Welcome to Small Business Saturday. Hope everyone's having a fantastic holiday season!
I'm excited to share with you Deborah Main Designs' first "Pillow Goddess 2017 Holiday Luxury List". We want to make your holiday shopping easier this year by
Tis the season! The holidays are upon us and come Friday it will be shopping madness and then Small Business Saturday. So be sure to #ShopLocal please.
And then WOW, December is here and our
"The time is always right to do what is right. " - Martin Luther King, Jr
There are times in life when you just need to do the right thing. It won't always replace the wrong that someone else did. But it may help the people affected by that wrong.
And that's exactly what the Interior Design Community (IDC) did.
I won't go into all the negative details of this man's dishonest actions that left the Dorchester, Massachusetts non-profit organization, All Dorchester Sports & Leadership (ADSL), high and dry without any lighting
EuroChef USA's Verona Classic range in new Light Blue color.[/caption]
The Verona Classic series has a lot to offer pro-range lovers with trending colors, a sleek look and exclusive all-electric double and single ovens.
Are you thinking about remodeling your kitchen? Well then, it’s time to turn up the heat this fall with the Verona Classic. Made in Italy, and exclusively imported to the United States by EuroChefUSA, this popular series has a classic look and comes in an exclusive all electric option – in addition to gas and dual fuel. The series also comes in trending colors such as their new, calming, Light Blue and offers the only 36” double oven on the market today.
KOKET Showroom (G-6051 Salon at Market Square) at High Point Market, Oct 14 - 18, in High Point, North Carolina. Photography by KOKET.[/caption]
"Love Happens", as I've learned first hand through luxury brand KOKET with their dramatic lifestyle "Statement Pieces". And "Love Happened" in Chicago at BOLD Summit when KOKET's founder Janet Morais
Has there ever been a time in your life or your career where you had to really step outside of your comfort zone and take a bold leap of faith? Well, I've done a few baby leaps of faith in the past 13 years of being a solo entrepreneur with Deborah Main Designs, and with everyone's love and support it has helped me get my business to where it is today.
But, I must say, being bold enough to attend the BOLD Summit 2017 as a Showcase Designer is my boldest leap yet! And I'm so very excited about it I could burst!!!
I must confess that
Elements Art Exhibition at Davis Gallery, Austin, TX.[/caption]
Today is Labor Day, and my heart is with all of you affected by Hurricane Harvey, laboring so hard to get your life and home back and those laboring to help the families and businesses. There's this constant mixture of sadness, trauma, confusion, but also love, hope and beauty. Many Texas families are in shelters, some families are having barbecues today, and some are driving truck loads of donated supplies to help the victims. No matter what you're doing, or what nature has thrown our way, life must move forward, and Texas is a shining example of that strength. On this Labor Day, I wanted to offer you a slight reprieve from all the devastation.
ILVE Majestic Range Collection now offers Gloss Black as one of its standard colors.
When I think of Italy, the Mecca for my favorite food, art, architecture, you name it, I think of high-quality, handmade craftsmanship. I also can’t help but think of the colors I saw on my recent trip to Northern Italy. Standing out against the backdrop of rich Italian colors such as sienna, sky blue, yellow and Venetian red, I noticed the striking color, black.
From the architectural detail of a black filigree gate in Venice, to
EuroChef USA's Verona Classic range in new Light Blue color.[/caption]
The Verona Classic series has a lot to offer pro-range lovers with trending colors, a sleek look and exclusive all-electric double and single ovens.
DXV contemporary penthouse by interior designer Alison Habermehl of Habermehl Design Group for the DXV 2017 Design Panel.[/caption]
The possibilities are infinite! Designing for the future means many things to different people, cultures, generations, and diverse industries. From fashion to architecture, to manufacturing cars and homes, to what interior designers do every day - designing magnificent rooms with state of the art, high-quality products - our society is experiencing
My fave photo of New York City interior designer, Robin Baron, in her new Dallas showroom in front of her magnificent orange credenza with her bold hardware "Jewelry for the Home".[/caption]
Meeting The Baroness, New York City interior designer Robin Baron, and attending the Grand Opening of Dallas Market's NEW Interior Design + Home Center (IDHC), was the #1 reason I went up to Dallas Market's June Total Home & Gift Market one day earlier in June. I had already planned to attend as
Interior Designer Michelle Workman, debuting her new FACET Collection for French Heritage at Dallas Market, June 2017.[/caption]
Well, I lied. Sort of. I said last month I would take some time off and it would be my last blog post for the summer. But I HAD to share my exciting June trip to Dallas Market's Total Home & Gift Show seeing Michelle Workman's new FACET Collection for French Heritage.
