Monthly Archives: November 2024

The Dorchester, Drop in for the Dazzling Art, Indulge in the Luxurious Lifestyle

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My Spring Fling stay at The Dorchester was very rewarding on so many fronts: a glorious room and public space refurbishment which includes a stunning art program within the hotel. I love a hotel which values art and understands that guests appreciate a book program, an Art Guide.

My little blue guide sits next to my bed, so lovely to enjoy a masterpiece every few days.

Artist’s Bar at The Dorchester, London

Reflecting the glory of nature. The Dorchester has long been a treasured British landmark, forever evolving along with the city around it. Forever celebrating the very finest of London’s rich cultural treasures. To celebrate the hotel’s prized position and lasting impact on the city and its visitors, the Dorchester’s extensive art collection is an exuberant adventure through the very British artistic tradition of landscapes. Born in the 18th century and still being explored to this day, the landscape genre has brought countless traveler’s to England to witness its colorful, picturesque riches and the glorious abundance of London’s natural diversity.

Another favorite, by Amy Judd at The Dorchester, London

PROMENADE ART. A walk through time, the art adorning The Promenade takes you on a stroll through a boldly curated British landscape. Featuring exclusive pieces by artists working in Britain, the varied mix of captivating painting, photography and collage techniques showcase the beauty around us.

Honeycomb- by Sophie Coryndon The Dorchester London

Two of my favorites: in the Lobby- My Mantra- The Arrival Sets The Stage for the Stay. Begin with this stunning piece Honeycomb Casts, Gold Leaf and Resin by Sophie Coryndon. The craft of beekeeping has always fascinated the artist, she notes in her remarks, I’ve been busy learning about the plight of the declining honeybee, as well as discovering new skills in the lost technique of wax casting in bronze. It inspired her to start collecting wax comb from local hives and to experiment with casting them. She then patchworked the casts together and gilded them in sheets of 22-carat gold. To provide the finishing touches, tinted resins in various shades of honey were added to resemble the resin produced by the trees in neighboring Hyde Park. It is a stunningly beautiful piece inspired by nature, don’t miss it at the arrival desk.

Another personal favorite is Ann Carrington Mother of Pearl Buttons on Canvas. Interestingly, the most reproduced work of art in history is not the Mona Lisa. Sculptor Arnold Machin’s portrait of the Queen has sold more than 200 billion copies since it was issued in 1967 as a new UK postage stamp. Combining these two threads of thought, Carrington’s first Pearly Queen was born. A machine stamp was enlarged on to black canvas and embroidered from pearl buttons specially dyed in a kaleidoscope of high-pitched disco patchwork colors. Each button on the large-scale piece, which is more than a meter wide and high, represents the volunteer sewers who have crafted items for the Guild since 1882. It was commissioned by Jacob Rothschild in celebration of the Queens 80th birthday, and now hangs in Waddesdon Manor as part of the Rothschild Collection.

Enjoy your own walk through The Dorchester Art Guide

Highly Recommend the Dazzling Dorchester, London!

Morocco Best Handwoven Baskets for Everything!

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Morocco is a land of unique crafts, with many skills dating back hundreds of years. If you’ve scoured the secreted corners of the souks in Marrakech, Tangier and Fez, it often involves accessing a secret passage to discover a room of weavers or embroidery teams. Basket weaving is an old tradition of spread crafts, using materials in strip form, mainly the leaves of a little palm tree called “Mediterranean dwarf palm”, very common on the south slopes of the High Atlas mountains.

In the Moroccan countryside, the palm leaves were used to weave ropes, baskets, baskets of donkey saddles and various objects of domestic and agricultural use. You will find baskets hand crafted with leaves of this palm tree using traditional techniques of making baskets with hand cut leather handles.

Photo courtesy of Mustapha El Ouizguiti

Moroccan or Berber carpets are available everywhere, you hear the coppersmiths and metal workers before you discover their alleys of metal pounding. On my recent Camel Caravan, I was on the hunt for a brass lantern and handmade baskets. Moroccan lanterns are wonderful pieces of hand craftsmanship and dazzle at night. My team has made me aware of a small firm in Marrakech where I can make my own basket and learn embroidery to personalize the basket. My basket weaving skills are nonexistent, in Merida, I attempted a simple straw tassel binding class with local women, a small child would have better results. I’m happy to leave artistry to professionals and support the locals!

Hat at my Villa last year

Morocco’s cultural wealth comes from traditional crafts; diverse and varied materials are finely worked by hand, with machines and tools that remain largely traditional, to make decorative and everyday objects.  Craftsmen handed down from generations, using the same raw materials and maintaining the same tools and craft techniques.

 It is above all a country with a rich past, where traditions are deeply rooted. Moroccan art can be classified into two categories: urban and rural. They are cities of art, rich in important traditions from the Orient or Muslim Spain. The oriental influence is particularly concentrated on the creation of rugs, textiles, and embroidery, while the Andalusian tradition is still seen in the arts of ceramics, metal, wood, and leather. If you haven’t visited the leather dying vats, this is an ancient art form, truly an amazing old craft.


Berber or rural art has an older and more “primitive” origin. Objects often have a practical function: furniture, tools, utensils essential to daily life.

Marrakech crafts are deeply rooted in tradition. Craft is passed on to the next generation and those who learn it use it to create real cultural industries.

I hope to meet the basket weavers in Tangier and will share the Marrakech basket excursion!

  • Marrakech Baskets and Bags
  • Marrakech Baskets and Bags
  • Marrakech Baskets and Bags
  • Marrakech Baskets and Bags
  • Marrakech Baskets and Bags
  • Marrakech Baskets and Bags
  • Marrakech Baskets and Bags

Handmade, but practical objects – let me know if you need a handmade straw hat or a woven market basket with handmade leather handles and your name embroidered on it!