Designer Library: Nicky Haslam: A Designer’s Life by Nicky Haslam

Famed British interior designer Nicky Haslam has an illustrious pedigree and career with enviable beginnings having spent time working as a contributing editor for Vogue and Tatler, mingling with everyone from the British elite to royalty. Haslam's client roster (since opening his interior design firm of the same name in 1972) have included, among hundreds of others, Ringo Starr, Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart, as well as having been asked to design parties for the Prince of Wales, Lord Rothschild, Tina Brown, and Sir Evelyn and Lady de Rothschild. 

Nicky Haslam: A Designer’s Life by Nicky Haslam (Rizzoli New York 2015) is the fourth book installment. Showcasing his personal scrapbooks and design archives that highlight key career moments alongside the signature "Haslam aesthetic" combines a myriad of inspirations, glamorous designs, and creative ingenuity, all brought to life by his amusing anecdotes and astute observations. 

 

True inspiration comes from flipping through the pages of this thought provocateurs' enviable collection of designs. An artist since his days at Eton, Haslam's interior watercolor renderings are held by the Victoria and Albert Museum as well as The Royal Institute of British Architects and command high prices at auction. From the most contemporary and modern to the most exquisitely classical applications of wallpaper and draperies, Haslam proves that a true artist is not limited by trend or theme, but instead can push the boundaries of creativity given the opportunity to dream big. An absolute must for any design lovers library this summer. You can grab a copy of the book here. 

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"Personal taste, in all its variations—the eccentric, the grand gesture, the flamboyant, the simple, and often downright hilarious—is the grist to my visual mill. It always was, it always will be.”    –Nicky Haslam from the Introduction 

Originally posted California Home+Design 07/22/15

All images courtesy of Rizzoli - from Nicky Haslam: A Designer’s Life by Nicky Haslam (Rizzoli New York 2015) 

Design Bloggers Conference - Interview with Barbara Barry and Kravet

As a continuation from Part 1 of my interview with Barbara Barry's on her inspiration and view of the world of interior design, I wanted to share a deeper look into how these visuals and moments of inspiration translated in a very tangible way into Barbara's work.

Barbara Barry - watercolors, image via Barbara Barry here

"I believe in beautiful process being as important as beautiful product.

If you enjoy and engage with whom you are working then you produce something made with love." - Barbara Barry

Around Beauty: 

Whether designing for a client, or designing a collection of fabrics for a brand such as Kravet, ..

"Working with Kravet has been a beautiful process right from the beginning. It has turned into a trusted relationship and when trust is present you have the confidence to show your ideas and do your best work."

Visit the collections by Barbara Barry for Kravet here

or a line of furniture for Baker Furniture ..

Barbara Barry for Baker Furniture

B. Barry for Visual Comfort

or even lighting such as this beautiful floor lamp for Visual Comfort..


.. I am fascinated by the process and I always enjoy seeing them put into action and how the story of each home and design unfolds.

Beverly Hills, California - Barbara Barry

Pacific Palisades, California - Barbara Barry 

Jackson Hole, Wyoming - Barbara Barry

"I believe food cooked with love tastes better  ... and apply that thinking across all I do."

Santa Monica, California - Barbara Barry

Here are some more collections and product collaborations, as well as a few newly launched.. among those at Kravet...

Kravet - Barbara Barry Collections

·         Fabrics, Trimmings, Drapery Hardware, Carpets

·         New broadloom rug collection for Kravet coming soon….

The Kravet / Barbara Barry video on her Indochine Collection. Great to watch!

Other New Collections

·    The new Barbara Barry Outdoor Collection for McGuire – Feb 2013 just launched.

·   New lighting series:  Mar Vista Collection by Barbara Barry for Boyd Lighting – Feb 2013

·    Barbara Barry sheeting collections are launched every season via Bloomingdales

So no need to worry, there is a way to bring a little bit of Barbara Barry into every part of your home.

Thank you all so much for stopping by.. hope to have much more from Design Bloggers Conference so stay tuned. 


Image Credits: Thank you Barbara Barry for sharing these images with me from your book and your online portfolio of images here.

