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Mitchell Owens and Emily Evans Eerdmans will appear at Wells Abbott and James showrooms as part of Texas Design Week Houston Thursday, March 26, for cocktails, illustrated talk, and book signings. Texas Design Week Houston is a ticketed event. For complete schedule and tickets, go to texasdesignweek.com. FROM ELSIE DE WOLFE TO MARIO BUATTA: A LEGACY OF GREAT DESIGN. THE AD AESTHETE, MITCHELL OWENS, AND THE ADMINISTER OF THE MARIO BUATTA BLOCKBUSTER AUCTION, EMILY EVANS EERDMANS, HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT THE GIANTS OF DESIGN. ANNE LEE PHILLIPS RESERVES A SEAT. T he late Prince of Chintz's reign is more powerful than ever, as evidenced by the blockbuster two-day Sotheby's auction of the personal collections of famed decorator Mario Buatta in January. In a bidding frenzy over hordes of Dodie Thayer lettuce ware, silver and bamboo fl atware, and spaniel paintings, Buatta enthusiasts spent a collective $7.6 million. The sale went about 2.5 times over the sale's high estimate, and 4,000 visitors attended the week-long presale exhibition. And there's more: Stair in Hudson, New York will hold another auction of the designer's possessions this month (March 13 – 14). We are enraptured. And not just with Buatta, but with the legacy of interior design's top historical talent. Designers such as Mario Buatta, Elsie de Wolfe, Henri Samuel, Madeleine Castaing and Jansen took the historical design that came before and electrifi ed it, interpreting it for a new era and audience, creating rooms that designers still look to today. Which is why we'll be front row at the Texas Design Week Houston salon talk with Mitchell Owens and Emily Evans Eerdmans. Owens is the extremely knowledgeable and erudite Architectural Digest decorative arts editor — and the voice behind AD's inaugural podcast The AD Aesthete, where he delves into the legacies of iconic decorators and contemplates the promise of design's future, with special guests like Eerdmans. Owens himself has edited books on Elsie de Wolfe and Jansen, and authored the books Fabulous! The Dazzling Interiors of Thomas Britt and In House, with photographer with Derry Moore. Eerdmans, design historian and founder of Eerdmans Fine Art, was a close friend of Buatta and oversaw the dispersal of his estate. Armed with a master's degree in fi ne and decorative arts from Sotheby's Institute of Art in London, she is the co- author of Mario Buatta: Fifty Years of American Interior Decoration and also authored monographs on Madeleine Castaing and Henri Samuel. Mitchell Owens Emily Evans Eerdmans Chinese export black and gold lacquer armchair, from Mario Buatta auction 90