Name: Emily

Where do you live? Phoenix, Arizona

What do you do? Co-owner & graphic designer at Two Birds Creative, Inc.

DP Purchase/s: upper playground Dora Drimalas Bike Love Women’s Tee

What’s your favorite DP product and why? My “Bike Love” tee! I recently wore the shirt when I visited some friends in Portland, and to New Belgium’s Tour de Fat in Tempe, AZ. Basically, I love anything bicycle. It fascinates me that the bike is the only mode of transportation that improves with use.

Four sites/blogs you visit daily: I’m a graphic designer, but I love interior design and revamped old furniture.I feed that side of my design-self with Design*Sponge . The graphic designer in me loves all UnderConsideration’s blogs. My fave is Brand New . I’m currently planning our wedding so I visit many wedding blogs these days. One of my favorite is Once Wed . And finally Good reminds me daily that the world is an ever-evolving entity and we need to take care of it and each other.

Tell us about your home, office, workspace, or favorite nook and cranny. I spend most of my days in our home office. Design-wise — it’s a work in progress. It’s a mish-mash of both our (my fiance and my) design styles — natural wood mixed with “modern” IKEA purchases marked with found objects from around the world. I would love for it to one day morph into a photo out of DominoMag. Most of the time, our office is a mess, but it is cozy and bright, and we love it.

Do you collect anything? Tell us of your treasures…. I’m a bit of a collector and a major garage saler—it’s a little ridiculous. Garage sales are where I find most of my collectibles. I have a collection of small frog figurines, and a nice collection of retro flower-power ceramic stackable coffee mugs. Recently, I’ve started a bird collection for our company Two Birds Creative.

Movies you can watch over and over: One summer vacation as a teen, I got really sick and was stuck in my aunt’s “computer room” with no cable and one dvd You’ve Got Mail. Every since then, whenever I feel really sick, You’ve Got Mail makes me feel a little better. Add to the list the Sandlot and That Thing You Do.

Random Fact: We have a 3-legged Australian Kelpie mix named Hopalong Dixie. She also has a blog :::> http://dixileta.blogspot.com/. And she’s famous. The AZ Humane Society liked a photo of Dixie so much they asked if they could blow it up and hang it in their new pet boutique. We’ve yet to go see it if it’s up, but they had us sign a model release and everything!

Thanks, Emily!

Inspired? Show us your place! E-mail (press [at] designpublic.com), Tweet or Facebook your Design Public purchases!

My aunt bought some gorgeous Thomas Paul pillows for our family place in Maine (much to my chagrin, as I could have ordered them at DP), but when I asked her where she’d found them, she sent me to fourTwelve Home in Rockland. Formerly just the clothing and accessories boutique, the shop acquired the space next door and opened up a home store.

Home Goodies to the left, Clothing to the right…hey, there’s my Mom!

This shop combines just the right combination of historical preservation and regency glamor. The original wooden floors are painted light gray with a tiny hint of green/blue in it. The original exposed brick walls are painted white. The ceilings are covered in white tin tiles, and the exposed pipes are painted white. That’s where the the old patina shows through; everything else is shiny and fresh. It is a perfect balance. There are fabulous light fixtures hanging in a line down both halves of the store, there is oversized floral wallpaper in the dressing rooms along with benches, there are gorgeous mirrors and mirrored furniture, there is a large velvet ottoman in the boutique (it looks like it came straight from Nanette Lepore’s closet), and there are little peacocks peeking out at you here and there from the tops of shelves.

Included in the home items were John Derian decoupage, Jonathan Adler vases, Thomas Paul pillows, Bob’s My Uncle sea life plates, emu furniture, funny books, gorgeous soaps and bath items, those cool Caspari long match matchbooks, and a fun array of letterpress cards. It’s a perfect stop for accessorizing one’s own home or for picking up a great gift for just about anyone for any occassion at any price point.

By the way, among all the great articles of clothing they had in there, I kept pulling out the cutest pieces and they were all by Beth Bowley, whom I hadn’t heard of before. It turns out she is the owner, a Parsons grad, and she launched her clothing line in 1998.

Overall, the decor reminded me of the jewelry available in the store. The newer lines are very delicate, and handcrafted from silver and gold. In addition, they have a wide array of vintage pieces that are unique with some hints of funk and a few well-earned signs of age. It’s a new inspiration I know I’ll keep in the back of my mind whenever I am decorating.

Oh, and look! It’s a tea party complete with Panton chairs!

