Buy it Downtown shopping card program

We are happy to accept the "Buy it Downtown" Card for goods and services!

Buy it* Downtown, the downtown Chattanooga gift and shopping card program, is a network of stores, restaurants and other locations... it is the largest electronically connected network of its kind of locally owned storefront locations in the our area -- possibly the largest in the state of Tennessee. Buy it* Downtown says that of the places where its gift card can be used today, currently most have local ownership.

A quote from the www.buyitdowntown.com website: "A total of 60+ participating locations and approximately 95% of its merchants are not only locally owned but also “Chattanooga enterprises” or locally created businesses. “Our rapid growth has helped us establish a high quality network of popular locations that everyone likes and makes the Buy it* Downtown card a great way to support downtown and also to keep your dollars local,” says Amy Walker Cherry, founder of Buy it* Downtown. “While our primary mission is to support downtown Chattanooga businesses, we are especially pleased that our Buy it* Downtown cards support so many locally owned businesses, since studies show these businesses contribute a higher ratio of their earnings directly back into the local economy. It just so happens that some of the coolest places in Chattanooga today are also locally owned.” Paul Brock, president of RiverCity Company,a partner with the public-private gift card program says, “In Chattanooga, our downtown has an unusually high number of distinct, locally owned establishments—which is one of the reasons why our downtown is so special and unique.” "

Please go to the website and see the list of businesses that participate in this program. You can see how this program truly benefits the local economy.

London Shade for Log Cabin

This shade is in a guest room in a home on nearby Lookout Mountain. The bedroom is in the original "log house" section that was built in the 1800's. The fabric is a looser weave that lets in plenty of light (whether it is up or down), and allows the guest to lower it for privacy. The natural fiber coupled with the casual weave was a perfect choice for the rustic, yet somewhat elegant home. The designer is the very talented (and client pleasing) Susan Lesourd. Stop by to pick up one of Susan's cards and give her a call. She works on small and large projects alike and can decorate a whole house or just help you choose a sofa.
We always tell Susan that her most amazing talent is in choosing the "main" fabric for a room and that she has an incredible eye for pattern and scale. Her completed interiors always seem to reflect her clients' personalites to the inth degree!

Fitting a slipcover in a client's home!

Sometimes we actually fit a slipcover to a piece of furniture in the customer's home. This is the case with a customer on nearby Lookout Mountain this week. This small loveseat won't be coming to us in the studio as usual, but I will travel on site to "chalk" a pattern.
There are many reasons we do this, but the most common reason is size and bulk of a piece. If we are slipcovering a large antique sofa that feels like it is made of lead, it is wonderful to be able to leave the piece in place during the process. A couple of reasons might be a lack of transportation available to the customer or an upcoming event for which the furniture must be there. Often it is the fact that the piece is so interwoven with daily life in the house, that they can't do without it for the time it would be fitted and the slipcover assembled.
The cost of this method is a bit more (it can add $100-$150 or more to the overall cost), but to many people the convenience is worth it. The pattern is created during one visit & the fabric is collected and taken back to the studio where the slipcover is cut and assembled. When completed (or nearly so), the slipcover is trekked back to the home and installed on the furniture where the fit is checked. If all fits nicely and the hems and skirts are in place, that is the end and the cover is ready to be put into service! Occasionally, a piece of furniture has a difficult shape and a mid-point fitting must take place…but 2 trips to the home is often enough.
Working in a client’s house once in a while is great fun and a real diversion. I get to meet their dogs, cats and kids …and sometimes slip in a cup of tea with a cookie if offered!

Cotton Linen slipcover for a 4 cushion sofa
This slipcover is trimmed with a great looking rope cording. In a house full of young children, a slipcover is a great option! The homeowner, a young mom, was thrilled with the transformation of her sofa.

Outdoor Room on Lookout Mountain

This decorator created a fantastic outdoor room using Sunbrella fabrics on the cushions, pillows and drapes. The space was beautiful before, but now has that cozy feel that fabrics bring to an exterior space. This home is in Lookout Mountain, Georgia and the interiors were fashioned by decorator Carol Lewis Brown. Call us for Carol's contact information! Her decorating services are available from a small color consulation to whole-house decor project management. She works in the Chattanooga area as well as on location projects.

Pillow Pix

Here's a sample of a pair of pillows we have in the Mercantile for sale! They are natural linen in a khaki color with this great burlap trim. (Of course the fillow form is generous 25/75 down feather fill!) This is an example of the refined paired with something that is gritty and natural. It's a look we've found to be on the upswing in popularity with designers and homeowners.

We've Opened a New Pillow Outlet!

