Ochre!

Over the past weekend, I had to take a trip into Ochre on Broome Street for one of our clients, and seen as how it's just around the corner from my apartment, it was a nice little stop off with my hot coffee in one hand, camera in the other, before I hit the flea markets uptown!

I found lots of goodies which would be perfect, and I did get nice and snap happy! Above is my favorite shot, so I thought I'd show it off here, and give you all a little taster of this beautiful store! It's got lots of lush, modern and vintage items and furniture, all of which work great together! I love this place, and just like most places down here, it's like a huge loft space, high ceilings, gorgeous old wood floors....If you get the chance, go for a visit! You won't be disappointed!

Once Upon A Stumble!

If I'm lucky, and work isn't ridiculously busy first thing in the morning, I take the time to ease into the usually hectic rest of the day by checking out my favorite blogs and doing searches into finding out what's out there in the world of design, art, photography, or anything else creative which sparks an interest. With a hot coffee in hand, and my probably very unhealthy apple turnover for breakfast, I enjoy this part of the day very much!

Today, I stumbled across a blog which I really enjoyed looking at, Ashley L's, Decor Amor. I love her floral, feminine, vintage and colorful sense of style! Her photography is amazing too, check out her Flickr site here too! It's highly decorative and beautiful, a feast for the eyes!

So with Ashley in mind, and inspired, I indulged a little on my love for china teacups through the wonders of Flickr! One day I will have my open (dream!) kitchen shelves stacked high with all of my hand picked china!!! 

Now, for a little twist on where you'd usually find your teacups....here, made from thrift store found cups turned upside-down and with a little light bulb, I give you, the Ted Lights by Domestic Construction! This company was created by two women, Trish and Maureen, with one's obsession with objects and the others love for fashion, they have combined to create an inventive, playful and distinctive style. 

Grr....

When it rains it pours....and my gosh is it pouring over NYC this morning, I have little puddles in my boots!
Last night, I got home late, and it wasn't long before I was wrapped up in bed. It was one of those nights where I just lie there for a while, it was late, and so quiet, that I enjoyed the peace.
Sometimes, funny things happen in my life where I actually smile at the world's sarcastic timing. Last night, it was one of those very moments, where at that very moment of realizing something about my life, it began to rain. I heard it tinkle on the leaves outside my window, until it soon became a steady stream...and it hasn't stopped since...
I woke up twice during the night, and still heard the rain coming down. This morning when my alarm went off, I woke up to Oscar hovering over me. It seems the little fella was cold, and wiggled his way under the covers! Maybe he didn't want to hear the rain anymore either.

This morning before I left for work, while still on my I-cant-get-enough-of-Cat-Stevens-even-if-I-tried obsession, I listened to his "Wild World"...which I think is probably one of my favorites, for one reason or another. I love the lyrics, and love singing to it too...

And so with a mix of Cat Stevens, Oscar crawling under my covers, and the downpour NYC just experienced, I couldn't help but add the following photos of the 6 year old White Bengal Tiger called Odin, who resides in the Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Zoo in Vallejo, near San Francisco. After this big fella was weaned, and much smaller than he is now, Odin's British trainer Lee Munro found that if a piece of meat was thrown into a pool of water, he would happily drive in after it! And it seems to be something he still likes to do! Check out the full news article here!

These photos are fantastic, I love them, and perhaps I can relate a little bit too...

Luxurious Lace!

Valentino Catwalk Show, '07

Now, I'm a big fan of lace.. it's delicate, beautiful and feminine. And these days it seems it's walked off Grandma's table and right into modern design and high fashion, and I can happily say, its done well!

So, without further ado, here's a few designs I find interesting, and some of my favorites....

Above and Below, Brocade Design comes through beautifully once again! White Lace Storage Unit and a Laser Cut Wool Blend Flax Rug.

Marcel Wanders designed the above Crochet Table in 2002 (shown here in large), manufactured through Moooi. Below he added to his lace trend with the Crochet Chair, both of these are made of hand-sewn crochet flowers sewn together, placed over a mould and stiffened with resin. I love that these are made from real crocheted pieces... beautiful!

