wonting

Very Mick

2010-04-26T12:24:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I watched The Rolling Stones 1982 concert "Let's Spend the Night Together" on VH1 Classics, and Mick Jagger's football tights and knee pads remind me of the super cool and expensive Acne ones designed by Husam El Odeh. Not a bad idea, I may consider sporting a pair (no, not the silver ones, just a regular pair!) next time I'm digging through piles of junk at the antique fairs.

A Bunch of Stuff I Like

2010-03-26T10:53:00.000-04:00

I really love this Eames Frame Serigraph print in that vintage orange and black combo from House Industries, and I found a bunch of other stuff I really like in their shop:
This Eames House building blocks set is perfect for your future architect kid!

These maple screen prints are really sharp looking, they remind me of my "Knock On Wood" that I had done with Gocco, think I should do a silkscreen version of it...
Every designer I know is inspired by Alexander Girard, and this book is a real gem! This book It is a limited edition of 1000, each copy is signed and numbered, I'm getting mine now!!!
photos: houseind.com

My Favorite Logo of the Moment

2010-03-26T10:33:00.003-04:00

The U + J logo. The subtlety of the U is so perfect, it cleverly represents the collaboration between Jil Sander and Uniqlo. It is harmonious and simply beautiful! I love the spring collection too!

Color Inspirations

2010-03-22T13:05:00.008-04:00

I am in love with these bright but slightly off color palette from Balenciaga's Fall '10 collection, it is the fashion equivalence to Gary Hume's artworks.images: style.com and sculpture.uk.com

Laura's New Book

2010-03-18T17:35:00.006-04:00

One of my all time favorite illustrators Laura Ljungkvist was so kind to send me a little preview of her new book "Pepi Sings A New Song". It is about Pepi the friendly cockatoo exploring his neighborhood in search of new things to sing about with his owner, Peter. I can just imagine little kids having so much fun looking at the cute objects on each spread, like the musical instruments here (below), while learning new vocabulary at the same time. This is definitely the cool book for all my friends' little kids! The book comes out on April 20.

images: Laura Ljungkvist, thanks!

Dog Fancy

2010-03-17T18:01:00.003-04:00

They may look like cute plastic toy figures in picture, but they are actually handmade crystal dog figurines, created by Harry Allen for Gaia & Gino. Each one is made of 135 crystal cubes and all glued by hand. If I had free access to these crystal cubes (Gaia & Gino, are you reading this post?) I would make a squirrel figurine, shocking, isn't it?! photos: Gaia & Gino

Kate Jenkins

2010-02-16T16:32:00.004-05:00

I was checking out an artist agency's website and found Kate Jenkin's fabulous stitch and knit artworks, I love them! I drink PG tips at home and wouldn't it be great to have this piece (top pic) in my kitchen?! If I could afford £660 a pop I would love to have a bunch of these artworks on my kitchen wall!photos: agencyrush.com

I'm a New Fan

2010-01-28T10:19:00.007-05:00

I have not heard of Koralie until I saw the cute toy figures she's designed for Kidrobot, like the one from my last posting. My husband has met and worked with her and her equally talented husband- Supakitch, and I heard that they live just a couple blocks from us!

These pictures are from her exhibition in Paris called "EmanEssence". I really love the intricate folkloric details in her work, her characters always have some serious braids and head dresses, they are definitely not ladies that you want to mess with!

I hope that I'll get to meet her and her husband in the neighborhood soon.photos: metroplastique.com, and Koralie's Flickr page

Femme Fatale

2010-01-28T09:55:00.005-05:00

Kidrobot's Fatale Dunny series is out today. You might have seen mine on this blog before, I really love this series not because I'm in it but all the ladies are very creative with their accessories! Here are some of my favorite ones, Koralie's (above) is my no.1 fave, it was love at first sight, I also love the custom Munny that she did for this show.

Mine (under the name CW)

Catalina Estrada

Amy Ruppel (I promise the front is very cute too but I love the wings!)

Alex Anderson

Tara McPherson

photos: Kidrobot

Lily, where do these sandals come from?

2010-01-27T15:33:00.004-05:00

As always, I adore Lily's Sunshine and Shadow. I love that she's doing more patterns, I especially love the floral, very different from the geometrics that she's known for! But I am crazy about these colorful sandals that she used for this photo shoot, where are they from???photos: sunshineandshadow.com

New Obsession

2010-01-27T10:58:00.004-05:00

Olaf Breuning's website is loads of fun.
Also take a peek at his studio here.

images: olafbreuning.com, the selby

Sounds Like Brooklyn

2010-01-25T15:44:00.003-05:00

I love Brooklyn and and I love Les Savy Fav, so naturally I am going to see them at BAM this friday night! Vivian Girls will be the opening band for them. It is part of the Sounds Like Brooklyn Festival, a 2 week festival that celebrates Brooklyn-based bands. There will be more than 60 shows at 15 different venues in Brooklyn. Go here to check out the list of bands and shows, and hope to see you at one of these shows!
photo: BAM.org

My New Dunny

2010-01-21T13:14:00.008-05:00

I called it Big n Small because as you can see the mama bird has her baby bird, and the big Dunny has his baby Dunny pull toy! The original Big n Small Dunny was a custom hand painted 20" Dunny that I did a few years back (below), I was so happy that Kidrobot decided to make a 3 inch version of it. This Dunny is part of the Dunny Fatale series that will be available next week.

Imogene + Willie

2010-01-14T11:43:00.006-05:00

One of the most interesting stores we visited in Nashville was Imogene + Willie, located in the 12South district. The store is beautiful, the owners turned this former gas station into a jeans workshop, retail store that carries new and vintage clothes, and this is where you can get a really good pair of custom made jeans. If I had $300 dollars to spare I would definitely get a pair in raw denim and wear them to death! I really love their simple cross/plus sign logo that is subtly sewn into the jeans (below). I also like their signature sweatshirts (above), they are really soft and come in the best colors. At the store I saw this very pretty indigo dress (below) with the side slits on the sleeves and vintage buttons on the cuffs, wish there's a better picture of it, and I also wish that I had gotten it! I am glad that the store is in Nashville instead of big cities like NY or LA, the vibe there is very cool but friendly, the location also gives their products that Americana authenticity that people sought after. I read from their blog that a taco truck was parked outside of the store one night a week during the summer, what fun, I hope they will do it again for my next visit!
photos: imogeneandwillie.com, secret forts

What's New With Sanna

2010-01-13T11:58:00.003-05:00

I've been a fan of Sanna Annukka's ever since I saw the illustrations she did for Keane's album about 3 years ago (a friend of the band's bought one of the prints which led to her first commission, to illustrate for their second album "Under the Iron Sea"). I revisited her new website and found lots and lots of stuff that I want to buy, especially the silk screen prints! Everything from the site is beautifully photographed as well, I'm happy to see the full range of her Marimekko line, I wish that the squirrel cookie cutter were available in the US ! And how cool is the invite for the launch of the line?! (Art directed by Chris Bolton) Go to her Press section and you will find a feature on her cute home from a Finnish interior design magazine- Deko.photos: www.sanna-annukka.com

Available Now

2010-01-11T17:33:00.005-05:00

2 Gocco prints, Toggles and Brooklyn Town, on Etsy.

Toggles is probably the funniest squirrel I have ever done, I can't help laughing every time I see him!

Brooklyn Town features some of the famous landmarks in different parts of Brooklyn, and it comes with a little guide telling you what and where these buildings are in Brooklyn.

Some of my friends are wondering what happened to CHetCH and why we haven't been updating the merchandise. Chad and I are working on the official re-launch of the shop, and we'll be selling lots of stuff from our antique shopping trip over Christmas, more exclusive arts and products made for CHetCH! So stay tuned! Check out the website and email me if you would like to collaborate ;-)

Road Trip

2010-01-07T15:27:00.016-05:00

I've been back from the road trip on the 28th, but I took a really long break from the computer, I did not look at a single blog while I was away and I did not miss it. But since I have a blog and I need to know what in the world are we living in, I am back to my old self and going on 30 blogs a day!

About my road trip, it was really fun, and I enjoyed every moment of it, Chad my husband was the driver who never complained the whole time we're on the road! Here are some of the highlights of the trip, I regret not taking as many pictures, especially in Nashville, if I wasn't sick to my stomach most of the time I would have (thanks to the chicken parmigian dinner in Maryland!).

