ARTFUL STYLE: Carla Stolper

In a recent New York Times Style Magazine, editor-in- chief Deborah Needleman wrote about the artful simplicity that is the essence of great style. As she explained , those people whose way of life captivates and inspires us may have exquisite experiences and live in rarified places, but they live with unstudied flair. It all just happens.

To paraphrase my tagline, stylish folks see the art in the everyday, and thereby make the most of all that is around them.

Carla Stolper, and the way she approaches life, fits that sentiment to a T. (Yes that's Carla on top of the elephant, taking a little ride with her son)

I first met Carla at the inaugural Design Bloggers Conference in 2012. We stood next to each other at check-in. Then, the next day when I set my notebook down at a spot in the conference auditorium and left to get coffee, I returned to find that Carla just happened to claim the seat next to me.

Serindipitous fate. We became fast friends.

Back then, Carla was living in Chicago with her young son, while her husband was on an overseas post for the State Department. She was looking forward to a move to Thailand where the family would be reunited.

Since that tine, I have lived Carla's life vicariously, drinking in the glorious photos that she has posted from time to time on Facebook. You can't help but be captivated.

But Carla didn't stop with a social media share. Realizing, that while not all of us can zip off to Thailand to live, many would love to add a bit of global flair to their everyday lives. Using her studied eye that does see art in the everyday, Carla launched the online website CF Michaels, where you can buy her wonderful discoveries. It's fabulous because Carla is fabulous. She is on the ground with her excellent taste, absorbing it all, and then bringing the best to you.

To help you visualize how to use her finds in your home, she authors a blog where she presents intriguing room vignettes pairing her treasured finds with goods available right here in the USA.