I've been needing a little sunshine. It's been sooo cold here, I think there have been only a handful of days that I haven't worn a coat. And here is Anna (I adore her style.) prancing around in her underwear. I added the middle shot so you don't think underwear is all that she wears. That and those amazing gloves! I'm dreaming of a pair in kelly green to wear with my new winter/ I mean summer wardrobe. Anyone know where I could find a pair in the middle of summer? Sheesh!
I think these lovely light fixtures are making the rounds... but they were too good not to post. I'm just bummed I didn't get them to you first, seeing as they are created right here in San Francisco. Anzfer Farm's works primarily with reclaimed/found wood. I'm also loving this piece, this one, and surely wouldn't mind a couple of these in '1/2 size set size' (aka half the size of regular 24" X 36" architectural drawings) for my desk.
Also just because I'm so excited about it, I have to share with you. I've added three new poses to my morning yoga. This one, this one and this one. I've spent eons (like at least 6 months maybe more ) trying to learn this one. It's not the going down it's the getting back up. And if you think it's so darn easy then You try it!
I adore Sophia, because she can express through her films what I'm often unable to. I'm not a very good communicator. I'm the girl who wants to tell you everything at once and overwhelms you. Or because I fear I'll tell you everything at once I say nothing and then you think I'm odd.
I can't wait for another one of her films to make me feel normal all over again.
I would love to spend the day with you. What do you say? We can go for a long walk around SF, and then I'll make a lovely dinner, we'll share stories and perhaps you'll take a look at my drawings and illustrations and tell me if I'm moving in the right direction? Although I'm guessing you might say that I am, since I feel that is just the kind of person you are.
Architectural renderings can be a true art form. One that has been made less so, in my humble opinion, with the advent of computer software. It may make certain structures better explored before construction, or make some of Gehry's buildings possible but rarely are the renderings as effective or elegant.
Workstead's renderings stopped me in my tracks. They seem to be the perfect balance of hand and computer. I'm not sure which software or plug-ins were used, if there were any used at all. Could they be hand drawn with some photoshop work? Either way they are ones to emulate.
Update: Robert emailed me and let me know... It is the latter, hand drawn with some site photography overlaid in photoshop. Beautiful!
Wow, so do you realize how difficult it is to concentrate on getting any work done when the San Francisco Chronicle decides to put your mug across datebook. Answer a few emails, read alot more, um okay right what was I doing, oh yea, drawing a kitchen, okay hahaha, that's funny, thanks, uh right, where is that tool, copy, paste, rotate, move, oh thanks... blushing... okay Concentrate!
But all in all, so much fun. And to let you in on a secret I knew who one of the other bloggers was before the printing. I mostly kept it to myself except for a couple friends (otherwise I might burst.) one of them being Celia. We had a lunch date and I slyly mentioned I had some good news... she replied back um, so do I. For a split second I thought perhaps she's one of the bloggers too... then quickly thought... thats Crazy!
Turn's out yes! I love reading her blog, she knows just how to express what she's feeling which is always pretty close to how I'm feeling... such a better writer (I'm obviously not a writer, I'm just posing as one, hello, it's all about the pictures for me.) then I'll ever be and she has this endearing quality that will make you love her in an instant. I was delighted to find out that Jordan was one of the girls, because she's serious with it and I was surprised I didn't already know about Caitlin. A lovely and quality group to be included in.
So, a big thanks to super talented Leilani (She writes for 7x7, the Chron, Readymade, and her own blog, as well as others I'm sure I'm leaving out) for thinking it would be a good idea to include me too. A big thank-you to Hanh who took my photo. (She's quite talented folks if you need a photographer) Also, many thanks to Deborah and the art department too!
Oops I almost forgot you can read the article over here. And a big hello to all you new readers, I hope you'll come back for more. xox K
Do you do this? Find pattern in your everyday? I tried to instate a once a week photo outing at the office to record and talk about our immediate environs... it's fallen by the wayside but I think I'll take it up on my own once more.
The girls of Patternity have made a career out of it. An admirable one at that. Their open resource/blog of everyday treasures will cure what ills you or at least give you a boost of inspiration for that next project. Have a look see.
