Maybe it´s just me, but the most important thing when you sit down to start writing (and yes, darlings, this includes grocery lists, too), is your work area.. Aesthetics count.. I still think that my poor french grades had more to do with the looks of my teacher than my ability to read French Vogue..
I´m pretty sure that your writing style might be influenced by your writing desk, and I am utterly willing to attribute the late start of this blog to the fact that I still don´t own Gabrielle Crespi´s Z desk.. All those sharp-witted and elegant little columns dancing around in my head would basically be written by themselves, wouldn´t they? But none of us can wait until the kids are old enough to feed themselves, so unless I win the lottery, which seems highly unlikely, since I have never bought a lottery ticket once, I will have to do without. It might be a good thing, though, since I can´t decide which chair to go with it. The Arne Jacobsen Lily Chair, swathed in lamb fur? The PK9 by Poul Kjaerholm in natural-coloured nappa leather, inspired by the imprint of his wife´s behind in the sand of the beach? (Oh, well, we know the answer to THAT question, n´est-ce-pas?)
Also important is the question of workwear. Anything restricting has to go, as do track suits and pyjamas, unless they are silk. Always keep Gabrielle Chanel in your mind, who put her very rich clientele into scarlet silk pyjamas to take shelter down in the Ritz´s cellars during the bombardement of Paris in 1918.
But the most important influence are flowers, always. Just trust me on that. Desk lamps can be nice or terrible, depending on their style, which will likely result in a column of their own later on, and forget about scented candles. Scented candles should only be considered if they cost an arm and a leg, and you would have to sell the kids to afford them. The cheap, stinking crap sold at certain high-street chains (you know who you are) should be avoided at all costs. If your view doesn´t include a fabulous city garden or at least a magnificent tree, you need flowers on your desk. Giant banana leaves in a simple glass vessel, a bunch of tulips in a marble vase found at the flea market, or, my personal favourite, some sprigs of lilac in an Ettore Sottsass Shiva vase, without which no desk should be considered perfectly dressed, ever.
See, that was easy. Hello, Blog!
Also important is the question of workwear. Anything restricting has to go, as do track suits and pyjamas, unless they are silk. Always keep Gabrielle Chanel in your mind, who put her very rich clientele into scarlet silk pyjamas to take shelter down in the Ritz´s cellars during the bombardement of Paris in 1918.
But the most important influence are flowers, always. Just trust me on that. Desk lamps can be nice or terrible, depending on their style, which will likely result in a column of their own later on, and forget about scented candles. Scented candles should only be considered if they cost an arm and a leg, and you would have to sell the kids to afford them. The cheap, stinking crap sold at certain high-street chains (you know who you are) should be avoided at all costs. If your view doesn´t include a fabulous city garden or at least a magnificent tree, you need flowers on your desk. Giant banana leaves in a simple glass vessel, a bunch of tulips in a marble vase found at the flea market, or, my personal favourite, some sprigs of lilac in an Ettore Sottsass Shiva vase, without which no desk should be considered perfectly dressed, ever.
See, that was easy. Hello, Blog!
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