Nostalgic finds = edgy-chic jewelry!

Ever wonder what to do with old architectural signage, vintage drawer handles, unique industrial pieces?

 . . . well Betsy had the vision for you!

Check out  Betsy + iya designs.

Jonathan Segal = Architect + Developer

An inspiration to, "The under-employed or unemployed architect/designer!" . . . like me!

Vimeo video below:
Documentary of San Diego, CA architect, Jonathan Segal.


Jonathan Segal Documentary final 13 mins from BREADTRUCK TV on Vimeo.

I want 8 Russian pawns...

from ANTHROPOLOGIE . . . matryoshka chess set!

Twickenham, London ... before the Beatles!

Fast Facts about the breathtaking film, AN EDUCATION
place*time: Twickenham-large suburban town in SW London, 1961.
by the Fabulous Danish director, Lone Scherfig
about a romantic interlude from the life of writer, Lynn Barber.


Carey Mulligan is just fabulous!


Thank you to the soundtrack of this film, my music library now includes Juliette Gréco,  Melody Gardot and Beth Rowley.   This movie took me back to when I was 16, when I was certain of everything, especially when it came to falling in love.  This movie is sophisticated and beautiful, but then again, what else can we expect from a Danish director from Copenhagen!

Holiday Ornaments: Chic & Haute Couture

ViviDolls:  NO TWO DOLLS ARE ALIKE!

These chic creations are a result of my fascination with traditional Russian "matryoshka" dolls and fashion trends from around the world. 
These companions are preciously hand-stitched with unique details.
They are the perfect gift for the fashionistas in your life.

Adorn your Xmas tree with haute couture this year!!

Shop @ ViviDolls.etsy.com

I LOVE VIMEO!

Around the World, Street Photography on Vimeo.

A fascinating collaborative project! I discovered this interesting video of B/W photographs while browsing Vimeo.  My philosophy: When you are too financially challenged to travel, bring the world to you!


6 international photographers come together to create this video. This is the first attempt at doing this across the globe and as unique as it is, we got it down and we hope you like it. We have to thank the new technologies like Twitter (which is how this started) and Vimeo for this to happen. All the organizing and image file forwarding was through emails and twitter, and communications were so much easier with it. Thank God for technology. :D

Warhol's self-polaroid!

POLAROID SOLD for $18,000 this week.
Click HERE to read article.
RELATED SUBJECT: Click POLAROID for the latest instant film news!

Portraits by Thorsten Brinkmann

I found Thorsten Brinkmann browsing through the list of artists for ICP's current exhibit DRESS CODES.  The soft and hard portraits are juxtaposed with color, staged presence and carefully chosen garments.  
I would love to see these pieces in person!

Enjoy these captivating images...

"A self-described "serial collector," German artist Thorsten Brinkmann photographs himself in extraordinary costumes that he creates from castoff clothing and household objects salvaged from the street or from flea markets." ICP

Sustainable Fashion 1 DRESS:365 DAYS

SHEENA Matheiken is a conscientious fashionista!
I encourage everyone reading this post to join the cause.


VISIT & SUPPORT: THE UNIFORM PROJECT

...a few of my favorite outfits...

MAD MEN, Vanity Fair & Annie Leibovitz

AMC : MAD MEN  Read Vanity Fair article HERE

¡Viva México! ¡Viva México!

The year was 1810 and México was known as the "New Spain." On the 16th of September, a Catholic priest, Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla 
rang the Church bell in his village of Dolores, Guanajuato.  He gathered Indians and mestizos crying out, "¡Viva México! calling out for war against the Spanish Colonial government. 

After 11 years of war, Mexican Independence was recognized on September 27, 1821.  
September 16 became a symbolic date for Mexicans and is known as "El Grito de Dolores," the day México celebrates its Independence.

Found a great article. Read more HERE.

bring back POLAROID!

FAST FACTS about POLAROID

+ Patented in 1929: (n) material in thin plastic sheets that produce a high degree of plane polarization in light passing through it.

+ INVENTOR: American physicist, Edwin H. Land.

+ Polaroid Corporation founded by Edwin H. Land in 1937.

+ Instant Film cameras reached the market in November, 1948.

+ The production of analog Instant Film stops in June, 2008.

As a result, the Impossible Project unfolds.

+ More fascinating history HERE.

"It's all about reinventing and restarting the production of instant film," he said, "creating a new material to exactly meet the demands of the modern photographer that loves analogue instant photography." (Florian Kaps)

... read more about The Impossible Project.

small architecture or LARGE furniture?

from FRAME magazine's design directory: For his degree project, Worapong Manupipatpong examined the three-dimensional territories of architecture and furniture by investigating how the notion of architecture can influence furniture design (or the other way around) . . . Manupipatpong: 'I’m intrigued by particular spaces and things when they can’t be classified exactly; something in-between. My project can be seen as something in-between because it is hard to define. Whether it is extra small architecture or an extra large piece of furniture, it is somewhere in-between these aspects of scale and function.'

EAMES elephants (1945) now available for kids!

Adorable and chic!

For more info visit the Vitra Design Museum online shop.

The Spider, The Mistress and The Tangerine

LOUISE BOURGEOIS

...inspiring, extraordinary...a passionate mentor for all women artists!

You will cry, hysterically laugh and as soon as the documentary is over you will run to your studio, feel inspired and CREATE... (vivi)

Now on DVD: Louise Bourgeois: The Spider, The Mistress and The Tangerine.

