PAST BECOMES PROLOGUE
Hello, Welcome Back.
In this issue of ARTful style, we welcome the seasons trade… exchanging the summer sunshine and long days for cool, crisp fall mornings and early sunsets before the advent of winter. With each end comes a new beginning, and we always lean into what comes next.
Movement has always been part of cf&co’s culture. We continually seek opportunities to expand our offerings as we evolve from legendary art to an authentic lifestyle brand. In the Summer edition of ARTful style we introduced you to elements of this expansion via cf + home summer fabric collections and jardinieres and took our first step toward iconic. This month, we welcome you to the cozy side of home – curated pillows in rich cut velvets in Autumn’s resplendent hues to bring warmth and luxury to your space and bespoke candles and diffusers to bring the art of fragrance.
Speaking of movement… For the past 14 years, the walls and graphics at the Dry Creek location have adapted to accommodate Carrie’s prolific career and, more recently, our expansion into art-inspired home goods and interior design. We have hosted old friends and collectors, welcomed new ones, and developed a sense of community. It’s now time for us to embrace the next phase of our growth: moving.
Currently, we are in the development and construction phase to transform a previously industrial space into a multi-functional facility to accommodate Carrie’s art creations, a gallery of pieces from our Private Collection, and a new studio for interiors and accents by cf + home – serving as an industry hub for like-minded aficionados. With this ambitious effort also comes new lessons, maybe a misstep or two, and the thrill of a blank canvas. We look forward to welcoming you there.
Newfound opportunities are an affair of the heart, and embracing them, an act of courage. Thank you for joining us as we continue our journey. As always … let’s begin with the art.
At cf&co, we begin with the art—in all forms—allowing design and inspiration to flow from it, not relegate it to an afterthought.
(L to R) Dana, Carrie, Danielle and Heather
DESIGNLINE - BLUE RIBBON | Season 7, as shown, 60"x40" customize options available — ©Carrie Fell (Bottom R) Carrie Fell Design, FINER POINTS, custom lumbar pillow, 12"x20", offered exclusively through the cf+home collection
VOLUME I, ISSUE 2
Editor in Chief CARRIE FELL
Creative Director & Design DANIELLE VONFELDT
Business Editor & Digital Coordinator DANA GIDDENS
Lifestyle Editor HEATHER CLANCY
Photographers DON EASTBURN POVY ATCHINSON BRIAN BIRLAUF
Industry Contributors DANIELLE VONFELDT, VonFeldt Design LLC, VonfeldtDesign.com
LAUREEN HOPKINS, Studio H by Laureen Hopkins, laureenhopkins.com
CHEF RICHARD BAILEY, TASTE 5 Catering, www.TASTE5Catering.com Printer COTTRELL PRINTING
©Carrie Fell and Company, 2024. For permission to reproduce any article in this magazine, contact inqury@carriefell.com
Chief Executive Officer | CARRIE FELL
Chief Operations Officer | DANA GIDDENS
Chief Design Officer | DANIELLE VONFELDT
VP, Sales & Client Relations | HEATHER CLANCY
CARRIE FELL
Aspen Grove Fine Art, ASPEN; Courtney Collins Fine Art, BIG SKY; Galerie Züger, SANTA FE; Mirada Fine Art, DENVER; Relévant Gallerie, VAIL
Let's get Cozy COMFORT:
Specially curated cut velvets in luxurious autumn hues, just in time to cozy up your home.
Each season brings unique colors, textures, and scents, making it the perfect opportunity to refresh your living spaces. Embracing these transitions via updated accents adds visual interest and creates a sense of connection with nature. Whether you're bidding adieu to the sun-kissed warmth of summer and preparing for the falling autumn leaves or slipping under weighty blankets at the first snowfall, comfort beckons.
Incorporating seasonal elements brings a dynamic and everevolving energy to your home. Bringing these touches into our living spaces is a lovely way to embrace the beauty of nature and create a warm, inviting atmosphere.
cf + home delivers the joy of these seasonal transitions with a collection of beautiful throw pillows in rich cut velvets reflecting Mother Nature’s wardrobe change from Summer’s breezy watercolors to Autumn’s warm, cozy hues. We invite you to set your living spaces as an ever-evolving canvas and embrace the beauty and magic of the season’s trade.
