Wedding Themes and Styles

South Carolina

With three girls in their twenties we have been treated to some beautiful weddings. The best ones radiate a contagious happiness that launch the party ship. Multiple generations mix with comfortable affection creating intimacy with a distinct family signature unlike any other celebration.

Texas

In a large tent this bride, who is clearly a talented designer, created a great deal of variety and dimension united by predominant green and white accents. She achieved a more intimate space that draws the guests to explore. 

Rehearsal Dinner in the barn

A spectacular back drop dam faced in river rocks is holding up a 50 acre lake!  And yes, the owners had it checked by an engineering team to be sure family and friends were not going to "buy the ranch!"

North Carolina Farm Wedding

Cousins!!

North Carolina Mountain Wedding

There is something very special when the bride wears her Mother's dress

The Surf Club Wedding Wilmington North Carolina
Photos by http://blog.brettjessica.com

Winston Salem North Carolina
We invited you to that wedding HERE

There are so many different wedding flavors on the menu but the common secret ingredient is a close-knit group of friends and killer dance music. Here are a few more touches that we have enjoyed from our wedding tour 2012-2013.

Groom's cakes just keep getting better. Can anyone guess this one? For Southerners, we can eliminate the Piggly Wiggly association. 

This clever bride surprised her new husband with a cake depicting cherished volumes from his library.

At the Texas wedding I spied these elegant pairs of bespoke slippers and snoop that I am, I  had to know their derivation. The narrative unfolded the tale of a Richmond bride who was married in her Grandmother's garden which possessed a famous old boxwood maze. For the uninitiated in boxwood freakdom, this subculture is eccentrically alive and well, especially in the South. Add ancient boxwood maze to the equation and you have a pavlovian cult. However, savvy children that we have today, sit down at their computers and create a design to represent a symbol of time and place that evokes a sense of continuity and timelessness--all the things of love and home that marriage means. I refuse to use the word logo because this is a symbol--two very different concepts.

On closer inspection, this symbol has an archetypal connection that invokes the sacred and elevates the message and reminds everyone that wears the shoes, carries a canvas bag among other artifacts of the event that this was an epic event that included Sacrament, friendship and I am sure--a whole lot of fun. 

Might I add, organizers will tell you to sell or donate any clothes you have not worn in two years. This is complete nonsense! Oscar de la Renta drapes, flows and flatters a rehearsal dinner dress that was her Aunt's 30 years ago. Of course there is a story. The dress is as beautiful today as it was 30 years ago. 

For wedding gift ideas 

please give us a ring!! 

We have many wonderful accessories that 

are not on the website. 

336-705-1316

liz@dovecotedecor.com

Hickory Chair Illustrates Value Driven Management--and It Works!!

A. Hoke Ltd. of Charlotte kindly sponsored Dovecote Decor for Hickory Chair University. Forty designers congregated in Hickory, N.C. for 2 days of education demonstrating how our clients' furniture is assembled, finished and upholstered. Steered by president Jay Reardon, we were treated to much more than nuts and bolts. Christine and I were awed by the level of leadership, sense of community and the outright pride and happiness at all levels of this organization. We witnessed highly diverse individuals sharing a mission that is focused by a constantly fine tuned process.

Hickory Chair is like very few organizations I have ever experienced. At the 100th anniversary party I told Jay: "Hickory Chair is not an institution--it is a movement!" That is true for so many reasons. Trying to articulate this phenomena, I found two books on opposite sides of the spectrum which express this dichotomy as a universal best practices for teams that attract a community of raving fans: Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks: One CEO's Quest for Meaning and Authenticity and Marketing Lessons of the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History.

The Cistercian Order is dedicated to Spiritual Growth through work, community and creating the highest quality products to support their monasteries and convents. The 48th chapter of the Rule of St. Benedict states "for then are they monks in truth, if they live by the work of their hands".  For example,   Trappist Westvleteran 12 is considered to be the best beer in the world. 

