Gathering Inspiration

my darling friday!

Sometimes getting to a Friday is the sweetest thing I feel after a week of intensity! Today is particularly sweet, particularly due to my very good friends Ron and Jim visiting from NY, followed by a little weekend getaway at the coast. Last time I saw Ron, Liam was swimming around in my belly the size of a tadpole in NYC! Flash forward 4 years later, we have a walking talking mini me/mini Oliver, with me playing host this time! Fun times are sure to follow!

Here's a little treat from Beirut and Lisa Hannigan (I know, when I like someone, I tend to be a bit compulsive!) I LOVE Elephant Gun's video: a fantastical soireé against the backdrop of choreography. I had the incredible desire to sit in a theater to watch Pilobolus while watching this video. Lucky for me, I see Pilobolus will be in San Rafael Nov. 6th (must schedule a date night for sure! Wonder if Oliver will appreciate this, being that he once danced on stage to a Pilobolus choreographed piece.)

And, who can not help, but love Lisa's new video. I can totally appreciate her mindfulness for pensive cutting, as I was doing just this the weekend before with leaves of fabric on a quilt project I'm making, while listening to Sea Sew. There's definitely a theme of "craft" with Lisa's new album!   

happy friday everyone!

a litte shameless self promotion

I take it as a good sign after the completion of every project, a sense of excitement and pause for agreeable discovery. It's a feeling that feels very rewarding, especially if mirrored by my clients!

Here's some recent works that have launched and are now "flying high" on their own!

WineryChefs.com and NapaNews.org

Both started as branding projects that evolved into full on websites. Very different in premise, but both emotionally aspirational and content rich for information! I also need to do a kirsty to my web developer partner, Brendan at Camaleo Web Intelligence for building exceptional sites!

This is where I get to sit in my chair and smile from ear to ear.

sonnenzimmer: i tip my hat to you, fellow studio/design/printer/artist

Sonnenzimmer: the shoestring portrait from dsinker on Vimeo.

While perusing through some of my favorite blog sites, I came across this really thoughtful video post of a silkscreen studio based in Chicago (my hometown, and it seems in an old neighborhood where I lived in) named Sonnenzimmer.

Run by 2 people: Nadine Nakanishi and Nick Butcher, seek out the deeper meaning of trying their hand out at creativity by running this fabulous shop!

Nadine, you hit it on the head for me: don't work for the "man" for 20 years, only to be "let go!" I felt the same way, and then Folia Design was born in 2002! Yay!

apothecarian eye: take two

 

It seems that my fun for craft has definitely caught the eye of some friends. Last month, when i crafted a shadow box for my husband's birthday using literally, things I had (Japanese paper, antique coins, photos of us), our friend Bonnie was totally impressed with the end results. luckily, i remembered this for her own birthday yesterday.

What do you do for someone who has everything she needs and truly doesn't want anything but quality time with loved ones? My solution was to create her very own tale of butterfly children (namely of Liam and Sierra, her granddaughter-circa 2007). Throw in some other photos of "family" together, in vignettes of sentimental charm, and —voila, a story is told.

Today's unveiling proved to be a hit! Since this is obviously too much fun for me: I've decided to try and source some real butterfly wings. I think that would add so much more realism and make it even more ethereal.

k9 canvas

Got to admit it, this kid is ingenious if he truly ran out of paper.

(via cute overload)

delish.....Fulfilled (yet not in my tummy)

Susumu Tsuchihashi at Fulfilled in Beverly Hills has a new way of serving imagawa-yaki. These waffle-like pastries are traditionally filled with sweet azuki bean and are Japan’s version of comfort food. Susumu has given this treat a fusion style and created a beautiful place to serve it in.

I wish so badly I could be here right now eating a few of these delish pastries.

(via design*sponge)

Seriously, Detail-Oriented.

I have to concur with swissmiss. maybe i can have helen friel help me with a quilt i am making for liam's preschool's auction event, which will be requiring LOTS of hand embroidery.

Beirut: Nantes

I recently was turned on to a group known as Beirut by an old friend, Chuck (from elementary school! thank you FaceBook). Am really loving the mixture of gypsy-Balkan-folk-style music - very original! These new tunes been helping to keep me company in these busy times in front of a la LCD monitor.

Heath Ceramics: Kid's Set with Flatware

I'm a BIG fan of HEATH ceramics, and while perusing through their website, saw the most cutest Kid's Ceramic Set with flatware. The colors are so rich, yet perfect for the kiddie-flair style! We have only one plastic plate that Liam still uses, and am ready to toss it out the window, or maybe use it as an earwig death trap for the garden.

when you need some faerie wear...

This past weekend, my husband and I attended a a charity event to benefit Stonebridge School, a Waldorf-methods elementary/middle school (where we hope to send our little Liam). Theme of the night was: A Midsummer's Night Dream. Not having much time to craft something from scratch, I cheated with some amazing etsy finds: Our masks were from MythicalDesigns's and my very fun feather eyelashes were from: warriormaiden1984's. It was truly fun to play dress up!