Heading into the snow.... see you next month!
Hope you all have wonderful and safe holidays :)

Today CG brought her new shoes into the studio. And my heart stopped.
They are by Sigerson Morrison.

Shoes are my weakness.

Cute little geometric shiny gold flats with ballet straps?

Trouble.

It is raining in Los Angeles. And I'm under the weather.
It's all sniffles, sneezes and coughs. And lots of aches.

Yesterday I ate soup. Today I am still eating soup. Tomorrow, I will most likely be eating soup again.

That is my own forecast.

{image via designboom}

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Millie....

Have a great weekend!

The view from our table at Pappy and Harriette's in Pioneer Town, close to Joshua Tree.
The light was incredible... and made for perfectly lovely birthday afternoon.

That, and the delicious chilli, the spicy bloody Mary's and the fantastic game of Yahtzee.

The desert is an incredible place. It's hard to describe. You should just go there if you can.

It has taken me about ten years to fall in love with Los Angeles. I have always loved certain aspects of the city, but to be honest I've been planning my escape for about 9 years. Lately, I've had many days like today, and therefore it's a good example why this place can be so frustrating and refreshing at the same time. Hence the love. Of course I sat in traffic for what seemed like an inhumane amount of time, but I also got to experience the softer, more ironic side of the city.

Bear with me; it's not a long story, but it's a story. Our studio is in some serious need of more storage space. As five designer individuals we certainly have collected some pretty stuff along the way and we need to store/display these things, only to be fair to said collections. However, we also need to be efficient working people, so things like filing cabinets are handy yet not-so-pretty. Our solution? Instead of Ikea (which we tried but felt so empty afterwards) we opted for an educational-furniture-salvage place right the street from the studio.

Tomorrow we are having some lovely wooden cubbies delivered which will be perfect for various paper and material samples. Also, some extremely utilitarian but perfectly lovely old filing cabinets will be delivered. Storage problem solved. If we could have afforded the lockers we bought them.


But what was so perfect about the walk up the street to this strange little warehouse perched on the side of the highway, was the fact that it was a salvage yard/store as well as an oasis/farm.

Los Angeles is full of these dichotomies. I took the photo of the stacked plastic chairs, and literally turned around and took a picture of the chickens and urban garden. I'm sure all other cities are this two-faced; I say that in the nicest way possible, because cities can't just be one thing to all people. Los Angeles has many faces, not just two: underneath all of this is a fascinating place full of social and architectural strangeness, diversity and surprises that have nothing to do with that face it puts on to the rest of the world. This is the LA I love. The one that you have to sit if traffic for.

And, no joke, 45 minutes later, I was sitting mind-numbing traffic for an hour to go a mere 15 miles. An utter waste of time. This is how it goes. At least I got to see real live chickens living in downtown LA. That's a first for me.

... .. .. . .. ..... . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . .... . . . . .. .

On an entirely different note, I'm happy to report that my knitting is back up to speed. And this is Octavio. He likes lamb chops, as do I.


Have a great weekend everyone! I'm celebrating my birthday this weekend with two other fabulous Sagittarians whose birthdays are days apart from mine, so the party usually lasts a little longer :)

It's still rather sparse, but the wall behind my desk is slowly starting to be what I want it to be.

Another perfect chair.... this one by Angelo Mangiarotti.

Last weekend we went to Death Valley. And on our last night we found a cabin. Not exactly like last year's cabin, this one had electricity and water fed from a near by spring. It was incredible. I could have up there for days.

{forgive the poor quality of the images: unfortunately some setting on my camera changed without me realizing until we got home. I suppose that's a good reason to go back and and take betters one, right?}

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it! Having grown up outside of America, Thanksgiving is not really part of my family's vocabulary. Usually we all do our own thing, go to our friends' houses, but we never really do anything as a family since... it's always just been an ordinary day for us. But this year is different because this year I actually have something to very thankful for and only want to be around my family. The fact their house survived the recent fire is something I'm still not really over yet. It'll take a while to settle in, and in the meantime a little pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce will help I'm sure.

