LeBrie’s “day-job” is as an artist.  She sells her work all over the nation, and in our opinion, it is extraordinary.  She works in many mediums, including hand dyed merino wool.  You can see her items for sale, as well as her unique sculpture projects at PenFelt & www.LeBrie.com.  LeBrie also teaches workshops on felting in Portland, and in New York.  

Listing of future LeBrie exhibitions:

Collages at Guardino Gallery
April 25 – May 26, 2013
Portland, Oregon - Reception: Thursday, April 25, 6-9pm

Masterworks at Lion Brand Yarn Studio
May 1 – July 31, 2013
Felt Masterworks (including a few new pieces) will be on display at the store gallery at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio in NYC.

Collages at Fresh Pot Downtown
October, 2013
Portland, Oregon.

Various felted works on display at Concordia University Library
October, 2013
Portland, Oregon.

Our office and homes are currently filled with LeBrie art!  See some examples below…

I read an article years ago saying office dogs are good for work-ethic, and apparently this is still the case.

We love having Baxter and Isabel around, they sometimes distract us with their antics, a break is needed now and then.  Occasionally we let them help us, see photos for proof.

Does you office allow dogs?  What do you think…help or hindrance?

Izzy & Baxter listen intently at our design meetingGood dogs!Checking out the designs

If you are into leather goods, you MUST check out the handbag and clutch designs that Mariah has been hand crafting all these years.  Ann & I are dying for the hand-stitched leather tote bags, they are perfect for work!

In addition to her bags and jewelry lines, her studio is beautifully designed, and a pleasure to be in.  You can feel Mariah’s passion for her work just by walking into the space.

About her artistry, Mariah says; “The design process begins by picking out the best leather hides that will work for my line. I buy my hides locally from Oregon Leather, which sources much of its deer hide from hunters in the USA. Each leather bag is hand cut, sewn and finished in my studio in Portland, OR. I am very particular about the attention to detail and final product; therefore I source all of my materials locally and domestically. ”

Do yourself a favor and check out her website, you will not be sorry!

Here is the Tote Bag we are raving about.

BTWN Wind + Water Studio is located on NE Broadway off MLK.  Just look at this space!

Arley attained a BS in Interior Design from the Art Institute Hollywood, where she graduated with honors.  After graduating, Arley gained experience in custom millwork, furniture and lighting while working as a Junior Designer at acclaimed hospitality firm Indidesign in Culver City, CA.  On the residential side, Arley worked as Associate Designer at KMNelson Design in Westwood, CA where she again focused on custom furniture and interiors.  Arley is excited to begin offering custom furniture and interior design services alongside Ann here in Portland.  She is an Allied member of ASID.

We are especially excited that Ann McCulloch Studio is now a mother-daughter business, something Ann never thought she would get to do.  ”Arley and I, while we have many similarities, bring different skills and strengths to the business.  I am also enjoying the balance of my many years of experience in the design world with Arley’s youthful enthusiasm and fresh eyes.”

Arley also is enjoying the experience.  ”I don’t think I could have found a better avenue to learn and develop as a designer.  Working for your mother is a whole different ball game, and I knew that coming into this situation.  I think we are both actually a little surprised about how well things are going even after just 2 months!  Following in my mom’s footsteps was not something that I had intended, but I think growing up in a creative environment…it was sort of bound to happen.”

It’s been a very busy end of year at Ann McCulloch Studio.  In fact, so busy that we will be writing multiple blogs on it!  First off, we were very excited to be included in the Ainsworth Holiday Home Tour this year.  Ann McCulloch offered up her own home for the tour, having finished the remodel and décor completely in 2012, it was time to show the home off.

The Ainsworth Holiday Home Tour is an annual event that raises money for Ainsworth elementary school, and this year almost 700 people came through each home.  It was truly a unique experience.  We decked the halls, literally, with Christmas spirit and we hope those of you that visited us enjoyed the experience as much as we did!  You can see photos of the full project in our portfolio.  Here are some fun photos of the vintage cookie jars, Christmas china, lighted garlands, and paperwhites that created a beautiful Holiday Home.

David Hiser is a photojournalist and a photo educator who’s had thousands of photographs published in National Geographic Magazine, the Smithsonian, Newsweek, National Wildlife, and National Enquirer. David’s photo coverage has been wide-ranging. He has photographed wolfs in the Artic, polar bears up close and personal from inside a cage, Polynesian sailing canoes and the Tarahumara Indians to name just a few of his interesting subjects. He has twice been a first place winner in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition while his images of the late “Gonzo” author Hunter S. Thompson graced the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine. David is currently working on a book project in the Rockies and teaching digital photography workshops.

Lucky for us David is also Ann’s uncle and when he isn’t busy training aspiring photographers in the craft or shooting scenic landscapes near his home in Aspen, he enjoys traveling to the Pacific Northwest, spending time with his family and capturing images of Ann’s most recent work.

