Junior League Showhouse In CT 2018

Photo Courtesy of Junior League of Hartford

Ya'll must be shocked to see a blog post from me after so much time In between my last post.  Instagram is my usual method of communicating these days and I find myself sharing stories and snippets there where In the "old days" they would have been a blog post.  Yet, so many exciting things have been happening In the Vivid Hue world lately that I had to share In one spot.  Most imminently, we have launched our first ever pop up shop located at this year's Junior League of Hartford Showhouse.

Photo Credit Vivid Hue Home 

I am a member of the Junior League of Hartford and have spotlighted previous show houses here.
This year, I was given the opportunity to have a pop up shop within the house.  A lot of effort and work goes into pulling these houses together and I am so happy to be a small part of this year's house.
This year, twenty Connecticut Designers and Decorators each transformed a space In the house.  For the past month, they've been working non-stop around the clock to prepare for this weekend's launch.  On Friday, we had our official preview party to the public and the Show House officially opened for tours on Saturday April 28th with  tours offered through May 20 on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4-8 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m.-5 p.m 

The house is located on 126 Waterside Lane In West Hartford CT and tickets are $35 each (Purchase here).  

Today, I will share the journey of getting my little space In the breakfast nook ready for the opening weekend.  I hope to share the other spaces and designers over the next few weeks (so yes, check back here regularly, I will be posting soon on the blog again).
Here is a peek of my finished space at the showhouse:

Vivid Hue Home 

The house is located on a large plot of land surrounded by a peninsula of water.  Our pop up is located In the breakfast nook area that overlooks the expansive lawn and pond.

It's a breath-taking location; however the house itself is very outdated (think 1980's).

Here are some before photos of our nook.  The views In the breakfast nook are stunning and  look out onto the pond and the private pool area.  As you can see, we started with a well-used stone fireplace, dull walls and adobe tiled floors.  

Before @jlhartford Showhouse @vividhuehome space Photo courtesy of Vivid Hue Home 

Before: Vivid Hue Home Show house Space

Vivid Hue Home 

Because I was a pop up shop, I wanted to create a space that would showcase our products without having to completely transform our entire space.  But of course, presentation matters (to me) so I decided to do some easy cosmetic updates, including painting!  Benjamin Moore's Hale Navy is a "go to" color for me (we used it on our trim at the shop).  So, I decided to take the mustard out of the walls and make them navy!  

Vivid Hue Home 

We started to slowly bring In larger furniture items from the shop before layering with the gift items.  

It truly takes a village to run a small business and after many weeks of carting items and products over In our SUV's and trucks, we decided to have an "all hands" Saturday morning where many of our team and husbands (and kiddos) pulled together to caravan a bolus of items over to the show house.  

Our Vivid Hue Home Village

This is part of our Vivid Hue Home Village.  Front, (left to right): Jack, Smidge, Annie, Leanne and then Back: Eric and Bill.  Not pictured: Lindsey who was with us In spirit.

Annie and Bill Condon

Annie and Bill were life savers In transporting our custom sofa to the show house.  They let us use their "Flintstone mobile" (a term affectionately coined by Annie herself In reference to their fabulous truck that is a work horse for transporting big items!)  We laughed at the thought of captioning this photo as "leopard goes with everything" (referencing Annie's nice leopard print jacket next to Flintstone mobile).  

We ordered marketing materials (Peanut our hamster is seen here).

Lots of shout outs and marketing on social media for our team!   

And slowly, our space started shaping up.  I should have known, but this pop up stuff takes work.  I almost felt like we were launching an entirely new shop!  (And, duh, I guess In a way, we were).  

So, now, we're "live" until May 20th.  We will continue to maintain our regular shop In addition to the pop up.  If you have visited our pop up at the Junior League Show house and liked it, please stop by our brick and mortar store In Farmington.  We're located right by Truffles bakery on 769 Farmington Ave, Farmington CT  06032.  

Here are some side by side before and after photos: 

Before:

Before Vivid Hue Home 

After Vivid Hue Home 

Vivid Hue Home 

Vivid Hue Home Show house Pop Up 

Marilyn Petite Sofa with Forest Green Piping by Society Social, Raffia Coffee Table Society Social, Marie Artwork by Gina Julian, Peach Lacquer Lamps by Meg Caswell for Couture Lamps

All products are available for purchase at Vivid Hue Home.  Yes, we ship!  And we appreciate you ordering through our small business.  I carry all of the products In my retail shop and I'm a retail partner for all of those designers.  

Thank you for following along In the transformation of our space into our Vivid Hue Home pop up shop.  Please check because I will be sharing sneak peeks into the Designer spaces.  I'm always In awe at the talented designer's we have locally In Central Connecticut.  

Please follow me on instagram if you don't already!  I share daily updates of my store and personal journeys.  

Check out this fabulous article from Nancy Schoeffler at the Hartford Courant!  

If you're not familiar with my brick and mortar shop, please check us out! 

DesignHER Gives Vivid Hue a 'Nod'

When I was in middle school, there was a talented and artistic "upperclassman" (eight grader) whom I admired from afar.  Everything she touched with her paint brush turned into a beautiful masterpiece.  Her work had meaning and substance.  I silently kept notes on how she operated and I observed how she performed her craft.   She seemed out of my league and I was pretty sure I was non-existent in her world.  Mid-year, our school held an art show.  I looked for opportunities to be involved with anything having to do with art and so I volunteered to help hang the wall gallery, including some of her work.  During the show,  she approached me and inquired if I'd had involvement in setting up the display.  I nervously nodded yes.  "I love how you set up the gallery," she said.

In my mind, it was the equivalent of winning an academy award.  Ok, maybe that's overly dramatic.  But my point is, I was so thrilled to have that praise from someone I admired so much that I was filled with dancing butterflies inside my tummy.   Really, I was thinking, "Wow, that's pretty neat."

