Totally Digging Tulu Textiles
March 28, 2011
Recently, we’ve been spending a lot of time shopping for fabrics at Michael Smith’s new Jasper showroom on Melrose. The showroom carries one of my favorites-Tulu. I’m currently obsessed with their whimsical patterns and groovy color combos. Happiness. Bright colors are totally in.
Quick….Get Super Creative Before March 11th.
March 7, 2011
Okay…so I was totally going to keep this one to myself. My friend Josh told me about this awesome online swap meet through Blu Dot, and it’s so cool that I have to spread the word.
“Are you a fan of modern furniture but not so much a fan of money? At the Blu Dot Swap Meet, you can trade your amazing talents or odd collections into your very own piece of Blu Dot.
No cash? Who cares! Here’s how it works:
- Pick out any Blu Dot item you want. Come up with an interesting offer (collections, creations, talents, taxidermy, etc.) and upload it to this site between February 28 – March 11, 2011. (If you submit a video, keep it under five minutes.)
- Check this site throughout the period to see the status of your bid. Blu Dot may like it enough to swap, or may want you to up the ante.
- If your bid becomes a successful swap, you will be additionally notified via email.
PLEASE NOTE: Sorry- no minors allowed. One bid per piece of Blu Dot furniture. Blu Dot will not accept human babies, “self love” videos, and/or mean/inappropriate things. In other words, be creative but don’t be stupid. See the full terms here.“
SO RAD! RIGHT?
Everyone can vote on their favorites, but ultimately, Blu Dot will select the ideas/products they feel worthy of a swap. Some of the things they’ve accepted so far: feeding homeless animals for a bed, throwing an epic College Kegger for a chair, appearing as a life-size worm in 25 documented places for a sofa-sleeper, a spork collection for a chair, photos of a hundred sleds for a bench, sound machines that makes weather noises for a sectional, fencing lessons for a table, and Texas-style bbq for 60 people for a sofa….So many fun ideas:
Get crackin’ creative people..Friday is the deadline!
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.
And now for a contest…
February 23, 2011
Enter the Inhabitat competition here
From one of my favorite design blogs, Inhabitat:
“Every day, over 3,000 tons of paper towel waste is produced in the United States
alone and in the production of one ton of paper towels, 17 whole trees are cut down and 20,000 gallons of water are consumed, contributing to deforestation, water pollution and global warming. It’s clear that something needs to be done, which is why we’re teaming up with PeopleTowels to launch a design competition challenging YOU to design the next Inhabitat + PeopleTowels reusable cloth hand towel to help cut paper towel waste. The grand prize winner will receive $500, a chance to get their design into market and a 10% royalty on all towel sales. The winning design will also be published on Inhabitat.com for the world to see – so what are you waiting for? Get your designing caps on and get in it to win it!”
A Recent Trip to Ikea
February 20, 2011
My friend Ariel and I took a trip to Ikea this weekend. I hadn’t been for about a year. I like Ikea a lot—there are so many great deals. I like mix and match their accessories with more upscale products. And, Ikea has amazing picture frames and very useful storage solutions. (I love the folding racks I got there—perfect for my darkroom chemical trays.)
Here are a few things that caught my eye this weekend at the Ikea in Burbank:
These $3.99 flatwoven rugs are so IN right now.
And, look at some of the stylish fabric Ikea has (by the yard):
Most of the fabrics are $2.99-$8.99 a yard. That’s a great deal!
And here’s a cool pendant lamp (Ikea PS Maskros) that projects a decorative pattern on the walls and ceilings. At $89.99 it’s much less inexpensive than a lot of pendant lighting that large (approx 16″W)
I’m loving this “Ransby” bedding, but I couldn’t find it on the Ikea website.
As I was leaving the marketplace, I saw this cool table. The chair backs are shaped to the corners-perfect for small space. Fusion set: $299. 
