Mark your calendar for the most highly anticipated design event this spring….La Cienega Design Quarter’s LEGENDS, a 3-day extravaganza of keynote speakers, cocktail parties, open houses, exhibitions and networking with the top design editors, writers and bloggers from throughout the country. After experiencing LEGENDS for the first time last spring, I knew I had to make it an annual creative pilgrimage! I am thrilled to an ambassador for this year’s event and look forward to sharing coverage of all of the events in just a few short weeks.
Now in its seventh consecutive year, the event has attracted over 60,000 guests and all funds raised go towards Habitat for Humanity and the La Cienega Design Quarter Beautification Fund. The LCDQ was established in 2008 to promote the flourishing antiques and design community in one of Los Angeles’ oldest thoroughfares. Since the 1950s, it has been a shopping hot spot for designers such as William Haines, Else de Wolfe, Tony Duquette and Frances Elkins.
Don’t miss the video below which captures the essence of LEGENDS in sunny Los Angeles…
Sixty-seven talented designers from around the country will transform the windows of the LCDQ member shops, showrooms and galleries on the theme of Where Muses Dwell. The designers have been asked to present to the design aficionados who throng the LCDQ during LEGENDS where their muse dwells. The designers have been asked to bring their muses to life and show guests WHO, WHAT, WHEN or WHERE inspires them most.
1) A spirit or source that inspires an artist
2) Greek Mythology. any of the Muses
a) the spirit that is thought to inspire a poet or other artist; source of genius or inspiration
b) Now Rare, a poet
I asked some of my favorite design muses what made the LEGENDS event so special….enjoy!
“LCDQ is a unique event that unifies the design community. It seems all facets of our industry participate, from shop owners, to decorators,magazine editors and bloggers. It makes it all the more fun!”
“I love LCDQ because it’s an event that it brings together the design community like no other. There is a sense of inclusiveness unique to LCDQ. Interior designers, showroom owners, magazine editors and design enthusiasts mingle, learn and share in the joy of design. To quote Patrick Dragonette, it’s like spring break for the design community! It’s positive,fun with a “design for all” ethos.”
“I am always excited for this time of year, spring and the LCDQ Legends event! The opportunity to meet so many talented people associated with the design industry. Our lives are so busy day to day, it is a delight to share ideas, see old friends, and make new ones. I am looking forward to another year of incredible windows, great talks, and happy gatherings!”
“LCDQ is engaging, experientail,intimate and exceptional. We love to meet and greet with new friends and old, hear terrific speakers, and persue la Cinega’s wonderful design outposts. All of this in LA’s heavenly weather.”
“Legends of La Cienega has become one of the premier design events in the country. As a designer, it is absolutely THE place to be! Los Angeles has become a major destination for designers. Its vibrant culture and growing design community makes it an amazing place to draw inspiration from. Legends of La Cienega gives designers the opportunity to interact with one another and to realize how different, yet similar, the design industry is across the US. I am so looking forward to the opportunity to reconnect with old friends, meet new friends, and see what’s fresh and exciting in the design world!
Alexandra Loew – Jamal’s
Amanda Richards – JD Staron – Edith Piaf
Amy Meier – Marc Phillips – My Mother’s Workroom
Annette English – Downtown – A Guiding Genius
Barondes Morris – Egg & Dart – Gustav Eiffel
Betsy Burnham – Mecox – Wild Animals
Cami Wright – Sherle Wagner – The South/ Texas
Christina Rottman – Mansour
Christopher Kennedy – Marc Phillips
Cliff Fong – Dragonette
Commune Design – Remains – Viennese Secession
Curated – Downtown
Elizabeth Dinkel – Nicky Rising – Julia Morgan
Gary Gibson – Lee Stanton –Sculptor Martin Puryear
Geoffrey de Sousa – Tufenkian
Hallworth Design – Lee Stanton – Mother Nature
Hammer & Spear – Woven Accents
Jason Oliver Nixon/Madcap Cottage – Baker
Jeff Andrews – Fuller & Roberts – Movement
Jeneration Interiors (Jennifer Dyer) – Ralph’s Antiques
John Wooden – Mansour
Julia Buckingham – The Rug Company – Slim Aarons
Kate Lester Interiors – Hollywood Sierra Kitchens – Father Time
Katie & Jason Maine – Jean de Merry
Ken Fulk – Therien – The Movie Inside My Mind
Kendall Wilkinson – George Smith – Blondie
Kerry Joyce – McKinnon & Harris
KM Nelson – Egg & Dart – Pauline de Rothschild
Konstantin Kakanias – Jasper
Kylee Shintaffer – Hollyhock
Larry Rizkowsky – The Rug Affair – Bank Vault
Laura Kirar – Baker
L’Esperance Design – Dragonette – The World of Cartier
Mark Sikes – Hollywood at Home
Matt O’Dorisio – Cote Jardin – Yves Saint Laurent
Maxime Jacquet – George Smith – Andy Warhol
Maya Williams – Marc Phillips – Women of Rock
Michelle Workman – Mehraban – Starlettes & Set Decorators of the 1940’s
Natasha Baradaran – Claremont – La Dolce Vita
Nathan Turner – Serena & Lily
Patrick Ediger – Gina Berschneider – Marie Antoinette & Thalia
Philip Gorrivan – Harbinger
Platner & Company – Stark – Rose Cumming
Ryan Saghian – Janet Yonaty – Iran
Sam Allen – Hollyhock
Scot Meacham Wood – Mehraban
Scott Mitchell – Jonas
Stephen Shutts Design – Sherle Wagner – Eden
Studio Tim Campbell – Elizabeth Eakins
Susan Cohen – JD Staron – Coco Chanel
Tag Front – Renaissance – Maria Felix
Thomas Allardyce – Janet Yonaty – Euterpe (Greek Goddess of Music)
Tim Barber – Waterworks
Timothy Corrigan – Compas – Jean Charles Moreux
Todd Nickey & Amy Kehoe – Hollywood at Home – Wes Anderson
Vance Burke – Reborn Antiques – Albert Hadley
Windsor Smith – Arteriors – Renee Perle
Young Huh – Harbinger
For coverage of last year’s LCDQ LEGENDS event, click here.
