I first heard John Loecke and Jason Oliver Nixon speak at the Digital Design Day in Atlanta about a year ago, and they made quite an impression. John and Jason are the dynamic duo behind North Carolina- and New York-based interior design firm Madcap Cottage. Known for their whimsical use of color and pattern, the Madcap gents scour the world for eclectic finds that capture their unique and gimlet-eyed viewpoint. Imagine a British country house that pairs Granny’s antiques and a spirited dash of Chinoiserie chic with a soupçon of Morocco-meets-India élan. In my head, they are my new best friends. You know: the ones that have impeccable taste, throw the most fabulous dinner parties and have you in stitches with their stories and witty anecdotes.
Portrait courtesy of Madcap Cottage
So, imagine my delight when I found out Jason and John designed a fabric collection for Robert Allen, now available at Calico. It's time to get to know these two a little better. I decided to submit them both to the Proust questionnaire, made famous by the renowned French author – and by the back page of Vanity Fair. They emailed me their answers while vacationing in London (of course!). Here we go:
The Questionnaire
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Jason: A dirty martini in a tub overlooking Venice
John: Tea at Fortnum & Mason in London with heaps of Damson plum jam
What is your greatest fear?
Jason: Being boring
John: A white room
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Jason: Not taking enough time off
John: Peevishness
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Jason: Not being considerate
John: Pushy people
Which living person do you most admire?
Jason: Martha Stewart
John: Iris Apfel
Image by John Bessler
What is your greatest extravagance?
Jason: Smythson of Bond Street diaries
John: Paul Smith jeans
What is your current state of mind?
Jason: Forever thinking it forward
John: Forever thinking it forward
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Jason: Patience
John: Patience
On what occasion do you lie?
Jason: When it makes a story more engaging
John: I don’t
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
Jason: Lack of a waist and my thighs
John: My frog toes
Image by John Bessler
Which living person do you most despise?
Jason: Anyone involved with ISIS
John: Same
What is the quality you most like in a man?
Jason: Mystery
John: Mystery
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Jason: Mystery
John: Mystery
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Jason: Bespoke.
John: Jiminy Christmas!
Image by Dustin Peck
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Jason: John
John: Jason
When and where were you happiest?
Jason: In the desert outside of Jodhpur, India on a terrace
John: Wandering the streets of London
Which talent would you most like to have?
Jason: Being able to play an instrument
John: Learning to drive stick shift
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Jason: Nothing
John: Nothing
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Jason: Never settling
John: Treating every day like a new adventure
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
Jason: One of Valentino’s pugs
John: Cleopatra
Where would you most like to live?
Jason: The English countryside on a gentleman’s farm
John: The English countryside on a gentleman’s farm
Image by John Bessler
What do you most value in your friends?
Jason: Honesty, wackiness
John: Honesty
Who are your favorite writers?
Jason: Patrick Dennis
John: Deborah Devonshire
Who is your hero of fiction?
Jason: Auntie Mame and Violet Newstead from “9 to 5”
John: Auntie Mame
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Jason: Caligula
John: Elsie de Wolf
Who are your heroes in real life?
Jason: Maggie Smith
John: QEII
What are your favorite names?
Jason: Emerald
John: Rhubarb
Image by Dustin Peck
What is it that you most dislike?
Jason: Boring people
John: Boring people
What is your greatest regret?
Jason: Nothing
John: Nothing
How would you like to die?
Jason: Quickly
John: In my sleep
What is your motto?
Jason: Je ne regrette rien and Banish the Beige!
John: Is there more Cap’n Crunch?
