Color Me Seaside

Last week, I had a true treat: a bi-annual getaway with girlfriends to two of my favorite places on Earth: Seaside and Watercolor, Florida, on the Gulf Coast.

If you haven't ever been, I highly recommend it. In a word: Heaven! Seaside and Watercolor are two communities on the Gulf Coast, side by side. One blends into the other. Truly heaven on Earth! My happy place.  Here are a few pics:

A pic on the way to the beach in Seaside:

The view on the other side: 

My favorite of the two communities, truth be told, is Watercolor with its perfectly designed walking paths, architectural lines, meandering natural lakes and perfectly curated gardens. Here are a few pics:

from the beautiful Watercolor Gardens

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A sample of the amazing architecture throughout the planned community (this is the community boathouse)

A pic of the pathways and pedestrian bridges along the way

The view alongside the Watercolor pedestrian bridge. 

(This pic makes me want to paint lily pads and channel Monet for future textile designs)

Even walking around the more "urban" Seaside proper inspires: check out this random mural on a side wall behind a commercial building that I came across ... makes me want to paint in watercolor circles!


And I haven't even told you about the houses. Oh. my. goodness. (Pssst ... if you are looking for a rental, I highly recommend Sanders. I've rented from them twice now, and they could not be more friendly and accommodating. Not to mention, the houses they rent are amazing!! Ours had me at chandelier):



The houses of Watercolor are like eye candy for those that love interiors and design. Painted in muted taupe and pastel tones and beautifully designed, it's hard not to marvel at each and every one.

picture from here

Picture from here

While I was in town, I couldn't resist visiting a few boutiques that I knew had a penchant for great taste (The Art of Simple) and creating stunning interiors (@Summer House Lifestyle). For example,  how about this amazing vignette created by Summer House Lifestyle, with its colorful wallpaper from Schumacher?

What a wonderful way to add color and pattern to a room -- and on just one wall. Talk about a bold statement - without going overboard.

One of my favorite finds @SummerHouseLifestyle was the ceramicist Susan Steele Meyer. Her work is absolutely stunning ... definitely something to bookmark for my house when the kids are older and we don't have a 6 month old puppy running cartwheels in the living room!


Speaking of the puppy, she is getting bigger every day. I took her to the vet last week and they confirmed she is now over 50 lbs(!). She celebrated her 6 month birthday last week. My daughter Mira created this half bday card for her on Snapchat (@MiraJeanDesigns):


Finally, at The Art of Simple, I couldn't resist taking a pic of this book. It poses a great question:

As I keep growing @MiraJeanDesigns and our textile lines, I often wonder and love to envision where it will be in 5 years. I might have to print this one out and put it on my desk as a daily inspiration and reminder.

xo, Kate

Collaboration Feature #2: She Believed She Could, So She Did

I am still pinching myself about this past week's events. It truly is an honor to highlight the work of my new friend and fellow artist, Kristin Try  - the second post in this Collaboration series. (Spoiler alert: get ready for a healthy dose of color and great words of inspiration!).

I first met Kristin earlier this year through Amy Rutherford, owner of Red Barn Mercantile (Thank you, Amy, for connecting us and your ongoing support!). When Kristin's not raising her two girls, working on interior design projects or at Red Barn (I know ... how many hours does she have in a day?!) she paints.

Kristin's paintings are like eye candy. If you like color and texture, you won't be disappointed:

Painting photos courtesy of Gingham and Grosgrain

Kristin's story is an inspiring one: she's been professionally painting for only a little more than a year ... yet look at how many canvases she has already transformed! Too many to count. She used to work in government relations and as an association executive. After the birth of her second daughter she began pursuing a more creative path. Read more on her story here.

This spring, Amy, Kristin and I were talking about our business goals and discovered we had a big one in common: building relationships with interior designers. How could we help one another? Collaborate on a private event for interior designers. We would showcase Kristin's abstract paintings, Red Barn's new Trade Program, sustainably made furniture by Cisco Brothers and new textile designs from yours truly.

Fast forward to this past week, and I'm thrilled to share the event was a success. Here are a few pics:

On the left: textiles from our new spring collection. On the right: Kristin's new painting, Reflection

I'm honored a few of Kristin's new paintings were inspired by Mira Jean textile designs (... how fun would it be to have a room with colorful pillows and roman shades in Palatial Peach, beside this oil painting on the wall?!)