For more of my design inspiration, please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and subscribe to Bespoke Banter….Thanks for reading and please visit again!
Stepping into the mad, mad, madcap world of John Loecke and Jason Oliver Nixon is like falling down the rabbit hole into a technicolor-ed design fantasy. Painted butterflies, Japanese paper lanterns and pachyderms donning top hats delightfully coexist with a treasure trove of vintage finds in their charming High Point design laboratory. Greeted by a glittery disco ball and my favorite dance tunes, I felt instantly at home as I entered their curated cabinet of curiosities. This creative dynamic duo only arrived in High Point eight short months ago, yet they have already coerced the community of the “Furniture Capital of the World” to dream big.
After being in New York for so many years, we were ready for a change. We had been coming to High Point Market for almost 20 years and had gotten to know so many wonderful and welcoming folks in the High Point community. The size, the opportunities, and the untapped potential felt just right. Plus, the design talent is off the charts: We can make and tweak any piece of furniture in ways that we couldn’t do anywhere else in the US.
The more we dig beyond the surface of High Point, the more pleasant surprises we discover…. From tucked-away restaurants to amazing new friends to incredible design resources.
The talent pool that is right here in our backyard. The artisans, craftsmen, and furniture makers are all the best in country. We can have anything in our imagination fabricated right here. And we have a BIG imagination.
The city needs to play off of the attention market brings to our community make it a year-round destination for the design industry. We need a design center here that speaks to the trade and to the public. Plus, we need a marketing plan and brand strategy.
We work with amazing people and rarely sit still (AUTHOR’S NOTE: ..AND an unlimited supply of boundless energy and creative ideas)
We grew up in the magazine industry working independently for several publications. We were styling photo shoots and working on our own houses and then it turned into working for friends who liked our taste.
We consider ourselves storytellers and are always asking who and why when designing a space. We travel constantly and are always observing. We like to stay true to the history of a place, but we are all also about pushing the boundaries. Vintage movies and design books are another vital source of inspiration. We think of ourselves as “Paul Smith meets Cath Kidston with a spirited dash of Auntie Mame and Bunny Mellon.” We are all about finding life’s special moments and figuring out how to make them more spectacular.
A publicist friend asked us to design her Southampton house that ended up being an 8-page spread in O at Home, the offshoot of the Oprah magazine.
We are fortunate enough to be working on our own House of Bedlam renovation in High Point, a Manhattan apartment, a London flat, and a home in Florida.
We think of Madcap Cottage as a lifestyle brand that we want to share with the world. Of course, we would love to be big in Japan.
For our spark and energy and not taking ourselves or design too seriously. We want clients to walk away thinking “wasn’t that fun?”—whether that was working on a design project or coming into our shop or hearing us do a presentation at a conference.
Be passionate about everything you do, be interested, and be engaging.
Robert Kime, Mario Buatta, Oliver Messel, Dorothy Draper, Sister Parish, Nancy Lancaster, and John Fowler.
We would love to reinvent a chain hotel to make the whole experience more enjoyable, memorable, and special. From the overall design to the check-in experience to the amenities. A hotel should have a good storyline.
India… the color and light are mesmerizing. Every moment is an adventure and you never know where the day will take you or what will happen next… you may stumble upon the most glorious architecture with unexpected color combinations or a monkey could steal your breakfast …you just never know
John-Auctions
Jason Oliver- L.L. Bean Boat & Tote bags… I am obsessed with a great tote bag!
Watching old movies like “My Man Godfrey” or “Auntie Mame” with a glass of wine in our Madcap Cottage for HSN-enveloped bed surrounded our dogs, Jasper, Weenie, and Amy Petunia.
“Murder on the Dancefloor” by Sophie Ellis-Bextor (“It brings out our competitive side!”) or Carmen Miranda’s “The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat” from the film “The Gang’s All Here.”
We have a revolving tablescape on our cocktail table of 1930s-era miniature British lead garden figures that includes plants and gardens. Our “garden” is always evolving based on what we find upon our travels.
John-Fowler Pink
Jason Oliver- Eau de Nil
John-Wallpaper
Jason Oliver-A good cabana stripe always transports me to Palm Beach, Palm Springs, Capri, or any other Slim Aarons-ish setting.
Free and fabulous! Sip wine, learn about the wonders of wallpaper, and shop our Valentine’s Day wares. Gifts galore… Join the fun!
To register, please click here.
In conjunction with the 2015 Design Bloggers Conference, ADAC invites you to a series of complimentary educational programming. Designed to inspire and develop your brand in the world of digital media while you gain practical advice from interior designers, bloggers, media innovators and magazine editors.
Hear from John Loecke and Jason Oliver Nixon of Madcap Cottage on how two kids from Iowa and Florida followed a circuitous path—from magazines to television and with a few stop-offs along the way (temping!, cooking school!)—and emerged as interior designers with a line of products and a star turn on HSN. And how they got there. From building a brand to the role of social media and the power of the bespoke and unique in that process, the Madcap Cottage gents will discuss their fun, color-filled, and whimsical journey.
To register, please click here.
For more of my design inspiration, please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and subscribe to Bespoke Banter….Thanks for reading and please visit again!