gravity and grace

A friend sent me a link to the art work of El Anatsui after she saw his work at the Brooklyn Museum. El Anatsui " converts found materials into a new type of media that lies between sculpture and painting, combining aesthetic traditions from his birth country, Ghana; his home in Nsukka, Nigeria; and the global history of abstraction." His show, Gravity and Grace, at the Brooklyn Museum has "over 30 works in metal and wood that transform appropriated objects into site-specific sculptures." 

america recycles day (intro to three part series)

[Alejandro Durán's Washed Up Series]

Today is America Recycles Day and kicks off a series I’m writing on recycling and, more broadly, the three R’s. We all remember the three R’s from school (those of us born in or after the 80s at least.) Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

These are important Rs for designers too. We, as designers, are responsible for the products we create. We pour our heart into their creation and then we hope to send them out into the world. But what happens to our products after? Are they still our responsibility? How can we make our designs comply with the three Rs? This is an issue close to my heart, merging the work I've done on climate change and sustainability with my love of design. Over the next two weeks, I’ll examine each R and discuss ways designers have taken them into consideration in their work.  

What do you think a designer’s responsibility is? Please share thoughts as well as any great examples of designers imagining great solutions to the three Rs.

how to: refinishing your vintage finds (part two)

This is part two in a two part series of refinishing your vintage finds. Or semi-vintage, as is the case with these folding chairs inherited from Partner-in-Crime's grandmother. Fairly comfortable due to the padded seat and back, these chairs were not so easy on the eyes. But I knew there was still life in them. A few hours later, they looked like this:

In part one, I covered how to spray paint a great find. But what if your find includes some um, less than current, fabric like these beauties? Part two will teach you how to do a basic re-upholstery job. Often with simple chairs, you can recover the seat without having to actually sew anything because the back or bottom is covered or not visible. That's the case with these folding chairs. Recover your chairs in five* easy steps after the jump.


*Okay, okay. Six. But the sixth one is reattaching the seat.

how to: refinishing your vintage finds (part one)

Early in the treasure hunting for new home, I found this telephone table. I love the shape but the pale wood was less than inspiring. Luckily, painting wood is quite simple especially if you desire a bright spray painted look. Today I'm going to show you how to completely transform your vintage find in five simple steps. This tutorial works on wood, metal and plastic so it's time to get treasure hunting!

Draw me a picture

How cool are these?

Rings made from colored pencils by Maria Christina Bellucci.

home improvement makeover

Recently graduated, living off a nonprofit salary and having had 2 days to pick out an apartment in a new city, my new roommate is awesome but the apartment itself is um, lacking...

Work has kept me from doing some of the bigger plans I have- ranging from painting walls to weatherizing windows- but soon after arrival I started on a project that I had been planning even before finding my room. A year ago I bought some beautiful fabric at Joanne's (when my car was broken down in Minnesota) and have used it for a variety of things since.

I wanted to decorate part of my wall with the fabric, but not just as wallpaper. I started out by cutting the top of the fabric down.

And I also cut out birds individually.

I cleaned my wall with just water and a sponge. I sprayed the fabric all over with fabric starch. The instructions I found online recommended using either regular starch or spray starch. For such a large piece of fabric, I wish I had regular starch as it was difficult to saturate the fabric with spray starch. You can see the results below- there were definite difficulties getting a tight bond against the wall. I left some tacks along the very edge to keep the fabric up.

But the results overall- I love them!
The other great thing- the fabric peels off with basically no residue! Just clean the wall with a little water and you are set to go. Fabric is a great choice for those of us who are renting.

My fabric wall decoration has created a cozy corner with my desk where I can craft, though I'm still in need of the various storage supplies to really set up a neat crafting corner. First house project- completed!

sending all my love to you

I sent my boyfriend these amazing vintage science-lab glass containers. I figured he could use them with his bar set (that I also sent him) to hold syrups to make cocktails. I had to get these for him cause he's a science-y minded guy (phd candidate in engineering. I make him explain many things to me!) I even included two glass swizzle sticks. One of my favorite cocktails is a whiskey double ginger made with homemade ginger syrup. A drink that works with every season but is especially good for fall! Hope you enjoy.

