WELCOME to Nest by Tamara blog

WELCOME to Nest by Tamara blog
Hi- It's Tamara. I'm happy you've stopped by, and since 2010 I've been sharing my passion for interior design, history, art, entertaining, travel & fashion. I am an interior designer, textile designer and writer living and working in New York City and East Hampton, Long Island. My musings have taken me to international design, art, antique and epicurean events and I have lots to share. I'm grateful to have been listed as the #1 top design blog, blogs to watch, top design blogs and named and awarded Rising Star of Design by the IFDA NY industry organization. Please feel free to reach out to our team for an interior design consultation at NestbyTamara.com -Tamara

Mother's Day thoughts and reflecting on the job....

a Mother's Day tribute to my mother,
Judith Helene Matthews
Judy as a kindergarten student in the 1950s

Judy's
peony,
pink hydrangea,
hollyhock,
rose,
dalia,
and
sunflower
overlooking the ocean
in her garden
Gloucester, Massachusetts

her lovely little cottage overlooking the ocean from two sides and a former seacaptain's home -- so perfect for my mom's sensibilities

my mother's love for animals infused my children's personalities with a passion for nature and animals
 I took this picture of mom in Central Park 1975 --
just one of our many fun road trips together

My friend JB over at the Building Moxie got me motivated to write this story because he wrote a touching tribute to his wife about Mother's Day and asked all of us members of The Dream Team (a fun group of bloggers and designers that were sponsored by Brizo during Fashion Week) to all follow suit.  I will admit it is hard to write, but cathartic -- thanks Jb for encouraging me to remember mom on Mother's Day and to pay tribute to all the mothers in the world -- big job huh?! By the way, The Dream Team are onto another adventure in June as GEMonogram has now offered to sponsor us for an all expense paid trip to their designer headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky for another collaboration!  How cool is that!

A tribute to my mom:
Judy was a philanthropist, an artist, a gardener, an animal lover and most of all a caring person. Unfortunately, my mother passed away suddenly from an asthma attack in October 2006, ironically after she had been working in her garden. Judy was a vibrant, amazingly accomplished woman who tapped into her artistic side later in her life (after we all left the nest) through her gardening. As a single mother, who juggled many tasks at once throughout my childhood, including raising three children while simultaneously receiving her master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and Social Work, Judy had become accustomed to utilizing her abundant energy to get much done in a short day’s work. She dedicated her life to helping women and children in poverty, and although that career choice was not always monetarily profitable, she retained great joy from helping women ascend out of poverty through grassroots programs, the subject she wrote about for her graduate school thesis. She was a woman’s rights activist my whole life, and in her younger years she did not seem to have much time for NESTING, although she always had an affinity for antiques, decorating and entertaining.

As she aged, she slowed down a bit, and found gardening, and through digging in the earth, she learned to “smell the roses”. Speaking of roses, her rose trellis became something of a legend in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Judy's Hollyhocks grew over five feet tall, her raspberry bushes were plentiful, and her Koi pond became a beautiful, Japanese inspired project. I remember her hoisting and laying her flagstone driveway herself, while carefully planting thyme in between the stones so the peppery smell would surround her guests as they exited their cars. With her "green thumb" my mother turned her property into a beautiful oasis. She had bought and refinished an old house that had originally been a sea captain’s home, just feet away from the ocean in the pretty enclave of Gloucester, called Rocky Neck. The visual picture of seeing Judy’s garden, against the backdrop of the glistening ocean and fishing boats meandering out for a day’s work, was stunning, and, subsequently, brought many onlookers.

Even though I had little interest in gardening at the time, and only had a small terrace in Manhattan, my mother would often send me packets of seeds, clippings of gardening advice, and encouragements about her new found passion. Years later, she taught my children the joy of a vegetable patch. Each spring she would haul her tools into my backyard and, together they created the magic.


my mom encouraged me to follow my dreams and set me on a creative path.  She is the reason I do much of what I do today, and certainly the main reason I started journaling my experiences as a designer.  She spent her entire life writing and now I realize the value, as I reflect upon her written words daily.

I miss her very much,
and the world misses her beautiful gardens!

Happy Mothers Day everyone
and
remember 
being a mother is one of the most important jobs
on earth!