Pillow Mania

I am ecstatic to finally be able to reveal these collections to you!  I have been dying to create a line of home accent pillows.  Pillows offer such variety and really are the perfect way to feel like you have redecorated the entire house without spending loads of money.  

Rizzy Home and I have partnered up again, this time to produce 4 collections of Laura Fair Pillows and they just debuted at the High Point Market.  Printed on a variety of cottons and flax, we've added special embroidered details and piping...I am in love with the way these pillows look and feel.  With a little display help from a couch...here they are, 

the Laura Fair Pillow Collections.

Moody Marine

A rich combination of all we love about the sea...pale greens, navy blues, and greys.

Spoleto

Inspired by the quaint Umbrian town and its spectacularly decorative cathedral.

Mint Juleps

A playfully splashy retro combination of greens, blues and oranges.

Chinoiserie Birds

I spied a beautiful embroidered tapestry on a visit to the Arezzo antiques market and was compelled to create a modern homage to it.

I would love to know which Collection is your favorite...I can't decide.  Somehow I have the feeling that I will end up with all of them at some point in the house!

Atlanta 2013

Laura Fair is gearing up for the
 The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market^®

 ...hope to see some of you there!

Buon Anno 2013

Happy New Year...Buon Anno!  Can you believe it...2013 has arrived?!  I have so many ideas for this coming year...cannot wait to jump right into all of my plans...hope you all are as encouraged as I am that it is going to be a good year!

Laura Fair will be introducing new product at The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market^® this month.  Be sure to stop by Evergreen Enterprises to see all the new designs.  Here is a little sneak peek into the  

Tuscan Impressions Collection for Cypress Home...

a huge abundance of color and pattern within four different themes.

Photo Frames, Memo Boards, Trinket Boxes, Travel Mugs, and more...

told you it was going to be good!

Buone Feste

Just popping in to say Happy Holidays to all of you! 

I thank you so much for your continued support you give to me. 
2012 was a great year, and I am wishing for more in 2013. 

(I also had to add a little private note from Ciccia Maria and Gatto Matto Leo.)  

Hope your holidays are wonderful.  Auguri di Buone Feste dalla Toscana!

Estate

Summer took a while to show its face around here...but when it did, it came with a vengeance.  Days blurred together in the haze, but I can't complain.  A natural born 9 hour-a-night sleeper changed her patterns.  Sweet heat granted me the rare chance to rise early and gaze upon the beauty that is dawn, lazily nap in the fire of the afternoon and savor the stunning sunset dusk.  Just think what I might have missed...

Primavera days

There is just something about spring in Tuscany, it never fails to knock me off my feet every year.  Those lingering cool breezes and longer days.  If you ask me about my favorite sounds I would immediately reply the sing song of birds before dawn and that ever present flutter of poplar leaves.  If you ask me about my favorite smells...those brightly yellow broom ginestre, maggio in dialect, or the dangling fragrant blooms of the acacia.  If you ask me about my favorite view...I will most likely tell you the fields of vibrant poppies papaveri or those rock roses full of fuchsia goodness...of course, you already knew that didn't you?  Primavera, a time for me to explore and to get lost...

Marzo

Yes, I know that it is May, Maggio and I am a little behind, but I just could not let time go by without giving you a glimpse into the month of March, Marzo.  It was a busy period here in Laura Fair land...my poor little hands and wrists went into overdrive designing away on new projects.  In fact, I still have a hard time looking back without ghost pains appearing in my right hand.  However, you know the saying, with all work and no play one runs the risk of lackluster designs...so you know that I took some time to travel around.  My Marzo escapes were full of florals and frescoes, lakes and sunsets, and a little wildlife for good measure.  You are going to love what we have for you in the pipeline...and thanks to my never disappoint me surroundings...it is more inspired than ever.

La Neve

Happy 2012 a tutti! Days are flying by fast this year...are we already in February? As per this time every year, I have been glued to a chair in the studio...losing myself in some amazing projects. Speaking of that and not to go back in time, but did I ever show you the new Laura Fair "12 Days of Christmas" collection I launched with Evergreen at the winter shows? How fun it is going to be to set the table and trim the tree for Natale in December!