I've been visiting every now and again handful of salt... who knows how I found them, you know how these things go. What I do know is how difficult it is to find good people who really care about their work. They are rare and hard to find amongst the many cabinet makers, wood workers, contractors, and any other consultant/artisan you might work with in this business so seeing handful of salt begin to collect all these wonderful people in one place is pretty exciting, not to mention helpful and useful. The bonus is you get to see their studio spaces and where they do their work.
If I weren't to continue down the path I'm on and I veered to the left or right, I'd surely start working with wood and furniture. Micro-architecture... still might. Alma Allen sure has me dreaming of running away (with a new pup) to some vast open spaces to create beautiful objects. I love that if I don't give you a sense of scale the smaller sculptures on the bottom could be just as large or larger then the furniture pieces above.
I found out about Alma Allen through the opening of the Ace Hotel and Commune design. His shop existed on abbot kinney after I left Los Angeles and was gone before I returned. His turned pieces are really lovely. Have a look for yourself.
Hope everyone had a lovely summer weekend. It was a lovely one here. xo
A little introduction to my good friend Kevin's place... The Mister and I almost always come over in the evening for some lovely soirée so I thought it was best to present his place in this light, moreover Kevin is a witty and talented host and entertainer. He'll have you in tears of laughter after regaling you with one of his many stories. And I'm not the only one who knows this, the kids from Mortified do too. Two separate performances and a best of tour are a little more proof of the tales he can tell.
In addition, what I love about Kevin's space is, it's about design but not Design, no big names or well known manufacturers , it's just design from a certain era and its de-lovely. (sorry, couldn't help myself)
So now that you have a bit of back ground... Above we are ascending his staircase. You have to walk up quite a few steps to his place and it's always anticipatory. The buzzer to let you in, the many overgrown (and beautiful) plants on the way and an open door with a piece I've always loved. I asked him about it and this is what he had to say.
I've collected old car ads since I was a kid, and when I saw this one on eBay, I thought it would be perfect for my place, since the building was actually built in 1960 and I wanted to build the atmosphere of the place around that vibe. As for the frame, it was kind of a lucky accident. I had already framed the ad when I impulsively bought a small bookcase on eBay, which I liked because of its cool mesh backing. When the bookcase arrived, it was in terrible shape overall, and the only thing worth keeping was that mesh. I noticed that it had a similar texture to the doorbell and thought of hanging it behind the picture on a whim. It started as a way of salvaging an unwise purchase, but now I've come to love it. I'm glad the bookcase didn't work out.
Also pardon that cocktail... it's not a cheesy prop that 's my Manhattan, that I kept unknowingly moving around. Oops.
The living room is a testament to a period in my life when I had a real eBay problem. eBay finds include the pole lamp, sconces, fabric in the artwork over the couch, planter in the corner, ad over the piano, coffee table, and end table. The gray couch is from Crate & Barrel. The aqua couch also came from eBay, but the seller de-listed it several hours before the end of the auction, since no one had bid yet. I could tell from the view counter that there were going to be tons of bids at the last minute, but the seller was apparently a newbie who didn't realize that. When I saw that it had disappeared, I emailed him in hopes that he still wanted to sell, and he ended up offering it to me for far less than I expect it would have gone for otherwise. The white chair, Asian chest, and Asian print were in my family's house growing up, so they have sentimental value. The print of the Anatomy of a Murder album art was the first piece of art I ever bought, at a gallery in LA, when I was 23. My favorite art in the living room is the collection of vintage pulp fiction, which I got at an amazing shop in the Tenderloin called Kayo Books (www.kayobooks.com). This was another lucky decorating accident. It would never have occurred to me to put anything up there except that I wanted to draw attention away from the track for the floor-to-ceiling curtains. It was a nice try, but it still didn't do the trick, so I built the valance instead. Luckily, the books still looked great, so I left them, and the valance had the extra advantage of being a good place to hide rope lighting to light the books at night. At a party, people always get a kick out of checking out all the books and picking a favorite title.
Kevin also plays, so the piano isn't just for show. The door hardware was existing when he bought the place and I'm so glad he decided to keep it.
The picture in the hallway is a print of a photo by Ernst Haas called "Route 66, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1969." It came from Z Galerie. The rotary phone below it was in my house when I was a little kid. It still has our old phone number printed on the dial. The lights beside the phone are made from old electrical insulators I got at a junk shop, along with the old soda bottles.
