This Week I was @.........

............Bellwether Landscape Architects, San Marco USA, Scout For The Home and a Photo Shoot.

The thing about blogging is that you can go for several days without writing a post, you just might not have been inspired and you just shouldn't force writing if your heart is not in it.  Then all of a sudden you have so much to write about at once so it makes up for your writers slump.  This was me this week, too busy to stop and smell the roses but Wednesday it hit me!!

I spend my Mondays with Missy, Todd, and Sarah at Bellwether Landscape Architects.  Their new office space is great and it is always fun to see the new renderings that Sarah has created.  I will post some of them sometime but for now, you will just have to visit their website, www.bellwetherla.com.

Tuesday I was at San Marco USA and my friends Chris Holt and and Cindy Kauffman of Holt Interiors and Iron Studio, www.holt-interiors.com, came to check out the product.  I know that a lot of designers and architects are embracing these mineral based paints and plasters but I determined to keep spreading the word.  I am doing some writing for Chris and Mike at San Marco and I have to say that this has been one of my more interesting projects, I learn something new every time I am in their studio and I just can't believe that these products aren't more mainstream.  Follow their blog, sanmarcousa.wordpress.com, you will recognize a lot of the project photos featured there.

Wednesday I was at Scout for the Home while Nancy was out meeting with clients and could not help but focus on certain silhouettes, colors and textures surrounding me.  Take a peak........

Love these lamps!

Of course, Jennifer Bates pottery, great silhouettes, texture and color.

Love this new table!

These pillows are such a great combination of texture and color, you just want to touch them.

Beautiful Leaf Bowls......

and driftwood bowl.

These cotton placemats are another great combination of color and texture....

as are these burlap ottomans.

I ended yesterday with a photo shoot for Ryan Duffey and Cameron Thurman, you will have to wait to see the pictures but it will be worth it!

Happy Friday!!!

Tonight I am @.....

..the voting polls for the Beacham ad space contest

Ad Contest Finalists!! Vote away! | This Photographer's Life

www.thisphotographerslife.com



I need all of my friends to go vote for our good friend Ryan Duffey of J. Ryan Duffey Design.  Please click on the above link and help him win ad space in the fabulous publication that is the Beacham Series.  You can also click on the link to the right to vote.

Last night I was @.....

.........Taqueria Tsunami, www.taqueriatsunami.com. 

Last night was the first of many networking happy hours.  Help me come up with a name for it please.  Anyhow, the owner of Taqueria Tsunami is the nicest man and was kind enough to allow us to meet there. Hopefully a win, win for everyone; business for them and a place for all of us to catch up.

I have had requests to make this a monthly event so I will let you know as soon as I set the next date.  Thanks to everyone who came, I had fun and hopefully you ran into some people you didn't know or haven't seen in a while.

Monica Murphy-Perez and her brother Chef Matthew Murphy, of Three Blind Mice, were there and I wanted everyone to share their latest accolade in the AJC.  Be sure to read the article to the right and I posted the picture below.

This is making me hungry!

If you or anyone you know need help organizing any sort of events, please call or email me and I would be happy to help.

404-213-6606, kristinmayfieldmeredith@gmail.com

Rodolfo Castro

Hey Everyone,

Rodolfo Castro was chosen for Houzz Best of Remodeling 2012.  I have tagged it on the right side of my screen, be sure to take a look, it is the 3rd picture.  Click somewhere on there and I am sure it will take you to the actual page, it's my first time to imbed something so let me know if you have any problems.

Yay Rodolfo!!

one more thing

I want to add that San Marco USA is here in town and located at 554 North Avenue.  You should come check out their products if you are working on any projects that could be a fit.  Their website is san-marcousa.com.  And do read their blog so you can see what the buzz is about!

Last night I was @.....

.......well, actually, "in", my bed.

This post is for, but not limited to, my friends in Architecture.

I know I am not the only one out there who wakes up in the middle of the night with a racing mind.  I have to keep a notebook by my bed to write down ideas when they come and then I pick up my kindle and read myself to sleep.

Last night I was between books, I just finished The Hunger Games, and needed to start a new book.  The time I have for reading is so limited that I will spend more time choosing a book than it would actually take to read it.  Nonetheless, I keep my kindle loaded with classics for situations like this and last night I chose to read Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady.  