I recently got this tile sample by Stone Impressions, and while it's not right for the project on which I'm working, I was quite taken by it. The detail is incredible! I wish I knew more about pattern design and tile fabrication. It's definitely not hand painted, but how do they get such fine detail?

My thing is that I just like the one tile.... as a field it's a little too much; you miss out on the tiny dots.

Or maybe not... see 4 tiles here.

Once again, fire has humbled us.

A terrible wild fire broke out in Santa Barbara on Thursday night. My parents house was spared, but only barely. Their next door neighbors were not so lucky and have lost everything. It's been incredibly sad watching the fire and reading about all the homes that have been lost. I cannot fathom losing everything by fire; it is such a helpless feeling one has watching things burn.

I am even more grateful for the things that I do have.

And also, in Los Angeles... I think there are three separate fires, over 1000 homes lost. Luckily R and I are not very close to these fires this time, a far cry from what we experienced this past April. But the air is so thick with smoke. It's the worst I have ever seen it. Air quality is poor and even in the heat, we're hesitant to open the windows. Visibilty is ridiculous. It feels like the whole city is fogged in.

So please excuse my (projected) absence this coming week, I think I'll be back and forth between LA and Santa Barbara and may not get back to blogging just yet... but then again, we'll see. I might welcome the distraction.

{image via ffffound}

My 2009 Calendar is done... finally and listed in my store.

This week has been a big one for me... not so much sleep and lots of work.

Except for the election, I pretty much tuned out of the world for last 2 weeks trying to meet this big deadline.

But I am back, ready to make stuff like there's no tomorrow.

I couldn't be happier. And I can't wait to see how we progress after this; can't wait to see what future elections will be like and can't wait to see what other barriers we can break. This is really big and so great.

What a relief! Glad we now just get on with it...

{image via ffffound}

I was originally drawn to these two polaroids because they are stunning, but upon closer inspection, the wall decals that they advertise are pretty great too!

{via ffffound; images from harmonie interieure}

I do believe that it's quite unfair that when things go 'on sale' that they are still ridiculously expensive. {via better living through design}

If I had more than just some extra extra cash to blow, I'd probably buy these chairs, the Paulistano and the Maun Windsor.

Or .... I could buy a few more of these... my favorite.

Or I'd go here for vacation for a week.

I could go on and on with my wish list...

We are lucky to have a little resting and sitting area in our studio with tatami mats and some zaisu, Japanese chairs that have backs but no legs. Ours are made from beautiful bent wood and have a circle cutout for a little butt friction, though they are even more comfortable with cushions.

My sister is moving to Australia next week! I'm so excited for her... though selfishly also excited for myself and all the Australian magazines I'm going to make her send to me :)

Artichoke is one of my favorites.

Seriously though, after having lived and studied in Melbourne for only a measly 6 months, I fell in love with the city and the continent. I tried to travel through the country as much as I could in the little time that I had, and I still talk about how much my travels (particularly to Western Australia) changed me.

It really is a fascinating continent, geologically and culturally. The one thing that continues to blow my mind is that the population of the State of California is approximately 36 million people. The entire country of Australia (which is roughly the same size of, though a little smaller than, the United States) has about 21 million inhabitants.

That's my kind of place. Fewer people... more empty space.

{hmm... got a little side tracked there from the nice magazines, didn't I? Oh well.... to continue what I started off trying to say: Australia has got some great design going on and some fabulous publications to match...}

If someone lovely out there just wants to buy me a present, just for the heck of it, look no futher.

Bowls and plates from the New York Botanical Garden shop.

Seriously.

Someone... anyone?

I love my friends.

And I love it when they make things that I want :)
Case in point: Jessica with her latest project, baby slippers... as seen on her (and co-author Mindy's) blog, 3 day weekend.

{... actually, it was their blog that inspired me to finally get off my butt and start one of my own.}

What is it about teeny shoes? I love these slippers. All of them. They're so simple and sweet.

This morning the colors were stunning.
I cooked my breakfast outside... a wonderful way to start the day.

Some colors from the studio... they all seem to fit into our unintended color scheme.

