Prospect Heights, Christmas 1985
And so it came to pass that I was standing lookout on the corner of Vanderbilt Ave and Sterling Place at 3 am on a very cold December morning. My accomplice, David, as the taller of the two, and more coordinated, was given the job of urban lumberjack. We sported black from head to toe, and even rubbed some artist’s charcoal on our faces to keep us as blended with the night as possible.
“Design Tales” is a segment of our web site that shares stories about David and my design life together. David and I were born in the same town in Massachusetts, but in different villages. That meant, that although we were in the same delivery room in the same hospital within days of each other’s birth (with a bit of overlap in the nursery!), we went to elementary schools in two different villages. We actually bumped into each other during our early childhood years, but we didn’t really connect until our sophomore year in high school. It was then that we swiftly bonded, and realized how strongly we each felt about creativity, and design. Later, we were to add a couple of more important components to our life outlook, but a serious dedication to good and thoughtful design coupled with hospitable and gracious entertaining is still a defining hallmark of all that we see and enjoy in our lives.
“Design Tales” will hopefully be an ongoing serial that documents the milestones in our design journey together. Be prepared that sometimes the tales may be a bit salacious or foolish, but all true and part and parcel to the creation of the duo that is David and Paul, and grew to become the family that is Weena and Spook.
David and I relocated from NYC to the Cape in late 1991. Soon after we returned, my grandfather passed away, and when I attended the funeral, sad though I was, I couldn’t help but notice a couple of truly beautiful floral arrangements amongst the typical funerial offerings. They were such a stand out, and I can attest that I had never seen florals from a local designer that could touch these arrangements. This was a new voice.
David and I were newly installed in our first apartment in New York City, Jackson Heights Queens to be precise, for a mere 7 days. We had arrived with a U-Haul filled with pre-designed and prepared decor ( we were only 18 btw). We spent the first week of our lives in this … domicile? … painting and cleaning in order for the space to receive our predetermined decor concept.