If there’s not an Ikea near you–make sure to check out the website. It’s not quite as fun as going to the store….but you get to avoid the crowds, crying babies, and long lines. Then again, the people watching at Ikea is pretty top-notch:
The Men and Women of Marc Jacobs
February 13, 2011
A few weeks ago, I picked up this AMAZING book about the Men and Women of Marc Jacobs. Photographed by celebrity photographer, Brian Bowen Smith, this book is one of my favorite new coffee table adornments!!!
From the intro: “Many things can be said about the appealing men and women that Brian Bowen Smith has captured in these photos. They all work for Marc Jacobs, in the company’s stores and corporate offices, all over the United States and the world…..The thing that you keep coming back to is that these look like people who actually like what they do for a living…People want to work there- and not because of the clothes. The men and women in these photographs look like they belong to something they actually want to belong to….”
The best part about this book? It was free! I heard about the give-away through a girl who had seen a twitter post by the official Marc Jacobs Twitter account- @MarcJacobsIntl. Robert Duffy was appearing at the Marc by Marc Jacobs store nearby–signing these beautiful books. By the time I got to the store, Duffy was gone, but one of the super nice employees gave me a copy. I haven’t had much free time to look through the book yet. But, below find some of the fab photos of the “Men and Women of Marc Jacobs”.
Also- This week, you can watch the 2011 Fall/Winter Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc Jacobs fashion shows streaming live from NYC:
From Twitter: Join us for the FW11 shows in 9:16 HD! web/smartphone – http://bit.ly/Web_LIVE – or on Facebook – http://bit.ly/FB_LIVE
Thank you Sally Hansen…
January 30, 2011
Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips by Sally Hansen
Minx Nails, professional nail polish strips have been showing up on tons of celebrities- including Kay Perry and Lady Gaga (below). The salon procedure costs around $50, as trained Minx manicurists apply the sticker-like polish to ensure each nail looks perfect.
Sally Hansen just launched an at-home competitor–Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips. The strips have already been spotted at Target and CVS for around $10.
The strips come in 24 different patterns. My favorite so far? Hounds Tooth.
I’m a little concerned about applying the strips myself, as it seems kinda difficult. I’ve read mixed reviews–some people say it’s easy, some say you need a friend. I say-have a party!
I love everything about this video…..
January 24, 2011
Even though it is so last year—literally…
*a shout out to Lisa T for her love of the band (Foster the People)
Tools of the Trade:HD Buttercup
January 23, 2011
Whenever my friends asks me where they should get a nice piece of furniture (a step-or two up from Ikea) I always direct them to Buttercup. The 150,000 square foot building is located in Culver City, and was once a bakery (which opened its doors in 1931).
Buttercup has something for everyone—seriously. They have all different styles and price ranges–with lots of eco-friendly furnishings. There’s even a Stark carpet outlet with prices as low as 75% of retail. (For anyone who knows Stark carpet—this is a major deal!)
There’s a lot of industrial items at Buttercup–which I love. There’s art. There’s even clothing…..And, there’s always a sale.
Nathan and I recently scoped out Buttercup for a few missing items for a client’s home. We found some cool pieces. There’s always something new at Buttercup-so it’s nice to visit every few months.
Even if you have a super big budget for your house–you can get some wonderful accessories or even small pieces of furniture to mix in. Great design is really all about mixing and matching items. You don’t want your place to look like it’s straight out of a furniture catalog. It needs some character–it should look like you’ve been collecting pieces over time. Also- it’s great to have some basics thrown in–just like a wardrobe. I have some really nice designer pieces–that I combine with American Apparel basics.
Below, I’ve posted a few photos from my most recent visit to Buttercup. If you check out the amazing furniture mecca, be sure and grab a snack or meal at Father’s Office right next door.
Like/Dislike
January 10, 2011
Remember when Lucky magazine had those stickers with the words “yes”, “no” and “maybe? You could flip through the magazine and tag things you liked, kinda liked and disliked? Years and years ago they got rid of the “no” sticker, and today they only have “yes” and “maybe”.
Well now you can comb through any magazine with these Facebook-looking “like” and “dislike” stamps from jailbreaktoys.
