My 22 Minutes of Fame...OOAK

Well hello there.

I'm happy to report that my little blurb on the stage of the One of a Kind Show went off without any major hitches.

It was a lot of work and I was admittedly scared to death but now that it's done, I feel sort of...well...proud of myself.

If you had told  me a few years ago that I'd be on a giant stage talking with a Brittney Spears headset, in front of many people, I'd have laughed at you.

Blogging really does sort of change your life- cheeseballs but so true.

Anyhoo...I thought I'd give you a little summary of what went down.

First, I had to scour the show for all of my favourite finds.

With the help of my amazing designer friends Christine, Vanessa, and Hollie, I was able to sort out what I wanted...my hope was that I could show people how to change the feel/look of a room with accessories, art and lighting.

I also decided that I wanted three looks...a traditional, a transitional and a modern.

Since I'm a huge proponent of buying original art, and since the OOAK features so many talented artists, I decided that each space would be based around some of my favourite pieces.

So, I set off to hunt down my picks.

First I found this gorgeous abstract from the very talented, and very sweet, David Dawson...

I've admired it before and am always drawn to it's bold palate and edgy mood.

This painting became the jumping off point for my transitional space.

Next, I spied this beauty from artist Stavros...

...and thought it perfect for a more neutral/textural traditional space.

And finally, I found this...

...by fabulously talented artist Mara Minuzzo/Blue Trick Studios....the minute I laid eyes on Mr. Playmobil bank robber, I knew he would be perfect for my modern/clean/graphic look.

And PS, I'm obsessed with this piece and have pretty much convinced hubster that it should be our Christmas present to each other...LOVE it to death.

Moving on...

With these divine pieces of art in hand, I set to work putting together the looks.

Now because I didn't have any of the stuff ahead of time to really play around with, I put together some mock vignettes at home, using stuff around my house.

And because I wanted to show people how to incorporate new things into what they already have, I also added in some of my own books, plants, accessories to tie everything together.

As for furniture, I loaded my settee and this new IKEA dressing table...

...that I had my painting guru/hero Tim lacquer in F&B pink ground...

delightful.

And PS on that one, it's going to be my desk one days...as soon as I get a real job that requires an office;)

On Saturday night, my kitchen island looked like this:

...and on Sunday morning, it was all packed in our rented UHaul and on it's way to the show.

And then, I got REAL nervous;)

Thankfully the hubs, and fabulous blogger friends Lindsey, Sarah and Pam were amazingly supportive and helped me set everything up.

And then, it was show time.

I basically gave an intro blurb and then showed the three looks....here's a look at each one, with some snapshots on stage...I stole most of those from Nina, Pam, Lindsey, Sarah and the OOAK;)

Look One- Organic Traditional:

{ painting . pillow. bowl. table. vase }

Look Two: Vibrant Transitional

{ painting. side table. pot. candlesticks. throw }

Look Three: Graphic Modern

{ wood ocatagons. lamp. vase. throw. painting. side table}

So, which do you like best?

It's a toss up for me...though I will say, I was particularly inspired by a few of my pickings:

Thank you so much to these amazing artisans...my top 5 favourites from the show:

1. Coeur De Lion Textiles

...the maker of the amazing throws I used (only have close up one of the bright pink...also used a gorgeous grey with soft pink for look #1 and #3) and the the blue pillows you can see on the settee in look #2/3.

I'm in love with these resist-dyed creations and pretty sure this...

...should be mine.

Not that I needed extra incentive but all of these Canadian made wool blankets are loomed in PEI...yup...sold.

Next on my faves list:

...as in Tat Chao...as in maker of those amazing candlesticks and table.

In case you couldn't see clearly in the bitty pictures I posted, this amazing talent actually makes furniture and accessories out of vintage crystal glassware...insanely gorgeous work.

I couldn't resist and brought these home to casa moi...

3. David Dawson

...this incredibly talented artist never ceases to amaze me...I've seen him at show's past and am always utterly inspired by his gouache masterpieces.

The one I used above is my all time favourite...

...but he's got an entire portfolio of other pretties...sadly, none of the other ones were clip-able so I can only preview the beauty above.

4. Mara Minuzzo

I'm completely smitten with this artist's style...her Playmobil paintings are so realistic and cartoonish at the same time...love, love, love.

This little dear one is precious...

...though I'm still VERY partial to Mr. Bank Robber- increasingly convinced he needs to be mine.

5. Mod Pieces

...as the sign says, the talented owner/designer Lia Fagan takes vintage lighting and re-wires, re-shades them to create one of a kind lamp masterpieces 

These aptly named 'Aster' lamps...aka murder lamps...are just too good...

So, there you have it.

My little few minutes of fame, along with my OOAK favourites.

If you haven't ever been to a One a Kind Show before, I highly recommend it...so many special treasures just waiting to be found.

Thanks again to Louise and to the show itself for including me in this show- so honoured!!!

And to all of you, I'm sorry for the very long post...hard to edit it down...at present, I have about 20 tabs open on my screen and 3 hours have just evaporated.;)

I'll be back tomorrow with an AMAZING new sponsor that I just happened to meet in person yesterday- trust me when I tell you that you are going to LOVE this one!

xo