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25 Signs You May Be a Real Designer
For all my passionate, hardworking, professional colleagues - including
vendors, tradespeople and fellow interior designers – this one's for you.
1. You can draw a plan, an elevation, a perspective.
2. You understand and utilize concepts like symmetry, balance and chiaroscuro.
3. You know when to throw aforementioned concepts out the window.
4. You have a degree in interior design.
5. You were over the robin’s-egg-blue and chocolate look about 12 years ago.
6. You're concerned that HGTV stands for Homes Gone Totally Vile.
7. You use acronyms like “COM”, “CFA” and “PO” on a regular basis.
8. Your portfolio contains projects other than your own home.
9. Your photo albums are filled with pictures of architecture instead of people.
10. Despite being an animal lover and a vegetarian, you just can't resist shagreen and goatskin.
11. You know how floor vents, doorswings and light switches can make or break a design.
12. You’ve gone to the mattresses with a contractor over a millwork detail or hardware spec.
13. You've pulled many an all-nighter as a student, employee and/or business owner.
14. A stoneyard to you is like Disneyland to a six-year-old.
15. You sometimes think your business card should read “professional schlepper”.
16. You know that not agreeing with your clients is often in their best interest.
17. You think vertical blinds, laminate floors and hollow core doors are the work of the devil.
18. You value your vendors and treat them with courtesy and respect.
19. You can appreciate good design even if it’s at odds with your own personal aesthetic.
20. You’ve gone totally ape s— over a wool sheer, doorknob or custom finish.
21. You’ve earned a “hello” from Belinda at the design center.
22. You refer to 2009 as your "year of mourning" because House & Garden, Southern
Accents and Metropolitan Home all shuttered their publications.
23. Big budgets are nice, but you can still rock an interior on a shoestring.
24. You would rather stick hot needles in your eye than live in a spec house.
25. Despite the fact that 10% of your time is spent designing and the other 90% is spent on coordination,
problem solving and personality management, you still wouldn't do anything else in the world.
Tricia xo
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Dangerous Beauty
I used this term two weeks ago when describing a C. Jeré nailhead sculpture.
It came to mind last night while viewing the current exhibit at Hemphill Fine Arts in
DC. Julie Wolfe’s work includes paintings, prints and sculptures. And her name suits
her work – it’s often a juxtaposition of loveliness and peril. Creative tension is a concept
that I always find intriguing in art and design. Beauty is so much more interesting when its
twisted on its head; you really see it up against something dark. Ms. Wolfe's work incorporates
colorful, organic images alongside macabre symbols of death and violence. The contrast enlivens
the sweet and exuberant while crystallizing the dark yet inevitable. A metaphorical viewpoint for
life itself. See Hemphill’s press release below for more on this dynamic, enigmatic artist.
Julie Wolfe
Who conquers whom in the battle between life and death?
The juxtaposition of flourishing life with lurking death in Julie
Wolfe's artwork addresses the artist's preoccupation with
corruptive elements that challenge the strength of nature.
Wolfe's imagery reveals the interconnectedness of life and
death, demonstrating their unavoidable coexistence. However
powerful, these formidable renderings are intentionally covert.
Not only does Wolfe subtly incorporate sinister creatures and
violent symbols, but she succeeds in making them beautiful. Her
artwork parallels the intersections between beauty and violence
that exist within and across cultures. Through her artwork, Wolfe
blurs the lines between good and evil, tranquility and violence
and decay and regeneration, portraying these forces as less
antagonistic and more interconnected than their definitions suggest.
La Frontera, 2010
multiple-color silkscreen on Arches paper with glass beads30 1/4” x 30 1/4”
Chippy, 2010
oil, graphite, glass shards and sterling silver on wood panel30 x 30
Foraging Series II, 2010
oil, graphite, and glass shards on canvas
72" x 60"TAR, 2010
glass enamel on copper, encaustic, wood and oil on wood panel
24" x 24"This vignette of four Wolfe pieces was incredible:
Ambigram IV and Ambigram V, 2010
mixed media on glass9 3/8” x 7”
The Wind Cries Mary, 2010
knuckle ring on sterling silver and alabaster stand18K yellow gold, sterling sliver, opals and yellow sapphires
Skull & Sword, 2010
bronze skull set with garnets18K yellow gold hammered chain
18K yellow gold eucalyptus pod
sword in 18K gold, sterling silver, set with opal
I’m wearing a Wolfe Knuckle Ring as necklace today.
I think this may be my new favorite accessory.
Julie Wolfe’s exhibit will run through December 23. It’s worth a stop. George
Hemphill and his staff are a joy to work with whether you are new to the art world
or if you would like to add to an existing collection. A Huntley & Co. favorite!
Hemphill Fine Arts
1515 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
202.234.5601
* First 4 images provided by the artist/Hemphill.
Tricia xo
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Home Sweet Home
It’s been a big week for me. I moved into my own home.
As an interior designer and first-time home buyer, this is one of the
most thrilling endeavors of my adult life. I’ve had apartments and
condos and shared houses, but this is a real “grown up” house and a
place of my own. It has space and a yard and endless possibilities. There
are a multitude of projects on the horizon; in fact, I’ve already begun the
renovation process by refinishing the floors. It’s going to keep me busy
and I’m sure I’ll feel frustrated (and broke!) at times, but really, is there
anything more important and memorable than the lives we build at home?
“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where
we can go as we are and not be questioned.”
– Maya Angelou
Tricia (and Nina) xo
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