it’s the little discoveries that make cities great

Was on my way to meet up with a friend I had made from the Preservation Trades Conference in PA a few weeks back when I passed this little hidden gem.  Now it’s a hotel on 5th Ave in NYC so it’s not so hidden but I was passing the lobby along a side street before I made my way actually onto 5th.   And of course it was super fancy and I had no business being in this hotel but I just couldn’t resist.  I slipped inside as quietly as I could and stayed for a bit to admire the beauty and craftsmanship that had caught my eye from all the way across the street.

stunning

sighs...

images don’t do the design justice

 

morning runs along the Hudson River Trail were the perfect beginnings to my days up in nyc

and spent the evenings taking it all in...

wonder who was the mastermind behind these window displays

flower pickin’

The first day up in NY we worked from 9 until 10:30…a full day of setting up the showroom.  We were located in Pier 94 and its truly amazing to see the transformation of the spaces over the span of 24 hours.  Walking in the next morning the entire Pier looked phenomenal when only hours before it was a giant disaster of boxes and wrappings and a mess of people and things all mismatched out of place.  In the early part of the afternoon we loaded up in the truck and drove down into the Flower District and spent the rest of the afternoon picking out plants and flowers for our showroom.  Too much fun!  But even better, the one open space we found among the sea of cars just happened to be right outside a plaster studio! Fate? I think so… After parking I wandered in and met the guys that worked there and they showed me around a baby bit.  There was a certain point they wouldn’t take me past, gotta protect those trade secrets!  But they had a floor to ceiling length mirror made out of plaster moulding from a fireplace restoration they had completed somewhere  in the city.  Twas fabulous.  The studio is called Sculpture House Casting and serves as a foundry and casting studio.

lovely

shades of every color

the big apple

Got a chance to spend the past week up in NYC…working the NYIGF…and it was a blast but exhausting.  In true dill style I showed up to the airport early all set to fly out at 7:47 am on a Thursday morning only to discover the flight I booked happened to be for 7:47 pm.  Woops!  After more money and lots of finagling got a flight out early enough for a connecting flight up to the big apple only to then have that flight cancelled which then lead to me being tucked neatly into a taxi for 2 hours up to the CLT.   Finally made it and got to spend the next 6 days working and playing in the city of bright lights and never ending nights!

Flashy

there is definitely a certain energy that envelopes you in this place

 

a week away…

home sweet home

Once America's largest producer of Cork

adorned with elements of the trade...all tools from the original factory

6 states and 11 hours later…

Woohoo finally made it up to Lancaster, PA!  I am up here along with Charleston’s lead plasterer to do demonstrations over the next few days at the International Preservation Trades Workshop.  Super excited for the events  AND super excited about the hotel I’m in!  It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s “Historic Hotels” Program…this is my first ever Historic Hotel on the list I’ve visited!!  Called the Cork Factory Hotel, it once served as America’s Largest Manufacturer of Cork back in the 1800’s.

Check it out!

http://www.corkfactoryhotel.com/