The Day of Reckoning

Is coming. Summer is marching ahead. The foliage is overly green and heavy. The blue hydrangeas are incredibly beautiful –filled out and heavy hanging, colors changing by the day. Transient blooms are fading as vines take over the garden. Related Images:
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The Fourth of July

There’s a shopping mall near our house that used to be a 44 -acre brass mill complex. For many years after it closed it was an eyesore. Until it was re-created with new purpose- a shopping destination- complete with pictures of metal gears on the walls. Related Images:
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Birthday Girl

It’s my birthday today! I had to explain to someone today how Paola Pillows have their origins in fine art. My dilemma was how to infuse fine art training into home décor products. A garden inside the home- art made practical- and voila! Paola was born. To celebrate today, I placed Paola Pillows artfully in a photo of the field at Campo de’ Fiori -with other outdoor sculptures. (The only difference being that Paola Pillows are not outdoor pillows at all-considering how soft, all cotton, down and feathers they are. Paola Pillows live inside with other treasured art you can
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Flowers and Jazz

I’ve been reading about the Golden Age of Gardening and formal gardens created in America starting in the 1880s. Wealthy Americans emerging from over- industrialized cities arrived in the countryside, acquired very grand homes and proceeded to create an oasis of continual blooms. Just like me. (Hah, I can dream, anyway) Related Images:
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Sunflowers and Tag Sales

Today was tag sale day. Chaos reigned for a few days leading up to it. When we merged homes in 2009, we couldn’t see our way to getting rid of all the extras. We moved most of it into a storage unit the next town over.  Related Images:
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NYC, here we go..again.

Tomorrow morning we’ll be driving to NYC at 5AM for the ICFF show at the Javitts. Too much going on in pillow business land to be terribly loquacious at the moment. I’ll let you know what I saw later in the week…do you think this pillow looks like French Fries? Related Images:
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My Garden is Growing!

Green shoots coming up everywhere, fat azalea buds busting free. And the lily leaf beetles keep surfacing on the lilies. I try to get them every day but it’s becoming every other day. I spent time this week preparing the new bed for the dahlia tubers and cultivating around the hostas. Related Images:
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Leaving on a Train

It takes about an hour to get to the train from the northwest corner of CT so I was sure to leave early enough to be on time for the 6:48 to Grand Central. So focused on an early departure; I left my pocketbook home. GEESH. Related Images:
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Accent on Wallcoverings

Sometimes, I like to mix things up a little to share interesting ideas. I met Amy Emery, an Interior Decorator from Greenville SC last year and recently asked her to share some practical decorating tips. She offered up accents and patterned papers- sounds like a plan. So, grab a pillow, a glass of wine, kick back and… Related Images:
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A New Paola Pillow Frontier

In between sales calls, printing oversight and identifying shows, I find myself at times rebelliously fading back to design exploration. You can see looking at my site that color is very important to me. The “pop” of color is better described as an EXPLOSION. Related Images:
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