KEY POINTS:
We're talking about good vibrations... No, not the Beach Boys' variety - although Trelise Cooper does have an eclectic taste in music and has tickets booked for the upcoming Roberta Flack and The Who concerts - we're talking about those discovered by Japanese scientist Dr Masaru Emoto.
Using
high-speed photography, Emoto discovered that crystals form in frozen water when concentrated thoughts are directed at them. He found water exposed to loving, positive messages showed brilliant complex and colourful snowflake patterns, while water exposed to negative thoughts formed incomplete patterns and dull colours. The results of his research is creating a new awareness of how we can positively impact the Earth and our personal earth.
"I'm reading his book Hidden Messages in Water at the moment," explains Cooper. "His discovery really resonates with me. I truly believe that we all vibrate and that's what connects us to each other."
Cooper is attempting to answer my question about how she maintains such positive energy herself, designing new fashion ranges every season - from couture to childrenswear, running a giant team, travelling regularly and now branching into the brand new territory of interior fabrics.
"I think it's important to have clarity and watch your thought patterns and being disciplined about the way you think. But I'm no expert," she laughs. "I'm on a journey like everyone else. I do believe, however, in this vibration thing and the law of attraction. You attract by having the right vibrations happening."
Well, it has to be said that Cooper - a powerhouse of business acumen and creativity - definitely has the right vibrations going on. It was at a Christmas party a year ago that she attracted the attentions of Andrew Mill, the managing director of Charles Parsons, one of Australasia's largest textile houses. He approached her, said they admired her use of fabrics, and they wanted to set up a licensing deal.
"It wasn't something I'd really considered, although I have always loved interiors and decorating my own homes. But as soon as I started on it I knew it was for me. I love the textures and the colours... so it is a natural extension for me.
"Over the next few months I started putting together an inspiration board, gathering ideas of the things I like and what inspires me. I loved pictures of rumpty old French country kitchens and rooms with a very opulent European feel. And then I went to Lake Como to a major textile fair, held in this amazing place in the grounds of the Villa Erba and it was all so beautiful and inspirational.
"Often textile fairs can be anything but inspiring, they can be really hard work, stupefying with lots and lots of swatches. But I loved the setting of Lake Como and I found a lot of things that really fitted my original vision."
Cooper travels regularly. Next week she's off to a fabric fair and to see her son who's studying in Paris, then on to Berlin, then Los Angeles for a store opening that will be stocking her fashion collections. She has had, she says, the good fortune over the years to stay in beautiful homes in Europe and has always loved the way they put their rooms together.
"There is an ease about it; the ease of being lived-in but still with a beauty about it - a textural, tactile nature to it. For me comfort is everything. For example at our beach house [at Omaha, north of Auckland], we have made the sofas big so that you have to put your feet up when you sit on them.
"I was watching Marie Antoinette on television last night and I love that completely over-the-top opulence. With my new collection you could go that way, but at the same time it's not practical, it's not how we live in New Zealand. So while there are elements of opulence, there also a practicality. A home is different to a wardrobe. It's simple to buy a new dress, but when you are buying furnishings there's a much bigger commitment financially and the consideration of how it's going to be used."
Colour and texture is paramount in the collection of fabrics - with Cooper opting for rich reds, lime greens and peacock hues. "I love putting unexpected colours together, but I don't expect everyone else to. When it comes to decorating, if you are telling a story through your fabrics the key is to ensure there is a flow. I love to mix old and new, but you have to be careful how you do it. I love mixing something opulent with something like linen so you get that casualness with it. But generally New Zealanders are brave. I'm always impressed, not only with fashion, but with interiors - how discerning and up-to-date we are and as early adopters we're not afraid to try new styles or experiment."
And it is experimenting that keeps Cooper inspired, coming up with new ideas.
"I'm never bored. I love coming to work, no two days are the same. There are new ideas all the time and that just stimulates me. Once you get on a roll of new ideas it just keeps stimulating more ideas and I find that energising."
And the chance to keep creating those good vibrations.
Go to www.trelisecooperinteriors.com to find your nearest stockist.
