in love with: Moulin Rouge

we played the soundtrack from Moulin Rouge this week, and honestly i cannot get enough. when the movie came out, my mother famously said that Baz Luhrmann the filmaker had restored her faith in movies..and this lady is one tough room. not only is the movie breathtaking visually, a true masterpiece of color, sound, story, and design, but it also satisfies the true musical geek that i so am! here is a clip with my favorite song. i could just eat ewan mcgregor.

ichiko paints a lamp

now it seems i am on a roll with these mini vids of us working away here at the studio. today a little primer showing ichiko painting perfect straight lines on one of our V Brick Key lamps.

a visit to our studio

today i spent quite a bit of time trimming some bowls that were thrown over the weekend by Ben Peterson who does all of our pieces. despite the fact that i am not the most accomplished potter, sometimes a girls got to do what a girls got to do.

coney island

we visited with our brooklyn friends this weekend, and they took us over to coney island's bighton beach. what a treat! there is something a bout a boardwalk on a beach that just kills me.
who doesn't love the way the old sea worn planks are laid down in this wonderful herringbone pattern.
the combination of their color and the repetition of the shape is crazy satisfying.
and of course the way the light hits everything on a perfect october day is simply divine!
no wonder so many artists have been inspired by this location. i can't wait to return!

like no other store in the world..bloomies in the 70's

when i was a kid in NYC if you wanted to do something cool with your day..you went to bloomingdales..period. they had it all. when you are a little girl and the epitome of happeningness is studio 54, andy warhol, bowie, and woody allen movies..you really don't have access to any of it. EXCEPT..bloomies made you feel like you were sort of close to touching it. when you walked in, it felt as though you were entering into another universe..where anything was possible. and the truth is that it was all brought to you by the merchant king, Marvin Traub. a man with real vision, he transformed bloomingdales from a stodgy, tired not that great department store, into THE place where one had to go to get the latest and the greatest. boy i just lived to go there! strangely enough, my biggest dream purchase was a mirrored indian shirt. this for me was the piece de resistance of coolness.
i got mine at..blomingdales. even my "undies" at the time said bloomies on the butt! the other thing bloomingdales did was bring the fashion of our hollywood and rock icons into the store..and make them accessible. faye dunaway was my queen!
i also adored the la de da style of annie hall, but i could never rock this look.
but bianca and mick took your breath away. thanks for the memories marvin.

great package design

there is nothing i heart more than great package design, and so i got beyond excited when i found this italian pasta in our local cheesery Formaggio in the south end. i mean just look at this gorgeous piece of graphic genius. and who doesn't die for red white and blue?? i think it has a strong david hicks vibe..just so inspired! though the price tag at 8 bucks gave me pause..the grocer promised me a great meal, and so i was persuaded to take the risk. (and really when you think about a pasta dinner sans carne, it actually is a bargain!) as it turned out, not only was this pasta very yummy..we made a very simple dish of garlic, olive oil, parmesan cheese and parsley, i have hung the pasta packaging up at our studio for inspiration. oh and by the way..ternetta is a pasta the thickness of which is between linguine and fettucine..who knew?

stella mcartney

i watched iconoclasts on the sundance channel with artist ed ruscha and stella mcartney the other night, and it was not the first time i really wished i naturally spoke with a british accent..so charming..but i also fell for stella. i loved her natural charisma and style. and of course she is so talented, and smart. during the episode she took ed to a fashion show she held in a NYC park/garden where the girls were just wearing the clothes in situ and the fans could shmooz with them..how clever is that?

new discovery: jules reid

thanks to the wondrous internet, i have just discovered jules reid (same initials..i know!!!) who is a fashion designer based out of both NYC and virginia. i have to say i love her colorful style and carefree use of what looks like her own original prints.
after looking at the styles on her site..it seems like ol' jules and jill are on the same design page, getting inspiration from among others, jackie o, india & Pucci..the big 3 as we like to say around here!
i have been know to wear some craaazy pants in my day..and these would fit right into the collection..
the ikat print above is just dynomite.
and this one just screams.."chablis anyone?"
ps. she is rocking some amazing big jewelry in her lookbook..but (wah!) there is no mention of it on the site..hey jules..where m'i gonna get me some of those jewels?

