Collaboration 2013-02 by Meghan Jenkins

COLLABORATION Lois Moore

Collaboration

Photography by Meghan Jenkins and John Reid

Deeply seated in the human heart

...is the hunger for Collaborations

Contents

Interiors by Lois Moore

Pretentiously Polite | Loisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Home Daring & Delicate Congenial Class Winning Warmth Chicago Chic Alluring & Artsy Well-Mannered Wow

Reach us at... LoisMooreDesign@gmail.com www.PeriwinklesDesign.com

Our Story of I visit the Botanic Gardens, outside of Chicago, as often as I can. Every garden, especially this 800 acre wonderland, is a collaboration. Collaborations are joint efforts, and joint efforts require teamwork, cooperation, and concord. When people work well together on a project like the Botanic Gardens, we call it an extraordinary collaboration - I call it beautiful and wise. Interior design closely resembles garden design, and a sort of partnership is necessary for both to be successful. The principals involved in a home’s design: the owners, the interior designer, the kitchen designer, the architect, the landscape designer, and the contractor must all believe in the wisdom of collaboration if the project is to be a triumph. I believe a home’s interior and a home’s design are fundamentally important to the mental and physical well-being of a home’s occupants. I further believe that interior design is about the client, not the designer; a home is a backdrop for the client’s life. With this philosophy in mind, I attempt to design an interior that reflects the client, not me. Lastly, I believe that a project with principals that do not find beauty in collaboration is doomed from the beginning. That is why I enjoy being part of a design team that is committed to the benefits and beauty of collaboration.

Collaboration Do you believe that collaborations are fun? I do. Do you believe collaborations breed friendships? I know they do. I believe this so strongly that I base my designs on the idea that friends collaborating on a project stimulate each other to produce a final beauty neither was capable of alone. Besides, shared joy, as the old Swedish proverb says, is double joy. I strive for harmony in design, and I have learned that noteworthy design reflects a harmony between the designer, the design team, and the client. This book showcases my home and some of my friendsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; spaces Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been privileged to work on. It concludes with a section that features some of the hand-knotted rugs I design and have made in Nepal. I hope this book is a visual treat for you. It is a collaboration, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m thrilled it is. Smiles,

Lois

Pretentiously Polite

A Home Tells A Story, Every Roomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s A Chapter

Living Without COLOR is Like Living Without

Love

Hope Knocks the

Cobwebs Off Love

Every Man Needs A Firepole

I Like Organization The Kind You Find in a Garden of

Wildflowers

Hooky is

Philosophy

at its Finest

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Let Them

Tame You.

Contentment Has Nev

ver Been An Accident

Rooms Should Charm, Amuse, Startle,

and

Delight

When a True Friend Comes to Your Memory Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

ll Know It - The Memory Kinda Winks at You

Being in a band is always a compromise, but the beauty of the music is multiplied and the sound of humility can be heard in the background if one listens carefully. - W.D. Moore

Collaboration

Daring and

Delicate

Details Add Layers Layers Add Splendor

Using Color and Texture in an unforseen way gives a room a personality.

We Shape our Dwellings,

and Afterwards Our Dwellings Shape Us. -Winston Churchill

Success is an unworthy target,

strive for excellence instead.

Congenial

Class

The bird a nest The spider a web Man a friendship - William Blake

Winning Warmth

Chicago

Chic

Alluring and

Artsy

Collaborations are tapestries, laced together with a golden thread of respect.

Chicago Molly 080

WellMannered Wow

I told you

Collaborations

are FUN!

Diane Schleyhahn Artist

Meghan Jenkins Photographer/Graphic Designer

Urszula Lisiecki Workroom

Our Friends in Nepal

More to Come! Collaborations don’t require that those involved be friends, but it is sweeter if they are. The collaborations in this book were exceptionally enjoyable for me, as everyone involved was and is my friend. It’s time for me to thank Jimmy, Marcie and Dan, Julie and Jeff, Vada and Mark, Laurie and Eric, and Pam and Jamie. Their homes and hearts are both beautiful to me. Some nights my mind wanders to friends. Their faces come out of the shadows of my mind, and their voices emerge from the echoes that fill the halls of my memory. I’m sure you know what I mean. These faces and voices remind me that true friendships are real - real in every sense of the word. The folks I thanked above are some of the faces I see when I’m quiet and thoughtful. Other faces, those of other friends, come to me in my private times. They too bring me pleasure. The Lord willing, I will do a second book, one that features collaborations I have done and am doing with some of my other friends. May I give you a preview? The next few pages will, hopefully, whet your appetite. Someone once wrote that a woman with many friends is rich. If he is right, and I think he is, I am wealthy beyond imagination. Smiles, Lois

Beautiful

any way you look at it!

