blank canvas

I love the idea of coffee shop and gallery, so was sad to see Canvas Café and Gallery close down. I had a few good times there, so decided to visit one last time and check out Feria Urbana. Feria Urbana features bay area designers and artisans, many just starting out, so it's always great to see what’s there. Not all the designers sell online, but you can always email them and see where they’re showing next.

One of my favorites was Recover Your Thoughts; vintage book covered journals. The perfect recycle/reuse product - I always have a notebook, I love books, so I couldn’t resist. I bought a “Wayward Bus” covered journal and let my son, Zack, draw on a few pages, just to get things started.

CLOCKWISE (starting top left):
: Chinoise tee, $28, Stellarocco
: Glass coasters, Mediums to Masses
: Coin purse / makeup bag with hand drawn artwork by Deesto, Lo Lo
: Silver Necklace, $165, Tessa Kemp
: “tusk” earrings, $34, JBalducci
: vintage bird necklace, $40, mimosa studio
: "candy" granny tote, $45, chibi

cash + carry

Now, boys, it is okay not to stuff those pant pockets with
e v e r y t h i n g.

I know there is a little bit of a "don't ask, don't tell" policy when it comes to "man bags". I sometimes suspect that there isn't a laptop in that slim and sleek laptop case - but wallet, phone, keys...maybe even some lip balm. Your secret is safe with me....as long as I don't have to wait 30 minutes for you to empty out your blinking cargo pockets at the airport.

Here are a couple of "pocket management systems" to get you started.

CLOCKWISE (top left):
: cummerbund bag, $140 (canvas) $399 (leather), Acton Treadway
: double wide, $30, RandL
: v12, $60, jfold
: small messenger bag, $150, Denis Denis
: this sky, $55, dbclay (I love, love, love this wallet)
: messenger bag with stripes, $162.50, jfold

bookmarks : kurt vonnegut

Last week legendary writer, Kurt Vonnegut, died. He left a legacy of bittersweet, humanist, writing - plus an amusing Daily Show interview. I loved his book Slaughterhouse 5, and I am currently listening to A Man Without A Country on my ipod.

Bookcovers:
(left) Vonnegut's entire collection is currently in this bold, graphic cover style. Each book, has a different and equally bold color scheme.
(center and right) vintage covers.

tree | house

Oh, the joy of walking through the woods. Camping under starry sky; feeling at one with nature. It’s breathtaking, well, the smell of the bug spray is.

The wonderful thing is that you can appreciate the outdoors with these super designs….and I think that you’ll get a much better night’s sleep in Inhabit’s wood grain bedding, than in a musty, spider filled sleeping bag.

Clockwise (from top left):
: madera collection, pieces from $60 by Inhabit
: blossom tree throw pillow, $68, three sheets 2 the wind
: season plate, $12, notNeutral
: brown bird, $25, modern art everyday
: birdhouse, $40, fifty24sf, available through The Giant Peach
: personalized set of branch mugs (great wedding gift), $45, Rust Designs
: Green owl (limited edition print of 80), $10, SugarLoop

All the above designs are available directly from the designers. However, since I heard about the new Three Sheets line through Design Public, I'll give them a shout out too.

reveal + conceal

There is something incredibly poetic about Nendo's Hanabi lamp shade featured in this months' Dwell. The lamp "blooms" with the warmth of the bulb. A design is so simple, yet so beautiful; when grouped, as for the 2006 Milan Salone, it is pure art.

The "pillow", based on a Japanese anemone box, twists down to conceal treasures....or clutter. Beautiful & functional, I can imagine using one to store a selection of necessary art supplies - sketchbook, watercolors, favorite pens & pencil. Unlike the practical, but uninspiring, rubbermaid box - the "pillow" would look fabulous wherever you put it. Twist Pillow, $113, by Kat Nouri / ModernTwist, available online through Rose and Radish

art seen : noir & blanc

John Clark’s art work combines two of my favorite things; bold graphics and the hard boiled detective novel. Bold black portraits that twists nouveau 50’s glamour shots and punk are screenprinted on torn out pages of vintage books. For inspiration, he uses work from deviantART photographers Kokain, LoveLife, Yellow and Sunset.

ALSO FEATURED:
(top right) The Inside Within, $50, Chris Pew and Paul Urich through Receiver Gallery (1415 Valencia Street, San Francisco) a relatively new gallery that features emerging artists.

(lower right) "ZONE 76-5-3", $75, Yuko Nimura through Gyudon (eBay)

I love... glug baby

On a recent window shopping trip to Hayes Valley, I happened upon relatively new store. Fiddlesticks (508 Hayes Street, San Francisco). Lovely, lovely kids shop...with what must have been the entire Glug Baby line.

My absolute favorite was a chocolate brown shirt dress with modern embroidered rainbow. If it had been in my size, I would have been seriously tempted.

Fiddlesticks is not selling online (yet??), so to get your Glug Baby fix online go to The Red Balloon for the dress and Pink Gorillas for pretty much the rest of the line.

collar + cuffs

Okay boys, I admit, I get a little bit carried away looking at things that I want to buy for me.

So, here's something to inject a little independent spirit into (or out of) your closet.

(Warning: contains some mild patterns and explicit color. Discretion is advised.)

