When I was a kid, I didn’t get the matching-memo, and I had my fair share of disastrously clashing outfits. Today, I channel my creativity through mixing patterns, colors, and textures to create a surprising, yet balanced looks in my home, style, and design.
It should come as no surprise that I was super excited to find the fabric treasure-trove that is Dwell Studio. At Circle, we go to Dwell for beautiful upholstery options, all of which are available for our furniture pieces.
The patterns range from vividly colorful, to quirky-cool, to intricate and delicate, to fashionably mod. Each print is as fabulous as the next, embodying a unique spirit perfect for individualizing your home.
I had a hard time picking favorites among all the amazing patterns. Some of my favorites are the bold prints of the Batavia Ikat fabrics, the nostalgic color-pop of the Vintage Blossom-Citrine, and the sweet Veracruz. I also love the subtle colors and gorgeous geometric details of Confetti Toss, Oversize Stripe, and Dash Stripe.
Don’t be afraid to mix prints! Steer clear of the crazy look by combining prints with different sized patterns and similar color schemes to create contrast (I especially like Vintage Blossom-Citrine with Oversized Strip-Charcoal). For the less adventurous, try adding a neutral color with a bold print (my favorite is Natural Slub-Rain with Veracruz-Citrine). Most importantly, mix and match to make it your own!
From relaxing vacation spots, to home décor, to recipes, to that new designer bag, Pinterest allows everyone to find and focus on lovely images of everyday inspiration. It is as awesomely addictive as it sounds.
Pinterest lets each member create a virtual bulletin board, chock full of beautiful images found online. You can arrange your favorite inspirations into categories, check out what your friends like, and get lost in the big, beautiful world of the web – in an organized fashion.
Here at Circle Furniture, we are inspired by New England design, quality construction, fresh color, and a sense of fun. We love using Pinterest to search for great inspiration for furniture, design, fabric, and decoration. We’ve also found some fabulous DIY organizational tricks, like putting a storage shelf over the bathroom door!
As the Graphic Design Intern for Circle, I use inspiration from Pinterest to help develop my aesthetic and ideas for my work at Circle – and my whole life. I have “boards” for Style, Pretty Things, Art, Eat & Drink, Home, and Design, and I’m an avid collector of beautiful images.
So hop on Pinterest, create an account, and start “pinning” away! And don’t forget to follow Circle Furniture so you can join in on our fun!
2012 Biennial opens at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, MA: Artful Fun at its Finest
Dripping chandeliers. Mysterious radio broadcasts. Decomposed photos. Solo cups. The Wild West. Star Trek. An old sweater. A food fight. Yarn bombs. And no, this isn’t an advertisement for a nerdy college party.
These oddities are all fascinating components to artworks in the new 2012 Biennial, which opened this week at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, MA. The Biennial showcases fantastic works by 23 contemporary artists and collectives working in New England. Responsible for the aforementioned oddities are Kim Faler, Ven Voisey, Corin Hewitt, Chris Taylor, Joe Wardwell, Cullen Bryant Washington Jr., Jonathan Gitelson, Caitlin Berrigan, and the South End Knitters.
Other stand-outs include: Joe Zane’s hilariously self-deprecating sign proclaiming, “This is not the Biennial I was hoping for;” beautiful mixed media installations by Mary Lum; Steve Lambert’s enormous, interactive sign by the entrance, Capitalism Works for Me! Yes/No, a fantastic look at the recent political and cultural climate; and Ann Pibal’s concisely refined paintings to showcase her flawless technique and brilliant color theory.
I am particularly excited about this exhibition because along with holding the post of Graphic Design Intern at Circle Furniture, I’ve also spent the Fall as the Curatorial Intern at deCordova. I worked hard to help make the Biennial happen! Seeing it through to the finish – after months of much artist correspondence, file organization, label-designing, and installation assistance – has been a wonderful experience, and one that I will take with me as I embark forward on my future career.
This fun exhibition is open through April and will make a great day trip. Along with a fun education program and interactive gallery space for fostering tactile learning, deCordova boasts a wonderful Sculpture Park for families and friends to explore.
To learn more about the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, visit www.decordova.org.
