I can't help but pick things up off the ground.

Apparently Darby and Beatrice are very comfortable in the new studio. I like how Darby has his leg hanging into my binder... like it was his binder! Possibly staking a claim?

And Beatrice, that is a frown to be reckoned with.

Les petites bêtes sauvages... seemingly cute, but territorial, amongst other things.

You have to watch them. And your stuff.

p.s. speaking of beasts.... I have a few coming into the world soon. Camping, road trips, and vacation does wonders for the knitting itch that gnaws at me.

I can't quite describe the things I'm thinking about these days.
These images get close.

boots :: dinner (lost this link) :: N :: cutlery :: book :: storage :: boots2

{inspired by mood}

Back in Los Angeles, and still working on the studio.... picking up a paintbrush after vacation seems like torture! Today R started the gorgeous blue chalkboard that will be his space. We still need to build "the wall" and deal with storage, but we're getting there!

It is difficult to take a fitting image of the Colorado River. It is so wide, so grand, so red and muddy. We went from Moab to the Confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers which took us 4 days.

The geology is amazing, the scale humbling, and the quiet at night is surreal. And the stars!

I knew it was a muddy river, but I was surprised to never ever see the bottom, so thick it was with silt. An 8 foot+ deep river looked no different than one of 6 inches; my oar was the only measure.

The last day we waited for Tex's shuttle boat to pick us up. Our little tent is nothing in this landscape.

A few more days of camping as we make our way back to Los Angeles... see you soon!

travel memento: taken at sunset after the truck got stuck in the mud.... another story completely.

A is for almost....the studio is almost a studio.

B is for blogs I'm reading.

brown paper journal
cirkus
saipua
designwatcher

C is for camping + Colorado river + canoeing = C ya!

I'm heading out.... will be back in October!

S is for Second coat of paint.

Two and a half walls remain before we can say we're done. One of R's walls will be done with chalkboard paint and we were able to get a mix that wasn't black or green. Thanks to the best paint store in LA, Jill's Paints and their advice, we went with Syndey Harbour's Chalkboard Paint because it has a clear base so you can mix any color you want!!

I cannot tell you how many times I had to refer to my beloved fan decks today. Countless times. Paint colors, PMS colors, I-feel-like-I'm-going-crazy colors.

The results of the day:
- R and I picked a color for the new studio. Mythic Paint Ghost Story 142-1
(Sorry Benjamin Moore, you lost out on this one)

- I'm working on some signage for this amazing place in China, and the printer is in, you guessed it, China. Time is tight and there's no chance for color proofs. And even with all the Pantone color matching goodness in the world, good old random values of CMYK pulled through and gave us a better color on all the printers we tested. Fingers crossed.

And fan decks closed.

For now.

This is what our new studio looks like... three coats of primer, newly sealed concrete floor and a long way to go.

At least we picked the paint color today.... will show progress as it happens.

I'm packing up my studio and moving. And man, am I finding out about my hoarding tendencies.

I'm heading to a new studio space which is still in the beginning stages of becoming a space. There's still a lot of work to do, but I'll share more when we're up and running.

This is just one pile, one small car load... so much more to move!

I'm in Texas.

{image by Zack Seckler via yay!everyday}

Ah ha!

I think I will try this pose... surely something creative will come from it!

{Adalyn's Party Trick 1 by Dr. Henry Jones}

Going to the desert in the middle of a heatwave might be considered madness. But from what I understand, it wasn't that much better in the city.

Going camping in Joshua Tree... if we don't melt in the August sun, I'll be seeing you next week.

Happy end of week, to you all!

{images by desert fete}

Dear Greg Hatton,

I'm writing to tell you that I think you've designed the most beautiful set of stools in the world. I am no expert and certainly no authority, but that's how I see it.

If I had my way, these stools would happily furnish my life. I'd not separate them; they'd always be close. In fact they look like they're perpetually in conversation with one another.

Sincerely,
Debi

p.s. I also love the mushroom window display, but I can only take so much in one day, so I'll have to talk to you about those later.

These pictures by Margaret Durow describe exactly my August mood.

August is one of my favorite months. There's just something about the heat, the sunlight, the mornings, something. Can't put my finger on it.

{found the lovely m. durow via the fabric of my life, a nice little blog I chanced upon}

Found these on Intelligent Clashing.
No idea where they came from, who made them, or anything.
All I know is that I love them.

{update: got a good tip...by Eden Batki available at IKO IKO.}

{click on image to see them larger}

A word of caution: you can get lost inside intelligent clashing. I'm warning you now... leave some bread crumbs as you go so that you can find your way back.

Beautiful gifts in the mail today.

Thank you, Marilá.

A wonderful original work in exchange for another.

I can't stop with the blocks.

By Serena Mitnik Miller, published in Arkitip.

{via identical eye and intelligent clashing}

Have you see these laquered blocks by Judith Seng? And my dream dining room table?

They make me want to not blink
and just stare.

That fugitive space between solid and deep color...

then suddenly nothing
but plain wood.


l.o.v.e.

{via kickcan & conkers}

Feels good to get back to circles.

I can't stay away.

More to come... stay tuned.

Aren't these so pretty? Hand cut and crumpled.

Owen Gildersleeve for Poogla.

I'm not exactly ready for Autumn... I'm quite enjoying the summer. But oddly, these leaves make me want to eat soup and bundle up. And jump in a huge pile of them on the front lawn.

Though, not necessarily in that order. I should save the soup for after the jumping.

Introducing Henrik Schnäke...

.... a fine example of a knitted snake. Don't worry, he doesn't bite, isn't creepy at all and eats marshmallows. Happy to live behind pillows on your couch, his little head sticking out waiting for his next meal.

{available here}

I am itching to go camping. But I'm a desert camper and this heat wave is sort of cramping my style.

A good friend turned me onto a desert fete, a blog that has caused much distraction these past few days.

The author recently camped at the river... ah the river, cool rushing water, I want YOU!

{see the lovely flickr set here}

I haven't designed any cards in a while... and now all of sudden everyone I know is having babies, they're leaving town, they're getting older, they getting engaged and married... enough is enough right?

I thought I could really use a pack of cards for all occasions. So of course... what else was I to do?

And while these aren't for ALL occasions, they at least cover 6 of them.

Find them here!

Fête des Lumières artwork by Romain Lenancker.

From last year but still blows me away.

See his blog for more goodness.

{images via behance network}

My dear friend Cathy Pack has launched her long-awaited website.

Trained and licensed as an architect in the hard world, she's also incredibly talented in the soft world. A lot of her work pertains to fabric/space textiles, soft barriers, and the intersection of clothing and architecture. She's an amazing seamstress (of course), has a perfectly trained eye, a keen sense of detail, and thankfully a refreshing perspective of the world; an asset to any project.

Plus she's a taiko drummer!

I'm fortunate to be able to work, collaborate and muse on future endeavors with her.

Congrats to you, Cathy!

www.cathypack.com

The multiverse.
I like it.

{via yayeveryday!}

Curaçao ... . ... .. . .. . . ..... was candy-colored, noisy and sweaty;
still and quiet, and many shades of blue;
dfasdfsd windswept and arid; unrelenting and abandoned.. .... . I loved it.

the air was humid and heavy at night, perfect for slow dinners and lazy laughs on the patio. I was caked in salt, my clothes were crusty. I ate goat and iguana in an unforgettable restaurant. I saw alien cities in dark water lit with bio-luminescence; secret little creatures in the dark, suspended skyscrapers above the reef.

It was all so beautiful. Each part, very different.. . .. . . .. making up what turned out to be a very interesting island.

{thanks to JB for photos}