Connecticut Cottages & Gardens
The Dean’s List
Written by Jamie Marshall
We asked the 12 designers from this year’s “Rooms with a View” to reflect on some career-defining moments with Albert Hadley.
Michael Whaley learned both the artistic and the practical from Albert Hadley. By the time he arrived at the firm in 1985, Whaley had spent a year in France developing his passion for 18th-century design. Of his years at Parish-Hadley he recalls, “It was a tremendous time for decorators. We were treated with tremendous respect, and we, in turn, were producing extraordinary work.”
What is a valuable lesson you learned from Mr. Hadley? “Always carry a tape measure.”
How did he most help you develop your own unique style? “Parish-Hadley was invited to participate in a Billy Baldwin retrospective and Mr. Hadley asked me to assist him in the creation of his vignette. While we were working on our scheme, he was always asking what I thought. I was amazed. Here was this highly established, iconic designer who was interested in my ideas. It helped me became secure in the knowledge that I had something unique to offer.”
When you think of him, what springs to mind? “Mr. Hadley is so talented and innovative but he is not seeking the spotlight. For him, it’s not about celebrity, it is about design.”