Our Palatial Peach watercolor textile design on Cotton Linen Canvas

Here's a sample room for inspiration:

(Source: here)

My personal favorites are these two ... LOVE the aqua greens and blues!:

From left to right: Summer Grass (Retail price: $650); Stillness; bottom: Lime Leaves, Kiss me Jade, and Aquafern textile memos)

I asked Kristin what suggestions she might offer fellow creative entrepreneurs, just starting out. Talk about great advice:"Do one thing towards your goal every day. It can be a few minutes or a few hours - it will add up."

She also credits a recent article by artist consultant Laura C. George on how, "No one should ever feel bad about not doing something their whole life. If you want to do something new, just do it! Stay true to you and don't let others define who you should be or make you feel less for not having th path they think you should have." 

Kristin has a print in her studio that says, "She Believed She Could, So She Did." Follow her work on Instagram and you'll see, this is one artist and creative business owner that walks the talk.

Photo courtesy of Gingham and Grosgrain

Spring Showers & Show Houses

I don't know about you, but I am ready for the sun to return. I've lost count how many days in a row it's been grey and rainy. It made me want to re-visit this textile design I began work on earlier this year. I think I am going to call it April Showers (or Rain, Rain, Go Away!).

Despite the weather, it was a busy weekend with the pop up Studio Sale at friend and potter Stacy Snyder's home studio. Stacy's spring works included new glazes in beautiful yellows, celery greens and more. I can't wait to share more with you about her work in a future post.

With the cold came a number of organic throw blanket sales ... I love it how the weather impacts what sells at shows. Whenever it is cold out, the throws sell! Makes me want to read more about the psychology of shopping. One of my favorites to go was one in our new Winter Fern design, added this past winter (which reminds me, I still need to add it to my website!).

Last, the expression "when it rains, it pours" is so true. Stacy and I had set our Spring Studio Sale dates months ago. Then last week I heard from friend and interior designer Regan Billingsley: the DC Design House site for this fall had been selected and would I like to tour it with her. The tour dates? You guessed it: the day of the Studio Sale opening. I had to do both! So after setting up early Friday morning, I headed to NW DC to meet Regan and see the house before heading back to the pop up.

What is the 2016 DC Design House site like? In a word: BIG. Home to former French Ambassador and located at 2509 Foxhall Road, NW, this house's middle name is Grand. (You can view a virtual tour of it here). The residence includes over twenty(!) spaces available to designers to transform. Here's a view off the kitchen - the "informal" rear staircase:

My favorite spaces in the home include these little alcoves. (I kept thinking, how sweet would these be with bench seats and pillows in Mira Jean fabrics and roman shades?!)

Here are two examples, for inspiration:

(image from here)

(image from here)

This room got me thinking: imagine if each of these 'panels' was filled with a Mira Jean print?

It would be like multiple large canvases, throughout the room. Talk about a dose of color and pattern!

(image from here)

(image from here)

(image from here)

Designers have until May 16 to submit proposals; winners are selected by the end of the month. I can't wait to see how this property is transformed, come the fall. The best part? The event always raises thousands of $$s for Children's Hospital.

Cheers,
Kate

What's Up? Pop Ups!

It's been hopping around here as usual. With the arrival (finally!) of spring typically comes spring pop ups, and this year has been no exception.

Last Saturday we were back at the wonderful Red Barn Mercantile with our pillow collection. I always love being in this store, whether it's for a Mira Jean Designs event - or just to shop. :-) (Confession: favorite purchases are cards from their amazing and funny card collection ... so hard to choose! And Syndey Hale candles).



While there, we tested out some new textile designs including our Navy Waves lumbar pillow. I'm pleased to share, it quickly found a new home. (Wouldn't this be the perfect pillow on your couch or sun porch, come Fourth of July? Email me and I can make you one, too!)



Post Red Barn, the pop up prep continues. This weekend I will be back at my friend and the very talented potter Stacy Snyder's home for a joint home studio sale. Below is a glimpse of Stacy's work. I have admired Stacy's work for some time. We met years ago through our kids' preschool, and I love that we are now collaborating on a spring show together.

All are welcome at the Studio Sale! Hours are: Friday wine & cheese opening 5-7pm / Saturday 10a-5p / Sunday 11a-3pm. Address is: 508 N. Kenmore St, Arlington, VA 22201. 

Meanwhile if you read my last blog post you know I've been inspired by my wedding florist Holly Chapple to paint some new floral textile designs. While I'm not in *LOVE* with any of them yet, the painting continues. I hope to have some new floral designs to share with you, soon.