I have been doing some writing and blogging for San Marco, which is originally an Italian company that creates sustainable paints.  I was hoping to find a book that inspired me; a period piece, based somewhere in Europe.  After I exhausted myself on Amazon, the already downloaded book I chose happened to be just what I needed.  I read, and re-read, the preface a few times, making notes.  Henry James was comparing the development of a character to architecture, piling "brick upon brick for the creation of interest".  More importantly, he was referring to Venice throughout the Preface.  While I was craving inspiration, he was writing about his.

James speaking of places like Venice:  "How can places that speak IN GENERAL so to the imagination not give it, at the moment, the particular thing it wants?"

James describing the outcome of The Portrait of a Lady:  "erecting on such a plot of ground the neat and careful and proportioned pile of bricks that arches over it and thus to form, constructionally speaking, a literary monument."  

There are so many more great quotes in the preface alone.  I have read some of this book before and recall that a portion takes place in Italy, once again I almost missed the obvious.

Feel free to send me any of your book recommendations.  Also, follow the San Marco blog, www.sanmarcousa.wordpress.com.

Thursday I was @.......

.........Holt Interiors

Interior Designer, Chris Holt, www.holt-interiors.com, is one of my very best friends from home.  We grew up together in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and luckily both ended up in Atlanta together.  

He will probably kill me for selecting this picture but it sums up our relationship, always making each other laugh.

In addition to making homes beautiful, Chris is also the co-owner of The Iron Studio, www.iron-studio.com.  I am going to help him with some new marketing pieces so we were meeting to discuss our approach.  It was so much fun to catch up with his fabulous assistant, Cindy,

and of course the Holt-Interiors mascot, Birch, such a cutie.

The first thing on my checklist was to head to The Iron Studio and take some pictures.  I will let you take a peak at a few.

I love all of these basic round finials.

These are the different finishes you can choose from.  

The Iron Studio can make just about anything, from brackets, rods, and finials, to furniture and planters.  

Stay tuned, I will send you one of the postcards when they are done.

Yesterday I was @...

.....Mudfire Pottery

You know I am always talking about Jennifer Bates Pottery, well yesterday, she and her friends at Mudfire Pottery, www.mudfire.com, were gracious enough to let me take a look inside their studio where they create these beautiful works of art.

This was a photo from a previous blog taken at Scout For The Home, where Jennifer sells her pottery exclusively.

Some of Jennifer's pieces, drying and completed. 

  One of the many artist's at Mudfire.

 Jennifer with one of her bowls in the drying room.

The amount of time and attention to detail that goes into creating each of these pieces is pretty amazing.  The only pottery I have done has been at a "Wired and Fired" with a group of my girlfriends and lots of wine.  Well I guess it is kind of the same, Mudfire has sofas where you can relax after leaning over the wheel for a long time and enjoy a diet coke and a snack with a friend.  Great friendships are formed here, I can tell, because these artist's spend a lot of time in this studio.  Everyone is so complimentary of each other's work.  I even got a VIP tour of the gallery, take a peak.  Be sure to click on the images so you can really see the detail.

 They invited me to join them but I think my attention span might be too short for this process.  I left this serene environment with a newfound respect for this art form but not before getting a picture with my friend Jennifer.

One last thing I wanted to show you was this....

I saw this as I was pulling out of the parking lot and I had to take a picture because this really summed up the vibe I got from Mudfire Pottery.  

Thanks to the Ladies and Gentlemen who welcomed me into their home away from home!

Today I was @.....

.....an appointment with my career coach.

John Long with Two Roads Resources is my career coach.  exploretworoads@att.net

My husband, Duncan, encouraged me to find someone like this to help me figure out what it is I really want to do.  Over a year ago, John helped me revise my resume and he was able to recommend different jobs he had seen posted based on my skills.  He also has an arsenal of websites and literature to recommend to help you learn more about what you think you want to do and jobs that are out there as well.  Visit his website!

When I visited him today I found he had added another credential to his title, "Life Coach".  Whether you are changing jobs, positions, or careers, your life is usually greatly affected and he is able to help you make the transition easier.

After my first session, he recognized that I needed to use my creativity and turn it into my career.  That is a scary step when you are used to having a traditional 8-5 job with a regular paycheck, benefits and paid vacation.  Today's session was to help me describe clearer to you, my readers, the purpose of my blog.  

Kristin Mayfield Meredith @ is about connecting creative people.  I have been helping individuals find different leads for jobs, planning special events, designing affordable websites, and structuring business organization before your business becomes overwhelmingly busy.

I am working on my new website which will show you the work I have been doing and introduce you to my clients.  It will also be a marketplace for my jewelry which I love to design.

