Happy New Year. I’m still having trouble getting used to writing or accepting 2017 but time marches on as we all know.
We are all back from our travels and back to work on some amazing projects. A lot of new work is in the pipeline and many projects are about to break ground and we have a bunch currently under construction! We have a ton of remodel and makeover projects going which we love!!! We see this market only growing in the future and we are very excited to be a part of it.
We are busy adapting and employing new technology to both design, present and experience our designs and we are currently working on a Candelaria Design Dream Home that we will share in the virtual reality world each month as it is designed so that everyone can experience and in essence live in a Candelaria Design home. With no limitations, we expect to have a lot of fun with this and at the same time show our untethered abilities. As the home takes shape our viewers will be able to send comments and ideas so the project will in essence evolve over time.
Our Candelaria Design crew is always involved in community service and giving back and we are currently in full swing for our Gigi’s Playhouse University and Café project and the Colten Foundation Bat Cave. Two projects that we are so proud to be a part of and we encourage all of you in the design and build community and of course our clients and vendors to get involved in.
Last week we announced the kick off for the construction of Gigi’s Playhouse University and Café. https://gigisplayhouse.org/phoenix/ Candelaria Design along with Earth and Images donated our services for Phase 1 of the Playhouse a couple years ago and the project has had such success that now we have just completed design on Phase 2 and are in the process of raising money and donations of materials and services for its construction.
Then there is the Colten Foundation Bat Cave!!! https://coltencowellfoundation.org This 35,000 square foot cave is getting ready to kick off under the construction expertise of LGE Design Build. We have a number of fun events planned to raise funds including an auctioned off home cooked dinner for 20 at Casa Candelaria where Isabel and I will cook a gourmet meal paired with wine. This will be a blast and all of the proceeds will go to Colten Bat Cave. I look forward to getting more people involved in this project – email me for more details.
Finally, we have a couple amazing Candelaria Design Tours set for 2017. In June we will embark on our first Candelaria Design Tour Spain and we are happy to say that that trip is SOLD OUT. http://www.candelariadesign.com/tours We will start the tour in San Sebastian Spain and include a day the San Sebastian Cooking School. From there we will head south to the Rioja/Basque Wine Region and enjoy four days in LaGuardia, Spain. The trip will finish up in the magical city of Barcelona where we will enjoy the work of Gaudi and the cuisine of Catalan. We are now taking reservations for our 2018 Candelaria Design Tour Spain which will in essence be this same trip so make your reservation now to join us in 2018.
In September 2017 we will embark on our 15th Candelaria Design Tour Italy! We do have a couple spots open for this trip if interested. We depart on September 20th where we will fly to Florence, Italy. We will enjoy three days in Florence and then will take our convoy down to our Umbria farmhouse compound where we will enjoy a week in the countryside of Umbria and Tuscany. From there we will drive to Venice, Italy where we will enjoy three days in this magical city. If interested – don’t hesitate to contact us as this trip will fill quickly. We are offering reservations now for our 2018 trip which will finish in Treviso where we will tour a number of Palladio Villas. This tour will depart on September 26th 2018 so get on the list for this spectacular experience.
We are considering adding a Candelaria Design Tour Santa Fe this August. This will be a short 5 day tour featuring the art, cuisine, and spas of Santa Fe, New Mexico which is a very special place for my wife Isabel and I. She was born in nearby Espanola and my ancestors settled the area in the late 1600’s. We are looking forward to sharing this experience to a handful of travelers over an extended weekend. Email me if interested.
Next, I am a board member of the Arizona Chapter of Habitat for Humanity http://habitatcaz.org and we have some fantastic events coming up this spring including a big fund raiser we will hold at the Candelaria Design Village at Mountain Shadows http://cullumhomes.com/projects/the-village-at-mountain-shadows This will be a fun event where I will be cooking for the entire venue with our Mark Candelaria Collection Pasta Maker. By the way you can purchase your machine complete with recipes on our website. You will love it. http://www.candelariadesign.com/candelaria-products/candelaria-premiere-collection-gourmet-pasta-maker
On Monday, March 6th I will be proudly singing the National Anthem for the third time at the San Francisco Giants ~ Cleveland Indians spring training game at Scottsdale Stadium. I am very excited to be doing this again and I look forward to the opportunity to sing in front of my fellow Scottsdale Charros. Email me for tickets – I know the game will be great and the singing will be fun! http://charros.com/spring-training-baseball/
Ok so that fills in my free time. Meanwhile, we are busy with our projects and clients with homes on the board on the far east coast of Long Island to projects on the Oregon and California Coasts and projects underway in Kansas City, and a beautiful home on the boards in Cherry Hills, Colorado. That’s just to mention a few – not to mention the wonderful projects we currently have underway right here in Arizona from Scottsdale, to Flagstaff down to Yuma, AZ. All exciting!
We look forward to a great 2017! Thanks for reading and participating on our blog. We will continue to share our designs, travels and of course recipes for Inspiring Living the Candelaria Design way!
