Category: Home

The art of Jamdani weaving

Cold Cream 'n' Roses
Afera Designs - Elegance From Timeless Tradition
I love ethnic textiles: block prints, ikat, suzanis, kalamkari – you name it, I love it.

That’s why I was excited to receive this recommendation from tanjinaquazi via ThisNext for Afera Designs, a company that seeks to keep alive the art of weaving Jamdani. According to Chandana Banerjee of colouroftherain.blogspot.com, “The method of weaving resembles tapestry work in which small shuttles of coloured, gold or silver threads, are passed through the weft [yarns that are run horizontally in a loom].” Jamdani is practiced near Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

A Jamdani weaver at work

Decorative arts such as Jamdani are at risk of dying out, as the weavers cannot support themselves by practicing their traditional art. Many go to work in the garment factories that churn out cheap clothing for export. Fortunately, companies such as Afera Designs are dedicated to keeping decorative arts alive and creating new markets for them.

Tips for handling postal mail

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

Despite my past articles on organization, I still was drowning in clutter. For nearly 14 years, my husband has been ragging me about clutter (in our home, the gender roles have been switched: he’s the neat freak, I’m the messy one).

These tips might seem self-evident, but handling mail as it comes in prevents clutter:

* Throw away junk mail, but remove mailing labels with personal information and shred or tear up the labels before you toss junk mail in the trash.

* If you have online bill pay, schedule payments for bills as they arrive in the mail. Once you’ve paid the bill, stamp it as “PAID” and note the date paid.

* Throw away previous issues of any magazine to which you subscribe as the new one arrives, unless you are sure that you will go back and look at the old issues.

When I subscribed to Real Simple, I held onto the issues, as the matte pages and covers were too nice to throw out; also, I thought that I’d go back to older issues for any tips and other advice. Once I realized that I didn’t go back to those previous issues, I threw out my collection of Real Simple. Now I’m holding onto issues of Domino. I don’t always follow my own advice.

* The same principle applies to mail order catalogues. Too often, the content from one issue to another is the same; it’s just been reorganized. When you receive the latest issue, throw out the previous issue.

In a subsequent article, I’ll provide tips that I’ve found helpful on organizing paper files.

Eco-friendy housecleaning tips

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

When something gets overhyped, I tend to tune it out. So it is with Earth Day.

Nonetheless, here are some personal tips from Rachel Lane of Barcelona Bath & Body (via her email list) on eco-friendly housecleaning that are worth passing on:

~ Sweet Orange Essential Oil is an awesome adhesive remover. My husband gave it the ultimate test recently by using it on a soft cloth to remove the residue from all the dealership stickers he’d taken off his new car. Passed with flying colors!

~ Hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle has taken the place of bleach sprays for kitchen surfaces. I even clean my cutting boards with it before running them through the dishwasher.

~ Vinegar is my glass, surface and faucet cleaner of choice. It works well in the dishwasher additive reservoir to leave your glasses sparkling. It also makes a great tile floor cleaner that leaves no sticky residue behind to attract dirt. My husband hates the smell, so I just finish up with a spritz of Room Refresh!

~ Baking soda and salt take the place of scouring powder. For example, if there’s still discoloration on my cutting board after I use hydrogen peroxide on it, I use baking soda and salt to scour out any remaining residue food may have left behind. Then I put it in the dishwasher and give it a final spritz of hydrogen peroxide.

~ Water in a spray bottle and a soft rag have taken the place of aerosol dusting sprays and dusting wipes. Let’s face it. Dry dusting doesn’t work! But spritzing a soft rag with a little water works well and is safe to breathe.

Bonus tip~~Conventional wisdom tells us to sort laundry first by color, then by soil level. Washing heavily soiled items with lightly soiled items causes unwanted soil transfer. I save my rags for a separate load from my regular laundry. When my husband comes in from mowing the yard, I take the dirty yardwork laundry and toss it in the wash with my rags to make a fuller load. This would also work great for sports uniforms or work uniforms if you happen to have those in your household.

I like Bon Ami scouring powder, as it’s not chlorinated. Vinegar and salt is also great for removing tarnish from pots and pans, but you need “elbow grease.”

Finds from World Market

Cold Cream 'n' Roses3 Comments

I love shopping World Market. It’s what Pier 1 used to be, long before Pier 1 began aping Pottery Barn. I especially enjoy browsing the cookware, fashion accessories, and food departments: Katjes Yoghurt Gum candy from Germany is my current favorite!

I picked up the smaller of these two vases on my last visit to World Market:

It’s ceramic and features the geometric designs characteristic of the Shipibo tribe of Peru. Most examples of Shipibo design feature an off-white background with the designs in black. Some are done on backgrounds of saffron or henna shades. This green is unusual, and beautiful.

On a previous visit, I bought the rectangular sushi plate, below. Instead of using it on the tabletop, I use it to contain my necklaces and bracelets. It’s made in Japan, but the colors and design make me think of mehndi.

Do you get the idea that I like ethnic design motifs?

Olive Branch Menorah by Michael Aram

Cold Cream 'n' Roses
Olive Branch Menorah by Michael Aram

I discovered this beautiful piece at Carter & Spence, a gift shop in Warrenton, Virginia. I thought that the olive branch sculpture would be a great centerpiece for our dining table. Moreover, it would extend the Mediterranean theme we created by the display of all the pottery my husband and I bought in Greece.

