Connecticut Cottages & Gardens Innovation in Design Awards

I was so very excited and honored to be the guest of my new friend Beth Dempsey of Images & Details to the Connecticut Cottages & Gardens Innovation in Design Awards event held in Stamford, CT. It was both exciting and inspiring to meet so many talented designers and professionals in the interior design/architecture industry and the members of the C&G magazine. My good friend Marcy from Irwin Feld Design was with me to share all the fun and dine with as we watched the winners take the stage.

Beth was so sweet introducing me to the many guests she knew and I was just thrilled for the opportunity to meet them all. Meeting the celebrated winner of the 2010 Design Innovator Award, Jaime Drake was so fun, he was as colorful in person as he is in his work - just delightful!

Jaime Drake with me :) 

  

beautiful tent and tables

 

beautiful tablescapes with Jaime Drake for Schumacher runners 

 

Me with Rona Landman of ronalandmaninteriordesign

A fabulous cocktail party was followed by dinner under a marvelous tent and presentation of the Design Innovator Award to Jaime Drake and the 2010 nominees and winners of five different categories.

The 2010 CT Cottages & Gardens Winners:

Landscape Design: Robin Kramer Garden Design

 

Kitchen Design: Alisberg Parker Architects

 

Bath Design: Austin Patterson Disston

Interior Design: Mis en Scene (Beth's client - yay!)

Architecture: Joeb Moore & Partners Architects

night all and hope you had a lovely Memorial Day weekend - God Bless America <3

Red, White, & Blue - Happy Memorial Day

Love, Love Memorial Day weekend as it officially kicks off my favorite summer season full of beach, sun, barbeque, and all other sorts of outdoor fun :) Amidst all of the fun we will be having this weekend, I will stop to think about all of the soldiers who have fought to make this country the greatest in the world, and give thanks <3.

I love the fun clothes that come out during the summer, the bright colors and cute little dresses and skirts, gold sandals, bleached hair, freckles, the long hours of the sun, all of the pretty shells decorating the beaches, frozen drinks, coronas, hamburgers and hotdogs, corn on the cob, American flags, hydrangeas by the beach, waking up early to get to the best beaches on our days off, I could go on and on...

I found some red, white, and blue interiors from Coastal Living that couldn't be more perfect for this post:

 

 

And last but not least, this moving photo take by my new friend Catherine Avery from

 Catherine Avery Interiors Blog

**Don't forget to enter the Memorial Day Giveaway**

Pretty Chic SF Giveaway!!

I thought with the holiday weekend coming up leading us into summer we should celebrate with a giveaway from Pretty Chic SF. I adore Richelle's notebooks and planners and know you will, too :) 


A little background of Pretty Chic Weekly Planners and Notebooks:

"My weekly planners and notebooks are a sophisticated and fun way to organize your busy schedule and are the perfect size to fit in your purse. They are made with recycled paper and printed and bound in San Francisco, California. 

Perfect for savvy blackberry and iphone users, like myself, who still appreciate the written word. With seven unique planner and twelve notebook styles, Pretty Chic’s Weekly Planners and Notebooks are a pretty chic way to organize your 2010 year!"

                        


Win three of these beautiful notebooks in your choice of pattern by entering the contest from the options below:

As an entrepreneur myself, I am always interested in the start of a business and Richelle was nice enough to answer a few questions for us:

1.  Become a follower of this blog and leave a comment!  1 entry

2.  Follow me on Twitter, and RT this giveaway (leave a link):  1 entry

3.  Become a fan on facebook and write a comment on my wall: 1 entry

You can have anywhere from 1 to 3 entries by completeing the steps above, but make sure you leave a comment letting me know what you've completed!

Giveaway will close on Monday, May 31st at 11:59 p.m.

~

How did you get started with pretty chic sf? 

I wanted to create products that reflect my style. Since I'm a Graphic Designer–paper products were a great way to set up my brand and Etsy shop.

Where do you draw your influences?

Via interior design, fashion, home decor, textiles and magazine tears. Growing up in the California sunshine and at the beach, my style is drawn from a lifestyle I love... sunshine, bridges, sea shells, bright cities, boat docks and beaches.

Which brand or person has been your biggest source of inspiration?Designers I love: Tory Burch, Kelly Wearstler and India Hicks.
Brands I love: Kate Spade, Volupsa and Calypso

What are your big goals for Pretty Chic SF?

My goals is to continue to design new products that are functional, fun and affordable and to stay involved with my audience. I'm hoping to do this through the blog world.

Good Luck with the Giveaway!!

Kudos to People Magazine!

Kudos to the stylists at People Magazine. During my mani/pedi yesterday I came across this gift guide from and just loved every piece! I was with a co-worker who actually pointed it out to me saying, "OMG this is SO you and SO Shorely Chic", so I thought I would share with you :)

It's a couple weeks old, for Mother's Day, but it goes with the season so why not?

I think I like the Sari Clutch and the Candlesticks by Nate Berkus. Which is your favorite?

Real Home - Beach Inspired - Edition 1!!

I am over the moon excited to introduce the Real Homes - Beach Inspired series to Shorely Chic. I am always looking for inspiration in magazines and on the web for beachy/coastal homes and decided it would be really fun to seek this inspiration from the very people who follow this blog and my twitter and facebook pages! I sent out notice via facebook and twitter last week about this series and was asking for volunteers. I received lots of responses with so many awe-inspiring photos to look through, and the best part, these homes were real created with real budgets and without professional styling - so genuinely Shorely Chic!

