trip of my life??

So, as I explored this new program Windows Live Writer to watermark my photos (thank you so much fellow blogger, Paolo Thomas! I love learning new things to improve my blog), I decided I’d jump right in. I really think I’m kind of a “chronological kind of gal”.  I know that sounds weird, but I’m known in my family for snapping away and  “documenting life” as it unfolds. (My father used to do it, so I guess he passed it onto me). After perusing my photos and reflecting on all I learned, I really want to share #BlogTourNYC with you just like I experienced it.  Cause frankly, after starting to edit all the photos, I did NOT get past the first night of our infamous tour!!!

Without further ado, I present just a snippet of the amazing Sanctuary hotel where we stayed, our first introductory evening capped with store visits in Soho to Michele Varian and Calypso Home, and just a slight teaser so you can meet floral designer, Tess Casey, (whom you’ll read more about next week).

As I share my photos and design finds from the fabulous #BlogTourNYC, please comment and let me know what inspires you.  Next time, you’ll get to see what we did on our first full day, Wednesday, March 19, 2014 with a little bit of Tess, Eataly, and two of our sponsors DXV and Miele , and one spectacular Executive Chef, Cedric Vongerichten. Till then, enjoy the sunshine!  XOPG

Here’s a great late afternoon shot of the award-winning, luxury boutique hotel, Sanctuary, Hotel NYC at 132 W. 47th Street, right between 5th Avenue and 6th & 7th.  Perfect location to see all of the city!

I arrived the afternoon of Tuesday, March 19th, to this gorgeous (inside and out) luxury hotel.  I thought I’d have time to see the city a bit, but by the time I grabbed some quick lunch across the street (delicious lobster bisque) and got settled in, it was time for the kick off evening of #BlogTourNYC.

 These four women and ALL the staff at Sanctuary Hotel NYC were simply the most caring, helpful, kind, professional and personal hotel staff I’ve ever met.  I kid you not!  From the hotel lobby to the individual rooms, I felt swept away into a luxurious “sanctuary”.

 This is the entry hallway you see the minute you step inside the hotel doors.  It’s like one world outside of the hotel, and Taj Mahal inside the hotel. Gorgeous reds, rich colors, a beautiful sleek modern design with fireplaces in every corner. (see the one in the wall on the left?)

When I first got to the hotel I needed to use the restroom. Well, I didn’t think a trip to the restroom was going to be anything special. But as I turned the corner, the hotel had this long hallway with all these gorgeous statues.  I couldn’t believe it! You all of a sudden felt like you were in an art museum.  Simply breathtaking!

Here’s just two of the doorman (I’m not sure what you actually call them these days?? I guess bellman is long gone right??) that were so gracious with impeccable manners and there to cater to your every need.  And I had a few. Like the evening I needed a cab to get to my son’s band gig in Brooklyn. Well, we had gorgeous weather the whole trip EXCEPT for an hour before I left to get the cab.  It started POURING!!!

In NYC, if you don’t know this, it’s time to learn: There are NO cabs in NYC when it starts raining. 

But the doorman walked me with an umbrella down to 7th street and he stood in the road trying desperately to hail me a cab in the pouring rain. (Of course he gave me the umbrella while I stood on the curb).  It took 30 minutes, but because of the kind doorman I was able to make my son’s gig on time. And what a treat that was!! So hats off to each and every doorman cause they rock!!!

 Then our group was picked up by black cars (everyone who doesn’t take the subway either walks, takes a cab, or gets a “car”) and chauffeured to our first evening destination.  And we didn’t know that this was added to our itinerary,  so it turned out that I was in for a real special treat. We went to Michele Varian’s shop and I was delighted to catch her, all gorgeous and glamorous in fur, as she just arrived to welcome our group.  I have long admired Michele for years for her gorgeous pillow designs, but I learned she has far more beautiful things in her line.  Her shop is a very eclectic and well -curated store with unusual gifts and her new wallpaper line is so strikingly original. I was in heaven!! I had NO idea we’d be going to her shop or meeting her….it was a total surprise to me. And what a pure delight she was! She has such a friendly personality and relaxed manner to her that seemed so very “Austin”. I adore her! (Move over Jonathan Adler, to make room for a Michele Varian store in Austin, Texas someday!). She talked and laughed with us telling us details about her store, life in NYC, and how her business grew.  (More on Michele and her wondrous store in future post).

Just one of the many eclectic collections Michele has in her store by U.S.A artisans. The background of this wall is her amazing wallpaper!

From left to right:  Queen of #BlogTourNYC, Veronika Miller, the head of Modenus who sponsored this trip, Michele Varian, Dallas interior designer and blogger, Jeffrey Johnson, and moi, Deborah Main.

 Next stop was Calypso Home, a new division of Calypso St. Barth clothing line. Not shown in photos yet is all the wining and dining going on. Each store had Prosecco and hor d’ oeuvres to keep us going until dinner.  Calypso was a bright space filled with off white furnishings and lots of texture. Details in future post.

Some of the diverse array of decorative pillows the store carries.

 The very first photo of our incredible group #BlogTourNYC!  Since we’re not all tidy in rows, I will let you follow the link that tells you about each of the bloggers here. They hail from Canada to LA to Texas and Vegas.

After a little Prosecco we were shuttled off to our next destination, led down these stairs with railings that had chains all over them (I swear I felt like we were going to a dungeon), and voila!. Our fearless leader, Veronika Miller, opened the doors to the coziest of restaurants on a cold wintry evening: Peasant.

There were #BlogTourNYC goodie bags awaiting us and we shuffled in to these gorgeously prepared tables. We dined on magnificent Italian olives and plates of proscuitto while sipping red wine and enjoying conversation, getting to know each other more.  I had the pleasure of sitting next to Veronika’s two teen daughters who were delightful. Above are two mischievous members of our entourage, on left, the exuberant Maureen Coates and on right, the lovely, Marcy Michaud.

 To our delight, Michele Varian joined us later in the evening, and photo bombing of course goes to the ever exuberant Typhanie Peterson. What fun we had our first night and such a relaxing Italian meal…the gnocchi was to die for!  From left to right: Veronika Miller, Faith Sheridan, Jeffrey Johnson, and Michele Varian.

After a great night’s sleep and so much to take in just from our first night, we awoke to a day’s stroll in the flower district.

We met Tess Casey, the floral designer for many, many films, and ones we’ve all heard of “Sex and the City” and “The Devil Wears Prada”. (I think I’ll just HAVE to go rent those two so I can look at all her gorgeous floral arrangements.)  More on Tess and the fabulous floral arranging class she gave us on our 1st full day.  I can’t even begin to describe how FANTASTIC it was meeting her and seeing all the flowers. But this is just supposed to be a teaser, so I shall say no more until next time. 🙂

 The charming Tess Casey teaching us all about flowers, where they come from, how designers select them, everything you can imagine…all while strolling through the shops in the floral district.

Gorgeous aren’t they?  Of course I can’t remember their name, but it’s not roses. (Guess it and you just might win something from our tour). This is just one photo of many, many photos of flowers to come. So stay tuned for our floral class next!

Note: Photography and opinions my own.