Spring 2023
I never really understood “Spring Fever” until I attended college in Boston. I grew up in southern Florida and never even owned a winter coat. Springtime in the northeast after being cooped up all winter is a memory seared in my mind. Everyone is joyful, the flowers bloom, and it feels like a fresh start. It quickly became my favorite season. Imagine my delight when I was selected to style a table at The Lenox Hill Spring Gala in New York City. The flower district was bursting with flowers of every color from around the world. It was a great way to start 2023 and create new spring memories, and I am excited to share my springtime in New York City with you!
Debra and Anne
Lenox Hill Spring Gala 2023
I was honored to be invited to style a table at The Lenox Hill 2023 Spring Gala "All the World's a Stage" on May 4th at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City. It was humbling to be one of 40 designers chosen (some of them were my design idols like Christopher Spitzmiller) to create a tablescape to help raise critical funds for the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House. The theme allowed me to imagine a tablescape from one of my favorite places in the world, Sweden, so "A Swedish Midsummer Table” was born. When I saw the Marie Daage Primrose plates from Bonadea, I thought they would perfectly complement the sweet fabric blue and green Nichola fabric from Mally Skok that I wanted to use. The plates had little bugs scattered about, so we had small dragonflies embroidered on the scalloped napkins. Myra and Margaret Jester, the talented mom and daughter calligrapher and artist team from Well Addressed Calligraphy, created beautiful watercolor menu cards for each guest. The woven flatware and glasses from Amanda Lindroth added texture and dimension. I showed my Swedish cousin my table, but she said that if it were a real Swedish midsummer table, I would need to add Schnapps glasses! I scoured the internet for vintage cordial glasses that would work on my table. Not an easy task, but we found ten different glasses, which added to the charm. However, the real star of the table was Morgan Moylan of West Queen Studio's spectacular six-foot-tall garden urn full of fresh spring blooms. My sister-in-law Paige and I went to the flower district with Morgan, where there were thousands of blooms from around the world. I've worked with Morgan enough times that she gets what I like and turns out the most beautiful design, but this was even better than I could have imagined. It was a night to remember, especially since this has been an event on my radar that I look forward to every year (more on that in the following story).
Photos by Marco Ricca
Design Matters 2023
October 15th and 16th at The Carolina Inn, Chapel Hill
Those of you following our newsletter may know that I am one of the co-founders of Design Matters, along with Anna Barzin, Anne Dusek, and Laura Montross. Design Matters is a series of events celebrating design, art, and architecture by presenting experts who will educate, entertain, and help raise funds for UNC Children's Hospital. This year's proceeds benefit The Children & Adolescent Behavioral Health Program at UNC Children's Hospital. The inspiration behind this event was to celebrate art and design in our community with guest speakers, as well as a tabletop event similar to The Lenox Hill Gala. If you love tablescapes as much as I do, you will love our “Set the Table” event! Our committee chairs, Christina Dickson and Kate Hutchison, are organizing a spectacular tablescape program and have invited 22 North Carolina designers to partner with floral designers and artists to create inspirational tablescapes. Our art committee, Anna Applegate, Eleanor Scott Davis, Maggie Dillon, and Lacy Rollins are curating spectacular pieces of art that pair with the tablescapes that will be available for purchase.
Lecture series co-chairs Anna Barzin and Lindsay Speace are putting together a fantastic presentation with guest speaker James Farmer. I am working with Myra Jester on our Keynote Lunch featuring Caroline Gidiere and moderator Ashley Hotham Cox. Caroline will be designing a spectacular de Gournay table for ”Set the Table”, so stay tuned! Tickets will go on sale at the end of July. Sign up at Design Matters in the link below for more information and to be notified when tickets go on sale at the end of July. We have limited sponsorships available for those who are interested.
Design Matters - Celebrating Design, Art, and Architecture (designmattersnc.com)
Interior Photo Styling
Debra styled some spectacular projects this spring. Once again, she loved bringing her signature flower bucket to the shoot and arranging the vases according to the client’s wishes. Usually, the surroundings dictate the style scheme, but in one of her favorite shoots, the sunset pink and-orange flowers dictated the direction in an all-white kitchen.
