Aerin Lauder joins Shelley Johnstone for an intimate dinner party at Johnstone’s Lake Forest estate. PHOTOGRAPHY BY CYNTHIA LYNN
Interior Designer Shelley Johnstone and AERIN founder Aerin Lauder were destined to be close friends. And after Johnstone caught Lauder’s eye by using pieces from Lauder’s luxury lifestyle brand in her design work, it was only a matter of time until the two found each other—on Instagram, of all places.
The two connected over their children, work, and their mutual loves for setting a pretty table and, this spring, Lauder visited Lake Forest, Johnstone’s home turf, for an AERIN trunk show at Johnstone’s North Shore studio and a private dinner at her home for Lauder, close friends, and clients.
More than 200 people shopped the trunk show, but only a select 10 joined for dinner in Johnstone’s recently renovated dining room, complete with purposely mismatched Royal Copenhagen china, vintage rattan dining chairs, and, of course, accessories from AERIN’s latest collection.
“Underneath each place setting was a question to ask Aerin, like her favorite male dinner companion, as she attends many high-profile events, and her favorite travel destination,” says Johnstone. “We were able to get to know a more intimate side of Aerin.”
Lauder’s favorite male dinner companion? Bradley Cooper, although both Lauder and Johnstone FaceTimed their sons during dinner. Favorite travel destination? The Amalfi Coast in Italy (Johnstone’s, too).
Guests indulged in risotto with tenderloin and lava cakes with raspberry sauce, and they each took home an AERIN raffia clutch holding a signature fragrance, a perfect complement to Johnstone’s long ivory gown with embroidered red flowers by Oscar de la Renta.
“To have Aerin come to my hometown is pretty special,” confides Johnstone. “I really respect Aerin for how hard she works and for the mother and friend that she is.”
Both Johnstone and Lauder are in the business of creating a beautiful lifestyle, which is evident through their work and friendship.
For more information about Shelley Johnstone Design, visit shelleydesign.com or follow @shelleyjohnstonedesign on Instagram.
