Thoughts from Sally: I discovered a new artist not long ago – at least she is a new artist to ME. Meet Leslie M.W. Graff - who floored me with her images celebrating the artistry of domestic life.

Sparkly Clean

I love the colors of Sparkly Clean, above. A black and white floor in the kitchen is one of my favorite choices for a kitchen, and red as an accent color makes it POP! Do you see any similarities between your mother and Leslie’s model? (which might be Leslie herself.)

I love her paintings for their peppy and fun depiction of home life – which reminds me of the 1950-60′s. Can’t you just see Lucille Ball? Who wouldn’t want to be reminded of that seemingly innocent and idyllic time? Leslie, however, explains on her website that she is doing something deeper, she strives to “create striking aesthetic images that explore deeper questions related to family life.”

Soft and Clean

Stirring Things Up

Last week, Sally and I traveled to Las Vegas, where she spoke on a panel moderated by Mark Brunetz at the International Design Guild’s annual summit. I rode along on her coat tails… (I now tell friends that I’m married to a rock star interior designer.)The conference, panel discussion and visit to the Surfaces Flooring convention, which was running concurrently with the conference, were all memorable and very worthwhile. Great contacts were made, networking was done and the very best banana cream pie in the world was consumed.

Left to right: Mark Brunetz moderator, Susan Anthony,  Sally Wilson, Emily Winters, Greg Holmes The panel addressed the design trade business and what designers are facing in today’s market.

We took a day to walk “the strip”. (Very sore feet…. I don’t recommend this without a very good pair of walking shoes or sneakers…)  The Swarovski Chandelier at the Cosmopolitan was amazing…

We had lunch at Emeril Lagasse’s Table 10 in theVenetian, concluding the meal with the very best banana cream pie in the world!

We stayed at the Mandalay Bay, where we took in the Shark Reef tank.

The tunnel through the tank was amazing!!!

On our last day, we took in the Surfaces flooring convention, where we made several very good connections and discoveries, particularly from The Natural Carpet Company.

Braided rug samples.

Out door and wet floor area rug samples using Sunbrella fabrics.

We saw many samples of blends of wool and natural fibers. Wool is definately making a comeback!

We especially loved this contemporary sample. The tip shearing used to create the field pattern is incredible!

Lots of fun, long tiring flights, new friends and good memories.

Now it’s on to Designer Show House proposals and catching up on work deadlines.

Cheers,

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