The Modern Baby: Part Four

Every year I try to find a quirky, interesting, and poetic family portrait. I don't remember how I discovered this artist, but she is incredibly talented. Her name is Sarah McGowan. -Sophie Demenge

"This is Mae's room; she is ten. The bedding is all linen, some of which we made, and the the rest is old family linen from France. We painted the fox and cat portraits on cardboard for a trade show that Mae liked. She always scoops things up when she visits the office." -Sophie Demenge

We got these Beroia chairs in an auction in the Catskills in a barn for practically nothing, we were the only one betting on them. We use them all the time; there is no furniture that we don't use. That's the rule. -Sophie Demenge

This is in my son's (Marius, eight) room. It is what it is. We ask him to put things away where they live (not very successfully) but why hide them? -Sophie Demenge

"This is the Mini-Library in Baltic birch, it's really practical and the scale is good for kids." -Sophie Demenge

I designed this desk and Michael helped me make it when I was at Pratt. Michael and I went to Pennsylvania to get the slab of walnut; it was a great day. The photos are a mix of family photos. I love to have pictures of family members throughout their lives, not just what they were to me. For instance, I have a wonderful picture of my grandmother in her teens in New York, one of her with her three kids (including my mother), and one taken in my aunt when she was in the tub reading a book in her 90s. All the pictures remind me of a happy, deep, or funny, moment. Sometimes I could swear they wink at me! -Sophie Demenge