Adding To The Summer List...

Was killing some time and somehow ended up in Anthropologie for a "quick" look. I saw this dress in the June catalog, and just thought I give it a try...ugh..big mistake...because now I can't stop thinking about it! I usually don't go for their dresses since I think they're a little too girly for me, but I think THIS dress is made for ME!!It has a asymmetrical draped piece on the front going from top left to bottom right. It's interesting, playful, comfortable, and super cute...most importantly, I look awesome in it! (I don't want to brag or anything...)
But I NEED this for the summer!
I can wear it over jeans...or with colorful tights...or just as a dress. I can wear it to the beach, to a bbq/picnic, to the movies, to the stores, to the library, to a cafe or a restaurant, even to work!(which is more like at home)...but,man! what a versatile dress, RIGHT? I can pretty much wear this EVERYDAY...that's how damn versatile this dress is!
Sigh.....I want to wear you....THIS bad!!

Simple Justice

I recently flew on Virgin America for the first time coming back from SF. Their planes are crazy...a little silly, but entertaining nonetheless! I wished I had a reason to try the absinthe cocktail drink they served on the plane....but I was by myself, so it would of been a little weird to do that. :P
I ended up listening to the French electro house duo, Justice, and it just reminded me how much I love their D.A.N.C.E video. Even though it's pretty old, I still love the video AND the song!
Just thought I share this.

Have a great weekend!

Summer Accessories

Found this online shop with great clothes and accessories called OOGA BOOGA (cute) via Me Melodia.   It's been SUPER nice in Seattle and FINALLY the perfect time to ride around on bikes! I'm loving this little canvas bike pouch with nice leather details by Alexandra Cassaniti.

This backpack/purse is pretty awesome, too. 

So summery feeling!

BRITE lite RESULTS!!

Hello! We apologize for the delay!! We held our first BRITE event on May, 16. We FINALLY went through the photos (I took 400+ photos!) and can now share with everyone what a fun event it was!

Just to backtrack a little, Dylan & I and Christa & Nin (from Cafe Weekend) teamed up to organize this design charrette (and a trial run) with a mission to start connecting people through interactive and spontaneous design activities. We're calling it the BRITE Collective.

For this first event: BRITE lite, LOCAL DESIGNERS & CRAFTERS teamed up to participate in a spontaneous 4 hour community scavenger hunt/design-build to create ready-made lamps from household and second hand materials.
There was a good turn out with 18 people (total of 9 teams) who participated that day. We asked people to bring materials to share with everyone and there were a great mix of lamps that came from it. We gave every team a BRITE lite kit...which I had a little too much fun with. :D
Everyone also got a special wooden BRITE badge! Our plan is to do that for every event! ...I mean , who wouldn't want to be rewarded for such accomplishments! A simple badge is a perfect item that says "HEY! I accomplished something today and that's a wonderful feeling! (blank stare and a giant stiff smile)" And THAT's pretty darn special, wouldn't you agree? We were all about making this event special. Christa even went and got some cheerful balloons!
It was a beautiful Seattle day so we were able to open the garage door at the Hiawatha community space and some people worked outside or walked to the nearby Goodwill Dearborn to hunt for interesting materials for their lights.
Nin and I were in charge of documentenging the event...we followed people around trying taking candid shots capturing their process at the Goodwill. And in the process of taking photos, I crept around like a creepy stalker trying not to get noticed....and also trying to stop myself from shopping. That was hard.Oh and look! Here's Steve with his new Friend! Apparently he decided to replace his hand with a rubber dinosaur head instead. Oh! all the wonderful things you can find!
It was so inspiring to creative energy in the room and see everyone brainstorming, sketching, playing ,and exploring with materials. It was just amazing to see everyone use ordinary things and turn it into something extraordinary!!

Okay I'll stop with the talking.. On with the results!

Here are some lights people made in 4 hours! Drum roll.....

Pair of hanging lights made with walnut edge banding and paper cups by Lindsay & Sena.

