2.7.08

Five Style Icons

Okay. So, what happens when your closet is a bore, but you just went shopping? You're probably lacking inspiration.
So, with that in mind, I present to you my five internet style icons-- people whose looks I love, and who always have a wardrobe shot or two to put the kick back in my closet. Here goes--


1. Nubby Twiglet. Girl knows how to put an outfit together. I have a feeling that Warhol would be proud.


2. Emily from The Black Apple. Not only does she have really sweet, old-world-schoolgirl style, but her blog picks out some good finds for the rest of us, as well.


3. Alex from Alex The Girl. She's more about writing than style, generally, but when she has pics of fashiony things, she always looks Anthro-chic.


4. Maria via Craftster. The coolest part of this is that she made the skirt...and about half of the other stuff she wears. YAY CRAFT!


5. LookBook. okay, i cheated, it's not a person...I just couldn't decide between all the supersweet looks here. Check it out-- this is my best recommendation for dull closet syndrome.

peace out!

30.6.08

so much.

it's easy, with all the internet has to offer, to get wrapped up in the digital and technological. it's even easy to think nothing is truly special, as we are pelted with so many extraordinary things a day. even in the "unusual"-- i get so many emails, read so many blogs about things that are perfectly designed, absolutely divine, with splashes of color everywhere and so much beauty that anyone could become overexcited. but with all that beauty, doesn't seeing it so often make it less special? i'm not sure, but i hope i never lose my appreciation for the handmade, the skillfull, the crafty.
but, in a high-tech world, sometimes the concrete is the most fabulous of all. this is one of the reasons i feel so strongly about buying art-- it's handmade, an expression, and best of all, it can be passed down from generation to generation (if you keep it in good condition and respect it). now, i'm only seventeen, just beginning to figure myself out, let alone my future. but i feel that, despite everything that will change in the next ten or twenty years, i'll still feel a special satisfaction in handing my children some beautiful piece of artwork that i bought in my youth. HANDING it to them, not giving them the link to it or a CD that has it burned on. actually picking up the protective cardboard tube or wrapper and giving it to them.
so, with that, here are some beautiful pieces of artwork done by people who are just passionate about it-- not professionals, per se. but there are some things here for any budget. a print, if done in a limited run, is still art. a poster for a favorite band, screen-printed color by color, is still art. it's just where you look for it that's different.
enjoy.
James Nares, original paintings. www.jamesnares.com


Push Me Pull You Design, three-color screenprint. www.pushmepullyoudesign.com


Jennifer Davis, original painting/drawing. www.jenniferdavis.etsy.com


Bird Nerd, archival print. www.birdnerd.etsy.com


Mary Maki Rae, original serigraph. www.marymakirae.etsy.com


The Black Apple, print. www.theblackapple.etsy.com


Sanna Annukka, screenprint. www.sanna-annukka.com


Aesthetic Apparatus, screen printed test print. www.aestheticapparatus.com

14.4.08

4.14.08.

