Photo by Marni Elyse Katz/StyleCarrot
John Ross, Still Life with Dahlia & Lemons
Calendar hanging in my kitchen featuring
Patch NYC designer John Ross’s
gorgeous botanical still life.
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| style art decor |
Photo by Marni Elyse Katz for StyleCarrot
White blossoms
Farmhouse Pottery
Good on Beacon Hill, Boston
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Follain is a tiny beauty boutique in Boston’s South End that carries over 30 independent brands of healthy, high performance skincare, hair care, and cosmetics, all made in the U.S.A. The shop is owned by the lovely (natural beauty) Tara Foley, who personally vets every offering.
Foley spent a summer working on an organic lavender farm in France followed by working with a private label skincare manufacturer in Maine. Armed with an MBA from Babson College, Foley opened Follain last summer.
In April she added a second Follain store on Nantucket. Last month the Follain webshop launched. If you can’t make it into the Remodelista-worthy shop (subway tiles, pale wood, farmhouse sink, marble counters, succulents), try the website, which has the same aesthetic and offers the same products as the Follain brick & mortar boutique.
S H O P F O L L A I N
1 Captain Blankenship Mermaid Sea Salt Hair Spray
2 Drunk Elephant Sunscreen
3 Herbivore Botanicals After Sun Soothing Mist
4 Skin Can Do Combat-Ready Bug Repellant
6 Herbivore Botanicals Detox Bath Salts
7 Shamanuti Activated Charcoal Cleanser
9 Stewart + Claire Mint Lip Balm
Back in May 2009, I went to Brimfield for the first time after reading about it for years in Martha Stewart Living. That it took me six years after moving to Boston to get there is kind of ridiculous, but finally, prompted by an assignment for Boston Globe Magazine, I trailed interior designer and shop owner Jill Goldberg of Hudson. You can see Jill Goldberg’s top ten Brimfield vendor picks here.
This year, Boston’s most darling publicist Nicole Kanner suggested I trail Abby Ruettgers, who owns the new South End boutique Farm & Fable, where she sells culinary antiques, vintage cookbooks, and new tabletop items. (She also hosts cooking & drinking classes in the basement and has two enormous friendly dogs.) The Boston Globe’s Food & Dining section editor thought it was a great idea, so I went with Abby and Nicole’s sweet assistant Liz Greene to Brimfield in May.
Today, the article “In Brimfield, Hunt is on for Culinary Collectibles“ appeared in the Boston Globe. Be sure to click through to read it to learn her strategies and tips for successful hunting. Here are my photos from the day.
Abby Ruettgers of Farm & Fable
V E N D O R S
For: Wooden crates, lockers, scales, and lanterns.
Shop: Bill Ziobro, Found Again Treasures, Sturtevants North.
For: Jadeite, Fiesta ware, cocktail glasses and shakers.
Shop: Joe Keller and David Ross, Keller & Ross, Quaker Acres, Booth L3.
For: Vintage advertising pamphlets, magazines, and books.
Shop: Joseph Prior, Quaker Acres, Booths 25 and 26.
For: Culinary antiques including Pyrex and kitchen tools.
Shop Nancy and Richard Lucier, The Good Home, Quaker Acres, Booth 82.
For: Wooden bobbins, spools, and such from textile factories.
Shop: Dennis and Judy Perry, The Meadows, Booth 50.
If you’re in Boston, stop by Abby’s boutique Farm & Fable,
located at Shawmut & Milford in the South End.
All photos by Marni Elyse Katz for StyleCarrot
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Shop the Post
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When someone from luxury linen company Frette suggested I check out its offerings, I figured it was about time I did. Although there’s a Frette boutique in Boston, right across from the Apple store in fact, I have never been in, nor have I worked with Frette for local publications, since I didn’t have a contact. Hopefully that will now change.
Of course I am familiar with Frette bedding (oh, to have crisp Italian linens), especially the Frette Hotel Classic line. I was delighted to see a selection of fun prints too.
The cashmere feather weight fringed throw is done in a new, clear shade of blue that coordinates perfectly with the Carline Euro cushion cover. The pillow’s graphic 1950s inspired sunflower design, embroidered on cotton canvas, is an homage to the French Atlantic coastal town of Biarritz. I love the playful crisscross petal pattern embroidered on the Bayonne sheet set, and the boho pattern of the Labourd printed duvet cover has the same graphic design as the pillow.
The Delft Tournai Collection takes cues from the Dutch hand painted tiles. the sheets features printed borders, while the quilt and sham use this small scale pattern all over cotton jacquard. The Bayonne sheeting from above mixes in well with it too.
I’m not really a floral print person, but have been appreciating them a lot of late, with its resurgence in fashion and home decor. Frette’s Fiorito floral is fresh and pretty without being sweet. The palette is clear and strong, incorporating 13 different colors. And what my mother-in-law would do for that new violet colored lightweight cashmere throw. So totally her color. The Traviata Fleur de Saffran scented candle in a lilac porcelain holder with platinum trim is the perfect touch for the bedside table.
Now we’re into my personal decor territory. I actually have a similar duvet with gray border, in fact. This Bicolore Duvet Cover is part of the Frette Essentials Collection. To add the illusion of texture without color, try tone-on-tone pieces, like this Cap Ferrat Tressage Euro Sham, which has a jacquard cotton upper with a vintage basket weave design. The gray-on-gray Lou Lou throw is a combination of silk, cashmere and cotton jacquard, decorated with an Art Deco stylized floral pattern inspired by Jean Cocteau.
Lastly, since Cape Cod is on my mind (just 2 1/2 weeks until school ends and we’re out of here), I couldn’t resist sourcing a little shopping list for my summer self. This Bicolore pillowcase in hemstitch cotton sateen reminds me of my wedding invitation; I love the creamy border on white. The Kishar slippers with silver embroidered logo seems so civilized, especially in butter yellow. Brings me back to Venice. I love the subtle contrast of the skinny braided straw handles on this white leather Idra tote, and the Demetrio teal leather keychain, which can go around your neck, on a hook, or slipped through your beach tote handles.
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