Imagine

Lois Moore Designs Custom, Nepalese, Hand-Knotted Rugs An old design adage advises that one should design a room from the floor up. This is wise, as rugs are very sizable pieces of art. They often dictate rather than harmonize.

For years I was troubled by the predictability of the available rug designs and colors. It became increasingly difficult to obtain rugs that didn’t clash with a room’s fabrics. Finally, I determined I’d need to custom-design and custom-color my own designs if I wanted the unity and balance I sought. Hand-knotted wool and silk rugs from Nepal provided the solution. Now, the rug, the room’s largest piece, may be created after the room is designed and the fabrics are chosen. The pattern and colors of the rug can be selected to ensure they enhance the design. It is truly a freeing concept; dare I say revolutionary? Why shouldn’t your home feature a one-of-a-kind rug? Why? All designs are available in 60 knots, 100 knots, and 150 knots per square inch. Lois Moore Designs utilizes only manufacturers who agree not to use child labor. In fact, we support manufacturers who support schools for the under-privileged in Nepal. Feel free to ask for more details if this is dear to your heart as well. From a simple stair-runner to a rug fit for a queen’s ballroom, Lois Moore Designs will eagerly help you. The exhilaration one feels in creation is better experienced than described. Come design a one-of-a-kind rug with me, you will love it.

How Our Dream Home Hi! We’re the Everymans, Ethel and Elmer. About two years ago, the company Elmer works for, Edison Engineering, opened a new office in Elmhurst. Elmer was elevated to chief electrical engineer. We sold our home in Edinburgh and began looking for a home in the Elmhurst area. It turns out that the small-town couple was tackling big-time trouble. We looked at an enormous amount of exquisite homes, eighteen in all, I think, with our realtor, Fanny Forsale. I thought Fanny was fetching and funny, but Elmer figured her for frivolous. Fanny Forsale’s assistant, Helen A. Headache, was helpful, but hard-headed, which hurt our house-hunting efforts and helped us decide that further house-hunting was hopeless. Finally, we faced the facts, it was time for us to build our dream home. Elmer Ethel This is our story, the story of the Everymans’ dream home. I guess it’s really the story of every man who has ever built his dream home. Our story turns out to be mostly about bungling builders and contrary contractors. It is a register of regrets and a mishmash of mistakes. We hope that listening to our errors, some egregious, some elementary, will help you to keep your dream home from becoming a nightmare.

Looking back, Elmer and I can see that our errors are everyone’s errors. We would like to encourage you in your endeavor by examining errors you can expect to make, so you can escape them. Elmer’s convinced that endless errors can be evaded if you’re educated to possible pitfalls. Fanny Forsale, our realtor, was furious when we decided to build rather than buy. Her assistant, Helen A. Headache was hard-headed, as I said, but she did prove helpful in that she hooked us up with Bobby Boastful, a builder. He was also Helen’s honey. Bobby Boastful had a foreman, Frank Formyglory, who we found at first to be a fine, free-spirited sort of fellow. Frank put all the facts and figures together for us in a kind of factoid. Frank’s financial forecast proved faulty. Frank, we later found out, failed to fully address the fact we needed to face, changes must be figured into the final cost formula. Changes cost real change. Since I’m a lady, all I can say is phooey to Frank and his figures, they were fatally flawed. Bobby Boastful bragged that his brother-in-law, Art Itaint, was an accomplished architect. We agreed to make his acquaintance. Art and his assistant, Gaye Grimm, a gorgeous, green-eyed girl greeted us warmly and gave us a Glenlivet on the rocks. Only later did they give us grief. Gaye Grimm was a little weird though. She kind of grinned and grumped alternately. Elmer wondered aloud if Gaye Grimm was her name or a description of her character. Fanny

Helen

Became

A NIGHTMARE

Art assured us he would draw up awesome plans and arranged for us to meet with his daughter who was a decorator. Her name was Dottie Dolittle. Art described her as a designer of some distinction. We were dumb enough to forget that Dottie Dolittle was Art’s daughter. Dottie Dolittle, the decorator, had an intern name Ima Imbecile. We later determined that Dottie Dolittle was a dufus. Elmer dubbed her the design dummy. Ima Imbecile, her assistant, was irritating and impossible to reason with. I wish we’d insisted on interviewing Dottie and her staff, it would have proved invaluable. Ima Imbecile offered that her cousin Chris had a custom-kitchen-cabinet company, and crazy as it sounds now, we hired him. His last name was Callmecute. Chris came to confer with us, and our crew was complete. Chris Callmecute cautioned us against contacting other contractors for bids as Chris was concerned that Bobby Boastful, the builder, might feel we “busted his balls”, whatever that means. We don’t get to hear much big-city contractor talk in Edinburgh, so Elmer and I just nodded. Whatever we nearly did, it sounded unkind.

