Jessie Davidson Interiors

Thicket by Jessie Davidson Interiors

Archive by Year: 2013

Archive by Month: 2

Around The House

Alpaca Dreaming

When the earth is covered in a blanket of snow and the thermometer doesn’t raise its little head above fifteen degrees, my thoughts go to yummy-soft and cozy fabrics. What better comfort than to wrap up in something soft and warm to spend a few hours reading, cup of tea in hand?

Alpaca is a clear favorite for its extreme softness and warmth. The best socks I have ever been given are made of alpaca!

We visited Alicia Adams at the New York Gift Show last month. She raises alpacas on her farm in upstate New York and makes some of the most sumptuous throws, shawls, cowls and sweaters. Check out the beautiful images of her farm, family, and products at her site: www.aliciaadamsalpaca.com

Alta Pampa offers their Baby Alpaca fabric to the trade (in Chicago through Holland & Sherry) and it is so insanely soft I can think only of pillows and throws!

Sandra Jordan, who operates from Healdsburg, California in the Russian River Valley (for those of you who are wine lovers), offers an exquisite line of highly colorful alpaca/wool blends. I had a coat made from her fabric for which I continue to enjoy lots of compliments.

We’ve included gorgeous images from each of these companies but be sure to peruse their websites to get a feel for more of their wonderful products - you’ll be warm in no time!

www.altapampa.com

www.sandrajordan.com

February 13, 2013 by Jessie Davidson

In The Garden

Winter Gardens

A wonderful uplifting treat in the middle of winter is a stroll through a greenhouse or conservatory. Inhaling the fragrance of moist soil and warm air is rejuvenating during this season of dormancy. I recently visited the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio, thoroughly enjoying the happy plants, related sculptures, and families who were fully ‘in the moment’. In early March they will release butterflies into the Conservatory’s Pacific Island Water Garden! Check it out: www.fpconservatory.org. The charming bird topiary is from one of the greenhouses at the Chicago Botanic Garden - he was too cute not to include this picture!


Garden designers often refer to the bones of a garden and nothing could me more apparent than a parterre dusted with snow! This is my diminutive garden that I look out over from my Lake Bluff, Illinois office daily. It may actually be lovelier now complimented by our recent days of snow than when the Japanese beetles are feasting on the roses during the summer! We’ve included a few images of the English Walled Garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden as well - another lovely example of the understated beauty of a winter garden.

February 13, 2013 by Jessie Davidson

What We're Loving

February 2013

1.) Broadway & Thresher:  This newly minted digital magazine was spawned by two writers who wanted to explore the influence urban migration is having on rural America.  Broadway and Thresher is a crossroads in the village of Granville, Ohio…..just a hop down the road from where I grew up!  B&T is well worth the read. www.broadwayandthresher.com

2.) Garden & Gun Magazine:  My day brightens and my heart flips a few times when Garden & Gun arrives in our mailbox.  This is the best cover to cover read going! I also love that it is published in Charleston, SC….a hub of all things wonderful. www.gardenandgun.com 

3.) Uchino Towels:  We found these refined, luxurious towels at the gift show last month.  They are absolutely fabulous……designed and constructed meticulously to suit the varied needs of discerning people.  ABC Carpet & Home carries them in New York. www.uchino.co.jp

4.) Miranda Thomas Pottery:  Miranda came here from Australia, by way of London, to create pottery for Simon Pearce.  Not long afterward she began her own business turning out some of the most unique pieces we’ve ever seen.  She and husband, Charlie Shackleton (well know furniture craftsman) display and sell their work in Bridgewater, Vermont. www.shackletonthomas.com/pottery

5.) Swans Island:  These beautiful hand woven blankets and throws are made in mid-coast Maine of locally produced wool.  The business grew from one couple’s desire to create lovely one of a kind woven pieces from the wool of sheep grazing on Swans Island, where they had relocated from Boston. www.swansislandblankets.com

Lastly, if you can get to New York by February 18th, make time to see the George Bellows exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As you can see by the varied examples we’ve included here, I am constantly amazed at the diversity of Mr. Bellows’ work over (sadly) a relatively short lifetime. We love this quote, attributed to George Bellows in 1920. www.metmuseum.org


February 13, 2013 by Jessie Davidson

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