Theselast few weeks have been a nonstop round of exciting days and evenings withgreat shows, designers, bloggers and many other amazing people that I amthrilled to have met and spent time with. So much has happened, where to begin?
FirstI was invited to a breakfast at Poggenpohl to kick off Blogtour2011. For those whomissed it, the tour was set up by Modenus, the online design resource. They andthe producers of the Architectural Digest Home Design Show and mydeco.com areorganizing a series of Blogtours, this and Blogtour2012. The tours bringbloggers from US and UK together, first at LDF in September of 2011 and then atNYDF in March of 2012. Do check them out!
I gotto put faces to names and more importantly ground my virtual world, a reason whybloggers events are always so successful; we need/want human contact.
Afterseeing Poggenpohl’s stunning showroom (they never seem to disappoint me withtheir amazing collections), we made our way to Tent and Origin. I really lovedthose two events, it allowed me to actually meet some of the designers I alreadyknew online; to be able to see their stylish creations was so inspiring.
Ilove what I do, being surrounded by amazing designs just doesn’t get any betterthan this.
Some of my favourites were:
· Melanie Porter (love her work, my favourite is Edward the Union Jack chair),
· Mini moderns (the colours make me smile and I am looking forward to doing a projectwith their amazing wallpaper),
· Curiousa & Curiousa (I love lighting and when you pair it with beautiful colour youget stunning designs),
· Abigail Borg ( this is one designer that is not afraid to be bold and the end result;gorgeous patterns),
· Esther Coombs ( love her up-cycled vintage ceramics with illustrations drawn by hand),
DecorexInternational 2011 was next. I was disappointed. I didn’t see many new excitingideas from the big names, were they resting on their laurels?
I was pleasantly surprisedthough with how much great design is coming out of Portugal; yes I know you think I am biased because I am Portuguese but believe me it's not. I was beaming with pride and as a result I madesure to introduce most of them to a selection of my designer friends and they absolutelyloved their work - in fact they told me they will incorporate their productsin their present projects. Here are a sample:
Ifyou want to check them out see:
· Ana Barreto (not only an amazing interior designer but now she also has made herfurniture available and the collection is to die for),
· Munna(their furniture is all about emotions; take a look at it and you willunderstand why, beware you will fall in love with them),
· Boca do Lobo ( they design and think outside the box in order to give you outstandingquality together with stunning statement pieces) ,
· Delightfull( their lighting design is just superb while catering for most tastes includingmine since I took a fancy to one),
· Tapetes Beiriz (their rugs are just gorgeous, not only the designs are fresh but thequality shines through) amongst others.
Ialso thought that And So To Bed stand was very original; with their daily giveawayice cream they won my heart (yes I think I tried nearly every flavour, oopsydaisy was I being greedy?). Since sleeping is so important you must check themout if you are about to buy a new bed.
Thenthere were the ones who inspired me with colour i.e. Aram, Little Greene andRoobarb to name just a few.
Ithen made my way to Focus and was shocked. In 2010 nearly everyone had gone totown decorating the shop windows and the creative juices had flowed around withsuperb results, this year maybe it’s the recession and window budgets were muchlower. Don’t get me wrong they were decorated with lovely fabrics from theircollections but the imagination and creativity had gone out of the metaphoricalwindow.
Sayingthat I saw some amazing collections and to name only a few check outGP&JBaker, Romo, Mulberry, Harlequin, etc.
Iwould also like to thank my fellow UK bloggers/designers the ones I met for thefirst time and the ones I already knew, I really enjoyed the time we spenttogether these last few days; Carole, Arianna, Kate, Daniel, Heather, Jacqui, Pippa,Will, Hamish, Jonathan, Emily, Jo, Ellie, Vanessa, Gemma, Hannah, Tim, Mary, Karen,Katie, Jenny, Sophie, Andrew and Joanna.
Thanksalso to Stacey, Paul, Bob, Carmen, Leslie, Amy, Andie, Michelle C, Mae & Elise, Meredith,Michelle, Jonathan, Mollie, Veronika, Tamara and Susan. These good folkfrom across the pond made it a week to remember.
Andfinally Modenus, My Deco, Poggenpohl, Achica Living, Blanco, Samuel Heath,Victoria+Albert, Wallunica and Spirit of Sports, thanks for making this possible;for understanding the power of social media and being at the forefront of it.
Thatwas my LDF2011, I hope you enjoyed it, keep looking I will have a few surprisescoming up so stay tuned!
www.aguilarinteriors.com
www.aguilarinteriors.com
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