I've been so busy these last few weeks, it's crazy. Lack of sleep, lack of attention on too many things except work. I've hardly spent anytime in the studio at all, but soon, I will get a little break.

Things I am eargerly awaiting:
1. busting out the knitting needles and balls of yarn that have been taunting me and getting back to the beasts
2. fixing my grommet setter and finishing the calendar....
3. cooking a nice autumn meal
4. a trip to the desert

but for now, it's back to plans, elevations and furniture drawings...

The inspirations boards took over the {other} office a long time ago. And now we are so close to being finished with the house that I think I will miss these crazy boards. So many wonderful colors and images collected over the years.

The house, as a shell, has a very clear personality. Now I can't wait to see how each room comes together... how close (or far) they are the images in our heads and on boards.

With the days getting shorter I find myself driving to work in the morning in the dark. Normally I am not so keen on this, but this morning... the moon! I cannot describe how gorgeous it was. Low in the sky and pure gold because of all the smoke from the wildfires hanging in the air.

Of course I do not recommend trying to take photos while driving at 6:15 a.m. going 70 miles an hour. But I do love these images, even if you can't quite make out the moon :)

It certainly was not our intention, but we have a nice collection of red and yellow chairs for our studio.

Tomorrow is our big party. Our muscles and brains are sore from all the construction and debates over paint colors and finishes.

Tomorrow champagne will taste better than ever.

Earlier this year I sent some beasts off to England to be part of a new shop, radici.co.uk, and the webshop finally launched today! Fiona and Jenneth have spent months gathering beautiful handcrafted items from all over the world and my wee beasts have made the cut :) There are some really lovely pieces, I'm so happy that my work is amongst it all! And not only are the goods beautiful, but so is the site's design. Elegant and clean, but also fun and whimiscal.

Also check out their blog, where you'll see Roscoe the Giraffe ushering in the big day... and also, Owen, the blog's lucky mascot.

A big congratulations to Fiona and Jenneth!

What a lovely weekend so far... good company, good shopping finds and good food.

First KC and I went to look for some light fixtures for the house on which we're working. Instead we got completely sidetracked by the vintage maps and vintage kimono stencils. Not that I'm complaining...

And then this morning: breakfast with friends outside. It's something that we do not do often enough and we took our time today. Lazy eating and laughing. Also, it rained yesterday and so this morning the air was so fresh and the sky so clean.

And tonight R and I are going to see Horse Feathers play. What a weekend, indeed.

This little house by LASC studio is a breath of fresh air... via 2 or 3 things I know.
The same blue travels through the house... the bookshelf, the doors, the stairs, the bathroom tile... and there a nice strong yellow as well.

Yum.

Marcus: lover of spaghetti.

A sneek peek at my 2009 calendar... in production and available soon.

I received a wonderful little email pointing me towards one of the sweetest little animations I've seen on YouTube. Not only have I watched it a million times, I've also just put it on pause to take longer looks at the wonderful little worlds.

I've subsequently lost myself in their website, in a good way of course... Zoe de las Cases, a celebration of childhood. So pretty, witty and well designed.

My heart stopped when I saw this... shovels by Cal Lane.

{via ID Textile, a blog I do not visit often enough... the ladies have some fantastic posts... go there, right now!}

Now... if I can only get myself to Retournac, France and visit the Musée des manufactures de dentelles (Lace Manufacture's Museum) I would be happy. If you are so lucky, the exhibition is up until November 30th. The work explores the "idea of lace" in current design.

Sigh...

I really like this project by Nathan Wierink of Ontwerpduo called what it is, it isn't. Referencing Lewis Carrolls' Alice in Wonderland, the furniture piece is a little bit of function nonsense.

Doesn't hurt that the photography is right up my alley :)
{via Bloesem}

My new desk... in flux. Still trying to settle into the our workspace... we're doing, and have already done, a lot of painting, a little demolition and construction. Lots more to do before our opening party, not to mention just everyday work.

Current day dream = building my own tiny house.

Ladies and Gentlemen.... this is Jasper.

I love all the potted plants at R's place and here are some images from above from the past weekend. That was sunday... things have changed a little bit, meaning there is one less plant.

