Get Your Running Shoes On
India Hicks' high praise for the designers' Triathlon performance.
The First Annual Top Design Triathlon of Decorating ... just saying it is exhausting. As Nathan so rightly said last week "This is a competition baby, get your running shoes on." Now I've run marathons and every step of those 26.2 miles is exhausting, but if you've trained hard and have been conscientious your body can tolerate that extreme mileage, it becomes much more a matter of training your emotional well being, of breaking through the barriers, of not hitting the wall. I thought all the contestants had their running shoes on in this challenge. Put aside for a moment the romantic vision of being on national television, performing in an arena you feel you could have some influence over, and look at the cold bare facts: For weeks on end you have been stripped of most of your normal worldly comforts, you are existing on little sleep under extreme pressure and enormous restraints. And now India bloody Hicks is asking you to complete a triathlon.
A round of applause for the contestants please. Morale was raised when the challenge was revealed as an individual one. An opportunity to demonstrate the designer's distinctive style, at last a chance to transform chairs, tables, and spaces into personal fantasies. Wisit redeemed his lapse in taste from shop windows with his extraordinary talents as a practical artist. Preston's chic-boutique hotel chair turned out not to be a taste of things to come. Eddie hit high points and low points, whilst Nathan was on a winning streak.
Ondine's designs were not a true reflection of her, but she was brave enough to take a leap in the dark on all legs of the challenge. Andrea was called out for being "insipid," "boring," and "predictable" but what nobody knows was the degree to which Andrea was missing her children, and she had my sympathy. Teresa lost her way but hurray for Natalie, as a virtual civilian herself, this proves that you do not need to come from a background of vast experience, just be convinced of your convictions. And I love L.A.
To learn more about India visit www.indiahicks-islandliving.com.
