On December 1st, the new Tony Duquette book by Wendy Goodman and Hutton Wilkinson will finally be released! I know I for one can't wait! Recently, a friend of Ms. Goodman's was sweet enough to email me with Wendy's contact information so I could get her take on all the hoopla. Ronda at All the Best already conducted a wonderfully in depth interview with her so I just asked her a few questions and she couldn't have been nicer!I'd love to know about your first meeting with Tony Duquette and what you thought about Dawnridge. I hear it was unbelievably amazing!
I met Tony while on assignment for House & Garden magazine (HG then)when I was originally there in early '90s doing a story on guestrooms and spied this wild, totally original piece of furniture in Hutton and Ruth Wilkinson's Los Angeles house. I hadn't ever heard of Tony Duquette, but asked Hutton, who was his business partner, if I could meet him on that trip. I ended up staying to produce a story on Tony's extraordinary Malibu ranch and that launched the odyssey of my working with him and Hutton to start imagining this book.
I know it took you 10 years to complete this book and I would love to know how you kept going! In this age of ADD and everyone moving on the next big thing it must have taken some serious discipline and patience!
Yes, it takes discipline and conviction to keep at a project that is so complex as there was so much archival material to unearth and edit...especially challenging for me as I had to go out to the west coast for research in between my deadlines for all the magazines I work with here in New York. What kept me going was my passion for Tony's work and the conviction that his story was unique and had to be told.
I was also wondering if you were involved with the planning of the windows at Bergdorf's. They are also amazing have been really well received in the city and online.
The incredible event of the Bergdorf Goodman Christmas windows is a dream come true! Linda Fargo and her amazing team headed up by David Hoey, produced the most extraordinary tribute to Tony's genius! I had nothing to do with the windows what so ever except to be dazzled and awed that they are beyond magical!
Wendy also mentioned that they have already sold out of the luxury edition at Bergdorf's and the regular book is being rushed into a second printing! Better get your copy today!