Images from poppytalkhandmade and mimimouse. To order, click here.

I haven’t, but I’m dying to! What did you think?

I’m a huge fan of Bill Cunningham, and he has a charming video here about the fashions he’s seeing on The High Line.

Speaking of fashion, check out the High Line Merch here. I love the Trina Turk green and white print hat:

Keep up with High Line news over at The High Line Blog and the ever-growing Friends of The High Line flickr group pool. This shot is from flickr member ljpsf.

top two photos from thehighline.org

Since Ali went there and admitted to watching The Real World yesterday, I figured I’d just go there and admit that I watch Whitney Port navigate The City on a weekly basis. The hilariously cold and snobbish “social” Olivia Palermo has a pretty sweet pad. I equate plopping a Hermes logo tray to wearing a T-shirt that says “J’adore Dior,” or me pinning my Ralph Lauren Polo tags to my bulletin board when I was eleven, but this room is pretty nice. I certainly would not let that cousin of hers put his dirty nasty self anywhere near the white John Robshaw pillows, but since those have been available on The Home Shopping Network she should probably pitch them anyway. What kind of trust fund princess with a fake job at DVF would be caught dead with goods that are readily available to the masses?

Also on The City, two random chicks no one cares about gossip about making out while perched in big Kelly Wearstler chairs at Bergdorf’s…

images are screen shots from mtv.com

In spite of their torturous heel placement and the fact that they run ridiculously narrow, I love Christian Louboutin’s shoes. The man owns homes in Egypt, Paris, Portugal and the French countryside, so like the shoes he designs, he is ridiculously extravagant, but the resultant beauty seems worth the high-maintenance issues. I’ve seen his Egyptian sailboat featured here, but I had not seen his 13th century French chateau until I finally cracked open the October issue of In Style. It’s dreamy, and he accomplished his mission of making the place look like it “belongs to a family that has been traveling and accumulating for decades.”

Louboutin has such a wise attitude concerning what makes a house a home, and the value of the signs of age and life. I recommend picking up the issue just to read what he has to say about decorating.

all photos shot by Francois Halard for In Style Magazine.

I used to think Rachel Zoe was just a really skinny fur and maxidress clad talented fashion stylist who turned Nicole Richie from a normal-sized, tacky logo clad teenager into a Pucci and Missoni clad stick figure. However, I am totally addicted to her new show, The Rachel Zoe Project on Bravo. Tonight she’s going to be shopping for her own home. It should be pretty interesting and involve a lot of sticker shock, especially since she is going to be shopping at Fendi Casa. Zoe understands that the appearance of her environment is a reflection of her and her brand. She also follows the same philosophy we advocate: Scrimp on the trendy items, splurge on the classic important pieces. Also, she believes that it is “extremely important that you love what’s in your home.”

I have a sneaking suspicion she is going to SHUT IT DOWN in terms of what her home looks like tonight. I also have a sneaking suspicion her husband is not going to be too happy with the credit card debt!

Click on the image above to see a sneak peek of tonight’s episode.

Image from bravotv.com

Not only will this be THE pet show to go to but we are proud to report that two of our pet loving designers will be featured at the event.

You’ll find all the Marmalade pet care products at the Ecouture exhibit…

And…

Jed Crystal from Hepper has a soon to be available NomNom food tray which was chosen as one of the eight finalists for the Pet Fashion Week Lifestyle Innovation Awards. This highly coveted industry award is presented to one of the eight companies that has demonstrated the highest excellence in pet product design. This year, Pet Fashion Week NY has chosen “pet dinnerware” as its featured category for the PFW Lifestyle Innovation Award. So, I present to you the NomNom! Good luck, Jed…we are rooting for you!

* Above Pet Fashion Week photography by Nathan Shanahan, Dog accessories by Fab Dog, Styling by Annemarie Aldrich, Courtesy of Pet Fashion Week NY

Maria Beatrice and Leonardo Ferragamo’s Villa Le Rose

Oh how I want to be Margaret Russell, the Editor of ELLE DECOR. In addition to her unparalleled editorial skills, she must have about 8,000 cocktail dresses that look fabulous on her. In the foreward to my new favorite book, So Chic: Glamorous Lives, Stylish Spaces, she defines what makes a space chic:

But what exactly is chic? Webster’s defines the word as “cleverly stylish; smart; a woman who adapts fashion to her own personality.” When it comes to interiors, chic is that and far more. A chic space can be razzle-dazzle glamorous or quietly unpretentious, seriously sophisticated or unapologetically bohemian. The unifying thread is indisutabley confidence, no doubt boosted by splashes of joie de vivre and flair.

