Tobi Fairley + House Beautiful

A HUGE congratulations to my sweet friend Tobi Fairley whose beautiful project is featured on the March issue of House Beautiful. I picked up my copy yesterday and it's simply stunning.

Tobi Fairley

I have just returned from a wonderful visit to Little Rock. I have so much to share with all of you, but unfortunately it will have to wait until next week. I am working on a very exciting new collaboration (details coming soon) and I need to take a blogging break this week. In the meantime, I thought that I would leave you with some photos of Tobi Fairley’s beautiful design firm. I know that many of you are fans of Tobi and her wonderful blog.

I had the pleasure of spending the weekend with Tobi as a houseguest. Not only is she a great girlfriend, she is a gracious hostess. We sat around in our pajamas late into the night drinking wine, chit chatting and talking blogs and business. Tobi’s unique combination of degrees in interior design, accounting and an MBA gives her a unique perspective, not to mention that she willing shares and encourages ideas. Thanks for a great weekend Tobi!

The LIST Updates

Last month Nathan Turner launched his furniture collection with Elite Leather. Elle Decor and Elite Leather hosted a cocktail party at Bloomingdale’s to kick off the collaboration and Nathan's New York debut.

Nathan Turner and Margaret Russell

Nathan's collection

Lisa Fine, Nathan Turner and Milly de Cabrol

Marie and Emily Turner

InStyle's Suzanne Karotkin, Nathan Turner and Elite Leather's Gabrielle Galardo

Elle Decor's Karen Marx, Jeff Lincoln and Margaret Russell


In less than a year, interior designer and style maven James Andrew continues to reach new heights with this blog WhatisJamesWearing. His blog is now read in more than 85 countries, with many exciting things in the works. Nice work James!


Not only was Little Rock designer Tobi Fairley recently selected by Traditional Home Magazine as one of the Top 20 Young Designers in America for 2009, she has also been awarded “Entrepreneur of the Year” from the Prestigious Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas where she received her MBA.


World renowned caterer Peter Callahan introduces his newest venture, PCK catering, specializing in glatt kosher catering. PCK catering has OK kosher certification and, as expected, their work is performed under strict orthodox rabbinical supervision abiding by all kashrut requirements of the OK kosher certification and Jewish law.


Congratulations to Victoria Amory. Victoria’s book Delicious Flavors has received the SILVER medal at the first annual Living Now Book Awards given by the Independent Publisher in the General Cooking category. The Living Now Book Awards are intended to promote newly-published lifestyle books and their creators.

Delicious Flavors has also been nominated for Veranda Magazine's Art of Design Award, in the Environments category.

All the Best LIST

We are off to California for two weeks. I will post again in a day or two. In the meantime, I am thrilled to introduce the newest additions to the All the Best LIST. A huge thank you to each of you for your efforts in contributing to this growing collective.

Tobi Fairley:
Interior Designer
Blogger

Barrie Benson:
Interior Designer
Epicurean

Carolina Irving:
Textile Designer
World Traveler
Global Tastemaker

Michelle Adams:
Fabric Designer
Stylist
Trailblazer

Congratulations Tobi Fairley

Congratulations to my sweet and super talented friend Tobi Fairley. Tobi was named as one of the Top 20 Young Designers in America by Traditional Home Magazine. You can read more about Tobi and the other talented designers in the April 2009 issue on newsstands now.

Profile: Tobi Fairley

I have a new girl crush. I know that several bloggers have cued in on Little Rock designer Tobi Fairley lately, and it’s not without good reason. I am here to tell you, she is fabulous, charming and quite talented. From the moment we began speaking by phone, I had a feeling that we would be come fast friends. Of course, her Southern upbringing and accent endeared her to me right away.

I love her take on traditional decor. Tobi’s rooms are grounded in the classics, but mixed with bold patterns, modern art and unexpected pops of color. Tobi’s work has been praised by Traditional Home and she is the recipient of 7 Gold awards from the American Society of Interior Designers.

Not only is she a talented designer, she is hostess extraordinaire—just look at some of her blog posts. Tobi has invited me to Little Rock and I am working to plan a summer visit. I look forward to being the recipient of her gracious hospitality.

As an aside, I had no idea that Tobi was going to post on my friend Michael Devine yesterday, and mention All the Best, as I started writing this post. Serendipity is wonderful!

How would you describe your personal style?
Feminine Innovative. My style is certainly rooted in classic elements but new and fresh. And certainly, I am a girly girl!


What is your most prized possession?
Well since my darling husband and daughter aren't really possessions, I would have to say my home. A lot of love and energy has been poured into creating a backdrop for our life.


What is the one thing in life you cannot live without?
I would have to say books, though fresh flowers and Jimmy Choo's are a close second (and third I guess!)


Who are your style icons?
Grace Kelly, Oscar de la Renta, Valentino, Coco Channel, Barbara Barry.


Who would you most like to collaborate with on a project?
Probably Carolyne Roehm, we could throw a grand soiree!!!


Which design books to you consider a must?
Jamie Drake, Kelly Werstler's Modern Glamour, Celerie Kemble, anything and everything by Carolyne Roehm, and Charles Faudre's Interiors…well really all his books!


What is your favorite luxury in life?
Private yoga sessions twice weekly with my teacher Holly, she is my yogi and my therapist all wrapped into one!



What is your idea of earthly happiness?
I am pretty close to it if not already there! I have my dream job and my dream family so all is right with the world!


How do you see the current economy shaping design trends in 2009?
I think the design business will never be the same after all that has happened with our country financially. I think that High-end design is certainly the place to be but even there I think the client is going to expect "extreme" service from this point forward.

I think everything will be value-driven and I don’t think clients will be willing to pay top dollar anymore without feeling they get more than their money's worth with both quality and service.

So the change for the interior designer is that it will take a lot more time and energy to take care of our clients than it ever has before!!


Past or present what designers have most influenced your style?
Jamie Drake, David Hicks, Tricia Guild, Dorothy Draper