Detail of Encaustic painting by guest artist Annie Darling.[/caption]
I've been absent from blogging for a couple weeks recovering from the FANTASTIC experience of my first WEST Austin Studio Tour. It was a whirlwind of a two weeks but couldn't be happier with how it turned out. Thank you to my guest artists Annie Darling, Judith Simonds, Denise Jaunsem, and Yuliya Lanina. What a wonderful, talented group of women! Thank you to Big Medium for putting on such a stellar Studio Tour. But most
What an incredible first weekend we had at my first WEST Austin Studio Tour put on by the non-profit Big Medium. It's been a lot of preparation but so worth it as we had tons of people walking through my home studio to see all FIVE artists:
Sculpture by artist Judith Simonds and mechanical music box by artist Yuliya Lanina.[/caption]
I'm so excited to be participating in W.E.S.T West Austin Studio Tour which starts THIS Thursday night, May 11th, with Due WEST, the official kick-off fundraising event at the Dougherty Arts Center at 1110 Barton Springs Road Austin, Texas 78704, from 7 - 10 p.m.
All 300+ artists on the WEST Tour will have one piece of their art at this group exhibition event throughout the duration of the WEST Tour dates, May 13 - 14 and 20- 21. Come out and support this wonderful non-profit
Join me in kicking off the West Austin Studio Tour at Due WEST on May 11! My artwork will be featured, along with the work of nearly 300 other local artists. Tickets on sale now: west.bigmedium.org/duewest.html
The 4 images above are pieces you'll see at the Group Exhibition Due West at the Dougherty Arts Center in Austin on Thursday May 11th, from 7 - 10 p.m. Clockwise from bottom left: sculpture by Judith Simonds, encaustic painting by Annie Darling, floral painting by Denise Jaunsem and textile pillow art by myself, Deborah Main. To view
"Bits or Pieces?" by Fiber Artist Marie Welsch. $100 Available at ArtSpace in Round Rock[/caption]
With my 60th Birthday now behind me (boy was that Garden Party a blast...thank you to all who stopped by to help me celebrate!) I can now refocus on my textile artwork, blog and upcoming shows and sharing other artists work with you. It has already been such a busy spring with many exciting exhibitions happening all at once for which I'm incredibly grateful.There is only 1 - 2 more weeks to see my artwork in person at both Round Rock Arts gallery ArtSpace Fiber Exhibition till May 1st and Texas State University Round Rock IMAGINE Exhibition till May 6th. So please stop by.
These past three weeks have been jam packed with my 60th Birthday Garden Party, the Peacock Alley Austin Grand Opening and my first group Fiber Arts Exhibition at the Round Rock Arts gallery, ArtSpace, in Round Rock Texas. This is only my 3rd exhibition as a textile/fiber artist, as I just started applying to art exhibitions last summer. (See my 1st exhibition Artists Interpret Red post HERE).
It's a very exciting journey for me because I love color and texture and textiles and all things vintage. So it was a logical conclusion to realize
Sometimes it takes a relative or friend visiting to get you out to re-discover your own back yard. You know how the saying goes that you never really sightsee in the city you live, especially if you've lived in it 30 plus years!
Since I'm taking most of April off to enjoy my 60th birthday, that's exactly what I did today, see all the beautiful sites like waterfalls, flora and cacti at the Zilker Botanical Garden. It's literally IN my backyard, as I only live up the hill from Zilker Park. Why I have not been there in years is beyond me??
Spring is my favorite month of the year and our Shumard Red Oak has almost all of its fresh green leaves on it! (I'm sorry for those still suffering through winter, but maybe this post will put a spring into your step!) I also love the month of April because it's my wedding anniversary and birthday, back to back, and this year I've been working on my garden to get it all ready for the special occasions. I love nature and it feels great to get back to gardening.
"Go West, young man, go West and grow up with the country." - Horace Greeley
This week's Texture Tuesday takes you West for sure. Right into the heart of Austin, Texas, where when you go West young man, you will also grow up with ART at the West Austin Studio Tour (WEST)!
