Reinventing Recycling Through Art
April 6, 2011
I just ran into one of my super cool neighbors in the elevator. He told me about his awesome job. He’s part of the Global Inheritance team. He invited me to a rad “TRASHed” party-TOMORROW NIGHT in Hollywood. See invitation above. It’s a preview party for this year’s Coachella TRASHed recycling bins. I wish I knew about this organization earlier. Last month they had a call for artists for this year’s Coachella Festival. I totally would have submitted an idea. There’s always next year! (Moral of the story-talk to your neighbors in the elevator more often. Put your iphone away, and make a real, live connection. It’s fun -and you may learn something.)
“The TRASHed :: Art Of Recycling campaign is an ongoing recycling education program that redefines the way people view recycling and trash collection. Global Inheritance arranges the artistic redesign of recycling bins, then integrates the bins at high visibility events to encourage recycling and provide additional outlets for people to appreciate the artwork. Live paintings often occur at events in addition to the ongoing display of artist bins created beforehand.
TRASHed appoints the right talent to match each event’s aesthetic. Artists who have worked with us in the past include: pro-skateboarder Bob Burnquist, artists from Volcom and RVCA, rock musicians Blink-182, pro-surfer Jodie Nelson, Freestyle Motocross rider Mike Metzger, artists like Mear One and Freddi C., author Hunter S. Thompson, and many more.
Events: Coachella Music Festival ESPN Summer & Winter X Games Treasure Island Music Festival Virgin Festival Canada & USA National History Museum – LA Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival Hollywood Bowl CMJ Music Marathon Dew Tour Epicenter Music Festival Live Earth Sundance Film Festival Swerve Festival SXSW and many more.”
Also, check out the Global Inheritance Recycling Store….get free stuff just by collecting recyclable material.
*images from Global Inheritance.
DO IT: Urban Zen and a Million Hearts for Haiti
February 28, 2011
Today, a very nice European man came up to me today and gave me a goody bag with some info on Donna Karan’s Urban Zen pop-up store on Santa Monica Blvd. I knew nothing about Urban Zen, so I checked out the catalogs in the bag. I was excited to learn Urban Zen offers gorgeous hand-crafted furniture-made in Bali by local artisans :
10 percent of sales benefit Karan’s Urban Zen Foundation, which works to preserve culture and empower children internationally. According to the company’s website:
Urban Zen is a philosophy of living. It’s also a unique marriage of commerce, culture community and compassion. We have one rule for what we offer at Urban Zen: it has to have soul and expression. We travel the world, looking for global artisans we can support and showcase, helping them sustain their traditions.
After browsing the catalogs (there was an apparel one, as well), I looked deeper in the bag. There was a stone heart, and an some info on the Million Hearts for Haiti Campaign.
First I looked to see where the heart came from. It’s from a group called the Hand/Eye Fund, an organization that Helps Haitian artisans and artists recover from the life-challenging loss of shelter, equipment, workshops, and income.
These hearts are actually for sale on the Hand/Eye Fund website. 
“Help support artisans in Haiti with this beautiful set of multi-colored river stone hearts. Stone carving became a part of the Haitian craft scene in the 1950s, and the grey stone of Leogane provides an excellent starting point for many Haitian sculptors. Among the most popular motifs is the simple heart, the symbol of love and caring. Our river stone hearts are sold as a set of one large 3″, one medium 2.5″ and one small 2″ heart in white, brown and grey earth tones. Size, color and shapes will vary as each hand-carved heart is unique. Imported by Tesoros Trading Company, proceeds from the sale of these hearts benefit the HAND/EYE Artisan Grants Fund for Haiti, helping artisans in Haiti rebuild their workshops, community and lives.$20.
I love, love, love this idea…but it gets better. The Million Hearts for Haiti project takes it a step further:
“These hand-carved hearts from Haiti are a blank canvas for your expression. They also represent a link between Haitian artisans and the distant markets they must reach to earn a living…..We need your help to support the culture of Haiti and spread the word to all our communities. There are several ways you can connect with us and become involved…including an art installation in NYC.”
