How Great Is This ? ' Spoonflower's' Custom Fabrics

We 'creatives' are always coming up with great ideas.
This one, to me is one that has been long over due. Just one of the reasons is because these fabrics are milled ( or Mfg. ) in North Carolina, which brings jobs to the area. North Carolina was filled with fabric mills when I was a kid, but not today.
We had a summer home there, it is now a well known ( and beautiful ) bed & breakfast called The Orchard Inn ( in Saluda NC ). www.orchardinn.com/
The place was haunted.

www.spoonflower.com/
All you have to do is upload your artwork on their site. They will sell you a sample for $8 that is 8" x 8".
To get this done it is only something like $18 a yard.

"HUH ??? "

Yes !
This company probably popped up because of all the 'INDIE CRAFTS'. Whatever the reason, it is a WINNER in my designer eyes & mind.

Think of the things you can do . There is no Limit.

Below you will find a very small sampling of some of my fave blog logos/banners and their links.

http://mrsblandings.blogspot.com/
These logos/banners are so fabulous. Talk about "ready to upload" artwork.....we have it.

www.theparisapartment.com/
You have got to see Miss Claudia's website.

http://cotedetexas.blogspot.com/

Joni, Instead of a toile room or car , how about a ' Cote de Texas ' world ??? LOL ( xx )

http://fififlowersdecor.blogspot.com/

Fifi, I expect you will have fun with this.

Well, If you need a link for this one.....you are more lost than I am.

Personally, I was thinking of making re-usable shopping bags with my artwork.

A practical idea, which is chic with a social conscience, and let us not forget the exposure.

We love exposure.

Little Indie Pugs.

If you want to look at some of the fabrics go here:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/spoonflower/pool/

I apologize for some of the links not working, I get my computer back tomorrow.
( enlarge any picture for more info and a closer look )

Renee Finberg ' TELLS ALL' in her blog of Adventures in Design

OK, No Kidding, This Is Where I Want To Live And Work

"When Healdsburg interior designer Myra Hoefer met San Francisco landscape architect Todd Cole a tears ago, she didn't know they would one day engage in a friendly scuffle over designing his weekend home in Cloverdale. But when he hired her for the job, she could see it wouldn't be easy. "  

( Can you relate ? LOL)

This is so what I love. This entrance had me at "hello".

I always like things that have multiple functions. This was a warehouse originally. 

The owner restored the original sign as I would have.

My favorite piece of  jewelry is a watch. It does two things, it is beautiful and tells me what time it is. This house is similar, it was a warehouse, and now it is a home.   

That is very interesting and appealing to me.                      

I like to use mechanical antiques for home accessories because they can do something ( if they are in really good shape ), they can be fascinating to your guests. These are treasured 'ice breakers' ( for me , because I often feel weird around new people outside of the work environment ) for the awkward moments. You or your guest can always segway over to the interesting piece and say; "tell me about this " or "let me tell you about this", but almost certainly, your guest will ( especially if it's me ).

I think that I want to recreate this concept for myself somewhere, somehow. 

I do not care for most of the upholstered pieces, and some of the case goods,                                  but "man o man"  I do love this place.

I have done gorgeous polished and stained concrete floors for clients that looked almost identical to these ( mine were a tad lighter , but in the same earth tones ).

Do you see the drafting table in the back - left side of the room ???? I have a drafting table in my living room because it is the brightest , and most airy room in the house with a view of my garden/courtyard.
OK with this ????  It looks just like a bedroom made for me, there is even a place right next to the bed for my riding boots !!
Now this is just 'alright' for an entrance, but it is a warehouse , right ?

This is the very CHIC couple that live in the house on weekends.

She is wearing my signature look, a big white shirt-with the collar up , and with her fabulous thick horn rimmed glasses close at hand.

You can tell that he is cool ( and happy ) too.

I wonder what kind of watches they wear ?

I am so sorry, you will have to google ' France in Cloverdale' to read more .

It is on google and it is in the San Francisco Chronicle.

(I still am working on a 'mac' and it is not friendly with my blog)

( enlarge any picture for more info and a closer look )

Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her blog of her Adventures in Design

Tom Boy Houses

When I was a little girl, I was a Tom Boy. And it would have been my dream to live in a tree house. I was always climbing trees and beating up the mean boys that would pick on other kids.

