Designer Firs Sparkle Brightly at Noel d’Elegance
Everybody’s heard of designer furs. But designer firs?
Dressed in such elaborate gildings as moire silk-covered ornaments and opalescent poinsettias, the Douglas fir, noble fir and even the lowly pine entered the designer ranks to bring in dollars for charity last weekend.
Is it a trend? Maybe. Six designer-decorated Christmas trees were the highlight of the South County Cancer League’s Noel d’Elegance held at the Ritz-Carlton Friday night.
The Assistance League of Santa Ana used its grand old Modjeska Chapter House to exhibit seven trees Saturday night.
Four designer-decorated trees were shown at the Las Damas del Mar “Baile de Navidad” of the Children’s Home Society’s San Clemente Auxiliary Saturday night at the Irvine Hilton.
The black-tie Noel D’Elegance attracted 400.
The designers--Chris Lindsay of Chris Lindsay Designs, Randy Harmer of Miles-Randolph, Jon Jahr and Martha Gresham of Martha Gresham Interior Design, Bonnie Brown of the same firm, Abby Menhenett and Connie Edwards of Abby Interiors, Bill Merrill and Paul Ecke of the Black Iris--had six hours to set up their trees, decorate them and be out.
Three hours were spent positioning the lights on the Merrill-Ecke tree that appeared free of wiring. “Noel del Mar” was the theme: Nautilus shells, cut in half with a diamond cutter, shared branches with sea coral, mother-of-pearl iridescent water bubble ornaments and gold lame fabric to depict the wave-like motion of the seas. A Pierrot claimed prime position on top of the tree.
Gold, gold and more gold added a majestic touch to the tree “Gift of the Magi” by Chris Lindsay (who said she had 60 trees to decorate for clients before Christmas). The tree used gold-painted holly leaves, gold ornaments, gold and silver cording, gold fabric weaving throughout the tree and spun gold that she described as “faerie hair.”
“Clowning Around,” the tree decorated by Gresham-Jahr, featured l8 porcelain-faced clowns, each painted with a different expression and arranged on the tree in whimsical positions. Primary colors of red, blue, green and yellow on ribbons and ornaments complemented the silk clothing on the clowns. Twelve-hundred lights were used.
“Last year I had white doves stuffed by a taxidermist,” said Gresham. “This year I opted for something light and more fun.”
Randy Harmer’s “Old World Elegance” could grace the most contemporary of surroundings. Styrofoam rings, covered with moire silk and graduated in size, appeared free standing within the branches. Fresh narcissus blossoms baring bulb and root were glued to the rings. White silk azaleas and clusters of moire-covered balls filled in open spaces.
‘Amadeus Christmas’
Designer Bonnie Brown labled her tree “An Amadeus Christmas.” The soft blue-flocked tree, the only one not in its natural state, reflected the romance of the 18th Century with its decorations of gold music notes, strings of pearls, masks, nosegays, clusters of artificial frosted grapes, blue ornaments and twinkle-lights (the only tree using them).
“I loved doing this tree,” said Brown. “You have no other input. Just your own imagination.”
Edwards and Menhenett decided to be more dramatic in their design this year. After a “lacy and softer touch” last year, they felt their tree, “A Pheasant’s Golden Fantasy,” was “more into fashion with the people.” Pheasant feathers, golden nuts, pine cones and seed pods accented with gold, bronze and copper ornaments adorned the tree.
Menhenett finds that more people are doing two trees, especially if they have just completed a new home and have a wonderful color scheme. “They say, ‘I can’t do a traditional tree anymore. I want to do something that fits into the room.’ There is usually another tree in the den area with wonderful ornaments that the kids made.”
The League supplied the trees; all ornaments were donated by the designers.
The $41,000 raised from the event--which also included an auction--will go directly to the American Cancer Society for service, research and education, according to league president Judy Bergerson. Ball chairwomen were Diane Richey and Tina Stewart.
To make room for the sell-out crowd of 500 at the Assistance League of Santa Ana Christmas Gala on Saturday night, ball chairman Sharon Paisley and her committee tented the grounds at the Chapter House. The Thrift Shop was cleared of merchandise and used for a ballroom.
The trees, supplied by El Modena Nurseries and decorated by florists and interior designers, were prepurchased by local businesses, corporations and individuals, and several, in turn, were donated to local charitable and cultural organizations. The proceeds from the event, nearly $15,000, according to league president Joanne Taylor, will go to support the league’s many philanthropies.
The Charles Hester Family Foundation purchased two of the trees. One entitled “Enchanted Forest,” decorated by Ron Johnson of Tustin, will be sent to the Hester Cottage at Orangewood.
The other tree, “Happiness Express,” designed by Nancy Randazzo of Orange Florist, was donated to the Providence Speech and Hearing Center.
Before implementing her idea, Randazzo checked with Providence officials to see if the decorations she used would be approved for children. Fifty wooden airplanes, a long wooden runway almost the height of the tree and a helipad covered the tree.
Interior designer Judith Rand, with the assistance of Jim Delamore, created “The Performing Arts--Gifts to Mankind.” The tree was purchased by Peter Ochs, president of the Fieldstone Co.
To capture the theme of the arts, Rand used ceramic comedy and tragedy masks, a Lladro porcelain of ballet dancers in a partially opened gift box, and a base covering of silk fabric in a sheet music pattern. Twinkle lights tied into nosegay clusters added a theatrical touch.
“I asked for the scrawniest, most crooked and unattractive pine tree,” said Rand. “It works best when I start taking out branches and filling in with decorations.”
Marilyn Fox and Jodie McLain chose “everything natural” for their tree, “Christmas in Modjeska Canyon” in honor of the original location of the house.
Other tree themes were “Noel” by designer Helen Lawrence, bought by Arthur Astor of KIK-FM; “The Glass Menangerie” by Chris Conger of the Metro Gallery, purchased by Charles Boniols of Model Glass, and “Christmas Tapestries” by Betty Bates of Two Doors Down, which will grace the home of Andrew and Olivia Johnson.
“This is our first year out of the El Adobe Restaurant,” said Las Damas del Mar founder Liz Hodges about the group’s annual fund-raiser for the Children’s Home Society, the state’s oldest and largest nonprofit children’s service agency. “In the beginning, we would all bring appetizers to the restaurant, buy drinks and sell the centerpieces. We always made money.”
This year’s ball chairman, Tina McFarlin, and Las Damas president Daria Waples continued the sale of the centerpieces plus four Christmas trees custom-decorated by members.
The major tree, “Santa’s Carousel,” also the theme of the ball, was sold at live auction for $400. Making the intricate hand-painted horses was a yearlong project for the group.
The remaining three trees, “Santa’s Tree,” “The Children’s Tree and “The Old World Tree,” were sold by raffle.
The Jim Roberts Band provided lively music throughout the evening. When the band played “The Heat Is On,” it was a grim reminder of the few shopping days left.
