apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Hi- I work for Blueprint magazine here in Chicago...Our November/December issue (out soon) has a feature on Amy Butler and takes a look inside her home...:)

I would love to review this book for my mom who grew up and still lives in Michigan. She lived on a farm as a child, but has always been drawn to more modern/scandanavian design. She lacks confidence in marrying the modern with the more traditional homes (that came with crown moulding, chair rails and barns) she and my father have always built or purchased. Right now she would love to "modernize" the retirement condo they live in, in which my father will not hear of painting the oak woodwork and insists on keeping the monster ornate entertainment unit it came with. Maybe this book could help her see that she can make the dichotomy work and acheive the look and feel she has always admired.

Thank you. Kimberly Kay

Arlene! Blueprint Amy Butler = so happy gasped out loud in work pod.

I would love to review this book. I have lived in the Midwest all my life, growing up in Detroit and then moving to Chicago a couple years after college. I have been following Amy Butler's career quite closely over the last couple years - I have used several of her sewing patterns and her material for various projects. I'm a big fan of the way that she has marketed herself and I love that she is so willing to help other young women who are looking to start their own business. She also defended herself quite eloquently about a year ago (maybe longer?) when there was a blow-up over her attempt to control how items made with her material were sold - essentially she was just trying to prevent mass production outlets from using her fabric, but there was a lot of misunderstanding that she was trying to control everyone. Throughout that ordeal she maintained her integrity and gained my respect. I would love to help promote her new book - I'm assuming it deserves promotion based on everything else she has done, but I'll keep an open mind.

What a fun and easy challenge! Read a lifestyle book with gorgeous photographs and tell other AT: Chicago readers what I think?! Ok, twisted my arm.

In the two weeks my research will delve deep. I’ll do my best to whip up recipies and projects in order to provide a full review.

Though it may be tough I’ll try to look past the beauty of Amy Bulter’s work to determine how well her ideas translate into practifal application.

Can I include my own pictures if anything turns out well?

I can’t wait!

Oops! And I promise to spell check my review before I submit it ;0)

As a former Punk Planet book reviewer I have a bit of experience looking at what authors do and giving my oh-so-pithy (and usually short) opinions of their work. But, Amy Butler…now that’s up my alley.

Look, I spent a week making my diaper bag from her “nappy bag” pattern (and her lovely pink and brown fabric) while my son slept in his sling against my chest. And I did it all without the benefit of knowing how to use a sewing machine. Thanks to her design it came out great and I still get asked where I got the thing.

If I can do that, I can take two weeks to test-drive the new book and tell AT readers if the package meets the promise.

I’m a transplant to the Midwest, but after thirteen years in Chicago, I’ve found myself changed by the aesthetics of the place. I can’t picture my home without the influences of prairie-modern and Big-Shoulders-bungalow and flatlander-mod that we’re blessed to have out here. I would love to see how Ms. Butler describes her take on the things that make up my beloved “Midwestern Modern”.

I’m a mean book reviewer (and sometimes a nice book reviewer), a pie baker, crafter, and knitter without fear, and I love my adopted region and its play of light, architecture, design, and landscape as if it had always been my own. I’m your girl.

(And I’ll send you pictures.)

Well, I'm not a book reviewer. I am a stay at home mom (now) so I have time to sew and cook and decorate and read about sewing and cooking and decorating . I grew up in Michigan and returned after living in the south for 20 years. I guess, I love Amy Butler for letting other people in different areas know that you can be fashion forward living in the midwest. We don't look like Little house on the prarie. We may not all live in a bigger city, but we don't all need to either. She has great ideas- in both patterns and fabrics. I can't wait to read and see the new book.

I would love to review this book. I'm an avid reader who has gotten much more into home decor in the past year, and I love living in the Midwest, but I'm a firm believer we can still have a modern style that continues to reflect the warmth and comfort traditionally associated with the heart of the country. Additionally, this would be a great time for me to do it, as I'm getting married next week, so I will a) need a project after all the planning is done and b) be focusing on setting up our new home!

love to review it