Below is the Nebula Table, designed by Chris Kabatsi for Arktura. Laser cut and powder coated in glass white, the piece is available in multiple sizes with glass tops, all of Arktura's steel and aluminum pieces are made using 35-100% recycled content.

The Random Suspension Light, designed by Bertjan Pot in 2001. Manufactured by Moooi, its made with epoxy and fiberglass, chromed with steel and plastic.

The Fiberglass Hanging Lamps below are designed by Niels Van Eijk & Miriam Van Der Lubbe, they provide light without the use of bulbs! Instead, the light is produced in a hidden box at the top, and is transported by the strands of fiberglass to the bottom. Therefore, the woven strands become the source of light in their own right.

Denmark's Gamfratesi gives us beautiful lace in fiberglass chairs,  "This project is the result of an intense study that embraces tradition as well as advanced technology; an idea that emerged from reflections on contrasts. A fascination of a fusion between high performance composite materials, as glasfiber, and the aesthetics from the antique art of lace. With inspiration from working methods in the textile industry, we have been experimenting with various techniques applicable to the glasfiber. This project is a dialog between many specialized sectors, and different historical references.

And did you ever think your regular paperclip could look this good?!

Drew Leshko designed the above and below light fixtures using 2,018 and 2,280 paperclips respectively. Amazing.... and one of those, 'I wish I thought of that' moments!

I am in love with Jethro Macey's work! Above, his Textile Side Unit, made in collaboration with Decode London. It's a stunning simple piece, and with it's subtle lace detailing on the front, I fell in love with it the second I saw it!!

Below, are his award winning (Elle Decoration British Design Awards - Best in Flooring) Lace Tiles, these are just stunning!! High technology surface design techniques turn an otherwise plain stone tile into a three dimensional piece of functional art. These will be in my future dream house I swear it!!!!

And just one more addition on how the purely functional can be decorative, the Lace Fence, created by the Dutch Design House, Demakersvan. Each fence is unique in it's design, and the patterns come in a variety of themes. Each application is created according to it's function, for example, to hide or enhance it's surroundings.

I think it's beautiful, and definitely one of the best fences I've seen, ever!!

Cat Stevens....

I've got tons of images and inspiration collected for you, just waiting to be posted....

But first, on this rainy Fall Saturday evening, where the wind is pulling more leaves from the trees, just to make them dance in circles with the plastic bags and paper cups, and the orange street lights make the tarmac glisten, I've got a song for you...

'How can I tell you', by the one and only Cat Stevens. I love this song, and it breaks my heart.

My Weekend Wish....

If I could go anywhere in the world this weekend, anywhere at all.... This is what it would look like. (and what could be a more perfect place to be painting?!)

A gorgeous old house, a huge deck, and wrapped up in a blanket, a hot cup of coffee in hand, and just the sound of birds singing in the morning. Watching the sun rise, and the sun set.. the morning mist, the leaves changing color, the smell of crisp fresh air, and the rolling hills and land endlessly stretching out before me...

My perfect little slice of heaven.

Day Job....

You know, sometimes I have days where I just love my job. Thankfully they are more often than not! And every time I think of that, I'm grateful that I am so happy with it, it seems all too many people just aren't that happy in what they do. I actually don't mind waking up in the mornings for work, I would even stretch to say I enjoy it sometimes! I love that I meet so many interesting and nice people through it, and also in our (huge!!) building in Chelsea, I like that it's full of all sorts of people with all sorts of different stories to tell.

So, Today has definitely been one of those days, where everything runs smoothly, everyone on the phone is a joy to talk to, everyone in the office is in high spirits with laughter and chit chat. Everyone is working hard, everyone is busy, and there is something so satisfying about that.

But, I haven't been very good recently. I've let my painting slide a little, and so I certainly haven't been doing it as much as I should have. This weekend I'm planning an all out creative feast! I've got lots of little things planned, and so I'm looking forward to making the most of every minute of it! Hopefully by the end of it I'll have something to show for it too!!

Sometimes though, my mind does wander onto doing different things. All creative of course! I'm not sure I would live much more than a week doing something uncreative!! I am often inspired by so many things I see, things I would like to try, twists on my paintings I could play with. Ideas flow, and I can't help but spend my every other waking moment absorbing all there is to see, that I overload on it! Right now, I have an addiction to flickr, where the wealth of ideas are plentiful, and the possibilities are endless!