Day 1- We left Brooklyn for some antiquing near Shartlesville, Pennsylvania. We made a stop at Cabela's- the super store for hunting gear, woohoo! For a lifetime city girl I was very intimidated, actually a little frightened, but the taxidermied wild animals won me over! The place is HUGE, I could have spent hours on looking at camping gear and cookware! In Shartlesville we went to Roadside America, the place I most looked forward to, it's a miniature village of all things you'd see in the Northeast of American roadside. It's basically a room of about 3000 square feet with lots and lots of miniature houses, animals, farms, and trains. All the the trains there work and some can be operated by the visitors! You can read all about it here and see more pictures here. It was really too many cool things to look at in one place, I'm seeing new things in these pictures that I didn't pay attention to while I was there!

We drove for another 3 hours and decided to call it a night and stayed at Cumberland Maryland. We were gong to Lexington and Roanoke Virginia for more antiquing, but we were expecting a huge snow storm there so we took a different route.

Day 2- The storm hit Cumberland as well, we got more snow than expected so we were snowed in for the day. It was actually a blessing in disguise because I was pretty sick from the dinner that I had the night before (that chicken parm!!!!), so it was nice to relax and lay in bed all day. We actually had fun watching corny holiday movies all day! Day 3- Back on the road and on our way to Kentucky. The snow stopped and the sun was out (for a short short time!) The snow made all the trees even more beautiful and Christmasy! We did not do much that day because we had to catch up on the drive in order to make it to Nashville our destination the next day. There's a mom in that town who could not wait to see her son!

Day 4- We spent an hour in Louisville, Kentucky. We did pretty well antiquing there! Our original plan was to go to Dollywood before heading to Nashville, but we realized that it's more of a theme park with roller coaster rides and it was probably closed anyway, so I guess I won't be going to Dollywood anytime soon. A few more hours of drive, we made it to Nashville!

Day 4 - 8 I don't have many pictures of Nashville because I got even more sick while I was there... but here are some things that caught my attention at the antique malls.

Day 9- We left Nashville really early for Roanoke Virginia. It took about 6.5 hours to get there and we got some pretty good stuff at the antique mall, so it was well worth the trip! We drove for another few hours and we spent a night in Winchester, Va. We did pretty well with time and not too worried about returning our rental car tomorrow night!

Day 10- Off to Pennsylvania again! We went to Fayetteville and Allentown for more antiquing (yes the roadtrip was all about antiquing for our online store CHetCH.com), by the time we made it to our last antique mall we were pretty much done with our shopping and done with the trip. We headed back to Brooklyn, but not without being stuck in traffic at the Holland Tunnel entrance for 1.5 hour!

I must apologize for this super long post, but I doubt that many of you have made it to this line. This post is to make up all the days that I have not blogged. I will try to post more soon, and will try not to talk about myself too much!

Gone for the Holiday

2009-12-18T08:20:00.000-05:00

Chad and I are going on a road trip to Nashville, his hometown. We usually fly down but this year we are driving because we'll get the chance to stop by all the great little towns in Pennsylvania and Virginia! Great antiquing and lots of fun places to go, we are really excited about Dollywood, I hope it will be more than just an amusement park! Another place that I really want to go is Roadside America in Shartlesville Pennsylvania that our friend Jenna told us about. It's a 6,000 square feet miniature village representing small-town America, see more pics here. The place looks strange but amazing! Let me know if there are places that I should check out in PA or VA!

I will be back before the New Year and I hope to share some highlights with you then. Have a happy and peaceful holiday!
photos: www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com

Five Whats- Hortensia Handmade

2009-12-15T09:00:00.005-05:00

After a long long long hiatus, my favorite segment of the blog- Five Whats is back! It is a little Q&A with creative and talented people that I admire, some are friends, and some are strangers that I've become friends with. Today's guest is Michelle Peglau of Hortensia Handmade. I am obsessed with Hortensia ever since I first saw their neck warmer (picture below), everything is hand made by artisans in Peru. Michelle is based in New York and she runs the business with her mother who lives in Peru. I am fascinated that she's from Peru, which is well known for its alpaca wool and handicrafts. I was so happy to meet Michelle in person yesterday at the Divine Studio Holiday Sale, and I bought the beanie hat that she's wearing in the pic! She is such a nice and friendly lady that I know I will keep in touch with for a long long time! Without further ado, here are the five whats:

1. What did you have for breakfast?
Can’t start the day without a cappuccino that I make. I use my Bodum French press and a portable foam maker by Primo Latte. I get my coffee beans at Sweet Leaf in LIC. They sell organic coffee from all over the world by Stumptown Coffee, for me the best. I love eggs, any style, with either baguette or tortillas (a tradition I picked up from my husband) or I have some fruit with some good old Greek yogurt I get in Astoria.

2. What inspire you the most?
Colors…no doubt. That’s what gets me started. Then textures. I am obsessed with that now. I’m planning a lot of it for the new fall collection. Mixing colors, creating patterns and relieves. I have always been very drawn to ancient textiles. Ancient Peruvians made amazing textiles. That’s my most inspiring source right now.

3. What are your favorite things to do in Peru? Any "secret" places that we should know about?
I was born and bred in Peru and fortunately I get to go back a lot. I’m from Lima, the capital of Peru that is by the Pacific Ocean.
My old hood is called Miraflores and I love it because it’s near everything. From my mom’s apartment you can see the sea. I also recommend Barranco, a bohemian neighborhood by the sea cliff. There are many parks, old houses that have been restored and are now art galleries, designer studios, cafes, restaurants, bars.
Lima’s center is also great. Colonial architecture is all around. Some buildings are better kept than others but overall the whole center is coming alive. My favorites are the Museo de Arte de Lima, The Hotel Bolivar and The Plaza de Armas de Lima.
And you can’t leave Lima without having a ceviche and pisco sour. My favorites places to go are La Mar and Costanera 700. This last one is owned by a Japanese chef and blends both Peruvian and Japanese flavors.

4. What is it like in a day of Hortensia?
Every day is so different. We all do bit of everything. Right now I am getting ready for the Holiday season, at the same time planning Fall 2010 and doing everyday office work. What I usually do is plan my days and dedicate my creative time to at least a full day. I don’t read my email or get near a computer!
Since I’m in New York and my mom in Peru (same time zone though) we communicate via email, talk almost every day by skype and discuss our ideas or plans for the next collection. And surprisingly we are always in tune.
Hortensia is collaboration, a constant work in progress. I am very lucky to work with my mom and the ladies that are part of Hortensia’s team. We are all learning from each other, we all trust and respect our roles.

5. What are you doing this holiday season?
I will be working very hard through Christmas!. But after that my husband & me will spend our first Christmas in our new place in Long Island City (In Queens, New York). We are spending New Year’s Eve in Lima with my mom & brothers. We are probably going to stay up all night, watch the sunrise and have an “aguadito” in a little restaurant near the beach.

- Thanks to Michelle who took some time from her busy schedule to answer these questions and sending me some pictures of Peru!
- photo of Costanera 700 ceviche: http://www.thousandflavors.com/

My Other Purchases in Beacon

2009-12-14T12:33:00.007-05:00

We always enjoy our time in Beacon, even though we only spent about 3 hours up there, we looked at art, went to shops and met lot of very nice people. I visited Kristen from Clay Wood and Cotton and I loved the store! I wish there is a place like it in NYC or Brooklyn. The store looks great, Kristen and her partner have really good selections for the holidays, I'm honored to have my stuff in the store! I bought some coasters by Kristen, and also got this really really beautiful letterpress calendar by Ink+Wit's Tara Hogan, the artworks are inspired by her trips to Europe and across America, the colors are so soft and so pretty, I love it! This calendar inspires me as well, one of my plans for 2010 is to start making letterpress prints!!!

Limited Run 3

2009-12-14T12:14:00.004-05:00

Mike Perry

Bryce

This is the third year I'm showing at Open Space, I did a couple of prints (this and this) for the show, there is a picture of me standing next to the prints but my eyes are closed so, sorry no pic! I am pretty happy with the new prints but when placed next to other prints mine look so small, that is the drawback of printing with Gocco, the largest size I can do is an 8" x 10". But regardless, my prints did pretty well at the opening, that makes me happy. We bought a few things from the show, I picked the Mike Perry print (op art print above), Chad and I are huge fans of this print of a line drawing by Bryce, I was so fortunate to have the chance to meet him and had his picture taken, here it is: Yes, this young man is the artist, his name is Bryce. He is working on a book of poems that he wrote AND illustrated, and I didn't even dare to ask how old he is, is he even 10?! Chad and I are starting a collection of Bryce's work now because, mark my word, he is going to be BIG one day, probably soon!

