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International Towing & Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum parked in Chattanooga - Wilson Post

Known for its touching calendar of theatre performances, next up at HOME is 12 Last Songs, a performance focused on the everyday lives of working people. The workers have diverse jobs, are local to Manchester and are brought together in HOMEs gallery during this emotive performance.

600 questions will be asked to the workers over the 12 hours, with the hope to inspire conversations. A chef, nursery worker or a drone operator might share the space with an astrophysicist, ICU nurse or Uber driver. 12 Last Songs is directed by Quarantines Artistic Director Richard Gregory and premiered at Leeds Playhouse in 2021.

Quarantine is a Manchester-based ensemble of artists and producers making original theatre, performance and public events since 1998. United by an interest in what it means to be alive right now, they have achieved international acclaim for work that is intellectually rigorous, radical in form, and unique in character.

12 Last Songs is a live portrait of place and people set around the usual question asked when we meet someone new; what do you do?. Audiences see different fragments of society come together, with work becoming a way to talk about how we see the world and our place in it.

Richard Gregory, Quarantines Co-Artistic Director said: Quarantine has always been interested in who people are and how they experience the world. Maybe in all our work, theres this kind of simultaneous concern with whats going on at this moment in time and how to invent a language of performance to talk about that.

12 Last Songs features 24 workers from Manchester. It constructs a fleeting portrait of society as a live exhibition of people, in a performance that documents the steady rhythms of working life on a large scale. From midday to midnight, workers will perform paid shifts of their usual jobs within the unique setting of the gallery space at HOME. A builder might build a wall, a hairdresser might cut someones hair and a chef might prepare a meal.

When the work premiered as a co-production with Transform Festival at Leeds Playhouse in 2021, audiences were treated to witnessing an opera singer perform, a cook making dinner for everyone in the room, and a lecture on the birth canal from a midwife. There was a local MP, an imam and an ex-prisoner in conversation, and an astrophysicist giving a lecture about the solar system. The longest shift comes from a painter and decorator who works for 10 hours, wallpapering walls that mark the passing of time.

A multitude of job roles and professions will be represented in this iteration of 12 Last Songs. The selected workers represent diverse forms of labour spanning all walks of life. 600 questions are asked during the 12 hours by 3 Quarantine performers, providing a structural frame for the organic process of curating the group of workers. Questions can be work-related like how do you travel to work? or how much do you earn? as well as more intimate like do you have enough friends? or who do you love?.

Richard Gregory, Quarantines Co-Artistic Director said: Our theatres are important civic spaces and we question who gets to have a voice within them. With 12 Last Songs, we invite people together who might not normally share the same space. We mix experienced performers with people whove never done anything like this before.

The work becomes a lens to talk about broader things about the way that society is structured, beliefs and values, economics and politics. We try to make these possibilities in the frame of theatre- and art-making to question whose voice gets heard and what that means. We are delighted to be bringing 12 Last Songs to HOME and excited to find workers from Manchester to join the performance.

Kevin Jamieson, Head of Programme at HOME said: Bringing 12 Last Songs to HOME is an exciting prospect for all of us in the building. It is a unique work that enables us to see the complex and rich working life of the people in Manchester all within our gallery space for 12 hours. Quarantine is a dynamic and much loved Manchester company one of HOMEs founding Partner Companies and we look forward to this epic adventure with them.

Artist Lowri Evans will be live streaming film from the outside world into the performance space during the work, looking at places where people gather together, creating a direct relationship to the city and a sense of the life happening outside.

12 Last Songs is a durational work taking place on Saturday 24 September 2022 at HOME. It takes place over 12 hours and audiences can come and go throughout the performance. To book tickets go to homemcr.org

Any Manchester-based workers who are interested in joining this performance work on 24 September can get in touch with Quarantine here.