It seems that this ( the tree houses , not my beating up boys ) is a trend , and happening everywhere but here in the U.S.

This one is very sharp. The sun filters in through the outer walls , yet it gives privacy at the same time. 

I was with Claudia from The Paris Apartment yesterday, and I was telling her how I love when big tree branches are in the view of my windows. Whether they are covered with green leaves , red , yellow, and orange leaves, snow, or nothing , or maybe the little sprouts in the spring. I love it . My apartment on East 58th Street in Manhattan was on the courtyard side of the building. I always had my tree and it changed all year.

GEEEEEZZZZ I miss NY, and my apartment there.

This Tree House is too weird for my taste , but in the article it said that the room was tall, and the entire ceiling was glass. It feels as though there is nothing between you and the forest, and that is pretty cool. Actually, this house is my kind of camping. No to bugs, and yes to outlets !!

We have to have our blow dryers , right ? And my lighted magnifying mirror, and .....

Now the one below, supposedly can be moved anywhere. It is designed to used as a guest room  (or a weekend getaway, I guess ).

OH LOOK !!

A place for 'ANONYMOUS ' to live.

... and all the little bloggers are on the ground with wire cutters.

This shot is not very clear. So I don't really know If I like it, but the idea of hanging over a stream under a willow tree is awesome. 

I have another post on Tree Houses on my sidebar in my Adventures in Design.

The last entry in July 2008.

Forgive me, I would cut and past it, but I do not know how to work this apple laptop that I am on.

go here for more :

http://www.pointclickhome.com/decorating_design/articles/13_tremendous_tree_houses

( enlarge any picture for more info and a closer look )

Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her blog of her Adventures in Design

The High Price Of Design Experience

And a great opportunity.

When I First started in the Design Business I was hired by successful Interior Designer in Manhattan. We completed installing a big beautiful brownstone on East 73rd Street    

( between Park & Lexington ). 

We had been working all day finishing this job, making sure everything was just right, and every piece in its rightful place. The project had turned out beautifully, all 6 stories were fabulous.

We were finally back at the office , it was about 7 PM and I was packing up to go home on this cold and dark January night. Just then my boss called me outside and hailed a cab for me, 

I thought to myself,  he must be sending me home in a cab & paying for it because I worked so darn hard .

When I settled in the cab and looked up to say goodbye,  he handed me a bucket. In this bucket were cleaning supplies consisting of  paper towels, Windex, Ajax and a toilet brush. 

I said : " What is this for ?" He said: " I want you to go to the brownstone tonight and make sure that the bathrooms are not dusty on the counters or toilet seats. And make sure the toilets are clean. "

I absolutely flipped out !!!  I mean, I was a little designer. Little designers were not supposed to be cleaning toilets. Were they ??

I said:    " I have never cleaned a toilet, I am not cleaning their toilets !!!! " 

My boss smiled at me and said: " If you want to work for me you will,"  and he shut the door and off I went in the night up 3rd Avenue.

I was so angry, and I thought to myself, what were my chances of getting hired again by another designer of the same caliber, with my limited experience ? 

Thankfully, I only thought about it for 2  1/2  seconds.

I knew right then that I was willing to do whatever it took to gain the knowledge of an Uber Talented Designer. Who , by the way, was generous with the answers to any of the sometimes stupid questions I asked. He shared his personal design rules, which he came by painfully.

These rules came about because of a few expensive mistakes made in his early career.

I learned something about myself, I learned how much I wanted this profession. And how much easier it is for me to take my false pride for a moment, and just put it in a pretty little box for a while. 

Life for me is so much easier when I move with the direction of things, and just try to trust a little bit. 

I know less today ( if you follow my meaning ), than I did at 22 years of age. For me learning never ends, whether it is related to work or personal relationships. 

And it has been my experience, that an open and willing mind is a healthier mind.     And as you might have guest by now, I scrubbed that toilet until it sparkled , and did so with gratitude in my heart.

I mean after all, did I think cleaning a toilet would make me less of a person ?

Quite the contrary.

 **swarovsky crystal studded toilet

( enlarge any picture for more info and a closer look )

Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her blog of her Adventures in Design