Friday, 18 December 2009

Happy Coincidence


I was surprised to learn earlier this week that I had won a prize from Paris Hotel Boutique one of my favorite online stores. It arrived yesterday and contained two lovely little candle pots from Voluspa. I don't know what is cuter the candle pot or the packaging. They take the phrase "good things come in small packages" literally. I just adore the colors and the labeling. Thank you Lynn, I will put them to good use!



Coincidentally in the same batch of mail was my travel documents and itinerary for my trip to Germany and Germany & Paris!!!! So not only was I going to be able to smell some yummy Parisian goodness from my new candles but I had my tickets to Paris in my hot little hands. It seems my planets were aligning.


Then today one of my best friends, Danette, gave me this fabulous Tori Burch makeup bag which will be perfect for my trip. It was a day of happy coincidences.

I hope you have some wonderful moments of your own this weekend!!

Monday, 14 December 2009

Las Vegas Goes Literary



Looks who's come to town at the new Crystals mall at City Center in Las Vegas ~ famed bookseller and publisher Assouline. I can hear my library shelves quivering with excitement as we speak.


A tiny portion of their vintage book selection ~ I swoon!

It's hard to even browse in this store without feeling that your literary collection is woefully inadequate. I could have bought everything on the shelves. Assouline is among the select few publishers that still look at a book as a piece of art. From the quality of the construction of their books to the images on the covers and the superior content of the writing itself, they are keeping the art of publishing alive.



One of the only problems that I find with their titles is that the cover and presentation is usually so stellar that you don't want to store your books in as mundane a setting as a mere bookshelf. They need to be shown so every inch can be seen in all of it's glory. Publishers of their caliber such as Rizzoli and Taschen are struggling due to economic and technological developments beyond their control but I am sure there will always be a market for their beautiful books. It would be a very sad world without them.


Wait ~ Who is this rakishly handsome book reader? Perhaps he is purchasing a load of new titles for his beloved wife for Christmas? Oh, I forgot he is already sending me to Europe. Damn.... My bookshelves will have to groan a bit longer.

Friday, 11 December 2009

Turqoise ~ Pantone Color of the Year 2110


The Pantone Color of the Year for 2010 is Turquoise. For the last few years various shades of aqua, cerulean, teal, and ultramarine have been tremendously popular so this color choice doesn't seem to be much of a stretch. The true turquoise shade that they have chosen does seem to have more depth and a higher concentration of green than the icy aquas we have been seeing. Here are a few of my favs.


Thursday, 10 December 2009

Same Fabulous Bed ~ Different Room



I love this bed ~ so I was thrilled to see another interpretation of it the other day. In the photo above of room number one I like the rustic natural feel of the stone walls and aged floor. I'm also a huge fan of how they drapes a simple muslin canopy over the back!




Room number two has a slicker fell to it. The glossy floor makes it look as if the bed is floating there. The canopy seems to be an afterthought or it's just lumpy in the middle otherwise I would have liked it.

Looks as if this room was not professionally staged. Could there be more stuff on that table? Still I love the bed and the red bed cover is full of punch.

My favorite would have to be the first room though. It's just balanced to perfection.

Which one do you prefer?

Thursday, 3 December 2009

I Can't Believe It's December

I can't believe that is already December ~ where did the rest of the year go? Time always seems to fly by unless you're waiting for something special and then it dribbles slowly. This is what my house looked like last December (might have been January ~ but it's sometime in winter anyway) I had a lot of fun just sitting at my desk in my kitchen watching the snow fall for a whole week straight. Very unusual for Vegas ~ Global warming????


The local weather man says there is a chance of snow tomorrow and I am so hoping he is right! I love to pretend that we have winter here. We get to have a bit of fun with a few snowflakes but don't have to shovel anything. The only drawback is that unusually cold temps drive the scorpions out of their hiding places. My husband had to squish one just the other night at 3:00 am while walking to the bathroom. We never had a problem with them until last year ( more global warming? )

When winter rolls around I always look up The National Gingerbread Competition at The Grove Park Inn in Asheville NC. This years entries, while beautiful, seem a bit conservative and almost somber. Maybe it's a sign of the times. What do you think?


Grand Prize Winner


First Prize Winner


Second Prize Winner


Third Prize Winner



It seems the housing crisis has even hit the Gingerbread world! Bummer........

Sunday, 29 November 2009

www.jackievontobel.com goes LIVE !!!!!!!

FINALLY ~ After months of preparation and hard work, my new website, www.jackievontobel.com is up and running ~ live!!!!



I don't know which took more time; designing the fabric collection or building the website! No matter, because it's now open for business!

There are 12 main fabric patterns available in a diverse selection of colorways for a total of 64 unique fabrics sold as yardage. The pillow cover collection includes 15 unique patterns that coordinate with the yardage patterns in a wide range of colors for a total of 48 beautiful pillow cover designs. Many of the patterns and pillow covers cross~coordinate to give you a full spectrum of size and scale to choose from.



The main page of the site, showing my favorite angel bench, Peanut, and a tiny glimpse of my backyard. All of the fabrics and pillow covers in the collection are made in the USA of natural and or 100% organic fabrics and are printed via an eco-friendly process. We ship directly from the printer / manufacturer to reduce shipping cost and our carbon footprint.


The Pillow Cover page. Each pillow is a small work of art and is designed to enhance our yardage patterns.



The fabrics and pillow covers are shown grouped by type (fabrics or pillow covers), by color, and by collection.



Here is Peanut ready for her close up! She's not much of poser. It took a generous amount of leftover Thanksgiving turkey to get her to hold still.

I am so proud of this site and of my new fabric line and I hope that you will take a trip over there to have a look. While you're there please leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I would really appreciate it.


www.jackievontobel.com




Special thanks to Leila & Cicily from Lightning Bug Designs for designing the site and walking me through the shopping cart process ~ Ughhhh...

Wednesday, 25 November 2009

Giving Thanks


I've had a lot to be thankful for over this past year despite everything going on in the world. I released a new Bedding book, designed my new fabric collection with Adaptive Textiles, launched my Jackie Von Tobel Studio modulus with Minutes Matter Inc. The postcard above is one of many that will be available in our new Minutes Matter marketing system, The Power of I, which we are just about finished with.

I've had the great pleasure of being able to share all of these new adventures with all of you here on this blog. Your comments and good wishes have kept me going and I appreciate all of them. I hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and that all of your wishes come true.

Happy Thanksgiving!