Tents for GQ event at Crown Victoria

I recently made a 2 tents for a GQ event here in Brooklyn. They hosted a night for designers NSF, The Hill-side, David Hart and STAMPD who won 2015 Best new menswear designers in America. They were honored at an event September 28th at Crown Victoria in Williamsburg. The idea was to create pop up shops for a night to showcase the goods made by these designers and launch their newest collaboration with the Gap.

My part in the event was limited to construction of the 12x12 foot tents that would house the designs of The Hill-side and NSF. They were set up along side two vintage air stream trailers for the other designers. Each tent was made to fit the existing armature of a pop up tent, but had to feel custom and elevated. I created slip covers to mask all of the armature on the interior and used about 70 yards of fabric to make each one!


I have done a lot of sewing in my life, but never anything at this massive scale. We had to create 12 ft wide walls that were over 11 ft tall, that's a lot of fabric to send through a standard sewing machine! Fortunately we had the benefit of a serger which allowed us to finish edges without adding a hem. Saved HOURS, reduced bulk and was really important to the craftsmanship.

We ended up making two different designs of tent. The khaki tent is made of one large piece that drapes over the top and then has panels that drop down in the front and back. The doors swag to the left and right side. It has a Safari feel to it with a nice overhang and a tall opening. The navy tent we constructed out of 4 identical pieces and sewed them together from the peak to the frame. I decided to have the doors roll up on this tent. They fasten with lovely natural colored cotton webbing and oil rubbed bronze D rings. This tent feels nautical to me. Both tents have an open structure below the armature for more flexibility in use. Depending on the weather, if it's a hot day you can get a nice cross breeze going from any of the 4 sides.


And some finished shots which include the styled fixtures and products as well. The stylist for the event paired my tents with lush rugs and beautiful hardwood flooring. It had a really fun glamping vibe that I think goes great with the menswear featured in the pop up!


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Woodstock getaway

For our first anniversary Paulo planned us a mid week getaway to the Catskills. What a lovely little trip we had. To be honest we spent most of it in the saltwater pool at the house he found for us on Airbnb.  Take a look at the property and you'll see why we stuck close to home!

 

So you'll notice not a shot of the pool to be seen. Well that's because I saved the best for last... I can honestly say I have never been in a more beautiful pool. The pool itself is a slate grey and it is surrounded by large tufts of grass on 2 sides, giant hydrangea bushes on one end and lounge chairs on the last. I felt like I was at a luxury spa or something. When you are floating in the pool and look up all you can see are beautiful maple and birch tree limbs in front of a clear blue sky. The fact that the pool was saltwater instead of heavily chlorinated was just the icing on the cake. I will dream of this pool.

So, when we finally got out of the pool and drove into Kingston we were greeted with lovely turn of the century buildings and cute shops and eateries. Kingston is the largest city in the area. We parked the car and wandered around downtown for a few. We ended up grabbing a Gyro at a little Greek spot, really adorable town. Lots of little antique shops, eateries, coffee shops and other retails stores. The next morning was the real culinary treat of the trip. Two words Phoenicia Diner.

This place is a gem. It's not like we stumbled upon an unknown secret. When I was in the Catskills for Phoenicia Flea about a month ago it was the big recommend. We didn't have time on that trip. Boy, am I glad we had time this week! Seems like pretty much everything on their menu is made in house or locally sourced. Speaking of the menu, how much do you love their branding?? I chose a skillet with cheese grits (my absolute fav) duck confit and shiitake mushrooms with a poached egg. It came with house made wheat bread that was fantastic as well.  Delicious coffee, fresh squeezed juice and then there were the corn cakes. These things are like pancakes but with fresh corn in them. My husband and I split a side order and I am so glad we did. Next time we are in the Catskills I want to hit them up for lunch, there was some kind of stuffed chicken dish that sounded amazing. They are only open for breakfast (served all day) and lunch (til 5pm), so don't plan on stopping by in the evening unless you are looking for libations. They have a little cocktail lounge that looks like a lot of 60's inspired fun as well that I believe is open later. After breakfast we wandered over to Woodstock via a route that took us along the Reservoir. Talk about a breath taking view...

Woodstock Getaway blog post from Courtney Dawley // Found by a Prop Stylist.JPG

After a brief walk around Woodstock, with a stop in this shop and that, we popped into Bread Alone Bakery. This a company who's bread we know and love from buying it in Brooklyn, so it was neat to find their storefront in Woodstock. We picked up some lunch for later and headed back to the pool! This really was a few days of pure relaxation. We ended the trip with a bottle of Vueve Cliquot in celebration of the occasion, a meal prepared entirely on the grill and we enjoyed it under the stars. The sounds in the Catskills really are spectacular, crickets, owls and cicadas, frogs and who knows what else! Can't wait to return.

