Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 24

C O V E R

S T O R Y

Crystal Court at the Palace of the Lost City, Sun City, South Africa Wilson counts Dr. Peter Farrant, chairman of the Waterberg Welfare Society, among “my greatest inspirations.”

Origins of a Designing Woman
Almost 40 years ago, when she was fresh out of college, Trisha Wilson applied at the Titche-Goettinger department store in downtown Dallas to design its window displays. Unfortunately, she didn’t get that job—but she was hired to sell mattresses on commission, for which she earned about $4,000 a year. She chatted with the customers, taking the opportunity to ask about their projects and business plans. When she learned that a customer who had come in to reupholster chairs was planning to open a restaurant, she offered to decorate it. To her delight, he agreed, and she had her first real design job. It was such a success that she was next hired to design the first Chili’s concept, as well as a few other restaurants. Then she read that developer Trammell Crow was going to put seven restaurants in the 1,000-room Dallas hotel Anatole (another 606 rooms would be added later), and she wrote him a letter full of bravado. “I told him I had a few ideas he could not live without,” she says. Despite the fact that she didn’t actually have any ideas in mind, she says she faked it well enough. And that wasn’t the only exaggeration. When she got his call that he hired her and her “six employees,” she actually had only one in addition to herself. “Six sounded more impressive,” she says. At first, the commission only covered the design of the restaurants. Not long after, Crow entrusted the young designer with the entire hotel. “My entire career was launched by one gutsy letter,” she says. Wilson Associates was on a roll after that, building out its portfolio with hotel and restaurant work. But it was in the early ’90s that the firm catapulted into a class all its own. That was when hotelier and developer Sol Kerzner challenged the firm to design the Palace of the Lost City in South Africa based on a fable they’d create with architect WATG. It was the biggest project to date for Wilson’s firm, and it led to media mentions that they had “changed the face of design.” Jerry Inzerillo, executive vice president of Kerzner International, knew Wilson well. He had worked with her when she and her team designed The Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas, where he was the opening general manager. He says that in addition to her “superb taste,” work ethic, and people skills, her sense of humor made the collaboration fun. “It’s no surprise to me that all these qualities would be amplified the day she combined forces with one of the greatest hospitality visionaries of our time, Sol Kerzner,” he says. Pairing the two of them together “was like Lennon and McCartney,” he notes.

jeweler Sue Gragg, to design the “Hope Bracelet,” a black onyx beaded bracelet with The Wilson Foundation’s hand logo as a charm (available online at www.thewilsonfoundation.org). And for 10 years, Wilson Associates has held the Point of Excellence Awards luncheon to recognize service to the design industry—an event which has about an 89 percent return rate of attendees each year. All of the money raised—which varies depending on the economy—goes directly to The Wilson Foundation programs. Juxtaposing Wilson’s “two lives” is an interesting exercise. On one hand, she designs structures that are the pinnacle of opulence and luxury for celebrities, royalty and businessmen. On the other, she’s in love with a place where plumbing, electricity and even proper oors are the exception rather than the rule. But it’s in this place of great need that she nds some of her greatest inspiration. For one, there’s Dr. Peter Farrant, chairman of the Waterberg Welfare Society, which primarily combats with the HIV/ AIDS pandemic, providing medical care, community outreach and support groups for adults and children. “He could be doing any number of different things with his life, but he has chosen to stay in Vaalwater and dedicate his life to helping the poor and the sick,” says Wilson. For another, there’s a young man named Zach who lived in a shack next to a garbage

24

Boutique Design | November+December 2010

Peter Vitale, Santa Fe, N.M. (left); Courtesy of Wilson Associates (right)


http://www.thewilsonfoundation.org http://www.thewilsonfoundation.org

Boutique Design - November/December 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Boutique Design - November/December 2010

Boutique Design - November/December 2010
From the Editor
Contents
Boutique Buzz
Into Africa
Q+A: Carlos Couturier
Cool, Daddy-O
Seattle’s Pioneering Courtyard
A Cosmic Experience
Vendor Profile: Diana Dobin, Valley Forge Fabrics
DreamBook: Escape the Ordinary
Showroom: Lighting
The Last Detail
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - Boutique Design - November/December 2010
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - Cover2
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 1
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - From the Editor
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 3
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - Contents
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 5
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 6
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 7
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - Boutique Buzz
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 9
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 10
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 11
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 12
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 13
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 14
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 15
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 16
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 17
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 18
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 19
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 20
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 21
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - Into Africa
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 23
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 24
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 25
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 26
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 27
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - Q+A: Carlos Couturier
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 29
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 30
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 31
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - Cool, Daddy-O
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 33
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 34
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 35
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 36
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 37
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - Seattle’s Pioneering Courtyard
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 39
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 40
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 41
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 42
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 43
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 44
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 45
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - A Cosmic Experience
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 47
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 48
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - Insert1
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - Insert2
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 49
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Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 72
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 73
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 74
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 75
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - Vendor Profile: Diana Dobin, Valley Forge Fabrics
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 77
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - DreamBook: Escape the Ordinary
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 79
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 80
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 81
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 82
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 83
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - Showroom: Lighting
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 85
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 86
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - 87
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - The Last Detail
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - Cover3
Boutique Design - November/December 2010 - Cover4
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