Let’s face it, things change. As we navigate those twists and turns of fate we can only hope to move forward, seeing new things with a fresh eye. Like it or not, change is a constant. You can dread it (understandable) or you can choose to embrace it. That said, it has been more than five years since I began my adventure as Kitchens for Living.
I believe I have been true to my promise to share the latest design trends and product info for the heart of your home. We have frequently ventured out of the kitchen and even around the globe! I am so grateful for all the wonderful and talented kindred souls I have met along the way, fellow bloggers, designers and great organizations such as Modenus, Blanco, Brizo, Tile of Spain and many more. This blog has afforded me the opportunity to travel and bear witness to marvelous destinations and inspiring trade shows. Before this starts sounding too sad, let me tell you I have never felt so excited about the future and eager to explore new opportunities. 
This will be the last post for Kitchens for Living. From now on I will be able to merge two of the things I love, kitchen design and art with my new site, Artful Kitchens. A big THANK YOU to Leslie Carothers of The Kaleidoscope Partnership for her guidance and insight which lead me to discover a new path full of promise and possibilities. 
Artful Kitchens will focus on all the ways you can use creativity to personalize your kitchen. Artful spaces reflect who you are and the way you live.
The stunning tile above, by Walker Zanger, was featured at KBIS 2015 which I had the pleasure of attending with The Modenus Blog Tour Vegas. 
New products like this perfectly white quartz by Wilsonart enhance the kitchen with a feeling of crisp clean freshness!
Color is a primary element of the Artful Kitchen. We'll be talking a lot about that in an upcoming interview with Amy Wax of Color 911
We will continue to incorporate new products and technologies as they emerge and we will explore all the artful ways of creating a kitchen that reflects who you really are. I’m so excited, I hope you’ll join me and spread the word. Last but certainly not least, whether you are a brand or a consumer, I want to collaborate with you! 
Continue the conversation on Face Book or email me at ArtfulKitchensbyGlo@gmail.com
Back on the Road with Brizo and St. Jude's
Only days away from my next adventure, a reunion for all the bloggers who have been a part of Brizo’s Blogger 19.In case you don’t know, this is a bi-annual jaunt to fashion week sponsored by Brizo Faucets who teams up with fashion designer Jason Wu. I was a part of the second group to go back in September of 2010. Seems like eons ago! There have been many blogging trips since then but it will be great to reconnect with all the blogosphere peeps.
The reunion will be held in Memphis and since this is the number one question I get, I’ll answer right off the bat, no I’m not going to Graceland! Where we will be going is on a tour of the Brizo plant in Jackson, just outside of Memphis, where we will learn how their cutting edge products are produced. I always love to get an inside peak at the how’s and whys. It’s such a great tool to have for my clients.
We will also be spending a day at the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital which should be amazing. I recently learned that since 1962 treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to 80%! Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food.Wheels up on the 16th. Remember to follow me on FaceBook and Twitter. Look for #blogger19reunion on Twitter.
Brizo Does Memphis!
I haven’t even finished telling you about all the great products I learned about in New Orleans and it’s time to announce the next great event! If you’ve been a follower of Kitchens for Living for a while, you’ll remember my visit to fashion week in September of 2010 courtesy of Brizo Faucets. They continue to host a select group of design bloggers (known collectively as The Blogger 19) each season, on a trip to the Big Apple. They get to preview what’s in the pipeline for Brizo products AND to attend fashion designer Jason Wu’s runway show. I love fashion, in fact my first career was in fashion merchandising. I find a strong connection between fashion and design and Jason Wu really gets that. He has collaborated with Brizo for many years in a very mutually beneficial relationship. The next great event will be a reunion of Blogger 19 alumni July 16-18 in Memphis. We’ll be taking and exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of both the Brizo factory and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. I'm really looking forward to both. If you’re bored at work and you want to get your inspiration vibe on, check out this video featuring Jason’s latest collection as well as his take on his relationship with Brizo Faucets.
FASHION WEEK, BEHIND THE SCENES
I'll never forget attending fashion week in September 2010 courtesy of Brizo Faucets. It was an honor, to say the least, to have been invited to become a member of the illustrious "Blogger 19". Brizo goes way back with fashion's Golden Boy, Jason Wu. Since 2006, the two have joined in a unique collaboration, showing the world that high style can be achieved both at home and on the red carpet. The partnership began with Brizo's sponsorship of Jason's Spring 2007 Collection during Fashion Week in New York City in September 2006. Jason designed a dress exclusively for Brizo that was auctioned off in 2007 with proceeds benefiting DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS). Jason's involvement with Brizo now includes his own Jason Wu for Brizo Collection comprised of lavatory faucet and accessories for the well appointed Powder Room.