Busy Weekend!

2009-12-11T15:28:00.004-05:00

We are going to Beacon for the Limited Run show at Open Space Gallery, where my prints, a couple of items from CHetCH, as well as my friend Alex's postcard set will be shown there. It's going to be a lot of fun, and I hope that other Brooklyn artists will be there as well.

I just got this email about a Fort Greene Holiday Sale (see above), I must check it out before we go upstate. You will find my friend Lily of Sunshine and Shadow's beautiful clothes, and I am excited to see some handmade jewelry by Aesa, plus lots of artworks by local artists. I can't pass on this sale since it's only a few blocks away, right?!

On Sunday, I'm planning on baking some holiday squirrel cookies, but before that I will go to Divine Studio's Holiday Craft sale, mainly for Michelle of Hortensia's handcrafted knitwear, which I have mentioned on this blog before.

p.s. Come back next Tuesday for my favorite part of this blog- Five Whats. My guest is going to be- ta da... Michelle from Hortensia! I just LOVE her knitwear and the way she runs her business with her mom remotely, her in New York, mom in Peru. So come back for the delightful Q&A session then! Have a fun weekend and stay warm, it is absolutely freezing in New York!!!

Russ & Daughters

2009-12-11T11:25:00.003-05:00

I'm not Jewish but I have many friends who celebrate this holiday, so Happy Hanukkah! I looked up Russ & Daughters' website because I LOVE their whitefish salad on my bagel, and wow I was impressed by how great looking the site it! The logo says everything about them, what a cute fish!!! Look at the potato latkes, the smoked salmon, and I want to get that caviar just for the packaging. Everything on there is to die for, and that is why it has been in business since 1914, you must go to the Lower East Side store when you visit New York!

white fish salad on bagel

bialys

potato latkes, smoked salmon and caviar

photos: russ & daughters

My Kind of Town

2009-12-10T10:20:00.003-05:00

Another print I did for the "Limited Run" Show at Open Space. These new prints will be available on Etsy and my webshop after Christmas.

Toggles

2009-12-09T15:53:00.002-05:00

Chad's coat

+

This guy=

Toggles! Specially made for Open Space "Limited Run" Show- opens this Saturday.

Squirrel pic: Moldovia on Flickr

Owlette in Action

2009-12-04T14:27:00.004-05:00

As you know I've made some laser cut felt ornaments for the holiday, I love them but we don't have a tree at home, so I am so happy to see my little Owlette in this close-up tree shot by Clay Wood & Cotton in Beacon, NY, they carry some of my stuff there! It's a new store run by a couple of very nice ladies, one of them, Kristen, is actually a Clinton Hill neighbor. I also have a special connection with Beacon because my favorite gallery Open Space where I have shown in a couple of group shows is on the same street as CW&C (well ok, Main Street is a pretty long stretch but it's only a 10 minute walk from each other). I've been working on a print for this year's group show, hope they'll like it, and if I have time I will work on a couple more, will post pics soon. Think we might go on a day trip to Beacon next weekend!

I also want to mention this great shop where I got some nice flowers from called Stem, I can't believe that it is only a block away from me in Fort Greene, the selection is really amazing too, plus it feels good to support small local businesses in our neighborhood. Have a great weekend guys!
photo: CW&C

New Designs at Marimekko

2009-12-04T09:53:00.004-05:00

I really like the new accessories collection from Marimekko. They are designed by Vivra Launo- who is the new creative director at Marimekko. I'm so happy that I found the concept store on the Upper East Side that carries them and has an online shop as well! The clutch with hand-drawn "embroidery" details is my favorite, and this suede cup key fob makes such a perfect holiday gift (it's not available online).photos: kiitosmarimekko.com, marimekko.com

Love- Hedi Slimane Diary

2009-12-02T10:14:00.007-05:00

There's nothing that Hedi Slimane can't do, and he's become quite a great photographer! I can't stop looking at his photos on his website, the rock and roll ones remind me of the works by David Bailey, the skull is as beautiful as a Caravaggio painting, and the picture of Kate Moss is one of the most beautiful pictures I've ever seen of her!photos: hedislimane.com

Shop Red At CHetCH!

2009-12-01T10:01:00.008-05:00

New print this week- Rainbow Chart by Shannon Lucy, a CHetCH exclusive. This is a print of an original painting, it is printed on textured art paper to maintain the aged look of the original. Shannon has had a few solo gallery shows in New York and her works have been sold to some pretty high profile people, like this guy. We are so lucky to have this painting at home, and now, this Rainbow Chart! Only 50 prints are available.

Another CHetCH exclusive, a festive version of the Skull print by Faiyaz Jafri. We have the black version at home but I think the red one is perfect as a holiday gift, well, for those who are into skulls. Only 25 available!

Riding Hat, made to order by Siu Yin Chau. Silly me, I used the wrong picture on the site and this blog for weeks and didn't notice that it's different from the riding hat that I wear all the time! Anyways, here is the hat and I LOVE it, I'm really into red lately and this is another accessory that will go well with my usual dark outfits!

Memphis necklace made by CHetCH. Another red accessory that I can wear with my dark outfits, we created this cluster as a tribute to Memphis, the architecture design movement in the 1980's.

Watermelon USB Drive. This slice of watermelon looks so real and juicy that I actually had mistakenly picked it up and thought it was real! It holds 4GB of space and comes in a tin case, only 3 left.

Beach Bag in December is Essential

2009-11-30T16:54:00.005-05:00

Found this beach bag on Etsy by PloylyMingzyBb' from Bangkok (the name is a little funny, wonder what it means???) I think it's perfect for city dwellers as well, I do wish that I could carry this bag to a beach right this moment! The store has lots of beautifully crafted totes with nice leather straps, I love the red of this bag, with all the black that I wear this bag will really stand out!photos: PloylyMingzyBb

Apple Cake

2009-11-30T10:22:00.006-05:00

At 10pm last night I decided to bake an apple cake, I found the recipe from House Beautiful and it seemed easy enough to make, and it only needs 2 granny smith apples. As a clumsy baker I did everything I shouldn't have or didn't use the right equipment to bake this cake. The recipe calls for light brown sugar but I only had dark so I used it, I mixed the butter and sugar when the butter was not soft enough resulted in sugar flying out of the bowl, to eliminate further splattering nightmare I mixed the batter by hand (with a spatula) instead of the mixer, I didn't use a springform cake pan because I don't have one, and I didn't sprinkle the thing with powder sugar coz I figured that it's sweet and pretty enough. I learned that I don't have to follow the damn recipe to a T, like I used to, and the cake turned out pretty good, actually delicious! It's a nice cake to have in the morning with a coffee, it's not too cakey and dense so it doesn't feel like I'm eating dessert (I'm kidding myself right now, but it IS lighter!) Let me know if you want the recipe, or buy the December issue of House Beautiful!

before

after

FREE SHIPPING

2009-11-26T18:37:00.001-05:00

my shop, for 1 week only- Nov. 27 to Dec. 4!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T11:00:00.004-05:00

Have a safe trip home and eat lots of great food! My favorite thing on Thanksgiving morning is to watch the Parade (on TV!) Here is a picture of Tony Sarg blowing up a balloon. Sarg designed some of the most iconic balloons for the first Thanksgiving Day Parade- Felix The Cat, the elephant (above), dragon, and toy soldier, you can see them and more vintage pics here.
source: www.designrelated.com

Brilliant Cards!

