Those of you who know me well already know that my friend Vicente Wolf was the person who inspired me to start my business way back when. By bringing me in on his beautiful home installations, I discovered my flair for styling and his confidence in me was the final push I needed to establish Preston Bailey Designs. Vicente’s sense of style and his charm has always made for great times together and I’ve often brought him along on my major jobs all over the world to help me install. There’s something about our friendship over the past forty years (am I giving my age away here?) that has always been inspiring to me. Vicente is a most curious traveler and the times where the two of us have traveled the globe together have always been incredibly enlightening to me. It is thus with great joy that I’d like to tell you how you too can share in these inspirational travel experiences!

Vicente has launched a new initiative that will take ten guests with him to discover the beauty and inspiration of Thailand in October 2009. You have the chance to go to Bangkok and Chiang Mai with Vicente and visit the traders that he always visits to buy one-off pieces for his luxury Manhattan showroom, VW Home. Vicente’s play of composition, scale, color, contrast and light has made him a master of his trade over the past 30 years and he will take his ten guests to his favorite antique stores and restaurants, the tailor where he gets his stylish outfits made and guests will even have the opportunity to visit his shoemaker for a pair of perfect heels!

But it’s about more than just traveling to an exotic destination with one of the world’s favorite designers. What makes this experience really special is that Vicente is offering a full-circle opportunity that starts with the option of an in-home consultation prior to the trip for him to analyze the space and ascertain what opportunities can be found in the travels. With this visit setting the stage for what’s to come, Wolf will guide his travel companions, once abroad, to shop the wonderful markets with expert input to ensure that they bring the world into their home – on a personal basis. Once the goods arrive, Vicente will make a second trip to the guest’s home to assist in their placement so that the items can fully represent their education.

The cost of traveling with Vicente is $15,000 per person, which includes one-on-one time with one of my best friends, but excludes the cost of travel for Vicente to visit each guest’s home and all travel accommodation and fees for guests. Travel arrangements will be handled by Sterling Brownell Travel and in Thailand, my favorite luxury tour operators Abercrombie and Kent will take care of guests. Vicente’s latest book, Crossing Boundaries, focuses on the inspiration he draws from his travels and how he translates what he sees in the far-off places he visits into the residences, hotels and restaurants he designs. For more on his work visit http://www.vicentewolf.com/

To learn more about this opportunity, please contact travel@vicentewolf.com or visit http://www.vicentewolftravel.com/.