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30 POSTCARDS

Atlanta's
,'topdesign
rinloggers
evealtheir
vorite
tocalsources
for all things
ome
BY DAVID CHRISTENSEN

BY RACHEL CARDINA

fi.l AHC'L| 1o.o8

 FRoM LEFT:Jennifer Dwyer,Courtney Barnes,
C l i n t o nS m i t ha n d S u z a n n iC u l l e nH a m i l t o n- .

:o the raves
: a well-edit-
)n of one-of-
esh interpre-
ed, classic
es."-c.8.
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rr.{NTA,lo3o5,
. T! I N C . C O M

S
ES
As blogstakethe globeby storm,threeof the country'smost
recognized styleand designbloggerscallAtlantahome.ln
their first interviewtogether,AtlantaHomes& Lifestyles
EditorialDirectorClintonSmithsitsdown with the trio for tea
il
at The HighMuseumof Art'sTable12BO to discusstheirinflu-
enceamongdesignenthusiasts, aroundtown and afar,

CLINTONSMITH:What exactly do bloggers do?

SUZANNA HAMILTON:Our blogsare sourcesyou go to for sryleand designinfor-
mation; they'remore than just personalopinions. It's not just, "Oh, I found a green
plate today at such'and-suchshop";there'ssome substanceto back it up, whether
it's research,shoppinginformation or historicalcontext.

How did you get started? THE PANELISTS

, H E P E A KO F C H I C
J E N N I F E RD W Y E R T
JENNIFERDWYER: My backgroundis
With a lifelong interest in design history,
in business,but I have this very intense Dwyer created thepeakofchic.comin 2006
interest in design and designhistory and as a way of sharing that knowledge with
others who have similar interests.In turn,
everything about it. I knew that I want-
she has created an online community of
ed to get into the design field but not kindred sDirits.
necessarilyin the traditional way I was
COURTNEY B A R N E SS
. T Y L EC O U R T
trying to figure out what I wanted to do.
An avid reader ot design magazinesand
Did I want to be a decorator? Did I books on the decorativearts, Barnesorig-
want to design fabric? I knew nothing inally started stylecourt.blogspot.comas
an online book and magazineclub. lt has
about blogs-at all. And then rt was one
since evolved into a online emporium of
ofthose things: I was either reading the current style news and events.
paper or watching CNN and came
acrosssomething about a political blog- S U Z A N N AC U L L E NH A M I L T O N .
B Y G E O R G EI F O U N DI T
ger. I thought. "Oh that's interesting. With training as an antiques dealer,
Why can't I do a designblog?" Hamilton combines her knowledge of dec-
orative arts and design with her favorite
discoveriesfrom her global travels on
What kind of dialogue did it create? bygeorgeifoundit.blogspot.com.
COURTNEYBARNES:Blogsare sort of
like online book clubs,but I don't like the word'club'becauseit soundsexclusive.
J.D.: It was arnazlngto me that there were so many other people who love design
history as much as I do, becausein my own life, I did not know other people who
were interested in that. It's probable that many of my readersdon't evenwork in the
design world. And all of a sudden, it was like this whole community kind of came
together It keepsgrowingbyleapsand bounds.
 2.
B. BRAITHWAITE
" N a n c y B r a i t h w a i t e ' se x q u i s i t ee y e
a n d d e m a n d f o r i m p e c c a b l eq u a l -
ity combined with Chaffee'ssense
of fun guarantee that the store is
a treasure trove of all the best for
a d u l t s a n d c h i l d r e n . "- S . H
rr98Howrlr Mrlr Rp..ArraNra,3o3r8.
(4oQ6o5o - 9 6 3n; ourrHwarrE.coM

3.
MeNoeRrNANrrq*urs
"There's not a better selection of
Asian treasures ranging from
1 8 t h - c e n t u r yp o r c e l a i na c q u i r e da t
Sotheby's to more modestly
p r i c e d r e p r o d u c t i o nl a c q u e r e d
c h e s t s .A l l t h a t , o f f e r e d a l o n g w i t h
l a m p - m a k i n gs e r v i c e s t, o o ! " - C . 8 .
7oo Mtavt Crn..ArlaNra.So]24.
(4oq)467-t727;
MAN DARr NANTIqU E Sr N C . C O M

4.
Myorr Sruoro
"The most sophisticatedand expe-
rienced framer in the Southeast.
Trust Myott implicitly."-S H.
r36oBoro Avr. NW Arr-aNr,l.3o3t8,
(4o$ 43- zo63;MYorrsruDIo.coM

o
NrrueN Mancus Honar
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" M i c h e l eK a h n i s t h e g u r u o f a l l
t h i n g s r e l a t e dt o t a b l e s e t t i n g s
a n d g r a c i o u s l i v i n g . "- J . D .
LENoxSqu,rnr.3393PracHrnrr Ro.
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Who is your reader?
J.D.:I havea lot who are in their 3os.but I
havereaderswho are in their 6os. too.
S.H.:Mine are definitelyolder.I hear from
people all over Germanll the UK. out
\Vest. I've been surprised by the kind of
peoplewho are readingblogs from CEOs
of corporationsto Wall Street rypeswhom
you would never think blogswould even be
on their radars,but they're taking time out
to follow what we write, so it's been a pleas-
ant sufPrlse.
C.B.: I hear from a lot of students.such as
those from SCAD. Plus. people in Asia,
Australia.India. al1ovcr.

What about this misconception that

mature readers aren't logging on?
S.H.:Oh, thei/rc definitell' logging on, but
thclire not looking for the cheapestplaceto
stay or the least expensivethings to buy
They want to know about qualiq:

There's been a lot of talk about the

democratization of design, and blogs
are revealing design sources that have
historically been available exclusively
to members of the design trade. All of
your blogs are champions of easy
access. ls that going to change the
way people decorate?
S.H.:Absolutely it's going to changethings.
The Internet haschangedthe way we live-
from buying carsto rcal estateto travel. It's
opened up a world of knowledge, and I
think that people are going to live differ-
ently Designwill be a part of that.
 7.
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