Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/831573
letter publisher STEVEN VISNEAU, SISTERBROTHER MGMT 10 T railblazer, mentor, super-generous: These are but a few of the words used to describe Betsie Weatherford, owner of the Ellouise Abbott showrooms in Houston and Dallas, who passed away in March. In this issue, home design ed- itor Rebecca Sherman pays tribute to Weatherford, who began her career in the design-showroom industry during the 1970s and would go on to become a vital part of the Texas design world. I remember meeting Weatherford in 2015 at the Dallas Design Center, where she was relocating her showroom. It was an empty shell at the time, and as we walked the space, it was easy to understand the significance of the lines she carried and the deep, personal importance of the relationships she fostered over the years with the many artists, designers, and businesspeople behind those lines. The space would later be transformed. Weatherford's im- peccable taste brought it to life in an enduring way, which today continues to inspire — as good design always does — and, most importantly, reminds us of one incomparable woman's lasting legacy. Design has always held a special and prominent part in PaperCity's DNA. As we went to press on this issue, we were putting the finishing touches on the inaugural Texas Design Week. This new weeklong event, held in May in Houston, was a series of keynotes, panel discussions, book signings, trunk shows, and cocktail parties — with some of the brightest names making ap- pearances, including Michael S. Smith, Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Mark D. Sikes, Vicente Wolf, Carl Dellatore, Robert Leleux, Madeline Stuart, P. Gaye Tapp, Caleb Anderson, as well as partners Rizzoli Bookstore and Viyet. Texas Design Week Dallas debuts in November 2017, coinciding with Dallas PaperCity Design Awards. For a full recap of Texas Design Week Houston events, click papercitymag.com, and check texasdesignweek.com throughout the coming months for updates on the Dallas schedule. Briana Buxbaum Dallas Publisher briana@papercitymag.com