Dressed For The Holiday Season

I finally completed putting up the decorations for Christmas. A lot of work but so worth it. The only other decorations left to put out are the fresh cut items like flowers,cedar,berries etc for the dinner and other table centerpieces. I usually wait until a few days before Christmas Eve for the final touches. I hope those of you, like myself, who enjoy decorating for the season, make a merry event doing so. I did. A bottle of wine later, voila! Everything went up as I went down.

A Black & White Christmas by Mark Snyder

Another beautiful holiday display in Black & White at William Glen in Sacramento by Mark Snyder

World AIDS Day

I wanted to join Scot Meacham of The Adventures Of Tartanscot in solidarity for the acknowledgment and support in the fight against AIDS and those who lost their lives to the deadly disease.


I lost my brother Roy (1959-2004) from AIDS. Our father died when I was 11 years old. Roy took on the role of my father. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think of him.

gâteau avec Marie et le roi Louis

Happy Tablescape Thursday. Visit Susan of Between Naps On The Porch for more beautiful table settings.

Last weekend we visited Sacramento's premier store for kitchen wares, linens, holiday decorations and fine tableware located in the Town & Country village center. The store is William Glen. The selections in this store are the very best from all over the world.

"Let Them Eat Cake" tablescape display by Mark Snyder at William Glen

I was blown away when I entered the store's fine china section and was greeted by the amazing "Let them eat cake" display. I spoke with long time employee, Linda H., who informed me that the displays were the creation of Mark Snyder, the son of store owner Bill Synder. I contacted Mark to compliment him on his work and asked him a few questions. Here is what I asked:
Q.What is the current square footage of your store?
Q. William Glen currently offers online shopping. However, the website does not appear to offer all the items that are available in the store. Does William Glen have any plans to expand its merchandise for online consumers?
Q. The store displays are evidence of your amazing creative ability. What is your background with design?
Q. Do ever imagine utilizing your talent beyond the store?

Here is Mark's response:

Dear Julio,

Thank you for your kind note. I am sorry you saw the trees in their current state. Our goal is to create drama, interest and present traditional heirlooms in new and creative vignettes or dialogues. While we present this way, we also sell the items and that deteriorates the integrity of the theme over time. I am afraid you are seeing us mid-season. Our William Glen store is 30,000 square feet. William Glen Christmas & More is 4,900 square feet. Both are within The Collection at Town & Country Village. The William Glen store is also home to our award winning Bistro at William Glen.

My father, Bill Snyder, opened William Glen 46 years ago. We are 2 stores plus a website and a full gourmet catalog. While site is brand new, we work diligently to expand the product offering. I doubt seriously that every item will ever be on the site. Sometimes it is just not possible to effectively show and ship some of the goods we sell.

I have no formal training in the product merchandising field. I do however have about 37 years of experience. From a young age I enjoyed working for my father and his business partner, Glen Forbes, who has since retired (1998). For many years my team and I worked with a professional merchandiser who actually redesigned our stores’ layouts in 1985 and in 2004. there is no better education in this field than hands on, hard work. No degree or book can teach the necessary structural design laws that we employ here. What I mean is, we buy the goods and take the time to build and environment in which to showcase these goods and envelope the customer’s senses.

Personally, since I wear many hats I rarely have time for outside jobs. We do have some other very talented staffers who have worked on projects and from time to time I will work with customers in their homes to build their Christmas or other jobs. We spend a lot of time working with our customers in our store to help them experience their own creativity.

Ultimately, what we do is not brain surgery. It is just understanding your own taste and aesthetic and them finding the right items to exemplify them. Finally, it really just takes the courage to try, fail and try again. Our customers come to William Glen for new ideas and because they know they are paying the right price. We say “it doesn’t cost more, it’s just nicer at William Glen”. And we prove that everyday.

I am so happy you enjoyed our stores. We would love to be a part of your enterprise. Please let me know if you would like any additional information. Feel free to photograph anything.

Mark Snyder

Operations Manager

As you can tell from Mark's response, the store is very large. However, it is divided into many different sections, each with its own purpose and design. The overall effect is that of a group of very high end specialty shops. For example, there is a fine china room, a Lladro room, a Silver room, Table linen room and so on.

