St. Nicholas Giclee Print

Ballard Designs commisions French artist Fabrice de Villeneuve every year to paint a collectible Santa Print. This year, They get a peek at Santa decorating for a very merry Ballard Christmas. Look closely and you'll find little Ballard touches everywhere, from the couture stocking in his hand to the Eiffel Tower ornaments on the tree.

Worldly elegance from Missisippi Delta - John-Richard Collection

Founded in 1980 in Greenwood, Mississippi, the John-Ricard collection is known for a strong design staff that travels the world for inspiration. Channeling cultural and historical influneces, they create distinctive, artisan-crafted furniture, lighting, mirrors, and decorative accessories.

Farewell to Barry Diller and IAC

Barry Diller's email to Spincos: " A long and winding road it has been since we began this enterprise 14 years ago. I know we are doing the exact right thing to give each of the principal businesses their independence - for the employees, for the shareholders and for the communities in which they operate, this is the correct course. I could go on and on with bromidic paeans to histories and futures, but what I want you all to know beyond the platitudes is that I am deeply grateful for the work over these years, and particularly to those who've spent the last 9 months with truly immense dedication bringing this concept home.

Now we're all off to new beginnings and new challenges... what a joy. "

Michael Aram Designs

These flower-shaped serving pieces are highly realistic, representing magical gardens where scale and color mix to create a sense of fantasy. The textures represent a metaphor for life itself- growth, vitality and pulsation.

The emotional response to Michael Aram's collections is intensified by the methods he employs. After studying art in New York in the late eighties, he took a life altering trip to India, similar to Grimm Brothers traveling across India in "The Darjeeling Limited.

There he discovered a rich metalworking tradition that inspired his turn toward hand-crafted design.
Aram established a home and workshop in New Delhi, creating pieces with a soulful quality and energy that reflect the craftsman's hand. The tension of line, form and meaning is a distinctive feature of the extraordinary Aram designs, inspiring thoughtful appreciation and a sense of ceremony in their day to day use.

English Rain Barrel

Antique British dollies found a new goal: to collect rainwater for the garden. This version has the charm of the original design details, including distinctive ribs that add strength and character.

We have been having tremendous rain storms, which would normally flood our backyard rendering it impossible to enjoy. Fortunately for the rain barrel it serves as a double bonus, capturing rain for my plants and preventing a sobbing backyard! We are comptiplating purchasing a 2nd one for the front yard. The rain has actually started washing away some of our foundation. We have done some patch work and redirecting of the gutters, but because we have a homeowners association a permanent rain barrel would be consisdered an "eyesore", that is why we are considering the collaspeible one.

I got my water barrel after the county I live in imposed water restrictions all last summer. So far this year I haven't even had to turn on the tap water! This works excellent. I highly recommend buying the diverter with the barrel as I had to make a seperate order after the barrel arrived to hook it up. Since buying, my neighbor has incorporated two of these into his landscape planning.Would be better with a larger overflow hose because water was pouring over the top due to the overflow not being able to handle the amount of water going in during a steady rain.Would also be better to have a longer hose to use the water so you didn't have to carry it in a watering can.

Willow Screen - Willow Fencing

I love my willow fencing. I put it up four years ago and, if a gypsy moth damaged tree had not fallen on it, I wouldn't be replacing it. It provides a natural, organic & attractive backdrop for my climbing roses, virginia creeper and clematis, as well as my garden pond. The fence has held up to all sorts of weather, but I think 5 years might be the max of it's useful life in this climate. I'm going to leave it up and cover it with replacement willow fencing. My neighbours used the willow screening to enclose an area off of one side of our deck for our dog It looks very attractive, natural and was simple to attach to the metal posts we already had. We used those heavy duty plastic "pull through, click tight" things to attach the willow to the posts.

Barclay Daybed

My favourite daybed from Ballard Designs.

Its sophisticated blend of linear lines and restrained curves give our Barclay Bed a subtle contemporary flair. Crafted of wood with rich espresso finish that coordinates with today's most popular accent pieces. Link spring included.