From the website:
A COLLABORATION OF ARTISTS
We are proud and excited to join the Million Hearts for Haiti campaign, and are thrilled to tell you about the unique Urban Zen spin we’re putting on this. Not only do we want you to join the campaign, we want you to use it as an opportunity to showcase your own creative expression.
The plan is simple:
- Purchase your heart
- Design your heart with your arsenal of art supplies and ingenious creativity
- Send us a picture of you and your heart along with a note about the inspiration behind your design
This is a wonderful way for you to give a little bit of your love to Haiti and we are thrilled to be able to showcase you as the compassionate artist that you are. Once we get your photo and inspiration note, we’ll make sure to include you on our Million Hearts for Haiti photo wall (coming soon).
The pamphlet I received instructs the artist to send the actual heart to the Urban Zen New York store. So I don’t know if they just want a photo- or the actual stone. I’ll email Urban Zen tonight and post their answer.
Follow Urban Zen @urban_zen and buy some hand-carved stones at the hand/eye fund’s store 12 Small Things. It’s a great family project–It’s better than Color Me Mine—It’s Hearts for Haiti.
*Images from Urban Zen, Hand/Eye Fund, and me.
* Andre Charles, Ben Stiller, Charlize Theron, Donna Karan, Hugh Jackman, Maria Bello, Narciso Rodriguez, Parsons The New School For Design- faculty and students, Ralph Lauren, Susan Sarandon, Tory Burch, and more have already designed hearts for Haiti.
Like a Good Neighbor…
January 5, 2011
One of my creative neighbors started this rad organization called “Burgers & Blankets”. On December 23rd, the charity group donated 99 burgers and 99 blankets to homeless people on skid row(guerrilla-style). Click here to join the group and see a video documenting the experience…
My 1st Trip to Clifton’s
December 5, 2010
I can’t believe I actually made it to Clifton’s. I’ve been dying to go for years, but this weekend I actually made the trip. And what a trip it was! It kind of reminded me of my favorite tourist trap restaurant in Denver– Casa Bonita. No, South Park didn’t make up this famous Colorado treasure- “The Disneyland of Mexican Resturants”. It exists. Back to Clifton’s.
Here’s a bit of history from Wikipedia:
Clifton’s Cafeteria, once part of a chain of Clifton’s restaurants, is the oldest surviving cafeteria style eatery in Los Angeles, California, and the largest public cafeteria in the world.Founded in 1931 by Clifford Clinton, the name was created by combining the first half of “Clifford” and the last half of “Clinton” to produce the name “Clifton’s”.The design of the restaurants included exotic decor and facades that were “kitschy and theatrical”….
..The restaurant chain was noted for each facility having its own theme, and for helping out those who could not afford to pay. The owner never turned anyone away hungry and maintained a precedent known as “Clifton’s Golden Rule”.
Here’s a little photo tour of my visit:
Back lit photos
Raddest wallpaper ever.
My Favorite
Floor Plans
Ephemera
Old School Highchair
Miniature chapel with push button sermon-meditation in a forest.
Faux exterior interior
Fun people watching!
The End. I’ll be back.
An Inside Look at Nathan Turner’s Pottery Barn Kids’ Halloween Carnival Benefiting Operation Smile …
October 24, 2010
He did it again! My boss, Nathan Turner, put on a beautiful AND fun party! I was there to help…but the concept was all his. My big contribution was the green-screen photo booth (which was a big hit.)
The Halloween party was put on by Pottery Barn Kids to benefit Operation Smile. The venue was a gorgeous private Residence. There were quite a few celebrities were in attendance and the turnout was fantastic!
Here’s Nathan dressed as Harry Potter:
And here I am as Hermoine:
Check out more photos I took of the party below:
All Halloween decorations from Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids.
