my first set of conjoined twins

and also a nice little interview on sfgirlbybay with Sandra Monart of Friederike! I love the images of her workspace and home, filled with beautiful colors and objects... also her portfolio site, herzensart is amazing... currently I am in love with her thorn birds (below).

I've just relisted the 2008 calendar... it's still limited edition with a total of 50 in all ... It's slightly different this time because I'm using a Japanese book binding method instead of glue. Because these little guys take a long time to make, I'll taking pre-orders on Etsy and will shipping no later than December 20th.

Thanks again to everyone who has posted about the calendar recently and to those who have purchased it!

I was so happy when Gillian Bencke introduced herself to me via this blog - I had seen her parisian dolls a while ago and fell in love with them ... There is something a little melancholy about them, totally beautiful.

Her exhibitions are equally inspiring ... the masses of dolls in A CROWD Rockert art ... the princess and the pea story told with in photos in Paris at various stages of progress... the rescued fabrics, the photography, the installations, everything I love.

Not only is everything about "rescuing and redistributing," her own process is interesting, and one to which I can completely relate: "a degree in communications studies, led to photography, self-publishing, exhibitions, installations and collaborations. studies in digital media were followed by travel: a broken LOMO camera and the collecting of memories instead. somehow on the streets of paris the idea of 'dolls' from rescued fabric came to be."

And me... the connecting line between my degree in architecture and my knitted beasts is hardly straight or even remotely predictable as to where it's going.

Above: rue d'orsel and A CROWD Rocket art 2005, photos by Gillian Bencke

Back from a few lovely days away in the Rockies... tried to get some knitting done, but wasn't as successful as I had hoped. It's only 10 days until the Holiday Gift Bazaar...

I was able to check my email once while I was gone and I found out that the calendar sold out! I will definitely be making more soon (but still keeping a limited run) and will re-listing on Etsy as well as selling at the bazaar. Thank you to everyone who bought one as well as those who sent comments.

Just now jumping back into the swing of things... hence a short post today.

I cannot believe it's November already - yikes.

I just cut out some business cards and these were the off cuts... they were so pretty I couldn't resist sticking them on the scanner and making an image.

Today is a very busy day - I'm leaving town and won't be back until next week and I have so many things to scratch off my list before I go.

Other things that are leaving town: my petites bêtes sauvages are off to Berlin to take part in a little exhibition at lilo und dicke dinger. They're all packed and ready to go but they've never flown before, so they're a little nervous. I've assured them that they'll be just fine and not to bother the flight attendants.

Introducing Mr. White...my entry into the 2007 Holiday Softie Awards.

It's hard to think about the holidays, scarves and snow when it's 80 degrees outside, but think about them I will... this photo helps a little... sets the mood.
A polaroid I took about 5 years ago, quite possibly the last time I saw snow.

Also, thanks go out to freshly{blended} for the wonderful post about my calendar, as well Heather at skinny lamix - thank you!

finally... this calendar almost broke me... but it's finished... limited edition available on Etsy.

I'll be selling more at the Holiday Gift Bazaar in Santa Monica, CA on November 17, for those in the Los Angeles area and I will be making more calendars as we get closer to the New Year.

I'm about to go into turbo beast-making mode. These are buttons I picked up yesterday. Soon there will be faces for these eyes.

other little faces that I love {by bencke} have been lost in the mail... has anyone seen them?

Also, I am in bigger trouble than I thought - the items that I ordered from hickory no ki arrived today and I can barely contain myself. Everything about the coffee measure is perfect. The bag is amazing.... I can go on and on. I almost cannot bare how lovely and simple it all is.

I feel an addiction to this shop coming on.... t.r.o.u.b.l.e.

oh no... I'm in trouble... I want (I mean need) this lighting fixture.

via atelier a+d

I am definitely one to buy a book because of its cover ... This one I bought because of its spine.

{added to long list of things I want to do: design a book}
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this morning I had a coffee at a local bakery - on the table they had one of my favorite things: ceramic yogurt jars. I think nothing tastes better than yogurt from ceramic or glass... there are some more beautiful jars here.

So... Southern California is engulfed and smoke and flames. The Santa Ana winds are here and they are reeking havoc. I normally love the winds because they are so strange and so strong, and in a region where weather is usually so consistent, the change is always welcome, but this year it is scary. Yesterday 8 fires started and grew very rapidly. Today there are 17 total fires. It's incredible... shocking.

As for me, the calendar is coming along a lot slower than I had wanted.. but it's almost there. Also, I've got some little beasts traveling to Berlin soon to participate in a little exhibition {more on that later}. I've got to get their bags packed and teach them some German so that they can get by for a while.

So much to do!

An amazing find from my parents house a few weeks back - "Do's and Don'ts: A Compendium of Hints and Information," published in the late 1970's or early 80's in Zimbabwe {there is no publication information noted but Zimbabwe is still referred to Rhodesia and this was received as a gift in the early 80's.}

One of my favorite do's: "To get the mark out when letting down a hem, rub over the crease with a piece of stale bread."