Bear with me, but what do the Trappist Monks, the Grateful Dead and Hickory Chair have in common? Quite a bit actually! All three work with complete reverence to produce the highest quality product while creating a work environment that nurtures their communities. Counter intuitively, Hickory Chair has survived and created a broad designer driven line that can be completely customized while building 90% of their product in the U.S.A! They have accomplished this with only three price increases in the last decade. Hickory Chair management sees themselves as facilitators and communicators at every level of the organization, from the artisans who build the product to the designers who conceive the product. Everyone is encouraged to share improvements and ideas in a constant dynamic process with concrete systems in place to execute these changes.

Dedicated to the premise that this company will be different tomorrow than it is today and creating a process called EDGE (Employees Dedicated to Growth and Excellence),  Hickory Chair thrives in a notoriously difficult industry. Constantly seeking errors and communicating concrete solutions forms an enabled  and accountable team that works together smartly as a unit.  August Turak shared in his book this interesting point: "Louis Mobely of the famed IBM Executive School discovered what great executives share are not skills or knowledge, but values and attitudes. Great leaders thrive on ambiguity." Respect, empowerment and trust at all levels cultivate a work place where the human spirit thrives. Jay was not going to be the guy that padlocked the factory doors and fired his workers. He did not know the answers to his dilemna so he assembled his artisans to devise solutions.

When a competitor exactly replicated (knocked off) one of their products, Hickory Chair investigated and made a side by side comparison. The  competitor's chair (on the left) was made more cheaply with a higher retail price. Consumers get respect too!. When market opens in  High Point, Hickory Chair's showrooms are universally lauded as the most exciting experience at market. Like the Grateful Dead and the Trappist Monks, Hickory Chair creates an experience that translates into  community and culture. The scene is shored up with complete authenticity.

We all love bantering with Alexa Hampton, Thomas O'Brien, Suzanne Kasler and Mariette Himes Gomez--all Architectural Digest top 100 designers. There's no micromanaging their showrooms--the designers "do their thing." Like a Grateful Dead show, they never play the same song the same way.
Because the furniture is bespoke, followers and designers love to see the infinite possibilities at each market. Here are some spectacular room arrangements of Alexa's line over the years.

We love to see the mood boards throughout the showrooms.  It is fascinating watch the disparate visual cues that inspire the designers from conception to final product.

Hable Construction illustrates their textile design process at the Hickory Chair showroom. 

Artisan Boards in the Factory

The print is hard to read, but essentially the notes explain why even small steps in the process are of paramount importance, graphically demonstrating the difference when something goes right or wrong. Over 1,100 hand-worker ideas are implemented each year at Hickory Chair! The details are evidenced by the immaculate floors that are constantly swept, the sawdust that is vacuumed into the electrical system to generate power and save electricity. So what do Hickory Chair, the Trappist monks and the Grateful Dead have in common?

 *Quality Products--Trappist Beers are the only beers that improve with age.

*Commitment to a constantly evolving process--short cuts are in efficiency--quality is never compromised

*Dedication to keeping humanity in the equation while creating a more beautiful world includes quality of life at every level

And...There is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert!!
*All disperate products united by the will to create an innovative culture and community of raving fans!!
See Jay Reardon on the Daily Show

Click Here
For an in-depth discussion of the unique approach of Hickory Chair's management and production innovations:
Click Here 

Please call us if you are interested in buying 

Hickory Chair Products! 

We can work with you to create furniture made in America to last--reflecting your unique style.

336-705-1316
dovecotedecor.com

Hearst Design Group Inside Design Event At ADAC

The Inside Design Event at ADAC was a compelling case for Dovecote Decor to embark upon a spring road-trip. With two days of design luminaries and publishing pundits discussing our favorite topics, we headed down to Atlanta anticipating the prospect of hearing and meeting Hearst Design Group's editorial director Newell Turner, among others. In addition, daughter number 3 was down in Atlanta assisting House Beautiful's food editor, Alex Hitz, test recipes for his second cook book. We could not resist the prospect of poking our heads into his kitchen, to watch a culinary maestro  direct his gastronomic alchemy and hopefully sample some of the results.