CLOCKWISE (from top left)
: "21" screenprinted vintage tie, $24, Tymbal
: beetle cufflinks, $42, Happy Owl Glassworks (available through Stars + Infinite Darkness)
: octopus tie, $30, Cyberoptix TieLab
: circular cufflinks, $75, Useless Machines

whoa nelly

Congratulations to the Warriors for making it to the playoffs for the first time in......erm.....foreverrrr!

Even when there was a 26 point lead in the 3rd, I was cynical. After all, I have seen many a last minute meltdown. But wait....their away strip looks fabulous.....maybe the tide has finally turned.

Oh, and by the way, way to go on the cool girls hoodie....simple styling, hard as nails font....could even be Blue Marlin. Yes, it's $70, but who knows when the Warriors will be in the finals again!!

ring me

I am such a lucky girl! My husband recently returned from a conference in Vegas with a superb Teno ring. Now if I wasn't such a darn romantic, I might be asking myself "did something happen in Vegas that stayed in Vegas". Besides it was shiny and I didn't go beyond "it's shiny and it's mine!"

But sometimes the best gift can be loving yourself....and what better way to say "I love me" than buying yourself a shiny ring. Here are a few gorgeous rings to get you started.

CLOCKWISE (from top left):
: sprout ring, christine j brandt
: wrapped crystal ring, $121, anne maa designs
: zoe, $78, kiwi studios
: grass, $48, bella lulu
: square wood, $40, studio AMF
: owl, $28, kris nations
: gear ring, $65, imooi
: moon glow, $17.95, waterfall

pet-o-rama

A year or so ago while doing a little window shopping in Los Altos, I remember feeling a little peckish. Right there were the most perfect little icing covered cookies. "How cute..." I thought, "they're in the shape of dog bones!".

Recently, I found myself back in Five Paw Bakery in Los Altos. Not confused by pregnancy hormones, I could see the cookies for what they were....delicious little dog treats. But, hey, those birthday cakes look awfully yummy....but why is there a dog wearing a birthday hat?

For some wonderfully modern pet stuff from independent designers where better to look than online. Here are some favorites:

TOP (l - r):
Lollipop dog leash, $24.95, The Modern Pet
Ralph Birdhouse, $195, Modern Birdhouses
"Water" pet dish, $50, Everyday Studio

MIDDLE (l - r):
Scooter pillow, $69, Pillow Pillow Pillow (available online through Rare Device)
Black bird print pet bed, $180-$220, Deadly Squire
Wallmount fish bowl, $34, through Chimpfeet.com

BOTTOM (l - r):
Personalized pet tag, $16, KLA designs
Ludlow collar, $15, Lodi and Lewi
Zombie cat nip toys, $4 for 2, Prairie Bird

simply ceramics

On a recent visit to o-town, I decided to pop in to Swarm Gallery. For some reason I had made it on to their email list, and I was intrigued. But opening the wrong door, I found myself in the ProArts store next door.

And then I saw him; the simplest, most adorable bird in the guise of a vase. I wanted to take him home, and knew exactly where I would put him; right on the mantle. A little pop of white against my wasabi green walls....perfect.

Then I decided that if I bought everything that I "simply must have", I'd have to move into a couple of public storage pods....and be more than broke. So I thought, I would write about him....my bird....and just happened to find some other "must have" things to write about.

Clockwise (top left):
; Bird vase, $45 - $80, J. Mendicino
; White tile, Heath Ceramics
; Sula Votive, $35, Tonfisk, available online via Tivoli Home
; Sweet Peas Vases, $38/pair, Kim Westad Ceramics

to a tee

T-shirts are ubiqitous, and here in the Bay Area you can get away with wearing one to any occasion...probably/possibly/maybe.
Whatever your style, there are millions of designs from independent designers to cheap-chic chains like Target.

Still despite it's humble roots as *gasp* undies, the t-shirt seems to be stirring up a bit of a class war between indie designers and big biz. Local designers Mark Lee Morris and Andrew Soernsen of Taylor + Turk recently claimed in a San Francisco Chronicle article that the reason behind starting their line was their "disgust" of fake business t-shirts mass-produced by corporations. Tut, tut, boys! Those t-shirts didn't design themselves...they were probably designed by an inhouse designer with the same jaded passion for design that the rest of us have. Sure, the designer might have been coaxed into ripping off a design that someone else did, but that's another story.

Anyway, I'm an equal opportunity t-shirt buyer....and the Taylor + Turk t-shirts are pretty cool. Plus, since many independent designers use American Apparel t-shirts, you can feel confident that the only "sweatshop" labor is that of the designers themselves.


TOP ROW (L-R):
: Marlon Brando immortilized the t-shirt as an anti- fashion statement in the 50's
: Argyle style tube top, $16, Piano and Guiness
: Silver Scissors, $26, Circular Accessories
: Circular birds, $30, Circular Accessories

SECOND ROW (L-R):
: Blowdryer, $20, Nooworks
: Book - "99 Ways..."... to do stuff to your t-shirts
: Tools, $46, Turk + Taylor
: Swordfish, $24, Nooworks

THIRD ROW (L-R):
: Old style engraving, $22, Ahpeele
: Rosette, $45, 5Trillion
: Book: "Travels of a t-shirt..." want to know where your t-shirt really came from?
: Crane, $18, Derisory Designs

BOTTOM ROW (L-R):
: Tape bird, $20, Julie Hill (available through Oddica)
: New York in Arabic, $22, Rana Hajjar
: Gathering, $32, Victrola Design
: Oh, Don, you did wonders for the tee by suiting it up and rocking it out in Miami Vice!