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12 Last Songs at HOME

Date: Saturday 24th SeptemberTime: 12 hours from 12pmVenue: HOMEPrice: Pay What You Can 5/10/15/20

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From Hairdressers to Chefs: The 12-Hour Live Performance Documenting the Working Lives of the People of Manchester - Manchester's Finest

The pursuit to recapture your past is a waste of time. The past lives in the past and is therefore non-existent in the present. Time travel has not been invented. So claims the title card that opens The Resort, Peacocks new mystery/comedy series which debuted on July 28. Despite the warning, the concept of time is certainly at the heart of the sci-fi-leaning show thanks to a dynamic storyline that bends through the past, present and future as its lead characters, the not-so-happily married Emma (Cristin Milioti) and Noah Reed (William Jackson Harper), head to Mexico to celebrate their 10th anniversary and find themselves knee-deep in a 15-year-old mystery.

Created by Andy Siara, the screenwriter behind the similarly time-warpy 2020 film Palm Springs, The Resort is proving a thoroughly enjoyable watch, with Deadline billing it part metaphysical detective story, part Indiana Jones-esque adventure, part coming-of-age romance. Mainly set against the backdrop of the upscale Oceana Vista, a once-grand resort that falls victim to a hurricane, the show also has a healthy dose of The White Lotus mixed in.

Purported to take place on Mexicos Yucatn Peninsula just outside of Cancun, The Resorts cast and crew instead headed to Puerto Rico for the shoot, where The Ritz-Carlton, San Juan, located at 6961 Ave. Gobernadores, was pegged to portray the star-crossed Oceana Vista. In a fascinating case of art imitating life, the property was ravaged by Hurricane Mara in 2017 and has sat shuttered and abandoned ever since, making it quite a unique spot to film.

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The Resort Filming Location: Oceana Vista Hotel Is The Ritz-Carlton, San Juan in Puerto Rico - DIRT

Enjoy New Jersey dining and drinking this August with special events, festivals and more. And if youre heading to the shore, check out New Jersey Monthlys best places to eat by the beach.

August is National Rum Month, and the Shannon Rose is embracing the spirit at both of its Garden State locations. From August 1-31, guests can enjoy tiki cocktails, rum fishbowls and special tropical cuisine. Open daily at 11 am.1200 NJ-17, Ramsey; 201-962-760298 Kingsland Road, Clifton; 973-284-0200

APEM Creamery/Sorbetteria is catering to Sopranos fans this month. Photo courtesy of APEM Creamery/Sorbetteria

APEM Creamery is tipping its hat to The Sopranos with flavors such as Richie Apriles Leather Jacket (salted chocolate caramel), The Guy Was an Interior Decorator (pine nuts, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt), Ginny Sacks Secret Stash (chocolate with candy), Johnnycakes (lemon buttermilk cornbread with blueberries), Gabagool (strawberry coconut) and more. The creamery opens at 12:30 pm, Thursday-Sunday.870 Broad Street, Bloomfield; 973-666-0438

This hard seltzer event is making its first appearance at the Shore. Guests can sample more than 100 different hard seltzer brands,including Mikes Hard, White Claw, Vizzy and more. Tickets are $29 for general admission and $49 for VIP, which includes early access, a full can of hard seltzer, a special cocktail and a commemorative tasting cup. Sessions are from 1:30-4 pm and 5:30-8 pm.2 Stadium Way, Lakewood; 732-901-7000

Celebrate the Garden States favorite produceplus beer!at this fifth annual festival. The event offers farm-to-table corn and tomato dishes prepared by local restaurants and farmers. The beer garden features 10 Jersey craft breweries. Live music, crafts for kids and artisan vendors are part of the festival, too.Stangl Road, Flemington

On National Rum Day, Kona Grill is serving its Rum Drink, made with coconut rum, pineapple, orange and a splash of grenadine. Enjoy your beverage indoors or out on Konas patio.511 US-1, Woodbridge Township; 732-750-4400

The 19th annual market in West Windsor is held every Saturday from 9 am-1 pm. Shoppers can find fresh pastas, chocolates, meat, poultry, beer, jams, Jersey Fresh produce and more. Food trucks serve crepes, fresh juices, sandwiches and vegan options. The market is held at the southbound side of the Princeton Junction train station at the Vaughn commuter lot.877 Alexander Road, West Windsor; 609-913-7581

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The Best Food Events in New Jersey This August - New Jersey Monthly

Washington also may have misunderstood how best to engage with Taiwan. Showing support could backfire rather than inhibiting China, it could embolden it.