My first feature is on the gorgeous home of Debbie from Bay Harbor Islands, Florida. I asked Debbie to give me a brief overview of the remodel of her home in coastal Florida to tie in a story with her beautiful photos:

All my life, I have lived on the coast and since I was a child, I've always had a love for seashells, sea life and the ocean. Whenever I am near the water, I feel a sense of serenity, inspiration and peacefulness. (Ahh, like music to my ears...-SC) When my husband and I decided to completely renovate our 1953 home, we moved out and re-did it from top to bottom, inside and out. I have always loved interior design, so I decided to explore my creative side and design the interior to evoke the feeling I have when I'm around the ocean(my point exactly!! - SC). I chose a color palette of blues, greens, pinks and creams - with a small dash of red. I have infused little touches of the ocean into every room. I love starfish - all kinds, and I have included them throughout my house.

I have so many favorite areas - both inside and outside - but I think my most favorite is my kitchen. The photos do not do it justice. I designed every aspect of this kitchen myself and then had it built exactly as I wanted it. I wanted the kitchen to feel like a room where you could just hang out...which is why I selected shelves opposed to upper cabinets - it gives the room much more of a casual roomy feel. The color of the cabinets are winter sky blue - they are the most amazing color and I just love the marble counter tops. I went to the marble factory and picked out the slabs myself and then had the marble honed so it has a more natural finish.

a big THANK YOU to Debbie for sharing these photos with us :)

**If you would like your home to be featured in the Real Home-Beach Inspired series, email me!!**

Trunk Show For a Cause

As many of you know last summer in 2009 I started a brand, Shorely Chic. It started out with a little shop online and then grew to include an interior design blog, twitter and facebook pages, and frequent appearances at trunk shows and art festivals around Fairfield County. I have developed a fan base of just under 1500 people which continues to grow everyday and have formed a network with entrepreneurs and designers locally and all over the country. I can't tell you how much happiness and satisfaction this endeavor has brought to me and I hope that through my documented journey, I may have been able to share some of this positive energy to inspire you to chase your dreams :)


From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all so much for your support this past year for I could not have done it without you!

I am very excited to share with all of you a recent development with Shorely Chic.
After a hugely successful trunk show event we had in town, some local designer friends and I have teamed up a to develop 'Trunk Show for a Cause'. The concept of 'Trunk Show for a Cause' originated from our goal to get our products in front of as many people as we could without having a retail space and from our genuine desire to give back to our community. We are hoping that these trunk shows will be beneficial for both parties in that the host or hostess will receive a donation from a percentage of our sales to go to the charity of choice and we will be able to display our beautiful items to the guests. This is our way of giving back and we are so excited to have to our friends, family, and fans included in this special and most importantly fun endeavor!

Whether you want to plan a simple ladies night in for you and your friends, a team gathering with parents and families, or a summer picnic - you choose the charity and guests and we will provide the goods!

Trunk Show for a Cause Terms & Conditions:
-If you live within one hour of Greenwich/Stamford/Darien, Connecticut we can host a weeknight event. For all other locations greater than one hour driving distance the event would have to take place on a weekend.
The Hostess will receive a hostess gift & discounts on all products.

-Ticket sales or donation at the door are optional but 100% of the ticket sales would benefit the charity.

-15% of all sales from the event would go directly to the charity.

-You invite your friends and even request mailing lists from your charity and we will show up with a beautiful display of all our fine hand-crafted items.


**If you are interested in booking a Trunk Show for a Cause please let me know. The Vendors will depend upon who is available but could include handbags & accessories, chic home decor, stationary, hair accessories, jewelry, fine art, perhaps a cupcake sampling from a local baker? We have many contacts and can work with you no matter the size of the show.**


Thanks so much for your time and continued support.

Sun, Smiles & Love

Before I get into my post and bore you with my rant I want you all to have an amazing weekend full of sun, smiles, good tunes, and love!


I have a problem. I want to write about so much on this blog so I sit here in front of my computer with an idea and I search for inspiring images. So often I am inspired by these photos that I change my mind on the theme of my post - does this happen to anyone else??


For example, today I went from wanting to write about my image of heaven which was going to include a sailboat, shrimp cocktail, and a glass of white wine under the sun. Then I wanted to write about all the things I love about summer because while searching for these images, I wwas side-tracked and thought that the latter might make a more interesting post. Then I found all these pretty tablescapes and since I am planning a barbeque tonight for friends, I decided that was the most relevant.

Sorry for that rant, just felt the need to share!! I found all these pretty entertaining pictures on Coastal Living this morning:

My New Website

Hey everyone! I really wanted to blog yesterday but didn't get around it. As I sit here thinking about what to share with you today, I realized I haven't told you about my Brand Spanking New Website.

I met a girl through facebook who happens to live right around the corner from me and I was able to see some awesome examples of her work which I really liked. We sat down, talked about what I liked, and with lots of communication we were able to come up with a website that I think is a pretty darn good representation of Shorely Chic.

Take a peek if you have a minute, and maybe even fill out the contact form so we can stay in touch! I'm thinking about starting an email newsletter once a week with updates and new product information.

Thanks for all your support and comments - I looove all my readers!!

enjoy the sunshine today and maybe have one of these later :)

source

Oh and most importantly, Trini's website is http://www.trinileonard.com/!