Over the course of two weeks David, Ann and Ann’s assistant, Christina, staged and photographed the completed renovations of 5 homes from Portland to Whidby Island, Washington. When shooting architectural projects David says it essential to focus on the needs of the individual client and remove anything from the frame that is deemed unnecessary. By timing the shoot for the perfect light and focusing on architectural details, David was able to highlight the layout in each new space as well as the features that make it unique.

We will be unveiling the final results from the photo shoot via our website with subsequent blog posts featuring Ann’s approach to floor plans, custom furniture, and additional “Artist Spotlights”.

To learn more about David Hiser and to see additional samples of his work, please visit www.photoaspen.com.

“Despite several remodeling projects — five, to be exact — Shawn and Sandy Patrick’s  Southwest Portland home still posed problems.

The kitchen, for one, had a side door to a rickety porch that didn’t stand up as a wet entry for the busy family of four.

Shawn Patrick thought maybe that area could become some sort of mudroom, or at least be fixed up enough to hang wet coats and dry off their two large dogs before they loped through the house.

Interior designer Ann McCulloch  thought differently.”

Patrick Residence before remodel/addition of entry/mudroom/play loft

Instead of reworking the old porch, she closed it off, using that space to re-establish the kitchen nook with a new banquette and windows and create a desk area for Sandy Patrick where a tiny powder room had been. McCulloch slid the powder room down the exterior wall, creating a new place for it in the mudroom addition she’d found room for in the front of the house.

“Ann saw so much more than I did,” Sandy Patrick says.

Before McCulloch’s transformation, Sandy says, she felt defeated upon coming home. Everyone tumbled in the front door with nowhere to hang wet coats or stow shoes.

“It was nuts. I was always walking into a mess.”

And it seemed every time she was in the kitchen, what she needed — a cookbook, school papers — was elsewhere.

Built in desk and shelving

Built in banquet

Built in banquet and desk

“The house really was a challenge,” McCulloch says of how the circulation dead-ended in the kitchen.

Taking space between the house and the street — a space filled with giant rhododendrons and arborvitae — gave McCulloch the room she needed to create a mudroom entry accessed from the driveway. The new space addressed storage — or the severe lack of it in the 1910 house — and the family’s love of bicycles. McCulloch designed the new entry not only for hanging coats and backpacks, doffing wet boots and drying off dogs; it also includes a bicycle garage.

While drawing up the plans to access the bicycle storage from the exterior, McCulloch came up with the idea to have some fun on the interior. What was going to be storage above the bump-out for the bikes became a small loft area for the kids to cozy up with a book.

It’s become a family go-to spot, says Sandy, who admits to climbing the ladder and catching a nap or two in the comfy space.

Sliding the powder room into the extended area and getting rid of the old exterior door and porch opened up the original floor plan so much, Sandy Patrick still stands in awe. Having a desk and bookcase for her cookbooks and work and school-related files has been a boon.

“Everyone wants to be on the banquette,” she says.

Children’s play loft

Children’s play loft

Built in storage

A place for coats and shoes

McCulloch chose outdoor fabrics from Link Outdoor  and Clarence House  for the banquette and the pillows. Sandy had asked to cover the banquette in oilcloth so it could be easily cleaned, but McCulloch convinced her the outdoor fabrics would do the trick and be much nicer to live with. She left Sandy with some samples and encouraged her to try to stain them — something Sandy actually did, dropping buttered noodles and all sorts of kid-friendly foods on them.

“We could not stain this fabric,” she says, still in disbelief of its durability.

The new space, which was constructed by Hammer & Hand, is so highly functional that Sandy says it has changed their lives. Now, she can work at her desk while daughter Anna Blake, 7,  climbs into the loft to read and son MacLean, 3,  perches at the kitchen counter for a snack.

Sandy says she was stunned that McCulloch was able to create everything they needed without a huge addition.

“Sometimes, when people look at things for so long,” McCulloch says, “you don’t look at the possibilities of removing things — like the rhodies. I’m always looking for space — especially in tight spaces.”

Bridget A. Otto: 503-221-8527

botto@oregonian.com

Vintage outdoor teak and brass pendant

Vintage 1950′s Dutch hang light, teak and frosted glass

Vinage chandelier by Osten and Uno Christiansson for Luxus, teak and frosted glass

Custom bronze light fixure with Niche Modern glass pendants

Designed by Ann McCulloch, Crafted by Fergus Kinnell

Glass pendant by Niche Modern hung in the new bar between the kitchen and living/dining room

Re-fabricated Pear Sconce by George Nelson hangs over a game table in a corner

Vintage metal and brass wall sconces, we painted them to match!

Vintage wall sconces made with teak, metal and frosted glass

Vintage 1950′s double swing arm sconce salvaged from a hotel in Peru

Vintage Sweedish glass and bronze sconce in the master bath / Vintage 1970′s brass sconce mounted to cabinetry in kitchen

Vintage swing arm sconce / Vintage 1950′s Italian wall sconce by Manner Stilnovo

If you would like to learn more about our remodel and custom furnishing services please contact us at cadams@annmccullochstudio.com.