L&G at Sight Unseen Shape Shop Popup

We're excited to have some special new necklaces for Sight Unseen's (one of our fav design blogs) upcoming popup shop at Creatures of Comfort!

 These are times when I wished we lived closer than the total opposite side of the states. :(

But if you're in NY, go check it out!  The shop will be up from from April 9th to May 6th.
See more event info and RSVP HERE.

Defenders of America!

Go check out THREAT by AmDC  that's all about weapon of defense in every shape & form happening on March 9th.
A show about weapons? Hey, don't judge! This is America we're talking about here!

All this is more about encouraging designers from all over America to all come together and have fun designing & create cool shiz.

Here's what we made....
Hit & Strangle Stick

Yup! You guessed it! You hit, then strangle! It's EASY!

This defense object is a sleek hitting stick made with the use aluminum and copper tubing and fishing rope inspired by dog catchers.

The simple telescoping action allows the defender to tighten the rope by pushing the aluminum tube forward and therefore can capture (and strangle) the invader from afar.

And now...in REAL action!

TAKE THAT!! 
....That'll show you to never walk in the house with your shoes on!
Below is a sneak peak of what's also gonna be in the show. 

(Photos provided by NYT)

The show opens this FRIDAY, MARCH 9th (runs from March 9 to 15)
At Present Company, 29 Wythe Street (North 13th Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Also read this great interview on NYT with Kiel Mead  about the concept of the show
....and other intense topics of discussions like, jail beating weapons, squirt guns with hydrochloric acid, and our dark sides.

Oh...This is gonna be goooooood.

Object of Desire

I'm excited about Charlie Schuck's upcoming Object show happening on JUNE 17th!
It's a beautifully well-curated & carefully hand selected collection of objects showcased in his own studio. It's a mix of objects by local artists/designers such as Iacoli & McAllister, &c., Chadhaus, Emmet Smith, Free Time Industries, Far4, with unique one-of-a-kind vintage/antique found treasures....
pretty much everything I love and can't resist looking.....

USE ME show: OPENS TODAY!

We got our pieces in the show!! Woo Hoo!
This will be our first time participating in a design show in NY!! We're stoked!! But sad that we won't be able to be part of the excitement in person.. bum bums....
It's gonna be a pretty amazing group of designers and I'm 101% sure there will be pretty amazing stuff, there, too!
...but here's our crazy shipping mess & packaged items before shipping them out to NY...which took me all night to makeshift a custom sized box from scratch.....who does that??
I think I ended up using every types of packing material possible for this box.
It was seriously a total piece of work in itself. :P
...but i think the people at AmDC will probably forever hate me because it's probably going to be a total hassle to unwrap it.....saaaaawweeeee~!!

We'll reveal the pieces under all those mysterious foam, bubble wraps, and cardboard pieces soon!!


USE ME show: May 13-May 16 During ICFF

For its sixth show since its founding in 2008, the American Design Club presents “Use Me”: an exhibition by 45 young American designers of unapologetically functional objects, each of which exhibits a strong sense of purpose, intelligent use of materials, and the ability to do one thing extremely well.

Location/Time/Date:

The American Design Building at Great Jones Lumber, 45 Great Jones Street
Friday May 13 – Monday May 16, 12PM to 7PM

The show’s participants include:
Real Ok Design (above), Alex Chatham, The Fawn Conspiracy, Alexandra Snook, Free Time Industries, Biodidactic Design, Andrew O. Hughes, Annie Lenon + Valerie Gnaedig, Bec Brittain, B. Light Design, Benjamin Harrison Bryant, Brendan Keim, Brendan Ravenhill, C McKeough Unlimited, Grain, Chuck Routhier, Colleen & Eric, Conor Klein, Craighton Berman Design, Daniel Michalik Furniture Design, David Tsai, Debra Folz Design, Ladies & Gentlemen Studio, Emily Rothschild, sit n damico, Fort Standard, Iacoli & Mcallister, Isaac Yu Chen, Jen Turner, Jess Fügler, Jill Peterson, Joey Roth, Kyle Daevel Design, studioooij, Swinton, Michelle Weinberg surface design, nonlinear Studio, Patrick Townsend, Peter J Pless Design, Reed Wilson, Raven & Boar / Hivemindesign, Steph Mantis Design, T M V Design, Tim Liles, Thomas Im, and Formed and Found.

