Alexandra Stoddard's Pillow

As you may have gathered from the Aunt Mildred & Hope's Room posts, many of the items around my house have a story associated with them.  That could describe most of the situations in my life, but lets stick to decorating :)  The pillow in the photo above is no exception & in fact, has one of the best stories.

Let me start by saying that I am a long-time, avid fan of Alexandra Stoddard's work.  I suspect that many of you know who she is, but for those who don't, she is a lifestyle writer & interior designer who advocates "living a beautiful life" every day & in all aspects of your daily living.  I first discovered her writing in high school & she has been a huge influence on me & my personal philosophy. To meet her was a dream of mine (fulfilled, actually, but that is a post for another day).

About 11 years ago, a good friend of mine got a job on a local newspaper & mentioned that he worked with a woman named A.B. Stoddard.  I knew that Alexandra Stoddard's daughter was a journalist & was also named Alexandra, so I made the connection!  Not long after that, the younger Ms. Stoddard came into the store that I managed & I gushed to her over what a big fan I was of her mother's work.  I'm sure that I made a complete fool out of myself.  About a year later, I was at my friend's place & admired some new drinking glasses.  He told me that he had got them at his friend AB's yard sale, which was going on that weekend.  You know that I sped right on over to that yard sale, post-haste!!! :)

I chose a few things, one of which was the pillow shown above, which went (& still goes) perfectly with the sofa that was in my living room.  When I went to AB to pay for it, she said "You got the big bargain of the yard sale!  My mother bought that pillow for $400 when she was in Greece & gave it to me.  She is so mad that I'm selling it."  I went home, ab-so-lute-ly THRILLED that I had a pillow that used to be THE Alexandra Stoddards!!!! 

I still love that pillow & it goes really well in my living room.  However, it has occurred to me that it is quite possible that the younger Ms. Stoddard was pulling my leg.  She may very well have remembered me from my gushing & decided to give me a little thrill with that story.  Or, it may be true. Its a good story, though, isn't it? :)
 

*****

Edited to Add: I realised that the younger Ms. Stoddard goes by "A.B. Stoddard", not A.J. Stoddard.

Comments

[clarice]

Kim what a great story. If I had a pillow that had belonged to Alexandra Stoddard, it would be were all could see it !! Clarice

[Marilyn]

What a beautiful pillow and story to go with it! I love your blog and am always inspired by your writings and pictures when I visit. Thank you!

[cindy]

What a wonderful story. Her book "Living a Beautiful Life" was one of the first decorating type books I ever bought. It's sitting in my living room. I think I'm inspired to reread it now that I've read our post today.

[Martha]

Lalala LOVE that pillow! Oooo! What a find, no matter whose it was :)

Martha

[Susan]

Nice pillow--perfect with the green chair and red wall. Claire, one of our tea patrons at T-Party was a huge fan of Alexandra Stoddard as well. She contacted her a few years back and they began to correspond. And now they are friends. Pretty cool!

[Trish]

What a pretty pillow! And, what a pretty blog too! I found you via Heather J, and so glad I did. I was inspired by your quote from A. Stoddard about "living a beautiful life every day". I am really going to try to be mindful of that idea every day!

[Southern Heart]

I love the pillow, and that is the most fun story I've heard in awhile! What I wouldn't give to have visited that sale---good for you! A. Stoddard's books were some of the first in my collection...."every room should have a touch of yellow"...she's wonderful! How neat to have something that she chose! Lucky you! I'm so glad that you posted about it for us to enjoy, too.

[Amber]

Love A. Stoddard. LOVE HER!

[Allie from Minneapolis]

Kim, this is a great story! I had never heard of Alexandra Stoddard, although now I'm starting to think that maybe she was in a Country Living or Country Home recently? I went and looked at her website and all of her books sound so great. I think I will order one of them. The pillow you got is great! It really is a great story.

[Christine]

I love the story! I knew that pillow when I saw it immediately, but never knew the story behind it! I have Stoddard's "the gift of a letter," which I bought after you recommended it when we were "correspondants" and think of you every time I see it!