both of these amazing forces of nature arrived in memphis yesterday:  the incredibly gifted interior designer/preservationist/art historian, and the first snow of the season.  knowing my admiration for mr. jayne, our generous friends melissa and tim adams kindly included me as their guest at a reception for him (in town to speak to the brooks museum’s decorative arts trust.)   because of the snow and resulting power outage, the party was cozy and candle-lit (much preferred by mrs. jones – more flattering, you know.) i met some very lovely people, and got to have my backstage moment with thomas –  he is just completely gracious, clever, engaging and brilliant.  at 6 feet 8, nattily turned out in a glen plaid suit, checked shirt, and his signature bow tie, he is quite a presence, even without electricity.

his wonderful presentation today, “a yankee decorator in the american south”, touched on the things he believes in (and that i think make his work so special): awareness of place, an understanding of history, and the value of hospitality; living comfortably with beautiful things.  thomas’s sense for both history and humor, combined with his fabulous use of color, make him just a total rock star in mrs. jones’s book.  please forgive my gushing…a glimpse at thomas jayne studio will explain everything.

afterwards, in saying good-bye, mr. jayne looked at my scarf and paid me the ultimate compliment: “mrs. parish would have loved this!”  (a reference, of course, to that goddess of design, sister parish, with whom thomas worked at parish-hadley associates)  (okay, i am NEVER taking it off!)

snow, thomas jayne, my lucky scarf