Artisinal Lighting Hand Crafted by Julie Neill

When I decided to feature the talented illumination artist Julie Neill's work I didn't realize how daunting it would be...To pick a few examples of her extroardinary collection from a myriad of photos. This, a new design, the Bon Bon Chandelier. (one of my favorites)

AND IF YOU ALREADY DIDN'T KNOW SHE HAS A BLOG......THE BAYOU CONTESSA....

The lighting from Julie Neill is hand crafted in New Orleans LA. Every piece is made on premises by her talented team of artisans. I found out about her from one of my clients. We are collaborating on her new home and needed some sconces for the living room. They had to be narrow and elegant.... She found one and sent me a picture and I went on to investigate...I proceded to be amazed and impressed at the selection and the design of Julie's collection...I am lucky my client has good taste.......














Another new design, Carol's Crown Short Top chandelier...





Julie mentioned her inspiration comes from her artisans talents, her love of classic design that is all around her in NOLA, and her appreciation of classic proportion. Having a background in interior design and a degree in fine arts, her design business has evolved into the making of these incredible pieces. This is another new piece, a feathered glass chandelier called the Guthrie.








Offering several different gilded and glazed finishes, shown is one of the artisans adding the silver and gold glazing to THIS..



The Ingrid Wide Chandelier... The is also an Ingrid Pendant.....




I love the delicacy of this one and the classic Balloon Shape..
The Cammie... It looks light as air...



The Bywater chandelier in the black iron finish.....


Did I mention she does extroardinary lanterns too???? This is my favorite with a little Oriental flavor..... The Mary Ann..... Gee I wonder why I like this??????



The Sheldon Sconce....... Shown in Orleans gold and glazed gilt.




The Carolina....The crystal looks like bubbles.
Julie also excells at making custom pieces for designers for large and small projects and does it very well. For example:

This was done a custom design for the Monteleone Hotel. Look at the cut out initials......

WOW. Look at the reflection in the crystal ball........

Julie is working on a new catalog to the trade and tweaking her website which is already full of eye candy http://www.julieneill.com/ . In addition to lighting, there is some furniture, mirrors and other accroutrements. If you get to go to NOLA Julie's showroom is at 3908 Magazine St.

So, what sconce did my client like? This one the Claudia. Perfect.

I hope she doesn't kill me for this.....

Oh, and I promised you a bed........

Julie said this one was sold.... I say MAKE another one or two or three.....!

Round Top Watch Part Deux

Your roving blogger was out in the fields of Round Top Yesterday to give you again the latest and greatest as it is happening.........Blue Hills, although not full to capacity is open and ready for business. In addition, it has undergone improvements on the property making it in my opinion one of the most attractive venues here.

This is an adorable Swedish chest I found very hard to pass up. Note the detail on the bottom...



Hey! What is this???? The Big Red Barn "toilette" facilities, still, as in my earlier blog, only TWO of them.... They say "Jackpot" on the doors, I wonder why the company selected THAT name???? EEEEEWWWWW! Did they come from Vegas?




Does the proportion of Tent to Toilette seem a little off here?????
Don't worry they don't open until the 30th. Maybe then they will hit the "jackpot"!

Arbor Antiques has some fabulous things already........ Curtis Ann Davis always delivers having dealers with quality goods, a lot of Euro Country, and great prices. They will be hosting an Octoberfest night on the 30th, with beer, wine and eats....Here are some examples of some other goodies there.....

Still in the unpacking stages.........But the early bird gets the great picks.

These sconces were a steal at 265.00 each

Is that Miss Velvet and Linen back there????? Yup. I think so. I was going to introduce myself ,

but I was in my "I'm going to dress poor so they'll give me a deal" ensemble. You know, removed all the jewelry, old bowling shoes, jeans, baseball cap... It was raining, she looked great like she was on Rodeo Drive.....

Great bolster pillows out of old feed sacks. I say go for the BIG pillows put a few WOW ones on the bed, not fifty little ones, it makes men anxious....

This is a great booth for Euro Country and even not so country.... The proprieter is Owen Swift out of New York State. He is a transplanted Irishman and nice as can be... He has some great Louis Phillippe Silver leaf Mirrors and some fabulous frames....

Also some great Chandeliers........Not Repros but the real deal...

On to EXCESS.....

A great pair of French Chairs......

This I loved ! An industrial table with wheels and a thick old plank top.

A great kitchen island with plenty of storage space priced at $1950...

A"Princess" bed.

This is the booth right behind Claude's in the front left side of EXCESS. They have great pieces, some very unique.... I think his name in Paul but I will verify... A "hottie" no matter what his name is...... Oh and he is wearing the coolest shirt.... Linen with poet sleeves and great embroidery....... Where did it come from ??? You won't believe this! Magnolia Pearl, who is best known for their womens vintage like clothing, bags and jewelry. The scuttlebut is her husband is doing a version for men. I'm going to have to get one for Robespierre.... They always have a booth at Marburger......

Great table with stone top at Excess...

A twelve foot hanging rack.... A Wow piece in any grand kitchen offered by The Plaid Veranda at Excess. Judy has some great things there....This is the last picture before I almost got towed for illegal parking.......Nothing unusual here at Round Top EVERYONE does it. BUT this year they are serious.... And the reason I couldn't get the Hottie's name is today when I called my Partner in crime, Jacquelyn, to get verify his name, SHE had just been towed!!!!!! And she is one of the 77 actual citizens that lives there and is responsible for moving most of the beautiful buildings in to Bybee Square in the center of the town.....

So what did I get? One of these. I'm using as a coffee table from North Star Antiques out of Dallas. It will be between two Belgian Linen Slipcovered loveseats in Libeco Napoli Vintage/Natural. You can contact North Star here .

And of course, we invite you to stop by Beadboard in Brenham.