Crave

The new edition of Crave Austin is hot off the presses and we’re proud to be a part. Below our debut in the “ultimate guide to women-owned business in Austin” and a few of our friends that made it too!

Above and Below: Beehive owned by Claire Fields. Her eye is incredible and we share a love of Slim Aarons prints among other things…http://www.beehiveaustin.com/

Below: Touch of Sass owned by Currie Bucher. Amazing selection of accessories and the space is incredible. She’s right downtown – go! http://www.touchofsass.net/

Above and Below: Spruce by Amanda Brown This girl knows how to run a business…and reupholster about anything you can think of. Love her style, vision and go-get-em’. http://spruceaustin.com/

Below: Suzy Ranney and Paper Place. Suzy has been such a helpful voice of wisdom and experience and she knows more about paper than anyone in Austin…http://www.paperplaceaustin.com/

http://thecravecompany.com/austin/

Sydney

Above from left: Vail, Sydney, Boone, (heroic) Todd and Mary Haven.

Sydney at one point launched a jewelry business and later managed ultra chic Capitol http://www.capitolcharlotte.com/

Above: This vintage wallpaper covers the downstairs bathroom, an ebay find of Sydney’s. Maybe my favorite ever.

Above: Sydney and dear friend (of hers and mine), Kaitlin Rose. As seen above the mantle, Sydney had amazing taste in art.

Below: snapshots from the trunk show she hosted for me.

Southern Charm

Above: Sunset over the Mississippi.

Above and below: The Duke Mansion in Charlotte, North Carolina. Everything about this place – even the bathroom – is romantic… http://www.dukemansion.com/

Above: Virginia ham biscuits served at every event. What’s not to love?

Above: Lynchburg Lemonade was the cocktail hour drink of choice:
Jack Daniels and lemonade.
 
 
Below: Margaret Andrews Dillard was the quintessential southern bride.
Ever elegant and gracious…
 
Below: The mountains of North Carolina. Home sweet home.

Lookbook Shoot

We recently shot the first Katie Maennle lookbook. With the help of friends and fellow creators Lizzie and Kathryn Fortunato of Lizzie Fortunato Jewels and Kate Dougherty, a talented and in-demand movie set designer, we couldn’t have asked for a better team. Jeannie Hampton of Hamptonworks was our fearless photographer braving the Texas heat. Here a behind the scenes look at the shopping, styling and shooting.

Left to right: Kathryn Fortunato, Katie Maennle, Kate Dougherty, Lizzie Fortunato.

Lizzie and Kate brainstorm for the indoor shoot.

The outdoor shots were taken at Laguna Gloria, a 1916 restored Villa now a part of the Austin Museum of Art.

Kathryn keeps LFJ running smoothly.

Cooling off!

www.lizziefortunatojewels.com

www.kated.net

http://hamptonworks.com

Happy Wedding Season


I love black and white. You can’t go wrong with the classic combination. Add a pop of color (I went with green) and you’ve got a perfect palette.

Below, flower girl dresses I designed and convinced my mom to sew…

The bridesmaids’ gifts were custom creations by Lizzie Fortunato Jewels. Below my sister in the necklace designed for her.

Ali went for preppy-southern with classic navy and yellow palette. Below what we came up with for save the dates and invitations and the boys in their cute ensembles. For the bridesmaid dress design we created a pleated seersucker frock with movable/removable seersucker rosettes and a navy sash.

Kait went with yellow, black and white and used silhouettes of she and Doug in various cute and clever ways. Kait entrusted the bridesmaid dress design to me (my first) and I loved that she had us in white too. We did a shift and a strapless version, each girl getting to choose and finished them off with black sashes.

Sarah had the most amazing combination of rustic and elegant at a vineyard outside of Austin. Helping her with creative direction was a blast though she didn’t need much help!

Above, brad-embellished save the dates. Below, the invitation was letterpressed in a heavy pocket-fold

Cowboy boots were the perfect touch for the bridesmaids and as guests we went with it too…

We created runners for the tables to help create a layered look.

Bottom right: fans as programs to help beat the Texas heat!

Photography by Amelia Tarbet. http://www.ameliatarbet.com/

Aspen Heights

In the U.S., Aspen Heights is redefining college housing. In Africa, they’re impacting housing and education for those in need. With a model that gives to Africa for every U.S. lease secured, there’s a lot here to love. Recently Katie accompanied them to the Mbirikani High School for Girls in Mbirikani, Kenya to see what they’re doing there which among other things is empowering young girls…

Above and below, their take on U.S. college housing

Katie with Aspen Heights partners Jason Sherman and Greg Henry in Mbirikani, Kenya

Above, Katie with Aspen Heights partners Jason Sherman and Greg Henry in Mbirikani, Kenya.

In the summer, college residents of Aspen Heights properties in the U.S. have a chance to go see the impact being made abroad. Above some of the girls on this year’s trip. Kara Guinn, Hailey Melancon, Johnae Jefcoat, Jennie Armstrong, Melissa Figueroa

Textiles and beading that are to die for.

More of the Aspen Heights team. Whitney Allison, Jason Sherman, Greg Henry, Jacob Critz, Melissa Figueroa

Dinner at the home of a Masai warrior. Pictured above, Katie with his mother.

Below, tie dying with the girls.

http://www.aspenheightsafrica.com/

Introducing Gallery Prints

Introducing Katie Maennle Gallery Prints. Custom created prints framed and ready to hang. We’ve always loved gallery walls. Now it’s easier to create your own.

Interior designer Caitlin Wilson created the gallery wall above – one of the best ones we’ve seen.  www.caitlinwilsoninteriordesign.com

Always loved the looks of the walls above but don’t know where to start? Below, our new collection of prints make it easy to get started. They’re framed and ready to hang.

Freedom of Expression

Above my dad during his time at West Point.

Below, a favorite ranch photo of mine. Taken by Bekah Klarr.

Coco Chanel brings French style to America in the 20′s.

The late Liz Taylor in the 1940′s.

THE style icon of the 1950′s, Babe Paley.

Freshmen at Duke arrive on campus in the 1960′s

Beach style in the 1970′s

In the 1980′s American women fell in love with a princess-turned-style-icon across the pond.

In the 90′s Americans met Kate Moss and have been emulating her style ever since.

Ralph Lauren, the ultimate purveyor of American style.