farmers market

this time of year particularly i have a tough time getting myself to go to the supermarket, and the biggest reason is that the farmer's market is calling me. i really look forward to wandering through the familiar stalls to pick up some yummy fall vegetables, go home, and cook it all up into a hardy soup..like the one i made tuesday night using onion, leeks, carrots,garlic, and sweet potato. oh was it ever yummy.
and then..just look at these tomatoes..notice these people from siena farm are no fools..they have placed the lavender tissue paper coyly under them..to really make them jump out of the basket..dont you hear them..they're just shouting at you over there, "make me into bruschetta per favore!"
noooo..not the pumpkins..i mean these boys just kill me!
how about a lovely pasta funghi tomorrow night?
followed up with some beet fritters. yummy!

lotus bleu responds

today..perhaps while i was blogging away about my new friends at lotus bleu..they were simultaneously taking these great pix of our hampton links pieces fitting in beautifully with the smashing surroundings. how do you like them eggrolls mr. goldstone?

props to vous lotus bleu

we just shipped some of our pretty pots across our great nation to a fabulously wonderful home store in san francisco called Lotus Bleu which is the brainchild of designer Jeannie Fraise. i have never been, but i was totally drooling over the amazing textiles and rugs that seem to run amok in the store's interior. i also gather from my conversations with jeannie,( and my seeing her home in design sponge's sneak peak )that she is an inspired interior designer, who is happy to share her expertise with clients. lucky ducks!
i can't get enough of these pillows that richly adorn every surface.
i'll take ten s'il vous plait.

crush: mickey drexler

mickey drexler has been my business girl crush for many years. he is the reason why the gap got cool. period. and now that he has turned j crew into the house of coolness that it is these days, i will forever be under his spell. he is a merchant prince, and there really aren't that many of them around. i love mickey for oh so many reasons, but a big one is that he cares so deeply and passionately about the brands he works for, and he is always striving to do better, and learn more. he spends a lot of time with his customers, asking them what they do and don't like about the offerings, but he also spends time asking his employees what they think would be good to add.
it seems that one of his latest passions is adding existing brands to the j crew lineup that he feels are a good fit with the company's philosophy and aesthetic. this seems to be working for j crew and the companys they are co branding with as well..like red wing boots( above), fenton fallon jewelry (below), timex, and sea bags to name a few.
the new yorker recently ran a delicious story about mickey that described him taking the team to maine so that they could get the feel and vibe of the quoddy moccasin company. he knows that you need to live it if you want to understand it. and these days, i think this is what it takes to get customers excited about your offerings. (angela adams sea bag below)
i know mickey will be inspiring us all for a long time to come, and will continue to teach all us merchants how it is done. i heart you mickey! (quoddy mocc below)
classic timex

sharing: the man repeller

have you heard about the man repeller Leandra Medine? she has a hilarious blog that i have just discovered where she discusses all things fashion that will most certainly keep the men far away..from her in particular! she claims she has not had a relationship in years, and i suppose the theory is that it's her obsession with clogs, harem pants, and shoulder pads. she recently posted the most delicious pix of the new meat fashions being styled by gaga etc..
and then shows us her version. i love this girl! treat yourself to some good silly fun and check her out!

i have to celebrate you baby..i have to praise you like i should

one of my favorite people on the planet is the super talented artist judith bigham, and tonight she is doing a reading from her book "Decorating, Death & Desire" in Portland Oregon where she lives with her 3 daughters, raina, lulu and idabelle. the book is her very personal journey during the year following her husband Jake's tragic and untimely death in 2008 when he drowned while windsurfing in a hurricane.
her work in the book and in her paintings is beautiful, funny, real, shocking, and always gut wrenching because it is so wildly exposed. somehow judith is not afraid to show everyone what this experience really feels like, and to hear her read from her book promises to be a major event.
if you happen to be in the portland area tonight..you might want to head over to cargo to hear her, and to see some of the pieces from the book.
the bus stop/shrine above was created by judith during the Hay festival this past summer.