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Background
of the Cage Series
Quite
by chance, I came upon a large Victorian style birdcage in one of
my favorite furniture and accessory stores. I saw the cage and
thought, with its wonderfully proportioned doors and windows, it
would make a unique setting for a miniature creation, so I
purchased it. After studying the cage, I felt it suggested a
rather exotic interior, and so LaCage d' I'IIe emerged. As it
neared completion, I began to imagine who the people would be that
would undertake such a project in real life. I imagined a young
creative and talented couple who would enjoy a design challenge
like this. Renee and Philippe appeared. Their friends and
relatives play increasing roles as the story line develops, but
Renee and Philippe have become the "Golden Couple" that
has become the heart of each of the cage creations.
After
the completion of LaCage d' I'IIe, a second building was
envisioned, similar to the first but to have a very different
setting that would suggest a different treatment of the building
and its furnishings. It became Chateau LaCage Chambre d'Hote. A
proposed total of five cage designs, to be created, one per year,
will complete the story. The story has become almost as much fun
as the creation of these different structures. The current Cage
III, which is Renee's new studio, is entitled La Cage Atelier.
Synopsis
of LaCage d' I'IIe
(The
story of the first cage)
A
young French couple, Renee a designer, and Philippe a writer, met
while working in San Francisco, married and returned to Paris.
While vacationing on a small privately owned island off the
Southern Coast of France, they discovered an old abandoned
structure that looked like an oversized bird cage. Intrigued by
its possibilities as a dwelling, they purchased it from the cousin
who owned the island, and transformed it into an exotic island
hideaway.
Synopsis
of Chateau LaCage Chambre d'Hote
(The
story of the second cage)
When
Philippe's Aunt Sophie came to see the unusual hideaway, she found
the two story, two room structure, enchanting. She engaged the
young couple to design a similar structure to be built in the
garden behind her centuries old Chateau, which she had recently
renovated and opened as a Bed and Breakfast.
She
thought the addition of a small two room hideaway in the garden
would make a wonderful "honeymoon cottage". It was to be
carefully designed to mimic several of the architectural features
of the Chateau itself, with a terra cotta tile roof, stuccoed
limestone walls and a bedroom balcony.
Renee
and Philippe enjoyed working on this project so much that Renee
decided to give up her position as a fabric designer with a firm
in Rome open her own studio of design in Provence. Philippe
happily agreed.
Go
to Complete Story
: Go to Photographs & Descriptions
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