Ginger syrup
4 inch piece of ginger
1.5 cups sugar
1 cup water

Peel the ginger and cut into 4 or 5 pieces. Place in a saucepan with the sugar and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved and syrup has slightly thickened. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Take out the large ginger pieces and strain to remove any smaller bits. Store in the refrigerator.

Whiskey Double Ginger
2 oz whiskey
1 oz ginger syrup
ginger ale

In a double old-fashioned glass, pour whiskey and ginger syrup over ice. Top with ginger ale.

The ratio of this is totally up to you, however I recommend the following. A medium priced whiskey is fine, especially with the ginger ale. Go with Jim or Jack or even Evan Williams. You can just spoon a little ginger syrup onto whiskey on the rocks, and then I'd recommend something nice like Makers or Knob Creek. Never ever use SoCo. It is acceptable on in college when doing SoCo and lime shots.

(Additionally: when at college bars, do not order a whiskey and coke with anything other than shelf liquor. You are wasting your money ordering Makers that is then completely diluted. No Southern girl is impressed.)

i'll fly away...

Upcycled vintage brooch with chain and vintage faux-pearls.

Took a bunch of photos a week ago but haven't listed anything yet. My good camera is broken so I have borrowed my mom's and it doesn't take very good photos. Most are unusable, like the one above.

wooden jewelry

While glittery costume jewelry will someday be my downfall, sometimes I choose to embrace my hippie side. Or more likely, I like to contrast a fancy dress with more simplistic but still bold jewelry so I don't feel ridiculously overdressed during the day. On those days, I love wearing jewelry made from natural materials. Wood is a material I will never master, so I'll have to keep collecting from other artisans. I have built up a bit of a collection myself and prefer (like with most things) to buy from individual crafters or fair-trade coops. Or to buy/ be given vintage pieces. Here is a sampling of my personal collection:


The first is a pair of handmade earrings I purchased at the Ithaca Farmer's Market. I can't remember the name of the man who made them, but I love their shape and the marbling of the wood. The bracelets I found at my grandmothers. She thinks they were my great-aunt's. She had spent a lot of time in Mexico. They have a bit of wearing so I typically wear them mixed up with a large gold bangle. The last photograph is a necklace I made with a large wood and gold vintage belt buckle. Look for it listed in my store later- this is the first time I've gotten around to photographing it!

My other favorite peice of wooden jewelry is a bracelet made of large flat wooden beads with pieces of mother of pearl inlaid, but the MOP kept photographing weird so I haven't posted pictures. Both are items my mother purchased at a fair trade store. (I don't know why I couldn't get a good photograph, and the images above looked much better before I tried to post them... advice?)

Here's a few pieces I wouldn't mind adding to my collection:

These bracelets from Nkuku are absolute showstoppers. Luckily for me and sadly for you, dear readers, these bracelets are out of stock.

Nkuku is a certified 100% fair trade shop (World Fair Trade Organization and the British Association for Fair Trade Shops.) "All our products are inspired by the traditional skills of artisans throughout Africa and India. The name ‘Nkuku’ was borrowed from a village in Zambia. We combine contemporary designs with age-old techniques, natural materials and sustainable methods of production to ensure each product is truly exceptional."


Sourcing of wood can be an issue so I love these recycled wood earrings found on Etsy by inbloomdesigns, who has a whole section on recycled and repurposed wood jewelry. I especially love the story on these- made from the wood from a clementine box!

first i need a house

Then I need a yard.

Then I will make these (from Design*Sponge)

Then I will throw amazing parties in my yard.

I love love love blue glass, and wonder where there bottles came from. I try not to buy wine in blue bottles since many places don't recycle blue glass, unless I have a good idea of what to do with the bottle.

These torches would be the perfect solution- reuse, repurpose, renew an item that cannot be recycled conventionally.