Design Seminar

May 3-4, 2024 Winston-Salem, NC

 

Ordered Beauty: The Classical Home & Garden
A MESDA Design Seminar

May 3-4, 2024

Moderated by J. Thomas Savage, MESDA’s longtime Design Seminar host and the Director of Educational Travel & Conferences at Colonial Williamsburg, this program brings together four notable architects, designers, and gardeners from both sides of the Atlantic to share how classical design can bring beauty to your home and garden.

During the Saturday program, we’ll hear from Troy Scott Smith, Head Gardener at Sissinghurst in Kent about his work on their incredible topiary landscape and the natural evolution of the castle’s iconic gardens, described by Vita Sackville-West as having a “‘strict formality of design, with the maximum informality in planting.” Then Atlanta-based Interior Designer, Jackye Lanham will share how she uses classical design to create exceptionally chic spaces for great Southern homes. Finally, Architect Jacques Levet will round out the program as he discusses his journey from biomedical engineering to award-winning architect in the classical tradition and how young architects like himself are embracing the lessons of classicism. We will close with a moderated discussion between Stan Dixon, Jackye Lanham, and Jacques on the importance of mentorship in fostering the next generation. The day will conclude with a book signing featuring the newly released Home: The Residential Architecture of D. Stanley Dixon. 


 

Program Registration Open!

Individual Ticket

  • Seating for one at Saturday program and luncheon
$300 ($290 Frank L. Horton Society*)

 

Patron Ticket Sold Out!

  • Invitation to an exclusive cocktail reception with the program speakers
  • Preferred seating for one at the program and luncheon
$400 ($390 Frank L. Horton Society*)

 

Reserved Table Host

  • One table with seating for 8 at the program and luncheon
$2,200

 

Patron Table Host Sold Out!

  • Invitations for 8 to an exclusive cocktail reception with the program speakers
  • Preferred seating for 8 at the program and luncheon 
$3,000

 

Your purchase of tickets support MESDA’s mission and work acquiring, conserving, and interpreting southern decorative arts, and sharing the story of southern craftsmanship with the next generation. 



 

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Jacques Levet is a classical and traditional architect based in Atlanta with the firm D. Stanley Dixon.

Originally from southeast Louisiana, Jacques began his professional career in biomedical engineering and medicine before he obtained a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Notre Dame. While there, Jacques began specializing in American classicism and has received numerous awards and research grants on the subject and for his designs including an Acanthus award, the J. Neel Reid Prize, and a Shutze awardJacques is also a 2023 alumnus of the Attingham Summer School and heavily involved with the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art as an instructor and a board member of the Southeast Chapter. 

 
Stan Dixon, AIA, is the president and founder of his Atlanta-based firm, D. Stanley Dixon Architect, Inc.

Stan’s edited approach to the classical elements of architecture creates an understated aesthetic that is historically based while embracing influences of modern design.

In response to his work, Garden & Gun magazine named Stan one of “The New Faces of Southern Style.” He is a three-time winner of the “Southeast Architect of the Year” award given by Veranda magazine and the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center. Stan is also a twenty-time winner of the Philip Trammell Shutze Award presented by the Southeast Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. Most recently, Stan was awarded the Addison Mizner Medal by the ICAA for his work in Palm Beach.

 
Born in Norfolk, Virginia to a second generation military family, Jackye Lanham spent her youth moving every two or so years living in Japan, Greece, Washington DC and in the southeastern United States.

In 1987, Jackye founded Jacquelynne P. Lanham Designs, Inc. Her work thereafter has taken her across the United States to include commercial work at East Lake Golf Club, the Piedmont Driving Club and Golf Club, the Capital City Golf Club at Crabapple, and many others.

Jackye is known for her timeless and effortlessly elegant interiors. Her clean interpretation of classic style creates spaces that are inviting and comfortable and deeply rooted in place. Her work has been published in “Milieu”, “Architectural Digest”, “House and Garden”, “Elle Decor”, and “Southern Accents”. Recently, three of her projects were featured in the book, “Home: The Residential Architecture of D. Stanley Dixon” (Rizzoli, 2023).

