11/8/12

Blogging and Friends



 Its funny how blogging connects you with people all over the world who share the same passion as you do. 
 I am joining Mona at Providence LTD and Marsha, at Splenderosa blog as they have gone down memory lane and have shared some of the bloggers they first started following and became friends with.....  

In other words....I am totally inviting myself to join in.....

  I loved their post and thought it was a great idea.....
So, here is some of the bloggers that I have become friends with and would like to share with you their blogs.......




 John and Sally at Wilson Kelsey Design have been a delight to get to know.   
 They are a husband and wife design team that work together.  
 
They are very talented and its been fun getting to know them and to see their business grow. 

 John and Sally started blogging around the same time I did.

We have shared ideas together about social media...
We both were so new at it that it was nice to talk to someone with the same level of experience in blogging.....




 

 Stacy, at South Shore Design blog is a very talented and smart lady, did I say smart.....Yes, she is .....who now has an online store. 

We have asked her many questions, poor thing....from blogging to sponsors you name it, we have asked her! 

 
This is a image of her work
 Stacy always finds the best deals all over the Internet and shares with her readers.. She offers fabulous items on her on-line store.

 



 Debbie, from Inspired Design Blog has shared her life with the world....her struggles and joys....Debbie we are so proud of you!
She has helped so many women and she is an inspiration to all who read her blog.

 






 Kathysue, from the Good life Of Design blog.... will teach you how to set a table, show you great ideas and how to make it look beautiful.

 Her blog is very informative and is uplifting..


We both have special people in our lives that share the same name. Her grandson Mikey, has followed my son, Mikey's skateboarding career. 

We sent him a T- shirt and an autographed image of my son for his birthday.........Hi Mikey







 


Mona and her sister from Providence LTD blog  have  become our  friends and if I'm ever in Arkansas I am going to go visit them....  
Hope that is Ok Mona...

I promise I won't stay long.....really.

 I will bring my own pillow....

 We just did a post on these talented sisters.









 

Tina at The Enchanted home is another blogger that we have followed and we consider as one of our blogging buddies.

This talented women could build a town if she wanted to.

 Tina is going to be visiting our blog soon. 

 She is going to share with our readers some tips on what has helped her on-line store and blog grow......  

Can't wait to share that with you.
This is her home, but we will have many other images to show you....
 
This is Tina's faithful dog...


 



 



Carla, at Aston Design Studio is a very talented designer who's work and blog I have been following since I started. 

We both started blogging around the same time. 


Carla eats and sleeps design....She really does. She is a goal setter and very driven....I admire that about her........ 








 

Renae, from Renae Moore Design blog......I'll be going to crash on her sofa one day.......just kidding! 

Renae and I became grandparents a couple of weeks apart.

 We have talked on the phone about design and share a lot of the same passions. 
 She loves fabric like I do and has an eye with patterns and styles. 








 
Maryann, at Classic Casual Home is another designer and blogger. 

She shares her love of family, friends and design on her blog and is another very talented lady.
 Her home is going to be featured in a magazine soon....Way to go Maryann....

 
This is Maryanne's living room.

 
 Maryanne's dinning room.





 Remember the old saying..... make new friends and keep the old.....One is silver and the other gold.

 

Well, here are some of our new blogging friends that we are getting to know....... 







Loi, at Tone on Tone has a great blog and owns an antique store that has some beautiful Swedish design furniture. 
He also is a talented photographer. 
If you have not seen his blog, just wait.....his photos of his garden are to die for!



His home is beautiful and he has exquisite taste.

 



 Kelly, at The Polished Pebble is another blogging friend that lives about 45 miles from me and I'm hoping that one day we can meet for lunch...
OK, Kelly you name the day and time and I will be there...

Kelly is one talented lady that can turn any old thing into a piece of art.

She has taken vintage objects and has them turned  into wonderful lamps that are unique....and one of a kind pieces.
 She also now has an online store.



 These are images of Kelly's work.

 


 Lisa, from Lisa Mende Design is another friend that has a very kind heart that I have started to get to know.

 She is a designer that shares her love of design, life and family on her blog. 

She also was interviewed in a on- line magazine.....Check her blog out to read here interview.....

These two images are some of her work.

 




Cindy, from Rough Lux Lifestyle is another new friend that I am  getting to know. 
 She lives up the coast from me and lives in this gorgeous home. 
Yup.....this is her beautiful home!

 I would never want to leave....

Her gardens are out of this world....




Gorgeous........




 

 Pam, at Simple Details has more energy than anyone I know.
 She could paint furniture change her whole house in one afternoon.   Visit her and you will learn how to do something and everything from this talented girl and get some great ideas.....


This is her living room....and yes, she painted that beautiful table and made the pillows.  This girl can do anything...



 
We want to thank Mona, at Providence LTD for listing us as one of her blogger friends.....Right back at ya girls.....
   Visit Marsha, at Spenderosa Blog... she has all of the bloggers who participate in..... By invitation only.


If you would like to visit our friends..... here is their Blog sites.
Wilson Kelsey Design 
South Shore Design 
Inspired Design
Provedence LTDDesign
Good Life of Design
Casual Classic Home
Carla Aston Designed
The Enchanted Home
Tone on Tone 
Lisa Mende Design
The Polished Pebble 
  Rough Lux Lifestyle Blog
Simple Details







11/1/12

Providence LTD Interiors


When I first started blogging a little over a year ago, I started following the blog, Providence LTD Interiors. 