I attended the Jason Wu Spring 2011 show, got to learn a little about Brizo and met many fabulous bloggers who I am honored to have been included amongst. As an alumnus, I'm the lucky recipient of all the latest Brizo/Jason buzz. So for your enjoyment today I present a little eye candy, photos from Fashion Week held last week in NYC. All photos courtesy of photographer Jayme Thornton. If you'd like to view the rest of the photos click here
2012 DREAM
Last night I had a dream. Before I share it, let me back up a bit and set the scene. One of the nicest, no actually the BEST thing that has come out of this blog for me is to have been chosen by Brizo Faucets to attend Fashion Week in September 2010 as one of the "illustrious" members of the Blogger 19. This was followed by a trip to Toronto in January 2011, as a member of the Blanco Design Council, to attend IDS (International Design Show). I not only became acquainted with cutting edge state-of-the-art products but also with many talented folks in the blogging community.
Now Modenus, a go-to site for design dreamers as well as professionals, is sponsoring Blog Tour 2012. Veronika Miller, who I had the pleasure of sitting next to at the Jason Wu fashion show is the mastermind behind this venture. They are currently selecting the blogger line up for some new design adventures. All this must have been lurking in the outer recesses of my mind when I went to sleep. To sleep perchance to dream!Hubs and I arrive at a hotel and check in. We are down in the lobby where I discover that a great meeting is about to take place. It's an advance gathering of potential candidates for the 2012 Blogger World Tour! Lo and behold, in walks in the King of Kitchen Bloggers, Paul Anater along with Nick from Cupboards, who I've never actually met. We all fall into a big group hug and I am swept into the event. Wow. All "potentials" are handed a "blog critique" and mine is pretty complimentary, actually. Paul leads the group which now also includes Erin Lochner of Design for Mankind. As the meeting unfolds I begin to see how unprepared I am. Yikes! I'm dropping pens, struggling to keep up when it occurs to me that I need to take pictures and blog about this! I must go to the room and get my camera. (It never occurs to me to call Hubs and ask him to wait for me even though he's being really good and waiting for me on the sidelines.) I feel the big brass room key in my pocket. I pull it out and it says 27. (I dream a lot in numbers.) I locate a very helpful bell hop who helps me figure out what floor that's on. He consults a chart which tells us that 27 is actually 7151 which means I'm on the 7th floor. Now I can grab my camera and get back to the group. The bell hop senses my sense of urgency and puts me on the closet elevator which is for freight. Did I mention he's wearing a hairnet?Everyone knows dreams are meant to be exploited for shameless self-promotion. So there you have it, just a lil wish for the new year. If I don't get that I'll settle for health, prosperity and another great year for Kitchens for Living where my dream is to motivate, inspire or help you create your own DREAM KITCHEN. Happy new year!
JASON WU FOR BRIZO
I'm back in the saddle so to speak and one of the first things on my agenda was a teleconference with my friends at Brizo. They're at it again, being brilliant and innovative. As you may know from my previous posts, Brizo has a unique relationship with fashion designer Jason Wu. In fact they have been collaborating for five years. Jason, who designed Michele Obama’s inauguration gown, has designed dresses for their ad campaigns and promotional accessories over the years. Today they are unveiling a new faucet and accessory collection designed by Jason. The collaboration has come full circle and as a proud alumnus of the famed ;) Blogger 19 I’ve got the low down.
The new collection is targeting the Powder Room. The faucet, dubbed Odin for the Norse god of wisdom and magic, is sleek and sexy. It comes in matte black only. The curve of the spout is a signature detail for Jason Wu as is the tiny owl motif you can find on the tip of the handle. There are a couple other things that make this fabulous faucet unique. It has an LED light at the base which indicates hot and cold and is the first Brizo product to feature Smart Touch Plus with a proximity sensor. That means you don’t even have to touch it. Just like magic! Another first is the impressive line of accessories that go with the faucet and were inspired by Jason’s recent Fall 2011 collection which was in turn inspired by ornate detailing he viewed on a trip to Versailles Palace in France. I love that you can see the line of the Baroque flower yet it’s still simple and striking paired with either polished chrome or brushed nickel.The line is available for pre-order through February 20,2012 for delivery in April. Pre orders receive a signed, numbered Jason Wu lithograph and limited edition key chain within ten days (just to hold you over till April). The faucet retails for $799. Hey, I don’t think know you can even buy a Jason Wu dress for that much!