Bobby

Let’s take a look at the team we assembled to help us build our dream house. Elmer called them the Lions because they were such an aggressive group. Art Itaint, Architect Bobby Boastful, Builder Chris Callmecute, Custom-kitchen-cabinet Kid Dottie Dolitte, Designer Ethel and Elmer Everyman, Dopes (owners) Fanny Forsale, Realtor Frank Formyglory, Foreman Gaye Grimm, Girl assistant to Art Itaint, Architect Helen A. Headache, Fanny Forsale’s Flunky Ima Imbecile, Dottie Dolittle’s Dingy Intern Elmer just snuck a peek at my list and suggested I change my name to make it seem like I was Ima’s twin. Elmer suggested Yura. I suggested Elmer silence himself! Frank

Well, Elmer and I were fearful of faulty fuses, twisted trusses, and plugged-up plumbing. Instead, we should have worried about daffy designers, arrogant architects, focus-on-me foremen, and ingrate interns.

In short, we weren’t building a home, we were coaching a team of self-centered psychopaths! No one warned us that ninety percent of our time would be spent managing a menagerie of morons, misfits, miscreants, mopes, and maniacs! My Grandpa Edwin used to tell me and Grandma Eva that shallow people will lead you into deep

waters, and now Elmer and I can appreciate his acidic aphorism a little better.

Within a week, Bobby Boastful, the builder, blundered and criticized Chris Callmecute, the custom-kitchen-cabinet kid, and his kitchen concept. Chris’ cousin, Ima Imbecile, Dottie Dolittle’s intern, was incensed. Ima inquired about Bobby Boastful’s behavior to everyone in general, and no one in particular. Frank Formyglory, Bobby Boastful’s foreman, was famous for saying, “Find fault first with yourself, then friends”. You guessed it, Frank was fast to find fault with Ima. Elmer said Frank must have excluded himself from the category of “yourself”. Elmer also noted that Frank had no friends. Maybe that’s why he found fault with Ima so fast. Foolishly, Frank, the foreman, flew off the hook and filled poor Ima’s ears with Art invectives. Dottie Dolittle, the daffy designer, dashed to distraught Ima’s defense. Dottie denigrated Bobby Boastful’s building abilities while finding fault with Frank his foreman, forgetting for a moment that Helen A. Headache, Fanny Forsale’s flunky, was Bobby Boastful’s beloved. Helen A. Headache, true to her name, was a hot-head from hell. The hussy hustled over to Bobby Boastful’s seeking solace and a chance to stir stuff up. Meanwhile, Art Itaint, the architect, who was Dottie Dolittle’s, the daffy designer’s, dad, as well as Bobby Boastful’s brother-in-law, was baffled by it all. Art aggravated the affair and the rest of the assemblage by announcing to Elmer that everyone else, except himself, was for himself or herself and he, Art, added that that was unacceptable. Elmer erupted (I’ll never forget it) and said, “The Everymans, Ethel and Elmer, endorse the idea that everyone’s energies are being eaten up by the everyone for himself or herself attitude. Therefore, everyone can go to hell or home, whichever is nearer right now. Perhaps for some of you the two destinations are the same. If so, I’m sorry for what I’ve said; sorry for the sarcasm in it, not for the sincerity of what I said. That should stick with you simpletons. Gaye It was Elmer’s finest hour, I must say, and I found it very romantic. What did we learn? Let me show you a little verse Elmer penned to commemorate the firings. Be careful when you build, Choose your team carefully. Forget the vain and strong-willed, They don’t know it’s about you, They think it’s all about me! PART TWO A little wiser for our trouble (life’s like that, isn’t it?), Elmer fashioned a little list of important things we would be looking for in our new team members.