Please note that all photography from Barbara’s book is credited to:  Photo by David Meredith, from Around Beauty(Rizzoli NY) by Barbara Barry

Kravet - Images via Kravet

Design Bloggers Conference - Interview with Barbara Barry and Kravet - Part 1

Barbara Barry with *me* and Beth Greene of Kravet Inc / Blogfest 

Has someone ever moved you, made you feel true emotions, simply by reading out loud to you?

This was my experience while listening to the soft and eloquent voice of Barbara Barry while speaking last week at the Design Bloggers Conference. As part of the great selection of keynote speakers, brought in part by the collaboration between the team of DBC & Digital Sherpa and that of Kravet Inc. and Blogfest to the lineup of this year's conference.

Barbara during her talk, took us on a journey through her view of the world of interior design, sharing her thoughts, and emotions and stunning visuals that are all part of her new book: Around Beauty.

Barbara Barry

In this two part interview, I hope to share with you some of the moments from this talk, Barbara's collections with Kravet, and the moments that left me feeling inspired and eager to come back to New York and spend my days bettering myself as an interior designer as well.

"..within every small story is where things live..we often overlook things ~ we need to really look" - B. Barry

So after the conference, I reached out to Barbara and asked her to share a little more in detail with me some of the

Photo:  Dining room*, Piedmont, California residence
(photo from Around Beauty – credit David Meredith)

DAP: Could you share with us a few examples of how your daily inspiration and design come together and become a reality. 

BB: "Inspiration (from Around Beauty): Sometimes the colors of a room are predetermined. My job is to show up, look outside, and observe a decision that has already been made, usually by nature. The colors of this room come from the view right outside the tall French doors that open wide onto a great stone terrace. And walking out, the first thing I saw were the colors of a towering redwood grove. Decision made. The rich brown veneer of the dining table and drinks tray recall the trunks of the trees, dark in shade, softer in the brighter light. Dining chairs and doors draped in mellow mustard wool are evocative of the faded seeds and pods scattered on the terrace. Dappled around the room, in pillow and porcelains, is the deep blue-green of redwood fronds."

Photos:   Mexican Fig Tree/Living Room*, Pacific Palisades residence
(photo from Around Beauty – credit David Meredith)

BB: Inspiration (from Around Beauty): …as soon as I entered [the home’s] light-filled courtyard, I was spellbound. Standing in the middle, in its own dappled light, was a huge Mexican fig tree, its lively green leaves twirling like castanets. Upon moving closer to its thick and sensuous trunk, luscious layers of shadowy, nuanced color became visible. In that instant, I gained my inspiration for the project. All the colors I needed for both inside and out were right there on that tree trunk in soft tones of sage, butter, cinnamon, and celery….

Photo:  Agave / Dinner Plates* (photo from Around Beauty – credit David Meredith)

BB: Inspiration (from Around Beauty): Connections inspire designs; they also point to what’s there already. Colors and shapes seduce me daily…anywhere, anytime, all the time.

"...design is not static .. it's an experience, as you travel from one room to the next ~ feeling the mood.. "

Around Beauty - Rizzoli

" .. when i got around to writing a book, I wanted to write about what was underneath design   wrote my book about BEAUTY ~ "Around Beauty" as I have been circling around it my whole life" - B. Barry  

"like in nature - cool is balanced by a little warmth"

"... allowing our eyes to rest, to give it some beauty and calm to rest upon .."

 "..our emotions don't need an education, we know how we feel .. "

"...it is almost like painting by numbers.. cracking open some California pistachios and voila ~ Color!"  

"... it's so wonderful to be a designer and realize a vision! .. an honor" 

So I hope you enjoyed some of these snippets from Barbara's talk, beautiful images of her book, and feel inspired yourself from these words and images.


On tomorrow's post I will delve a little deeper into how Barbara takes cue from her finds, and daily  inspiration while creating collaborating on the product collections, such as the one for Kravet, among others.
You won't want to miss that, especially as we have a few special sneak peaks!

In the meantime ~ want to know more about Barbara Barry, her design team, what the office looks like and a lot more about her inspiration? Sure you do!
This great interview by Traditional Home's Jenny Bradley (who also happened to be one of the speakers at DBC) shares some great insight!








Image Credits: Thank you Barbara Barry for sharing these images with me from your book and your online portfolio of images here.

Please note that all photography from Barbara’s book is credited to:  Photo by David Meredith, from Around Beauty (Rizzoli NY) by Barbara Barry