Some ideas brewing...

....for AmDC's upcoming "USE ME" show for ICFF.

Made our submissions and is crossing our fingers...hope we make it in!

Japan sight/ taste / find: 3/6

This is start of the our trip with the series of 3 photos highlighting our daily discoveries where each photo represents an interesting sighting, some yummy food we tasted, and things we found.

The day we arrived...

SIGHT:
At 林檎の木 Ringo No Ki Gallery in 千葉 Chiba checking out our friend Atsushi who makes Gunung bike & lifestyle accessories.

TASTE:
Got to taste these beautiful seasonal 桜もちSakura Mochi wrapped in shiso leaves as the first thing we ate after landing.

FIND:
Handmade steel tape dispensers by a local artisan in 市川 Ichikawa.

"Crafting A Meaniful Home" Book Party Report

I had a total blast helping Meg set up the show for her book launching party at Rare Device for Crafting a Meaningful Home! Meg & Kate had the idea to cover up the gallery area in the shop with all cardboard sheets. We were cutting, glue, stapling cardboard sheets like mad. It totally felt like school again....ooh how I miss that adrenalin rush fearing that things aren't not gonna turn out or that we'd have enough time to finish.... and the delirious feeling from working so intensely and then have anxiety dreams the very night. Oh! How I miss all that!

Perhaps that's the workaholic side of me talking....

But to be honest, there IS something fun about working with bunch people and doing hands on work like that! We managed to pull it off in 2 days and even sucked my cousin in to help! Thanks cuz! :D

Here's what the cardboard covered space looked like after we finished! They even made cardboard side tables, mantles, coffee cups and a typewriter! Super cute!

Below are the projects displayed from the book:

From Left to right: Wood Burned Family Crest by Chika Eustace & I / Vintage Fabric Display by Cathy Callahan / Rockite Bottle Vases by Anna Corpron & Sean Auyeung / Locker Hook Rug by Christine Schmidt / Family Banner by Samantha Hahn / Family Teepee by Billie Lopez & Tootie Maldonado.

From Left to right: Printed Folklore chair by Diana Fayt / Needlepoint Racquets by Amy Holbrook / Filipino Folk Art Replica by Meg Mateo & Marvin Ilasco / Wallpaper Luminarias by Chrstiana Coop & Aimee Lagos / Gold leafed lamp by Joy Deangdeelert Cho / Jewelry Tree by Carolina Saxl / Decoupaged Plates by Lisa Congdon /Braided Rag Vessels by Sian Keegan / Travel A-Z poster by Anh-Minh Le.

Upper Left: a table full of treats that I almost O.D.-ed on. Upper center: Lisa Wong Jackson from Good On Paper design & Joy from Oh Joy! Bottom left: Meg, Meg's extra super helper Dianne, & I. Bottom center: Rena Tom who runs Rare Device with Lisa Congdon. Bottom Right: Lorena of Petit Collage's little one doing what I was doing....hovering over the food table with food shoved in my mouth.

Here's me by my (mini version of) Mega-Doily rug...I had to make a smaller one so it'd fit the space better. And if I may say so myself... I think the mini version actually looks pretty cute!! :)

You can see the rest of photos from the book party here!

ICFF Preview TONIGHT!

Our friends from JOIN Design Seattle are gearing up for International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in NYC from May 15-18. We wish we could go to NYC just to check it out in person!! Unfortunately we're missing it again...sigh.
But lucky for us, these 7 design firms below have thoughtfully planned a preview party in Seattle TONIGHT for the less fortunate people like us who cannot attend the show. Woo Hoo!!

