IWCE ~ Surtex Whirlwind

May has been a busy month with trade shows almost every week. First was the IWCE show in Vegas. We sponsored a Slipcover Showcase booth to show off the many talents of some of the countries best slipcover artisans.

I sent templates to some great gals all over the country and they sent me back the most beautiful slipcovers made with my fabrics.

The ingenuity and craftsmanship of these gals is amazing. People just flipped for all of the designs.

I took some really bad photos of them all but luckily my good buddy Kay Ellen was there with her fabulous photo skills and she managed to shoot a couple of good shots.

The Zebra striped Bergeres were a crowd favorite, possibly because people could sit and rest their aching feet!

Kay Ellen is a pro stager and she grabbed this pillow from another booth to show it off on the zebra ground. I think they look great together.

The Vanity table from Ready to Cover turned out so cute! I love the zebra hem.

Thanks so much to the very talented Teresa Bennett , Deb Fowler ~ Christy Statz ~ Kippi O’Hern ~ Emily Pettit ~ Barbara Roth ~ Linda Meeks & Jackie for making these beautiful slipcovers. I will be posting about each one of these talented ladies in the next couple of weeks so stayed tuned to see more of their great work.

The next stop was my debut at Surtex, the nations premier trade show for artists who license their work for surface and pattern design. Companies come from all over the globe to meet with artists and find new art and patterns for their goods. This is where designs for tabletop, wallpaper, fabrics, stationary, and much more are bought and sold.

Here I am in my booth. It was such a great experience and I learned a ton about this new industry. My daughter Angelica and the handsome hubby came with me to help and we all had a great time.

We tried to lure in attendees with lots of candy!

Angelica was a pro as always.

The handsome hubby and I went to the opening night party for the ICFF ( International Contemporary Furniture Show) at the MOMA Sculpture Garden and we had a great time. The ICFF and the National Stationary Show run concurrently with Surtex at the Jacob Javitz Convention Center in Manhattans each year.

There were some really great booths at the show – so much talent and creativity! I hope some rubbed off.

Loved those paper pinwheels.

This was our neighbor from the UK, little Alfie. He was the show stopper.

We had great neighbors and met a slew of new friends and caught up with some old ones as well.

There is always a surprise every time I go to New York. This is what I ran across walking back to the hotel one rainy day. A Hawk just hanging out on the sidewalk. It was surreal. I’d always heard of hawks living in the city but had never seen one and I never thought I would see one just two feet away from me.

In short we had a great time as always! Here’s Angelica and her Dad drinking champagne at the MOMA! What a great time.

Now I am back home putting the finishing touches on my slipcover book that I have to hand into my publisher on Wednesday! More to come soon.

Two New Books in the Works

I’m so happy to be able to share that I have just signed a new contract with my fabulous publisher Gibbs Smith for two new books which will be part of my Design Directory series.

Can you guess what the first one will be about?

More to follow soon……………………………………………………………………………………….

Modern Vanities

Per Your Requests: A few slightly less "over the top" skirted vanity designs for your weekend.




Well, Maybe not!!!




Go Lakers!

I''ve Been Searching For You For So Long!!

I love a skirted vanity table. There is nothing more feminine and indulgent to place in a bedroom or dressing room. Over the years I have had bases made by my carpenter or I have redressed antique bases but I have never been able to find a source for new table bases that are sturdy enough to withstand daily use.



Once a vanity is skirted it is very heavy and the weight of the fabric can buckle a cheap table base. What is the use of fabricating a beautiful table skirt if it is unusable?




Meet my new friend from Ready to Cover ! She is sturdy, made from furniture quality MDF, no cheap particle board here. She is finished, sanded, and ready to paint. The boxed base makes her sturdy and able to hold the weight of the most complex and multi-layered skirts. She comes with a knee hole that is hiding a storage shelf inside.
And what's that peaking out from under the table top - a drawer? Hallelujah... Available in four sizes from 30" wide to 40" wide.


They have even designed fabulously clever arms to which the skirt is attached. These arms swing out to easily expose the drawer and storage beneath for quick access. Fantastic!!!


The finished product is not only beautiful but sturdy, durable and functional..I am so impressed with this table I can't wait to try one out. Ready to Cover also sells the glass tabletop protectors to fit all of their tables.



The vanity table has some siblings which include ready to cover round table bases in two styles; the standard four legged table (I've never been a fan of this design as they can be unstable on carpet and the legs can loosen over time)



The big sister of the four legged table is this sturdy, well built, MDF, box style table with storage shelves. This table will carry considerable weight and will be as stable as any traditional wood bedside table. I love this !!! It's available in a multitude of sizes from 18" to 36" round.

On top of great design and construction, all of these items are extremely well priced.

They also offer premade upholstered screen bases a, headboard bases, and cornice forms.



Update: Just received this email from Ready to Cover

Hi Jackie, I just stumbled across your wonderful post…thank you so much for mentioning us!

I wanted to let you know we have a free TRADE membership for interior designers / decorators which includes discounted pricing and a nice printed brochure (in progress!) as well the ability to order cornice boards (cornices aren’t available to consumers)

Those were some nice skirted photos you found, I really like that first one and am trying to work with a local upholster to get one made so we can put photos on our site.

In the blog post I noticed in the description you mentioned “Meet my new friend from Ready to Cover ! She is sturdy, made from furniture quality MDF, no cheap particle board here. She is finished, sanded, and ready to paint. The boxed base makes her sturdy and able to hold the weight of the most complex and multi-layered skirts. She comes with a knee hole that is hiding a storage shelf inside.”

Our vanity tables are actually made from cabinet grade plywood – which is actually even stronger than MDF! I believe quality is important which as you mentioned is a big factor when skirting a table as well and that’s why we use the heavy duty stuff on all our tables (except the MDF kit you have pictured at the bottom)

Thanks for the Update!