One of the only items you see that has a name is the Paul McCobb desk and chair. Notice the vintage typewriter on the desk. Again you have the ebay shopper of the year at work here. From the light fixtures to the fabrics to the artwork. And the floating shelves he designed and built himself. Crafty and Thrifty!
In the bedroom, the matching Lane dresser and nightstands came from a great shop that used to be on Valencia that sold a combination of high-quality junk and nice vintage pieces that had seen better days. A fresh coat of varnish spiffed these guys up. The desk is from the Paul McCobb planner group, which I got from Another Time on Market St (www.anothertimesf.com). The typewriter, fabric, and movie posters came from eBay. The sconces came from eBay, too. According to the seller, they were originally used as outdoor lighting at a motel in Florida. The red radio came from a garage sale. The bed came from a Canadian company called Baronet. The various animals on the dresser came from different trips I've taken: Peruvian pig, Brazilian crocodile, Australian shark, Mexican dog, and deer from Seattle.
And lastly a few details shots of the bedroom and kitchen. Kevin just had the kitchen remodeled, you would never know it except that the surfaces are now shiny and new but otherwise completely within the look he was trying to preserve.
In the kitchen, the toaster and can opener are from eBay and so are the handles on the cabinets, which came from a warehouse that was being liquidated. They were in their original 1950's boxes and cellophane, unopened. The light fixture is a reproduction Sputnik lamp with Starlite bulbs. The table and chairs came from the same shop as the dresser and nightstands in the bedroom.
The bunny rabbit painting was love at first sight. It makes me smile every time I see it and it reminds me not to take my furniture and my stuff too seriously. The artist is the extremely talented Mary Patterson (www.fishchild.com) and I got it at my favorite art gallery, City Art (www.cityartgallery.org)
Well, I hope you enjoyed Kevin's place as much as we do. By the way, I was going to incorporate his answers in to the text here but it was just so much better in his words. Don't you agree?
Update! If you are interested in seeing Kevin perform in Mortified. (I really highly recommend it) Here's the info...
The Mister and I had an unusual weekend of outings. I say unusual because as much as I like to see friends faces and new places, I'm just as happy at home with a home cooked meal and a movie. But, I'm so glad we made the trek for there were so many to be inspired and moved by.
YBCA - put on amazing show curated by Yves Behar. I love seeing so many pieces I was familiar with in one place. And hello...Martino Gamper's 100 chairs? I had no idea. But the gem was all the pieces creatively constructed by inmates. GO!
The Burritt Room - You know (well if you don't now you do) how I love a well made cocktail. Thanks Kevin!
I was asked to contribute to the The Considered Ensemble. I could not be more flattered. Have you seen who else they have asked? Completely super cool stylish folk (uh hem ladies) like Cheri Messerli and Ashley Rose Helvey, I feel like I've just crashed the party.
It's quite an interesting read and could be a pretty amazing illustration project. No? How about you? Do you just throw your clothes on without a care? Do you have a literary storyline in your head when you put together your day's wares? Or just a concept of a special feeling you want to project for your day? I for one have always been a fan of dress-up.
Just a bit of light for a Friday afternoon. Laser light. Audrey is a local artist and I'm a bit smitten with her kittens. You can see more of her work over here.
I've also found an evil evil website that I really suggest you don't go to... unless you want to be sucked in.
I'm swooning over Terry Chiao's space solution in her loft. I've lived in one and although the open space is easy on the eye, dedicating space without it beginning to look cluttered is quite tricky. There is also something about it that reminds me of Shigeru Ban's Naked House. The rooms float through the house like furniture might. Little floating pods of living. love. (Forgive my gushing)
I hope everyone had a lovely holiday (those in the U.S. of course) The Mister and I went to the Presidio the day after the 4th (specifically to avoid crowds and that silly colored fog;) for a picnic to test out the new wares from Mom. A lovely picnic basket and a quilt she made for us.
And to check out a new exhibit, Habitats. An invite only competition to bring attention to all the critters that share our environment. You may or may not remember the sculpture by Andy Goldsworthy awhile ago. This is a similar venture and one that I can really get into.
If you have some time I urge you to go see the work... it's a bit like a lovely treasure hunt.
I try my best to always link back to designers, artists, photographers, chefs, architects, funny people, Misters, supermodels, textile dj industrialists or whomever catches my eye and I end up posting about here but if for some reason you aren't happy with the recognition please say so and I will banish you, um er, remove the post immediately.
Posts
