Design Seminar
May 2-3, 2025 Winston-Salem, NC
In Perfect Harmony:
A MESDA Design Seminar
May 2-3, 2025
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 notable architects, designers, and gardeners to share the latest trends in design, and how they create harmony between a home, garden, and a space’s history.
During the Saturday program, we’ll hear from Lady Xa Tollemache, Author of A Garden Well Placed, about her experiences designing the gardens at Helmingham Hall while remaining in harmony with the home. We’ll then learn from Charlottesville-based Interior Designer Charlotte Moss, author and editor of over a dozen books and star of the American Interior Design world, about how to create layered yet functional spaces in a southern home. Finally, Interior Designer and Architect Steven Gambrel, part of the AD 100 in 2023, will share how he creates modern interiors rooted in tradition. The day will close out with a book signing.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
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Xa Tollemache learned how to garden, and how to design gardens, at her home, Helmingham Hall in Suffolk. She set up her garden design practice in 1996, and one of the very first gardens she designed as a professional was the Evening Standard garden for the 1997 Chelsea Flower Show – for which she won a Gold Medal. She has gone onto to design gardens all over the UK and in Europe and the US as well as winning many other awards, including two more Chelsea Flower Show medals and the HHA/Christies Garden of the Year Award. She has also designed a range of garden furniture, the Helmingham Collection, and the Helmingham Rose Support. She is currently a Member of the Council of the Royal Horticultural Society, Chair of the Gardens Committee and an RHS Judge. Xa Tollemache describes this book A Garden Well Placed: The Story of Helmingham and Other Gardens, her first, as ‘a story book, the tale of the love story between me and the garden at Helmingham‘. It is also a record of her career as a garden designer, exemplified by eleven other gardens, large and small, on which she has worked her design magic. |
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With a career spanning over three decades, Charlotte Moss is considered one of the most celebrated and respected interior designers in the industry. Since launching her eponymous firm in 1985, Charlotte’s name has become synonymous with Southern warmth and hospitality. Moss’s designs are heavily influenced by her travels and her love of history. Known for her timeless aesthetic, layered interiors, and keen eye, her work is celebrated in eleven volumes. Charlotte’s designs have been featured in many major publications. Accolades include the New York School of Interior Design’s Centennial Medal, The Royal Oak Foundation’s Timeless Design award, and Elle Décor’s Grand Master’s List of Designers. |
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Steven Gambrel is the founder and president of S.R. Gambrel, Inc., an influential interior design firm. Whether he is designing a polished uptown duplex, a rambling country house, or a weekend beach retreat, Steven serves the needs of each client with his passion for timeless, comfortable homes that improve with age. Steven subscribes to the importance of properly proportioned structures and details, partnered always with a carefully curated collection of vintage, antique, and custom furniture designed by Steven himself. S.R. Gambrel’s work is featured consistently in the world’s leading publications, including World of Interiors, Architectural Digest, Town and Country, House Beautiful, New York Magazine, the New York Times, and Elle Décor. S.R. Gambrel, Inc. was most recently honored as one of “today’s greatest talents in Architecture and Design”, in Architectural Digest’s “AD 100.” |
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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
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| FRIDAY, May 2, 2025 | ||
| 6:00 pm | Cocktail Reception Enjoy a special opportunity to mix with fellow program attendees over libations and hors d’oeuvres. |
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| SATURDAY, May 3, 2025 | ||
| 9:15 am | Seminar check-in and Book Store Concourse, Old Salem Visitor Center 900 Old Salem Road Winston-Salem, NC 27101 |
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| 10:00 am | Welcome & New to the Collections Johanna Brown Chief Curator & Director of Collections, Research, & Archaeology Old Salem Museums & Gardens Winston-Salem, NC |
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| Introductions J. Thomas Savage Director of Educational Travel & Conferences Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Williamsburg, Virginia |
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| 10:30 am | A Garden Well Placed: A Designer’s Harmony Between House and Garden Lady Xa Tollemache Principal Designer and Owner Xa Tollemache Stowmarket, England |
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| 11:45 am | Charlotte Moss Principal Designer and Owner Charlotte Moss & Co. Charlottesville, Virginia |
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| 12:45 pm | Luncheon | |
| 1:45 pm | Steven Gambrel Founder and President S.R. Gambrel, Inc. New York, New York |
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| 2:45 pm | Book Signing A Garden Well Placed: The Story of Helmingham and Other Gardens |
TRAVEL DETAILS
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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.
Seminar Hotels:
| Kimpton Cardinal Hotel | ||
| 51 East Fourth St Winston-Salem, NC 27101 877-216-3448 |
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| Group Name: MESDA Design Seminar | ||
| Last day to book: April 1 | ||
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Other recommended hotels: |
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| The Zevely Inn Bed and Breakfast 803 South Main Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101 1-336-748-9299 |
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CANCELLATION POLICY
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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
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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.