Until then, enjoy this glorious weather - and if you're in / near Arlington, VA this weekend, mark your calendar to pop by our spring studio sale! Hope to see you there.

xo,
Kate

Serendipity

Sometimes life works in mysterious and serendipitous ways. This week has been a whirlwind! I am excited to share a few highlights with you:

On Tuesday, I was one of three artists at a special event hosted by Kate Llubers at Evans & Sheldon.  Kate runs a beautiful textiles and home furnishings showroom in Georgetown. The focus on this week's event was all about ... Wallpaper. It was an honor to be there alongside Mally Skok and Victoria Larson, two fellow textile designers whose work I admire.

I had been thinking about venturing out into the world of wallpaper for some time. Kate's event gave me what I needed: a deadline. So over the past six weeks or so, I have been testing and fine-tuning wallpaper finishes.

Talk about meeting a deadline. The product was ready just in time for Tuesday's event - but I confessed to the group, I hadn't yet named one of the designs. It began as a textile design. It was posted on Facebook and Instagram in its early stages ... but hasn't been added it to the website yet - in part because I wasn't sure what to call it.

On Thursday, I found myself out in Waterford, Virginia at the beautiful new Hope Flower Farm owned by floral designer Holly Chapple and family. Holly was the florist for my wedding some many years ago. We recently re-connected through social media. Unbelievable!

Holly's flowers made my wedding day beautiful. Words cannot describe how it felt to reconnect with a woman I so admired almost two decades(!) ago -- AND to see her flourishing in her creative career in such a beautiful, idyllic place. Here are a few pics from the visit:

One (of three) barns on the 25+ acre property

Some ranunculus that arrived while I was there. (Later that afternoon, Holly turned these beauties and more into an *amazing* arrangement. You can see the finished bouquet on her Instagram feed here)

A floral chandelier frame Holly designed, inside one of the barns. (Imagine this covered with flowers ... Stunning!)

Holly and I reminisced about my wedding (check out the old wedding pics on her Instagram feed!) and talked about our careers, families, and lives as creatives ... and about collaborating in the future. My heart and mind are overflowing with excitement about the possibilities. I cannot wait to keep you posted (and yes, Holly gave me another deadline ... a good thing!).

My family and I will be joining Holly at one of her upcoming events at Hope Farm on Sunday, May 1st: Barn dancing. Virginia friends & neighbors, It's not too late to register if you want to come, too!

In closing, one of the guests at Evans & Sheldon came up to me after the wallpaper presentations with a suggestion for the unnamed design: "Serendipity." After this week's events, Serendipity it is. 

Have a great weekend!

xo,
Kate

Collaboration Feature #1: Photographer Shelly Han

I am thrilled to share this interview with friend and photographer Shelly Han. This is the first in my Collaboration series; stories and interviews with fellow creative women entrepreneurs and business owners that I have had the honor to meet through my work @MiraJeanDesigns. My goal is to share their stories, work and words of wisdom for fellow creatives. Let me know what you think & enjoy! 

Last week, I shared photos from the wonderfully talented photographer, Shelly Han. When I was first starting out @MiraJeanDesigns, I had the good fortune of meeting Shelly. We've been collaborating ever since. 

Shelly's photos have a beautiful way of capturing color, light and energy. Fun fact: her favorite subjects are actually people. (Luckily for me, she still photographs my textiles, too). I recently asked Shelly to share some insights on her work, creative process and more. She graciously agreed and today we are sharing the interview with you here: 

Kate@MiraJeanDesigns: How long have you been a photographer?

Shelly: I started photography in middle school with my dad's film camera (digital wasn't around for another 20+ years) and bought my own camera (Canon AE-1--I still have it!) with my graduation money when I was a senior in high school. That same year I did an internship where I developed photos of the stars (the heavenly kind) at the University of Arizona's space science center -- but ended up pursuing a degree in political science. 

K: When did you know you wanted to be a photographer; when did you get the photography "bug"? 

S: Even during college and living abroad I continued to take pictures. But the photography disease (frankly, "bug" is just not a strong enough word!) returned in full force when my kids came along. I realized I needed a different set of skills to capture little things that refused to stand still so I started studying on my own and then fully embraced digital photography as it was just emerging. 

K: What do you love photographing the most?

S: People! I love capturing an emotion, a moment, a fleeting look in the eyes. I rarely take landscape photos, or photos of flowers. It's all about the face for me. Although, if you think about it, hands and body also can convey an emotion, so it's just all about having a person in the frame. The next best thing: a dog! 

K: Would you be willing to share a story about a particularly surprising photo shoot? 

