My Design Crush

Do you have a favorite designer?  Someone who you admire and dream of owning some of their creations.


I do.  My design crush is Tracy Porter.  She is a designer of pottery, furniture, paper goods, home decor, fabrics, clothing and accessories.  And I have been hooked on her whimsical and free spirited sense of design for over 10 years.

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Her personal story of success is as amazing as her designs.  As a young couple, she and her husband John left the glitz and glamour of professional modeling and city life to move to the countryside of rural Wisconsin. There, they turned an 100 year old stone farmhouse into a place of comfort.  With a small starting loan from her parents, Tracy and her husband started a small business in a chicken coop on their farm.  They began designing beautiful hand painted pottery and furniture that quickly became a worldwide sensation. 

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From there, their business blossomed and Tracy began adding fabrics, home decor, jewelry, and clothing to her repertoire.  She currently lives in California with her husband and four young sons.  She has a blog (that I stalk) and an online shop, poetic wanderlust. 

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My love for Tracy Porter's design started years ago when I bought one of her design books.  The dessert plate and cup followed.

My collection grew.  Most of it is pottery, dishes, vases and picture frames.  I love to display it in my home but usually don't have enough room to put all of it out in one place.  One day, I'd love to have a hutch or shelving unit to display it properly.  I put some of it together on an antique table to take this picture:

My favorite pieces in this group come from the "Evelyn" collection.  The design is a beautiful combination of florals and berries among a cream and green trellis.  The exquisite frame holds a black and white photo of my grandparents with my father as a baby.  I cherish it.

I made a collage with more pictures of the pieces that I own.  My camera does not do justice to the beautiful handpainted glass vase in the top left corner.  It's beyond gorgeous!

In addition to the collection that I own, I have some of my favorite items of hers pinned on my "Tracy Porter Collection" board on Pinterest.

Here is a sample of her Home Decor Collection,

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Clothing,

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Jewelry and Accessories.

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One of the things that I love about Tracy Porter's designs is the mixing and layering of patterns.  For example, here is a dinnerware collection that is designed to be layered.  Isn't it beautiful.

Marisol dinnerware

And this tiered platter is on my "must have" list right now.  I think it's discontinued but I will find one....somehow (ebay?)

Tracy Porter Marisol Tiered Platter

She recently wrote a post on her blog about layering rugs...

I could talk and post pictures about this lovely woman forever but I must limit myself.  I have never seen a designer put so much love and emotion in his/her designs before.  I think that's why I'm so attracted to her carefree, vintage, eclectic style.  It simply makes me smile :) 

Note:  As I was preparing this post, I noticed that Tracy Porter was talking about Pinterest on her blog.  I got up the courage to leave a comment to let her know about my "Tracy Porter collection" board and...she replied back immediately.  The best part, she left a comment on my pin of her book!  I consider it my an "autographed copy" now, haha.  See, she loves my board!  Squeal!

One more thing.  Sorry, but I have to scream this:  TRACY PORTER IS FOLLOWING ME ON PINTEREST!!!!!!