A team from MSLO presented at the Home Depot regional store managers meeting in LA this past week with much fanfare. The event (attended by more than 5,000 people) was held at the Nokia Theatre and all about color and design. Upon my return, I needed to relax and I have been looking through two books that are so different from each other yet both give me great ideas, too. No matter what I am doing or where I am, I seem to find inspiration.
First is Flowers for the Home: Inspirations from the World Over by Prudence Designs (Rizzoli, 2009, amazon.com). Floral designer Grayson Handy creates some incredible arrangements and photographer Ellen Silverman captures their beauty. I love how the pages are themed by various cultures around the world. I’ve highlighted a few that really caught my eye.
1 Look at this gold-lacquered vase with roses, ranunculus and orchids. Gorgeous!
2 Finding inspiration everywhere, even in a pile of Macarons.
3 The photography is simply fantastic, especially a close up of a Lady Slipper.
4 Orange poppies, blue Fiestaware and a shot of pink. That is color inspiration.
5 Carnations are a favorite and so is this image.
6 These tomato-red and lettuce-green bowls have me thinking about a summer palette.
7 I love this Americana moment of dahlias and stripes.
8 Handy's naturalist moments are also inspiring. I especially love the fiddlehead fern tucked into each napkin.
9 Once again, Handy's color work is right on target with this rainforest themed setting.
The second is The Sartorialist by Scott Schuman (Penguin Books, 2009, amazon.com). I should have included his blog on yesterday’s post (thesartorialist.blogspot.com) but I really wanted to let you know about his book, too. Schuman has collected some of his most wonderful images of people from around the world. Whether they are well-known editors or simple folk on the street, each person begs to be documented.
1 Classic and easy. That scarf!
2 Aren't they a pair with those socks.
3 This is serious.
4 That ink blue color is just right.
5 Scott seems to be able to capture the moment.
6 J'adore.
Enjoy!
Kevin Sharkey 
From: Rowaida Flayhan | 3/12/10 at 10:46 am
Best of luck with the launch of the MSL products at Home Depot. Inspirations from the World Over by Prudence Designs certainly provides wonderful inspiration for the new line of paint colour. The books are gorgeous. Thank you for the inspiration!