Saturday, November 12, 2011

A VISIT TO ASHEVILLE, N.C.

It is always nice to combine business with
pleasure.  John and I did that recently after
going to the High Point furniture show.
We drove to Asheville, N.C. a
beautiful little place set in the
Blue Ridge Mountains.

We have been there before but not for
many years so we thought it was time
to return.  We booked ourselves into
one of the many charming B & B's that
the area is known for.
A BED OF ROSES was a good choice,
set on a quite residential street.



Emily and Bill, the owners are fairly
new at this, but you would never know
it, they handle everything like pros.
Emily makes a impressive breakfast
every morning in this great kitchen.

We stayed upstairs in the very cozy
Wilkinson Room.

One of the big attractions in Asheville is
the BILTMORE ESTATES, a fabulous
place to visit but we've been so
decided to take a different path.
Asheville is very artsy, with galleries
of all types.  The River Arts District was
exactly what we were looking for.

This is in an area with old brick buildings
converted to artist lofts, surrounded
by park like grounds and little cafes.


I couldn't help thinking of the JUNKGIRLS,
when I saw this fence made from metal
pieces.

John loved this over sized floor lamp.
I was sorry I could not find the artist name.

Artist CYNTHIA POTTER has an adorable
collection of papier mache puppets.


Our next stop was this great looking
building, and as per its name lots of textiles. 
Right up my alley.
BARBARA ZARETSKY is a fiber artist and the director of Cloth Fiber Workshop. Originally from the Chicago area, she studied textile design at Northern Illinois University and the Art Institute of Chicago.  In 2001 she moved to Asheville, became a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild.  Zaretsky has operated BZDesign for over 20 years. In her line of home furnishings and wearable accessories she incorporates organic and sustainable materials.



Fine handwoven fashion accessories, garments and home textiles plus classes for all levels of weavers.
Her things were breath taking, I was sorry
I had not taken more pictures.  If you click on
her name you will get to her very
nice web site.


This is an installation that they were
finishing.  It took one year to cut all of
the tile pieces for this mural.


Around the downtown area of Asheville
they have some fun sculptures.



Another big attraction of this area
is the Blue Ridge Parkway that
has some of the most spectacular views.
Being from Southern California with
no seasons we knew we were in for
a treat with the fall leaves.  People
told us we were there at the perfect time.





The weather was just perfect, as you can tell
from what John is wearing.  The following
day it poured.


We ended the day at the GROVE PARK INN.


Built from granite boulders hewn from Sunset Mountain, The Grove Park Inn opened in 1913. At its opening dinner, William Jennings Bryan declared that it had been “built for the ages.” In the decades since it has become one of the South’s most famous and venerable resorts.
We just remembered it was a great place
to be at sunset with a glass of wine and
a fabulous view.




Tis distance lends enchantment to the view,
And robes the mountain in its azure hue.
                     Campbell, Pleasures of Hope

Sunday, October 16, 2011

CHARTREUSE HOME FURNISHINGS

I had the pleasure of visiting
CHARTREUSE  last week, a home furnishing
store in Los Alamitos, Ca.
You are immediately impressed with
their displays and wide variety of styles
presented.

Accessories play a big part in this stores
charm. They have been collected from
all over the world.  Pieces from Indonesia, India,
Philippines as well as local artists.
 I love this Monopoly set with
the over sized games pieces.


The front of store is set up with
different room vignette's that could
be bought and taken home as is.



Their styles go from tropical to cottage,
traditional to modern and many
in between.


They carry a nice range of PINE CONE HILL
showing several bedding sets in the
showroom, all representing a
different aesthectic.



The store continues into a very large open
room that enables them to do larger
displays and fixtures.
The DASH AND ALBERT  rug display
is an example of this.



This large sectional shows off well
in this larger room.


The lovely ladies that make all
of these beautiful things happen.
Wendy, Allison and Nickie.
CHARTREUSE   click on the name and
it will take you to their blog.
As well as seeing fun things about
their store you will see the fun
shower they gave for Allison.

Chartreuse
3938 Cerritos Ave.
Los Alamitos, Ca. 90720
562 493 5899