Interior designer kicks off local group’s lecture series

SOCIETYSOCIETYSan Francisco-based interior designer Paul Wiseman joined the Newport-Mesa crowd at the elegant oceanfront residence of Sally and Randy Crockett to launch the 2005-06 Decorative Arts Society’s series of programs.

Wiseman came to the Orange Coast to deliver a lecture on the new definition of luxury. He inaugurated the 11th season of Decorative Arts Society programs, which have brought some of the world’s leading experts on the decorative arts to the area.

The dapper Wiseman, wearing his signature Harold Lloyd inspired tortoise shell round spectacles, mingled with the cocktail crowd discussing life and style and the evolving trends of taste in the world of the decorative arts.

Sharing conversation with chairman of the society Cecilia Nott and other ladies, including designer Ann Dennis, Meredith Graves- Foreman, Marion Palley, Joan Sammis and Lois Tingler, Wiseman joked that he was probably the only decorator in America who also knew how to drive a tractor. He grew up on a farm in the Sacramento Delta, and Wiseman, 52, left the farm for San Francisco as a young man and has built a career of international reputation.

Wiseman, who was most recently featured in the September issue of Architectural Digest, kicked off the Decorative Arts Society program with panache.

Additional lectures will follow. On Nov. 15, Shelia Chefetz will speak on the antique art of dining. Then on Feb. 7, Victoria Kastner will address the local crowd on California maverick collector William Randolph Hearst. Judith Miller comes to Newport on March 14 to speak about 20th century glass. Finally on April 18, Diane Dorrans Saeks -- contributing editor to Garden Design and California editor of Metropolitan Home -- will speak on the art of gardening.

Each lecture will be presented at the Newport Stadium Theaters in Fashion Island, preceded by a breakfast buffet. Proceeds from ticket sales will fund multiple charities, including Girls Inc., Laura’s House, and New Directions for Women.

For more information, call (949) 675-8299.

Grammy Award-winning country music star Naomi Judd journeyed to Newport Beach as the special guest of Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian.