Every year while equestrians are competing over jumps at the Hampton Classic Horse Show finale, talented tabletop designers are also in competition. HC&G magazine held it’s 8th Annual VIP Tabletop Competition in the ring side tents, where many tables were festooned with flowers, flatware, and dishes set out to delight luncheon guests. I was so thrilled that HC&G asked me to be their guest judge for the fourth year in a row as this is one of my favorite events of the summer.  Drumroll please…..This year my First Place Blue Ribbon Winner went to Chateau d’Esclans / Whispering Angel whose table was a profusion of pretty pinks, much like their celebrated rosé wines.

KDHamptons takes you behind the scenes to chat with Christy Doramus (above left with Kelli Delaney) of @ChristysGarden  who designed the winning table at the Hampton Classic.  Christy is a Manhattan-based floral and event designer who splits her time between the Upper East Side and Bridgehampton, where she spends the weekends developing her green thumb while working to design the garden of her dreams. After working as a beauty publicist for several years, she launched Crowns by Christy in 2014, a flower crown passion project that evolved into CMD Creative LLC., a full-time design and creative consulting business.

Christy’s love for design and creative collaboration led her to expand the business to include event design and consulting services for clients based in New York and the Hamptons. “I have had the pleasure of designing the Château d’Esclans table at the Hampton Classic for the past couple of years and naturally, I always think pink while planning all of the rosé colored details.”

“This year, my inspiration for the tablescape began with a personal collection of vintage Hermès “Les Pivoines”  plates that are nearly impossible to find. I have been obsessed with hunting down a complete set for years and when I finally found them on ebay a couple of months before the Hampton Classic, I knew it was a sign. The day they arrived safely from France, my tablescape planning began.”

“I chose a bold print for the napkins, so opted for a solid pink scalloped tablecloth from Matouk for the foundation of the table. Aside from the aforementioned Hermès plates, I also incorporated dinner plates from Tory Burch’s Dodie Thayer collection along with white Geranium chargers from Bordallo Pinheiro,  placed on top of vintage linen and lace placemats.”

“My mother is an excellent seamstress, always helping to bring my creative visions to life. I shipped her several yards of Schumacher’s Wycombe Park fabric, which she quickly turned into napkins and the lumbar pillows that rested on the backs of the pink chairs from CB2. The vintage pink glassware was found all over my home state of Louisiana, on antiquing adventures with my mom. We have collected china and glassware together for decades!”

“Château d’Esclans entertains some of their top clients and distributors at this table from Thursday through Sunday during Hampton Classic week, so I wanted to make sure that every guest felt welcome and ready to celebrate with their own personal wine “cooler” filled with a mini bottle of Whispering Angel, the chateau’s most famous rosé . Every place setting was also accented with custom paper fans and award ribbons fromHodges Badge, featuring the guest’s name. Garden roses and peonies in various shades of pink filled pitchers from Aerin and Tory Burch to complete the table where rosé flowed all day!”