 Alex Hitz, author of the best selling cookbook, My Beverly Hills Kitchen: Classic Southern Cooking with a French Twist, with his new assistant. 

Believe me when I say that sampling his recipes from the day before prompted an instantaneous proposal of marriage, and yes it was a humble potato salad that sent me over the edge. A man fluent in mirepoix short circuits my synapses. His curried chicken salad and cold asparagus soup leave me wondering where these recipes have been all my life. We were in the illustrious Soiree Catering space owned by the legendary chef, restaurateur and caterer, Mary Boyle Hataway. Mary mentored Alex as a lad--starting him as a dishwasher during his school holidays. Decades later, they collaborate with the same cooking brain in two separate bodies. D3 (daughter #3) says they are seamless. 

I haven't mentioned Mary Boyle Hataway was a Vogue model in the 1960's, a business woman and is a very kind, soft spoken person, who so dazzles me I lose myself in the moment--without being in a tortuous yoga pose. Right, and it is only 10:00 a.m..... Christine, my wing-woman, and I motor off to ADAC high on life. 

This is the first time Hearst Magazine's trifecta shelter trio: Elle Decor, House Beautiful and Veranda have hosted an Inside Design series. To say the least, there was nothing half hearted or scattered in this inaugural design fest. The first keynote presentation was Amy Preiser, digital web editor for Elle Decor hosting Susan Ferrier and Capella Kincheloe to discuss how the web has been a game changer for the interior design industry.

Our take away from this discussion was to become familiar with the wide array of social media options, then to pick a few that you are comfortable with and use them. Susan and Capella use pinterest in very different ways to connect with clients successfully illustrating the fluidity of applications. There is no right way but the path that works for you. Social media is a tool, but we are not its tool if you get my drift.  Amy is a person who is comfortable in her own skin and clearly loves her work. Four days before her wedding she was an animated and funny moderator who is fast on her feet, go figure. Most women in this position are dotting calamine lotion on their hives. Happy wedding day!!

Newell Turner gave a stunning presentation exploring the visual ways we make sense of our lives. Drilling down to the impulse to both build and chronicle we were treated to a compendium from stylish birds nests to the unbelievable actual cocoons by Hubert Duprat.  Humans are not the only species with a predilection for  decoration. Duprat noticed the cocoons for the larvae of the caddisfly were eclectically chosen from their environment. His question was: "What if we change that environment?"

Placing the flies in an aquarium at the delicate moment, filling it with gold flakes, turquoise, small pearls and opals, those little pests went to work like any self respecting prospective parent preparing a nursery.    Duprat is Kafkaesque--absolutely, combining the surreal with the ethereal. 

The male Bower bird builds a nest and decorates it with colorful objects to attract a mate--yup. This bachelor pad is guaranteed to attract the Kate Middleton of Bower babes. Kidding aside, actual humans have a powerful desire to create an environment around ourselves that expresses our sense of beauty and reflects our lives in the thousands of ways we've found to forge that idiom. As technology evolves, we create endless vehicles to chronicle that journey. Newell Turner built on this theme with an informative history of the scrapbook, diarists and journals culminating in the work of Peter Beard.

I am also fond of the Baron de Cabrol illustrated diaries, that I found in Thierry Coudert's Cafe Society:  Socialites, Patrons, and Artists 1920 to 1960. The real fun is in the creation of the ever evolving stage for the times of our lives. We have magazines, bloggers, instagram, pinterest, tumblir to show us every creation from the coolest dorm room to the ultimate burger (Alex?)

We have a tsunami of information overwhelming us. We can drop in and filter that avalanche through the shelter magazines. They are the front line of taste. Even if you detest a house or garden, there is a reason to see it. The magazines are scrapbooks of people's homes, dogs, and dinner parties inspiring us to create glorious memories for family and friends. It was great to meet all the wonderful editors and publishers from the Hearst shelter team.

Thank You Hearst for Elle Decor, House Beautiful, and Veranda and all the work that went into the new Inside Design Series! 

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