I’ve always admired Amy from a distance, ever since I saw her designs for two Kips Bay show houses in New York, and I blogged about her earlier this year. So it was really exciting to finally meet her, and chat about the influences behind these fabrics, the look of which is a signature of much of her work, as you can see below.

The new patterns are based on American abstract art, she told me, referring to the likes of Morris Louis,

Mark Rothko,

and Bridget Riley.

“We put art up on the walls – why can’t these fabrics start having a dialogue with the art?” Amy asked.

Her fabrics, with their blocks, dots, and wavy lines, will have a lively conversation indeed with any modern art collection. And beyond all the shapes and colors, the fabrics are meticulously painted with watercolors by hand and embroidered in her studio, which makes them feel just as good as they look.

David Klaristenfeld, vice president of S. Harris, described Amy as a life force. “She cornered me” at a luncheon, he said, and told him that his company, which owns Fabricut and Vervain, should be going in new directions with its designs. She was not to be refused. “I said, ‘Amy, why don’t you just tell me what you want, and we’ll do a line,’ ” he said, laughing in resignation. “Amy brought a completely new aesthetic that none of our designers would have ever thought of.”

She’s also bringing a new look to the J. Lambeth showroom, which is known mostly for its more traditional fabrics. “It’ll be really interesting to see how this is received. It’s very modern,” Ann Lambeth said.

Ann graciously pointed to Washington Spaces as evidence that there is a growing modern influence on design in DC. “DC is getting more modern, and we want to be a part of it,” she said.

As such, they are working on a new contemporary gallery within their showroom. And if Amy is any indication of what they’ll have to offer, I can’t wait to see it.

I’ll leave you now with pictures from last night’s party, which brought out a cool crowd of designers. Ciao!

Amy poses with Barry Dixon, who will debut his own line of green fabrics for Vervain – an S. Harris company – through J. Lambeth in January.

Ann and Jim Lambeth pose with their celebrity designers.

Designer Liz Levin, right, stands with her co-designer, Heather Safferstone.

Gloria de Lourdes Blalock, left, stands with Camille Saum.

Designer Sally Steponkus mugs with Jim Lambeth

The Preserve Kitchenware line of cutting boards also won an award at the housewares show. It’s 100-percent recycled plastic and 100-percent recyclable. The curved handle at the end makes it easy to slide food from the board into the bowl or pan.

Yet another award winner: The Zyliss herb snippers. They have a stem stripper integrated into the handle for rosemary and thyme. So clever.

Do you ever think about the switch and outlet plates in your house? Anthropologie does, with a whole line of decorative plates.

And now, for cool stuff that you can’t buy in the United States – which I have to show because they make for good eye candy, if nothing else.

I wish I could buy a toothbrush as cool as the Banat Acrobat. Sadly, the only retail site where I could find this Turkish-designed product is in Nigeria.

And these fire extinguishers by Fire Design, for those lucky enough to live in Paris, lend a safety-chic element to the home.

Vastu is like a couple other home-related stores I’ve seen that double as an art gallery, featuring a rotating selection of artists.  This week they are displaying works by Shawna Cross,

and Brian Petro.

They also have whimsical pieces by Seletti, the Italian company that makes porcelain figures out of whimsical everyday objects.

I also fell for the sculptural wood-veneer lighting from LZF, a Spanish company.

And let’s not forget that Vastu also offers interior design services.

Here’s one of the owners, Jason Claire, standing with a design board in the store’s basement design studio.

A board like this…

Turns into a room like this:

I’m glad I went. Something tells me it won’t be the last time.

Z Gallerie

I found this great giraffe tray at Z Gallerie,

which would be so perfect with these darling napkin rings.

And this beverage dispenser is so elegant for an outdoor buffet.

Design Within Reach

Ok, how awesome is this croquet set?

Pottery Barn

This old-fashioned Coke fridge just begs to have a vintage-themed party held around it.

French Bull

I’ve always loved French Bull’s melamine plates and cups, but their festive napkins are just as fun.

Viva Terra

This fire pit makes a perfect focal point for drinks and conversation.

And I would love to make a trail of these stepping stones across the lawn, leading guests over to my fabulous party.

Santa Barbara Umbrella

This Lily Pad umbrella would be just delightful for a baby or bridal shower, don’t you think?

The Macbeth Collection

The great thing about this party tub from The Macbeth Collection is that you can choose from dozens of fanciful patterns to personalize it any way you want. You can check them out here.

Now, go forth and have a happy summer!

Bambeco CEO Susan Aplin, a former executive with Williams-Sonoma and The Gap, decided to start the company after a trip to Alaska’s Prince William Sound, where she saw the erosion of its glaciers “up close and personal.” She then spent months hunting down fashionable home products that were also environmentally friendly, such as goblets made from recycled wine bottles or wallets fashioned from reclaimed truck inner tubes – what a great use for all those rubber scraps we always see by the sides of highways.

These reclaimed wood salt and pepper shakers were made using wood from furniture-manufacturers’ waste. The salt shaker was painted with eco-friendly milk paint.

Besides its cool products, I also love that the company is close by. It’s based in Moorefield, WV – about three hours west of DC.

The Soji Modern Solar Lanterns require no electricity and, more important, no ugly cords to turn them on.

Check out Bambeco’s creds: “The merchandise is made with earth-friendly processes from materials that are all-natural, biodegradable, nontoxic, organic, recycled, reclaimed, and/or renewable.”

The organic dragonfly sheet set is made from organic combed cotton, certified free of all harmful chemicals.

The company’s goods are shipped with eco-friendly materials, and the company also donates one percent of its revenues to environmental charities.

This bike chain looks much better as a bowl than it would lying in a landfill, for sure.

Ta ta for now – I’m off to the site to go get that Bird Welcome Mat.

