Author: Design Works International

Cultivate 2015 “A Labor of Love”

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Honored to be a Key Note speaker at Cultivate 2015 held in Columbus Ohio July 12-14. This is NOT a typical trade show it’s a labor of love❤️ and let me tell you why! After spending the past 2 days at Cultivate 2015, the largest horticulture show in North America, I got a “behind the scenes” peek into one of the most passionate industries in the world….breeders, growers, nursery owners, writers, media outposts and people affiliated with the beautification of this planet! I will never look at a flower or plant in the same way…so many talented minds and hands are responsible for creating these specimens…it’s actually mind blowing…honored to have met so many intelligent and dedicated people at Cultivate and look forward to learning more about this amazing industry through my new friends!

So proud of our HGTV HOME Plant Partners for creating a beautiful plant collection filled with succulents, flowering plants and the best custom mixed “one step style” assortments in the industry!
   HGTV HOME SUCCULENT COLLECTION

 J BERRY FARMS

  HGTV HOME PLANT COLLECTION

  ME WITH THE HGTV HOME PLANT PARTNER TEAM  
CULTUVATE DISPLAY CREATED BY VOLUNTEERS!

 COLORFUL WATERING CAN AT BRAUN IN TREND RIGHT COLORS FOR 2015

  HGTV HOME DISPLAY OF CROSS PARTNER PRODUCTS

 I AM SPEAKING TO A FULL HOUSE AT CULTIVATE ON CONSUMER TRENDS AND LIFESTYLE

 CHANGING THE GAME at CULTIVATE 2015

Potting Shed turned “She Shed”

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Trend Alert “She Shed”….call me ol’ fashion but I have been “in vogue” for a while …..my “She Shed” has existed for the past 14 years… Just in the form of my “Potting Shed”!

Who knew that the space we built many years ago to hold my garden tools, miscellaneous containers, books and various garden gadgets would soon be called “She Shed”! Perfect name for a perfect place because that is where I love spending my “free” time…repotting, planting and planning for more pretty and colorful flowers and shrubs…after all, it’s a labor of love so why not give it a “Trend Right” name!

Global Greats…North Devon U.K. 

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Wanted to share a few “Global Greats” from our trip this past week to the English Countryside! These pics are from Dunster, Barnstaple, Braunton and Wiltshire. I will be posting images over the next week on this blog as well as Instagram @nancy_fire

Our amazing week in Devon was reflective of the people, places and experiences that we had! An adventure that was truly aspirational and eye opening….

Tomorrow’s post will include lodging and favorite food picks.

Jet lag is setting in….good nite all! 

Nancy

“Photo Bombed” by Stonehenge

| Design Works International

Never easy ending a vacation….especially one that was super inspiring as Neil and I made our way through the English Countryside in the North Devon Region of the U.K.

Driving a car in these parts is what any American would say…”an adventure unto itself”. Not only are you driving on the opposite side of the road and your steering wheel is flush right, the roads of Devon are the size of a bike path for two way traffic!

English Country Gardens are rustic and refined…colors are saturated and flowers this time of the year have an aroma worth the drive! So much inspiration and natural beauty……on our way back to London we made a special detour to a place that has been on my bucket list for some time now…Stonehenge….speaking of Natural Beauty from 4500 years ago…we had to check out these fine rocks…and we are glad we did!

An ancient temple aligned from the movement of the sun, Stonehenge will not dissapoint! It’s massive scale, textured surface and history are all part of the experience!Hard enough to end a vacation but we found a great segue to get us back….being “Photo Bombed” by Stonehenge!   

  

  

  

  

Naturally Inspiring

| Design Works International

 

The perfect view…while hiking in Bratten Fleming, a small village in North Devon U.K. I stumbled upon the “perfect view”! Perfect you might ask, how can something actually be this perfect….I will tell you….it’s a moment in time that was not staged for a photo shoot, it’s a moment in time that does not appear on a catalog cover (not yet) but a moment in time that one can appreciate if they just stop and enjoy. It has all the right ingredients: perspective, texture, saturated color and natural charm. 
I bet if we started to look at our surroundings a bit more we would learn to appreciate more of these “perfect views”. Take that walk that you have been putting off, enjoy that city block that we were meaning to explore, find that beach during a sunset…because there are so many “perfect views” in our life that do not always come in the form of this photograph…sometimes we just need to create them within ourselves!

