I’m going to guess that most of us have a muse in our lives that we have secretly admired from afar. I discovered my muse over 20 years ago inside the many decor magazines that featured the shops and home of Carol Hicks Bolton. @carolhicksboltonantiiques
In 1998, I flew to Fredericksburg, Texas to see Tim and Carol Bolton’s five stores. It was an experience I will never forget. The visual stimulus, creative ideas and pure retail nirvana was beyond anything I could ever tell you about here. From that time on Carol became an icon to me (a word she would hate) as well as the inspiration for the kind of retail store I longed to have.
2 years later I opened Curious Sofa and many years later I headed to the furniture market in Highpoint, North Carolina. As I walked into her showroom, I once again fell spellbound over her furniture designs and display techniques… and she was there!
I stalked her like a groupie and must have circled her displays a hundred times. When I finally met her I could barely speak. Now, many years later, our paths have crossed often and I am happy to call her my friend.
When you are that smitten your checkbook knows no bounds. Before I knew it, I was ordering a store full of her sofas and case goods for my shop. I returned home to train the staff, make a trip with my sales team to Fredericksburg to see how they did it and returned to transform my store to showcase the new CHB line that would be arriving in a few months.
I came across these pictures today of my store and how I tried to do it like Carol (which today makes me shake my head and laugh out loud)- NO ONE can do it like her. But that didn’t keep me from being determined to try something new.
A few years ago, I was in her new store, looking around. Knowing I was there she called me and said, “Would you walk over to this display I am working on for Round Top and tell me what you think?” I laughed out loud! “What?! Are you joking? You want ME to tell YOU what I think? You can’t be serious?!” But she was. That is the type of person she is. As humble and kind as she is talented.
a few carpet bags I found to coordinate with my CHB line