Opposite Page: Pillows curated by Carrie Fell for cf + home
Pillow Talk
VOGUE WATERMARK INTANGIBLE
Domino
Henna Cream Jade
Bittersweet
Zinc
Eucalyptus Moonlight
Driftwood
Driftwood Shadow Ecru
Zinc Grass Sapphire Taupe
URBAN JUNGLE
Explore rich textures, warm hues and luxurious materials that capture the spirit of Autumn. Find a perfect combination in our carefully curated collection and FALL INTO COMFORT.
Bronze
Driftwood
Latte
“Whatʼs Past is Prologue…”
William Shakespeare
The quote from Shakespeare’s classic work, The Tempest, perfectly captures one of cf&co’s biggest, most ambitious endeavors to date. Roughly translated - "What's already happened merely sets the scene for the really important stuff…. the stuff our greatness will be made on." – Shakespeare nailed it for cf&co. But as with The Tempest, what you see is not what you expect. Welcome to 2175 – the shorthand we use to refer to our new building.
Moving to a larger space with simply more room to work, create, build, and grow would be accomplishment enough for most. If you’ve been to our operation in Dry Creek, you can appreciate that more room for Carrie to create her magic would make this move worth it. And make no mistake, we are incredibly excited about the new location and the expansion of physical space we will enjoy.
We are more excited, however, for the past catching up with the present. This space is not a building to us. This new space is the physical manifestation of many years’ worth of planning, researching, and dreaming of the next level of cf&co – a lifestyle brand that always begins with the art but outward from which emanates the trimmings to define a life artfully expressed. cf + home –
in addition to previous expansions including “carrie” by Carrie Fell, DESIGNLINE, and NXT –is where past becomes prologue. This is the future greatness that our history has set the stage for.
Change is an essential element for growth and creativity in the art venture. When an artist decides to move, it brings a wave of apprehension, excitement, and endless possibilities. This new space promises innovation and boundless potential like a blank canvas awaiting Carrie’s hand. One of the most exciting aspects of this “blank canvas” is the feeling of endless possibilities - devoid of preconceived notions or limitations.
The initial focus of this expansion is on enhancing the building's spatial aesthetics and overall design. We have added an airy gallery and showroom, plus Carrie’s studio, a kitchen with chef's table for gathering, and our daily workspace.
The prospect of moving to a new location brings emotions both thrilling and overwhelming. As cf&co prepares to relocate Carrie's art studio and our operations into a bigger and improved space, the team faces the excitement of the next chapter. cf&co looks forward to inviting you to “2175” later this year as we celebrate a significant milestone for Carrie, the company, and the place where living well is its own art form.
MAGIC Of A Scent
Artful living encompasses myriad facets: textures, colors, fabrics, and finishes. It engages all of the senses to create an oasis of luxury… Often overlooked until encountered is a secret—warm and engaging, sensuous and beguiling… an element that transforms any space into a sanctuary and enhances the elegance of all that surrounds it. This secret? The power of scent.
Many know that of our five human senses – touch, taste, sight, sound, and smell –scent holds the greatest capacity to transcend time and recall memories. As such, a candle is not merely a source of sensory delight; it is an experience. It can draw us back to a place in our private history or… provoke a new memory to be recalled at a moment in the future… returning us to the place and time we first encountered it. The delicate dance between scent and our olfactory system triggers a cascade of reactions within our brain, releasing endorphins and creating a sense of calm and serenity.
With the continued launch of the cf + home collection comes aura – a line of custom-created candles and diffusers by Carrie Fell.
As with the artistic creations she’s so well known for, aura has been meticulously developed to deliver the highest quality and standards Carrie Fell aficionados expect. From the inspired vessels to the chemistry of the scent and quality of ingredients, every aspect is carefully curated to create a moment of sensory indulgence.
Like creating a work of art, crafting the perfect scent is not a rapid process. Carrie has been developing the concept of a line of bespoke scents for more than a year – working with a master perfumer, Noelle Benjamin of Kept – carefully selecting the impact of each note and its harmonious interplay with others. The result is fragrance that tells a story, evoking emotions and drawing you into this new chapter…. luring you to begin a new journey... one that starts with the first time you engage in the power of scent as a form of luxury.
Welcome to aura… an experience as original as the artist that inspired it.
