Comments on the style saloniste: Thank You for Four Wonderful Years!

Hello Diane, happy anniversary and my sincere apol...

2013-09-02T15:06:14.403-07:00

Hello Diane, happy anniversary and my sincere apology for not commenting sooner.

Your blog succeeds in delighting and inspiring me every day. I feel very privileged to have found you as a sort of virtual mentor, giving me the upbringing I wish I had. haha!! We all need teachers, even at 43, and you are one of mine! :)

Happy anniversary and also kudos to Brian. I did not know you had an art director! Lovely photos of him - I love his style already (great office!). I will check out his site!

Best, Terri

Congrats Diane, and thanks for all of the wonderfu...

2013-08-05T06:34:09.014-07:00

Congrats Diane, and thanks for all of the wonderful material! Here's to 4 more years of success! Loved the photos of India, by the way. I went to Mumbai a few years ago and found it deeply inspiring and opened me up to a whole new world I never new existed. I'd love to get back and see more of that beautiful country.

Diane, thank you for all of the inspiring and educ...

2013-08-05T06:31:21.417-07:00

Diane, thank you for all of the inspiring and educational posts, and beautiful photographs over the past 4 years! I have enjoyed reading and look forward to more!

DEAREST G- You are right--I love to go off the b...

2013-08-02T16:28:54.651-07:00

DEAREST G-

You are right--I love to go off the beaten track.

And for my travel stories...I write about places and people and locations that have not been exposed.

Sailing on 'The Road to Mandalay' last year--and going far north up the Irrawaddy was such a trip of discovery.
I love to see places I've never seen photos of (grammar...)...something I am seeing for the first time.
For Burma there were very very few books...none, really...of any information, so it was pure discovery. Same with going off the map in Cambodia.
And in India esp. I always visit schools, meet the teachers and the children, and take school supplies with me...I love to give each child pens and pencils and notebooks...to put it directly into their hand. And it's exciting to chat to them, ask them what they re studying, what they want to be when they grow up (often, teachers...which is wonderful)...and encouraging, always, girls to stay in school.
I like to have a very strong framework/plan for my travels, based on research--and then to have impromptu visits, off the map, encounters with great people, and lots of time for the unexpected and unknown as well.
BOOKS! So very important. Stay posted as I have more new books...often out of print...to recommend upcoming...Yes, books are essential.
Oh, and watch for poems...coming next week and in future...
fondest. You were one of my very very first readers and we've been friends ever since...xx D

DEAR CAROL- I love your blog posts about Paris. ...

2013-08-02T16:23:15.548-07:00

DEAR CAROL-

I love your blog posts about Paris.

And I've always followed your blog for your beautiful paintings (I aspire to be an even...good...watercolorist.

Keep writing and keep painting. You're the best...

thank you DIANE

DEAR PAM AT RED TICKING-- THANK YOU! You are ri...

2013-08-02T16:22:11.556-07:00

DEAR PAM AT RED TICKING--

THANK YOU!

You are right--I do a lot of research for all of my features--and I love to find books that my lovely readers have not yet discovered...always important.
Lifelong learning...and reading. I know you have a great eye for books, also.
very best, DIANE

Dear DelRae- I loved your perfumes..they are so ...

2013-08-02T16:20:42.769-07:00

Dear DelRae-

I loved your perfumes..they are so elegant and chic and always do individual.

Yes, wit it important in all my stories...and I love to be a little frisky...just as your perfumes have that 'witty' and frisky element...fragrance can be fun, too.

very best, DIANE

Dear Columnist- It is so wonderful to hear from ...

2013-08-02T16:19:08.558-07:00

Dear Columnist-

It is so wonderful to hear from you.
You've been a faithful reader from the very start...and I always love to receive your messages from Thailand...how wonderful.

very best DIANE

My dear Diane, Many congratulations. You have gi...

2013-08-02T12:37:06.066-07:00

My dear Diane,

Many congratulations. You have given us the most enthralling and insightful four years of your time. You take us into the seductive world of design and architecture with your typical style of mixing accessible language and a wealth of knowledge that penetrates into the world where most people think is impenetrable.

You travel widely but your choice of destination is always sui generis and unpredictable. With you, this year, we saw the exotic world filled with the deep blue sea, the golden pagodas, the magnificient sunsets and the forgotten partitions ancient civilisation. Your descriptions of such places are dazzling with heartfelt optimism.

I'm most grateful to you for recommending Sitwell's long forgotten travel book, "Escape With Me". Like Sitwell, you write with a rare insight of a cognoscenti - a blend of personal reminiscence, history, architecture, the esoteric, the local culture and cuisine - enlivened with an eye that understands people of all backgrounds, their taste and rituals.

But my dear, I can't believe we know each other for four years!!! It seems like we've been friends forever.

Bravo, Diane!!

Best wishes,

G.

Simply fabulous and beyond fabulous I'm speec...

2013-08-01T22:16:01.190-07:00

Simply fabulous and beyond fabulous
I'm speechless with awe
Your pictures are so heavenly..well it's all heavenly.
Bravo Diane for staying the blogging course and taking us along on your grand adventures.

dear diane.. i have been following for a long ti...

2013-08-01T21:24:34.673-07:00

dear diane..

i have been following for a long time now and each time i read your posts i have a deeper respect for you.
your thorough research and passion are unlike anything i have ever come across.

i have something special to ask you and if you can kindly email me at [email protected] i would sincerely appreciate it.

thank you, pam

and bravo on 4 years... and here is to many many more...

Dear Diane, Thank you for one of the most inspiri...

2013-08-01T10:21:46.246-07:00

Dear Diane,

Thank you for one of the most inspiring and beatiful blogs out there....
I look forward to many more years of your insight, wit and fun!
xo
DelRae

Congratulations. Your posts are always fascinating...

