“I dropped out of law school when I was twenty-four and returned to my hometown of Santa Cruz, California. I did not have a plan but I did have a promise: no more “shoulds”. I was determined to follow my heart wherever it wanted to go.
In the following years I worked as a bicycle messenger, learned to garden, fell in love, sold my car and for the first time felt truly competent and at home in my own skin. I began to notice and be taken with my own physicality: the crook of my arm holding the shovel, my thighs tightening as I pedaled, my hands strong and stained by the day. These were common moments when function was unexpectedly beautiful. This, I determined, was a form of beauty I needed to capture and express. So I began to make things, with metal, with wood, and eventually with fabric. And here, where the practical and the precious come together, was where my heart led me. I enrolled at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco for clothing design. Two years later I started Filly.”
- Emily Christensen, who makes beautiful, conscientious clothes under the label Filly.
Her house is pretty too.
Two recent street style favourites:
This one is from the Sartorialist, reporting from Florence. I like the play between this woman’s severe fringe and her round glasses. And the owl on her ankle!
Scooter love! She’s wearing a very refined selection of basics, and damn good shoes. It really sets the bar for ‘what I’d like to look like when I roll out of bed’. Shot by Glamcanyon.
There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
- Anais Nin
Holy moly I love this quote. It make me want to burst out, and take on the entire world. Shall we?
John C. Jay is a renaissance man in the creative community, turning his hand to advertising, marketing and film, and generally turning everything he touches into gold. These are his top 10 rules for creating:
- Be authentic. The most powerful asset you have is your individuality, what makes you unique. It’s time to stop listening to others on what you should do.
- Work harder than anyone else and you will always benefit from the effort.
- Get off the computer and connect with real people and culture. Life is visceral.
- Constantly improve your craft. Make things with your hands. Innovation in thinking is not enough.
- Travel as much as you can. It is a humbling and inspiring experience to learn just how much you don’t know.
- Being original is still king, especially in this tech-driven, group-grope world.
- Try not to work for stupid people or you’ll soon become one of them.
- Instinct and intuition are all-powerful. Learn to trust them.
- The Golden Rule actually works. Do good.
- If all else fails, No. 2 is the greatest competitive advantage of any career.
Sheets from the calendar are tumbling. In New Zealand, the days are getting longer and longer. Before I know it, it will be high summer and I’ll be sitting on beach with friends in Pauanui, toasting in the New Year with lashings of Veuve Cliquot. But that’s still a good 5 weeks away!
I always want to achieve my resolutions and goals. Live, work, create. But more than that, I want to finish what I’ve started. Big and little. That’s my focus for the rest of the year (and beyond into 2011). Here’s what is on my list:
- Mend those dresses, sew buttons back on, and send that giant box of clothes to charity.
- Clear the drafts folder of my inbox.
- Take a peek at the drafts folder of my blog!
- Finish decorating my apartment. And take photographs of it.
- Print the Bad Crushes zine properly and distribute it.
- Finish the short stories I’ve started writing, otherwise abandon them in a bottom drawer.
- The large pile of half-devoured novels by the side of my bed? I’d love to put a dent into that.
- And all those other little things…
How about you? Anything lingering in the corners of your life that you need to wrap up? It’s going to be hard, but I’m going to tie all those loose ends up, double bows and all.
I’m digging: heavy hands, weighed down by baubles. Mixing and matching, gold and silver, plastic and stone, cheap and pricey. A look for summer? Perhaps, apart from the mean tan lines.
(Photos taken from all over the show.)
- Also featuring a teepee, The Outsiders – a dreamy fashion editorial by Keren Richter and Elizabeth Weinberg:
WILL COTTON “CANDY STICK FOREST” 2005, OIL ON LINEN, 60” X 72”
In an attempt to break the record number of people I can fit into my apartment at once, I am planning a dinner party. 3 guests + me. It might be tight! I want it to be special, so I’ve been scheming hard. Here are a what I think are the essential elements of hosting a great dinner party – scalable to any number of guests:
- Formal invitations are important (as in don’t just say “Hey wanna come ’round sometime?” – get specific). Create a sense of importance, anticipation, and give people ample time to work it into their diaries. I think two weeks is good notice as far as invites go.
- Choose your company wisely. Just because so&so is always welcomed by other people doesn’t mean that you’re obliged them to have them at your house. That said – don’t be afraid to introduce new blood! Mix and match friends. Invite someone who fascinates you that you haven’t gotten to know well yet.
- Lots of booze and a good mixture of it – wine, beer, spirits – with fresh garnishes, like lime etc. Jugs are a classy way to serve cocktails (Pimms, Mojitos, Sangria). Individual bottles of ginger beer or limonata are a lovely touch for non-drinkers. Make sure you have ice.
- Friendly lighting. Nothing too bright/eye-gouging. I always think overhead lighting is the enemy – so turn your lamps on and the ceiling lights down. For romance, add candles. For whimsy, add fairy lights (especially for outdoor settings).
- Brian Eno mused once on music choices: “If it’s bad, nobody talks – but if it’s good, nobody listens”. I definitely agree – choose something less intrusive than metal, like jazz or blues and play it at a conversational level. My dinner party albums picks: Ernest Ranglin’s Below The Bassline and Oh No’s Dr. No’s Ethiopium.
- Mandatory: make sure your bathrooms are clean. Seriously, put that in the cupboard. And buy some toilet paper.
- Don’t buy a bunch of stuff – simply use what you have on hand. Don’t be afraid to use mismatched silverware or cups, or use the vintage lace tablecloths you’ve been saving forever. Let high and low work together. Sure, put in the effort to make things special, but pay more attention to the people than to the things.
- Ensure the host stays relaxed. That’s you, baby! Keep it simple for yourself by buying two, and making one e.g. cook the main course but buy the snacks/entrees and a plate of macarons for dessert. Also plan to take time out before your guests arrive by putting your feet up for a second or have a glass of wine. Breathe. Smile. Have a good time.
