Marrakech: and a tale of a chandelier

I grew up with things that were ethnic, I grew up with things that were tribal, I grew up with things that made people furrow their brows.  There were hookahs from Iran, there were breastplates from Kenya, there were crosses from Ethiopia.  It was a strange and curious house filled with strange and curious things.

Those sorts of things fill my own home today.  I seek them out, I covet them, I collect them.  But sometimes I want things that are different.  Glamorous things.  Things that sparkle and catch the light. 

I bought one of those things recently.

 

 

 
 

Italian, 60+ years old, found in the Marrakech souks (where else?).  Now strung up from a ladder in my bedroom like some kind of art installation.  Waiting to be hung in a place where I can look up and see it overhead.   Do you have chandeliers in your home?

Marrakech: and a tale of Peacock Pavilions Guest house

Oh, it's been busy around here at Peacock Pavilions.  Very busy.  We're getting ready, you see.  Ready to open.  So much to do! 

Thought I would share with you a few details. 

Moroccan painting of veiled women, heavy white linen curtains with 100 year old silver and black handmade passementarie from Yemen (amazing French designer Corinne Bensimon made these curtains for me to spec).  Atlas Pavilion

Handmade lantern I designed made out of maichor, ceiling in a Moroccan inlay design painted by Melanie Royals and the Peacock Painters, Medina Pavilion.  (Fun note: Peacock Painter Todd who worked on this ceiling is staying with us for 4 months toiling away on finishing touches. We're lucky, lucky....:-))

Large vintage hand embroidered Indian horse, Persian runner. Uzbek suzani mounted on the wall, Medina Pavilion.

Buddha from 1740, series of turn of the century Le Petit Journal with color illustrations of the French colonial period in Morocco, Medina Pavilion.

Heavy vintage Persian wall hanging, old saffron colored Moroccan Taznarght carpet, Medina Pavilion

Series of old brass lanterns hanging from the dome with peep holes in the Medina Pavilion salon.

All images by fab intern, Katie.

Ain Sokhna, Egypt: and a tale of the alabaster sky

Just 2 hours from Cairo there's a haven, called Ain Sokhna.  A respite from Cairo's heat, noise, and pollution.  A place, most importantly, on the sea.

And so it was that  a colleague and I....

Or really, two colleagues and I.....

Well, actually 10 colleagues and I made our way there.  To Ain Sokhna.

We stayed in the Stella Di Mare Golf Hotel & Resort.

Mmmm...old world and pretty.

Oh, even the details were lovely.

But I envied him most of all.

Because he lived under a paneled real alabaster sky......

Find out more here about Stella Di Mare Golf Hotel & Resort in Ain Sokhna.

*

PS I leave for surf camp in Mirleft, Morocco tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow.  Follow my sandy adventures on Twitter right here.

Ava Reese: A tale of clarity

I'm a girl in love with color.  I'm a girl in love with pattern.  I'm a girl in love with strange and complicated things.

But my brain is a crowded place right now.  I need simplicity, I need purity, I need meditation.

Look what I just bought.

Ava Reese bag:  handmade tote is made from Italian wool blend felt. The bottom half is in charcoal grey and the top half is in winter white. The handles are grosgrain ribbon.

Bought right here for $40.

Many thanks to Automatism for the tip.