Cool Gang of Wool

This isn't your typical old lady yarn store filed with the scent of potpourri..... these ladies from Wool and The Gang had created a shop in making a yarn store and the act of knitting totally cool again!....not just ordinary cool....but hipster cool....
They offer bunch of more than stylish pieces in DIY kits including yarn, kitting needles, instructions, and all the coolness you'll ever need. And especially seeing their clean & cool branding designed by Be-Poles...it's just so hard to resist!

This is a perfect project for the winter and reason to stay cozy at home, knit, and drink some (or a lot) spiced wine! But of course if you want more of an instant gratification, they also have already made pieces you can just purchase! What bunch of cool smarty-pants they are!

Cardboard...The New Metal

These wonderful cardboard sculptures by Chris Gilmour proves that you don't need a lot of money (just A LOT of time...and talent) to make all the things you want in the world....









Via Anthology

L&G Lost in Translation on Marie Claire Maison!

L&G's servers got mentioned on Marie Claire Maison blog! They wrote bunch of stuff in French....I wonder what they wrote....
Here's to google translate....

Exit () COVERED!

It all started with a crucial question: What color, salad servers? They took what color?

Let me explain. Is what you've ever pick up a virus of the fever that makes you for hours and between two bavouilles on the pillow, you done spouting things without rhyme or reason? (There, there must be fewer players who say yes, otherwise I'll feel very lonely ...) Anyway. Me, it happened to me once and it seems that I posed the above question (with a hint of annoyance in his voice too!) Needless to say, this story haunted me long (partly because that 'I have been reused many between the dish and the cheese - when the salad, so) Now, I can still confidently say that I found my happiness.

These covered for the service are published by Ladies & Gentlemen, a design agency founded by John Lee and Dylan Davis. and to answer my own question: I want every color!

Apparently Google even translated my name to "John Lee"...so to all the French people who read the post, Dylan & I are one fabulous gay couple!
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UPDATE: I asked my French brother-in-law about the post title which I assume "Exit () Covered!" got a little lost in Google translation... But here's a better explanation from an actual French speaking person:
"sortez les couverts : put out the utensils. Couvert stands for utensil for sure. Sortez can be translated by come out, put out, going out ... buttttt there are playing on the words. Writting les in parantheses is funny. sortez couvert means go out protected (or stay protected/wear condom)... these french people, even when speaking of utensil they need to put a sex feeling in it !!"

Ahh...It all makes sense now...
Oh....wait a minute! So the part about "finding my happiness" means...oh dear...
So to add to the idea that Dylan & I are a gay couple to all the French readers, we're also the designers who makes serving utensils that also serve as sex toys...just perfect.

Brite's Take Out Take Off

As we did ourselves out of a blog-hole...here's a little glimpse at our very first official event in the new Brite space on Jackson and 7th here in Seattle.

Our goal was to introduce people to our new neighborhood in a fun, engaging way. Quick, what's the most fun, engaging thing you can think of?... If you said "FOOD!" you're 100% correct!

Here's how it worked:



Our lucky guests got to mingle and draw maps of the area from memory. Everyone's knowledge varied a lot...just what we were hoping for.



After mapping, we divided everyone into teams of 3-4 members and assigned them a two block section of the International District. People then each picked two adjectives from a hat.

The mission: go to your area and find a single dish that can be described by the two adjectives.



The stores in the area ranged from restaurants, grocery stores, medicine shops, to bakeries...

After finding their dishes, everyone brought their take-out back to the Brite space, where everyone shared stories from their part of the neighborhood and gorged on the buffet of delicious treats. What a way to kick off the Brite space?

For more, check out the Brite blog and flickr

See the rest of the photos of the event HERE!

L&G on Oh Joy Eats!

L&G servers on Oh Joy Eats!
I absolutely love everything that Joy shares...but I have to be careful and not read her food blog too often since I just find myself getting really hungry every time I read it and want to eat everything...including my computer....

The Not-so-little "Little Winter Market"

When I heard from Abby (of Abbytrysagain) who's co-organizing with Chelsea (of Frolic!) this amazing looking "Little Winter Market" I was more than excited and impressed. Especially when you put two super talented gals together in making it all happen...you know that even with them calling it little, the result is going be mind blowing! This "Little" market is beyond little when you see the quality of work from the 20+ artist/craftpeople who will be participating!

Date:
November 6th 11am-6pm
November 7th 11am-5pm

Location:
The Cleaners at The Ace Hotel SW 10th and Stark, Portland, ORI can't wait! We're actually gonna take a little road trip there to hang out, scout for shops in Portland, eat good food and check out this lovely market and support our friends......
I can already tell that I'll be drooling over everything...food, things, bikes, people, everything...you name it.
There's no stopping me. :P

So Warm and Cozy....

Love everything this lady makes and comes up with...this new body wrap is no exception.

"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!

Sweet leather shoes & bags by ABK

I've always secretly fantasized about making my own leather sandals or shoes...the closest shoe-making I've done so far are some simple fabric slippers and this felt baby slipper. But seeing these handmade leather shoes and bags by Alya B. Kazakevich of ABK makes me want to just make some awesome leather shoes...but most likely it will not ever look as good as these! I'd like to covet one of these beautifully made shoes or bags especially for how incredibly made they are!