They think that by signalling US commitment, that somehow enhances deterrence, said Oriana Skylar Mastro, an expert on the Chinese military at Stanford University. But China [already] assumes the US will intervene; what China is worried about is actual US capability to defend Taiwan.

The other side of the coin, however, is who else could stand up to China if not the US. Beijings threats made it difficult, if not impossible, for Ms Pelosi to cancel and risk looking weak.

The jury is out even for Taiwans 23 million residents some favour independence; others seek closer ties to the mainland. So hotly contested is the issue that politicians win or lose elections based on how they campaign on cross-strait relations.

Most, though, favour a fuzzy status quo lack of clarity allows them to go about their daily lives and ignore the elephant in the room.

Seriously, weve been threatened for 70 years already, said Ian Ciou, a professor of industrial design.

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China's military drills could be a prelude to something much worse in Taiwan - The Telegraph

Queen Elizabeth II records her annual Christmas broadcast in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle

It was already no doubt a strange Christmas for the Queen in 2021, her first in over 70 years without her strength and stay, the late Duke of Edinburgh, by her side. Add to that the threat of an intruder stalking the grounds of her home with a crossbow, and it becomes a very surreal and dramatic occasion indeed.

20-year-old Southampton resident Jaswant Singh Chail broke into the grounds of Windsor Castle, where Her Majesty was spending the festive season, with the intent to injure. As such, he was charged yesterday under section 2 of the Treason Act 1842, as well as with threats to kill under section 16 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and possession of an offensive weapon under section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953. Currently remanded in custody, he will next appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 17 August.

While he was unable to access any of the buildings before getting caught, it was undoubtedly a troubling time for the royal and her family, including the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, who would have been having their Christmas morning breakfast at the time of the break-in, which occurred at 8.30am.

It is not the first time that the Queen has had to deal with an intruder. On 9 July 1982, a painter and decorator named Michael Fagan broke in to Buckingham Palace, entering the monarch's bedroom at approximately 7.15am and waking her up, with security arriving shortly afterwards. It wasn't the first time he'd managed it: a week earlier he claimed to have shimmied up a drainpipe to gain entry, eating cheese and crackers on the roof and walking around like a tourist undisturbed. He even claimed to have helped himself to a half-drunk bottle of wine, and spotted gifts for the newborn Prince William in the post room. The shocking event was dramatised for an episode of The Crown in season 3.

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An intruder who broke into Windsor Castle when the Queen was in residence has been charged with treason - Tatler

Hulus comedic caper Only Murders in the Building follows a trio of amateur sleuths residing in the fictional Arconia, a classic New York apartment building, where they are surrounded by suspects. Each unit provides the opportunity to reveal backstories and crucial character details.

Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin), a semi-retired actor, bought his 14th-floor unit in the 90s while on a successful crime series. Production designer Curt Beech notes this set was given a newer kitchen and some renovated spaces. It made him look much smarter with his money. We gave him art that shows hes a shrewd collector [with] a good eye.

Martin Shorts Oliver Putnam, a down-on-his-luck Broadway director, resides in a unit thats all about theatricality; young artist Mabel Mora, portrayed by Selena Gomez, is a work in progress, as she is renovating her aunts unit while living there.

The sets also provide character development for their suspects. The residence of Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton) is meant to look like it has been taken over by [his] cat and is only about [his] cat, says Beech, citing a huge feline portrait in the living room. What we were going for in his apartment is that it was his mothers place. Hes added a few things here and there for the cat primarily. Sting, playing himself, lives in a penthouse whose rock-star details include boxes for a road tour and vintage guitar cases. We have the XOXO neon [sign] in red, which is a nod to [The Polices] Roxanne: You dont have to put on the red light,' says Beech.

For the home of Tim Kono, who dies in the pilot, Beech says, it had to have a bit of mystery to it. We purposely did not give him as much character in his apartment. The important Hardy Boys books on the shelves, though, had to be visible.

This story first appeared in a July stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

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How Production Design of Only Murders in the Building Told Stories About the Shows Characters - Hollywood Reporter

I remember the moment I fell in love with gardening: it was the first time I saw a small flower with snakeskin-like petals.