2009-11-24T13:49:00.007-05:00

Been spending too much time looking at greeting cards today, here are some them that I really love:
Assorted Biscuits card by a Japanese company called Buono Buono. They look so real and delicious, and such a smart and simple design!
Present & Correct is definitely one of my all-time favorite giftware site, they carry new and old products from designers all over the world, but I am a die-hard fan of their own designs. Here are some of the cards that I absolutely LOVE: (picture on top) my favorite Cute As A Button card, Tree or Snowman decoration that is also a card (below), and X'mas Stocking Thaumatrope card (second one below).
sources: http://matomeno.in/products/item-667.html via ffffound, presentandcorrect.com

Muji x Lego

2009-11-24T11:39:00.004-05:00

I know that thousands of blogs have already posted them, but I must write this post because they are the best DIY gifts ever... for those who live in Japan! These toy block sets are brought to you by Muji and Lego. They are not just some Lego blocks, they also come with paper and little joints so that you can create Muji-esque characters with the materials provided. Look at that squirrel, and I love the color of the paper, the only thing that's bad is they make you buy the hole puncher separately.
photos: muji.net

Tuesday Night, See You There

2009-11-23T12:36:00.005-05:00

Our good friends Jen and Nick of our favorite sneaker store Classic Kicks is having a new t-shirt release party at their Soho store, above is the t-shirt design, they will have 2 more releases in the coming weeks. The party is from 6 to 9pm, there'll be drinks, music and t-shirts! Come and support local business and have pre-Thanksgiving drinks with us if you're in town. Classic Kicks is located at 298 Elizabeth Street (Between Houston and Bleecker)

Will Cotton Bakery

2009-11-23T08:02:00.002-05:00

Our friend Hans works in the office where the bakery took place, it was actually a bakery/installation by artist Will Cotton at Partners and Spade- a design agency and sometimes store in Noho. Cotton is a renowned painter who uses beautifully baked and frosted dessert as his subject, he created art with these tasty treats which he also created. His macaroons were like crack, the lemon one was our favorite, it was light as air and had just enough crisp on the outside. Chad and I devoured the 3 in no time so we went back to get more, but I noticed there was a sign that said 3 macaroons limit per customer, so Chad smooth talked the lady into giving us more macaroons that we devoured in no time again.

Back to Cotton, he is a talented baker as well as an excellent artist, seeing him yesterday was very inspiring and really made my day.images: www.willcotton.com and www.eatmedaily.com

CHetCH

2009-11-20T10:00:00.000-05:00

I am really excited about the launch of my new web shop with my husband Chad, called CHetCH.com. It went live today! It's still a work in progress but we want to sell a few of our favorite things for the holiday season, in the coming weeks we will be adding more new products.

I did a little jewelry line called "The Plastics", it's really fun to do something with bright colors and bold icons. That ampersand necklace is our logo that I designed, we'll be using it on a lot of products.

The jewelry line is just a small part of the store, we carry products designed by very talented friends that we know, like knit accessories by Siu Yin Chau. You might have seen her cool knitwear before, I'm really in love with the iPurse and the little red riding hat, the best thing is, everything is hand-knitted and made to order!

As you guys know, we love skulls and we have quite a collection here, our friend Faiyaz Jafri has done this absolutely amazing skull print for our shop and our wall! It is available in black, red and blue, each one is a very limited edition of 25.

Big Announcement Moved To Friday

2009-11-19T09:28:00.008-05:00

It's no secret that Chad and I have been working on a web shop called CHetCH*, it's going live tomorrow. We planned to open today but we still have lots to do on the website but we'll be open for business tomorrow. Here's a pic** of the plastic jewelry from our own label. Stayed tuned tomorrow for the "big announcement"!

* CHetCH is a combination of the first 2 letters of our names. The ampersand on the necklace is our logo.

** Big thanks to Alex who is our unofficial house model

Holiday Fun- Free Cards with Purchase!

2009-11-18T13:25:00.005-05:00

I just released my new holiday cards and felt ornaments, you can get them on Etsy now. I am extremely happy with how they all came out, especially the Rejoice card, I should always use kraft paper! The holiday icons card is great too, the gold is crudely printed and off registered because that's what I love about vintage cards, flaws and all! I will post everything on my wonting shop next.

I am giving away a couple of free cards with each purchase of the ornaments and holiday cards (any holiday cards in my shop), while supplies last. I did some cards with a company in the UK last year and they gave me a ton of them so I might as well give them away and spread the love!

I've been working non-stop these days on a bunch of different projects, tomorrow I'll have another big announcement, so stay tuned!

In Love With Bat For Lashes

2009-11-18T09:00:00.001-05:00

I can't stop listening to "Daniel" by Bat for Lashes aka Natasha Khan, it's from her latest album "Two Suns". You can watch the video here. I am also in awe by her beauty, don't we all dream of being an indie rock star like Natasha?! The picture above reminds me of Chantal Goya from Goddard's Masculin Féminin.images: http://www.batforlashes.com

Work In Progress

2009-11-16T11:47:00.005-05:00

This year I'm doing 2 gocco holiday cards and 2 laser cut felt ornaments, I was going to make them as ornament/card, but the felt is very thick and won't look very good in an envelope, so I'm selling them as ornaments. As you can see the dove card and the ornaments are 99% done, the brown card is missing 2 layers but is already looking really good, it makes me think that I should always print on color paper. Everything will be available on Thursday in my shop and Etsy.

MUNNYWORLD

2009-11-13T10:04:00.008-05:00

Went to the opening party of the MUNNYWORLD exhibition, it's only open for 3 days, from November 13-15 at the Eloquent Delinquents Gallery, 41 Wooster Street, New York. The party was also to launch the new DIY toy characters- Trikky, Bub, Raffy and Rooz. Kidrobot asked some of the world's most talented artists/designers to create their own 20" Munnies and friends, they are all so amazing that I can't say which one is my favorite, but here are some highlights.

The Way to Collect Your Silver Dollar

2009-11-11T15:01:00.006-05:00

Chad sent me a link to these jewelry pieces made by a Japanese company called Phenomenon Beyond Description, they are incredible, what a great way to use silver, and it's a recycled material, how genius! The designer only uses silver dollar coins made between 1960-1964 because the silver content is higher. I am just amazed how these coins are bent into such beautiful shapes, and cutting the negative space out of a coin to emphasize the bald eagle. I really love the sculpted skull ring, especially how the eagle's head is perfectly placed on top of the bridge of the nose. images: pbd, arknets.co.jp

An Early Early Holiday Wish List

2009-11-10T17:28:00.011-05:00

Guys, remember to get this Kidrobot Krunk-a-Claus Dunny by TADO on Thursday, November 12! It is absolutely the cutest thing ever! Love his 'nog and his wooly beard!

The Magic Mouse. Apple finally got it right with this super light-weight wireless AND buttonless mouse! You can scroll and swipe pages with a click and a double-click anywhere on the surface of the mouse. I am so psyched about using it with a laptop!!!

New York (Peony) by Gregory Krum. Greg is a good friend of Chad's and I have always been a fan of his photography, just found out that he's released a new print on Jen Beckman's 20x200.com, I had to get it right away (because these limited edition prints sell out quickly!), guess it's an early holiday gift for myself! Peony is one of my favorite flowers and hey we happen to have that same vase at home, I love it, it's so perfect for me!!!

Spencer Squirrel Nut Cracker. Not all squirrels are created equally cute, this squirrel happens to be the top 2% cutest. I don't ever crack nuts or have the desire to, but now I do!

Momofuku Cook Book by David Chang and Peter Meehan. Who doesn't love Momofuku, right? And Peter is the hippest food writer in town, his collaboration with chef/owner David Chang, is a book that is full of creative ideas and delicious Asian recipes, and a great restaurant memoir (read the full review here). Bravo!

I'm not an anglophile (although my friends would tell me that I kinda am, unfortunately), I can't help but really want this "Made in England" rolling pin. Maybe it's because it's ceramic with beech handles, I think I would still like it if it says "Made in America", just that Kathleen Hills thought of it first...

photos: Kidrobot, Apple, 20x200, JamieOliver.com, EatMeDaily.com, MyLivingSpace.co.uk

Sneak Preview

2009-11-09T13:30:00.007-05:00

Chad and I have been working hard to stock up our new shop, which will go live really soon. I am very excited about the merchandise that we are carrying, some are made by us, some vintage, and most are products made by our very talented friends. Shown here are hand made knit accessories by Siu Yin Chau. I am crazy about her iPurse, it is not only perfect for the iPhone, but you can also use it for holding keys and lipstick, I LOVE the giant pearl! The tie scarf is really great for those who don't want a long scarf but will keep you warm on the coldest days. (11.18.09- Sorry, the scarf is not available) Will announce our shop opening very soon!!!

Pied!