But one thing I would love to do again is photography. I loved this in school, I would work my lunchtimes away in the darkroom, I would snap snap away with my Mother's old manual camera, seeing the world through a lens and capturing it at that second forever.

I loved the weight of the camera in my hands, feeling the film click over inside, and then the smell of the darkroom, feeling around in the dark to load the film onto the spool, and then the gentle shuffle as you reel it on....

Funny, I've wanted to get back into taking my own photography for so long now, I wonder what has been stopping me. Perhaps one day, when I live in a big house with my family, I'll have my own little makeshift darkroom!! Until then, the shops can process them...or maybe I'll find a class in NY where I can use and abuse their darkrooms!!

The thing is, there's just one thing missing......Mum? Could you send me your gorgeous old camera pleeease??!!!

Tea!!

Jean Simeon Chardin's 'Lady Taking Tea', 1735

It's time to warm it up a little. And what's a better way to start than with a gorgeous painting by the 18th Century French painter Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin (1699-1779). Louis XV had granted him a studio and living quarters in the Louvre in 1757. Chardin was especially good and well known for his still life paintings.
In 1723 Chardin entered into a marriage contact with Marguerite Saintard, although it was not until 1731 when they married. It is believed that the above work, 'Lady Taking Tea' depicts Marguerite, who died two months after this painting was completed.

My boss just recently came back from England, and although I was jealous of her going (and I told her so!) she was amazing in bringing me back some proper British goodies!! Now, I know that you can get an awful lot of British foods and things over here now (much more than when I was younger in the 80's!! We used to take road trips to Canada and stock up!!), but trust me when I say they don't taste the same!
I had a craving for delicious McVities Rich Tea Biscuits, and she brought me back three packs! And like a total Brit, I've been devouring these with many cups of tea. Hence the inspiration to post Chardin's 'Lady Taking Tea'. There's a pack in the office too, and even though everyone says 'Only a Brit could like these, they're bland' I still have them visit my desk to nab one here and there!
Funny how a little biscuit can bring back so many memories. 'Rich Tea' remind me of my Mum's parents, and having a cuppa in the afternoon. And watching them dunk these biscuits in their tea!...sitting there, studying them do it...trying it myself, and loving the taste!
You see, the thing with dunking, it's all about the timing...dunk too long, and you'll loose your biscuit in your tea! Not dunk long enough and the biscuit hasn't got that yummy tea flavor and it's still too crunchy.... it's a fine art, one passed on through the generations, a tried and tested process, a British tradition....it's a part of my history, fit into one little biscuit! Perfection...


a McVitie's Rich Tea Biscuit!

And to warm things up a little more, courtesy of Flickr, here's a few beautiful photos of some tealight candles!

Chain Mail...

Usually I hate those 'pass this on' emails, forwarded to you and almost everyone else in the senders address book. Most of them are total rubbish, and I hardly ever send them on myself either. But sometimes, one comes along that I don't hate as much, today that happened. So I thought I'd do a new twist instead of sending it on, and post it here....

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right.
Love the ones who don't just because you can.
Believe everything happens for a reason.
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.
If it changes your life, let it.
Kiss slowly.
Forgive quickly.
God never said life would be easy.
He just promised it would be worth it.

(I didn't hate this one for the 6th, 7th, 9th and 10th lines)

Simple, Beautiful, White..

It seems I have a little obsession right now...perhaps you can see the theme?!

I love this cool, simple white, with the oh-so beautiful powder pink.... floods of light and simplicity... 

Sheeple...

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Cool Grey...

It's getting colder in NY, the skies are still blue, and the sun still shines, but there's a chill in the air now....

I found these images of a house in London, relaxing and like a sanctuary, these cool grey shades with white and soft creams are beautiful. I love the architectural details in this house, the crown moldings, tiled entryway, old staircase, the painted wood floors and the large windows which let in huge amounts of light. And the antique mirrors, french bed, roll top bath, the worn woods and the fabrics are just my cup of tea...I just adore them!

Personally, I'm not sure I could live in a completely grey home, but I like that this house shows off just how beautiful grey can be, and even how it can be feminine....