Marimekko a little designer profile

I am drawn to Scandinavian design. The bright colors and graphic patterns, something about it really appeals to me. I feel like you can spot a pattern from Finland or Norway from a mile away. They are distinctive and I love it. I remember the first time I saw a Marimekko textile. I was with my mom at an outlet mall in CT. I was home from college for the summer and we were at the Crate & Barrel outlet to be exact. I saw these amazing lime green and yellow flowers on white. They were tablecloths but we devised a plan to turn them into drapes for my dining room in Savannah. They were a deal and we bought 4 cloths to make 8 drapes. They turned out great, and were much cheaper than buying yardage.

The tablecloths were, as you may have guessed, the Unikko pattern by Marimekko.

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Fast forward 11 years to Brooklyn, NY. My obsession with Marimekko has continued. I got married in September 2014 and ended up selecting a Marimekko design on Paperless Post for my announcements.

Marimekko blog post from Courtney Dawley // Found by a Prop Stylist

Anyway back to Marimekko rather than my love for them! The name Marimekko is a combination anagram and play on words. The founder's name is Armi Ratia, which is where you get the 'Mari' and 'mekko' means 'dress' in Finnish. In 1951 Finland had been devastated by the war and Armi Ratia wanted to bring commerce and joy to her fellow citizens. She believed that the happiness in life is brought from everyday little moments and the beauty around you. She surrounded herself with other talented designers and Marimekko was formed. They continue to design today, with the same philosophy and a desire for longevity and timelessness. In a world where it's a new fashion season every time you turn around we have become all too likely to move onto the next trend quickly. Marimekko strives to create textiles, clothing and accessories that will last decades.

I myself have not purchased their clothing, yet. But I am a proud owner of an umbrella and a tote bag. The umbrella is the pattern from my wedding invite above and makes me feel cheerful when the sky is grey. The tote is well made and lives in my purse so I can forgo the plastic bags when I happen to pop into CVS or the grocery store on the way home form somewhere. It is also a bright cheerful pattern.

If you are ever in NYC, I highly recommend you visit the Marimekko flagship store at 200 5th Ave. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to be surrounded by such colorful design. If you cant make it to their store, be sure to check them out online at marimekko.com.

Marimekko blog post from Courtney Dawley // Found by a Prop Stylist

I hope to make some new pillows for my couch this year using Marimekko fabric. They have pre-made on their site or there are at least a few etsy sellers who offer finished covers as well. Marimekko prints really make a statement and are sure to start a conversation.

 

 

 

Phoenicia flea and the catskills

Sometimes you just gotta get out. I am lucky enough to have a vehicle to take me where I want to go. This Sunday my friend Victoria and I decided we needed to get some fresh air and admire the lush green wilderness in the Catskill mountains. And, we heard there was a flea market! We left bright and early and had a few must see/do's on our list, farm stand and flea market, with the hopes of an estate sale or junk shop. Well as soon as we passed Kingston we found ourselves a farm stand. I bought a quart of beautiful and delicious strawberries. And Vic got herself some tomatoes and eggplant. None of the strawberries made it back to Brooklyn by the way. Yum.

As we continued on our journey we saw the sign! And we turned, and we drove a long way down a country road and then we saw another sign!

Then we turned and drove a long way down another country road and then we saw the Phoenicia Flea! It wasn't big, but it was beautiful. There were about 12 vendors arranged in a half circle around a little fire with picnic blankets laying about if you wanted to take a load off.

This week the flea was hosted by The Spruceton Inn (they rotate the location to different venues in the area). Spruceton is a small 10 room inn that is well off the beaten path and a great place to unplug for a spell. The decor is lovely as is the little bar which flanks one end of the inn. We did have extra incetives to visit the Flea as our friend Maresa, of Dusty Rose Vintage  based here in Greenpoint, was a vendor.

Speaking of vendors, everyone at the Flea was absolutely lovely. Small Room Collective was there, a husband and wife team that travel the country in their airstream trailer selling a beautifully curated collection of vintage and design items.

I also had the pleasure to meet Paul Lowe of Sweet Paul Magazine, whose publication I have admired for quite a while. If you have not picked up a copy yet, make sure that you do. The photography is top notch and it's full of fantastic recipes, information about designers and decor and my favorite, crafting how to's. It's $18 an issue, but it's printed on high quality paper and reads more like a mini book than a magazine. I bought the Summer 2015 issue and am loving it!

My other notable purchase of the day was this AMAZING scarf. It's vintage wool in really fantastic condition. I plan to use it as a table runner instead of a scarf. I'm sure you will see it again soon!

