So we haven't been up yet a week, and the response to our community has been fantastic!  Businesses are connecting and people are communicating in ways that even we did not imagine.  Take for instance Style Curator Blog:

We added a program where you could connect your Twitter account to your B&B Encyclopedia profile and before we could starting using it ourselves, Style Curator was already on the case and a line of recent Tweets appeared.

An exciting aspect of the Encyclopedia is member contributed articles.  Author Cathy Whitlock ( re-de-sign: New Directions for your Interior Design Career (Fairchild Books) inspired us to create a new category "Design in Cinema".

Whitlock has contributed the article "The Cinema as Muse:  Then and Now".  We look forward to her upcoming book  "Designs on Film: A Century of Hollywood Art Direction" (Harper Collins, 2010) which will feature design and set decoration from all genres of movies.

We are thrilled to also count Nick Harvill of Nick Harvill Libraries as a member.

Of course when Nick joined, we could only hope he would bring with him his vast knowledge of design books - something we can never get enough of.  His first contributed article is a fantastic review of the classic "Twentieth Century Decoration" by Stephen Calloway.

This is only the beginning.  There are many exciting new members joining this week and we will keep you posted here!

Head over to the B&B Encyclopedia to find out.  Decor Delux, a drapery workroom in Orange County, CA and member of the B&B Encyclopedia writes about the beauty of this bed treatment here.

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our companion site, the Balustrade and Bitters Encyclopedia - an online community for the design and arts industries.

For those of you in the industry -  designers, upholsterers, antiques dealers, collectors, design bloggers, trade showrooms, writers, fabric houses, experts, photographers, manufacturers and much, much more, this is a place where you can present your work and/or products and connect with others in the industry. 

Because this is a community site, we welcome any feedback or suggestions you might have at info@balustradeandbitters.com

Click here to learn more.

Some of our current members:

This simple yet brilliant idea can make use of a spare closet or the end of a narrow room.  All you need is some shelving, a twin bed, 30 yards of fabric and your favorite books or laptop.

Illustration from "The Interior Designer's Bedspread and Canopy Sketchfile"

by Marjorie Borradaile Helsel

Illustration from "The Interior Designers Bedspread and Canopy Sketch File"

Written by Marjorie Borradaile Helsel - 1975

We could find no other words to describe this beauty in all its tufted black silk moire splendor.  Note to the right, the Louis XIV goblets hung from the ceiling like a mobile.

Interior design by Pierre Barbe

From "The Finest Rooms in France",  a French House and Garden book - 1966

Photographer unknown

Sandra Davolio, an Italian born artist who has lived in Denmark since 1974, creates these intricate, ruffly lettuce-like vases from stoneware and porcelain.  We came upon her work while perusing the website of the J. Lohmann Gallery.  Gallery owner Joern Lohmann offers an exquisitely curated selection of vintage ceramics, metalwork and silver as well as presenting new works by selected artists.  We couldn't help but wonder how he came about representing Davolio.

Lohmann:

"I saw a photo of a piece by Sandra in a German decorative arts magazine
("Kunsthandwerk & Design") about one year ago. It was a piece that is in the
collection of the Grassi Museum in Leipzig Germany, a large decorative arts
Museum. Sandra was also part of an exhibition in that Museum about ceramics
from 1946 until present. I loved the piece in the magazine and got in
contact with her. Since then a great working relationship developed and I
represent her now in the United States. I introduced her work at Modernism, in November 2009 in the Park Avenue
Armory with great success. She also visited New York during the show as her
daughter lives here (and works in NY as a successful model). During
Modernism Sandra had two "gallery talks" about her work at my booth at
Modernism.
Collectors and art lovers were thrilled about her work." 

Modern showed in many forms this year at the Palm Springs Modernism show.  From natural and industrial to high gloss and high glam.  Click here for B&B's coverage.

"Tissues" by Ed Ruscha hangs above a tailored skirted dressing table.  An upholstered x-base stool mimics the artwork.

Interior design by Arthur Smith

Architectural Digest New York Interiors - 1979

Photograph by Peter Vitale

Click here to see the Tim Clarke/Blue Plate Oysterette video