One of the many highlights of the Antiques and Garden Show was the lecture given by designer Charlotte Moss. After only a few sentences, we were again reminded why she is one of our favorite designers. With her quick wit and straight forward manner of speaking, she is a woman we can really appreciate. She centered most of her thoughts around the topic of "decorating", but her lecture was far from a formulaic "how to" speech. Instead, Charlotte gave us an intimate, inside view in her intricately detailed scrapbooks, which reveal so much about the breathtaking spaces that she creates.
photo courtesy of Charlotte Moss
The lecture began with a visual feast of photographs from Moss' extensive travels. She has carefully and beautifully documented those unique things that caught her eye or spoke to her heart on various trips around the world. From the Potage in Versailles, to the door knobs in Italy she sees beyond the obvious beauty of a place to the often overlooked small treasures many miss on first glance. "Seeing" was a major theme that ran throughout the lecture. Charlotte shared a favorite quote that we found most moving from Rohald Dahl, which says: "And above all, watch with glittering eyes the world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."
photo courtesy of Charlotte Moss
Her travel to destinations both near and far gave us the travel bug and reminded us the importance of documenting the beauty we have the privilege to see. It is time to get out those scissors and glue sticks to start some long over due scrap-booking. When one woman asked Charlotte how she stays on top of her impeccably detailed scrapbooks, she candidly answered, "staff." We loved her pithy response! Too bad there isn't any "staff" around here.
Gloria Vanderbilt- Vogue 1966
From travel, Moss moved on to the women of grace and charm that have inspired her own way of living. Her list included included her Mother, a true Southern home-maker, Gloria Vanderbilt who represented the epitome of style when Moss was a young married woman, Elsie de Wolfe the first American interior decorator, Fleur Cowles who edited the short lived but dazzling, Flair magazine, and writer and fashion designer Pauline de Rothschild, just to name a few. Her candid admiration for these women re-emphasized the importance of camaraderie and history in the design process, and in all of life for that matter.
Elsie de Wolfe's Villa Trainon at Versailles
Fleur Cowles in Vanity Fair
Pauline de Rothschild
Finally she challenged us all to take more risks. "Why Not?" she asked? Why not float your bed in the middle of the room? Why not display that framed photograph on an easel in the living room to give it more importance? After all, what do we have to lose?
6 comments:
I heard her give this talk last year in Charlotte and she is incredibly inspiring. I enjoyed your recap and what she said at the end about what do we have to lose. so right.
Charlotte Moss is one of my all time favorite designers. Lucky you to get to her her talk and be inspired by her. Thanks so much for sharing.
Karen
Inspiring post!
Terrific post about an inspiring talk by a fabulous woman - with both style and substance. I am continually amazing by the depth and breadth of her knowledge and experience.
It does not get better than Ms. Moss!
I think keeping your eyes open is so important. She has a reason to (as part of her profession) so she consciously does it, but it's inspiring to think that we all should. Thanks for the post.
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