Hey Everybody,
This weekend you can hear me being interviewed by Olivia Wilder in a live to tape podcast. She’s a great interviewer and we spent a good hour or so talking of many things. If you have a chance go to (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/olivia).
I understand from fans that this week on the Fine Living Channel they did a Work That Room marathon. Several of you said you watched it all day and picked up even more info the second time around. That’s great—we really try to load the shows with wall-to -wall design tips for just that reason.
On Friday, I’ll be out and about on the streets of Santa Fe shooting a small video presentation based on a new TV series concept I’m developing. The local merchants have really been so warm and accommodating and that should be fun. I’ll let you know if we’re going to air it here—to soon to tell yet. But it will be interesting filming and being on camera again in this town that I’m crazy about.
I stopped in at a local Office Depot and was evidently the last person they expected to see. I do that from time to time just to keep the managers on their toes and get their honest opinions and consumer feedback about my line. The manager of this store came bounding up to me and said that my collections there had really changed his business and he just wanted to thank me. I let him know that new cool stuff would be coming in spring and that I’d stop by again. He was thrilled and I hope you will be too. There’s one collection that even I will be buying for myself so I can’t wait either.
I’m working with JoAnn’s on a whole new out door fabric collection that will be in stores in spring. I highly recommend these fabrics for indoors use too—especially for rooms that get a lot of sun—the fabric won’t fade and is soft enough that it feels like regular indoor fabric—not that stiff Sunbrella kind of feel. Even better it allows for a seamless visual transition from indoors to outside—and of course the new outdoor fabrics, as always, pre-coordinates with the rest of my fabric line so you can’t make a mistake.
Thanksgiving is close at hand. This year I’m flying into LA to enjoy the day with friends. It will be the first time back since I moved here. I’ll also be working with one of our interior design clients—breaking color through her whole house—something I love to do. Especially in established homes, paint color is always the great unifier.
Yes, a while ago we quietly opened up a new division of CLE called Christopher Lowell interior design. So much of our designing in the past years has either been for TV (they are REAL finished interiors but done on a TV schedule) or commercial designing. But because of Work That Room playing every weekend, we’ve been flooded with requests for more and more (non-TV) residential interior design. That’s a good sign that perhaps the economy is coming back.
Some of the requests are for people going through the downsizing process. That’s a subject near and dear to my heart. I hope we’re finally getting to the point where downsizing isn’t viewed as a step backwards but in fact an opportunity to reinvent. My home in Santa Fe is literally half the size as the one in LA and I live better in it then I did with a lot more square footage. I’m not only saving money in utilities and upkeep, but it’s easier to clean.
The move here made me really think about what I really use now and how much square footage I really needed. Because I’ve always purchased furniture with a timeless and classic eye, everything always looks custom to whichever home I move to. Now I feel like I have the best ‘visual’ moments of a home twice the size and everything is completely thought out right down to the medicine cabinets—moving is a great way to purge—keeping it that way is of course key.
I love that I use every room every day verses wandering through big public spaces that never got used—what a waist. So downsizing is truly nothing to be embarrassed about any more. In fact it’s just plain SMART in any economy!
More later.
You can do it!
CL