What?

Does that really work? I'm going to have to try.

This is another one of my absolute favorite images I grabbed from the web some time ago and whose artist and source is now entirely unknown to me and it now lives in the ether of my "Images I like' folder. I like how Colleen Baran {from whom I ordered this lovely ring} labeled her similar 'I will remember who has made this and needn't make a mark of it' way of saving images in a recent comment.
Does anyone know the image?

{update: thanks to Casey, the image mystery has been solved - the artist's name is Julie Meredith and you can find her work here.}

These polaroids I took years ago match these little cups I bought yesterday. I don't really need the cups - but I could not pass them up. Imagine this dessert inside them ... the colors will be so great together!

Not only did I receive these amazing Cydwoq shoes in the mail today as gift (from the Sundance Catalog), but they came packed with this equally amazing recycled cardboard concertina-like packing material. I don't know... maybe everyone is using this stuff, but it's the first time I've seen it and it's beautiful. When stretched out it looks like insect wings.

But getting back to the shoes ... these handmade beauties are crafted a stone's throw from where I live, which makes me want to go there and peek in their windows so that I can learn how to make shoes this beautiful. I have a feeling that even though summer in Los Angeles is drawing to a close, I'm going to be living in these sandals for a while. I've now got my eyes on their RIDE boot, in the women's vintage section. But I think I have to wait until I win the lottery first.

Ten years ago I went to see Gerrit Rietveld's Schröderhuis in Utrecht. I was an architectural student at the time studying in France and took a trip up to the Netherlands in the middle of winter to see this little house. I almost froze to death, but it was worth it.

I think the most iconic images of the house are always of the exterior, but it is the interior that I remember blowing me away. The efficiency of space was inspiring.

Years later, and still mildly obsessed with the house, I purchased {of all things} a stack of trading cards of his chairs. I have absolutely no recollection of buying them, but nevertheless I have them and here are some my favorites:

1st row: zigzag chair 1934; Hogestoel 1919; Danish Chair circa 1946-50
2nd row: Beugelfauteuil 1927; Metz side chair 1928; Red/Blue Chair [but all in white] 1918

I love chairs.
And I love small houses.

The end.
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Thank you to all who have been commenting lately on this blog - it's great to get such wonderful and encouraging comments! {above: my thank you cards at Etsy}

Another thank you: need to say how *wonderful* my new laptop wallet is from working class heroes... such a simple, clean and well crafted piece. I also love the old family photos on their website... all around I love their aesthetics!

In other news, I went to see Fionn Regan play last night and it was incredible. You can listen to his music here and here. I think he has a really lovely voice ... not to be missed, at least in my opinion :)

I'm working on a 2008 calendar... and finally have a prototype. Just a few more tweaks and it'll be ready to go and on Etsy soon. Obviously, I'm still haunted by concentric circles.

When I saw this maison d'hôte in marie claire maison in February 2006, my heart skipped a beat. Even now, a year and half later, looking at those shelves makes me weak in the knees.

Fokus Fabrik from Finland {how's that for some good friday alliteration!} contacted me today about their new autumn additions... take at look at their great new fabric and designs... I also love their 'in action' link... these ladies look like they're a lot of fun and very creative!

yesterday we ate outside at twilight with the little lights on

today i tried to make a mobile... this is it so far {inspired by Le Petit Atelier de Paris and Kevin Inkawhich at Silho)

tomorrow, who knows...

My little squid twins Marieke and Frederika were on the front page of Etsy today on a treasury curated by Pam Glew! These little squids were very hard for me to post in the store and I almost kept them for myself {well... I actually feel that way about all mes petites bêtes sauvages, but what can you do?} It feels like the first day of school for my kids or something! Thanks Pam!

Currently inspired by Le Petit Atelier de Paris and their Animobile.
I've wanted to make mobiles (and practically anything and everything else) for a while now... via eddy & edwina

the shelf above my desk :: a few knitted experiments, father christmas, some random dimension letters {the ampersand being my favorite}, various cards and tags, a sea fan, and a postcard from amy earles.

bulls eye

I think I'm seriously into concentric circles right now. Here are some felt coasters I've been working on. They are one of the many little projects I've started but never finished. The Rick Hards image below inspired me to just get on with it!

some other things that inspire me:
camilla's 2008 calendar now available here
white forest pottery's Apriori Series
Kaptiza's William Morris book

Rick Hards

I'm excited to say that I'm going to be working with artist Rick Hards on a few projects {starting with his website} ... we're working out some of the details and I'll post some updates soon about the progress. Rick is an artist living in Los Angeles who works with tin-types and cabinet cards, and handcrafts his own beautiful frames from mahogany. You can see some of his work at Lisa Sette Gallery.

