Summer Cottage Curtains

My Grandma Maestranzi used to make my Nanoo stop the car along fields on the way to Antioch so she could pick raddichio for salads for the weekend.  (Raddichio is also known as Italian Chicory & is super-bitter but she’d make a dressing of oil & vinegar, onions & salt&pepper to take the bite out of it.)

When they bought the house, they bought the antique dining room furniture with it & it’s still there today, although we’ve put it through some serious abuse & some of it has broken. (My dad’s a big guy)

I love the house so much and some of the fabrics from my line sprang pretty much directly from the wildflowers that grow around Antioch in the summer: Wild Chicory, Queen Anne’s Lace & Thistle & Clover .  (They pretty much grow everywhere on roadsides, but I’ll always associate them with my childhood summers in Illinois.)  I finished one yesterday called Queen Anne’s Bouquet & I cannot wait to see it up in the very place I think of whenever I see Queen Anne’s lace.  I placed order yesterday for over 100 yards of fabrics for curtains.  I cannot WAIT to hang them!!

In the kitchen, I’ve displayed some of my grandma’s china in glass cabinets:

The china pattern I’ve hung throughout the kitchen is a fairly common one in thrift/ antique shops but I think it’s just right for Antioch.  It works perfectly with all of the wild flowers that grow around there.  For the curtains in the dining room & adjoining living room/ kitchen, I wanted to go neutral and overscale so I could really mix it up & use any of my grandmas’s china, which consists of small florals.  I decided to use one of my newest designs, “Live Paisley” in Antique Beige, which made up of a series of leaves & vines:

I wrote “live your life” on the paisley (which I orginally drew as a doodle thinking I would need to hire someone to actually draw it for me) just on a whim, but it’s a saying that really resonates with me.  To me it means: following your dreams, keeping your eyes on “your own paper” and focusing on what you can do & not on judging others, and loving what you have and your life & making the best of it.  Forgetting about the things you can’t control & just living & giving your best to every day.  Letting go.

I didn’t really have much confidence in myself or in my ability to draw at all when I drew this pattern.  (I still really don’t) But I was completely shocked with the results.  Since this pattern arrived at my door, I’ve drawn a few more & I sort of feel like I’m getting into a groove, developing my style a bit.  It’s really difficult for me, as drawing is not something that I’m good at or that comes naturally, but it’s really rewarding when I see the designs on fabric & in my clients’ homes.

Anyway, I’ll be sure to take pics of the curtains in Antioch.  I’m doing 4 rooms & fingers crossed that they look good!!

***Also, many of you have asked how  you can purchase the fabrics.  And, as far as selling the fabrics go… I’ve sort of hit a crossroads.  The more I learn about the industry, the more I learn that there are paths you have to choose that can really change everything.  I’m a bit undecided as of right now as far as how I’m looking to approach selling fabric line.  Price points & means of production are determining factors in how the line is sold/ where it’s sold/ who sells it, etc.,  and I’m not quite sure yet how I want to go about it.  I have an online store all set up & ready to go, but time-wise I’m not sure we’re ready for it.  I also don’t know how I feel about posting pricing on the fabric online because that will affect things in the future.  (Ie where it’s sold, etc.)  I started this whole thing because I was passionate about the designs but not because I had a plan.  (That’s a bit nutty, I now.)

For now, if anyone you know is interested in purchasing any of the fabrics, they can email my assistant Meghan (meghan@thepurestyle.com) for information & pricing.  I’m hoping to finish photographing all of the fabrics in the colorways this Summer & will post them online so that the line can at least be viewed.  ***
If you made it to the end, thanks for reading this long rambling post! 🙂  Enjoy your day!!

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