Talk Shop with Ariel Okin: A Fenimore Lane Production

Latest Episodes:

Amanda Jones Vaughan // A Personal Touch from Design Start-Ups to Fashion Powerhouses to Her Own Brand May 08, 2024

Show notes

This week Ariel welcomes her friend, Amanda Jones Vaughan. A creative consultant and tastemaker with a career path that runs the gamut from cutting edge interior design startups to fashion powerhouses, Amanda has done it all. From NET-A-PORTER and J. Crew, to most recently, Editor-At-Large for Over The Moon, Amanda’s day-to-day involves overseeing events, content partnerships, and VIP services along with sharing top trends, product picks and styling content for brides and beyond.

After over a decade in Manhattan, Amanda returned to Philadelphia with her husband and 3 lively boys, where she is continuing to provide her keen sense of brand building through a growing consulting and styling business.

Follow Amanda over on Instagram and to learn where you can subscribe to her weekly newsletter, “That Said,” where she will be sharing her fresh take on aesthetics, an enthusiasm for unique finds and a healthy, humorous dose of motherhood reality.

https://www.instagram.com/amandajonesvaughan/

Books recommended by Amanda:

Move and Work by Malene Birger: https://www.amazon.com/Move-Work-Malene-Birger/dp/3832798099

Mr & Mrs Clark: Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell: https://www.artbook.com/9788836653768.html

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Also, we’re not wrapped for the season yet! Come back on May 22nd and the 29th for two special episodes recorded live from the Fenimore Lane Design Summit. And hopefully see you all at the Mayflower Inn on Saturday, May 18th!

Learn more about the Fenimore Lane Design Summit:

https://aubergeresorts.com/mayflower/experiences/fenimore-lane-design-summit/

Hillary W. Taylor // From Law to Design, Twenty Years of Fresh, Authentic and Traditional Styling May 01, 2024

Show notes

On this week’s episode of Talk Shop, Ariel is joined by the accomplished interior designer, Hillary W. Taylor. Having grown up in the San Francisco area, Hillary learned the art of designing the home environment from her mother. After graduating from Princeton, she worked for an investment banking firm, before realizing design might be much more her style, and founding her business, Hillary W Taylor Interiors in 2003.

Known for her neo-traditional design style that seamlessly blends classic elegance with contemporary elements. Her work exudes a sense of refined sophistication, creating spaces that are both timeless and inviting. With a keen eye for detail, Hillary blends colors, textures and patterns to achieve a sense of balance and harmony, with a bit of her own eclectic charm.

And when Hillary is not in the design studio, one might find her digging in the dirt, on the running trail, or cheering on one of her four children at their sports games, all while awaiting her next plane ride to adventure.

Learn more about Hillary’s design firm: https://hillarytaylorinteriors.com/

Eliza Crater Harris // A Nostalgic, Playful and Layered Career Built on a Legacy of Women Apr 24, 2024

Show notes

This week is all about legacy, as Ariel joined by Eliza Crater Harris, the Chief Creative Officer of American heritage brand, Sister Parish Design. As the great-granddaughter of design icon Sister Parish, Eliza's work honors her family's design legacy by overseeing product development, textile production, visual merchandising, and marketing initiatives for Sister Parish Design.

After graduating from the University of St. Andrews in 2011, Eliza began her career in the decorative arts in New York City, training under some of the most prestigious design firms in the country. From there Eliza joined her family business in 2018, and under Eliza's creative vision, the company continues to honor the story of great American houses. Sister believed that to decorate is to dream and Sister Parish Design is a family of dreamers.

Learn more about Sister Parish Design: https://sisterparishdesign.com/

Tori Mellott // Starry Moments from a Storied Career in Publishing, Advice for Designers, and a Book Announcement! Apr 17, 2024

Show notes

Ariel’s guest this week has over two decades of experience in the interiors world, both in print and digital. Tori Mellott is the Style Director at Frederic Magazine, and Director of Video Content at Frederic Media. Throughout her storied career, with stops at House Beautiful, Domino Magazine, Martha Stewart and Traditional Home, to name a few, Tori has curated a deep understanding of print and digital storytelling.