Oh....and did I tell you about the blizzard? Just look at the front yard! For the last two weeks, Italy has been hit hard by snow, blistering winds, Siberian temperatures...no kidding...actual storms from Siberia! My poor friend Lynn got caught in the middle of it with us. Can you imagine...snowed in a 1400's farm house with a broken wood burning stove, a shivering cold dachshund, a mad Tuscan shoveling snow, and of course, bottles of wine. Thank goodness for having heavy duty snow chains on the car, otherwise we would have never managed to get out and cope with our cabin fever. As I type this, snow is melting, wood burning stove is flaming away, sun is shining, and I am smiling with the memory of it all.

Happy Holidays

Buon Natale! Buone Feste!
Wishing you a wonderful holiday season full of peace and joy,
and prosperity for all in the new year.
See you in 2012!

Auguri

Tanti auguri a me...happy birthday to me! 40...quaranta...a really big number. Thank goodness my birthday month started with drowning my sorrows in a big old Bloody Mary complete with all the fixin's and a Brunch of Eggs Benedict whipped up from scratch. Not to mention a whole gang of lovely old friends that joined me...from near and far. If you have not already guessed...I was Stateside for a quick indulgence of Thanksgiving and Birthday fun all wrapped up together, with a side of German Chocolate cake!

Grazie to all of you who celebrated with me, who stick by me and support me daily, and who continue to check in with me. Today I celebrate all of you...what a blessed girl I am! I know I mention it often, but I am so appreciative to have friends and family that make me feel as if I am next door instead of 5,000 miles away.

Oooo...I can't wait to get my second celebration started in Italia...

Autumn change

As the weather cools here...and having a few short minutes this morning...I did a little "autumn change". Would love to know what you all think about the new Laura Fair home page...

Tendence

I journeyed recently to attend Tendence, the international trade show for home furnishings, decor, and gifts in Frankfurt, Germany. And I mean journeyed...planes, trains, automobiles, buses and trams for that matter to reach my destination, but all worth it. Having gone to scout for trends and fabulous new products from companies all over the world, it was also a great excuse to catch up with good friend, Tracy, of the magazine Home Accents Today. To give you an idea of what we saw...here is a copy of a 2007 article she penned on the show.

I am always struck by how I feel in different countries after living in Italy for the last 6 1/2 years. I was surprised to note that I felt no attachment to Germany...at least not in that way I feel for Italy. Of course, the bustling city of Frankfurt is the polar opposite to my little town in the Italian countryside, but nonetheless, European all the same. I will say that Frankfurt has some fabulous shopping, quaint streets and restaurants, a beautiful waterfront, and we even stumbled upon a street food fair. Not a bad way to spend a weekend...even if work was involved...and always better to step away with some inspiration to boot.

After six

A walk in a sunflower field with girasoli bigger than my head; an international gathering of friends for a wine tasting...rose', syrah, sangiovese, merlot, cabernet; a sunset drive across the valley with fresh breezes in my hair; an extravagant festival dinner celebrating the frog...yes, I ate them again this year; playing a game simply to donate to children only to win a leather jacket and a turquoise blouse; the freshest pistachio gelato; a short visit with my puppies...who are not so much anymore after a year; fifteen cinghiale, wild boar...mamme bambini babbi; rounding the corner of our driveway to see yet another two little ones; a midnight snack with our two toddler falcons...yes, another story I have yet to tell you. Where I live...anything seems possible...just look at what can occur after 6:00 in the evening on a random Venerdi, Friday. Too good to be true. As my sister so wisely said to me...time to get out the gratitude journal...and oh how grateful I am to soak up every minute, be able to write about it, and savor the memories in low times.

Unbelievably...Sunday morning as I am writing this, a friend arrives at the door with more than a handful of truffles, tartufi. Irresistible...now I know I am having pasta for lunch.

Market Time

My first official day at the Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market has come to an end. Oh what a day it was...packed to the gills with meetings, dreaming of new product, seeing old friends, catching up, and of course checking out the new Laura Fair product launches! These little message boards are from Lone Elm Studios and come in 3 styles complete with little silver birdie magnets...aren't they cute?

