"The Judges Are Sequestered . . . "

Greetings,

Well, it has certainly been a busy few weeks here at the home offices (and/or the laptop next to my bed) of Tartanscot.  All told, there were more than 175 entries in the holiday decorating contest.   Many more than I had anticipated . . . though, I can't say with any certainty that I was anticipating anything specific - lol.

So, in the traditions of the great talent shows, I'll provide a little entertainment to distract you whilst the judges are 'backstage' tallying votes.   So, just click 'play' and let's review our panel of celebrity judges.

So let me re-introduce, in no particular order . . .

Anne Sage

I had the pleasure of spending an evening in Anne's delightful company

during what could have been one of the most stressful nights of my life.

Anne, from Rue Magazine, was at my home (along with a photographer, 

the photographer's assistant, a videographer, and 5 of my friends) for

our photo shoot for the holiday issue of Rue.  Her calm manner kept the evening productive 

and her great style made the photos even better than I could imagine.

I love her fun, bohemian, and openly girlie sense of style - and was so

excited that she could bring her specific point of view to the contest.

Grant Gibson

Grant is one of those people who I feel like I've always known, even though I

think we both remember the first time we actually met one another.  Just about

two years ago - and laughing over our common bond of a love of fabulous rain boots - lol.

Grant's work shows his clear love of classic, traditional design.  And

we still compare rain boot stories - during the ever-dreary SF winters. 

Megan Arquette

I was flying into LA for a design event.  And Megan and I had been chatting online

through our blogs for several months - and decided that we would have breakfast when I landed

in LA and meet "IRL" (in real life!)  What followed was an almost 14 hour day of laughing,

sharing, and talking with someone who felt like an old friend from childhood - though I'd

only seen for the first time that morning.

She has a great 'beach girl' style - and a great outlook on her life and on design as well.

Michael Devine

Actually, Michael and I have never met - though we have numerous friends in common - as

well as a true love of classic design and beautiful gardens.  In fact, it was images of Michael's

gardens at his home in New York that made me sure that we could be friends!

I'm so pleased that he was game for being a judge - and I'm looking forward to

meeting Michael in the new year.

Ronda Carman

Prolific writer.  Great sense of humor.  And good friend.  I remember finding

Ronda's great blog for the first time.  And much to my surprise, at our first meeting, she 

told me that she remembered the first time that 'tartanscot' had commented on her blog.  As with 

so many of the other judges, Ronda and I have become great friends.  Ronda sees design 

from a great critical perspective - and I'm so pleased thatshe could take 

time from her schedule to help out.  

Tobi Fairley

Yet another of our panel who I haven't had the pleasure of meeting.  If you ever need 

to look for an example of how best to integrate social media into your design business, 

you couldn't find a better case study than Tobi.  A fiercely creative designer.

An amazing presence on the web.  And yet another southerner amongst

the group.  You only need to visit Tobi's blog to see her great love of the holidays -

and her brilliant love of colour.

Cheers,

Scot