Then I flipped over the sculpture and saw the holes for candles. Only then did I realize that it was a menorah, proving that you don’t have to celebrate Chanukah to enjoy this piece.

Happy Chanukah to all our readers who celebrate the holiday!

The Style Page interview with celebrity makeup artist Matin – Part 3

Cold Cream 'n' Roses3 Comments

In the third and final part of this interview, Matin discusses becoming Neutrogena Cosmetics’ makeup artist, makeup tips, and his hobbies.

10. Tell me about Neutrogena approaching you to be its makeup artist. Are you also providing creative direction through developing new products and color palettes?

I met some Neutrogena people at a dinner party and we talked shop. Next thing I know, I got a call from them me asking me if I was interested in working with them. It was important for Neutrogena to have a make-up artist who not only understands how to apply cosmetics, but also the science behind them. Because of my science background, it was a perfect fit. I am providing direction on shades, textures and I test drive all the upcoming color products prior to production.
11. Can you share with our readers any advance information about new products from Neutrogena?

As always, Neutrogena will be launching products that are innovative while being both beautiful and beneficial.

12.Women want to know how to apply makeup and look beautiful, so this is probably the part that will interest readers the most:

a. For me (and probably many other women), shading the crease is probably the trickiest part of makeup application. It’s important to me, as I have deep-set eyes. What do you recommend in terms of eye shadow shades, choice of brushes, and application?

If you have deep set eyes, you do not want to “shade” the crease. This will make your eyes look even more deep set. Instead, try a wash of neutral beige (skin color) all over the eyes, then go with a taupe or caramel color and use it lightly on the brow bone to make the brow bone recede. Best is to use a fluffy small eye shadow brush (like laura mercier’s eye color brush) made of sable hair for the wash all over, and a smoother brush (like laura mercier crease brush) made of squirrl hair on the brow bone and under the brow to get a very sheer application of the powder eye shadow.

b. How best to apply foundation? By dotting the cheeks, “stippling,” or other means? Fingertips, sponge, or brush? If you use a sponge, do you moisten it or use it dry?

Use a dampened sponge with oil free foundation. Put the foundation in your palm and press the sponge (egg shape is the best) in to the palm of the hand to absorb the foundation. You should not see the foundation on top of the sponge. Then apply by patting the sponge and moving it quickly starting with flat areas of the face (cheeks) and neck and use very little if at all around the eyes and sides of the nose, smile lines and laugh lines.

For moisturizing, still one can use a damp sponge, or a brush or even fingers

13.Are you planning to write a book on makeup application?

Not yet. I don’t have any new concept for a book on make-up, but a book I will write, just not on make up 😉

14.Your biography states that you enjoy “practicing Calligraphy, studying Islamic and Gothic architecture and shopping for exotic ethnic textiles.” I like textiles, too – especially block-printed textiles from India (see my blog posting Block-printed textiles, http://thestylepage.blogspot.com/2006/08/block-printed-textiles.html) and suzanis from Central Asia. However, I can’t find the bold suzanis online that I see in Domino. What textiles are capturing your attention now?

Well, I have always had a soft spot for suzani and chain stitching. I now have a foundation in Afghanistan called Afghan Hands Inc. (www.afghanhands.org) which is mainly a literacy program but it also employs the women (war widows) to do embroidery. We do bold patterns in wearable scarves and shawls using suzani and chain stitching and using the old traditional flowers on the fabrics but with a more modern color scheme.

Postscript: Matin was a <a href=" 2007 finalist for CNN HeroesCNN Heroesfor his role as a community crusader in starting Afghan Hands.

A fabulous resource on home design too good to keep to myself

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

I was watching Sheila Bridges: Designer Living on the Fine Living TV Network yesterday, which had a feature on Pintura Studio, a design firm that designs and hand cuts stencils that are then used to hand print fabric and wallpaper. As Pintura Studio uses a lot of (Asian) Indian motifs, and I love these motifs (see my post on Block-printed textiles), I wanted to find Pintura Studio’s web address. I Google’d on Pintura Studio, and found this resource: HomePortfolio.

HomePortfolio - Home design & home design products

Although I had just discovered HomePortfolio, many others had discovered it before: there are nearly 1200 saves of its home page in My Web from Yahoo!

HomePortfolio is a fabulous resource for everything to decorate your home. It presents offerings from many vendors and enables you to create your own online portfolio of items for the home. That’s why I’m making special notice of this site through The Style Page blog.

Links for Pintura Studio and HomePortfolio may be found on My Web (tag: home).

PS Despite recent pictures of Sheila Bridges with a bald head, I am assured that she is in good health.

Intentional irony

Cold Cream 'n' Roses
How’s this for intentional irony? This chair, made of recycled paperboard, features the famous photograph of a nude Christine Keeler straddling a chair. Christine Keeler was the call girl whose brief affair with UK Secretary of State for War John Profumo (while she also slept with a Soviet spy) led to the collapse of the goverment of PM Harold Macmillian in the 1960s.

For more information about this famous photograph, visit Wikipedia. This picture has been much imitated: see the picture of the Spice Girls (one phenomenon of the 1990s that many would like to forget) on Wikipedia. Also, Joanne Whalley recreated this image when she played Keeler in Scandal (1989). More recently, Sharon Stone copied the pose for her flopperoo Basic Instinct II:

Treehugger used other styles to illustrate its post Flat-Pack for the Flat. Apparently, the irony was lost on them.