Dottie

1. Humility: Someone once said that humility comes from a correct estimate of oneself coupled with a correct estimate of God. Our first team, the Lions, each thought God was looking for His replacement, I guess. We are looking for team members who are humble about their abilities and place on our team. Humility permits a person to accept a good idea, no matter who it comes from. Elmer has reminded me about the time in Edinburgh when big Billy, the owner of Big Billy’s Burgers, Brats, and Barbecue swallowed his pride and accepted Mimi the manicurist’s idea to put the onions, cheese, and mushrooms “inside” his burgers! Big Billy’s humility caused a boom in burger buying. Billy now owns somewhere north of three hundred burger joints. Elmer said he had heard that Billy had also proposed to Mimi. I don’t know about that.

2. Flexibility: Elmer suggested we name the new team we are forming the Lambs. Some ideas are too good to say no to. Elmer has had his fill of the Lions, I think. Elmer thinks we ought to rename that first team of Lions the Devils. I just patted his hand. The Lions had proven to be as flexible as one of those steel girders they framed our house with. Elmer’s old friend, Daniel Webster, defines flexibility as: A.) Able to bend without breaking B.) Easily influenced C.) Adjustable to change We know we want folks on our team who will be strong enough to take a stand for what they think is best, but we need them to be pliable enough to bend to another teammate’s idea if that idea is better than their own. Changes are the rule, it seems, when you build a dream- home, so the team members need to believe in change, embrace change, look forward to change, and be willing to adjust to changes. Altering, modifying, moderating, and transforming are all forms of change, aren’t they? Then, the Lambs are going to have to be flexible folks.

Ima

3. Teachers: Yes, we have determined that our Lambs will need to be folks who like to teach. Why? We need to learn a lot fast if we’re going to make wise decisions. Ever dealt with some fool who explained something to you, but who really didn’t want you to learn and understand what they were teaching you? Elmer says it’s an old trick to keep the power over you.

Chris

Elmer had a tax man in Edinburgh who would explain taxable gains in such a confusing way to us that we would leave his office wishing we had never asked the question in the first place. The tax man didn’t want us to learn. He was successful,

we always were more confused after his explanation than we were before we heard it! Team Lamb members are going to need to be ladies and gents who will strive to educate us, so we can make good decisions. I want to see delight in their eyes when we “get it.” 4. Team players: The Lions didn’t care about what was best for us. They cared about what was best for themselves. Selfishness is always ugly, isn’t it? In contrast, selflessness is always stunningly beautiful. The proud hearts, exhibited so openly by the Lions, taught us that we wanted to see the opposite in the Lambs. Team players enjoy shared success more than individual success. Why? It’s boring to celebrate alone. The Lions couldn’t stand it if another team member received a compliment. It ruined their day. We want the Lambs to be the kind of people who rejoice when another team member comes up with a good idea or does something exceptionally well. Elmer says that team playing is all about attitude, and I’m sure he’s right. Elmer looked up team in his trusty Webster’s for us. Old Daniel defines team as a group of cooperating individuals. There it is, simple as can be. The Lambs will need to do what the Lions never could, they will need to cooperate to bring about our vision.

5. Fun folks: I don’t mean “funny” folks. I’m fine with humor, in its proper place, but Elmer never gets it, so it’s mostly wasted on us. I do mean fun folks, the type of people who laugh like they mean it when they do laugh (even if the joke is corny). I like a person’s loudest laughter to be at himself or herself. Those are fun folks. Our project is likely to be stressful and decision-filled, considering the anticipated changes and all, so the Lambs will need to make it fun. After all, Elmer and I want to bank many happy memories of the time we built our dream house. Footnote: Elmer just pointed out to me that I’ve left out his points about each team member’s competence and financial stability. It was not by accident that I left them out. I agree that the competence and financial stability of all our team members is important, that’s why I’m going to ask I.B. Wary, our attorney, to handle the background checks. I want folks who have expertise, but, more importantly, I want to focus on folks who will yoke their ideas to ours, people with character. Maybe that’s what I’ve been talking about all along. Thanks for your time, The Everymans, Ethel and Elmer

Frequently Asked

Questions

Where is your store?

Actually, my little studio is inside our one hundred twenty year old home. Yes, the home in the first section of this book. My resources are housed there, but, in reality, I am often on the road at a clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home. The village of Loami, Illinois is located approximately fifteen miles southwest of Springfield, Illinois. Stop by and see me sometime; maybe even spend the night in our guest quarters! As of December 12, 2012, I have also opened a boutique at 3255 W. Iles, Springfield, Illinois, 62711. I do enjoy having a shop again!