Both the table and background – and the items in the portrait above – marry well with Morandi’s paintings, such as this one:

And the third-place winner…

…also resembles the real thing much more closely than the winning image.

But maybe I’m just taking the contest too literally? Maybe the online voters were looking for a 21st-century rendering, as opposed to an exact replica.

As for different takes on Morandi, this contest is not the only one. I discovered an illustrator named Tim Groen, whose work includes collages of vintage wallpaper that are inspired by Morandi. You can find his work at Velocity Art And Design.

 “The Morandi Green”

“The Cluster”

Who knew this Italian painter could spawn so much creativity beyond his own? It’s worth a last-minute visit to see his original works at The Phillips Collection, which are on display through Sunday, May 24.

In the bedding category, the winner is V Rugs & Home, whose bedding is sold locally at Theodores. Its winning design is the Monet duvet cover, made of 100-percent linen with handmade flowers and mother of pearl. Wow.

As for the bath, Schlossberg of Switzerland won for its Sensitive Towel, “made of cradle-to-cradle certified hand-plucked Egyptian long-staple cotton and vegetable dyes.” I’m not sure what that all means, but boy do they look delicious. It’s sold locally at Abrielle Fine Linens and Lingerie in DC.

Alexandre Turpault was honored for its Hannah tablecloth in the dining category, and it’s easy to see why – the exquisite embroidery and saturated color on 100 percent linen certainly whets my appetite. It’s also sold locally at Abrielle Fine Linens and Lingerie.

In home accessories, The Concept Collection won for its Traces of Yellow collection of pillows and throws, all made from 100 percent wool. Nice.

Both men also pointed to a lovely gold-leaf accent table, the Knox Side Table, which looks handsome next to the new Byron Leather Chair, which features a new pearlized leather they are showcasing on a variety of pieces. They are photographed with the chair and table on the introductory page of the new spring catalogue, which arrives in mailboxes today.

Byron Leather Chair, with a mohair seat and pearlized leather backing, and the Knox Side Table

Here’s the pearlized leather again on the Mason Corner Chair,

and the Ashton Leather Chair.

And because it’s spring, there are a lot of bright new colors, too, such as the beachy blue of the Louisa Sofa & Chair and the grassy green of the Nanette Chair.

Gold pointed out that the Louisa pieces (like the VanDyke line) were made specifically for small homes and urban dwellings. “We’ve had a lot of calls for smaller-scale pieces,” he said. “One of the tricks in doing it is really maintaining the comfort level.” So they scaled back the arms but left ample seating space, “which still gives it design presence.”

And while the ikat pattern is certainly not a new trend, MG + BW keep it fresh with these delightful Zondra slipper chairs, especially when paired with the white-lacquer Mia nesting tables and lime-green lacquer boxes.

The spring introductions don’t all portray the typical airy spring colors, however. The store window display (and the catalogue cover) shows us deep royal blue, orange and lime green that is just as fresh.

Liam Sofa, Colin Leather Chair

Nola Table Lamp, VanDyke coffee and stone-top side tables

Designers at the show said the pieces were not only great-looking, but nicely priced. “This is shocking,” said Gretchen Ginnerty of Dwellings by Design LLC. It’s all relative, of course, but she added that because she’s spent so much time in the trade-only Washington Design Center, “$1,700 for a chair is shocking.”

“We send our clients here a lot,” added Gretchen’s colleague, Lori Rossiter.

Williams designed the Finley Dining Bench because he needed something like it for his own dining room.

Gold and Williams are now hard at work on their second decorating book after much success from their first book, Let’s Get Comfortable.  “ ‘Comfort’ or ‘Comfortable’ is going to be in the title, since that’s been our thing since the beginning,” Gold said.

“It’ll be a sequel-non-sequel,” Williams added.

But for now, they are pushing the spring collection. Fresh from a reception at their New York store last night, they got up at 4 this morning to come down for the DC store’s breakfast (Gold was working on his third Diet Coke by 9 a.m.).

But they wouldn’t have missed it, because the DC store – the first of 16 around the country to bear the Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams name – “kind of has a special place in our heart,” Williams said.

So, why is a modern Italian furniture company making its worldwide retail debut in Tysons Corner, VA? It’s because of the efforts of local entrepreneur Claude Zein, owner of Boffi Studio DC in Georgetown and the soon-to-open Coverings. Zein pursued the Jesse family for several years before getting the green light to open a retail space here.

Washington Spaces Associate Publisher Heather Heider, left, and Editor in Chief Trish Donnally, right, stand with Claude Zein

“I’ve always liked the product and I’ve always believed it was a strong company,” Zein said. “The fact that it’s 80 years old gave me security. There’s a big opportunity to become the first store worldwide.”

Zein hopes to open other locations in DC and also Boston, although he recognizes the reality of the times. “Because of the economy, it’s going to be double the work and much more difficult to get return on investment. It’s going to be much harder,” he said. “We have to try to focus. We have to be out and bring the business in.”

They brought plenty of business in on Thursday, when nearly 300 people arrived to see the new store at a party sponsored by Washington Spaces.

Here are some of the party goers, up close and personal:

Suzonne Davids, left and Diane DuBois of Washington Post Media check out a copy of Washington Spaces

Rachel James of Rachel James Interiors and John Petro of Petro Design Build

Washington Spaces Senior Editor Jennifer Sergent and Associate Publisher Heather Heider stand with JR Diffee, owner of Colony House Furniture

Poring over the Jesse catalog

Deanna Belli of CharityWorks chats with Claude Zein

Party DJ Adrian Loving takes a break with Anne Branigin

Gregory Cyr, director of Computer Sciences Corp., enjoys a drink with David Brigman, a sales consultant with Illuminations Inc.