+ KERF
+Yuri Kinoshita
+ far4
+ Iacoli & Mcallister
+ 16th Workshop
+ urbancase
+ graypants

THURSDAY, APRIL 29TH
6-9PM
5813 AIRPORT WAY SOUTH in Georgetown

You say Hello and I say Goodbye

This sounds like a fantastic print show!

:: SPRING 2010: GOODBYE EDITION ::

OPENING NIGHT: Thursday, April 29, 2010, 7:00-8:30pm
Parnassus Cafe in the UW School of Art Basement

'Goodbye' Limited Edition Hello Posters will be on display in Parnassus Cafe through May 2010

Poster will be sold in person opening night for an incredible price of $10 each.
All proceeds will benefit local charities. Get full detail, here.

Brought to you by the UW visual communication graduates, Ben Shown and Alanna MacGowan. They first initiated the "HELLO Poster Show" last year exhibiting over 30 silkscreened wonderful prints inspired by the greeting 'hello.' as a fundraising event.

Here are some of my favs from last year. You can see all HELLO prints here.

Some weekend events this Saturday

There's couple of fun things going on this weekend....plus the weather is supposed to be nice!!

1. HENRY ART GALLERY:
Champagne Truffle: Henry Gift Shop project #6 (the final project)

Tea Party reception, March 27, 2-4:30pm, open now through April 11

Champagne Truffles with Maki Tamura, Nicholas Nyland, Jennifer Campbell, Ian Toms and me, Saya Moriyasu. 5 artists along with Matthew Offenbacher transformed the space with wallpaper, live webcam of a cat colony, videos and precious belongings. Feel free to come and hang out in the space, eat lunch, watch the kitties and write in the journal.

Henry Art Gallery
University of Washington
15th Ave NE and NE 41st
Seattle, WA 98195
(206)543-2280 phone

2. HIAWATHA ARTIST PLACE:
Spring Open House with 4 floors of resident artists, 3 bands and food & drinks to keep you happy!

Open House, March 27, 2-8pm

peruse the Hiawatha Artists Lofts open studios 3pm-6pm

mingle with the 60+ residents & their neighborhood

support the Hiawatha Artists in their first annual silent auction 3pm-6pm

listen to one resident musician & two visiting bands from S. California & Portland 6:30pm-8:10pm

check out the little café that caffienates our residents....amongst our other neighboring specialty businesses

enjoy the new neighborhood developments as we can walk freely down a beautiful new sidewalk

share a yellow truck from Georgetown called H A L L A V A....yes bring your cash, they will be here from 2pm until the food runs out!

Jackson Place Community, Hiawatha Artist Loft
843-855 Hiawatha Place South
Seattle, WA, 98144

Chikabird + Piano Nobile Line Debut this Weekend at UCU!

If anyone is around this weekend in Seattle, please come by and say hello and check out our exciting new line of notebooks and cardcases with Piano Nobile at the BIG holiday Urban Craft Uprising show!

December 5th & 6th, 2009
11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. both days
Seattle Center Exhibition Hall
Admission: FREE!

Isabelle and Nickolas of Piano Nobile runs a multi-faceted design studio where they could be described as professional designers and colalborators. Isabelle has a painting and printing background with a great sense of material, color, and texture. Nickolas on the other hand has an architecture background with mad building skills in all realms whether it be funiture, design build or a large scale printing table. I'm pretty sure he can build a pyramid.... I remember reading that in his resume somewhere....

Not only do they have the perfect print studio with their self-designed and welded textile printing set up, they're also just a short bike ride away from our studio in Ballard! It's almost too good to be true!
(and yes, convenience does matter...)

Did I mention that they have a dog named Bauhaus, and also owns a sweet vintage Vanagon and Volvo?
Can you stand it?!....I can barely keep my composure thinking about all their awesomeness.

So here it is! Our collaboration line with PN! Okay, so come to UCU to see all the goods in person! You can also go to our shop to check out the entire PN collaboration line.