Crystal Chandeliers

Are you looking for a special light fitting? We can specify the perfect light fittings for every room of the house. We are in love with this new Crystal Chandelier by Halo. A world leading brand in the luxury furniture and lifestyle market. Just stunning!

Come and view these in the showroom - we've had so many rave reviews from people dropping in who adore them.

This lamp even has a dimmer setting - perfect for creating that special mood lighting in a room.

Our latest workshop with Auckland Florist; Marc Thomas

Our recent workshop on ‘Creating the Wow with Candles’, led by Marc Thomas Florist Extraordinaire, has been one of our most exciting and fun-filled workshops to date.

His inspirational arrangements that incorporated candles were stunning to say the least and we have had fantastic feedback from participants that have gone home and cranked into action by making their homes creative and inviting. They have felt very uplifted by their own abilities. Well done I say to everybody.

Marc loves the Bay of Plenty and being able to pick from the garden was a real treat.

Thank you to a great group of ladies who really made the most of the day. We really enjoyed having you all here and look forward to seeing you all again.

The Garden Party

10 of the girls that helped in the garden at Design on James attended The Garden Party at Hawkridge in Bethlehem. The gardens were absolutely immaculate and we thoroughly enjoyed sipping on champagne, tasting beautiful canapes from Somerset Cottage and enjoying the ambience of the setting and friendship of each other. Well done to Cheryl Adams for a wonderful evening.

Tauranga Garden & Art Festival 2010

We were thrilled to be apart of another Garden and Art festival. We were very fortunate with the weather this year. Thanks goes out to everyone who supported us. Wendy Milward did another fantastic job of the platters, making everything from scratch. Paula managed everything in her usual outstanding way, thanks also to all my friends who helped with serving wine and food and who really got into the spirit of the event. Thanks to Myra and Eileen, the two wise old owls who provided homebaking and kept the kitchen in order. Louise and Peter who maintained and organised the grounds and garden and the following companies who provided the following: Fusion for the coffee, Somerset Cottage for the use of their crockery, Bethlehem Butchery for the sirloin steak, Ian Duncalf for his Rock in Roll Alstroemeria's (flowers), Moi Agencies for the pepperdews and Peter Johnson for delivering the coolstore.

Also a special thanks to Doreen McNeill for her beautiful artwork. It truly looked stunning on display in the showroom.

We had alot of satisfaction in seeing everyone relaxing and enjoying the garden and each other's company and we were proud to raise $1000 for the Waipuna Hospice.

Designers Guild - new fabrics!

We have a beautiful Designers Guild drop in the showroom that Paula and I absolutely love! It's from their new collection of fabrics. This is it here as shown in the picture below hanging in the window.

And of course if you're looking for an injection of colour in your interior design scheme, Designers Guild have a massive range of textiles to choose from and we have alot of sample books in the showroom. Sometimes just getting cushions made in some of their fabrics is enough to give a room a lift.

WOW Awards

My daughter Rachel and I started off the month with a very special trip down to Wellington. We flew down for the Montana World of WearableArt™ Awards Show. WOW what an event this was - absolutely incredible!!!! Artists and designers from New Zealand and all around the world enter garments that are presented in a unique two hour show. We were blown away with the level of creativity and design. You can check out the winning designs here http://www.worldofwearableart.com/category/image-galleries/winners/2010-winners

That night we dined at Matterhorn Restaurant down Cuba Street, one of Wellington's well-known top restaurants and enjoyed the most divine meal. http://www.matterhorn.co.nz we highly would recommend this place if you're ever in Wellington and appreciate good cuisine.

We stayed at the Museum Hotel which is close to Queens Wharf and Oriental Parade. It's always interesting to see the art they have on display and to take in the unique atmosphere.

On the Sunday we drove out to Greytown in the Wairarapa in our very stylish rental car - a brand new Mazda 3, up and over the Rimutaku hills. We couldn't have asked for better weather - it was warm and sunny and we were in a great mood. We wandered the streets of Greytown going into every interior design, antique clothing, shoe and accessory shop possible! We definitely came away feeling very creatively charged and inspired.

It was a very memorable trip and nice for Rachel and I to spend some quality time together.

Margo Selby - Textile Designer

Well while we are on the tangent of letting you know about amazing textile designers we thought you might like to see some of the most amazing creations designed by Margo Selby, a designer based in London. We have a sample book in the showroom full of lot's of different patterns, shapes and colours. Truly stunning! We have ordered some fabric for ourselves already and are in the process of making cushions and skirts! check out her website at www.margoselby.com and be inspired...