I was 18 and juggling two jobs as a painter and decorator during the day, and pulling pints at The Crown in the evening. Late one night, I witnessed a car accident a black Vauxhall Calibra, driven by a drunk driver, crashed into a pillar at the entry to a Mr Phillip Bindings house in Winscombe, a small village in the south-west of England. I knocked on the door the following day and, although I didnt catch the number plate, I described the unusual car to Mr Binding. He appreciated my assistance, and asked if I knew of anyone who could help him in his garden on weekends.

I was trying to save money to travel to Australia, so I jumped at the chance to earn a little more. My first job was collecting a bucket of sheep poo and mixing it with natural yoghurt, leaving this wonderful concoction out in the sun and then painting it on the newly repaired front pillar to help age the stonework. What a start in landscaping!

One day, I failed miserably while trying to cut perfectly manicured stripes in Mr Bindings grass with the lawnmower. But rather than shouting at me for destroying his lawn, he took me over to a sloping area of the lawn that he called the rise. Then he knelt down and showed me the most incredible flower I had ever seen. It was a snakes head fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris), popping up through the grass. The texture of the inky purple bloom looked just like a snakes skin. My awe at this amazing thing growing from the ground sparked something in me it was the moment I knew that I wanted to become a gardener.

I was born in Hong Kong in the 1980s. At that time, the bustling city was dirty and polluted. My love for landscapes actually began in Hong Kong. I spent the first 12 years of my life in the small fishing village of Sai Kung, in a relatively rural area, and this is probably why I think of Hong Kong as a green space rather than an enormous city.

When Hong Kong was handed back to China, we moved back to the United Kingdom and the rolling hills of Somerset. I enjoyed riding around the English countryside on horseback. This certainly influenced my love of the outdoors and my appreciation for nature.

My mother, who is a keen gardener, tried on multiple occasions to get me interested in the gardening life. Once she offered to pay me five pence per piece to move rocks around her garden for a project she was doing. She also tried to get my siblings and me to help in the vegetable patch, mainly to show us the paddock-to-plate ethos this backfired when we were served oversized and incredibly tough vegetable-stuffed marrow. Im happy to say that my move into gardening has propelled me into the favourite-child position in our family, and now one of my most cherished things to do is spend time out in my garden with my mum when she comes over to visit.

With a love of the outdoors, minimal gardening skills but a rapidly growing passion for horticulture, I packed my suitcase and made Australia home for my gap year. I did all the things backpackers do drank too much, laid around getting sunburnt and did rubbish jobs for a bit of extra cash. I was having a beer with a mate one night when he mentioned his brother needed some help doing garden maintenance the next day, and was I interested? Of course I said yes, expecting that I would be mowing lawns, deadheading roses or pruning shrubs. However, a rude shock awaited me I spent the whole day with a leaf blower in my hand, moving leaves from one end of the Coca-Cola factory car park in Parramatta to the other. Im not sure if there is another nation that has a bigger infatuation with leaf blowers than Australia!

Towards the end of my gap year, I realised that Australia was the place for me and working outdoors was something I loved doing. I knew that I didnt want to hold a leaf blower my whole life, but I was keen to find out how I could work in horticulture.

I spent a year in England, working out how to get back to Australia. During this time, I built a garden for my mother. It included a raised patio with recycled paving slabs, bricks and anything else I could find, plus a feature flower garden and a natural pond. The pond took ages, as I found it difficult to get an even water level. It was fun working alongside my mum, and throughout the project the bud of interest in gardening was swelling (pardon the pun!). Not long after, I ended up back in Australia on a student visa.

I studied full-time at Ryde TAFE and achieved a diploma of horticulture and landscape design. The course was excellent, but, in all honesty, theres nothing like hands-on learning out in the field. This is where I really learned about how plants grow, what they need and how just one element such as too much sun, slightly waterlogged soil, prevailing wind or sandy soil can make a huge difference to plant growth. You cant be a good landscape designer if youre not a gardener first.

Once I finished TAFE, I started to focus on my own business, Inspired Exteriors, full-time. I had plenty of work and was designing and building a wide range of gardens. I didnt have a personal style at the time, but I loved creating different themes and styles of garden to suit each individual client. The early years really were about observing and learning, and I found that I enjoyed this and could quickly apply the lessons I had learned.