After a few hours chatting and browsing we headed into downtown Phoenicia, which consists of one street with about 4 restaurants and several shops. We found a cute little place for lunch had a bite and then hit "The Mystery Spot" vintage store. They had a great space with lots of fun things to check out. We wandered around downtown and then hit the road heading towards Kingston. We stopped at a store called Scandinavian Gracewhich which sold, you guessed it, Scandinavian products (which I absolutely love). They had a lovely assortment of Ittalia glassware, Marimekko pillows and a display of Kingston, NY artist Andrew Molleur's ceramics, who also happens to be profiled in the Summer 2015 issue of Sweet Paul Magazine! His porcelain bowls and vases at that location are in vibrant orange and beautiful soft greys. Loved it all, wish I could have brought a bowl home with me.

Next we moved on to Kingston, which would be the final stop of the day before heading back to Brooklyn. It was a cute town, much larger than I expected. The downtown area felt more like a small city than a town. There were lots of cute little stores and eateries and I bet it's a nice place to live. Because it was Sunday most everything was closed up tight, so we just did a drive by and then hit the road. We followed the Hudson down south through Westchester County, which soon became the Bronx, then Queens and finally Brooklyn. We were happy to be home, but hope to visit again soon. Maybe even in August, as the Phoenicia Flea will be making another appearance this summer on August 15th and 16th this time at the Westfield Orchard, details available at www.phoeniciaflea.com.

If you need inspiration of your own to get out of the city for the weekend and live in the NY area Escape Brooklyn is an excellent resource. Even if you don't live in the area, their site is worth a look!

Kaj Franck a little designer profile

Kaj Franck is a Finnish designer best known for his work for Arabia Finland. He studied furniture design in 1932 at the Central School of Industrial Design in Helsinki. Kaj Franck designed ceramics, glassware and my favorite, enamelware.  He went on to design glassware for Iittala, introducing the idea of individually sold glasses rather than the traditional set.

There are many patterns associated with Kaj Franck's enamelware. The most often found and widely produced are the mushroom pattern bowls. I have seen salad bowls and serving bowls in this pattern, it subsequently also ends up being the most affordable. Harder to come by is the elusive lobster pattern. I was lucky enough to come across one which is pictured below.

$125 on Etsy by FoundbyaPropStylist

$125 on Etsy by FoundbyaPropStylist

There are also hearts, vegetables, little blue clovers, the red daisy pattern (pictured below on mugs), chevril, cherries, there are about 20 patterns in all.

$62 each on Etsy by FoundbyaPropStylist

$62 each on Etsy by FoundbyaPropStylist

Many Arabia Finland aka Finel pieces you find will be stamped on the bottom as the mug shown above, but many are not. If you want to start collecting the best thing to do is identify the patterns associated with the designer and brand. I for one was hooked the first time I got my hands on a mushroom bowl! Stop by my etsy store as I almost always have some Kaj Franck in stock.

new site, new blog, new post

I am so excited to finally have updated my website. It has been on my to do list for about a year and life kept getting in the way! In the past when I redid my site it was a huge pain. I had to resize and reformat every picture. Write tons of copy to explain everything, but this time it was easy. I used a template from squarespace and 24hrs later here you have it. I even integrated my blog.

Speaking of blogs... that's why you're here.

Today I want to share with you my adventure on Governor's Island from this past weekend. We picked the most humid day of July for our trip, but I'm glad we suffered through the weather because we had a blast. If you live in Brooklyn like I do you'll be happy to know that the East River Ferry runs from Greenpoint (and all the other stops along the way) directly to GI on the weekends. The return ferry stops running around 6:30 though, so make sure you head to the Island early so you don't feel rushed to make it back by then. I am a sucker for a good ferry ride, so that alone made the day great.

Photo by Paulo Dias (@goldisthenewblack)

When we arrived on the island we were greeted by food trucks galore. It's like a mini Smorgasburg. Paulo and I had eaten earlier, but couldn't resist the Waffles & Dinges truck. After our nutella waffle we headed towards the beer garden and ended up in a little village  (Colonels Row) of wood sided homes that reminded me of something I would have seen in New England where I grew up. I wanted to claim one for my own and never leave! But alas, we had to meet up with some friends so we headed towards Little Eva's for some frozen lemonades (with vodka, ha, so refreshing) it is one of 2 places allowed to serve alcohol on the island.

Unbelievable this is in NYC!

After a couple of hours relaxing in the shade we decided we had to rent one of those 4 seater bikes (aka Surrey). We were a group of 10 + baby so we had to rent 2 4 seaters and a 2 seater. We pedaled around the island trying to avoid all the pedestrians (we should not have let the men drive...) and took in the views. Finally we took a break at the hammocks. We parked our surreys and returned to find someone was pedaling off in one. The guys ran after them and it turned out the capers were three 12 year old girls... HA HA. They claimed they though they were free to take, we're going to give them the benefit of the doubt on that one. Also we had to catch our ferry back to Brooklyn. We caught it with 5 minutes to spare!

Photo by Kathy Monahan (@vivalakathyyy)

All in all it was a great day. Next time I go I think I will go earlier in the morning, choose a cooler less humid day and bring my own bike as I think it is a great place to just go for a ride!