On Wednesday I attended an invitation by Joel Woodard whose wife is Susan North, Sr. VP of Design for Schumacher, to "A Celebration of Chintz" at Schumacher in the D&D building to honor the legendary Albert Hadley. Susan has been working for the past year with Hadley to reproduce a beautiful English chintz he first used in Mrs. Nancy Pyne's house more than 40 years ago. As life would have it, after 40 years Mrs. Pyne still had in her possession faded remnants of the fabric which she lent Schumacher to reproduce. The fabric is offered in very chic shades of charcoal, pale grey and ivory, and a crisp indigo blue and white, and a soft sepia-hued colorway. The fabric is made of a lightly calendared fine cotton ground that gives it that light glow and makes you want to sleep in it because of its softness. This Chintz fabric called "Pyne Hollyhock Print" is absolutely gorgeous because the flowers are not of the typical small size but big and don't overwhelm. Unfortunately I am a little bit of a procrastinator and by the time I asked for a sample they were gone but you can see the fabric here. You can see pictures of the event here.
The most important moment of the night for me was when I had the pleasure of meeting Hadley. I can't honestly explain how someone of his status has managed to keep so grounded. He is incredibly humble and sweet. We briefly talked about Parsons, design in general and the Pyne Hollyhock print. We shared some laughs after I recited one of my favorite quotes by him "you can never do anything for a slob."
“But names really are not the point,” he says. “It’s what you can achieve for the simplest person. Glamour is part of it, but glamour is not the essence. Design is about discipline and reality, not about fantasy beyond reality.” Albert Hadley
I guess this quote by Albert Hadley can explain my answer to how he has remained humble and grounded. Two of the main qualities of class that are priceless.
I guess this quote by Albert Hadley can explain my answer to how he has remained humble and grounded. Two of the main qualities of class that are priceless.
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