I was a member of the Australian Institute of Landscape Designers and Managers, and out of the blue I received an email that went out to all of its members asking if we wanted to audition for a role as a presenter for a television show. So I got my housemate to film me at one of my projects, and sent in the video. To cut a long story short, the show was Selling Houses Australia and I got the job! With no previous television experience, I was actually terrible at the start. However, we did go on to film the show for 13 years, so I must have got better at it.

Working on television is an amazing experience, and it has given me so much: the ability to inspire others to try gardening, as well as a way to travel the country and meet all types of people. But hands-down the best thing television has done for me is to introduce me to my wife.

After two seasons of Selling Houses Australia, I was asked to host a new show called The Party Garden. While the premise of the show was great renovate a garden and then have a big party in the new space the reality was a bit of a disaster. However, interior designer Juliet Love was chosen as my co-host. I had seen pictures of Juliet and I thought she was perfection. Her first impression of me wasnt great, though when I tried to make a joke about my car and the relative size of my manhood, it fell flat but we are married now with two children, so something must have worked in my favour!

Our show had one season, but Selling Houses Australia continued on. By this time I had become a qualified tradesman and supervisor, and through my business I was designing and building lots of gardens. I was happy, as I could work in two different fields. Television is a quick in-and-out gig, working towards high-impact, often budget-conscious elements of a garden; on the flip side, creating a garden from nothing for my private clients allows me to spend time getting to know them, find out what they want from a garden and implement it in a manner that completely changes the way they live. Both are rewarding in different ways.

The annual RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London has long been a pinnacle of garden design and innovation, and its every gardeners dream to exhibit there. In 2013, my brothers wedding happened to coincide with the event, so I hatched a plan to film a magazine-style show for the Lifestyle Channel, which gave me access to all the gardens (usually off-limits to everyone apart from judges and esteemed guests!). Walking through these amazing gardens that had been created in just three weeks and seeing how even the smallest detail can have an impact on the whole atmosphere of a space had a profound effect on me. From that moment on, I designed gardens in a completely different way.

I was back the following year to film a documentary about Australian garden designer Phillip Johnson and his team going for gold at the show. The garden was epic: a huge billabong with cascading waterfalls, a grotto and a floating studio, and it deservedly won best in show.

During this visit, I met larger-than-life landscaper Mick Conway, who was helping out on the Australian build. We became friends and went on to build three gardens together at Chelsea. The first was for a hero of mine, Alan Titchmarsh, who was a pioneer of gardening on television in the United Kingdom. Helping on his build felt like a real honour. I worked closely with designer Kate Gould, and it was great to be digging, planting and pruning each plant to perfection. The thing about Chelsea is that you are surrounded by people who are the best at what they do, and they are more than happy to share their knowledge. I love that about horticulture there is a real sense of camaraderie.

The following year, 2015, was my first attempt at a garden of my own at Chelsea. It was thrilling to be responsible for such a large show garden on the main avenue of the showgrounds. In all honesty, I thought I would only ever get one shot at making a garden in this magical place, so I decided to create one that really meant something to me. I designed a garden called The time in-between which was dedicated to my father, who passed away when I was 17. This was my chance to tell him about what happened in my life after he died it was a space to reconnect.

The garden was split into three sections. The first was a path wide enough to fit the whole family side-by-side, meandering through flowering plants I grow in my own garden at home. In the central part, a water feature slowly filled, stalled and then rapidly emptied, which replicated the emotions felt when someone close to you passes away. The final section at the rear of the garden was a sunken courtyard surrounded by solid sandstone pillars, each one representing an important person in my life. In the centre of the courtyard was a firepit that represented my wife and the fire within me, and the planting here became more foliage-based to direct the energy inwards and allow us to sit and really connect.

It was a hugely personal journey for me, from coming up with the garden concept and pitching it to companies for sponsorship, to organising the team to install it. The process was incredibly intense and stressful. Luckily, we made a TV show about it so I can now enjoy the memory of the garden, and my children will be able to watch the show when they get older.