 
Troy Scott Smith began his gardening at a young age, quickly developing a style of planting that mixed native wildings together with exotics. Today his planting continues to ‘break new ground’ and is a constant source of inspiration for those seeking a new way of sustainable gardening.

Troy has led the gardens at The Courts, Bodnant and Sissinghurst, where he has been Head Gardener for the last 10 years.

Troy now combines his work at Sissinghurst with a broader remit for the charity, including an advisory role at Munstead Wood, fund raising and considering the longer-term impact of visitation and climate change on historic gardens, as well as writing, teaching, lecturing, design and consultancy.

 
J. Thomas Savage is Director of Educational Travel and Conferences at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Tom’s lifelong passion for country estates and extraordinary collections has led him around the world in pursuit of those with refined taste and style. A native of the South, Tom has been director of external affairs at the Winterthur Museum, was senior vice president of Sotheby’s Institute of Art, and served as curator and director of museums for the Historic Charleston Foundation.


 

SCHEDULE


The 2024 MESDA Design Seminar will take place in the
James A. Gray, Jr. Auditorium
Old Salem Visitor Center
900 Old Salem Road, Winston-Salem, NC

FRIDAY, May 3, 2024
 
6:00pm Cocktail Reception
Enjoy a special opportunity to mix with fellow program attendees over libations and hors d’oeuvres at a magnificent private garden.
SATURDAY, May 4, 2024
9:15am Seminar check-in and Book Store
Concourse, Old Salem Visitor Center
900 Old Salem Road
Winston-Salem, NC  27101
10am Welcome & New to the Collections
  Dr. Daniel Ackermann
  Chief Curator & Director of Collections, Research, & Archaeology
  Old Salem Museums & Gardens
  Winston-Salem, North Carolina
 
  Introductions
  J. Thomas Savage
  Director of Educational Travel & Conferences
  Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
  Williamsburg, Virginia
 
10:30am Sissinghurst–Revitalizing Vita
  Troy Scott Smith
  Head Gardener
  The Garden at Sissinghurst
  Cranbrook, UK
 
11:30am
Break
 
11:45am Creating Timeless Interiors
  Jackye Lanham
  Principal Designer and Owner
  Jacquelynne P. Lanham Designs Inc
  Atlanta, GA
 
12:45pm
Luncheon
 
1:45pm A Journey with a Sketchbook: Capturing Place, Time, and Craft
  Jacques Levet
Project Architect
  D. Stanley Dixon Architect
  Atlanta, GA
   
2:45pm Conversation with Stan Dixon, Jackye Lanham, and Jacques Levet
  Moderated by Tom Savage
 
 3:45pm Book Signing with Stan Dixon
   Home: The Residential Architecture of D. Stanley Dixon

 


PROGRAM PRESENTED TO THE COMMUNITY BY
WITH GENEROUS SUPPORT PROVIDED BY

Mrs. Roger P. Hanahan

 


TRAVEL DETAILS
The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts is one of the museums at Old Salem Museums & Gardens.  MESDA is located in the Frank L. Horton Museum Center at 924 S. Main Street, Winston-Salem, NC  27101.  Seminar lectures will take place in the James A. Gray Auditorium at the Old Salem Visitor Center at 900 Old Salem Road, Winston-Salem, NC  27101.

 

Hotel Details:
Kimpton Cardinal Hotel
51 4th St East
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
336-724-1009
Link to book with discounted Good Neighbor Rate here!
Fairfield Inn & Suites Winston-Salem Downtown
125 S Main St
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
336-714-2800
Block Name: MESDA Design Seminar
Link to book under room block here!

CANCELLATION POLICY
Registrants who cancel at least two weeks prior to a program will receive a full refund minus a $50 handling fee.  No refunds will be given for cancellations that occur less than two weeks prior to the event.

INCLEMENT WEATHER
The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts follows the inclement weather policies of Old Salem Museums & Gardens.  When OSMG is closed, the museum is closed as well.  Should this occur, the seminar will be cancelled and refunds will be issued.  For your own protection, please consider travel insurance to cover fees involved with cancelling hotel reservations.