Yes! One of my strangest shoots I've had was in the deserts of Turkmenistan. I had the opportunity to spend one night camping at a place called the "Gates of Hell". It's essentially a football field-sized crater that is filled with natural gas. It was created when they were drilling for gas and the ground sunk beneath them. They thought they could burn the gas off and start again, but forty years later it's still burning! At night it is the most amazing sight. I had done some research ahead of time and planned the equipment I would need, extra batteries (because no place to plug in!) etc. It was incredible. Once night fell I enlisted my camping buddies to all stand in a row in front of the pit while I took the photo. I loved the result not only because it reminds me of an incredible place and experience, but also because it represented to me what I could create if I planned ahead and prepared properly. Here is a photo of me in front of the crater during the day and then the shot I took after dark:

K: What makes it fun?

S: The unpredictability. Even if I'm shooting at the same spot, you are shooting with different people and the shoots are never the same because of that. This factor also makes it challenging, and sometimes stressful, but it's also what makes the whole thing fun for me. I like to be challenged. I like it when people say, "Oh, I don't like to take photos", or "I always look bad in photos."  That's like whacking me in the face with a white glove--game on! I want to be able to figure out how to bring that person along, capture their personality, make them fearless in front of the camera. We should all be fearless in front of the camera. Sometimes I think I'm a therapist just as much as a photographer, and I love it. 

K: If you had one tip for amateurs on how to take great photographs, what would it be? 

S: One of the best tips I learned a few years ago from a teacher was about paying attention to perspective. Not only learning to quickly read what is in the frame (a quick eyeball sweep around the whole frame to look for distracting elements or poles sticking out of heads) but also the height from which you are shooting. This teacher looked at my portfolio and he said these are almost all taken from 5'5" (that's how tall I am). So get a little workout in by bending low to the level of your kids, or stand on the nearest bench and get a little height. Your pictures will be more dynamic if you vary the perspective. 

K: Where do you get your inspiration from?

S: I follow a lot of photographers on Instagram for constant inspiration, and I am in a VSCO Film Users group on Facebook where there is stunning photography from around the world on a daily basis. You can check out the related website here: http://www.lookslikefilm.com/  I also keep a board on Pinterest with any and all things, but mostly photos, that inspire me one way or the other. I call the board "Fuel for the fire". Feel free to check it out: https://www.pinterest.com/shellyhealdhan/fuel-for-the-fire/

K: If you had one piece of advice for an entrepreneur or business owner, what would it be? 

S: Embrace the accounting! I'm still not there 100 percent, but I finally realized that to be a successful business owner you have to like business. Who knew! So I am slowly coming around to convincing myself that the business-side of things can be fun, and of course rewarding, if you get it right. There is absolutely no need to be a starving artist.You can be a great artist and a great business owner. 

K: Do you have a favorite or most memorable photo you'd like to share? 

S: Here's what it takes for a photo to make it into my top tier: awesome natural light, a real expression or emotion, and, finally, if it brings back a good memory then it's gold. This photo of my husband, Lianchao, fits all three criteria. We were sitting outside with family at a beautiful mountaintop cafe in Greece with gorgeous light from the setting sun, house wine in a carafe on the table, and he turned to me to say, "Cheers". Yes, indeed. It's one of my favorites. 

All Photos Courtesy of Shelly Han. Photos and text by Kate Hougen and Shelly Han. 

Happy Spring! & Puppy Love

Happy Spring! & Puppy Love

Happy Spring! It's almost 80 degrees here today, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, and the studio is bursting with new activity and textiles, pillows and throws in spring colors ... spring has sprung! Here are a few highlights:

We are in the midst of marketing our new Spring collection and prepping for spring & summer shows and events. (Email us and we'll add you to our invite list, if you're not on it already!).



My friend and photographer, Shelly Han, took this photo. When I launched Mira Jean Designs, Shelly did our first photo shoot. I've been working with her ever since. She is amazing. One couldn't ask for a more talented and fun photographer to work with!

Second, we have a new addition to the Mira Jean Designs family: a new pup! (Spoiler alert: if you follow us on Instagram, you've seen her already). Her name is Piper and I love the new energy she brings to our home. Shelly came over to photograph her and I can't resist sharing one of those photos with you, too:



Last, I've been giving a lot of thought to this blog ... its focus and the kinds of stories and information I want to share. A few of you suggested I talk about the "behind the scenes" of Mira Jean Designs and launching a business. If you have other suggestions, let me know; I welcome them. Increasingly, I also keep coming back to the theme of Collaboration.

Launching this business has provided so many opportunities to meet and collaborate with talented women and business owners -- and I'd love to share their work and insights with you. First up in our new Collaboration series will be an interview with Shelly herself.

Until then, Enjoy this spring weather!
xo, Kate


From our very first photo shoot with Shelly Han Photography, our textile designs in cotton poplin dresses. (From left to right: Rainbow Birds, Tulips in the Clouds, Tangerine Tulips).