2009-11-09T10:16:00.006-05:00

A few weeks ago my friend Carmen and I stopped by our neighborhood bookstore and picked up a cookbook by Baked Bakery from Red Hook. I have never been to the store and had never tried their baked goods until recently, I got a chocolate brownie with sea salt from my local store and I became an addict, even Oprah said it's one of her favorite things (hehe)! Carmen bought the book because she wanted to make the pumpkin whoopie pies, we also made the brownies (minus the sea salt) and they were insanely good, as good as the Baked ones if not better! Yesterday we made an apple pie, I give Carmen most of the credit because she made the hardest and the most important thing in a pie- the dough, the night before. Since we're both perfectionists and wanted to do everything exactly right, it took us about 5 hours to make the pie! I tell ya there's a lot of work involved in making the pie but the result was A-MAZING!!! The crust came out perfect, it's so light and flaky. It's a bit scary to think about how much butter and sugar is in the pie but surprisingly it doesn't taste heavy or too sweet either. You know what Carmen? I think it's time for me to get my own copy of the book, and our next "project" will be the flourless chocolate cake!
photos: wonting, bakednyc.com

Spread The Word

2009-11-06T10:01:00.008-05:00

A while ago, my friend Alex Anderson asked me to so a postcard for her organization- 28Cents. I got my set of cards yesterday and I was very pleased how mine turned out and am flattered to be included in a group of very talented artists. Each of the 24 cards has a different message, designed to create socially and environmentally conscious art that can be added to and passed on, raising awareness and connecting ideas. My cause is "Stop Gun Violence" (above), in the United States, a person dies from gun violence every 18 minutes!

Only 1000 sets are available, profits go to Art Start, an organization offering free art programs to NYC youth, get yours here. I have lots of copies of my card, I will send you one if you are the first 10 people to write me.Above: Doma- School Tank, TADO- Keep Love Alive, Ryan Rubnis- Viva Verde, I Love Dust- It's Nice to Be Nice.
images: 28cents.org

Onwards

2009-11-02T11:29:00.004-05:00

While we're on the topic of running, it's a perfect day to post this animation that James Jarvis did for Nike, in case you haven't already seen it. Jarvis is my illustration hero from London who is also a keen runner, he admits that he prefers running over illustration! The character in the animation is actually James, and it's inspired by his personal experiences as a runner.

Outside of our Window Yesterday

2009-11-02T10:59:00.006-05:00

I love my neighborhood, the New York City Marathon happened right outside our window, we couldn't help but be excited and watched the runners pass by our block. Chad's co-worker was also running so we wanted to cheer for her, I had the camera ready and tried really hard to keep an eye out for her, but of course we missed her, she ended up calling Chad's name and we barely saw her, no picture and no hi-five, we're so lame, how did we miss her?! Anyways, we really enjoyed cheering for the runners, it's so inspiring to see all kinds of people, professionals, superheroes, handicapped, blind, seniors, running together, and it must be a lot of fun to run across the 5 boroughs with 40,000 other people! Who knows, maybe next year we will be running the marathon, better start training now!

The Only Print I Want...

2009-10-29T10:14:00.003-04:00

... is this, Star Spangled Shadows by Faile, but can't, coz it's sold out. Better luck next time!
photo: Faile.net

Oh Charlotte

2009-10-27T15:09:00.002-04:00

I am a huge fan of Charlotte Gainsbourg's. I love her quirky look, her voice, her acting, and now her music! I can't wait for her new album "IRM" to come out, it's produced by Beck, download the title song here now!
photo: charlottegainsbourg.com

If I Am Going To Dress Up This Halloween

2009-10-27T10:06:00.002-04:00

Nuts For Glass Squirrels

2009-10-27T09:41:00.006-04:00

I saw a couple of these glass bowls at Moss yesterday and I was amazed how animated the fish and squirrels look in glass. These glass bowls are made by Tittot from Taiwan using the lost wax technique, it involves 50 interconnected steps to create one bowl, you can read more about it here. Each bowl is available in limited edition of 388, a number that symbolizes good fortune in Chinese culture. Obviously my favorites are the squirrel bowls, but the fish ones look so real that they look almost like there are actually fish swimming inside!pictures: designboom.com

Skull Crazed

2009-10-23T10:44:00.005-04:00

I have a thing for skull, simply because we all have one and it celebrates life and death. We have a little skull collection at home (only human skulls, but none of them is real), these porcelain masterpieces from Nymphenburg are just asking for trouble, especially the simple white one with the gold chain (top pic) by Patrik Muff. Might have to treat myself one of those... Nymphenburg is a 260 year-old fine porcelain maker from Germany, each piece of its porcelain is a real piece of art. They have commissioned some of my design heroes like Hella Jungerius and Ted Muehling (seed vessel, above) to create contemporary pieces for the company. I love everything that I saw on their website but here are a couple of the pieces that caught my eye.

Salvor Projects

2009-10-22T11:07:00.010-04:00

Tonight is the 10th Annual National Design Awards Gala, I am so happy to see that Salvor Projects is one of the finalists in the Product Design category, well done! I'm sure you have seen the giant eye scarf before, for Spring they have the tiger scarf, I love the super large scale of these prints because once worn they become a subtle and beautiful pattern! Ross Menuez has also designed some pretty cool products for the home, like the very popular animal shaped cushions, and this Icosa Lamp (below) made of rice paper. Also, if you are in NYC, take advantage of the free admission at Cooper Hewitt Museum this week, which is celebrating the 10 years of National Design Awards.Photos: Salvor Projects, Idee-online.com, Areaware

kolor

2009-10-22T09:59:00.005-04:00

I don't know much about kolor but I know they are a Japanese label and they have a cool website and some pretty nice clothes, especially for guys. There are too many unflattering Hammer pants for the girls but I do like this jacket dress look, and the electric blue boots!

Hortensia

2009-10-21T10:26:00.004-04:00

Hortensia makes the most beautiful knitwear I've seen recently. They are 3 generations of French women raised in Peru, every piece is hand-knitted by artisans using the softest Alpaca wool, something Peru is well known for. I'm trying make this neck cuff (top pic) but with a much simplified cable in the center, with my skill set it's best to keep it simple. The twisty detail on the purple head band (above) is really gorgeous. I LOVE the vest (below), I don't know how much it cost but it should be about $400 and worth every penny because it takes some mad skill to make it so beautifully.
photos: Hortensiahandmade.com

It's Time to Winterize

2009-10-21T10:10:00.003-04:00

I'm knitting a scarf for myself and because I am extremely picky I can't decide what style to settle for. So I went online to do some research and I came across this really cool hooded scarf by Rogan. I like how the hood is lined with fabric. It's a machine-made scarf but I do like the idea of it, it looks so soft and cozy. Hope they will have it at their sample sale!
photos: Rogannyc.com

Great Jewelry That I Can Afford

2009-10-16T10:50:00.004-04:00

After posting about insanely expensive products, I need to come back to planet earth and look at things that are humanly affordable, and you can always count on Etsy for that! I think this young lady Laura Lombardi makes really interesting and wearable jewelry. Her gold-dipped quartz necklaces (top 2 pics) are a hit, I am in love with this brass fringe necklace (above) made of vintage chain and brass charms. I always joke about getting a monocle so this necklace (below) is perfect for me, just add a glass and I'm all ready to read menus at restaurants!
photos: Laura Lombardi Jewelry

Wonting It

2009-10-16T10:12:00.006-04:00

I am dreaming of wearing a ring by McCaul Goldsmiths, the twists and curves make these precious metal rings look like mini-sculptures on their own. Check out the diamond settings on these twisty rings, so amazing!!!
photos: McCaul Goldsmiths

Super Deluxe Halloween Costume

2009-10-16T09:46:00.004-04:00

If I had 5 thousand Euro to spare I would wear this lobster dress by Heal Fashion Lab for Halloween, or maybe this gorgeous gorilla coat, all I need is a gorilla head!
photos: Heal Fashion Lab

Acne Crush

2009-10-15T09:37:00.004-04:00

If you read my blog before you might recall that I LOVE Acne, I want to live in the world of Acne and dressed head to toe in Acne! This article on Acne and founder Jonny Johansson in the New York Times is such a delight, I learned a cool thing about Johansson, after he was fired from his rock band for being to flamboyant, he initially made furniture, then he made crudely sewn t-shirts for friends that Wallpaper and French Vogue, which were then exploring Scandinavian design, took notice and the rest is history. This guy is ambitious and is doing much more than fashion, he has a great magazine- Acne Paper, his company also works on films, commercials and special projects, one of them is a pink pastel denim couch! If Johansson ever writes a biography I'll be the first one to buy it, this guy has a vision, without formal training in fashion, he understands the world culture (including consumerism), his clothes are like drugs that people come back for more every season. Ok, I am rambling now but you get why I love Acne, right?
photos: New York Times

"Toad" Bag

2009-10-06T12:45:00.004-04:00

Last night Chad showed me pics of this crazy looking monster and I really didn't know what it's supposed to be. Today I looked on Farfetch.com and saw him again, it is a "toad" (not tote) bag by Rick Owens made of brown mink fur. Maybe it's way avant garde that I'm not getting, or it's a joke that Mr. Owens is playing with his die-hard fans, but I'm hoping to see someone walking down the street holding this thousand dollar "toad" bag around!
photos: farfetch.com

Perfect Friday Music

2009-10-02T10:42:00.004-04:00

This Mix Tape by Kitsuné Noir will put you in a good mood, I promise. Go on their blog they have lots and lots of mix tapes for you to download for free, I love this new one called Nothing You Can Touch, a Mixtape inspired by John Huges movies from the 80’s… but with a modern slant. I am deeply madly in love with The National's cover of Pretty in Pink, it's nothing like the original but still so beautiful and so sweet. Now go download this mix tape and dance like you're in the Breakfast Club!
images: kitsunenoir.com

It's Goot!