All the pumpkins were donated by Melissa’s Produce. Nathan painted the white picked fence signs! And, we rented a ton of props from a really cool place called Green Set.
Nathan had these custom quilts and pillows made for the event!
The backyard was completely transformed!
Those barrels were filled with candy! A trick-or-treater’s dream come true.
The craft area-adorable PB Kids table and chairs. This is where the pumpkins from the pumpkin patch were decorated.
PB Kids also provided a ton of fantastic costumes! They were perfect for the green screen photo booth.
More pumpkins from Melissas.
Part of the fruit/veggie buffet–berries also donated by Melissas.
Press! This brings back memories.
A cute boy enjoying the party.
That’s an adorable bucket of popcorn!
Fun times at the craft area!
There was also a mini petting zoo! It was quite a popular spot!
People were definitely having a blast….did I mention there was incredibly attractive caterer boys?
More kids having fun:
The DJ was Nathan’s co-host-Henry, a boy who was born with a cleft-pallet. He was born into a privileged family and wants to help less fortunate children all over the world get the surgery to correct the birth defect. He’s such an inspiration!
And now for some of the celebs in attendance:
Kyle MacGlachlan and son
Minnie Mortimer and her daughter Tuesday
Ben Lee and Ione Skye (two of my favorite people in the entire world)
Marcia Cross and Nathan
Mark Wahlberg and family
And my favorite photo –Mark Walhberg with the pumpkins his children decorated.
Thanks to everyone who made this party a huge success!
Celebrity Art @ Artworks for the Cure 2010
September 29, 2010
I had the privilege of attending the 2010 Artworks for the Cure, benefiting the T.J. Martell Foundation (Leukemia, Cancer and AIDS research). It was a wonderful event put on by an amazing group of people.
(middle guitar designed by Brandon Boyd of Incubus)
While writing this blog entry, I decided to do some more research about the T.J. Martell Foundation. And what I found really hit home. From the website:
“It began with a promise from a father to his dying son….
In 1973, a high school student named T.J. Martell was battling leukemia. He asked his father, music industry executive Tony Martell, to raise a million dollars for cancer research so that “no one else will have to experience what I am going through.” Although he had no fundraising experience, Tony agreed.
Two years later, T.J. died at the age of nineteen, and as Tony explains today, “that put my promise in cement.” Soon after, Tony was joined by many of his musician friends like Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, and Duke Ellington to hold a fundraiser at Buddy Rich’s nightclub in New York. They raised $50,000 and the T.J. Martell Foundation was born.”
My dear cousin Melissa died of ovarian cancer at 21. And I have been very involved in charities that benefit research for ovarian/breast cancer since her death. Had I known about this charity earlier, I would have been involved years ago.
My friend’s family chaired the event this year. Here are some photos (mostly of the amazing art) from the Benefit:
Dali
Leonard Cohen
Mister Cartoon (famous tattoo artist)
Jimi Hendrix
Stanley Donwood (associated with Radio Head’s “Hail to the Thief”)
John Lennon
More designed guitars
Charles le Brigand
Reserved
Jason Mraz
KCRW’s Jason Bentley
Ryan Adams
Justin Bua
Cool Coke bottle
Brandon Boyd
David LaChapelle
Herb Williams
Frank Charles Dante Minuto
The Bergamot Succulent Car
Designer Tag Sale-For The Home
July 13, 2010
Here’s one Designer Tag Sale you don’t want to miss:
All items not sold will be donated to Charity.
