"Legends of La Cienega - O, for a Muse of Fire . . . "

Greetings -

As soon as I was contacted by LDCQ to be one of this year's window designers . . . my mind began to race.  As soon as they told me that this year's theme was "Where Muses Dwell" . . . my mind came to an immediate halt.

Not to be a complete Shakespeare nerd - but, the opening lines of Henry V - "O, for a muse of fire . . . " - leapt into my mind and never faded.

So . . . Shakespeare is was going to be.  Now . . . what the hell were we going to do with that idea?

The very first thing we did was announce it.  Often that makes everything easier - because now I couldn't change my mind.  And there's nothing like a hard deadline to keep the creative juices flowing.

So now the fun part begins . . . pulling together all the various pieces of the puzzle to create our window!

Mehraban Rugs

We were immediately partnered with Mehraban Rugs - and what a perfect partnership!  

They are an amazing source for beautiful carpets - and a 

marvelous selection of spectacular tapestries. 

And we all know how I love to layer -

so we wanted to have a several floor coverings to make the

space feel lush and royal.

Dune and Duchess

With the great number of antiques I was plotting for the space -

I needed to be sure we had some contemporary pieces to give the space

some kinetic energy . . . and the fine folks at Dune and Duchess were the

perfect solution.  These black lacquered modern candelabra were the perfect

counterpoint to the historic pieces.

SMW Home

I also wanted to use this window as an opportunity to offer a sneak peek at our

upcoming collection for SMW Home.  Our Grendel Faux Fur Throw

(coming this Fall!) was going to fit in perfectly! 

Antique and Art Exchange

Lordy I LOVE these!  We needed some height and drama for the long banquet table -

so this pair antique gryffin from Antique and Art Exchange were an early find! 

Garden Court Antiques

Perfect.  Perfect.  Perfect.  Jacobean chest.  Fabulous leather chair.  Hand-carved Trunk.

Everything was really starting to come together! 

Coup d'Etat

Speaking of adding some 'modern' to the mix . . . the artwork by Filip Dujardin from 

Coup d'Etat was really going to keep things from feeling too much

like a museum.  It's alway important to me to make sure we're working

*both* ends of the timeline.  So that the more antiques I added to the space meant that we

needed very contemporary pieces for balance and interest. 

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Ok.  Now that we have all the 'players' - let's put on a show.

Because we had such a HUGE space to work with (the window is more than 16 feet across),

something VERY theatrical was needed . . . so we did just that . . . created a theatre.

I took the idea of a modern production of Henry V - and actually set it 'on stage' - so that the 

center of the window felt very lush and dramatic - but, as your eyed began to

stray left or right you had the sense of seeing behind the scenes.

Have a look . . . 

Thank you to everyone kind enough to partner with us on this great window - and especially to the entire team at LCDQLA.  Until next year . . .

cheers,
Scot