All posts tagged: design

burning man.

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The Oakland Museum of California curated an exhibit called “No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man.” Since I had many unanswered questions about Burning Man (like, what is it exactly?) and I have no plans to go to Burning Man in my lifetime (I don’t do camping), this was the exhibit for me! There are no spectators at Burning Man because everyone is a participant. The 10 Principles of Burning Man sums up the experience quite nicely. The exhibit begins with Burning Man origin stories and fashion! Then, lots of art! There were video visuals, a sound bath/performance, photography… My most favorite piece were these origami mushrooms that expand and contract with human interaction (participants step on a pad to activate the mushroom!). Gifting is one of the Burning Man principles. There was a creative station where you could create a gift (we made dinosaur jewelry with Ace Monster Toys), place it in the Gift-o-Matic (super cool, btw), and you can take one gift in exchange (my friend got a beaded bracelet and I got …

we be stampin’.

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My friend Laura B. (of laurabsewin) and I had a stamping night. We carved out stamps and hand stamped some fabric for future sewing projects. But first she whipped us up a meal from Hello Fresh. Craft energy! Then crafts! It had been four and half years since I picked up my block printing supplies. I really should do this more often. Carving out the stamps is super satisfying (like picking a scab!) and I enjoy seeing patterns and designs come to life. Here’s my materials list: carving blocks fabric ink linoleum cutters foam brushes paper plates paper pencil fabric, pre-washed brayer and printing plates (optional) First we drew designs for our stamps. I was initially thinking gingko leaf but that got hard real fast. I ended up carving out a monstera leaf and a trio of half circles – one solid, one striped, and one rainbow. Laura cut out a sea lard, a triangle, and a 3D cube. You can draw directly on the carving block, or you can draw on a piece of …

paint sesh.

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Hey universe, I want to be a surface designer. Just putting that out there as a life goal. In the meantime here are some watercolor doodles from recent painting sessions. I received a special request to create lantana-inspired watercolor paintings. I tried painting them from different angels. I also played around with painting succulent-like images. This was a fun color blending exercise. I love the portability of watercolor. I have a small pouch I carry with my Case for Making watercolor palette and brushes, plus a small jar for water. Unlike all my other crafty interests, watercolor doesn’t require electricity or a lot of space. It’s so convenient! On another watercolor outing, I used this cool postcard watercolor paper deck I got at Jenny Lemons. They are cut to postcard size and the backs are preprinted with postcard address lines (plus a spot for a stamp!). Brilliant! These paintings were inspired by the nearby plant life in the Elmwood neighborhood of Berkeley. Create on the go much? Share your favorite creative outings below!

las vegas: art and design.

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This year’s girls trip brought me and my friend to Las Vegas. I used to visit a lot as a kid (my grandma liked celebrating birthdays here). I never really understood why people liked to come back, but now I realize it’s because you can’t possibly see the whole thing in one weekend. It’s like Disneyland. On this trip I was really fascinated by all the newer casino designs and attention to detail, and all the art! Here’s my Las Vegas Art and Design Lookbook! Our Hotel (Planet Hollywood) Even the tub tile was art. Chandeliers We spent a lot of time in the Cosmopolitan because they had all the food we were interested in consuming. But I’d stay for the chandeliers! Hotel Lounges The Cosmopolitan also had this cute Alice in Wonderland themed lounge. We spent two meal times here. My favorite detail: the cat on the ceiling. Ceilings, Walls, and Floors Make sure to look up, down, and all over for design inspo. Shopping This is by far my favorite H&M. There was …

projects lately.

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More fun custom projects on the horizon! Here are a few of my recent special projects. I made a fall wreath for my friend Nina of Gooseberry Designs. She was sad she couldn’t make my last wreath workshop, so she ordered one instead! Loving this colorway. Tally Sue of Shweet Shtuf requested a “Sweet” pennant for her visit to Candytopia! Plus, all of her sweet tooth plush adventures! She also ordered a Portland Trail Blazer giant pennant for her next trip to Portland. When I made the logo it was too big for the pennant so I turned it into a hair clip/brooch. Two custom orders in one! Crossing my fingers this one makes it on TV! 😉 A booth visitor at one of my events ordered a super special Warriors wall hanging. The convo went something like: Customer: “You can’t do the Filipino sun logo with the bridge, can you?” Hubby: “Yea, she can do that.” Me: [Looks at logo] “Yea, I can cut that.” 😎 [Inside] OMG, that’s gonna take forever. And it did. This …

le petit elefant.

