When you live in the suburbs in the Midwest, you might feel a little lonely when your style sense makes you hang a thangka, collect Burmese lacquerware, or use a rain drum as a side table next to your sofa. You might wonder, does anyone else out there like these things? Someone must, because these things are out there, and they’re sold. But I don’t know, I never see anything like these in anyone else’s house. My husband and I have lived on a little style island, all by ourselves.
Then along came Pinterest. Especially in the early days of Pinterest, it was easier to find people with similar global style. And that’s where I found Meg Van Lith of the Tierra Del Lagarto store in Scottsdale, Arizona years ago. If you follow her on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook, it’s like you can virtually travel alongside as she searches for goods in India, Turkey, Morocco and Bali.
Then, join in the excitement as containers arrive and dozens of wooden printing blocks from India tumble out, such as these that she recently shared online:
Watch as they unpack and share furniture with exquisite wood carvings and inlaid mother of pearl:
Get an eyeful of the graphic designs of Kuba cloth and mud cloth from Africa:
Seeing their photos of a Morocco shipment and so many familiar Moroccan things made me yearn to go back to Marrakech:
By the way, if anything here interests you, contact Meg — all her contact info is on the store’s website — and she can arrange shipping. She once contacted me while in Bali and asked if I’d be interested in some tjaps. Oh yes, yes I would! I now have some gorgeous tjaps in my collection thanks to Meg!
A few weeks ago I wound up at a meeting within a few miles of her store. Oh yay!! My husband and I stopped in and had a wonderful but way too-short chat with Meg and her mom Linda, and a stroll through their store. We had a plane to catch otherwise I might have brought my suitcase and moved in at Tierra Del Lagarto. After all, they have beds (sumptuously styled with pillows and patterns and textures!):
They have living room areas to lounge:
They have tables to dine:
The thing that made me not want to leave, and perhaps miss a flight home like who cares about going back home, is the extravaganza of layers and patterns and colors. It’s so full of life and fun! As you can see in their photos here, they really excel at boldly and bravely mixing combos of patterns from different cultures and places. I was so enthralled while there, I forgot to take photos. But I guess that’s the best way to experience the store, with your own eyes, not looking through a tiny screen. And I don’t think I could take photos better than these photos styled by Meg and Linda. For a regular dose of these inspiring scenes, follow along at Instagram!