2013-07-31T21:58:24.830-07:00

Congratulations. Your posts are always fascinating - well written and well photographed - and it's always a joy to see what new adventures you've been up to. The very best of luck for the future!

DEAR TRICIA- It's so wonderful that these re...

2013-07-31T18:21:05.996-07:00

DEAR TRICIA-

It's so wonderful that these recent travels have captured my readers...beyond my expectation, even.

Certainly the Burma stories...George Orwell's house (hidden for almost a century...with Burma closed off to the world...) and people and temples in Angkor and India, definitely.

I love to inspire my readers to travel--to see the world as a place to discover--and to travel boldly.

I've also loved presenting new designers.

Thanks Tricia---I am so glad you are such a great companion and vivid presence on this adventure.

see you soon, DIANE

Dear Mary- Thank you so much. It's marvelous...

2013-07-31T18:18:25.615-07:00

Dear Mary-

Thank you so much. It's marvelous to hear from you.

fondest DIANE

You make my world larger Diane - here's to the...

2013-07-31T17:50:36.034-07:00

You make my world larger Diane - here's to the next four years of travels, elegance and observation!

And a million thank you's for taking me along ...

2013-07-30T21:05:28.256-07:00

And a million thank you's for taking me along on your fantastic adventures and interview. Here's to another fantastic 4!!
Mary

DEAR PHILIP- THANK YOU SO MUCH. I always take m...

2013-07-30T18:34:40.318-07:00

DEAR PHILIP-

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I always take my readers along with me...to see the maharaja's cars being polished (for a car rally)...and to climb a granite mountain, 765 steps...up to the top at sunset...and the lovely Burmese sisters at the family shrine...I loved looking back when I was selecting these 'greatest hits' images from recent trips.
There were so many I loved.
YES...ORWELL'S HOUSE...the key element here is that I had to first be sure WHICH TOWN...on the Irrawaddy...as he disguised it in his books. I arrived there on the river cruise ship---and then went in search of it...found someone who seemed to know...and went off in a cycle rickshaw...into the unknown...if only you know...I first found a building, decrepit...that was most likely a British club (the British left in the forties...)...and a tennis court fromt the days, and and assorted...and then...a little further along the road...no signs, none...I walked up the garden path...calling out, with my cycle rickshaw man following (no guide)...and called out again...noone there...'yes, this is Orwell house' said my local authority...I took the photos, uncertain if anyone would shout...and then walked into the house, calling out again...no-one. took the other photos...and then the man arrived home, govt person...he left me to my own devices. It started to rain a little...this was it. So really, my readers are seeing such a rare rare report, rare photos. I was surprised to see the March story in NYT...with almost the same photo exterior...actually the same shot/angle mine better. But it was the experience...going there and not know what would happen...and then reporting it for my readers. That's the thing. I'm so glad you liked it. Yes...this is rare...(no signs, none...). I hope you go there one day. very best DIANE

Dear Peggy- You are one of my longest and most l...

2013-07-30T17:28:36.336-07:00

Dear Peggy-

You are one of my longest and most loyal readers.

Thank you so much. I enjoy your feedback and comments very much.

Stay tuned...lots of new ideas and concepts and inspirations in the fall. I love to hear from you.

DIANE

Dear Jennifer- THE PEAK OF CHIC is so divine...a...

2013-07-30T17:27:08.976-07:00

Dear Jennifer-

THE PEAK OF CHIC is so divine...and you and I have been friends from the beginning of my blogging. I'm pleased.

Thank you for your comment about the Bazaar piece on Denise Hale. I've had wonderful feedback...everyone reads Bazaar.

Also...I'll see you in HB...so many connections.

very best, DIANE

DEAR DAWN- I'm so glad you discovered the bl...

2013-07-30T17:25:30.476-07:00

DEAR DAWN-

I'm so glad you discovered the blog...when researching John Dickinson.

This is almost the only source for any information--and certainly the only one for information as personal and detailed and insider as mine.

Be sure to stay in touch, DIANE

What an amazing 4 years it has been + Congratulati...

2013-07-30T15:59:18.690-07:00

What an amazing 4 years it has been +
Congratulations. I am excited each time I see an e-mail from The Style
Saloniste. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com

Dear Diane, it has been an extraordinary four year...

2013-07-30T15:33:19.075-07:00

Dear Diane,
it has been an extraordinary four years of superlative posts -congratulations, and thank you for the inspiration. It is a great achievement -some of the best writing presented in any blog, with original photography, Brian's elegant presentation, and transporting features on design, books, travels and more. Orwells's house was one of my favorites of the places you shared -and there were so many to choose: a palace the stuff of dreams, the vintage cars being polished in India, a downpour in cambodia -if I go i will promise to bring those pencils and supplies for the schoolchildren. To paraphrase a quote from a special moment you shared, in reading your posts I am ..."taking it in, listening, seeing, smiling."

DEAR DEBRA- It's so lovely to hear from you....

2013-07-30T13:11:56.640-07:00

DEAR DEBRA-

It's so lovely to hear from you.

I hope all is well...and that the challenges are moving away, out of sight, passed and gone.

You are such a bright and generous spirit--and I admire you enormously.

very best and thanks DIANE

DEAR CRISTIN- It's much too long since I'...

2013-07-30T13:10:52.095-07:00

DEAR CRISTIN-

It's much too long since I've seen you.

I hope all is well...and that things are sunny down on the Peninsula...sunnier than the foggy city right now.

Stay in touch...and check on upcoming seminars through UC Berkeley interiors department...one coming in October you would like...best DIANE