Global Greats…North Devon U.K. 

| Design Works International

Wanted to share a few “Global Greats” from our trip this past week to the English Countryside! These pics are from Dunster, Barnstaple, Braunton and Wiltshire. I will be posting images over the next week on this blog as well as Instagram @nancy_fire

Our amazing week in Devon was reflective of the people, places and experiences that we had! An adventure that was truly aspirational and eye opening….

Tomorrow’s post will include lodging and favorite food picks.

Jet lag is setting in….good nite all!

Nancy

The Gardens of North Devon

| Design Works International

Traveling through the English countryside around North Devon this past week has reconfirmed my love for gardens that have a “rustic” touch. In America I call this style “rustic glam” when beauty meets a more unfinished sensibility…still beautiful but in a rustic way!

Personally as an avid gardener I  have never liked my gardens perfect and manicured. I have always preferred them a bit “rough around the edges” paired with substrates like old stone walls, distressed wood and in groupings of tonal colors that define my borders in a more color centric way…..well my friends after a week in North Devon I am heading back to the U.S. in awe of these magical gardens with more ways to keep my “rustic glam” garden trend more authentic!

Take note of some of my inspiration….and do note that the English Rose gives off a scent that is even more overwhelming than its beauty!

               

     

Updated Style in the Medieval Town of Dunster, Somerset

| Design Works International

Tucked into a 16th century shop in the Medieval town of Dunster, houses a Garden and Home Store with an updated style and sensibility known as the Horse and Crook. Shop owner and curator Abigail Larter has been in business the past 9 years because her style is somewhat unique in this tourist centric town where thousands of people from all over the world come and visit the Dunster Castle and Gardens.

Traveling as I do for my business, shopping trends and style throughout the world it’s refreshing to see a store that is unique to its town…and that is exactly what Abigail has created at the Horse and Crook.

Dunster is a town filled with many eateries and shops that are more tourist centric catering to bus loads of people on excursions to the castle. The Horse and Crook are exactly the opposite as a garden and home store with an updated “rustic glam” style. Abigail seeks out rustic and natural products from many local sources and curators them in an updated fashion. Her terra cotta and cream colored walls really do the trick creating a beautiful backdrop for her carefully curatored products. Succulents displayed in distressed painted pots, rustic frames with hand stamped detailing, hand lettered gift tags and printed textiles are just a few of Abigail’s fun finds at the Horse and Crook.

The Horse and Crook is located at:                  18 High Street in Dunster, Somerset. http://www.horseandcrook.co.uk 

          

From this Magical Place…Bratten Fleming, North Devon U.K. 

| Design Works International

First I have to thank my art director at Design Works International, Selina and her husband Pete for inviting us to their wedding in North Devon this coming Saturday…because when that invite arrived a few months back I did not even know this magical part of the country existed! After some quick research and my wonderful husband agreeing to rent a car and drive 4 hours out of London…on the opposite side of the road and a steering wheel flush right…our plans were official! (Kudos to my hubby Neil who drove like a pro…noted from Heathrow..into Central London for a day and 4 hours into the English Countryside)

Arriving into Bratten Fleming via the back roads that emulate glorified bike paths…I knew we were in for a fantastic adventure….you see these back roads are wide enough for a single vehicle no bigger than a Mini Cooper by UK standards…had to back up twice to let oncoming local traffic pass…these roads, or paths really, are flanked by fern and wild hollyhocks in bright magenta I might add! A photographers paradise…begging Neil to take me back on these roads today so I can capture their beauty! As a designer and photographer this part of the country is pure paradise!

We are staying at the lovely Bracken House in Bratten Fleming where I will dedicate a full blog post in a few days…so much to capture here that my brain needs time to comprehend and organize all my thoughts and images…so for now I will just post “moments of brillance” from this Magical Place!

Enjoy❤️

All photos by Nancy Fire