Their were many times as a new blogger that I didn't know what I was doing.   
When I needed advise, I would email Mona, the author of Providence LTD Interiors and she would graciously write back to me to help out.
 
 Mona has been blogging for over 3 years.
 I have watched her and her sister's business grow from a small space in an antique store to having several spaces within one store, a blog,  an on-line store and a thriving design business..
 

 
  

I asked Mona if she could share with you some tips on what has helped her business grow.


 

 

How did it all happen?...
We're not sure we know…we've tried a lot of different things…some have worked…others have not…but if you are a new designer or just a new design blogger…we'll share a few tips that have worked for us…

First…blogging has been very  instrumental to our growth…
Our following didn't happen overnight. 
 For a long time it seemed that we were talking to ourselves.  
In fact we sometimes feel that way even now. 
 We don't get a huge amount of comments…but we have a steady growing following. 
 If you’re a blogger and you don't get comments…Keep blogging…and keep commenting on other blogs…
You will eventually get comments and start to pick up a following.  But remember this… the success of your business has no correlation to the number of comments that you receive. 
 Don't get us wrong…
WE LOVE COMMENTS…WE WILL REPEAT…WE LOVE COMMENTS, but we have launched a successful online design business, a growing online store and a growing local design and Retail business that has been directly affected by our blog.
 Not one of the online clients or local clients that contacted us as a result of our blog have EVER left a comment. 
 Not one of them…they have emailed or contacted us directly. 
 Bloggers feel comfortable commenting…design enthusiasts and potential customers or clients often do not. 


 

 
Second, we think that Facebook is equally as important as blogging.
 It has been particularly good for our Retail sales… we have sold everything from antique doors to mirrors to iron gates on Facebook. 
 It's a new day. 
 We are constantly amazed at what people will buy sight unseen. 
 Since we have a keen eye and are picky, picky, picky ourselves we are able to sell with confidence to these folks. 
 Another thing that we love about Facebook is it doesn't take as much time…
 Just a quick comment and a good image…And the feedback is instant.
  If you like comments…try Facebook.

 
 

Third…We're addicted to Pinterest…but it has been really good for our business too…
First, we are constantly saving the best of the best for our own inspiration files…
This is NOT COPYING…
It's inspiration …
Seldom does a project even resemble the initial inspiration…

You can pin your own work for the world to see…
It's just a really good venue to portray who you are and what you like…
your sense of style… through the images that you pin…
We have over 7000 followers on Pinterest and it's the  single biggest driver to our blog.





Fourth…We don't tweet…do you?


Our friends don't tweet and we don't think our demographic tweets, so why bother.  

Please let us know if we are missing out!


  

 

Fifth…Doing what others do if it's not really you…will never work.  
Plain and simple…
Forget the trends…you can blog about them, but don't try to imitate them.
 It just won't work!  




Sixth…Keep trying new things…
Sister cringes when I come to her and say"I've got a new idea"…
Some work, some don't…but you don't know until you try.  

But we can't stress enough…try to make it your idea…not just what you see everyone else doing. 

 But it has to have a little tweak and a new twist…


 


















And last but not least…have FUN!   

This is a passionate business. 

 You will never succeed if you do not love what you do. 




















I can't thank Mona and her sister enough for being apart of this post. 

The best thing about blogging is all the friends you meet along the way.
 To visit their blog go here

 Another one of our blogging buddies Carla, at Carla Aston Designed also did a post on Providence LTD here.

 So many bloggers, designers have freely shared information and ideas with us.

 So many incredibly talented people along the way that we consider our friends. 

 Thanks to all of you!



 

10/25/12

Cameron Kimber and a Busy Weekend!


I fell in-love with Cameron Kimber's style.


 There is something sophisticated and refreshing about these images. 

He brilliantly directs the viewers eye to the point of interest in a natural way.





 

When I look at this design, which I love, my eye looks at the whole image, but it stops at the triangle he has created. 


The three rust baskets create the center interest and the bold fabrics  balance everything beautifully.

 


All of you know how I feel about blue and white pottery... 




 


The pillow fabric and the table share similar shapes. The textures complement the pattern in the fabric.



 





























Love this wallpaper 







 















































I love the mix of light fabrics and the dark wood on the furniture.
The spool chair is one of my favorites. 
Wish we could see a little bit more of it.

















TG loves how Cameron's designs are comfortable, relaxing and elegant. 
 Exactly what I love for my own home and my clients. 
 Check out his work here.





I have a busy weekend planned. 

We are having friends over for dinner Friday night.

  I'm having Honey Jalapeno Chicken with Sesame Soba Noodles.

 It is so good!
 Check out the recipe here.

 I'm also going to serve carrots, orange and red, baby- bell peppers,  tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper and grilled on 450.

 I place them on fresh orange slices and tangerines.

 The warm veges and fresh fruit, So so good!


 

Honey Jalapeno chicken with Sesame Soba Noodles.





  We also have a photo shoot Sunday. 
We are taking photos of my living room.  I'm finally done.
Thank God!
  Helping out at Casa Pacifica this weekend, teaching the kids how to shop wisely. 
They have a mock grocery store set up and give the kids a budget. 
They teach them how to compare prices.
 Its a great cause.

What are you doing this weekend? 
 Are you going to need a day off to recoup from your weekend?

Thanks for stopping by and hope you loved Cameron's work as much as I do. 





 

One Kings Lanes

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