Sunday Luxury Scouting Report

Who goes to watch the Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, Alabama in cashmere? This girl. After trying to salvage my cashmere sweater, I put my Cashmere Brush by The Laundress to the test. If this item were a football draft prospect, it would be a legitimate first rounder.  Handling pilled cashmere with ease, this special brush also fluffs and removes all signs of lint or dust. The brush is very well made and cleans easily. My cashmere looks brand new again. A little on the expensive side, but you'll wonder how you ever lived without it and never go back to a lint tape roll again.

As described on the Laundress web site:

The Laundress Cashmere Brush is strategically constructed with strong, black inner bristles, soft outer white bristles that come from a special domesticated race of pig, and assembled on a pearwood handle which is finished with natural linseed oil, to give your woolens the best of care. 

Cashmere Brush by The Laundress

It was inevitable that after loving the Cashmere Brush by the Laundress, it was only a matter of time before I was going to try the Laundress Clothing and Upholstery Brush. I fell equally in love. Not only could I brush the constant lint and dust off my dark navy spring jacket, I could also use this on my variety of upholstered furniture. And it works wonders.

As described on the Laundress web site:
The Laundress Clothing and Upholstery Brush is crafted partially by hand by the artisans at Redecker with strong black bristles that come from a special domesticated race of pig. The handle is made of pearwood which is finished with natural linseed oil, with a leather hook for hanging in between brushings. 

Clothing & Upholstery Brush by The Laundress

The upholstery brush also works fabulously on my Restoration Hardware Delano Headboard,
upholstered in Belgian Linen - flax.

To clean the brushes, I use a drop of Wool & Cashmere Shampoo, made by the Laundress.

Diamonds in the Rough

Luxury scouting is simple, but every good scout is looking to find that special diamond in the rough. This gorgeous deco cut glass ink well with faceted bottom was a special find from the antique auction site http://www.1stdibs.com ~ "The World's Leading Marketplace for the Most Beautiful Things on Earth." This glass ink well appears to be an Art Deco piece from France circa 1940's.  Love the way it looks on my white lacquer finish Crate & Barrel Spotlight desk.

Scouting Etsy

With so many prospects on Etsy, I did some research before deciding on some truly wonderful sellers to follow and trust with my ideas. Thanks to their creativity, talents, and beautiful craftsmanship, I was able to share these lovely, unique, and personalized wedding gifts with my loved ones.

For the Bride to Be

This lovely handmade hanger was made by Amber at My Amber Coloured World. Amber is based in Canada, so give yourself time for the hanger to make its way through customs, but I received this one without any delays. The lettering was beautiful ~ her style is to use all lowercase letters, the overall sizing was perfect, and the dark stain on the hanger was exactly as I specified. This was my very first Etsy purchase and I was hooked.

You can choose from any of these three hanger colors: 

Light wood (left), Dark stain (middle), Warm walnut (right)

The dark stain hanger was beautiful, but the dress of course was truly the highlight.

photo credit: ijulietphotography.com

Amber is currently on maternity leave, but hopefully she'll be back making wedding party hangers soon, and adding ones for new little munchkins to her collection.

For the Bride & Groom

After surprising the beautiful bride with the lovely hanger, what next? That's when I came across Stacy, at Little Bird Parties. This girl turns wedding invitations into keepsake ornaments. You mail her the invitation and she does her magic. I tasked this girl with the most difficult envelope glue she had ever had to remove from an invitation, and she did such an amazing job. The scrolls were perfect, the words she chose to highlight and curl and swirl were just the right ones, the ornament was complete with a beautiful bow, and the overall look was classy, elegant, whimsical, and special. 

I truly enjoyed working with both Amber and Stacy on these personalized gifts, their communication, response times, and overall sales transactions were perfection. I would order from each of them again with any special projects.

Six Luxurious Shades of Gray

Benjamin Moore ~ Willow Creek

Benjamin Moore ~ Metro Gray

Benjamin Moore ~ Stone Harbor

Benjamin Moore ~ Chelsea Gray

Benjamin Moore ~ Eagle Rock

Benjamin Moore ~ Cape May Cobblestone