Victoria January - February 2008

The bliss is back! Now you can enjoy even more from your favorite magazine with the new Victoria website. Go online and discover a wealth of resources right at your fingertips. The elegance, the style, the femininity, the romance, the magazine that you adore—it’s back and better than ever with a sensational website just for you. FAVORITE THINGS Winter white luxuries—pleasures for yourself and gifts to give HOME DÉCOR Found items transform a French home YOUR GARDEN Forced bulbs bring color and fragrance indoors CALENDAR Events, occasions, and celebrations RECIPES Web exclusive: decadent chocolate delights…

A new season is upon us, fresh with pure snow and glittering icicles. In this issue of Victoria, we celebrate the elegance and calm of winter white, from fashion to lovely objects for your home. Diminutive luxuries—diamonds, pearls, and silver—enrich this lovely palette. Victoria introduces two brilliant contributors for 2008: my dear friend Alexandra Stoddard, writer-in-residence (above left), and Sharyn Sowell, artist-in-residence. Both live artfully and blissfully. Their work will appear regularly on these pages. Recently Alexandra has explored the meaning of happiness. In this issue, she shares the unique joy of living and working alongside her husband, Peter Brown. Sharyn’s prowess with tiny scissors and paper will astonish you as she creates a myriad of enchanting images. You’ll read her fairytale story with pleasure. Your countless calls, emails, letters, and love notes have…

Graceful filigrees, soft swirls, floral garlands, and other beautiful patterns make an eye-catching, stylish statement for these businesses owned by women. Our staff would enjoy receiving your cards. Please send to VICTORIA 16 1900 International Park Drive, Suite 50, Birmingham, AL 35243, ATTN: Calling Cards.…

“CHOOSE YOUR LOVE” LETTERPRESS PRINT BY SHARYN SOWELL Artist-in-Residence Sharyn Sowell has created, signed, and numbered this exclusive matted piece. (8 x 10 inches, including mat) SS01LP $45 QUEEN BEE CALLING CARD CASE EXCLUSIVELY FOR VICTORIAFAIR BY ALDA’S Our silver card case is engraved with a vintage French bee design. (4 x 31/4 x 1/4 inches Victoriafair 1900 International Park Drive, Ste 50, Birmingham, AL 35243 To order call 800-253-7627 or visit online at www.victoriamag.com to see more items. Shipping and handling rates are as follows: 1 item, $5.95; 2-3 items, $7.95; 4-5 items, $9.95; 6-8 items, $10.95; 9 or more items, $12.95.…

Victoria has been a part of my life for longer than I can remember. I am 82 and still crave the simple elegance and loveliness that it brought with each issue. My grandchildren know her. I allowed each girl to choose one of my old editions as a keepsake. They agonized over their choice. I have so many. At our house my husband separates the mail and delivers mine to my desk. He was first to see the information about the fact that Victoria would fade from my life. He broke the devastating news to me in a low, soft, gentle voice. I cried. I had lost a friend that could not be replaced. It was he who first knew that she would revisit. With high spirits he delivered her to me.…

FIFTY-FOURTH ANNUAL WINTER ANTIQUES SHOW Park Avenue Armory January 18–27, 2008 The most prestigious antiques event—The Annual Winter Antiques Show in New York City—marks its fifty-fourth year, featuring the best of stunning objects from antiquities to Art Deco. Seventy-five exhibitors will display a wide variety of antiques, including Colonial American silver; Native American art; Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts; Impressionist paintings; Chinese porcelain; Russian works of art; jewelry; arms and armor; carpets; Scandinavian, Italian, and English furniture; and ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art. A vetting committee of more than 150 experts authenticates each object in the show. For more information or to order tickets, call 718-292-7392 or visit www.winterantiquesshow.com. CELEBRATING AN ICON The Fairmont Empress Hotel January 20, 2008 Rising regally on the banks of the spectacular Inner Harbor in Victoria, British Columbia, the Fairmont Empress Hotel…