don't you just hate it when there's nothing but junk in your inbox?
i mean, not like cool emails letting you know what's up, but instead, just. junk.
i hate it.
which is why i keep my inbox stocked with about 500 emails at all times.
or at least that's my excuse. :D
here's the latest of the good-- not junky-- messages:
$60
if you don't know about FredFlare.com by now, you're just not trying. anyway, these merited squeals of delight from me, so i'm giving you a heads-up despite that fact. they're speakers. not earbuds, but ENORMOUS SPEAKERS that plug into your earbuds. are you feelin' the irony? because let's be honest-- i'm all about the irony.
FREE!
mnmm, fafarazzi. feelin' like you don't get enough out of each season of Project Runway? Survivor letting you down? compete against like-minded tv geeks with your own fantasy (insert name of show/sport/competition here) team. this week's spotlight is The Office. did i mention i like irony?
9.95 GBP
Portobello market in london kinda has a rep for featuring awesome artists before they become huge, much in the same way that presidential elections have a way of picking out the winners of the world series. or is it the other way around? i really don't know-- i'm so severely behind on sports that i wouldn't know a star quarterback if he bumped into me (although that might be because the fall would have given me a concussion). ANYWAY, this little book features 16 cool artists who all got their start at Portobello. and it's just cute.
$10 (plus a bag of clothes) to attend
yes ladies and gents, it's that time of year again!!! swap-o-rama-rama is back! if you can get a lift to NYC, go for it. basically the idea is that everyone brings a bag of clothes and the donations get sorted into piles. you may then raid the piles, and pick out whatever you like (you can take whatever you can carry). the beauty part is that there are super-crafty people (with supplies! and helpful instructions!) standing by to help you make something new and exciting out of the cast-offs of others, or at least to hand you a pair of scissors or advise you to reconsider the pleather pants. it's a good time for all, and whatever isn't used is donated to a local women's shelter. (raid your boyfriend's/girlfriend's/roommate's/ex-sister-in-law's closet while your at it; it's for a good cause.)
$20.00 each (+$5 for a custom engraving)
okay... i don't like to play favorites... but i am anyway. and yeah, this is it.
if you're not up on the whole Moleskine thing, here's the short version: Moleskine is a very chic type of pocket notebook utilized by such visionaries as Hemmingway and Picasso. the best thing (up until now) about these notebooks is that they come in a bazillion page styles, so you can write music in them (manuscript pages) sketch or paint in them (watercolor paper pages) write in them, of course (lined pages), create storyboards in them (um... storyboard pages?) or my favorite, a little bit of all of these, plus add in whatever stickers, concert tickets, or post-its you feel the urge to (plain white pages). HOWEVER, now everything has changed-- the worst thing about these used to be that the outsides were, well, uninspiring. i'm not sure how Hemmingway and Picasso pulled it off with such a boring looking book. but now, thanks to the creative visionaries at engraveyourbook.com, you can be inspiring, inside and out. choose from one of their lovely designs in the artist series, or upload your own art and have them use that for just $5 extra per book. feeling ambitious that your little pocket journal is going to end up being a Big Deal? engrave the spine with your name or the name of your soon-to-be bestselling novel.
if given the option, i bet even Hemmingway would have had more than a few words to say about it.


-e

26.3.08

3.26.08.

every once in a while, i open approximately 300 windows on my computer and go from store to store, blog to blog, madly clicking and linking, and do a run of everything that is cool. here is the product of that. hope you enjoy.

classic hipster sarcasm. pencil. ($4.50)
love love love. ($12 for 3 different prints)
no idea if this is buy-able, but it sure is inspiring.
not sure what i'd use them for, but that doesn't decrease how cool they are. ($6)... (for 12)
MUST. COLLECT. THEM. ALL. ($35)
he plays the keyboard. she rocks the microphone. perfection, thy name is inter-band relationships. ($20)
they come in colors, too, but i kinda dig how the sheer ones make the roses look like tattoos. ($32)
if i don't have this in my closet within two weeks, there's a 98% chance of crying. ($23)
impossibly cute. be brave and DIY. (tutorial)
I tried to think of somewhere i'd rather have my next b-day present from, and i came up empty. Single glass ($18).
what makes this NOT the most boring toothbrush you've ever seen? it's made out of recycled yogurt lids. ($13). By the way, they do come in some colors, but due to the recycled nature of the toothbrushes, they cannot guarantee your choice.)

Keep Calm and Carry On Poster ($24)if you start reading one new blog this year, make it this. Morroccanmaryam.typepad.com.


-e

p.s. to see a bunch of other cool stuff that didn't make the cut (i know, you thought i was just throwing in everything!), click on the image below.


25.3.08

3.25.08.

1) Print Liberation



The obama shirt. ($15)
2) Little Odd Forest

LOF Merry Monster Sac. ($108)

3) ShanaLogic.com


Lovely Octopus Necklace. ($40)

-e

23.3.08

3.23.08.

more stuff, less "stuff" today:
I cannot even begin to describe this YouTube video. Except maybe to say, "I am not talking to you, but i will text you to tell you that i am not talking to you."
Altoids has had it's fair share of good ads, both print and commercial, but i love this.

LOOK! just when you thought i had failed you! something you can buy and hold in your hand(s). Limited edition print by 12Fifteen. ($18)

-e

19.3.08

3.19.08.

emails du jour:

1) from Fred Flare: they're having a b-day sale. strike while the iron is cute, as it were.
TokiDoki Polka Rock dress ($57)

2) from Modish. i just adore them. always. if i could do anything for a week, i'd be an indie art curator.
Betty 4-print ($30)Kitten with Scissors print ($35)
Golden Swan Brooch ($18)

3) from Ad Critic Creative... but the silly elitists removed the content from their site after seven days (longer than it takes me to check my mail), so here's youtube. the point is, although the Schweppes thing is cool, it's really Garth Davis who's worthy of being posted. check out his "Herringbone" ad, too. Cute.

1:30-second ads that make you wish creative directors made feature-length films: priceless.

(kinda reminds me of those artsy Sony ads... )


-e