The ART of the JEWEL...

Alex & Lee for Proenza Schouler

Alex & Lee were well known in the early 70's for designing pieces of Art-to-Wear jewelry that incorporate intricate knotting of macramé with natural elements and found objects.

 I am obsessed.You HAVE to check out their nostalgic website, and pics of the artists in the seventies, looking amazing...

Alex & Lee here.

Werner Knaupp

Werner Knaupp chose the deep and wild sea to emulate in his mysterious paintings. Using thick layers of acrylics, his work is intense, and beautiful.

Werner Knaupp was born in 1936 and lives in Nürnberg, Germany.

See more of his work here.

Ilya Repin, The Artist's Son

The Artist’s Son - Ilya Repin

I want so badly to commission a painting like this of my son, before he get's too old.Something to pass down to the generations beyond. Such beauty...
Hope you all are having a great weekend!

See more here

Summer Night's

As temps soar high above the norm on the East Coast and in the Midwest, Seattle is having an unusually cold and sunless spring, and where I am normally outside in the back, getting our yard and patio summer-ready, (for BBQ's and evenings with friends), it's just not happening...and I am getting the backyard bug...BAD...I love this laid-back, party ready vibe goin' on here, and the Tee-Pee just makes me love it that much more.
Who is ready for some sun?

Photo- Via Brick House

Filippo Minelli - The Art of Smoke

 I love the contrast of nature and the unnatural. Almost any other bright colored object, and it wouldn't be as beautiful, but the fact that it is smoke, another natural element, makes it that much more dramatic....

 Hope you are having a great weekend!

See more here.

Kitchen's Comfort

  I once walked into a new friend's kitchen where I knew instantly, it was rarely used.There were no half eaten pie's, no tea canisters, cookie jars, or bowls full of lemons. I happened to open the fridge and there was nothing in it but sparkling water, and a few other things that were clearly there since 1984. This had nothing to do with not having money. There was not much living going on in that kitchen. I am still friend's, of course, with my friend, but not with her kitchen.  

 Via- House Beautiful

 I felt like a stranger in a strange land. My family and I spend almost every waking hour in, or around, the kitchen, eating, drinking, catching up, or cracking up. I like so many different styles of kitchens, as seen here, but mostly I just like ones that are used with the pleasures of company, the comfort of a warm beverage, or the taste and smell of something freshly baked. 

Via- Steven Gambrel

Hope you can find comfort in your kitchen.
 Have a great week!

Photo's - 1.Unknown 2. House Beautiful 3. Unknown 4. Steven Gambrel

Anders Zorn

Anders Zorn, Mrs. Lucy Turner Joy, 1897

Anders Zorn, Frieda Schiff, 1894

Zorn made his reputation as a portrait painter. Fashionable people of wealth on both sides of the Atlantic vied for sittings, knowing that the result would be a picture less theatrical than a portrait by Boldini but more vivid than one by Sargent. Zorn often gave his portraits a sense of immediacy by depicting the subject as if he or she were just entering the room, thus directly addressing the viewer.

The colors, the dresses, the brush strokes, pretty much everything about 

these painting's are amazing. 

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Song of the Week

Are 5 Designers Better Than One?

 I am curious about whether or not many of you would prefer the idea of a
 collaborative design effort, or if one designer in your home feels better to you? 
I kind of like the idea of hearing several different opinions telling me what is, 
and what is not, working in my home. This seems like a fresh approach, 
and while I am sure there are a few more design teams 
that work in a collaborative way such as this, 
Commune Design has risen to the top.

Based out of Los Angeles, their client list is impressive. Ace Hotels, Barneys New York, 
Heath Ceramics, Chez Panisse, and Opening Ceremony, to name a few. 
I love their fresh take on California cool...

This is what they have to say: Our design process is a collaborative effort. Whether the project is a commercial space, a retail environment, a restaurant, a residence, packaging, corporate identity, or a website we approach it holistically. Our diverse backgrounds allow us to see the same project from many angles and to offer solutions that reflect this open-eyed attitude. 

All Photo's by Commune Design

Montana, Part Two.

As we were on our 8 hour trek through Yellowstone, I felt kinda guilty roaring through the woods with snowmobiles, but we were as respectful as we could be, and stayed on a path (along with the buffalo). We tried to stop and take in the wild silence as much as possible...

 Hot water into cold...making it warm enough for fish all year round...

After Yellowstone we went to a tiny town where there are hot springs and snowboarding, and small town gems like taxidermy, and tiny bars called "Happy Endings"...

 Zebra and Crocodile, I am guessing came from an Oil barons private taxidermy collection

held in his gigantic library, just outside of Dallas? What is your guess?

 There were so few people snowboarding on this mountain....In the BEST snow...

It was heaven...

Oh, yeah, I forgot about Old Faithful...

It was great, but not the highlight of the trip, by far...

  In the middle of this tiny town, 

there was "Happy Endings" Casino and bar, where life is great. 

              I am guessing there were some not so happy endings, at Happy Endings...

   

Photo's by me