Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Happy belated Valentine's Day!

Yikes! Yesterday was the big day, and I got so caught up celebrating with Darrell and Nicki, the two loves of my life, that I completely forgot the Valentine's poem I had found and saved specially to share with you!

I hope your special day was filled with love and spent happily with those nearest and dearest to you. And today, to all of you from all of us at RSVPstyle, Happy (belated) Valentine's Day!

A friend is like a Valentine,
Heartwarming, bringing pleasure,
Connected to good feelings,
With memories to treasure.

Seeing a special Valentine
Brings happiness to stay,
And that's what you do, friend,
You brighten every day!

-- Anonymous

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Hot design + inspiration: Highlights from Winter LV Market


Woohoo! I'm back in Vegas, baby — this time for Winter Las Vegas Market. As you know, this is a veritable smorgasbord of the hottest new trends in interior design, furnishings and accents in the country. I'm here on a dual mission: to find fun, unique items to sell along with your gently used consignment items at our upcoming Cathy's Marketplace showroom, and to supplement the CM items we're using to furnish our Cathy's Marketplace concept house in Diamond Head.

These are both huge jobs, but fortunately I've got awesome help. Joining me on this whirlwind trip are Kara, Caty and Chelsey. Sound like fun? You bet your bootie it was! Here are some highlights from our three days at Winter Las Vegas Market.



Look who we ran into — our friend Travis Blackwood from South Carolina! Travis is our partner in the new Creations bedding line we're currently designing for the national market. He's always a lot of fun and we wished we could have had lunch together, but we were so busy we were literally always eating on the run. Next time, I promise!



Love the eclecticness of these accessories! At LV Market it was color, color everywhere. Bright yellows and oranges are still strong...



...and you also saw lots of turquoise and use of fabric, as in these Asian/Moroccan-inspired lighting fixtures.


Everywhere, it was all about global consciousness and design elements from around the world.


Chelsey's a natural in this organic reclaimed-wood armchair. Doesn't she look more than a bit queenly?


Always on the lookout for a touch of whimsy! Love this duck-footed mirror!


Groovy Stuff: That's the name of Chris Bruning's collection. I found lots of groovy things for our Cathy's Marketplace concept house, which belongs to a friend who loves reclaimed wood and anything unique and interesting. Chris is a fun-loving artist who's lived on Oahu's North Shore. He’s also about sharing and giving back and empowering people, like with the contest he sponsored for university students using reclaimed wood pieces. Is that groovy or what?!



I met designer Casey Fisher of Haute House three or four years ago at LV Market. Casey's signature is one-of-a-kind furniture pieces you would see right out of MTV. He loves bling, loves over the top, loves designing for the Beverly Hills and rock 'n roll crowd, totally my kind of designer!



More from Haute House.


Kara's metallic outfit is a perfect match for HH's metallic ottomans!


Always one of my favorite stops is the Phillips Collection. It's a great family business run by Mark and Julie Phillips and their son Jason, an award-winning designer. They do amazing things with not only reclaimed wood but also unexpected materials like their seatbelt chair. Their use of color is bold, sophisticated and nuanced, and their tongue-in-cheek designs always leave you with a smile and amazement at their creativity and sense of style.


Here's a quick clip of my interview with Jason Phillips, the creative director of Phillips Collection. Can you believe he's just 28 this year?!




Not all work, exactly: After working the market all day and night, in the wee hours Caty and Chelsey had to hit the slot machines. And boy, did they pay for it in the morning!


Phew, what a trip! And I haven't mentioned one of the best parts: To keep company expenses down, four of us girls squeezed into one hotel room with our eight pieces of luggage. Biggest challenge? Sharing bathroom and mirror time, of course! Amazingly, we did not kill each other. It was a great bonding trip and we got a lot accomplished. But I do have to say, there's no place like home!


I'll leave you with this, our last look at Las Vegas Market.