I'm happy to report that the Coviello encounter went off smashingly - what a great guy. James is super nice, down to earth - just a good old crafty boy. His work space is literally stacked to the ceilings with racks of clothing from his former collections, piles of fabric, people cutting and sewing, shelves and shelves of new and vintage books, and loads of amazing antique details, like an enormous gilded mirror (circa 1800's?) that had to be 12 feet tall and 5 feet wide, which he uses as a tape-up idea board, clusters of funky hat forms bearing his millinery work, a perfectly dilapidated crystal chandelier, and old-timey architectural details like chipped moulding filling up every remaining bit of wall space (which he added himself to beef up the plain space). It was all so packed-in, cluttered and shabby-fabulous that it made me rethink my entire decorating philosophy in the new apartment. Like my place, his was really old and structurally crumbly - I keep fighting it, but he just went with it, and it totally worked.

We had a great talk about his design process, inspiration, and fascinating self-taught knit and crochet design methods (which you'll learn about in the interview - I'll let you know when it's out there). But what I really took away is how much James is a legit crafter. He has a great respect for knitting and crochet (you should have seen his collection of vintage patterns, which he sometimes uses in his design process). He was even working on a special quilting project while we were there, for a home decor benefit project. It used fabrics from his collection, and he was every bit as obsessed with it as the most hardcore quilters I've met. (And not to mention, it was stunning.)

Oh one other thing in his studio? A rack of sample sale clothing. I tried on the cutest dress that would have been perfect for spring - it was $400 marked down to $70, but it didn't quite fit. I had to leave it behind. I laid in bed and cried about it all weekend.

The rest of the day was great too - I also interviewed crochet designer/author Doris Chan, knit and crochet superhero Mari Lynn Patrick, amigurumi author Ana Paula Rimoli, founder of Etsy Rob Kalin, Project Runway contestant Carmen Weber and her Sistahs of Harlem business partner Carmia Marshall. Whew! Every single one of them was so interesting and inspiring, I could go on for pages. I can't wait till the interviews go out into the world.

The day was such a whirlwind that I forgot to take pictures. D'oh! I'll be a better blogger next time, I promise.