Ecclectic Tea Party

So now that all the holiday entertaining is wrapped up, it is time to start brainstorming for spring parties! I have been in my office all week playing around with different design elements for the coming months. Valentines Day is right around the corner, but I still have not perfected the look for my romantic sweetheart table. Don't worry, I will let you know as soon as I do!

I did come up with some really fun looks for a springy Sunday Brunch, or Mother's Day, or an Afternoon Tea. My design team chose some pieces from the Williams Sonoma housewares collection and we reworked them. We filled tart pans with flowers and berries to create delicate floral moments for the table.I love the juxtaposition of the utilitarian tart pan and the whimsical blooms. It has that homey, country feel that we usually don't see here in New York. I have always liked the look of baking tools, and here you can bring them out of the kitchen and keep them on the table for the whole meal, not just dessert. Guests can take the whole tin home at the end of the party and enjoy the flowers for a few days and then use the pan for baking...We filled the center with roses and then arranged berries in the scalloped edges. They almost look good enough to eat, don't they?

I also played around with cake stands and tried filling them with flowers to create mini-gardens. We used moss as a base to mimic the look of a terrarium and accented it with bright flowers to lighten the look. I love the loose, unstructured look in the clear glass. It almost has a hanging garden feel to it. You could even add little feather butterflies for an even more playful look!

Beeswax Candles

Greetings on this rainy Friday! Since everybody is probably staying inside, I thought I would share a weekend project with you all. My design team came up with this for a wedding we are doing in March. The bride loves the natural look of beeswax candles and wanted to have them decorating her tables. I like beeswax candles as well, but have never been able to find ones that are big enough to really make a statement. So we set out to make our own. This is what we came up with:

We found sheets of beeswax in both stark white and a more natural beige color. We trimmed the sheets down to fit around simple glass cylinders and warmed them to make the more malleable. Once the beeswax sheets are warm, they easily affix to the glass. We left a bit of an overlap so the wax would also adhere to itself and stay attached. Once the cylinders were decorated, we filled them with LED votives and scattered them around the table. You can fill them with a scented candle, create different bases for them, or leave them plain for a more homey look. I had a lot of fun with these, and i hope you do too!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2008! I hope the year is off to a great start for all of you. I spent some time over the holidays traveling, which I think is a great way to end one year and start another. I was in Cartagena, Colombia for a wedding, Palm Beach, Florida for a birthday party, Lana'i, Hawaii for pure relaxation, and I am heading to Los Angeles in a few days to consult with one of my clients. I guess you could say this year started off with a bang! Colombia was gorgeous! The combination of lush natural beauty, wonderful culture, and traditional architecture was stunning... And they had my absolute favorite street food- ripe mangos!The whole town came out for the wedding, and I have to say that the local color put my work to shame. As the couple left the church, they were joined by hundreds of children dressed in wonderful local costumes. There was a parade around the town square leading the guests from the church to the reception site. The children danced and played instruments the whole way and created a magical atmosphere for all the guests, and especially the bride and groom!