Love this Light….

January 17, 2012

LA DEMI GRANDE VOLIERE PENDANT SHADE

We just popped this adorable fixture into a client’s proposal. It’s for their daughter’s room, and it’s so fricken’ cute. I totally want one of my own. “From the Parisian atelier of Mathieu Challières comes the whimsical Volière collection of feathered menagerie lighting. Each piece is made by hand from strong copper wiring and decorative birds with real feathers. ” Good news! These pendants are on sale right now at the Conran Shop.

Miranda July

Outside of the PDC on Melrose (where I’ve been spending a lot of time lately), there’s a collection of strange yet totally awesome sculptures.  I took a photo of  a few of them a few days ago. I researched the random pieces of public art and found out they were created by Miranda July.

July is a filmmaker, writer and artist. She might be most well-known from her film Me and You and Everyone We KnowHer new film, The Future , comes out later this year.

I love her “Eleven Heavy Things”  project (the sculptures outside the PDC), as they were designed for interaction and photography. There are basically 11 witty photo opportunities. You should totally check out the front lawn of the PDC if you are in the area.

From July’s website:

“…Though the work begins as sculpture, it becomes a performance that is only complete when these tourist photos are uploaded onto personal blogs and sent in emails — at which point the audience changes, and the subject clearly becomes the participants, revealing themselves through the work.”

Production of this work has been supported by Deitch Projects

RAD.

Cool Find: IdeaPaint

July 24, 2011

Idea Paint

I just came across  IdeaPaint. I’ve seen blackboard paint, and have even used it at clients used blackboard paint at client’s homes–but I really love this  dry erase formula.  You don’t have to worry about chalk dust! Apparently, the paint has been out for a couple of years now.

I’d love to paint the wall next to my front door with IdeaPaint. It would be so much easier than trying to go through the random sticky note reminders I have on the back of the door. I’d also love to have an office with one wall covered in this stuff.

From the website:

“Millions of worn out and unwanted whiteboards and blackboards end up in landfills each year. With IdeaPaint, there’s nothing to throw out. You apply it directly over the existing wall or surface in your home. When you’re ready for something new, just paint over it. IdeaPaint can even restore your old whiteboards and add years to their life. “

IdeaPaint is so great that it won a bunch of awards. It was created by some college kids

 ”The ‘idea”’for IdeaPaint came out of a brainstorming session in the e-tower, a dorm for entrepreneurs at Babson College (Wellesley, MA). True to the entrepreneurial spirit of the school, the students decided to cover their walls in large sheets of paper to write down their ideas. As their ideas grew the paper became filled with writing and had to be torn down and replaced– writing on the walls was great, but there had to be a better way! e-tower founder Andrew Foley suggested and looked for a paint that could turn every wall in their dorm into a dry erase writing surface. Surprised to find this paint didn’t already exist, John and friend William Gioielli set out to find one while Andrew began working on the business plan and created the name. When students and visitors from across campus began stopping by to write on the wall the team knew they were on to something!”

Here’s some more cool IdeaPaint rooms:

‘Apparently I’m in an ” I love things that remind me of my childhood” state.
Remember that animatronic band they had at Showbiz Pizza?  The Rock-afire Explosion band is back! You may have see the youtube videos online-now there’s a documentary about how a small-town dj sought out the original creator of the band to revive the  band.  See below for a longer synopsis from the official website.
“In the early eighties, kids all over the US [including me] flocked to Showbiz Pizza for the rides, games, and animatronic rock band, The Rock-afire Explosion. Created by 23-year-old prodigy Aaron Fechter, The Rock-afire Explosion amazed children and adults alike before being mysteriously pulled from showrooms and replaced by the now popular Chuck-E-Cheese in the early nineties.

Nearly twenty years later, still profoundly affected by his experience at Showbiz Pizza, small-town disc-jockey Chris Thrash sought out Fechter and purchased a Rock-afire band of his own. Some clever programming on Chris’ part, and the band was once again performing for millions, this time on YouTube.

The Rock-afire Explosion reveals how Chris came to revive this fallen 80′s gem, explores his and a number of other fan’s obsessions with the animatronic band, and chronicles the rise and fall of Showbiz Pizza and what was once a 20 million dollar per-year venture for inventor Aaron Fechter. More than this, the film is a look at the importance of nostalgia, ever-changing media culture, and the eternal quest to stay young.”

See the film:
Downtown Independent
Los Angeles, CA
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011 – $10
7:30 PM – Downtown Independent
251 S. Main Street
More info here
Official Preview below:

I’m at my parent’s house for Mother’s Day Weekend, and I came across a box of my old toys.  My mom told me “My Little Ponies” are super hot collectibles right now-especially the 1st generation-1982-1983-Hasbro.  But, that doesn’t really matter to me. I just remember all the fun I had with them. I can never forget the aroma of opening a brand new MLP. They still smell faintly like the 80s- and evoke those great memories.

I was very creative as a child. I once told my parent’s friends not to walk in my room, because there was lots of MLP poop all over the floor, and they would step in it. I guess I wasn’t really into using these:

Here’s some more photos of my collection. I was obsessed:

Cute Accessory

I think I had every MLP stable/building ever made

Magical Unicorns!!!

This one had fluttering wings.

1980s color inspiration!

We wear a lot of hats at work. This week, I ventured away from autocad, shopping for fabrics and client meetings to the strange and wonderful land of decorating Easter Eggs for TV.  Getting an egg ready for its close-up is no easy task. Especially, when the main attraction is so fragile and cracks so easily.

Error part of trial and error.

But after hours and hours and hours of arts and crafts (which I enjoyed), we (Nathan, Charity and I) finally came up with our stars….that’s not to say this wasn’t without trial and error. All’s well that ends well-be sure and check out Nathan on the Today Show on Tuesday, April 19th with Kathie Lee and Hoda to see some eggstra special Easter Decorations (including my favorite-silk-dyed Easter Eggs).

Sneak Preview

*Antique Easter Postcards from the family collection.

True Story.

April 3, 2011

Tomorrow is  International Pillow Fight Day!

Here are the rules:

“Bring a pillow.  Preferably feather.

Yes, it makes a mess, but we’ll do our best to clean up afterwards.

Leaving no trace would be awesome

ONLY HIT PEOPLE WITH PILLOWS—-my favorite

DO NOT HIT PEOPLE Carrying CAMERAS

Here are the FAQS:

Will it cost me anything?  -  No

Where will we meet?  -  Pershing Square

When does the fight start?  -  When you hear the air horn

What time will that be?  -  2pm Sharp

Can I help clean up?  -  Yes

Do you have permits?  -  No

Do you need permits  -  No

Will I get arrested?  -  No

Who is in charge?  -  No one is in charge”

More about the Urban Playground Movement here.

*Photo and info via LAist.com and pillowfightlosangeles.com

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:

  1. 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.)
  2. 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.
  3. 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!

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:

 

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