SXSW and Spring Break are here, our Airbnb guest from Holland has arrived and I want to inspire you with art. I love going to art openings and art galleries. Art has a way of opening up your mind, sparking creativity, inspiring imagination, and seeing life from a different perspective. I believe we all need more art in our lives and the Austin area has plenty of it, and at affordable prices too. The above image detail is full of color and texture in the form of tiny square photos taken by artist Thomas Athey. Wait till you see below the larger image of his fine photography below!
Photo by Round Rock Arts of IMAGINE, their annual Art Exhibition.[/caption]
IMAGINE walking into Texas State University Round Rock campus this weekend and seeing hundreds of pieces of art from artists all over central Texas - paintings, sculptures, mosaics, fiber and more. You'll see just that at the Opening Reception of the IMAGINE Art Exhibition this Saturday, March 4th, from 7 - 9:30 p.m. And you're invited!! The exhibition runs through May 6th.
This week's Texture Tuesday gives you the full scoop on the IMAGINE 2017 Art Exhibition, and a sneak peek into some of the color and texture you'll find there. (Full disclosure: one of my textile art pillows below will be in this exhibition.)
Happy Valentines Day! Keeping it brief for this week's Texture Tuesday. Above ornament is handcrafted from a vintage silk scarf, vintage 14-K gold French trim, and a
A few of the hundreds of vintage French trims, ribbon and brooches I have in my collection to create textile art pieces for you.[/caption]
Are you sitting down? Okay, here's the news: This week's Texture Tuesday is going to be brief. I know that's hard to imagine, since my blog posts are basically short novellas, but I'm going to try for a few weeks to see if I can keep Texture Tuesday shorter.
Happy Texture Tuesday! With all that's going on in our country and the world, I thought I'd give your mind (and mine) a break with this week's Texture Tuesday. I feature three textile art pillows I've submitted to apply for art exhibitions. Some exhibitions your work gets accepted, and others it doesn't. I'm currently waiting to hear back from two.
I thought you might enjoy seeing the creative process that goes on behind the scenes in the Deborah Main Designs studio for each art piece I handcraft.
Remember last week I said it was Tradeshow Season with Color and Texture On Trend? Well, Las Vegas Market is wrapping up, and since I'm not there, and had no time to share all my wonderful photos from that AMAZING whirlwind trip last year, this week's Texture Tuesday is dedicated to:
It's Tradeshow season and the hottest trends are color and texture! How perfect for Deborah Main Designs since color and texture are the hallmark of my work. This week's Texture Tuesday features luxury silk pillows from my Essential Decorative Series.
If you are a wholesale or interior design buyer, please stop by Peninsula Home showroom (WTC-525) at the Dallas Home & Gift Market today through January 24th to shop for my designs and their amazing home furnishings.
Happy New Year! I hope you and your family and friends had a lovely holiday. I don't know about you, but I'm NOT one of these people who bolt out of the gate come Monday, January 2nd, with all my goals and plans set for 2017. No, no...I'm one who always wishes for TWO weeks between Christmas and New Years because I need more time.
Below is a little blog post I wrote in 2014 about the meaning of Christmas in my home. It was inspired by someone who commented on my bare Christmas tree. (Thankfully the quality of my photos have improved over the years.)
Thank you for following my blog these past 2 years and thank you to all my supporters who came to one of my five Holiday Open Studio & Sample Sales. It was so much fun that I'll surely be doing it again next December. Please enjoy the Facebook photo album HERE.
I'll be taking another week or two off, as it's been really nice to relax and be with my family. Wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas! See you in 2017, XO PG
"Fit for a Queen" by Simmang Design.[/caption]
No, it's not the third day of Christmas yet. And no, sadly my true love did not send me this beautiful necklace above. But I just couldn't wait to share with you this fabulous piece by Simmang Design that I just happened upon this weekend when I popped into a fun little holiday show in North Austin at Just Jill Beauty & Wellness. I had no idea that, on what was supposed to be a lazy Sunday, I was going to have so much fun and a little impromptu pampering at a local event.
For this week's Texture Tuesday, instead of three French hens, I bring you three Italian blue Goldstones. Originally designed in 2013 for Austin Fashion Week by Jillian Simmang of Simmang Design, this regal necklace features three glass stones and a host of other textural details.