Archive for the ‘Inspiration’ Category

04.19.2012

Tasty! {new designs cooking}

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here. Actually, since January, I’ve been going through some health-related things that have made it necessary for me to reduce time spent working, and to try and take it easy.

While I haven’t been blogging, I *have* been working on new ideas, and developing some new items, which will debut in May. I’m excited to say I’ll be launching some Kitchen-related items!

My friends and family know that I don’t usually cook. However, I DO love to eat. And I am a very enthusiastic eater. My boyfriend, Kurt, is a fabulous cook, and in a way, this new group of products are inspired by him, and how much I enjoy the food he creates for us. Having a health issue really makes it clear what matters in one’s life. That, combined with working on some of these new ideas has made this a very special time for me, as a designer. It’s been challenging, and in a way, eye opening.

Anyway, I can’t wait to reveal the items….but for now, they’re still cooking.

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01.17.2012

Inspiration {Mash-ups}

Over the weekend I was doing some research on beading and came across these amazing antique top hats, which I found so inspiring I had to post them here.

The top hat is kind of a special personal symbol for me. (note the rollover on the “my account” link above!) And, I’ve always been drawn to them. As a kid, the top hat was always the token I’d choose when battling it out for total political control – or just trying to stay out of jail –  in Monopoly, and the top hat, and  really, the stovepipe hat, have always had a special place in my heart. I suppose it symbolizes aspiration, style and rakish grace. Also, for me, it has a slightly forbidden air – since they’re not usually intended to be worn by women.

So, I was floored by these antique beaver-skin top hats I came across on Sunday, which were beaded by Native Americans, I’m going to guess, in the early 1900′s. The combination of cultural symbols, personalization, and reference here is absolutely mindblowing, and I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did.

Images found here

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12.9.2011

Words to Live By

Oh I just love a good quote, don’t you?

This week my clients, Blue Sky, were here in NYC and they treated Kurt and me to a trip to see Alvin Ailey, and we all had a fantastic and inspiring time. I feel very grateful to have seen such amazing and energized dance. So thank you, Blue Sky – and dancers!

The first piece centered on the Harlem Renaissence. At one point, this quote was spoken, and I made a mental note to share it here. Actually, the entire Alvin Ailey experience was similar to this quote. While the dancers were moving together, it was almost like watching a troupe of soloists. That was very powerful for me. Not only in the historical context of the Alvin Ailey group – but as a metaphor for being part OF a group. The texture of the pieces was rippled…natural…because the dancers were being themselves, and they were also being focused.

This quote, and the dancers moving, reminded me that love cannot be something you hammer into shape. It takes it’s own form because of what is around it, or what is not around it.

So surround and be surrounded! On that note, have a wonderful weekend all.

Links: Alvin Ailey,  Zora Neale Hurston

 

 

 

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12.5.2011

Mon.tage : Indigo

Welcome to the first installment of Mon.tage, a series of posts for Mondays showcasing a select group of images corresponding to themes I’m working with or researching in the studio at the moment.

Indigo: the name was coined by Issac Newton when he discovered the color’s existence in the prismatic spectrum. Yet, the color *we* know daily comes from a plant-based dye that goes back to ancient Greece and beyond.

After researching a little over the weekend, I not only found images of the plant, but also read about it’s history and use – and the cultures that have been touched by it – the slaves who farmed it, the ships that carried it – the color that makes blue jeans blue.

links:
Indigo Dye – also above in it’s dry form and plant form
Japanese Boro Vest and Gee’s Bend Workwear Quilts: similar – and worlds apart.

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