Wrap it up
Tired of covering your gifts in the same ho-hum wrapping paper? DeTango, a new joint venture in town, has the answer — Wrapcha, a new line of premium gift-wrap featuring unique designs, bold colors and high-quality printing.
DeTango products combine the retail and design experience of Lisa Cumbey, Mark Burkett and Stan McCulloch. Cumbey is president of Design Manifesto and Burkett and McCulloch are partners in the ever-popular Carytown store, Mongrel.
“We’ve been talking about doing this for a long time,” says Burkett. “The time seemed right to pursue this now. Consumers are looking for fun products.”
DeTango also markets L‘Quid, a line of high-quality imprinted glassware featuring whimsical designs — dancing elephants, palms and more. Both products are available locally at Mongrel.
How does your garden grow?
Have you ever wondered what you could do to make the world a better, more beautiful place?
The Virginia Federation of Garden Clubs Inc., along with National Garden Clubs Inc., is sponsoring Landscape Design School from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. July 28 through 30 at the Holiday Inn North. Learn the secrets behind great business, home and urban landscaping from the pros.
This event is the third installment of a four-course program. Graduates of the program become designated landscape design consultants recognized by the Virginia Federation of Garden Clubs. If this is your first course, however, have no fear: the previous two courses can be taken at a later date. A test will be given the final day of class, and a passing grade is required to move on to the next level. The July session features 10 classes, including “Introduction to Urban Design” and “Color in the Yard,” all taught by local landscape architects and designers.
Everyone is welcome to attend, whether you are a serious green thumb or simply enjoy pottering about in the garden. Part-time and full-time attendance is offered. The cost for full-time attendance is $85, which includes lunch the first two days of class. For more information, please call 730-2256 or 739-6187.
—Ellis Harman
Feast Your Eyes
From July 26 through Sept. 21, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden will feature “Feast Your Eyes: The Unexpected Beauty of Vegetable Gardens,” a Smithsonian traveling exhibition. The exhibit traces the visual appeal of vegetable gardens across centuries, continents and cultures, from the floating gardens of the Aztecs and the highly manicured potager of Louis XIV’s Versailles to the emergence of World War II victory gardens in America.
Considered the Cinderella of the horticultural world, the vegetable garden typically has been outshone by the flashier gardens of her floral sisters. Centuries ago, vegetable gardens were the belles of the ball, designed to be both productive and pleasing to the eye. Today, vegetable gardens are making a startling comeback, seen as a source of not only food but also beauty.
“Feast Your Eyes” brings together images from the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Gardens (AAG), as well as images and documents from other museums and repositories.
The exhibit is included with general admission and the garden is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For more information, visit www.lewisginter.org.
Dressing up drapes
The Curtain Exchange — a new twist on an old concept — has come to Richmond.
Covered with linen, cotton and silk curtains, the walls are decorated with solids, stripes, plaids and print designs. There are many limited-edition curtains exclusively available at the store.
“Richmonders have beautiful taste,” says storeowner Elizabeth Watlington. “I think we’ll do well.”
Watlington, a longtime Richmond resident, is the former general manager of Frances Kahn, an upscale women’s clothing store in Richmond.
That’s a good thing, because The Curtain Exchange philosophy is to look at curtains the way some people look at fashion — unique, always changing and with a high value placed on design.
The Curtain Exchange allows customers the instant gratification of taking their curtains home that day. They give their patrons a 48-hour approval period. The store gives the option of making sure the curtains work with the room before the customer is charged.
With new curtains arriving every 10 days, the fashion-forward industry has a constantly changing merchandise line. The Richmond location, which opened June 12, is the newest of the eight-store franchise, with other shops located in the southeastern and South Central areas of the United States. Watlington hopes to open more stores in Virginia.
“Each one of these curtains have a personality,” says Georgina Callan, a designer from New Orleans and founder of The Curtain Exchange. “It’s like thinking about dresses for your window.” — Mary Patterson