When she’s not behind the editor’s desk, Tori is a face many know in the industry both as a social media personality as the Instagram Live host for Schumacher, as well as a mentor to various designers, stylists, photographers, writers and editors in the industry.

Originally from a small town in western Pennsylvania, Tori now resides in New York City with her ten year old twin daughters. Listen in as Ariel has a lovely conversation with this industry legend!

Follow Tori’s design inspirations on her instagram at https://www.instagram.com/torimellott/

Katie Rosenfeld // A Design Career Built Through Social Media, Finding Maturity Within Her Design, and Bringing a Furniture Business to Life Apr 11, 2024

Show notes

On this week’s episode of Talk Shop, Ariel is joined by Katie Rosenfeld, a fellow self-taught designer, whose career started on Wall Street, but eventually led to design through starting her blog, Bogle Street, in 2007. Originally from Tampa, Florida, she would spend time in New York and Los Angeles before landing in Massachusetts with her family. In 2012, after her Boston home was published in Better Homes and Gardens, Katie would launch her design career and eventually her own firm, Katie Rosenfeld & Co.
Katie is equal parts vintage and modern, never trendy and always comfortable, she brings this same sense of stylish-ease to her designs. Her firm’s goal is to design a home to feel warm, comfortable and familiar, but thoughtfully designed, well-functioning and beautiful. At the end of the day, Katie’s aim is a home that reflects the clients’ life ― with Katie’s signature warmth and layers peppered throughout.
Learn more about Katie’s firm: https://katierosenfeldandco.com/

And her upcoming retail site for Vanity and Co: https://www.instagram.com/vanityandcompany/

Caroline Gidiere // From Litigator to Interior Designer, The Enduring Beauty of Classic Homes, and the Importance of Design in the South Apr 03, 2024

Show notes

Joining Ariel this week is Caroline Gidiere, an acclaimed interior designer and tastemaker based in Birmingham, Alabama. Caroline’s design aesthetic is a modern take on traditional interiors, using beautiful pieces and classic textiles to create spaces that are fresh and timeless.

Raised in the South, Caroline’s principles of design were absorbed by watching her mother, a talented seamstress who wasn’t afraid of a complicated pattern or roll of wallpaper. But Caroline didn’t always work in design – after years as a business and litigation lawyer, where she even even clerked for a federal judge for a few years, Caroline eventually found her way to design full time with the help of her husband, after designing her own home, which was featured on the cover of Veranda Magazine in 2020.

Pick up your own copy of Emily’s recent book, “Mario Buatta: Anatomy of a Decorator”:

https://www.amazon.com/Mario-Buatta-Emily-Evans-Eerdmans/dp/0847873579

And learn more about the gallery and upcoming exhibitions: https://www.eerdmansnewyork.com/

Emily Evans Eerdmans // A Colorful Career Filled with Close Mentorship, Writing on Design, and Opening a Gallery to Highlight Artists and Makers Mar 27, 2024

Show notes

Join us this week as we dive into design history with Emily Evans Eerdmans. Emily is the founder of Eerdmans, a fine and decorative arts gallery and consultancy in New York City. Her most recent book, Mario Buatta: Anatomy of a Decorator, is now available. A close friend of Mario’s, Emily oversaw the dispersal of his estate, including the blockbuster auction of the Prince of Chintz’s prized possessions at Sotheby’s. Emily’s book presents the key learnings and decorative history of Buatta, one of America’s most famous interior decorators.
Along with Anatomy of a Decorator, Emily has also authored a long list of books, including monographs on Madeleine Castaing and Henri Samuel. With a Master’s degree in Fine and Decorative Arts from Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London, Emily has taught design history at the Fashion Institute of Technology and the New York School of Interior Design.