Table lamp made with stainless thermos and glass coffee pot by Joelle & Steve. Hanging shade made with wire ring, staples, and letter envelopes by Mat & Dylan. Table lamp wit braille paper and Stevie Wonder record at the base by Christine & Nick. Hanging chandelier made with mix match of magazine organizers by Chika & Cat.Come see TONS more photos here to see the entire process! The lights will also be exhibited at JOIN's Ctrl Alt Design show at Ouch My Eye, beginning June 12th, with the opening starting from 7-midnight.

If you like what you're seeing and would like to know about our future events, please join our BRITE facebook !

Thanks to everyone who participated. It was a very fun day and great way to kick off the BRITE Collective!!

MUSIC: Phoenix

I'm excited to hear Phoenix's new album, Wolfgang Amadeus. Yet another wonderful French rock band. I fell in love with them couple years ago because of the song, Too Young. (I'd put that song on every mix I made!)
I love their slight 80's optimistic sounds and beats!! Makes me wanna jump around!

You can hear some of their songs, here.


I'm SUPER bummed that they're not stopping in Seattle during their tour to the west coast though. They're gonna play in SF and LA end of June! Totally unfair...You luck bastards who lives there!
Perhaps in the future they'll come play in Seattle....at our house. That'd be sweet....

Scene From Above

Check out these series of amazing photos by Andreas Gefeller. From afar they look like abstract paintings, but as you look closer they're photos of various floor surfaces shot from above. It's from an perspective that one rarely sees...unless you cut a hole from the floor above looking straight down...or if you have an outer body experience. One or the other....which ever works the best I suppose.

I really enjoy seeing the subtleties of the colors where it indicates areas that are more worn than others...

Totally wabi....AND totally sabi.

I Pea-ed My Plants!

I have to credit Jared for this blog titled... This was a joke that Jared had made about my FIRST pea that I grew! That guy think he's a comedian or something....
But this is the first and ONLY one that grew since end of March when we started planting.
I like how you can see the inside! SO CUTE!
But the problem is that there's only ONE....and I worked too hard to want to eat it....quite a dilemma.Also, here's the recent update on the other plants....it's been almost 2 months since we started planting! The cheery and heirloom tomatoes are getting quite tall...at least 2ft tall now! We'll be transplanting them soon. Oh boy!! I just hope it'll yield more than one so I can at least keep one and eat the other!

Google Map Typography

Over the course of a year and half, Rhett Dashwood found these aerial views in Australia from Google maps of buildings and landscapes in shapes of A to Z. How neat!

BRITE LITE Showcase

We're gearing up for our debut BRITE LITE design charrette this Saturday! WOO HOO!!
I have to say, I'm getting pretty excited myself!!

WHAT: LOCAL DESIGNERS & CRATERS will team up together to participate in a spontaneous 4 hour community scavenger/ design-build to create ready-made lamps from house-hold and second hand materials.
There will be 20 some participants for this event, so it should be fun to see what everyone comes up with!

We'd also like to invite non-participants to come and see the results of everyone's ready-made lamps from 3-5pm.
WHEN: Saturday MAY 16th 3-5pm
WHERE: ARTSPACE HIAWATHA LOFTS/ in the Jackson Place neighborhood
843 Hiawatha Place South, Seattle WA 98144
WHY: Leave inspired to create something new, sign up to receive our future event updates, and get some espresso & treats at your new neighborhood spot café weekend.

If you're in Seattle, stop by and say hi! We'd love to say hi back!
Happy Friday!

Best Regards, Christa Thomas / Nin Truong/ Jean Lee/ Dylan Davis/ JoinDesignSeattle/ cafe weekend/ WKND/ Jackson Place/ Hiawatha Lofts

If Prince and Pee-Wee had a kid...

Found this (via Kitsch Cafe) and saw this great video by Sliimy!..(yes...yet another stop-motion!!) I just love his hybrid Prince & Pee-Wee pop, retro, colorful style. The video, the song and him... just adorable.
Sliimy also did the cover of Womenizer...and I love his version way more!