2009-09-25T15:18:00.009-04:00

I like looking at Josh Goot's Spring 2010 Collection because it's like looking at cool graphics on ffffound. It's interesting to see how bold geometric graphics and bright colors are translated into apparel, I find them extremely appealing and cheerful, we all need some of that these days, don't we?! photos: style.com and ffffound.com

Pretty Ropey

2009-09-24T18:58:00.003-04:00

I'm loving these jewelry pieces created by artist Orly Genger and jewelry designer Jaclyn Mayer. What a great idea to make jewelry out of climbing ropes that are naturally beautiful and come in vibrant colors! This bracelet in blue and white (below) is my favorite! But I wonder how heavy is the necklace???images: http://www.jaclynmayer.com

Want And Need

2009-09-24T08:59:00.000-04:00

Have you noticed how good Zara is this season? It's hard to decide what to buy there, I tried on the boots in the first picture, they are so cool and I need to get them my size! The trickiest thing to shop there is to find things your size, because although autumn has just begun a lot of the styles are already sold out, so you must go there immediately!

I Just Had an OMG Moment...

2009-09-23T12:43:00.004-04:00

... when I saw the Sound Burger here. I had red one when I was a bratty tween, OMG!!! I have completely forgotten about it and have never heard anyone ever mentioning a thing about it until now! It was totally a toy because the sound quality wasn't good and although it's portable you really can't walk with it while the record is playing. I loved it regardless because it's so darn cute!
photos: unplggd.com, retrothing.com

Lovely!

2009-09-23T11:44:00.005-04:00

I am a huge fan of Garance Doré's illustrations, I love how she blends traditional fashion illustration with fun Parisian attitude. Her quick-sketchiness style seems so effortless but happen to be beautiful, just like the people she often photographs for her blog. I actually prefer seeing her illustrations over the photos because they express her very own chic sense of style and her girls have the most graceful hands!!! She totally inspires me to sketch and post them here, although mine will be not be fashionable. In case you didn't know, Garance is also a great photographer who shoots fashionable people across the globe for her blog.images: http://www.garancedore.fr

Branquinho X Delvaux

2009-09-11T13:08:00.005-04:00

One of my favorite Belgian designers, Veronique Branquinho, whose fashion house folded earlier this year, has found a new home! She is now the Artistic Director at Delvaux, a 200 year-old family-run luxury leather goods company in Belgium. For the Autumn/Winter 09/10 collection, Delvaux introduced 3 of Branquinho's bags that were originally developed for her fashion line. I really love this bag called Message Ambigu that looks like an envelope, it's very clean and sharp, the adjustable strap allows you to wear it across your chest or over your shoulder (which is more chic!). I also love the muted color she often uses in her designs.
images: Delvaux and FashionWindows.net

Lyrics by Jean Julien

2009-09-11T11:45:00.004-04:00

This book by Jean Julian is entirely handmade and silkscreened by Eugene and Pauline. All the artworks are really funny and smart but I have to admit that the cover is my favorite thing about the book. Only 100 copies are made, for 45 Euros it is really a bargain!
images: JeanJulien.com

Janine Rewell

2009-09-10T10:24:00.003-04:00

Another Scandinavian illustrator to look out for is Janine Rewell from Finland. Her style reminds me a little of Sanna Annukka's- they both like to use geometric shapes and Scandinavian folkloric elements in their works, but you will find more humor in Janine's work. I love the current trend of putting 2D illustration in a 3D setting, like the doll house (above), how adorable is that chandelier?!images: Janine Rewell

Crushing on James May

2009-09-09T10:21:00.009-04:00

What's not to like about James May? He hosts the coolest car show on earth- Top Gear, where he gets to drive lots of incredible cars (and sometimes wreck them) for a living!

He gets even more likable when we get to his personal projects that involve his favorite childhood toys, his love of gardening and wine (which he constantly gets teased at by his Top Gear co-hosts). He and hundreds of volunteers helped created a garden made entirely of Plasticine modeling clay for the Chelsea Flower show back in Spring.

And his most recent project, which is the dreamiest job ever, is to build a house entirely of lego blocks and gets to live in it for 3 days! It's a 2 story house located in a vineyard in Surrey, England, the house comes with a bed, toilet, kitchen, the whole nine! I'm curious to see if there will be any cool furniture inside. It's due to complete this weekend, and if I live in England I would definitely go see it in person, I would have even volunteered to build the house!

When he's not hosting some car show or playing with childhood toys, he even finds time to go fly to the edge of space, 70,000 feet above ground in a U-2 spy plane, see the clip here:

sources: telegraph.co.uk, geeksugar, denbiesvineyard.co.uk, youtube

A Mobile Office

2009-09-04T09:57:00.003-04:00

I'm imagining what this giant leather steamer trunk office would look like in my home, I love the mobility of it and how cool is it to have a giant luggage as your office?! You can get yours at Restoration Hardware.

Creators Only

2009-09-03T10:28:00.010-04:00

I'm sure you've been to a lot of store-in-stores and pop-up stores these days, but have you heard of a hotel-in-hotel? There is one called Creators Inn by Elvine and the hotel-in-hotel is inside Hotel Scandic Malmen in Stockholm. It's not just a hotel room for anybody, it's only opened for a limited time- from August 1 to September 13, and get this, it's free, if you're a designer of some sort! You have to register for it and explain what kind of creative things you'll be doing during your stay how you can benefit from this trip. I would imagine that it's not easy to be selected for a free stay since it's only open for a few weeks. Let's take a look at the room:

It's not just a room, it's the size of a nice hotel suite, with a living room, a study, and a bedroom. The decor is cozy, simple and fun, kind of like the Ace Hotel. I really like the rugs in the living room.

The hotel also provides a list of contacts that you can call up if you need someone to go out with. There are also clothes and bike rental available for use. Great ideas!!! I would love to see this concept appear in other cities soon, even if they charge for the room, it would still work and be in high demand.

photos: creatorsinn.com

Layers of Plaid

2009-09-02T10:35:00.005-04:00

Dig this look by FWK Engineered Garments, but in real life it's probably not very comfortable to wear 3 layers of flannel plaid shirts at once. I think I can do 2.

Love the top layer (shirt dress) with elbow length sleeves and pleated front!

photo: SPUR magazine Japan

Designers- You Need It!

2009-09-02T09:43:00.002-04:00

This beautiful V&A Pattern Box Set is a must for designers who create or use patterns in their designs. It contains 4 titles- The Fifties, William Morris, Digital Pioneers, and Indian Florals. Each book comes with a CD that is intended for you to redraw or rework the patterns. And think about how great this box set will look in your bookshelf! Get it here or here, I think it's a real bargain!photos: V&A Shop

OC Tokyo- A Report from A Guest Blogger

2009-09-01T10:00:00.010-04:00

Hi, it's Chad, Christine asked me to write a quick report for her about the Tokyo Opening Ceremony store. I used my new Digital Harinezumi camera so excuse the "vintage-ness" of the pics.

The store is an astounding 8 floors, it's in between Seibu and Parco if you are familiar with Shubiya, it's a great space. They did an incredible job with the store design, both on the layout and even down to the fixture level. The 3rd floor features all the fixtures cut in half, it is very interesting, I loved the table cut in half (above).