Pick up your own copy of Emily’s recent book, “Mario Buatta: Anatomy of a Decorator”: https://www.amazon.com/Mario-Buatta-Emily-Evans-Eerdmans/dp/0847873579

And learn more about the gallery and upcoming exhibitions: https://www.eerdmansnewyork.com/

Heidi Caillier // Discovering Your Passion for Design, Creating a Sense of Place in a Home, and Mixing an Eclectic and Layered Style in a Space Mar 20, 2024

Show notes

On this week’s episode of Talk Shop, we’re headed to the Northwest and welcoming Seattle-based designer Heidi Caillier to the show. A master of pattern and tone, Heidi is known for her unexpected blend of elements and styles, with her layered, lived-in spaces feeling well-traveled, timeless, and fresh. Drawing on the sentiment of nostalgia, Caillier believes that decor and furniture should possess a timeless quality which grows with the home.

Before starting her Seattle-based full-service interior design firm, Heidi Caillier came to the design world through her blog, which would lead to her first job at a design firm. After working under designers for a few years, Heidi would eventually start her own studio.

Aided by a small team from her studio in Seattle, Heidi oversees high-end residential and hospitality projects across the US. And while location, architecture, and lifestyle inform the creative direction, it is the desires and lifestyle of every client which always steers the narrative.

Learn more about Heidi’s Firm: https://heidicaillierdesign.com/

And pick up a copy of her debut book, Heidi Caillier: Memories of Home: Interiors: https://www.rizzoliusa.com/book/9780847873470/

Annie Meyers-Shyer // A life Inspired by Film & Design with a Few Home Renovations Lessons Along the Way Mar 13, 2024

Show notes

This week Ariel welcomes an admirer of design with a different perspective– the client side. Annie Meyers-Shyer has meticulously been documenting the renovation of her family’s historic home in sunny Los Angeles on her instagram account, @thisoakhouse – and it’s quickly become a fan favorite, amassing tens of thousands of followers in a matter of weeks.

Originally from LA, Annie comes from a life grown up in Hollywood, thanks to her filmmaking parents, the iconic writer, director and producer Nancy Meyers and her father, also a writer, director and producer, Charles Shyer. Annie’s love for design and fashion has followed her from a young age, as a fresh out of college editor at Harper's Bazaar to working on the PR team at Chanel, and has most recently landed her in the form of a modern day design oracle. Ariel sat down with Annie to chat all things interiors, home inspiration, renovation musts and don'ts, and more!

Follow Annie at https://www.instagram.com/thisoakhouse

Bunny Williams // A Walk Through Her Storied Career, Life in and Outside of the Garden Mar 06, 2024

Show notes

This week on Talk Shop, Ariel welcomes one of the most talented names in design, the queen of contemporary American decorating, Bunny Williams. Known for balancing refined beauty, welcoming livable appeal, and attention to detail, Bunny is one of Architectural Digest’s “AD100 Hall of Fame” members, among many other accolades.

Born and raised in the countryside near Charlottesville, Virginia, Bunny moved to New York after college and kicked off her career at the antique gallery Stair & Co., followed by 22 years with the iconic design firm, Parish-Hadley Associates. In 1998, Bunny founded her own firm, Bunny Williams Inc, and design history was made. Last year, Bunny welcomed business partner Elizabeth Lawrence to join her under the firm’s new name, Williams Lawrence. Bunny’s businesses include Bunny Williams Home, the firm’s line of furnishings, lighting, art, and accessories; and licensed product lines with Ballard Designs, Lee Jofa, Dash & Albert, Currey & Company, and Mirror Home.

And if that doesn’t keep her busy enough, Bunny is the author of eight design books and is a sought-after speaker and mentor on decoration, gardening, and entertaining. Her most recent book, “Bunny Williams: Life in the Garden,”, leads readers on an intimate look at her much celebrated home and gardens in the Connecticut Berkshires that she has spent the last 40 years developing.

Learn more about Bunny’s firm, Williams Lawrence: https://williamslawrence.com/

Plus order a copy of your own of “Life in the Garden”: https://www.rizzoliusa.com/book/9780847899692

Join Ariel and Fenimore Lane at the Mayflower Inn & Spa in Washington, CT for a celebration of design on Saturday, May 18th. Pick up your tickets now: https://aubergeresorts.com/mayflower/experiences/fenimore-lane-design-summit/

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