First some background: there is a certain squirrel that likes to take a bite out of everything; he's a taster of sorts, a succulent and cacti gourmet, and there are little bite-size holes in a lot of the plants. I am not sure how he gets past some of the spines, but it's pretty amazing that nothing deters him from chewing everything spikey. This squirrel drives R crazy. I get a little chuckle out of him now and then, mostly because I'm actually impressed by his eating habits.

That said, he has now crossed a line. His appetite has grown considerably and he has eaten an entire beloved plant; one that I had been eyeing at the California Cactus Center for months, and one which they have finally and successfully propograted and put on sale.

And so, to say the least, it is no more. I would have taken better photos of it had I known it had only days left.

Yesterday I bought the Summer 2008 issue of Gastronomica, The Journal of Food and Culture.
I was so taken by the photograph on the cover, the one with the lemons and old spritzer bottle... the colors are so saturated and the arrangement so simple. I could stare at it all day.
When I went to the website, I was equally taken with some of the photography for past issues... take a look here.

I have been meaning to upload some new card designs for what seems like forever... and so ta da!

Said and done. With at least one card, that is... new on Etsy.

More to come soon.

This is Erik... today he was photographed by me.
But quite recently he was photographed by Jen for small magazine.
Which he likes to point out whenever he gets a chance... I think he's quite smitten with her :)

I can't blame him.

Our workspace is still very much in flux and things like desk arrangements, material storage, and general space planning have yet to be worked out. In the meantime {since there is no time to waste}, we've all started to bring in our respective bits and pieces. Not fully moved in yet by any means, we're already working in the space as best we can.

And while it probably won't stay this way, I already started to take over this salvaged shelving unit with a small portion of my huge paper/twine/stationery reserve. I have to edit myself because I know how quickly I could fill every inch of this storage piece with my own stuff, and now being in a shared space again, I have to be mindful of my studio mates' stuff too :)

"S" for selfish?

In the end the space will be fantastic.
Images to come as it evolves.

My colorful souvenirs from my hardware store excursion. Painted metal house numbers.
I really have no use for them, at least now now... but I couldn't resist.

I had to do some hardware shopping for the renovation of the 1920's house that I am working on. Authentic period hardware can be hard to find, so usually my first stop for something like this is Liz's Antique Hardware.

Of course as soon as I walk in, I almost immediately forget what I am supposed to be looking for and I get lost in all the wonderful bits and pieces that completely cover every single inch of the shop.

I'm like a kid in a candy shop... I practically salivate at the sight of every kind of salvaged slide bolt, door handle, hinge or lighting fixture. Unfortunately, I did not find what I was looking for, but like a hardware tourist I couldn't resist buying some souvenirs.... will post those pics tomorrow.

Earlier this year I bought a lovely little water tower on from Up in the Air Somewhere on Etsy, which I love and have finally planted. So I was very happy to get an email from the designer, Susan Dwyer, letting me know that in addition to her Etsy store, Up in the Air Somewhere has also launched a new website where you can also purchase Susan's gorgeous work.

The photography is stunning; the site navigation is simple, elegant and understated, allowing the delicate ceramic and paper vessels to be properly showcased. In short, I love it: the new site, the photography, the work, to whole shebang. I am particularly fond of these gold lipped dishes which I can just see myself collecting [read: I'm in a whole heap of trouble].


And so my little water tower plant is having a grand old time being elevated and looking out over my apartment. I can't wait until it grows some more over the edge.

Nice pattern found in the background of an article from some magazine now forgotten... I'll find the source and post it later.

The photocopier was set to 343%.

Jen did a wonderful job photographing children's accessories for the Autumn '08 issue of small magazine and, luckily for me, included some of my little beasts in the shoot!

The whole issue is so ridiculously cute, so much talent ... I'm particularly in love with the Jayme McGowan's illustrations.

We signed our new lease on Friday and we are new tenants in a wonderful big workspace.

Of course we already had a little party just amongst ourselves. Paint colors and space configurations discussed over sushi and sake.

Needless to say, as soon as we are up and running we will be having a much bigger party to celebrate... again.