We were awarded the second-highest medal: Silver Gilt. It was an amazing achievement! The thing I love about Chelsea is the feedback from the judges who hand out the medals. You are judged very strictly against the brief you have submitted with your application; not only do you have to meet that brief, but you also have to be horticulturally correct. For example, if you plant something in the shadow of a tree but it requires more sun, you get marked down. I was marked down for the ground cover between my stepping stones, as the judges said it needed to be a bigger clump so it wouldnt dry out. It really is a mix of science and art.

A second chance

When I was invited back to submit a design for the show the following year, my wife couldnt believe that I was even going to consider it after what the last one had taken out of me. But I wasnt going to let the experience slip away, so back to the drawing board I went. I wanted to do something completely different. My first garden was a loose, flowing, emotive space, so this time it would be formal and tight.

I decided to design a space for a busy couple to retreat to after work, with a sunken lawn surrounded by layers of hedging and large box-head trees, plus a small courtyard with a feature garden bed connected to a pavilion with a floating roof. To tie the various areas together, a copper water rill ran around the courtyard, down the steps and around the lower sunken lawn. The project had its ups and downs, and I was let down by the company that supplied the copper for the water rill. Every garden at the show is built with precision, so when the copper arrived and the measurements were off, the joints were wonky and ugly black silicone had been used to fill the gaps, I was in despair. We spent days trying to fix the issues, and ultimately we ran out of time to go over the garden in detail and tweak the tiniest elements. Despite this, we were awarded another Silver Gilt medal and I can say that I am the only Australian-based landscape designer to exhibit at Chelsea two years in a row.

Opening new doors

Soon after this, I was asked to design and implement a project in Hong Kong, which led to me being introduced to the owners of the Shangri-La Hotel group. They were impressed with my efforts and asked me to help with the redesign of the lobby of their flagship hotel in Singapore.

The famous Shangri-La Singapore has a huge six metre by nine metre wall above the lobby bar, and the Japanese interior designer envisioned a new rock wall alive with planting. Thats where I came in. The design process was fun, and I oversaw the build. Our stonemason, Callum Gray, and my team created a stunning piece of which we are very proud.

The Chelsea connection has sent me all over the globe, and I was even invited to design a garden at the worlds largest garden expo in Beijing. With just 24 hours notice, I drafted and submitted a design, and then watched from Australia as an excellent team of builders pulled it together.

The schedule I had to keep to ensure that all of these garden projects were delivered on time and to a high standard, as well as flying all over the country to film Selling Houses Australia, was taking its toll. I missed my family and they missed me, and my boys were starting to ask why I had to leave so often. So when I got a call from Russell Palmer, the executive producer of TV show Better Homes and Gardens, I was interested. The pitch to become the new landscaper on the hit show got me excited I would be telling stories and inspiring people to get into gardening, just like Phillip Binding and Alan Titchmarsh had done for me. It also meant that I could be at home a lot more. Although I knew that I would miss the team at Selling Houses Australia, going out on a high and moving towards a better quality of life for my family won hands-down.

So here I am now, writing this book in the hope that it will inspire you to give gardening a go. Go outside and take in your garden. Close your eyes and think about what your dream garden would look like, how it would make you feel and how it might change your life. Hopefully, youll pick up a few tips and tricks in this book to make that dream a reality.

Garden of Your Dreams by Charlie Albone, $39.99, is out August 2, via Murdoch Books

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Charlie Albone shares his love of gardening and tips for creating your dream green space in new book - The West Australian

An early lesson from Jan Showerss career: Buy what you love. It was the late 1990s, and the Texas designer was in Paris to buy a container full of antiques to kick off her Dallas showroom. This was her first big buying trip abroad, and she was facing a dilemma: At the time, Dallas was a brown furniture town, and there was plenty of that available in France. But Showers didnt like it. She split the difference, buying half a container of classic 18th- and 19th-century antiques and filling up the other half with the stuff she liked, mostly pieces from the late 1940s.

As soon as I got all the antiques in the store, what sold first? What I loved, Showers tells host Dennis Scully on the latest episode of The Business of Home Podcast. I had to book a trip back to Paris to buy more of it. And I then had to sit and look at all the pieces I didnt like. That taught me never to buy something I didnt love. If I dont love it, I cant sell it.