January Buzz
zee queen bee
I have been enjoying my Sunday morning sitting around reading the papers, one of my favorite activities. This is the one day I’m not running out the door. Usually I read the morning paper at stop signs or in traffic on my way to work, a very bad habit and I don’t suggest trying it. So on this lazy Sunday I just realized that January is almost over and I haven’t broken my New Years resolution, well, not completely anyway. My husband gave me a gym membership for Christmas (we joined as a couple so he has to go as well). Funny, now we have two people inventing excuses why we can’t get to the gym; the cat is sleeping soundly at the end of the bed, we can’t wake her up (yes, the cat that pees everywhere and often still lives). You really can come up with some legitimate excuses if you try hard enough!Now that my husband and I joined together I was hoping one of us would kick the others butt on the days we don’t want to go; need to work on those butt-kicking muscles! I’m happy to report that I am the one getting to the gym more often and have enlisted the help of a personal trainer. I was hoping for a trainer like from The Biggest Loser, you know, scarier than a drill sergeant? My trainer hasn’t been all that demanding, I guess that only happens on TV. Of course I am way-motivated, as you may have heard I am THE MOTHER OF THE BRIDE come September and I don’t want to take up more room than my share in the photos.
Planning a wedding is so vastly different than years ago so I’m way out of the loop. Of course I’ve gone to plenty of weddings over the years but was never involved in the intimate details or really didn’t pay attention. Did you know that when planning a wedding today, no detail goes by with out a serious discussion? Who knew that people actually cared so much about the color of the napkins, water glasses, the chairs for the ceremony or do you even have chairs? Don’t worry because there are websites for every detail, just Google it. I cannot believe what there is out there about weddings. You can actually look up weddings that have occurred all across the county and find out what color their linens were, and more importantly why they were attracted to the bold fuchsia (they were reminded of the flowers in the field when he proposed). The BBQ served reminds them of the time spent in Arkansas on a cross country trip when their car broke down and they knew they were madly in love. She knew the way he handled the tow truck driver he was the guy of her dreams. Well, I really enjoy looking at all the weddings and giving my own little critiques. Why on earth did the bride make her friends buy the most unbecoming dresses? How could the groomsman wear lilac suits? Wow, these people must really love their friends to put themselves out there like this…… Seriously, it is all there for the viewing.
There is a huge business in weddings. Save the date cards are a must, you know you can’t just tell people, you need some type of card, magnet, travel cup or even T-shirt so they won’t forget. I think we’ve come up with a pretty good one but won’t spill the beans just yet and spoil the surprise. The bride and groom also have to make their own website that will give details about the wedding and also include little nuggets about the happy couple, and of course where they are registered. You may add to these sites and chronicle how the planning is evolving and how the MOB could be denied access for some minor infraction. Like maybe putting up some pictures of Erica that I think are darling but apparently bridezilla has other thoughts. Seriously, she is not a bridezilla at all and so far it hasn’t been difficult unless I am asked my opinion and they don’t like it. Not to worry. We have Elayna. The wedding planner extraordinaire. She really is making this planning a breeze. If anyone out there considering a wedding, you would want her on your team. She is amazing with the details, which is so awesome because I’m not. I feel a little guilty for not having to make all these decisions but I will be ready, willing and able when we get to the fun stuff like food tastings! I am sure I will have a lot more to add in the coming months, so stay tuned to “As the Bride Turns”. Oh, almost forgot to mention the dress. It is going to be very difficult as Erica does look beautiful in every one she tries on, even the cupcake ones.
MOMZILLA out.
Buzz.
Hi Circle followers! My name is Hannah and I work as a Circle Furniture intern. I’m thrilled to announce that tomorrow night, January 19th, at 7pm is my Gallery Talk and Reception for an exhibition, PALLAY/PATTERN: Weaving Communities of the Sacred Valley, Peru. The event and exhibition is at the Concord Art Association (37 Lexington Rd, Concord, MA) and is free and open to the public!
During the summer, I spent two months living in Peru, volunteering with Awamaki: a non-profit that collaborates with the town of Ollantaytambo and surrounding communities to foster enduring economic opportunities and improve social conditions. I worked closely with the Awamaki Weaving Project, helping impoverished Quechua women to revitalize an endangered weaving tradition, while affording financial independence through access to market.
Since I returned home in September (and have been interning as a graphic designer for Circle Furniture!) I’ve been planning an exhibition at the Concord Art Association. The show combines my photographs of the remote village of Kelkanka, with textiles created by local weavers, and ultimately focuses on the ways in which art may enrich and empower society. Pallay, the Quechua word for pattern, signifies the cultural weight of Peruvian weaving, as well as the connection of different communities through the appreciation of traditional craft.
Made possible by an Opportunity Grant from the Sudbury Foundation, and in collaboration with the Concord Art Association, proceeds from sales will benefit Awamaki, helping to continue their meaningful mission. Hope you can join us!
