The Crowd -- B.W. Cook

A midweek cocktail buffet attracted some of the best and brightest of

local Newport-Mesa antique collectors and students to the home of Arthur

and Mary Anna Jeppe on Lido Isle. It was a kickoff reception for the 2002

season sponsored by the Decorative Arts Society, in support of New

Directions for Women.

Founded in 1995, the society produces an annual lecture series fronted

by world-renowned antiquarians, collectors and designers. The 2002 series

premiered Feb. 19 and featured special guest Caroline Rimmel, who had

flown from London to address the local crowd on 18th century English

furniture and interiors.

Circulating among the guests at the Jeppe reception, Rimmel chatted

with Newport Beach’s Marion Palley, commenting: “Everything is so new in

America. My home is a 16th century dump.”

Palley laughed and responded: “Nothing from the 16th century is a

dump. On the other hand, how is the plumbing?”

Rimmel, with an infectious grin, confided in Palley and other guests,

including Mary Manno, Sandra Ayres and Marian Nicholson, on the joys and

tribulations of living in a 16th century cottage. Marian Nicholson and

her husband, Fred, proprietors of the respected Nicholson’s Antiques in

Laguna Beach, were the underwriters of Rimmel’s lecture presentation in

Newport Beach.

The remainder of the Decorative Arts season will include an appearance

by John Loring of Tiffany & Co. Loring will address the crowd March 12,

speaking in conjunction with a national tour to promote his new book,

“Magnificent Tiffany Silver.” A very special treat awaits those planning

to attend the April 23 lecture by Victoria Kastner. The subject matter

will be the gardens of Hearst Castle.

The upcoming lectures will be presented at Newport Beach’s Edwards

Stadium Theaters, with a buffet breakfast beginning the day at 9:30 a.m.,

followed by the lecture. To top off the spring season of the Decorative

Arts presentations, an April 30 tour of the Huntington Library in San

Marino and the collection of William Morris is planned in conjunction

with an afternoon tea at the estate.

The women behind the Decorative Arts Society, calling themselves

DARTS, have raised more than $300,000 through their programs to assist

New Directions for Women. The nonprofit local organization is committed

to providing addiction treatment for alcoholic and drug dependent women.

The goal of New Directions is to assist clients in their effort to

reenter community life. They sponsor a live-in program for mothers and

children, and they have been proudly helping people one at a time for

more than 20 years. New Directions has been selected as one of the

primary charities to receive a portion of the funds raised by the

upcoming Newport Beach Antiques Show. For more information on the

Decorative Arts Society lectures, call Bonnie McClellan at (949)

675-2415.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.