I'm pinching myself as I plan a sponsored trip to London Design Week via Modenus.com

Let me tell you about BlogTour 2011 during London Design Week



Seems I have a Fairy God Mother

I'm London bound thanks to Modenus, which is an online community for interior designers and design enthusiasts. Modenus has cleverly put together an impressive partnership with the Architectural Digest Home Design Show in New York City and mydeco.com, the UK’s largest furniture and design website. These three companies are sponsoring my trip to London -- so that qualifies them as my very own Fairy God Mother, don't you think?

Do you remember my post last September where I pined away about wanting to travel?  I was melancholy for the carefree days when I could take off on a whim and travel overseas.  I wrote about Paris and how I longed to sip coffee at an outdoor cafe during the crisp Fall...those tweed jackets and all the people watching... 

Well, pinch me someone because across the pond is good enough for me.  I have always relished the English aesthetic, and I have not been back to my favorite city since the hubby and I stole away a quiet weekend without the children a few years ago. 

I love London! 

 here's a sampling of Sir Terence Conran's cutting edge designs....yes, folks he was knighted.  The one below was from the archives of Conran and re-distributed for Sir Terence's 80th birthday celebration recently. 

I'm over the moon to have been selected along with several other popular interior design and lifestyle bloggers to take part in the first of a series of new excursions called BlogTour.  We are embarking upon an all-expense paid trip to London during the very stylish London Design Week.  There will dinners hosted in our honor by Sir Terence Conran -- still pinching (ouch) -- a visit and tea at the Victoria & Albert Museum -- next, we'll head over to a slew of stops during London Design Week -- and they want my honest-to-goodness opinions on all of it.  Done.  BlogTour 2011 promises to set the standards for like-minded companies on how to incorporate forward thinking principles by bringing savvy and influential bloggers into the mix. I'm not sure if paid advertising has the same impact as an enthusiastic group of bloggers (with a large audience of curated viewers) weighing in with their expert opinion.

Victoria & Albert Museum

We will be given behind-the-scenes access to Decorex, 100% Design, Tent London and Design Junction as well as attend small gatherings by British designers and manufacturers, and all the while mingling with our UK brethren bloggers. 

I first met Modenus' CEO Veronika Miller a year ago at the NYC Architectural Digest Home Show and was immediately smitten with her engaging smile, quick wit and collaborative nature -- Veronika is thinking outside the box...remember after I attended a blog conference in Los Angeles last year I wrote a post called Thinking Outside The Box? 

Well take note all Blog Conference people because that is what Veronika is doing....Check out all the exciting updates on BlogTour2011  and follow our tweets and stream on Twitter #blogtour2011.



elegant old-world English charm



historic architecture

 I just may have to splurge for my very first iPad to take along on my journey to help me chronicle it all...I hope to return armed with an arsenal of anglophile terminology, snappy fashion and a suitcase filled with English silver (not pieces I will steal at restaurants, but, rather ones I hope to pick up at a hip antique market in London)...not to mention some incredible sources to help with all my new design projects coming down the pipeline. 

Wish me luck and I will certainly report on all interior design and lifestyle musings along my path during London Design Week -- check back for a barrage of information coming your way soon! xo Tamara

Photograph note: 

 I usually post all my own photography but for visual impact this week's post is
curated courtesy of Pinterest.