COAST of COLORADO
s you venture westward, keep your hearts filled with anticipation. On the way, you will find a scenic journey that will lead you to the unexpected beauty of a Colorado Coast. When the sun drops the light, its descent casts a golden glow upon the rugged peaks you will become mesmerized by the dance of the waves crashing against a Rocky Mountain shore. Out of the blue, the fragrant air balances the surf, deep woods and the comfort of cashmere creating a symphony of nature’s will. Trust the vastness that has been released, and that to which you have been guided.
— Carrie
let’s begin with the art.
BusinessART of
How well do you know your art? Could you spot a fake Carrie Fell? How could you tell? To the casual observer and maybe even seasoned collector, Carrie’s predominant body of work is Western impressionism. It is known for its watercolor-like application of diluted acrylic, highly layered and finished with oils. Most notable is her signature. But modern technology can replicate all of this, often faster than it takes to pull out a credit card to buy one. With a prolific career spanning more than 30 years, Carrie’s enduring success poses special challenges to ensure that her works are authenticated and continue to rise in value. Such is the business of art.
In the art world, where the line between original masterpieces and convincing fakes can be thin, having a Certificate Of Authenticity (“COA”) is essential. It serves as concrete proof that the artwork you've acquired is authentic, setting it apart from unauthorized reproductions or forgeries. Since 2020, every Carrie Fell original or numbered edition has come with a COA by Verisart and registered on the Bitcoin blockchain. In the same way that you can verify and track the movement of any bitcoin ever mined, you can now verify and track the movement of any artwork ever created—online and in real-time—since the authorship and ownership records have been uploaded to a secure distributed database.
Artistic geniuses are venerated for their innovation and power to present the visual world differently, not their ability to mimic—forgers do not offer innovation and originality. Furthermore, art forgery defrauds buyers, leads to financial losses for both individuals and institutions, and damages our understanding and appreciation of art history by misattributing works of well-known artists. At cf&co, we constantly leverage new technology to ensure your pieces are legitimate and will retain and gain value as assets on your portfolio.
Please contact us at inquiry@carriefell.com if you would like to discuss having your older Carrie Fell works certified.
The Denver Children’s Foundation and Carrie Fell: A Winning Team.
The Denver Children’s Foundation (DCF) began in 1987 as Denver Active 20-30 (DA20-30)- a chartered organization under Active 20-30 International. Established when traditional service clubs were dominated by older men, run by older men, and whose officers were invariably much older men, this new model sought a different paradigm: Young men would learn to engage actively in philanthropy and service to their communities, applying their perspective and enthusiasm to participate meaningfully in civic action.
In 2022, DA20-30 rebranded independently as Denver Children’s Foundation (DCF), but the mission remains the same: a passion for improving the lives of children in their local communities. The DCF seeks to develop these young business leaders into the next generation of philanthropists by encouraging hands-on work, fundraising, and a commitment to service.
Polo Classic logo and has subsequently contributed artwork and expertise to the annual event.
2024 proved momentous! On the way to a RECORD-SETTING $500,000+ raise through the silent and live auctions was Carrie’s heartfelt art contribution for this year’s event - “Polo Swings.” This incredible piece, with its classic polo player subject and inimitable Carrie Fell style, went to a collector at the highest amount ever offered for art, and the electric atmosphere resulted in a second bidder offering the same amount if Carrie would create a similar piece for them! Needless to say, she agreed, and the art donations for the evening doubled, tying Carrie’s contributions for #1 highest winning bid and securing almost 10% of the total raised.
Since 2004, Carrie Fell has been honored to participate in DCF’s premier fundraising event, The Denver Polo Classic, sponsored by Schomp BMW. This truly unique experience features world-class, high-goal polo players and thousands of guests from across the metro area. She created the original
Said Ross Blahnik, Chairman of the 2024 Polo Classic, “we're so fortunate to have a wonderful relationship with [Carrie Fell] and to be the recipients of [her] tremendous generosity and talent… [reflecting] on the success we achieved…, I'm overcome with gratitude.”
That’s the winning team!
