A Brizo Invite To Attend A Reunion In Memphis

Today I am singing the blues, as I am going home to Memphis, Tennessee. The first thing that comes to most peoples minds when they think of Memphis, is Graceland the famous home of The King, Elvis Presley. Others think of Beale Street in the heart of Memphis, and it's famous Blues clubs. 
Or the Mississippi River, where cotton is grown along the shores.  I always think of Memphis, and it's famous melt-in-your-mouth barbecue.   

I am flying into Memphis, because Brizo invited me to attend an all-expenses paid reunion in Memphis.  The reunion of all the #Blogger19 who are Designers who blog, from all over the world.  We will be meeting the patients, Doctors and the executive of St. Jude Children's Research.  The world's premier centers for research and treatment of catastrophic diseases in children, primarily pediatric cancers.

The mission of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is to find cures for children with catastrophic illnesses through research and treatment.  At St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, no child is ever turned away because of a family's inability to pay.  

Brizo is a supporter of Houses for the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway.  Homes are constructed across America using donated land, materials, labor, and fixtures from Brizo faucets and accessories for the kitchen and bath. The giveaway campaign gives thousands a chance to win a new home, and the money raised  helps to fund research and treatment efforts for St. Jude and helps children live out their dreams.

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The St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway is one of the largest single-event fundraisers for St. Jude nationwide and has raised more than $260 million.  

I'll be reporting via social media, so please follow us on Twitter, we'll be using the hashtag #blogger19.  We'll also be learning about Brizo products and touring the factory while in Memphis.  This is the Memphis, I've never gone home to and it's exciting to be part of this experience.  I encourage you to reserve your $100 Dream Home ticket, and help St. Jude continue its lifesaving research.   

Disclaimer:   Brizo is paying/paid for my airfare and travel expenses for this trip.

F@ck Yea I'm A Blogger

I've been a blogger for a very long time.  And darn if  I have not gotten behind with my musing of beach life and beach house decor.  Is there a punishment for not blogging?  Well, darn if there isn't ...it's called missing out on some fantastic blogger opportunities!  When you don't find me here at beach house decor,  I'm still blogging and then some every week at Interior Designer Chat, where I spend a good part of my week planning and working with a global audience of Interior Designers, Architects, Artists, Kitchen and Bath pro's, and home decor professionals on twitter.  Yes, that's right Twitter.  Should I mention that I love tumbling, Tweeting as @NoirBlancDesign, and Pinterest which may or may not have caused the wave in blogging time spent here with you beach house decor readers.


This month, I travel to the Architectural Digest Show, where in March the temperature soared to a record breaking 90 and I spent hours speaking with CEO and Brand Executives who are just getting versed in Social Media and Corporate blogging.  At the same show, I met an entire group of designer who were flown into New York City for a blog tour sponsored by brands within the design industry.  We met at the show for a tweeted up of meeting in real life for bloody Marys.  And dear readers... yes, there's a new breed in our industry, writing about design daily.  Today, when you ask the age old question, "What do you do for a living?"  With a real attitude you can hear, "I'm a blogger."  There are now famous bloggers who are exceptional, and have taken their writing skills to the next level, of writing books.  There can even be the attitude with a capital f@ck yea, I'm a blogger!!!   


First and foremost  I'm an entrepreneur business women, a Designer you can read more about, in my interview with Brabantia this month. My life is filled with clients, meetings, a public relation business, and one that seems over booked with volunteer time.  Which brings me back to Twitter and The New York City bloggers.  For over a year,  I had been tweeting a London Interior Designer, Andrew Dunning, who also joined in the volunteer efforts of #IntDesignerChat by being our London Ambassador. Andrew and I met on twitter with a few mutual tweets of admiration for Poole England, the head quarters of  Sunseeker Motor Yachts.  It was so very real and so cool, to meet a twitter friend with common interests of design, yachting life, fine taste, and beach life in real life in New York City Ad Show.  Serendipity to this post, is Andrew is also a design blogger who introduced me to Brabantia products as a guest blogger. 

I often go to industry trade shows to shop and stay informed and find new clients.  I'm a social creature who loves a good event or party. I've been in the press room as for longer then most bloggers..can state their birthdays.  Not my LinkedIn states past Ad Director, PR firm Principle, and online editor. The new "it" word is blogger and it's now carte blanche to the press rooms, parties, and grand affairs. Personally, I'm not sure I agree with all bloggers having press qualification.  Indeed, I'm old enough to be opinionated.  And have a keen sense of what happening and what manufacturers, vendors and brands should understand in today's social media world. I shared this in an interviewed:  12 Most Engaging Reasons Why Brands Need to Embrace Social Media Now conducted by Caroline Di Diego (CASUDI)  a multi-faceted entrepreneur with two parallel careers. In the one she focuses on Architectural Design solutions and the other (where most of you know her) she helps start ups amp up their early-stage businesses.  

So am I a blogger?  F@ck yea I'm a blogger.  The opportunities and the experiences one has from blogging can be read about everywhere.  Are you a blogger? I'd love to hear your comments on how and why you find blogging valuable. 

Designers and Taste Makers Dine At The Breakers in Newport

Newport, Rhode Island has an extraordinary array of architecture and grand interiors. Newport is where many of the cultural forces that shape Designers and their work, through the ages meet. Here they discuss great interiors, masterpieces of furniture and the great designers at the yearly, "Newport Symposium." The Preservation Society of Newport County and a list of prominent sponsors present the symposium. This years theme: Great Designers, A Colorful History of The Interior. The morning and afternoons are filled with tours and lectures in Newport's Historical Buildings. One can almost experience the feeling of the bygone era, as you embark on the adventure of refining and decorating for a discerning and wealthy clientele. "Don't Think To Much of Style," was presented Monday by Kit Wedd, of English Heritage, United Kingdom. Touring you discover Wall coverings, textiles, glassware, distinctive tile, fine China, and fine Furniture embarked in the history of Newport that is today popular in manufactured reproductions.

The thought of beach house decor on the grand interior scale, of a Newport Mansions is what put American Glamour on the International map. Tonight taste makers from around the world will dine at The Breakers, and discussing Duncan Phyfe, Dorthy Draper, Billy Baldwin, Josef Hoffman, Robert Adams, Alva Vanderbilt, Jules Allard and Sons of Paris, and William Morris to name just a few. All while over looking the Ocean Cliffs of Newport, in one of it's many Grand Mansions and dinning room. With this many visionaries dinning at The Breakers, I won't be the least bit surprised if the ghost of Alva Vanderbilt joins in.

*If your a Designer, Architecture, a Historian, or Student consider next years Newport Symposium.