I'm also helping laissezfaire spread the word about "top 10 new design blogs to watch". Vote for your top 5 new design blogs by October 15th by emailing toptentowatch@gmail.com. This is running concurrently with The Home Rejuvenation's current poll of the 10 most influential design blogs today. See the original post here.

Gray Day

An actual storm is brewing... Los Angeles hardly ever gets rain at this time of year, but it has been gray all day and windy. No rain yet, but I have my fingers crossed. I love this type of weather; it's so refreshing. While these polaroids weren't taken today, they match the colors outside right now.

a good find

I found these colorful fish pins in amongst some boxes that haven't see daylight in years. I bought them probably ten years ago, and had them framed and on the wall. They were lovely like that... might do that again.

Red Day

Trying to catch up with some deadlines... it's non-stop at the moment. My knitting needles have been temporarily abandoned. It was actually chilly this morning, so a nice warm coffee was good to wake up to.


While looking for something else last night, I was reminded of some place mats I made for a friend a while back... this is her lovely dining room (photos by r.a.f).

Today is a red day, I think ... and I just bought these socks.

At the front door

I'm working from R's cabin today - the phone and internet access at my apartment is kaput. This is one of my favorite moments in his house, right by the front door.

mis-match

some of my favorite dishes ... nothing really matches and I don't have a full set of anything, but I try to keep the same colors so it all looks like it belongs ... a happy little family of mis-matched dishes.

Shoes & Peacocks

I made some headway on my shoes last night... I have the right sole's basic shape started, held together right now with elastic bands. I worked a little on what I think I want the leather that wraps around my foot to be like, but it's really too soon to tell. This shoe experiment could really turn out to be a big fat waste of time, but I'm really hope it's not. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to wear these out in public, and that that's not too lofty of a goal.

In other news, a peacock (or rather peahen) has moved into the neighborhood. The first time I saw her (walking right in the middle of the street) I thought it was a fluke, but lo and behold, she's back and may be living in the parking lot behind the apartment. There are a lot of peacocks close by the Arboretum which is relatively near, and I've seen a few now in these parts, but I don't understand why they are moving to more populated areas. The pictures I took are terrible so instead, a piece by Tamar Mogendorff:

out with the old, in with the new

Feeling a lot better today {thanks Su Ling for your well wishes!}
I'm moving on from the hard drive drama and will start work on redesigning my website which I've been meaning to do for some time now.

I have a thing for scale model people - they're keeping me company today

oh and one more thing... I think I have to have these socks.

Laura Normandin

I love this piece by Laura Normandin of WREN handmade. Seeing her work this morning on Poppy reminded me how much I love this image {saved in my 'Images I Like' folder} and her work.

I'm still lamenting the loss of my external hard drive.. countless images {my own and inspirational ones from years of gathering} gone.


To get it all off my mind, I am currently thinking about:
Papa Stour's Bolt Hole holiday cottage {image above}
Norwegian architect :: Wenche Selmer
lovely Japanese shop :: hickory no ki {via labor of heart and hoping for happy accidents}
my new haircut... and what it means to have a fringe again

weekend colors & patterns

R and I were are a dinner party where the wax from one of the candles was being blown horizontally by a fan. I couldn't help but take an image... with my new camera. Finally back in the land of picture taking!



Also some images of the bits of old security envelopes found at my parents' house. I love these patterns.

international postage

A while ago a package from Japan arrived which I saved for the beautiful stamps.

Here is another... i LOVE the little crying broken glass 'FRAGILE' icon.



and another:


Obsessed? Maybe a little... I am going to visit my parents this weekend and will probably rumage through some old boxes of stuff from our past lives. My mother used to collect stamps, and at the risk of becoming a stamp collector (naturally considering my hoarding tendancies) I might have to go through the huge glass jar she stored them in.

lost & found

FOUND :: set of tags I made about 4 years ago. I quite like them... I think I'll make more.

LOST :: photo and work archive (my external hard drive decided to die on me... hopefully I can get someone to breathe some life back into it long enough to retrieve the files.. woe is me.)
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Getting back into the swing

Finally getting back to work after the holiday and this heat wave finally broke yesterday... the image above is from a invite series I'm working on for my Etsy shop. I'll be adding a few items to my shop shortly- as soon as I get a new camera. I've been borrowing one for ages and it's time to finally get my own.

Speaking of new, my new couch was delivered today - it's the Rochelle couch from Crate & Barrel.

I swear I've had my eye on it since February. I heard that they were going to switch the color to something in the "autumn palette" so I decided that the time was right, as this was the color I had wanted.

Next on the list for 'operation apartment make-over' is to reupholster some lovely Morris chairs that have been in my family for years and which I finally had restored. I can't wait to start shopping for some fabric. I am still in love with the 'bead' fabric by hable construction that design*sponge posted about earlier this year.
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