I also got some insider news that I cannot wait to share...Laura Fair Enamelware with Golden Rabbit is going to be selling on QVC! Yes, I know...how cool is that? The Red Damask and Beach House Collections will be featured and when I have more info on airtimes...I will be sure to tell you. All in all a great day...what more can a girl ask from her first day in Atlanta?

Happy Day America

Sullivan's Island, South Carolina

July 4, 2011

Al Mare

We stole away...for a very short trip to the seaside...al mare. It was everything I wanted in a little place that has not changed since the 1940's. A little place that had its heyday in the 1920's. Imagine cabana boys and cocktails and colorful umbrellas and bikinis and long lazy afternoons on the terrace and mellow nights full of sea breezes and huge plates of mussels. As if you could not tell...I cherished every minute of the sweet time away...however brief it was.

Daily Life

I have been looking through my photos today and it dawned on me...some incredible images have been caught by my camera, but they are not making here for you all to see. For one reason or another, time, etc. I have not had the chance to post them. I decided some photos are just too beautiful to be kept to myself and don't even need an explanation. This has brought me to the idea to pledge to post an image every week with or without description just to give you an even better idea of the day to day life. Holding myself to posting weekly is going to be interesting...but here's to the start of "daily life".

Just a little commentary on this one...after a very long wine tasting led by Dino, these rings of scattering light had all of us absolutely entranced...

Papaveri

As I promised...here is a glimpse of those fields a fire in which I spoke earlier. Ohhh those papaveri, poppies, beauteous aren't they?

Gli Etruschi

Hard to believe that we have reached my beloved Maggio...the month of May. The skies are stunning and the ground is a fire with poppies and wild orchids (photos to come, I swear). I took a little time this morning to gather myself and look back through my hundreds of photos, sometimes the only way I can remember all of the things I have seen. I happened upon some special images of a lovely February day...the day I tried to unlock the secrets of the Etruscans, gli Etruschi.

Fortunate enough to chaperone una gita, field trip, with my little ones from school, I was led by the fabulous MAEC: Museo dell'Accademia Etrusca in Cortona through the ancient Etruscan tombs that surround our town. Something a select few get to experience I must say.

The Etruscans lived here in Tuscany far before the Romans and have even been credited with building the foundations of Rome. Found in tombs and on city walls, the earliest inscriptions date back to 1000 B.C. I learned that much of the language has never been deciphered and texts were not left behind. Historians have gathered their knowledge of these ancient people through their discoveries of sacred burial tombs, strange melon shaped mounds that dot the landscape of the valley surrounding Cortona. The Etruscans are extremely well known for their cast jewelry and their pottery. In fact, the valley still to this day houses priceless treasures...farmers have been known to stumble upon a primitive shard of terra cotta while simply plowing a field. Enough about the history, let's get to the good stuff.

I got the chance to enter the super secret room where those very shards found are painstakingly piece together to make history. And the bronze cast jewelry. Absolutely fascinating, almost life changing, as I had brief dreams of throwing away the design career and becoming an archaeologist.

But you all know...that would never happen, but knowing the influence and inspiration is not very far away is great.
(For a tourist plug of Cortona, when you visit here (you know you will)...make sure you visit the MAEC, it is so well done and you will not be disappointed.)

Secondo Anniversario

Over the past month or so, I have been very concentrated on growing and promoting Laura Fair by getting all LinkedIn and facebooked up that a short time ago, I truly felt the need to unplug...to take care of those bits of me that need to breathe fresh air, pick up a paint brush, live outdoors with the puppies, go for lazy drives, take pictures, all to be inspired to design even more. To top it off, we have been absolutely blessed with an unbelievable Spring...I should even say Summer as the temperatures are nearing heights we normally feel in June...so that I have done just that for a while...unplugged. Thus to indulge myself with a little computer time, and to celebrate my 2 year anniversary of sharing on this blog...here is a little glimpse into the last month...

March brought us a feeling of May...a blessing for my creativity I must say. I highly recommend a little unplug every once in a while and I promise I will be back soon, as I still have many things to share with you...but for now...it is time for me to get back out and play!