An Evening with Rachel Ashwell
I attended Apartment Therapy’s Offline NY Design meetup this past Wednesday. Rachel Ashwell was the featured guest and it was held at her store on Mercer Street in So Ho, New York. Her store is beautiful, cozy and full of unique chandeliers, bedding and vignettes worthy of long glances.
There was a wrapped gift on each seat, an unexpected pleasant surprise, a huge spread of food and wine. I bypassed the food and quickly took my seat. Although I was starving, the only thing I was truly hungry for was her insight into the home design world. Once she began talking, I was so engaged in her words, my hunger pains vanished.
Ms. Ashwell spoke about her style and design sense intertwining it with her life story. Born in England, she left school at 16 and began her career as a stylist for vintage apparel. After starting her family, she yearned for a less hectic lifestyle. Friends admiration of her sense of design and personal style at home served as the impetus for Shabby Chic. Her product line began with slipcovers and selling things she loved. What does Rachel Ashwell love? Great fabrics treated in unconventional ways, vintage linens and trims, ruffles (“ruffles to me is life”), flea market finds. All her wood items in her store are one of a kind. Also, she has a deep fondness for Marie Antionette and describes her designs as simple lines with squishy comfort.
Rachel Ashwell spoke about her parent’s influences on her work. Her mom was and antique doll restorer and her dad is a book connoisseur. She wrote a very nice post on her blog about her family after her mom’s passing. She also shares great content and pics of her product line. Please do have a look.
Ms. Ashwell has experienced many up and downs in both her personal and business life; however, she continues to persevere no matter what curve ball she is thrown (ie. subchapter 11 in June of this year). She credits much of her success to her show, still being aired after seven years, her book publishing deals and her partnership with Target which retails her Simply Shabby Chic label. She describes these as great opportunities but she had to “work bloody hard” and show up in order to turn them into successful ventures.
Shabby Chic, her signature, has been around for a log time and Ms. Ashwell feels that if you “present an authentic real idea, people are open to it.” As for the continued longevity of Shabby Chic design, she responded “if Shabby Chic dies, let it die with dignity”.
As always, this meetup was well attended and informative. Her her presentation was fantastic. Meetup Organizer, Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, always asks the right questions and fields additional questions from the audience. A wonderful and fulfilling experience, I am so glad that I attended. I now own an autographed copy of her newest book, Shabby Chic Interiors My Rooms, Treasures and Trinkets.
I thought I was set on Mid-century Modern design, but after experiencing her store, I wouldn’t mind dabbling in some Shabby Chic design of my own. I wonder if there is a way to pull that off. Probably not but, just the same, I think I will spend some “me time” time this weekend devouring the wonderful new addition to my library.
How about you? Do you like Shabby Chic?
Hi Joselyn–Wonderful post! I love that we all targeted different aspects of the same event. To answer your question: I am no photo expert, but one thing I think works is to set your digital camera to “ISO HI” rather than “ISO AUTO.” I think it widens the aperture. I also have it set to the highest file size to get the best resolution…I actually have no idea if this makes a difference in terms of lighting.
Maybe I’ll see you next month?
–GB
Do you think Rachel trademarked the term “shabby chic”?
Hi Karen,
No she didn’t trademark “shabby chic” because it didn’t originate with her. However, when I think of shpbby chic, she immediately comes to mind. Wikepdia has a short history about shabby chic in case your interested. Here’s thel link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabby_chic
Thanks for visiting!
Joselyn
Thanks for that info! I agree…I think of Rachel when I hear shabby chic. Hard to imagine it existed before her!
[...] (Apartment Therapy Offline). I treasure the opportunity to listen to established designers like Rachel Ashwell, Jonathan Adler. On Wednesday, John Robshaw’s talked about his journey into the design world. [...]