Side Note:
So in the spirit of great gatherings, please save the date for a holiday party to launch HPID, The Studio! We hope you can make it to HPID on Friday evening, December 11. Stay tuned for details, but mark your calendars, you won't want to miss it!
And... on stands now...Wilmington Magazine, Holiday edition...
We recently set a holiday table for Wilmington Magazine with our own little HPID "spin" on tradition. The challenge was to set a holiday table for either Thanksgiving or Christmas. While, I love the food and fellowship of Thanksgiving, I adore the decorations and traditions of Christmas. Most of you don't know that I was born three days before Christmas and arrived home in a stocking on Christmas morning. Cue: Ahhhh, so cute (and festive).
So in a premature holiday spirit, The HPID "conference room" was transformed (in October) into a Christmas dinner party set for 6. The modern brass and marble dining table was the perfect backdrop for the faux festivities.
I love tradition. I come from a very large family (and a long line of strong Southern women) that love to cook and bring out "fine china" that has been passed down through generations at many a Southern table. When we were married, Read and I registered for lovely china. I still love it, but it lacks the history and charm that my grandmother's pieces reflect. My china was just too new for the occasion (plus I have only used in 3 times in 15 years). I wanted this table to tell a story. I wanted to integrate old and new so I reached out to dear friend whose family, I knew had a much more elaborate collection than my own (plus I was scared to ask my grandmother to borrow hers for the shoot). My friend, Mae, inheirited collections of china, crystal and silver that has been passed down through several generations and ended up in her very lucky china cabinet. I have the privledge of helping her build her new home (and a butler's pantry to house said china).
I swear to you, it was like discovering a treasure chest from the Titanic. We sat down with a glass of wine and went through her collections. It was like visiting a museum, only I could touch it and read the stamps and marvel at what conversations these sets had been privy to. She has pink murano, chargers, the dainitiest tea cups you have ever seen... vintage (and I mean really vintage) Tiffany. I was in awe... It was almost impossible to choose a look or direction, but I couldn't believe the difference in the craftsmanship in the pieces of old vs. today. Some of them are over a century old and were truly works of art.
Once I settled on a dinner plates, the salad plates and chargers fell into place. Don't tell my mom, but I had to look up the layout for formal place setting online. Let her think I am well-groomed. I chose a friends brass flatware, just to mix it up and layered in napkins made from heavy velvet fabric for color. I made a large centerpiece with fresh cuttings, twigs and for the Southern touch, magnolia leaves. I anchored it with a magnolia wreath and finished off the place settings with pears tacked with a pretty gold pin and hand-written name tags.
I made swags for over each window with evergreen and magnolia and added a gold leaf sculptue to the center for drama (found and for sale at HPID Studio).
To throw out some Christmas/Holiday decorating tips:
Add in unexpected elements like coral vs. red or swap traditional linen napkins for a pretty fabric.
Integrate a wreath into a centerpiece or hang them in windows.
Personlize each space with a pretty ornament or in this case, a pear (from a pear tree, of course).
Don't be afraid to mix in traditional elements with modern ones and always, always layer your table with different sets of china, if possible. The more eclectic, the better!
So in the spirit of great gatherings, please save the date for a holiday party to launch HPID, The Studio! We hope you can make it to HPID on Friday evening, December 11. Stay tuned for details, but mark your calendars, you won't want to miss it!
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.... pick up a copy of Wilmington Magazine.... on stands now.
~ Photos via: Kelly Starbuck, Salt Studio Photography ~