A Collection of Their Own
Collector Focus: Matthew & Stephanie Seebaum
Welcome Additions
Not all collectors begin their artful journey with Carrie Fell by directly selecting their first works from her or a gallery. Denver philanthropists Stephanie and Matthew Seebaum were fortunate to have Matt’s mother serve as the genesis for their own collection. During a break in the photo shoot of their extensive collection and beautiful home, they gave ARTful style more insight into the process that would lead to using Carrie’s art to complement and enhance their Mountain Chalet aesthetic.
“Matthew’s mom was a big fan, so we were initially introduced to Carrie’s art over 20 years ago. When his mother passed away in 2019, we purchased our Mountain chic-style house in 2020, which seemed like the perfect time to add to the pieces she left us and start our own collecting. We initially reached out to Carrie to get a copy of her book and visited her in the studio. We came home with not only two copies of her book but two pieces of her art for our home to start our collection,” explained Stephanie.
“The process of balancing interior design styles can be challenging. For our initial art piece, we had a very large wall and high ceilings... We showed Carrie a picture of our space, and she visited us personally with her recommendations … and suggested the perfect piece for that space.”
Although Stephanie and Matthew regard themselves as “relatively new to art collecting,” they love the thrill of finding unique items and see that the antiques and objects from their travels and private curating blend beautifully with Carrie’s art throughout their home. Matthew and
“Standing in the Shade of the Wagon” is our favorite because of its bold colors, large size, and focal placement in our home. The piece draws you into our great room, and when we have visitors, they are drawn to the painting as well.”
Stephanie also believe Carrie’s art is a good investment, but it is not their primary motivation, even for an artist’s work as renowned as Carrie Fell. In fact, as they noted, “On several occasions visitors in our home have noticed Carrie’s art... when discussions turn to the artist, herself, people are often amazed that we know Carrie, personally, and have access to her. She is so approachable, downto-earth, humble, and genuine.”
What would you tell people who, like yourselves, love art but aren’t sure how to begin collecting? “Start small and collect art that inspires you. If you love the art but don’t know the artist, find a way to reach out to the artist to learn more about them as a person. If this isn’t possible, research the artist you love to learn more to find a personal connection. In our opinion, this deepens the connection to the art. To sum up why we collect Carrie’s art, it’s really quite simple: We love the art, the colors, the stories, and Carrie!”
Artwork (above): Standing in the Shade of the Wagon by Carrie Fell
Artwork (left): Show Stopper by Carrie Fell
The Art of Living.fresh thoughts...
Art, design, and luxury are not mere indulgences; they reflect our sensibilities and hold profound significance in our lives at every level. These elements express the beauty, functionality, and expectations we have for our surroundings… creating sanctuary, uplifting our spirits, inspiring our creativity, and providing a sense of harmony and well-being. They invoke our senses — sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste. This is what we call the art of living
In the vibrant realm of art, the journey is often as thrilling as the destination. Artistic creation has been a lifelong pursuit; a path filled with exploration, growth, and transformation as I approach each new work. As cf&co expands into new arenas beyond my artful creations – into artinspired products for home and interior design – and in a new physical location, the excitement of this “blank canvas” is immeasurable. This evolution reflects my individual growth as an artist and businesswoman. It allows the company to connect with a growing audience that seeks inspiration beyond paintings. This next stop on our journey will enable us to offer services and carefully curated pieces that reflect a lifestyle … one that synthesizes my work, past and present, with our belief in the art of living.
Good design is not simply about creating visually appealing spaces but about harnessing and directing energy. A welldesigned area or object can alter our
existence by amplifying energy or calming it… boosting productivity or providing a quiet respite … continually enhancing our overall sense of being. Thoughtfully chosen colors, textures, furniture, and accents can be tailored to evoke moods, create a sense of place, and foster a positive atmosphere. Truly artful interior design allows equal footing for form and function.
Imagine entering a home adorned with unique, artist-designed pieces, from throw pillows splashed with vivid colors to glassware that doubles as art or scents that take you to a time and place. Each item becomes a conversation starter, infusing spaces with personality and creativity.
The art of living goes beyond material possessions. It is not about excess; it is about finding joy in the small moments and invoking all of our senses to fill us with hope, happiness, and purpose. But beautiful design doesn’t hurt… —CARRIE
LA UREEN HOPKINS
Scan
Laureen Hopkins | Alexis Wessell | Taylor Shroll
Carrie Fell | ABBOTT COLLECTION