Each floor had some kind of glass case built into an animal, ostrich, bears, even bird dogs. Here is the bear one...
There was even an Other Music outpost, very cool.
This floor was probably my favorite, the "ruins" of the brick walls, the lamb fixture unit, and this great stool/chair merger, very nicely built.
The after party included my favorite dj's Lindsey and Miles (the Hump) who played a nice Bass set, including my boo, and KP and Envyi, woot. A live performance by Julian Casablancas from The Strokes and his new project, Brooklyn up and coming band Growing, and more dj fun from Andrew Kuo, and Leo Fitzpatrick.JC

The Growing

The flyer
OC official pics here...

story/photos: Chad

My Uniform

2009-08-31T14:33:00.004-04:00

I always talk about wearing a unifrom to work everyday, perhaps this coverall from Wood Wood is it!

Chad, what do you think of this sweatshirt graphic? I think the upside down double A is pretty genius.

There are lots and lots of good posts on this blog, now go check it out!

photos: arkitipintel.com/reporters/woodwood/

Liberty And Grayson Perry

2009-08-31T11:45:00.011-04:00

I caught the Liberty fever today:Hermès Pour Liberty scarf. Hermès has designed a line of limited edition scarves for Liberty, they are available in different Liberty silk fabrics and the iconic Hermès Ex Libris design is screen printed over them. This one (above) is definitely my favorite.

The Liberty store is having a special exhibition called Prints Charming, it's a show of all things eccentric designed with Liberty prints. I like this Peacock print teapot because it's not the usual ditsy floral and I've always wanted something with Peacock feather.

I fell in love with this super cute print by artist Grayson Perry. He designed a line of textiles that subvert traditional images of childhood and gender.I love this vintage-inspired bicycles print too! After reading a little blurb about Perry, I became very curious about him and found this fabulous photo of him (below) dressed as his alter ego- Claire. Perry is a insanely talented artist known for his ceramics. He is married (yes, he's straight) and has a daughter. He did an exhibition based on his favorite teddy bear Alan Measles that he's had for 45 years, I love him! I must do more research on Grayson immediately!photos: Liberty.co.uk, guardian.co.uk

A Must Buy

2009-08-28T15:36:00.006-04:00

We've always had a dishwasher at home, but with our new home we have upgraded to a human model- Chad (I mean a dishwashing machine model not a male model type). To make his job easier, I'm going to get him this dish rack by Simple Human, it's got a knife block to put the knives in a safe place, and you can place the cups on the cup stands where you can pull out an expandable drip tray right underneath. Most importantly, it is compact and comes in stainless steel with white.

image: simple human

A Solution for Hanging A Giant Print

2009-08-28T10:47:00.005-04:00

For the kitchen, I bought a vintage French botanical chart on eBay that doesn't come with a wooden dowel that you can hang from the top just like any other botanical chart. I was going to make one myself to simulate the look but unsure how to make it, now I don't need to. I saw this picture in September issue of British Elle Decoration and this is the answer to my dilemma! First of all, the whole look of the room is so us (except Chad has a much larger vinyl collection and we don't like dead animal heads), it's hard to tell but that lamp base is a squirrel! Ok, back to print, the bird print looks like is mounted on some kind of cardboard and is just hanging from that clip on top, easy as pie, I can do that, guess that's my project for the weekend!

image: British Elle Decoration

Dressing Up My Living Room With...

2009-08-28T10:01:00.009-04:00

As you may know, I moved into a new place 2 months ago, so today's posts are dedicated to home decorating. I need some ceiling lights for the living room and bedroom. Today I'm focused on the living room lighting, it will be hanging in the center of the room where we use as living and dining room, the ceiling is not that high so I can't get a tall pendant lamp, and I can't hang it low since it's not going to be hung on top of the dining table. Here are some of the lights that I consider buying, which one should I go for?

Lens Pressed Glass Pendant by Tom Dixon (above). It's from his latest lighting collection. I love the transparency and the industrial look of this light.

Beat Light by Tom Dixon. Yes I'm a fan and I've wanted one for a long time. The one I want is the wide and short disc (second from from left), it's perfect for our ceiling height and would go perfectly with our black painting and white walls.

Cluster lamp by Moooi. It's witty and you can always change the look of the lamp and the ambient of the room with different light bulbs.

I'm really into brass these days and I really dig this vintage 60's lamp that I found on this Swedish website through Fine Little Day.

Flower Pot lamp by Panton. Chad said he has a silver version of it somewhere in the storage, not sure if we even want to go there since the space is jam packed like Tetris blocks, this blue enamel version is really cute so maybe...

images: tomdixon.net, allmodernlighting.com, www.bebop.se

Munny Show in Tokyo

2009-08-27T09:31:00.006-04:00

So Chad is in Tokyo for the Munny temporary store opening at the MoMA store, here are some pictures of the space. As the sign says there's also a Munny show, wonder if this Gloomy Munny (below) is on display, it was made for the very first Munny show back in 2005. For that same show, I did one with my friend Siu Yin Chau (below), his name is Ping Pong Chimp. The reason why I decided to do a ping pong themed Munny was because of the lollipop that reminded me of a ping pong paddle, (the accessories that come with your Munny is a blind assortment meaning you don't know what you're getting until you open the box). I bought some pretty fancy yarn for this little dude and was hand knitted by a first class knitwear designer! I was bummed that it wasn't sold for much (the money was donated to the people affected by the Tsunami), but I had fun doing it.
photos: Chad, Kidrobot

Black, White, and Gray Forever

2009-08-26T10:02:00.006-04:00

That's me, I just can't kick that habit. As I get older I can no longer wear some of the labels that I've been a fan of since high school, it doesn't mean I'm going to stop wearing fun pieces, but definitely less girly. Here are some of my black, white and gray picks for the fall:

1. Jil Sander collection for Uniqlo (above), the prices are so affordable I'll probably buy a lot of from the collection.

2. A lot of Acne Jeans. It's probably one of my favorite labels these days. (Top) I LOVE this look a lot, especially the skirt that's wrapped like a Guggenheim Museum! (Bottom) Wham sweater, boxy and long, comes with a matching scarf that look like another set of sleeves. Love the shoes too!

3. Oak. This store has created a small collection of clothes that defines what Oak is all about, dark, edgy, layers, and affordable. This coat with a square collar exterior and a french terry zip up is $422! You can't even buy half a bag with that money!

4. Opening Ceremony. I always love clothes with options to wear different ways. This tie front blazer can be worn as a jacket or as a dress.

5. Fun pieces that I must get:
I fell in love with this Karen Walker broken pearls t-shirt ever since I first saw it in a runway photo. I'm normally not into crew neck t-shirts, but this shirt is made for dressing up so I like it.

Okay it's not black white or gray but definitely rocks! This fish tail flannel shirt by Opening Ceremony. Not totally into ruffles but mixed with the masculinity of a flannel shirt makes a nice balance.

photos: Uniqlo, Acne Jeans, Opening Ceremony, Urban Outfitters, Creatures of Comfort

I Want E.T.!

2009-08-26T00:30:00.004-04:00

I had a leather E.T. when I was a kid and wish that I never threw it away (or my parents gave it to a cousin) because it's one of my all-time top 5 favorite toys! I've been looking for the cutest looking E.T. replacement and this one is it! I found him when I stumbled upon Fine Little Shop and it was love at first sight, funny that the glow on his finger is yellow, not red. Chad and I have been trying to edit down our toy collection in our home, but I am pretty sure that E.T. is going to make the cut!

image: Fine Little Shop

J. Peterman, Really?

2009-08-25T10:31:00.010-04:00

For people who know what J. Peterman is, must be saying "really? Is that the J. Peterman that Elaine worked for on Seinfeld?", yes really, I love J. Peterman catalogs ever since I was a kid, every product in the catalog (except for some home furnishing) is shown in watercolor illustration, I study these illustrations like real pieces of art! I also read the catalog from cover to cover, because they always have a witty history lesson about each product. Although myself and most of my readers, are not the demographic that shop at J. Peterman, but if you really look closely and you will find some really outstanding classic pieces that will work with your wardrobe! Here are my picks:

Picture above- Otavalo Mountain shirt, it's a unisex shirt worn by the actual moutain people of Otavalo, Ecuador. The catalog suggests that I wear it with a soft skirt and a wide belt, hmmm.... not sure about that...

The JP shirt- another unisex shirt in muslin and pure cotton, it looks so soft, it has no collar stays so it's perfect for the button down look. And how about those wooden buttons, sign me up!!!

I can never get tired of a good trench coat, this short version, the catalog says was found in a little shop in Milan. It also suggests that I pair it with a beige paisley scarf, not sure about that again.... but it is a very chic coat, or a really good illustration of an average coat?

