Inspiration

As regular readers of the blog will have read last week, I was heading to New York, for some lovely book events. I flew in last Friday. I woke early, of course, on Saturday morning - and went out for a wonderful walk in the sunshine.

The Chrysler building looking as beautiful as always, way uptown.

I went for a wander in Chinatown, and across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Early morning food markets opening...

The tower of the Municipal Building gleaming in the sunshine.

A tiny memory of old New York, masts down at the South Street Seaport.

The beautiful view back...

Not somewhere I would be able to walk....

All sorts were out on the Bridge that morning.

I made my way over to the village for a delicious breakfast at Vaentina's apartment - and then we walked up the High Line - for a little way, because I can't say that we were the only people who'd had that idea on a sunny Saturday morning.... it was like being on a conveyor belt (albeit a very beautiful one).

We we meeting friends uptown so had a glorious walk in Central Park, looking so beautiful in the autumnal light.

Upper East Side vibes.

Even more Upper East Side vibe.

Back downtown that evening.

And the next day.

It was a day of seeing friends, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Valentina and I had friends with my lovely old friends and clients, Ann and Jacob.  I reminisced with Ann about this story - from the very earliest days of the blog, really.  Worth a read.  A long time ago but a good tale.

I walked home that evening through Soho and loved this window filled with a warm glow.

I had an interlude at Cornell, in Ithaca, on Monday - I'd been asked by some of the students to come up and give a talk about the work in our studio. A thought-provoking and very enjoyable evening. I loved the studio, complete madness. See what I mean?

But I was up before dawn the following morning for a very early flight back down to New York.

The towers of the city gleamed at first sunrise.

Zoe from the studio had arrived the day before. So we met and had a lovely walk through downtown.  The sunshine was gleaming, bouncing around.

My old apartment from all those days ago, the top two left hand windows of the six storey walk-up that I called home for my last three years, and which I loved so much. You can imagine the beautiful view...

Lunch in the village and then back to the hotel.

Drinks at all-time favourite, Odeon, with my friend Jack.

Back to the hotel - velvet sky - and a book dinner uptown!

At my wonderful friend Lulu's beautiful showroom - which looked so beautiful.    It was much more civilised to start than to finish!

Lulu founded the brilliant SOANE BRITAIN, which I am sure many readers will already know well. She is a great friend, and it's always amazing to see what they do with beautifully hand-crafted furniture, fabrics and papers, all produced, without exception, in the UK. It was wonderful to see the beautiful new New York showroom in the flesh. It's heaven. The only disappointment is that Lulu's not allowed to stay here.  I think that's a rule I might have to break.

We rolled out quite late, ready, after a wonderful and very happy dinner.

The next day, Zoe and I went for lunch at the beautiful office of Peter Pennoyer, the brilliant practice which does so much fantastic work. Last year, Peter won the Driehaus award and it was very nice to spend a little time together. Their work is so fine, but the studio was on a next level of beauty, and organisation... I shouldn't quite say jealous making (but it really was).

Zoe and I walked back in the gorgeous sunshine to the Lower East Side.

Always a quick visit to the Union Square Greenmarket.

And then more book events...  That evening it was the book party, surrounded, of course, by some of my favourite people!  Thank you to the brilliant Freeman's | Hindman for a wonderful, wonderful party, although my time was rather too busy signing books rather than having a ball which was definitely happening around the corner.

[caption id="attachment_32629" align="aligncenter" width="854"] Guess what? I had managed to keep the fact that it was my birthday completely secret. We hurtled downtown to Valentina's apartment in the village for shepherd's pie and chocolate cake. A brilliant evening. Can I admit to feeling a bit tired the next morning?[/caption]

We had lunch at Grand Central...

Followed by a fantastic conversation with Stellene Volandes, at Morris & Co - a really wonderful time, which ended all too quickly... (here I am with LEGENDARY New York Bookseller Helen Garfield of the Assouline Bookstore... Helen, meeting you was one of the highlights of the trip!).

And then a lecture about some of our work, and the ideas behind it all, at the ICAA - held at the fantastic New York School of Interior Design which will be posted online soon. Lots of fantastic questions to follow, and then with more book signings.

If you'd like your own signed copy of the book, just click through to the shop page here!  Now that I'm back in London, there'll be a lot more signed (and personalised, if you wish) copies winging their way out of Lambs Conduit Street very soon.

All too soon, the week was drawing to a close. I had one last walk around Soho, before lunch with a client...

(of course making a second or third visit to legendary John Derian...)

And another visit to a new brilliant place, Christopher Cawley in Chinatown...

And a last walk up to the Brooklyn Bridge, on the most beautiful evening of all.

A huge full moon rose over the Manhattan Bridge.

The city skyline had never looked more beautiful.

Sunset over the Statue of Liberty.... whose message feels ever more relevant today.

And one last look at the beautiful skyline of midtown, as the sun set.

Charlie has been in Rousay all this time, with the dogs and with Henry, having the most beautiful weather for nearly all of my absence. He's been hard at work in the garden.

Three views that he'd messaged me while I was away....

When I was heading uptown, I'd done a little comparison.  Rousay and Manhattan are both about 2.5 miles wide; and from the southern tip of the Battery, to about half-way up Central Park, is the length of Rousay.

How strange that one island is so quiet, so gentle, so at one with nature, and time; with its population of just 220; the other is so astonishingly populated, so dense, so, just incredibly urban.

I really  love contrasts in life, and I really love New York City - but I'll still admit, I can't way to get back home. I'm writing from London this evening because I've got a few days of work down south, before heading back north, at last.  It feels like a long time since I left.