It has been a busy week at Circle! The queen bee has been working harder than Santa, artfully arranging everything in our new location in downtown Boston. Come on down to the Park Square Building at 31 St. James Ave (cross street Arlington) Monday to see what all the fuss is about. The building is even throwing us a party, ok so maybe we just timed the first day with the building’s holiday party, but it sure feels like we deserve a party! Lucky for everyone our neighbors, Baccos, have a great selection of wine and cheese. Um, I will take one of everything and then park myself on this hot ultrasuede number. Ultrasuede is not afraid of a little wine.
The location is easily accessible by the T, just steps from the Arlington Stop on the green line, or garage parking is available nearby. Maybe we could even get little Donovan to swing by again, he sure was good the last time around, definitely more of a laugher than a whiner.
Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving! We just hauled a truck load of food donations over to the Concord Open Table after a very successful Turkey Trot! Many thanks to the 600+ runners who came out on Thanksgiving morning to the Concord Turkey Trot. It was a great opportunity to get outside and walk or run with the family before we eat a large and thankful dinner, all in the spirit of giving back to our local community. We lucked out with gorgeous weather which brought out walkers and runners of all ages and abilities, everyone just looking to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air of downtown Concord before the madness of the family meal. Wait, does everyone experience madness on Thanksgiving? Or is that just us and the minimum 25 people my mom single handedly cooks for every year? Can’t wait for next year!!!
Green. Eco-friendly. Natural. Organic. Biodegradable. Carbon footprint. Energy efficient. Sustainable. Re-purposed. And so on…Let’s face it, there are a lot of things we need to know about pertaining to green living. That’s why we were thrilled last week to host a “Green Living” seminar with The Boston Globe at our Danvers showroom.
Our first speaker was Rich Menard from Benjamin Moore. He taught us about the many options of ec0-friendly paints they have available. Next time you need to paint a room, please research their “green promise” paint line.
Next up was Alicia and John Hunt from Green Lifestyle Consulting. If you are trying to live greener they can teach you hundreds of ways to start. Would you like to save a little more on your heating bills? Try a programmable thermostat. They have practical advice on how to raise your kids in a more eco-friendly style, including the toys they play with, the food they eat, or how to take a green vacation – go camping! Plus, they make this cool solar panel jewelry that you just have to see.
Our third speaker was Susan Hunt Stevens from Practically Green. Wanna know how green you are? You can take a very informative quiz on her website that is appropriately called “Your roadmap for a healthy green life“. I took the quiz and was surprised that I didn’t score higher. What I love about this quiz is you can chart your results and take actions on certain things that make sense. Switch to natural toothpaste? I can do that. Turn off the lights when I leave a room. Easy. Susan also has a wonderful blog on her website that can help us all figure out what we can do individually to be more sustainable.
Our night was capped off by our own Cindy Barry, manager of the Danvers showroom, who spoke about Circle Furniture’s commitment to offering eco-friendly furniture. Cindy showed our guests our soy-based foam cushions, recycled steel in the frames, organic cotton fabrics, water-based finishes and sustainably harvested wood products from New England. It was fun to see our guests reaction when they found out our foam back cushions can also be made out of recycled plastic water bottles…and they still feel soft and cozy! The times, they are a changing, huh?
Thanks to all who braved the rain and traffic to come to our talk last week. We got a lot out of it and hope you did too! If you’d like to be informed about our upcoming talks, events or parties please join our Inner Circle.
So we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Candice Olson rocks! You know her from her show Divine Design and other HGTV hit shows. She also has a line of gorgeous, eclectic furniture that we sell at Circle Furniture.
Chillin' with Candice
Recently a few lucky Circles got to visit what they call Pre-Market…the time when vendors are creating and testing what they will showcase at Furniture Market in High Point, North Carolina. Anywho, Candice was there this year and so SOME of us (not this writer) got to hang out with Candice and see some of her new designs. They got to talk fabrics, trims, pillows, nailheads, skirts…you know, upholstery talk. They also got to preview Candice’s new limited edition Lou Lou chair made with…wait for it…Swarovski crystals! Yes, you heard me correctly. It’s stunning. Lou Lou went to our Cambridge showroom if you want to check it out. Oh, and we’re having an Upholstery Sale as I type, so stop by and you might find something wonderful for your living room just in time for the holidays!
Lou Lou Chair
The Circle Gang
Candice Signing Lou Lou