This vintage camera clock (this is a photo not illustration) is very interesting, guess you can turn anything into clocks but this folding bellows camera looks really good to me, and it's on sale!

images: J. Peterman

OC- Department Store

2009-08-24T13:33:00.003-04:00

My jetlagged Hubby arrived in Tokyo and walked around Shibuya late at night and sent me a picture of the Tokyo Opening Ceremony to be opened on the 30th. It's located in the busiest shopping district called Shibuya. Chad said that it's about the size of a Parco building (there are about 3 large buildings of Parco department stores in that area!), guess it's not just a little boutique like the one in New York! There are some computer renderings of the interiors of the store here, it's going to be an 8-level store with different theme on each floor, kind of like an American version of Dover Street Market, I love and wish I were there! I'm sure the store will be a hit in Tokyo since the Japanese are fascinated by the American culture, and I hope my good friend Miki's jewelry line will do very well there.
picture: Chad

My Walls Need Some Friends

2009-08-19T17:02:00.005-04:00

They are looking a little bare right now, we have a few things hung on the walls but could use a couple new ones. Ever since we got the black painting I'm really into buying prints with black background. I love the owl print by Wayne Pate, but we had to roll it up due to a string of bad incidents that happened to our personal lives (we are superstitious!). But I'm a huge fan and would really love to buy a new print of his. I don't think I'm allowed to buy any more prints since we have so many that are stored inside our closets (we really edited down our art collection for the new place, perhaps a little too much!). The Frenchie bird above is the print that I sort of got an approval for... and here are some other ones that I would love to get:David Hockney by Wayne Pate. He really chose the most iconic image of the artist, that pose is so distinctively Hockney! I love the color of the paper Wayne used for the print, it's so retro chic!

A couple of prints by the lovely Eleanor! The top one is just what I was looking for, black and lots of black, and gold ink, it's sexy and dangerous!!! The second one has such beautiful silhouettes and colors that pop and most importantly this print will look so good on my wall, it's so Bruno Munari!

And this amazing photo of a Nymphenburg porcelain store room by Greg Krum (Chad's co-worker from the past and a dear friend), I wish I had gotten it back in January on this website, it's now completely sold out, not even one $2000 print left! Medium format photos are just so special, I can even sense the musty and cold storage room from the color of these worn out but beautiful cabinets.

images: good shape design, push me pull you, 2x200

Last Night

2009-08-19T10:03:00.005-04:00

Went to Areaware's Pop Up store opening at the Port Authority to support Chad who played the best soul music in town and of course to support our local designers. The store is a lot of fun if you are in the market for gifty things, here are some of my faves:I don't have room for another pillow in my home, but I do love Fauna pillows, how cute is the squirrel one on the lower right?!

Sorry for the bad picture, there were too many people hovering around Kiel Mead's jewelry case, I love the simplicity and innocence of his designs, see the badminton birdy lights above, and especially the delicate forget-me-knot, which I have blogged about a while ago.

If I were to buy something at the store, this would be it, a Tarmoset leather fly swatter! I could really use one this summer!!!

Yes the Annie Lenon hairy necklaces are cool, but I adore the little flower earrings!

And last but not least Chad the Mr. DJ man.

I'll Be There

2009-08-18T16:33:00.005-04:00

(I know the header is cheesy but I can't help myself!)
Spike Lee, whose film production company is located in Fort Greene (actually right next to my old apartment), is planning a block party to celebrate Michel Jackson's 51 birthday next Saturday, August 29, at Fort Greene Park. DJ Spinna will DJ for the event, as a proud Fort Greene resident and a sometimes MJ fan, I will surely be there. But the whole reason why I want to blog about this is because of the flyer, I love how the silhouette of his hair is text! Drop me a note if you are going to the block party and we can all sing "ma ma se, ma ma sa, ma ma coo sa" together!
images: Huffington Post

The Most Beautiful Stamps

2009-08-17T15:07:00.005-04:00

In the past I've mentioned about how boring US stamp designs are, so I am really happy to discover these King and Queen of Hearts stamps that were released in May. The drawing is referenced from 18th Century French playing cards but the design is retro- circa 70's. There are so many things to love about these stamps, like the Queen's crown, the heart motifs on the King's costume, and the sweet little "love" hand-writing! I'm going to a book of these stamps this week, which leads me to wonder how many stamps do you use per month?
image: USPS

Where Have I Been?

2009-08-12T12:00:00.008-04:00

Hello hello! I'm back and I owe all of you some explanation why I stopped blogging for months. It started when I got a freelance gig at this great company and it kept me really busy for a while, and during the time Chad and I were looking to move out of our apartment where we made lots of squirrel friends. We looked at more than 50 apartments and ended up with the worst one we could have picked, I was miserable, could not sleep due to the noises and terrible neighbors, stressed and angry for the entire 5 months we were there. So we broke the lease and moved into a new place in July and I am so happy here. I'm now finally moved in and have the chance to relax and catch up where I left off back in December. The one good thing about moving to that crappy apartment was the neighborhood, we made a big move to Fort Greene, Brooklyn from the city, how brave were we?! (just kidding) We love love love the neighborhood and we're so lucky that our current apartment is only 2 blocks away from the last one, but it made a world of difference! Here are some pictures of our place, we have done a few home improvement projects and we have more to do. The painting in the first picture is by Shannon Lucy, a good friend of ours, the second picture is Chad's pride and joy- his record shelves, and the third picture is our window in the living room, we have some little plants and the dachshund pillow is a gift from a friend and it's created by another friend Aaron who lives just a couple blocks away! Below are my birthday presents from Chad, this labbit by Amanda Visell is probably my favorite toy figure from Kidrobot. The touching hands bangle bracelet is from Eley Kishimoto, I think it's the sweetest thing ever!

Blossoms

2009-05-01T17:11:00.007-04:00

A few snaps of the cherry blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I went on Tuesday afternoon to take advantage of the free admission and the weather could not have been nicer, but very hot! In fact half of the blossoms have already past peak, the lake is usually surrounded by cherry blossoms during the festival which takes place this weekend. I'm a new Brooklynite and it was a really nice way to really see the neighborhoods by walking a lot, I walked from Fort Greene via Clinton Hill and Prospect Heights to the Botanic Garden, sounds like a lot but it took only 30 minutes. Oh yes, hubbie and I moved to Brooklyn from Manhattan in February and we LOVE Brooklyn! The apartment, on the other hand, is a different story.

Flea Markets in PA

2009-04-30T13:04:00.015-04:00

We went to a few flea markets in Pennsylvania over the weekend, it was a lot of fun, didn't buy anything except for an Anne Klein II belt from the Salvation Army, here are some of my favorite things from the markets:

Hubbie bought a few things and these 2 are my favorite!

THE Passport Case To Get

2009-01-05T09:04:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a fun holiday season. Mine was pretty stressful which I will tell you later why. I've been looking for the perfect passport case for the longest time, I need one that is long so it can hold the e-ticket and prevent it from wrinkling. This Muji Passport case is it, the design as you'd expect from Muji is simple, and I am sure that it is very well made (haven't seen it in person), it is definitely long enough to hold your e-ticket, there are slots for cards and ID, as well as money, the best part is, it's only $12.50! Think I'm going to get one today, you can get yours online here.
photo: moma online store

Gone For the Week, Happy holidays!

2008-12-22T15:22:00.003-05:00

I'm off to Nashville, Chad's hometown for the holiday, hope we will get on our flight some time tonight (the snow over the weekend has caused a lot of backed up flights). Have a safe and happy holiday and see you next week! I promise I will post more on my blog next year!

Need to Get that Last Minute Gift?

2008-12-22T15:13:00.004-05:00

I went to Moma store yesterday and I instantly fell in love with these lacquer pencil chopsticks by Takumi Ishida. Each set comes with 8 sets of chopsticks, 4 white and 4 black. The design is so smart that even people who don't normally use chopsticks would love this as a gift, don't you think???
photo: moma

Great Bedding Sale

2008-12-18T09:07:00.000-05:00

I went to Dwell Studio's Warehouse sale earlier this month, where everything is 70-80% off. The sale has been going on for a few weeks now and it ends on Christmas Eve. I bought the Sketch Duvet set that I really love and I'm going back for more, hopefully for the Draper Stripe Duvet set, the coverlet and the Pin Dot sheet set, wonder if the prices have slashed even more since my last visit?! It is at 54 Greene Street and Broome in Soho.photos: Dwell Studio