Not only does Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo have the best initials ever, she is also a seriously talented lady. With her background in stationery design, freelance styling, interior décor, and floral design, Amy has honed an ability to create beautiful things through various mediums. Her blog, the aptly named ABCD Design is absolutely delightful! Aside from the stunning photography she includes, Amy’s thoughtful posts engage the reader and give us an insight into Amy’s lovely personality. And by the way, Amy is a Twitter all-star! She and I have developed a friendship through our tweeting interaction. She seriously has the whole Twitter concept down pat and always has great observations, advice, and news to share with her followers. Amy is a veritable influencer in the world of style and design.
Name: Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo (ABCD!)
Occupation: Artist, Stylist, Designer
Hometown: Rochester, Michigan. I've lived in Chicago, Illinois, London, England and New York, New York.
Current City: I split my time between New York City, New York and Litchfield County, Connecticut.
LDV: What do you love most about your career in art and design?
AD: The ability to make things that bring pleasure to the eye and and spirit.
LDV: What is the most challenging aspect?
AD: When I have a client who questions my aesthetic, the very thing that they hired me for. It'd be a lot more pleasant if clients didn't get in the way of the process. In my dreams, I could just do my thing and not have to create art for someone. I think the product would most likely turn out better and more consistent in the end.
I tend to like designing for corporate. Styling for a photo shoot - it's a moment in time and you're working for a company who hired you to create for them because of your consistent portfolio. When working with a residential interior design client - they're picking a sofa that they might own for ten years. The wife wants one thing, the husband is mad it's costing so much. What a struggle! When it comes to flower design - brides ask for flowers that are not in season and then flip at how much it will cost to have them shipped in from the other side of the planet.
It's gotten tougher now that people have been empowered by the DIY craze on the internet. Everyone is an artist, designer, writer, or curator now that they have their own blog. I think it has made it more difficult for creatives to make a living.
LDV: Where do you find inspiration?
AD: I find inspiration in everything. Handsome fabrics, the architecture around me, looking at art and fashion, even colors that appear together in nature can be interpreted in a man-made project and still work, but in a very different way.
{Installations by J. Morgan Puett}
LDV: Who are some of your personal style icons?
AD: J. Morgan Puett: http://www.jmorganpuett.com/
Linda Dresner: http://www.lindadresner.com/
Isabella Rossellini: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Rossellini
I really like these women because they are unabashedly real. They wear their individual personalities on their exquisitely fashionable sleeves.
LDV: How would you describe your own style?
AD: I am a maximalist of sorts. I love color and collections. My look is rooted in history, but I have an appreciation for modern, clean lines. I often say I would have been better suited to be born in 1875, not 1975, but I am making my best effort. ;)
LDV: What is the trait you most admire in a person?
AD: Authenticity
LDV: What is your principal weakness?
AD: I am too sensitive. My feelings are hurt all to easily.
LDV: What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
AD: To stop worrying about what other people think.
LDV: What do you consider your greatest achievement?
AD: I'll let you know when I get there! ; )
LDV: What is your idea of living “la dolce vita”?
AD: To spend time with good friends and my family, eating great food in beautiful surroundings.
{A Beautiful Arrangement of Tulips by Martha Stewart}
Bloom: poppies, ranunculus, french tulips
Food: roasted, salted peanut butter
Drink: a icy cold bottle of pol roger champagne http://www.polroger.com/english/
Thing to Wear: an unstructured black dress with opaque tights and boots.
Destination: Italy.
Season: Fall
Meal: cheese, olives and charcuterie with red wine and bread that is crisp on the crust and doughy in the center
Musician: Gail Anne Dorsey
Artist: In general, I have always been drawn to Surrealism. Alberto Giacometti, René Magritte. I have always loved the idea of the exquisite corpse - I love collages, perhaps that is why I am so drawn to it?
Film: Orlando - the flowers, the costume
Book: Anything by Dawn Powell! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawn_Powell
Magazines: Elle Decor, Selvedge Magazine http://www.selvedge.org/
Blogs: You'll laugh, but I really don't read that many blogs! I'll follow links in my twitter stream - but I don't "do" a reader. I simply visit blogs when I think of them. I like the Style-Files, the ladies at Desire to Inspire and I really enjoy All the Best Blog.
Texture: woven
Fabric or Pattern: velvet, mohair
Color: green - black, but that really isn't a color - it just makes other colors look that much better!
Scent: 'Yellow' by Morgane Le Fay
Extravagance: free time
Quote: "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." - Oscar Wilde
Image Credit: All Images Courtesy of Amy Dragoo unless otherwise noted.
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