Do you have clients outside that area?

Yes, in fact, the majority of my business these past few years has been in and around Chicago. However, we travel to serve clients everywhere. We have done condos and homes from Florida to Costa Rica and from Cabo to the British Virgin Islands. Interior design has no geographical boundaries.

You use such vibrant, clear colors. Can you explain your basic design philosophy to me?

I guess it resonates from a driving passion to make life appear happy and peaceful. Standing in the middle of a tulip field my pulse races and my tensions flee. I feel alive and well! Color is the one single design element that can be controlled and used to create all kinds of emotional and physical responses. Color is natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Prozac. Everyone is to be served their own COLOR-COCKTAIL of choice. Mine happens to be the delicious, delicate, clear, happy colors of spring and summer. I so enjoy the sunshine and cheer these shades bring to my sometimes grey day. My design passion is to help identify what brings joy to each client and then to dress their lives with these colors. Life then has a beautiful backdrop.

Are all the rugs in this book your designs?

Years ago I became very frustrated with the limited choice of rugs in the marketplace. Let me explain why. I would have a vision for the spaces I was helping to create for my clients. I knew there were certain colors that looked better on one client than on another. I feel that the woman in the home is the BEST accessory. Don’t you agree that the home should be designed so the lady of the house looks beautiful in every room? Remember every home needs a princess... So for me the selection of the colors that best compliment her is the key to the color scheme. Sometimes I was able to find a ready-made rug that “fit the bill”; most often I could not. So, I decided that I needed rugs I could recolor so that I could achieve the look I wanted. At first, I simply recolored others’ designs. In a relatively short while I was impassioned to create my own designs. Like art, rugs help set a mood for a room. Obviously, the rug is the largest piece of art in the room. You can imagine that I was excited to be able to collaborate with Nepalese weavers to fashion the exact rug I envisioned, colored precisely as I dreamed it would be. By designing my own rugs, I could bring all of the elements in the room, the fabrics, the paint, the art, and the accessories together. Personalizing a client’s home is important to me, and my rug company allows me to do that better than I was able to previously.

May I purchase a rug from you individually, or are they always a part of your total design service?

The simple answer is, “YES you may”. I recognize that there are many gifted and talented people that enjoy designing their own spaces. And I celebrate such talent! I am always delighted to work with someone to create the rug they’re dreaming of, one that makes them smile. There are endless possibilities, simply give me a call.

The book is titled Collaboration, do you really welcome a client’s input in a rug or house design as you say you do?

Yes. Yes. Yes. I actually find great pleasure in watching the creative side “come out and play” in my clients. Many of my clients are in fields that don’t allow for much creativity. The experience of collaborating on a design project can be both energizing and exhilarating for them. What I bring to the table is a short-cut to sources to save them time. I can also help prevent a design mistake. Two things I have observed over the years with everyone I work with is: 1) Everyone knows what they DON’T LIKE (That is pretty easy and actually very helpful).

2) Often they are surprised to discover what they DO LIKE. I attempt to put a myriad of choices in front of a client, many they never imagined existed; colors they had never considered, fabrics they didn’t know were available, chairs they wouldn’t have thought comfortable, etc. In short, I titled the book COLLABORATION because I believe in it.

Final Word Collaboration is a beautiful word to me because it means listening to and focusing on the value of someone elseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ideas. It makes me appreciate othersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; gifts and talents. If everyone that is involved has made the decision to lay aside their personal pride and ego for the higher good of the client, then the collaboration will be successful. Then creativity, brainstorming, answer-finding and good decision-making can take place. At the end of the day, everyone wins! Everyone is happy! And wow! Just take a look at the beauty everyone was a part of creating! The pleasure of creativity, what a celebration of life!

Interior Design Projects of All Sizes Accepted Custom Rugs Custom Fabrics Custom Art Custom Window Treatment Designs Upholstery, Case Goods, and Accessories Speaking Engagements

www.PeriwinklesDesi gn.com

Published by: Your Life As History, Inc. Lois Moore Designs, Loami, Illinois Mailing Address: 104 N. Main Loami, IL 62661 217-341-6986; Lois Moore Imported by: Coburn Printing Ink 2219 Newgate Ct. Santa Rosa, CA 95404 Sunrise Design & Printing Company Printed in China Publication date: February 2013, Job #13-1301

“Collaboration is a beautiful word to me because it means listening to and focusing on the value of someone else’s ideas. It makes me appreciate others’ gifts and talents.”