Showers, an interior designer, product designer and showroom owner, is the wearer of many hats and a doyenne of Texas design. The Lone Star State is a particularly good place to be a success in the design industry these days, as it is benefiting from the same COVID-era boom as the rest of the country, only more so (the lack of a state income tax has helped draw pandemic-era city escapers, especially from California). Thats especially true in Dallas, a town that, perhaps unlike Austin, isnt particularly shy about big houses decorated to the nines.

We had the wonderful head of Dallas Museum of Art [host an event], and he said the thing thats the best and worst about Dallas is materialism, says Showers. I dont think thats the case, but I do think people in Dallas want their houses done. Its very easy to find houses in Dallas that can be published.

In this episode of the podcast, Showers breaks down the recent Dallas Kips Bay Decorator Show House; talks about her own product lines rocky early days; details what young designers need to do to put themselves on the right track; and explains why she recently pulled her furniture out of showrooms to sell direct to designers online.

I had a couple of friends in the manufacturing business who encouraged me. My furniture has been out there for a long time, people know our product, people are buying online, she says. Ive been thinking about [making this move for] quite a while. We have 6,000 square feet of antiqueswe put those online and thats done great. So I thought: Its time.

Listen to the show below. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. This episode was sponsored by Ben Soleimani and SideDoor.

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How Jan Showers learned to trust her instincts - Business of Home

There are a growing number of options to replace the plastic light switch.

When it comes to brutalist functionality, its hard to beat the white plastic rocker switch. Its an inexpensive, ubiquitous 21st-century incarnation of the switch dreamt up by the electrical engineer John Henry Holmes in 1884, which employed quick-break technology that turned lights on and off instantly.

Thirty years later, William J. Newton moved things on again with an elegant, brass toggle switch that replaced the push button.

It was the creeping functionality of light switches that interior designer Serena Herbert sought to address when she launched Forbes & Lomax more than 30 years ago. Its first invisible light switch: a simple, transparent Perspex plate that allowed the wallpaper or paint beneath to show through, with only a metal switch visible. It was an instant hit.

The type of light switch you choose comes down to a question of budget, believes Mrs Herbert. A white plastic light switch costs a few pounds, whereas ours start at 40. However, the effect, we believe, can be quite transformative.

For a relatively little outlay, changing these details can instantly albeit almost unconsciously smarten up a space.

Light switches havent always been utilitarian, notes Mrs Herbert, who remembers that those at her school were made of cast brass in the shape of a friars head.

You would toggle his nose up and down. The Forbes & Lomax collection includes a range of rotary dimmers and momentary switches that come in the form of a toggle, rocker or button. I think the whole idea of a switch is not to notice them, she adds.

Interior decorator Irene Gunter has more forthright views on the matter of white plastic light switches. We never use them, except in functional spaces such as garages. I wouldnt even use them in a utility room.

She turns instead to Forbes & Lomax or Focus SB for more elegant solutions.

The Forbes and Lomax invisible switch

Antique brass and bronze finishes are still very much in fashion, but it depends on the scheme: bronze sockets can look like dark blobs on a cream wall, explains Mrs Gunter. The ideal is to make them so subtle you hardly notice them. Well go as far as to powder-coat switches and sockets in the same colour as the walls, if the budget allows.

Mrs Gunter says that clients arent generally aware of the impact the right switches and sockets will have, until its pointed out. She also adds that our approach to switches is different to that of Europe. In Belgium, they take it very seriously and there is a whole array of brands available that we dont have in the UK.

Heralding that shift is the arrival of the Wiltshire-based Corston Architectural Detail. The online company was born out of a demand for a coherent range of fittings, explains founder Giles Redman.

He sees a further reason for white plastic light switches falling out of favour: customers are demanding more sustainable materials. All our switches and sockets are made from solid brass, a natural material that is also recyclable.

He adds: We also strongly believe that the tactile parts of the home you interact with every day are really important, hence they should be a joy to use.

A generation or two ago, kitchens were routinely re-done in bright colours and there's something in colourful kitchen design even

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Light switch alternatives: Why its time to ditch plastic - Country Life