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Yays! I visited my friend Genevieve – owner and designer extraordinaire at le petit elefant – at her first open studios event of the year. It was super major cute! Her space is set up like a shop and is also where she creates and does all her biznaz tasks. I love seeing Genevieve’s work at crafty events, but at her studio you get to see the entire collection – shelves and shelves of awesome! Greetings for every occasion, original art, prints, books, … And my fave section: the sticker table! Oh look, more stickers! And more cards and stamps! I grabbed a few items to add to my collection, and a few cards and gift items for loved ones. Can’t wait to gift all the cute! Until next visit! Have you visited any maker studios lately? Share below!

take your wifey to work day.

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I finally visited my Hubby at his work! 🙂 I got a badge and everything. Sure, I still don’t quite understand what Salesforce does, but my Hubby works at the cafe there so I got to explore, meet the cute characters, and enjoyed a Tuxedo Mocha with a view.   The cafe was crazy busy and loud up until closing time which keeps Hubs on his feet all day. There’s cold brew on tap, as well as tea and snacks up for grabs. The vending machines are filled with lots of tech…and Twix, too. Also cool – each quarter the cafes feature a new coffee roaster who staff can meet on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. This quarter’s brew: AKA Coffee.   Once Hubs got off work he took me around to visit all the cute character statues. First, we visited the lobby of Salesforce West, which reminded me of New York Times Square because of the giant bright TV lights.   I like all the nature brought into the building — the plants, …

heath.

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I went on the Heath Ceramics tour – so impressive and so inspiring! I have been a fan of Heath for some time and dream of having a complete Heath dining set one day. I love the simplicity and color palettes. Learning about the history of the company and seeing the entire process makes me even more appreciative of the craftsmanship that goes into each piece. Our tour guide shared the company’s origin story then took us around the factory, starting with the clay mixing room. The factory aims to be zero-waste; any scrap clay gets sent back upstream in the process. There are so many steps in making a Health piece. Some pieces begin with a mold… Larger pieces begin on these spinny cutting machines… The pieces sit to cure, get sanded and glazed by experts, then hang out in the oven. All of the pieces get inspected and triaged into firsts (for sale!), seconds (for sale on sale!), and thirds (not for sale, but used for construction and other projects!). Heath began as …

Etsy HQ.

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Is craft greeking out a thing? I was so excited to snag a tour at Etsy HQ in Brooklyn. I’ve heard wonderful things about their office space and had to see it for myself. Much of the furniture and wall art was made by Etsy sellers – some pieces commissioned for the office, other pieces made by some of the staff. I brought my own photo props (kekeke) / a small gift for our hostess – Kathryn! Yay! Most of the office space is open (i.e., no cubicles) and there are lots of community spaces to work. Once a week they all have lunch together, too – a gathering they call Eatsy. I particularly like their fun seating like this hanging egg chair.   There’s a little herb garden and amazing rooftop views of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan. Other fun features included kombucha on tap, a plaque designating the space a zero-emissions building, and a free photobooth! Also, I thought this was a nice touch — you can give feedback on your day when you …

shop feature: morningtide.

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I’m all about being in-the-know when new businesses open in the community. When I heard Morningtide was in the works, you know I was all over it! This was another one of those ‘I found out on Instagram’ moments. The owners posted sneak peeks into the shop before doors opened. I couldn’t wait for the soft opening. Morningtide carries high-quality women’s clothing and accessories, home goods, body products, and select food items (like QUIN candies; mmm, my favorite caramels…). You could tell the owners have a personal relationship with each artisan by the thoughtful ways they display their product and highlight the artisan’s story. I visited during their soft opening and met one of the owners, Lisa Fontaine. And get this, I was their third customer! So cute! They were serving homemade red velvet mini cupcakes to celebrate, too. Yum! I can’t wait to see the shop grow and continue to celebrate independent artists! Some notes: The Morningtide grand opening party is on Saturday, September 16 and their online shop launches in early 2018.