Jaouad Kadiri’s Moroccan Country House

Kenneth Jay Lane’s Stanford White Designed Park Avenue Townhouse

This is a really good way to describe ELLE DECOR. They offer a wide range of styles in their spreads unlike any other magazine, from over-the-top opulence of say, Kenneth Jay Lane, to the lived-in rustic look of Ralph Lauren; from the eclectic vibe of Anh Duong to the elegant Grey Gardens-esque decay of John Derian; from the vintage but modernly crisp Thomas O’Brien to the exotic shapes and textures used by Jaouad Kadiri. This book culls the best examples from the magazine’s archives, and the range of styles is remarkable. The common thread is that they are all, undoubtedly chic due to the designers’ individual styles, whether they be influenced by the Ottoman empire, mid-century modern, vintage, Hollywood Regency, Morocco, the eclectic mix, et. al.

Ranjana & Naeem Khan’s SoHo Loft

For example, I took note of the different wallcoverings in the book. There were crisp white walls, classic murals, antique Chinese wallpapers, grasscloths, ethnic tiles, genius artwork arrangements, mirrors, bold stripes and luxurious printed fabrics.

Muriel Brandolini’s Upper East Side Townhouse

Tamara Mellon’s London Flat (O.K., I want to be her the most; she has every Jimmy Choo shoe in her closet!)

Sheila Bridges’ Harlem Apartment

Thomas O’Brien’s Wall of Inspiration

Delphine and Reed Krakoff’s Southampton Home

Anh Duong’s West Village Loft

Sarah Jessica Parker’s Hamptons Home

John Derian’s Lower East Side Pad

It was impossible to pick favorite photos from this book, but I thought these were some great examples. Here are the photo credits, in order, from the elite group that shoots for ELLE DECOR:

• Pieter Estersohn

• Henry Bourne

• Pieter Estersohn

• Simon Upton

• Pieter Estersohn

• Simon Upton

• William Waldron

• William Waldron

• Reed Krakoff

• Simon Upton

• William Waldron

• William Waldron

For those of you too young to remember, this is from The Carol Burnett Show spoof skit, “Went with the Wind.” When Michael Kors references Scarlett O’Hara, Carol and curtains on Project Runway, this is what he’s talking about. God I miss that show. It was HILARIOUS!

Lately I look around at fashion and interior design and the trends are interchangable. Right now, exotic textiles seem to have spread from beds to bodies. It’s hard to know which design field started it first. Oscar de la Renta, who has home furnishing and fashion designs seems to be leading the suzani and ikat fads over to fashion:

For zebra, who knows? It’s been a staple at Dior for years:

Animal skins have always been popular in both interior design and fashion design. In this case, I think the snake went from boots to bags and then from bench to trench. My favorite example is the only good thing in the movie “The Nanny Diaries” (Blockbuster, I want my four bucks back), Laura Linney’s fabulous Dior Python trench:

Here it is on a bench made by Two’sCompany:

The recent ikat rage started in interior design, but is now all over the runways. Madeline Weinrib has been leading the pillow charge, while Oscar d.l.R. has brought it over to dresses:

Yves St. Laurant is in on the Ikat action as well. This one is somewhere between deconstructed Ikat and Ombre:

Here’s the latest from Diane von Furstenberg:

Well, I have a stack of ripped-out pages from glossies and could go on forever, but I’ll stop here for now or else this post will never be published!

Carol Burnett Show photo from itsthecarolburnettshow.com

Suzani photo from Domino December 2007, via girl meets glamour. Suzani-inspired skirt is an Oscar de la Renta ad from Vogue February 2008.

Zebra chairs photo from H&G. Zebra rug photo from Domino. Does anyone remember the original room this one was inspired by? I can’t seem to find it, I think it’s from the 1920s. Zebra trench from a Dior ad in February 2008 Vogue.

Laura Linney still from The Nanny Diaries via The Washington Post. Python bench from twoscompany.com.

Ikat pillows from Madeline Weinrib. Ikat living room from InStyle Home. Ikat sofa: Lee Jofa’s Pardah Print as seen in H&G. Ikat dress from Oscar de la Renta. YSL Ikat bag from Nordstrums; illustration by R. Toledo. J. Lo photo from Bazaar. Last Ikat photo is from Bazaar as well.