We've opened an actual store around the corner from our studio location! We're calling it the Brick Path Mercantile and shown above is our logo for it! It is inside The Galleries at Southside and is stocked with lots of great pillows. Most pillows are linen or silk, but there are other fabrics too. The "stuffing" is the 25/75 down/feather we like to use because it's so incredibly lux. They are ready to be plucked up and taken home and are the same quality as most of our custom ordered pillows.

We are also stocking our line of fleur-di-lys napkins sewn right here at the studio. They are a classic elegance that needs to be seen!

For the Christmas shopping season, look for our exclusive spa & home gifts. We have developed a heat able neck and shoulder warmer for tired, achy muscles that you will love--it is especially designed for the man in your life that needs something to use while at the office. It will soothe those sore shoulders & upper back areas without looking like he's ready for a teddy bear and fuzzy slippers! We're also offering napkin & tablecloth sets in classic crisp white cotton blend,... perfect for a dynamic monogram of your choosing. These would make a very special gift--they'll be using them for years to come!

Chairs in Fancy Dress Clothes

These beauties look like ladies dressed up for an afternoon tea on the lawn. Large picture hats and white gloves would complete the ensemble! The fabric is a heavy-bodied linen.


These were designed by Carol Brown of Carol Brown Interiors. She has a fabulous eye for porportion and color impact.

Slipcover with button detail

Dressmaker details are what we love to add to slipcovers!

Roman Shade details

These shades were made with a special blackout lining/interlining because they are in a home on the side Missionary Ridge here in Chattanooga. This location gets a huge amount of afternoon sun. The view of downtown Chattanooga is spectacular from this dining room, ...but sometimes the sun is so intense, the window treatments needs to be able to close. Roman shades were perfect here. The windows are tall & narrrow and the shade can be drawn to any height that suits the homeowners needs!

Gossamer Roman Shades

Spring 2008 installation of unlined Roman shades in an arts and crafts style home... fabulous!

Slipcovers for French Chairs

Here's two French chairs recently created and sent off to Columbus, Georgia to a beautiful farm/estate. The house, that sits on many acres, is elegantly rustic with huge hewn beams and stone floors. These French country dining seats, of which there are 2 arm chairs and 8 side chairs, have rush seats. We created the shaped cushions with foam inserts and placed jaunty scalloped skirts on the welted perimeter. They are tailored and fitted to the max with simple closures and done in an embroidered check. If you look closely, you can see the embroidered leaf inside a check. These took many hours to create and consist of lots of pattern pieces. The effect is sublime. The designer, Carol Brown of Lookout Mountain has such an eye for proportion as well as the subtleties of color.
This week, it is on to other challenging projects...we have 2 wing chairs, 1 ottoman, 1 sofa, 1 loveseat, and 2 club chairs coming in to be slipcovered!

It's all about the details!

Here is a picture of some pillows Lori recently created. As you can see, they have down/feather inserts that make them "karate chop" so well. It is a 25%down/75%feather blend...very nice! The great little flange is pleated on the corners for a little bit of pizazz and interest. The designer chose this updated traditional print for it's eyecatching boldness.

2 layer window treatment panels

This is a picture of our most recent window treatment installation mentioned in the previous post. The rest of the room is not completed yet, or I'd include the bedding and pillows that go with this project. The underlayer is a silk rod pocket drape with "English Bump" interlining. It is more like a blanket than anything! The front drapes are an English style chintz, also with an interlining of English bump. English bump is an interlining often used originally in Europe for it's heavy insulating properties. Now, it is most often used for the heavy, over-the-top elegance. If you can look closely, the pleats are actually a petite, lady-like goblet shape!

The Latest for 2008

Well, its a new year for The Brick Path Studio. It was a rather busy holiday season, but we were able to get a bit of rest after Christmas deadlines were met. We're now fresh and ready for the next "wave" of slipcovers, bedding and window treatments.
We are now completing a bedroom project that includes heavy 2 layered drapes in a Scalamandre' floral & dotted Travers silk.....Wow!
This project belongs to a high energy, adorable lady on nearby Lookout Mountain with 3 children in various stages of being grown. It seems she is rewarding herself for all the hard work of mothering a busy household and creating herself a private getway with luxurious fabrics, stacks of deep fluffy pillows and an amazing detailed bedspread. This bedspread has a unique feature of a box pleated flange (created from the floral print fabric we're using) with a purchased rope trim. A thick brush fringe has been applied to the pillows to coordinate with the silk with large embroidered dots...(adding a bit of levity.)
Attention to detail is what is this project is all about! The designer involved is a former Lookout Mountain resident that is currently living on Hilton Head Island, Jan Shoffner. She has an amazing eye and really knows how to address the dreams of her clients. This room is truly going to be a lush retreat. I'll be posting pictures as soon as the bedspread is complete.