"As an artist, Louise Bourgeois has been at work for six decades—but always on her own vigorously inventive and disquieting terms. In 1982, at the age of 71, she became the first woman honored with a major retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art. She has since gone on, in her 80s and 90s, to create her most powerful and persuasive work—massive spider sculptures that have appeared all over the world." zeitgeist films

:WATCH TRAILER

:ORDER A COPY HERE.

Gorgeous magazine from London!

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

selvedge is a gorgeous squared-shaped magazine that illustrates ethnographic photography, fashion, textiles, international artists...and related topics. The articles are smart and globally conscious. It elevates fashion and craft to an eloquent level. It is hard to find in the US and it is about $25.00/issue but is is absolutely worth it. It is better to just subscribe. Here are a few examples of their beautiful covers...CLICK LARGE SQUARE & PHOTOSTREAM! or...check out my FLICKR page!

Alphaville, 1965

A Strange Adventure of Lemmy Caution

I was browsing through ARTForum's online video section and found this great clip. Enjoy!

...the meaning of love...in French!

ACTORS: Eddie Constantine as Lemmy Caution & Anna Karina as Natacha Von Braun

More info @ CRITERION COLLECTION

Remembering Pina Bausch!

July 27, 1940 – June 30, 2009

I just discovered that the amazing German choreographer/dancer Pina Bausch passed away Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at the age of 68.

READ NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE.

Enjoy this U-tube video. Let's all dance and have coffee with Pina!...may she rest in peace!

Click HERE to visit Pina Bausch's website.

SAN DIEGO, CA: ARCHITECTURE EXHIBIT 2009

MAY 22 - SEPT. 6, 2009

 

"Showcasing the work of innovative architects and designers in the San Diego community, MIX provides in-depth presentations by nine remarkable practicioners. estudio teddy cruz, Luce et Studio Architects (Jennifer Luce), Sebastián Mariscal Studio, Public (James Gates and James Brown), Rinehart Herbst (Todd Rinehart and Catherine Herbst), Lloyd Russell, and Jonathan Segal FAIA represent a generation of practitioners who graduated from architecture school during the 1980s..." read more @ MCASD

How can we achieve fully energy-efficient cities?

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION!

CLOSING DATE: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH 2009

"The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia and HP are pleased to announce the 3rd Advanced Architecture Contest, on the theme of THE SELF-SUFFICIENT CITY: Envisioning the habitat of the future. The aim of the competition is to promote online discussion and research through which to generate insights and visions, ideas and proposals that help us envisage what the city and the habitat of the 21st century will be like. The competition is open to architects, planners, designers and artists who want to contribute to progress in making the world more habitable by developing a proposal capable of responding to emerging challenges in areas such as ecology, information technology, socialization and globalization, with a view to enhancing the connected self-sufficiency of our cities..." from official website.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Eclectic radio station from Santa Monica College in California.

I introduce you to KCRW,

" . . . a community service of Santa Monica College, is Southern California's leading National Public Radio affiliate, featuring an eclectic mix of music, news, information and cultural programming. The station boasts one of the nation's largest arrays of locally- produced, nationally-distributed talk program content. KCRW.com extends the station's profile globally, with three streams featuring web-exclusive content: all music, all news and the live station simulcast, as well as an extensive list of podcasts. The non-commercial broadcast signal reaches 550,000 listeners weekly and is supported by 55,000 member/subscribers."

The great thing about KCRW is that you can listen to them online no matter where you are. I know you will love it...cool DJ's, fun talk shows & podcasts and more...

CLICK HERE and check out their website. 

I love the Literary Bohemian!

I discovered the Literary Bohemian

(a website from the Czech Republic) a few months ago and today I share with you from the TRAVELOGUE section.
Breakfast in Helsinki by Susan Koefod:
"At Hostel Mekka at 9:00 a.m., the sun had already been up for five hours. Summer solstice was only a week away, and this close to the Arctic circle, twilight merged with dawn in a near endless day. I had traveled from Minnesota to Finland to visit my 22-year-old son, Ryan, who was concluding a year of study abroad at the University of Helsinki. He now easily conversed in Finnish and blended in, having inherited his father’s Norwegian genes: tall, thin, red-haired and fair-skinned..." READ MORE HERE

Casa Estudio Diego Rivera

These are images from Diego Rivera's Studio in México City. (San Ángel, México Distrito Federal).

Diego Rivera's Casa Estudio was designed by Mexican architect and artist Juan O'Gorman (1905 - 1982).
Thank you Omar Barcena for allowing me to share these pictures. More here.  

SWEDISH DESIGN at its best!

I came across Swedish designer Fredrik Färg this week and I just had to share his talent with you. His designs are inspired by classic menswear and the final product is impeccable.

For me design is a room for exchanging ideas about how we can improve our surroundings. How we experience the spaces and objects in our life. My aim is to create spatial poetry that affects the viewer/user both physically and emotionally but still leave it as an open end. (Fredrik Färg)

images courtesy of Fredrik Färg

Teresa Margolles

"What Else Could We Talk About" by Teresa Margolles was the chosen piece for this year's Venice Biennale-Mexican Pavilion. It is a dark installation about the horrifying drug related crimes in Mexico that have been in existence for more than two decades now.


Curator, Cuauhtémoc Medina describes, "In a time where borders are no more able to contain the plague, when politics are mobilized by the ideological uses of fear, and where global capital is accompanied by a whole epidemic of violence, What else could we talk about? would want to suggest the need to politicize discontent and disgust, rather than falling prey of the strategies of a new world order erected over the ruins of the perpetual wars and infinite crusades of the powers to be..."