Yesterday I had a similar moment of "wow, that's pretty neat" when I learned that Julianne Taylor (Creative Director + Founder of Taylor Burke Home) gave lil' ole Vivid Hue Home a mention in her DesignHer book that she released earlier this year.

Photo Courtesy of DesignHER and Taylor Burke Home

Julianne is a sweet Southern gal from South Carolina who spent almost a decade living abroad and further enriching her interior design knowledge.  This experience inspired her to establish Taylor Burke Home,  a modern and luxury furniture brand company.  During my years as "just a home decor blogger," I kept tabs on the Taylor Burke brand through social media.  When I opened the Vivid Hue Home retail shop, I knew immediately I wanted to bring Taylor Burke Home to my area of Connecticut.

Photo Courtesy of DesignHER and Taylor Burke Home

We launched the shop in 2015 with Taylor Burke Home's Dallas Sofa along with their fabulous Beaufort Bamboo Chair upholstered in Cotton + Quill's Midnight Koi custom fabric).

Photo Courtesy of Vivid Hue Home

Earlier this year, Julianne released a truly inspiring design book called DesignHER which highlights 35 female entrepreneurs that are shaping today's home decor industry.  Each have launched their own businesses and pursued their true passions in design and are making quite a statement in the design arena.  The book celebrates many of the designers that we offer in our shop and have become friends with including Roxy's Society Social  and Mary Catherine's Cotton + Quill. and Meg's Meg Braff Designs.  

As a side story, ya'll know that I have long been a fan of Meg Braff and her incredible wallpaper designs.  I have used her Up In a Tree in my mudroom,  her Roxy in Navy in my daughter's room and her Vintage Trellis in the Vivid Hue Home shop.

So where do I fit in?  Well I don't want to steal the spotlight from these talented ladies, but I do want to share my butterflies-in-my-tummy- that's so cool moment.

Yesterday one of my fabulous clients (S.C) brought to my attention that our shop gets a mention in Julianne Taylor's DesignHER book under Meg Braff's feature!

Photo Courtesy of Sheila Casey

"I can recall seeing Meg Braff published in every magazine under the sun for as long as I can remember.  Then the gorgeous green trellis wallpaper installed in the Farmington, Connecticut retail store, Vivid Hue Home, alerted me to the extent of her talents.  A beautiful photo of our Kings Grant Chairs in ebony with zebra print cowhide placed in front of Braff's wallpaper was Instagrammed across the universe.  It has me gasping."  

-  Julianne Taylor, Taylor Burke Home

Here is the photo that Julianne was referencing: 

Photo Courtesy of Vivid Hue Home

There is a funny backstory about the Meg Braff install in the shop.  Our cottage is an historical building and the land lord made it expressly clear that I needed to maintain the integrity of the shop in the same state as how I inherited it.  The trouble was, the walls were a non-historical knotty pine and there was no easy way I could envision selling my colorful products within their confines.  I had to get creative with hanging the paper.  Here's the rest of the story about the evolution of the Meg Braff wallpaper here. 

Here are more shots of Meg Braff's wallpaper in the Vivid Hue Home shop.  

Thank you, Julianne, for your sweet nod to Vivid Hue Home in your book.  Though I know the props really go towards Meg Braff for her brilliant designs, I am thrilled to have the mention.  In my mind, "it's pretty neat."  So thank you.

And for those of you that would like to delve into the DesignHER book in more detail, of course I am carrying it in my shop.  You can also purchase on Amazon or directly from Taylor Burke Home.  

xoxoxo

Heather

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Meet Roxy and Society Social

I always have a serious design crush on someone in the design world...Remember my Massimo Vitali obsession?  (here).  Lately, I am *in love* with Roxy Owens, founder and mastermind behind Society Social. 

Roxy is a gal after my own heart. She left her corporate career several years ago and decided to follow her dream.  She opened her own online shop and called it Society Social (and it is not filled with just ANY ole stuff ...).   Check out these duchess pillows...

Remember Vivid Hue's post about the Art of the Bar Cart? (here)  That was all Roxy!

Last week, she was featured in Southern Living as the "leader in the bamboo furniture movement." 

 

HGTV has given a shout out to these Society Social colorful outdoor chairs

 

 

Adore Magazine Aug/Sept 2012 issue gave the Society Social bar cart serious props

 

 

It's clear that Roxy stays busy building Society Social's business.  So how on Earth does she have any fun?  One thing I love about Society is that they have a Signature Hostess Gown...Yes, it's for sale, and anyone can purchase it.  

Apparently, these gowns were popular between the 1930's-1970's and worn by the lady of the house during a house party when she would entertain in her home. I have to admit, Roxy, I can't get my head around this one because I would look like a Good Year blimp in this...one size fits *most*! It's fun and festive!  

 

Roxy's style is sassy, energetic and fun!

 

 

 

Society Social provides custom styles as well so you can personalize fun patterns on any chair style! 

 

 

 

And coming soon...a vintage shop...this means stylish one of a kind finds, can't wait. 

 

 

There's lot's of socializing going on around the Society...

 

 

 

 

 

There's just so much energy and spirit in everything that Society Social gets their hands on.  For Vivid Hue, that is right up our alley.  And I must give my usual disclaimer, I do not work for Society Social.  And, in fact, I don't even know Roxy (though I'd become her bestie in a New York minute).  So, in other words, I was not endorsed in any way to write this post.  I just know a good thing when I see it and I love to share it. 

 

 

Check out Roxy's blog 'My Cup of Te'

 {Photos Courtesy Society Social Facebook}

@MyCupofTe
#livesparkly

Heya I'm on pinterest too. Check me out here.

And now, I'm on TWITTER! @vividhuehome