I hope you will pass my info along if you know anyone who could use my services.

As always, John had great recommendations for me, down to how many hours a day I need to spend on what.  I hope that any of you who need a little direction, even a resume tune-up, will call him, you will gain a lot.  He always tries to shake my hand but I have to embrace him because he a major boost to my self esteem.  Life Coach is a great word for John.

Today I was @.....

Lunch with Diane Coker.  A lot of you probably know Diane, she is Atlanta's Wolf and Sub-Zero expert.  I am so excited, their new showroom is going to be located in the Terminus building at the corner of Piedmont and Peachtree.  What a killer location.  They should have the showroom open for business in May so I am sure they will have lots of visitor's, much easier to access than the old location.  You can see the signs on the building when you drive by so be sure to make a mental note of the new location.

Have you eaten at Taqueria Tsunami?  (www.taqueriatsunami.com)  You must!  I have the same thing every time because it is always so delicious.  I have only been for lunch, so far, and I order the Tsunami Trio:  your choice of two tacos and a side.  Rising Sun Taco, Rich Man's Taco and their cucumber salad is my favorite combination.  I have yet to see any food left on a plate, that is a good sign.  Their beef empanadas are also delicious.



I have organized a networking happy hour for Thursday, March 22nd from 6-8 p.m. at Taqueria Tsunami.  My intent is to get people in the architecture and design arena together to meet people and hopefully learn about some new opportunities in the field.  I spoke to the owner of Taqueria Tsunami yesterday and he was excited about the idea of us meeting there.  He might even offer some specials that night.  Hopefully it will be a win, win for everyone; make some new connections and bring in new business to the restaurant.

If you or anyone you know would like to come, please do and be sure to bring your business cards, it should be fun!

Call me or email me if you need my help organizing any events, 404-213-6606 or kristinmayfieldmeredith@gmail.com

Today I will be @.....

Today I will be @ Bellwether Landscape Architects.  They just moved in to their new office space which they share with Tate Builders.  Tate Builders is owned by Steve and Emily Tate and Steve has done really great work for Summerour Architects and plenty of others. www.tatebuildersinc.com.

I will post some photos of Steve's work as soon as I can.  He does work here, the Carolina's and in the Bahamas.  I am sure there is a lot more I am leaving out so stay tuned.

I am currently working on my new website.  I will be selling my jewelry there and showcasing my portfolio of work and I will also have it linked to my blog.  

Tonight I am going to a fun event so I will tell you all about it tomorrow.

Have a fabulous day!

Yesterday I was @...

Scout For The Home, San Marco and Sprig Restaurant.

What a day!!  By the time I got home last night, I was too exhausted to write about it but what fun it was. 

I started at Scout For The Home - J. Ryan Duffey Design.  Ryan is officially out on his own now and doing great work and these two are under the same roof now.  

Lucky for me his mom is in town so I got to take a few shots of the proud mother and get a peak at the plans they are drawing up for a family vacation spot in Fredericksburg, TX.

I was blown away by the vibrant pillows upon entry.

Gorgeous!

Huge selection of pottery by Jennifer Bates, my favorite!

Then I had to get a few shots of the built in desk and shelving that our friend, Cameron, at Phoenix Millworks created for Ryan and Nancy.  Stay tuned for Phoenixmillworks.net, coming soon.

 There's Hank taking a nap bottom left.

This is a great segue into my next stop.  Cameron painted the desk and shelving with paint by San Marco.

You will be hearing so much more about Chris Lewis and Michael Aiken as I start helping them out with their blog and other social media.  Take a look at all of these colors, who knew it was possible to get all the aesthetic results of paint without the toxicity or lingering smell?

 There are drawers and drawers of paint swatches, but you can also personalize your own color.

Interior and Exterior Paints.  You probably don't realize it but you have been seeing this product in Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles, Veranda, etc. used by well known designers and Architects.

 I was able to get a bike ride in so I could soak up some vitamin D and breathe some fresh air.  Then I finished my day at Sprig Restaurant.

Sprig, www.sprigrestaurant.com, is a farm to table restaurant right by my house and I can't get enough of their soups.  Last night I sat at the bar and observed the bartender creating a new signature cocktail.  They do mix awesome drinks and they use several of the organic labels that have been featured in Garden and Gun.  This one started with an organic scotch, lemon and aeromatic bitters and ended with a ginger syrup, made right before my eyes.  He let me taste the concoction, it was really good and I am not even a scotch drinker.

Please have dinner there soon, it is delicious!!

Let's see what happens today!!!