Hudson on Hudson

The small town of Hudson, NY has a great reputation among designers and antique dealers as a destination and treasure trove. Yesterday I got a chance to see for myself! Named after Henry Hudson, it is a small town, right on the Hudson river, a few miles north of Poughkeepsie, NY.
While my family skied at nearby Catamount, I grabbed my camera and walking shoes, bundled up and hit the road. Four hours of uninterrupted store hopping and town walking? Just perfect!


Although it was a snowy day I delighted in walking briskly along small streets, lined with fabulous design and gourmet stores like pearls on a string.



Truth be told I managed only a few blocks. There was so much to see and to take in, I took notes, pictures and was enchanted!
The town has an interesting charm. High design, small cafes, but also derelict Victorian beauties, lost yards and run down streets.


Of course all was only enhanced by the cold and the snow. I do like this mixture - old, new, restored and original.
Hudson on Hudson boosts the oldest functioning opera house in New York State. It's not an Opera at all but a multi- functional space, used for a wide array of performances and events. It certainly looks stately among the small townhouses around.

I quote wikipedia:

"For nearly thirty years it sat vacant, decaying and accumulating debris. When the Opera House was threatened with further decay and possible eventual demolition, local citizens banded together to save the building. In 1992, Hudson Opera House, Inc., was formed as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to restoring the building both physically and to its position as a cultural and civic center.

"

What great spirit!

The program looks interesting and I can feel how culture plays a major role among Hudson's citizens and visitors.

The first shop I came across in my random wanderings was Lili and Loo! Located on Warren Street, it is a small house from the outside but oh, what lies behind these doors: A multi level space with gorgeous furniture, accessories and some clothing.
















After a good 30 minutes I was ready for more. Just a few steps across the street sits the Hudson SuperMarket Antiques and Art!
I wish super markets around here would carry such itms....

After this it was time for a small break at Verdigris, a tea shop, bakery cafe and inn!

Delicious to say the least!

I liked the displayed pottery by Liz Hamann.


A few more quick looks around Warren Street and I had to leave, picking up my exhausted family from their many runs....



I would love this as a studio space for me!

Below: Hudson Home!Beautiful!

Now, I will be back in Hudson,NY next Sunday, since my family is really into skiing this season! If anyone cares to join me...I will explore the rest of town!


xx Victoria



All pictures V.Zlotkowski

Living on the iPad

I got an iPad for Christmas.

(It is an amazing thing for a girl who is a confirmed mac-aholic.) Just about the best thing I have seen lately for the iPad are the Martha Stewart Living iPad Apps - a special launch issue that came out in November, called Boundless Beauty and the February MSL issue with ice cream and dripping chocolate sauce on the cover!

Coinciding with the 20 year anniversary of the Martha Stewart Living title, the stories on Boundless Beauty combine live action, animation and stills in a way that really engages you.

I loved the "Project Decorate" where two designers decorate identical rooms in different ways.

The story shot in Martha's summer house at Seal Harbour, Maine, made me want to be extra nosey and see lots more.

This could be the way magazines are heading and as a magazine girl, I can't wait to make my own magazine stories into Apps. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes on a house shoot it would be great to capture it. I think some of the best moments on a shoot are when I am interviewing the home owner or designer or just walking around their house with them, chatting.

If you haven't got an iPad find a friend who does and download the Martha apps. If you like shelter magazines this is really something to see!

With Love

To create this card I used Stamps: Penny Black A Tender Hug, Petals.  Papermania Honey and Hugs.  Card stock: White hammered, green, pink.  Papers: Doodlebug Design Inc Easter assortment.  Orange, pink.  Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black.  Versamark Watermark.  Colouring: Copic markers.  Dies: Sizzix Sizzlit medium Flourishes and Swirls.  Punches: X-Cut border Scallop, flower.  Embellishments: Wow clear embossing powder.  Papermania self adhesive gems. 

Hints and Tips

If you don't have a flower punch you can always stamp flowers and cut them out like I have on this card.

This card was entered into the following challenges:

Penny Black Saturday Challenge: Week 136 A Sketch by Pauline.

Creative Inspirations Challenge: Challenge 52 Valentine's/Love.

Gustavo Martinez and Mark Madden of GM Decor

Being featured in the Spanish edition of AD January 2011, Gustavo Martinez and Mark Madden, the team of GM Decor shows a wonderful home, loaded to the brim with style and an ever changing inventory...








I quote the article from AD:
"It's a typical New York pre-war apartment from 1924 on the edge of Central Park, but for Gustavo and Mark, of GM Decor, it's the expression of their personal and professional trajectory. "It's not just a Pied-a'-terre", says Gustavo."It's our office and gallery for our furniture." Of their original layout, a few things have changed. They've opened up the rooms to take advantage of the heigh ceilings; eliminated some doors and replaced others with French doors to create a classic platform so the home could go through endless reincarnations. "It has an incredible capacity for reinterpretation and adjusts to our life changes", say the owners. The pure white walls, ceilings and moldings contrast with dark stained floors to give the apartment a gallery - like atmosphere; an ideal stage where they can show their exclusive and ever changing collection of antique furniture and the paintings and photographs of emerging artists which is updated every three month. "This way we change the theme and the look but try to maintain the character and classic canvas of the apartment", says Martinez. "Our collection of furniture and objects started to grow as we traveled around the world. In particular, we dove into the Modernism Movement universe with the jewels and design from the 40s, 50s and 60s. That was how our gallery specializing in the period was born". More then a house, the home of Gustavo and Mark is a "laboratory of ideas", they say, where their prototypes live freely and where the path of their passions cross; to travel and to buy furniture with their profession as designers and antique dealers."

It sounds like a dream come true to me!

Happy weekend!

Victoria

All images via AD Spain and GM Decor.