design star season 7!

Watch the entire first episode here!


Did you catch the season premiere of Design Star last night? I'm actually excited about this season because the designers seem to have a bit more personality than last years. I also was glad to see that most of the contestants are actually designers.... I'm also really pumped to see this chocolate face with a southern accent: Hilari!



She and Rachel created this lounge space which I LOVED. Hilari loves animal print and drama as much as I do, so I suspect I'll be loving a LOT of her spaces.

I'm rooting for you Hilari! Who do you love on the show so far? Who do you hate? Which space did you love last night?

blogfest 2012 recap

Last week I was in NYC for most of the week to attend Blogfest 2012. Hosted by to-the-trade fabric powerhouses Kravet, Lee Jofa, Brunschwig & Fils + a host of magazine and industry sponsors, the registration to this conference sold out in under 4 hours this February. I was so excited to get inside information on trends, getting published, and secrets to success from top designers.

The conference actually started on Monday; a free ticket to ICFF was included in the registration, but bad weather kept me from getting there in time to browse ICFF. I did get there just in time to see the gorgeous Kips Bay Showhouse featuring some of the top designers in America. It was amazing, but unbearably crowded. I couldn't get any great shots because it was so tight in there witwh all 160+ attendees. At this point in the day too, I'd been traveling since that morning and was super exhausted so I hopped a cab uptown to my cousins' place in Harlem for the night.



TUESDAY was the best day of the conference to me. I LOVED all the panelists they chose. Newell Turner, Editor in Chief of House Beautiful facilitated a panel with Micheal Herold, Jill Goldberg & John Call about their career 'A-Ha' moments. I so loved their candidness and the message overall was that everyone has their own path! What drives you may not drive someone else, so your steps to success will be different. It was a much needed reminder for me.


After the panel I got a chance to meet and chat with Newell Turner and he is a FAN of Design Talk! He was so supportive and complimentary; it was definitely the highlight of my MONTH to meet someone I admire so much and have him be excited to meet me!

Next, we headed over to the ELLE DECOR Modern Life Concept House where I was pleased to see Lee from Pieces here in Atlanta! Again, gorgeous showhouse; too many people! I did snap a couple shots of one one that looked a LOT like one you may recognize ;)


Cheetah pillows, mint walls, white lamps? Loved this space from Katie Leede



After the showhouse we were treated to an awesome lunch at Kravet's showroom in the D&D building followed by a chat with Alexa Hampton and EIC of Traditional Home Ann Maine. Alexa Hampton is hilarious and I loved her perspective on "the new traditional".

I could keep running through the schedule of events of the conference, but what you really probably want to know is what did I take away from it all? Well first of all, it was so apparent to me that I'm not a part of the "in crowd" in my industry. Meaning, I'm not a seasoned interior designer with a long list of clients and referrals out the wazoo nor am I a superstar blogger with 1000s of hits a day. More over, there are obvious personal differences between myself and A LOT of the attendees of this conference that seem to isolate me from the group. But I'm ok with that! I understand that I'm in my own lane; it's a unique position to be in and sometimes it can be frustrating because I don't have any pre-determined path to follow, but it's also very liberating. It's what makes me stand out and I'm thankful for it!

Beyond that, I really took away from the presenters, panelists and the rooms that we saw as well, that it's so important to stay true to YOUR aesthetic. Trends are great, pleasing the client is great, but if the work doesn't represent you, it's not really your work, is it? Another great take-away: document every step. We all tend to be so goal oriented that we forget that the little steps are integral to your success too. Former Domino Magazine EIC Dara Caponigro made sure to advise designers to "finish your own space first and photograph it!" Others advised not to wait on a PR person to pitch your projects; scour editorial calendars & get in touch with editors to submit projects yourself.

Overall, I'm really happy that I had the chance to go! I would encourage anyone who wants to attend to definitely check it out. I'll be posting more photos on the SingleBubblePop Facebook page, so go there to check it out!

the view from here

Today is my birthday! And as always it's a humble day of reflection for me. I'm here in NYC for Blogfest 2012 and it has been an amazing conference thus far. The photo you see above was snapped as I watch some of my design icons & new favorites give invaluable insight into the interior design industry. I'm so thankful to be here, and of course will do a full recap when I return home, but right now I am taking a moment to just reflect on where I am now & how much has changed since my last birthday! Wow, God is amazing isn't he?

Thank you all for continually supporting this blog & I'll be back on Friday!

-Niki

the mayonnaise jar & the coffee

source

My sister Adrianne shared this with me the other day & I just had to pass it along. It's the perfect message to get you through this hump day!


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The Mayonnaise Jar & the Coffee

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar... and the coffee...
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, " I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things-your God, family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions-things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else-the small stuff."

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.


The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

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