Calling All Design Bloggers!

Join interior design bloggers, new media innovators, and interior design industry leaders for the inaugural Design Bloggers Conference – the premier conference for new media and the interior design industry. This two-day conference will take place in Los Angeles, February 28th through March 1st and offers a unique opportunity to learn about and discuss the intersection of interior design with the world of new media from blogging to social media, and beyond. This is the only conference specifically focused on the needs of design bloggers. “Learn to build a stellar personal brand for yourself, your blog, and your career. Learn how to engage your readers with information and entertainment on multiple platforms, using a variety of business models and marketing channels.”

I am very excited to announce that I will be speaking at the Design Bloggers Conference along with Tobi Fairley, Ronda Carman, Grace Bonney, Cassandra Lavalle, Anne Sage, Tracy Porter, Stacy Kunstel, Barclay Butera and keynote speaker, Jan Showers! This is sure to be an exciting and valuable experience. Be sure to register before January 11th in order to take advantage of the discounted early bird rate. The High Gloss girls and I hope to see you there!

This Week’s Quote

Thank you so much for the amazing outpouring of love and support last week for both my birthday and the announcement of our new style magazine, High Gloss! Your support means so much and we can’t thank you enough for helping us spread the word. Happy Monday!

{Image Via}

Fabulous Room Friday 11.05.10

This week’s fabulous room is a vision of cream and gold. The living room in Atlanta stylist, Thea Beasley’s loft is filled with global influences from her travels, antiques, personal touches, and of course, a hint of glamour! I love that she has mixed rustic wooden tables with these ornate vintage French chairs and the antique French sofa.

{Does anyone know where this fabulous gold zebra pillow is from? I love it! I also love the fact that so many textures were incorporated into the room.}

{This room proves that beige isn’t always boring!}

The past two days have been nothing short of amazing! Thank you for the sweet birthday wishes yesterday and for giving High Gloss, my new style magazine, such an incredibly warm welcome! I am truly humbled by the outpouring of love and support.

If you’re in Houston and the pictures from this week’s fabulous room inspired you to hunt for some great deals on vintage and antique items, the Urban Market is taking place this weekend. There is a special preview event with wine and hors d’oeuvres on Saturday and the main shopping event takes place on Sunday. I’ll see you there!

 

{Image Credit: Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles}

The Style Files: Cassandra Lavalle

If you read design blogs on a regular basis and you don’t know Cassandra Lavalle from coco + kelley, you may be living under a rock. Cassie is the consummate blogger, featuring an interesting variety of topics from interior design and fashion to fun table settings. Readers aren’t the only ones who have taken notice of Cassie’s talents. She has been featured in several publications including House Beautiful, Lucky, The New York Times, and Lonny. To say that she is a busy girl might be a bit of an understatement! Cassie divides her time as an interior and event stylist and as the full-time editor of her wildly successful blog.

Name: Cassandra LaValle

Occupation: Interior & Event Stylist, Editor of coco+kelley

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

Current City: Seattle, WA

{Cassie Pictured at Home for Loft Life Magazine}

LDV: What inspired you to begin your career in design?

CL: I've always had a passion and intuition for design - beginning a career doing what I love just seemed like a natural path for me!

LDV: What do you love most about it? What is the most challenging aspect?

CL: The fact that every project is different is both a challenge and a blessing. I love the opportunities I have to be creative in different ways whether it's designing for a client or styling for a photo shoot. I find my biggest challenge to be the pressure I put on myself to create a space that really reflects my client's needs and style by producing a design that they'll still be happy and comfortable with a few years down the road.

LDV: Where do you find inspiration?

CL: I find loads of inspiration in magazines, books and blogs, but it's the times that I get out and travel or go to an art show or discover a new shop that I find most inspiring. It's rejuvenating. I also love to look to the past to find new ways to interpret old classic pieces, patterns or looks.

{Rachel Bilson Via}

LDV: Who are some of your personal style icons?

CL: It's funny because it's rare that I latch on to one person as an icon of style. Many times I find myself drawn to a single collection or home of a designer rather than the person themselves. I do adore the personal style of Rachel Bilson and Camilla Belle.

LDV: How would you describe your own style?

CL: Effortless glamour. I'm drawn to simple, classic lines and styles, but I like them to be easy and comfortable too. I think it's a refined west coast mentality.

{Image via Lonny}

LDV: What is the trait you most admire in a person?

CL: Generosity.

{The Tabletop at Cassie’s Recent 30th Birthday Celebration}

LDV: What is your principal weakness?

CL: Anything that sparkles.

{Image via Lonny}

LDV: What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

CL: Trust yourself.

{An Inspiration Board Created for a coco + kelley Client}

LDV: What do you consider your greatest achievement?

CL: So far it's starting my own company. I hope the greatest is yet to come!

LDV: What is your idea of living “la dolce vita”?

CL: An unlimited travel budget, sunshine and a pool (or ocean).

Bloom: Peony

Food: Fresh Sashimi

Drink: Champagne

Thing to Wear: A big cocktail ring

{“Capri Bay” by Slim Aarons}

Destination: Capri

Season: Early Fall

Meal: Anything prepared by my dad - he's an amazing cook.

Musician: David Gray

{Red, Orange, Tan, and Purple by Mark Rothko, 1949}

Artist: I love so many for different reasons! Rothko, Chagal, David Hockney... the list goes on.

Film: Gone With the Wind

Television Show: I can't remember the last time I had time for TV!

Book: Little Women

Magazines: Pick a stack, any stack...

Blogs:  The top few blogs that make my day right now are are The Glamorai, {oh joy!} and delight by design

Texture: Linen

Fabric or Pattern: Right now I'm loving retro florals for pattern.

Color: Kelly Green, of course!

Scent: Jasmine - the real thing, not in perfumes or candles.       

Extravagance: Lazy days.

Quote: The one on the bottom of my blog: "In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different." - coco chanel

My Birthday Wish

I am completely humbled at the amazing outpouring of support for High Gloss, the new style magazine that I announced yesterday. I’m sure my sudden and frequent trips to California must make a little more sense now! In all seriousness, it means so much to me to have the support of my readers and the blog community in this new endeavor. Yesterday was so incredible. I received so many kind comments and encouraging emails and I know that my fabulous team did, too. We are all so touched and are so grateful that some people are looking forward to reading High Gloss as much as we are looking forward to sharing it with you.

As if announcing a new style magazine wasn’t enough excitement for one week, today is my birthday! I would love nothing more for my birthday than a little help from my friends. Please help us to spread the word about High Gloss by liking us on Facebook, tweeting about the magazine, or blogging about our exciting new endeavor. We have quite an exciting line-up in store and really hope to thrill you in January when our first issue premieres!

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your readership, friendship, and support.

Every Good Wish,

Paloma