*Interior Designers* Vanessa De Vargas of *Turquoise * Alie Waldman of *Alie Waldman Home Couture * Bridgid Coulter of *Bridgid Coulter Design * Brittany Stiles of *Brittany Stiles Interior Design * Christopher Gaona of *Christopher Gaona Design * Cozette Coffman of *Cozette Coffman Design * Hillary Thomas of *Hillary Thomas Designs * Jolene Ballard and Amanda Malson of *Domicile Interior Design * Kelly Van Patter of *Van Patter Designs * Kristen Hutchins of *Kristen Hutchins Design * Marcia Zia and Paul Priven of *Zia-Priven * Meredith Miller of *Sunday Land * Sabina Vavra of *Madison West Interiors * Sasha Emerson of *Sasha Emerson Design * Suzan Fellman of *Suzan Fellman Showroom* *Stores/Vendors* *Fyndes *(accessories, furniture, art) *27 Ground *(rugs, pillows) *Agnes & Hoss *(pillows, handbags, scarves, gifts) *Alex K. Mason *(fine art) *Carrie Burckle* (hand screen-printed table linens) *D. L. Rhein *(pillows, frames, rugs) *Ferrick Mason *(textiles, pillows) *Inheritance *(home goods, accessories) *Jardins En Fleur* (accessories) *Jiti Bedding* (bedding) *Jordan Cappella *(candles) *Krislyn Design *(decorative objects) *Nomad Style* (rugs, fabrics and accessories) *Pennyroyal Planters* (planters) *Rock Scissor Paper *(home accessories) A book signing by celebrity chef, caterer and lifestyle expert *Lulu Powers of her new top selling book "Lulu Powers from Food to Flowers.”* Mini-consultations and appraisals by designers including *Rachel Winokur*,* Stephanie Visser*,* Erin Marie Fernandez*,* Alicia Garey*,* Regina Victoria, Elizabeth Bomberger *and *Jessica Brende*. The designer tag sale also features: A silent auction, a raffle and entertainment including complimentary refreshments, light bites and a DJ. *Gift bags* are offered to the first thirty attendees including gift certificates, coupons, and other fun items. Any left-over designer inventory will be donated to a local charity. *Entry fee* is $10. Cash only; designers will not have credit card capabilities.
For more information please go to http://designertagsale-brentwood.blogspot.com
Rad Product: Recycled Toothbrush
June 24, 2010
I came across this amazing toothbrush at Target. For less than $3, you can purchase a toothbrush made from recycled yogurt cups and other #5 plastics.
These toothbrushes are made by a company called Preserve Products. This company actually makes other personal care items, kitchen containers and dishware.
The packaging of the toothbrush also serves as a pre-paid return envelope–to recycle your used toothbrush when it’s time for a new one.
From the FAQ section on the website:
- “What do you do with the toothbrushes, tongue cleaners and razor handles that get returned to Recycline?
- We work with a company to grind down the returned products – bristles and all – into plastic lumber to be used for park benches, decks and other useful products.”
- Look for Preserve Products at Target, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.
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Ferrari Party and Gypsy Camp
May 17, 2010
This weekend I went on an adventure. It started in Pasadena. When I arrived in Old Town, I had no clue there would be hundreds of Ferraris lining the streets. Apparently, the Concorso Ferrari Show was happening. Presented by the Ferrari Club of America- Southwest Region, hundreds of “Italian works of wheeled art” were on display for the general public. I’m not really a car person, but some of these cars (mainly vintage) were absolutely gorgeous.
Crazy Mercedes
How to Start a GOOD Conversation…
April 25, 2010
A friend recently told me about this amazing organization when I asked her about the whistle necklace she was wearing.
“Falling Whistles gives a small window into our world’s largest war. Originally just a journal written about boys sent to the frontlines of war armed with only a whistle, readers forwarded it with the same kind of urgency in which it was written and demanded to know –
what can we do?”
“The Falling Whistles campaign launched with a simple response – make their weapon your voice and be a whistleblower for peace in Congo. Read the story and buy the whistle. Proceeds go to rehabilitate and advocate for war-affected children. Share their story and speak up for them.
Together, we’ll become the voice of a growing coalition for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo.”*
If you live in Los Angeles, Falling Whistles will be at this Thursday’s Arts District Party.
*photos and text from http://www.fallingwhistles.com
