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As blogstakethe globeby storm,threeof the country'smost styleand designbloggerscallAtlantahome.ln recognized their first interviewtogether,AtlantaHomes& Lifestyles EditorialDirectorClintonSmithsitsdown with the trio for tea to discusstheirinfluat The HighMuseumof Art'sTable12BO aroundtown and afar, enceamongdesignenthusiasts, CLINTONSMITH:What exactly do bloggers do? SUZANNA HAMILTON:Our blogsare sourcesyou go to for sryleand designinformation; they'remore than just personalopinions. It's not just, "Oh, I found a green plate today at such'and-suchshop";there'ssome substanceto back it up, whether it's research,shoppinginformation or historicalcontext. How did you get started? JENNIFERDWYER: My backgroundis in business,but I have this very intense interest in design and designhistory and everything about it. I knew that I wanted to get into the design field but not necessarilyin the traditional way I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do. Did I want to be a decorator? Did I want to design fabric? I knew nothing

THE PANELISTS J E N N I F E RD W Y E R T , H E P E A KO F C H I C With a lifelong interest in design history, Dwyer created thepeakofchic.comin 2006 as a way of sharing that knowledge with others who have similar interests.In turn, she has created an online community of kindred sDirits. B A R N E SS . T Y L EC O U R T COURTNEY An avid reader ot design magazinesand books on the decorativearts, Barnesoriginally started stylecourt.blogspot.comas an online book and magazineclub. lt has since evolved into a online emporium of current style news and events.

about blogs-at all. And then rt was one ofthose things: I was either reading the paper or watching CNN and came acrosssomething about a political blog- S U Z A N N AC U L L E NH A M I L T O N . B Y G E O R G EI F O U N DI T ger. I thought. "Oh that's interesting. With training as an antiques dealer, Hamilton combines her knowledge of decWhy can't I do a designblog?" orative arts and design with her favorite discoveriesfrom her global travels on bygeorgeifoundit.blogspot.com.

What kind of dialogue did it create? COURTNEYBARNES:Blogsare sort of like online book clubs,but I don't like the word'club'becauseit soundsexclusive. J.D.: It was arnazlngto me that there were so many other people who love design history as much as I do, becausein my own life, I did not know other people who were interested in that. It's probable that many of my readersdon't evenwork in the design world. And all of a sudden, it was like this whole community kind of came together It keepsgrowingbyleapsand bounds.

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2. B. BRAITHWAITE " N a n c y B r a i t h w a i t e ' se x q u i s i t ee y e a n d d e m a n d f o r i m p e c c a b l eq u a l ity combined with Chaffee'ssense of fun guarantee that the store is a treasure trove of all the best for a d u l t s a n d c h i l d r e n . "- S . H rr98Howrlr Mrlr Rp..ArraNra,3o3r8. (4oQ6o5o - 9 6 3n ; ourrHwarrE.coM

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MeNoeRrNANrrq*urs "There's not a better selection of Asian treasures ranging from 1 8 t h - c e n t u r yp o r c e l a i na c q u i r e da t Sotheby's to more modestly p r i c e d r e p r o d u c t i o nl a c q u e r e d c h e s t s .A l l t h a t , o f f e r e d a l o n g w i t h l a m p - m a k i n gs e r v i c e s t, o o ! " - C . 8 . 7oo Mtavt Crn..ArlaNra.So]24. (4oq)467-t727; MAN DARr NANTIqU

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4. Myorr Sruoro "The most sophisticatedand experienced framer in the Southeast. Trust Myott implicitly."-S H. r36oBoro Avr. NW Arr-aNr,l.3o3t8, (4o$ 43- zo63;MYorrsruDIo.coM o

NrrueN Mancus Honar Dfcon DrpaRrvrrNr " M i c h e l eK a h n i s t h e g u r u o f a l l t h i n g s r e l a t e dt o t a b l e s e t t i n g s a n d g r a c i o u s l i v i n g . "- J . D . LENoxSqu,rnr.3393PracHrnrr Ro. N E , S u r r r 8 4 4 oA , rlaNre,3qz6, (4o 4) 266 - 8 zoo; NErMANMARCUS.coM

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-l Who is your reader? J.D.:I havea lot who are in their 3os.but I havereaderswho are in their 6os. too. S.H.:Mine are definitelyolder.I hear from people all over Germanll the UK. out \Vest. I've been surprised by the kind of peoplewho are readingblogs from CEOs of corporationsto Wall Street rypeswhom you would never think blogswould even be on their radars,but they're taking time out to follow what we write, so it's been a pleasant sufPrlse. C.B.: I hear from a lot of students.such as those from SCAD. Plus. people in Asia, Australia.India. al1ovcr. What about this misconception that mature readers aren't logging on? S.H.:Oh, thei/rc definitell' logging on, but thclire not looking for the cheapestplaceto stay or the least expensivethings to buy They want to know about qualiq: There's been a lot of talk about the democratization of design, and blogs are revealing design sources that have historically been available exclusively to members of the design trade. All of your blogs are champions of easy access. ls that going to change the way people decorate? S.H.:Absolutely it's going to changethings. The Internet haschangedthe way we livefrom buying carsto rcal estateto travel. It's opened up a world of knowledge, and I think that people are going to live differently Designwill be a part of that.

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