The goose doll adorning a beautiful 18th century Marie Antoinette gown is by Katherine's Collection. A perfect compliment to the table's theme.



The fabric and detailing on the dress is amazing. Unfortunately, my photos do not capture its true beauty up close.


I just love the slipper on a fine porcelain plate with a crystal encrusted border charger.


The store carries an extensive and impressive line of goods such as Herend's Rothchild Bird , Royal Copenhagen's Flora Danica, Faberge,Baccarat, and many more.


Another Katherine's Collection doll dressed in a dramatic interpretation of an 18th century King Louis garment.

Of course the outfit needs to come with matching shoes.




The decadent morsels that were refused by the people...imagine that.



One of the many little fairy princesses that were flying around the illustrious setting.



I hope you enjoyed the images as much as I have. I do have photos taken of some of the store's other vignettes including some amazing miniature holiday villages that I will try to post sometime soon. Please visit the William Glen site for great gift ideas.

Happy Holidays

Marie Antoinette's childhood Versailles

Schonbrunn Palace

While her home as Queen of France, Versailles, is commonly thought of as the grandest of all European palaces, no one can suggest that Marie Antoinette's childhood residence was anything but amazing. The Schonbrunn Palace, where she lived until 1770, when she moved to France to marry the Dauphin, is one of the finest Baroque masterpieces in the world. I had the good fortune of touring this palatial estate while vacationing in Wien in 2005. I love love Vienna. It is one of my very favorite cities. It's one that I will definitely be returning to soon. The Hapsburg dynasty is fascinating.
The Schonbrunn palace, placed on the World Heritage List by the UNESCO World Heritage Committtee in 1996, began as a medieval homestead. By the reign of Maria Theresa, Marie Antoniette's mother, the palace had evolved into an imperial residence and what it may have lacked in size in comparison to Versailles, it made up for in style and luxury.


As a child, Maria Antonia (her Austrian name) enjoyed an in palace theater whereas her future Bourbon inlaws would not share the same pleasure until the Versailles had its own Opera in 1770, the very year the Austrian Arch Duchess moved in! The Theater at Schonbrunn was built in 1745 in the form of an Italian "loge theatre".

The architect was Nikolaus Pacassi. Later, but still before Versailles even had a theater, the Hapsburg's rebuilt the theater in 1766 and 1777; the size remained the same but it was reconstructed to include a Roccoco style and balcony theater by Hetzendorf. When she was not enjoying the arts inside the Schonbrunn's theater, young Maria Antonia had its superb gardens and other beautiful rooms in the palace to frolick about.

The Marie Antoinette Room which served as the family dining room.

Take a virtual tour of the Marie Antoinette room here.


The Great Gallery
Considered the heart of the Palace. The gallery was used for ceremonial events, balls, receptions and banquets.


The ceiling fresco of the Great Gallery by Gregorio Gugliemi

Take the virtual tour of the Great Gallery here.


Hall of Ceremonies
This room is characterized by the monumental paintings commissioned by Maria Theresa.

Take the virtual tour of the Hall of Ceremonies here.


The Millions Room
This room got its name from the wooden paneling which is made of costly exotic rosewood which is known as feketin. The entire decor was originally made for the Belvedere palace, but moved to the Schonbrunn in 1766.

Take the virtual tour of the Millions Room here.


The Porcelain Room
This room was used by Maria Theresa as a games room and study. The contributing artists for the work in this room are portrayed in the medallions.

Take a virtual tour of the Porcelain room here.


The Small Gallery
This gallery was used for the smaller family festivities in Maria Theresa's time. The elaborate white and gold neo-Rococco stucco decor is from 1870 when the gallery was renovated.

Take the virtual tour of the small gallery here.


The Vieux Laque room
This was probably my favorite room. It was made into a memorial room by Maria Theresa for her husband Francis Stephen I after his death in 1765.

Take the virtual tour of the Vieux Laque room here.


Yellow Salon
Located on the garden side of the estate, the salon is noted for its numerous pastel drawings of bourgeois children by the Genevan artist Liotard.


The Coach House
Museum of the imperial family's state coaches

Happy Thanksgiving