ideas - inspiration - stuff

Sunday, September 29, 2013

before and after

another great find from the braderie de lilles in the north of france: a vase in the shape of a head, with holes for flowers or foliage. very reminiscent of a chia pet, only better. here's the before-and-after.


Friday, September 27, 2013

budgerigars by leila jeffreys

i just stumbled upon the wondrous budgerigar portraits by fine arts photographer leila jeffreys. they struck a cord with me as i really love budgies - though she photographs other birds as well. our budgie janneke in belgium was a part of my family for thirteen years when i was growing up. currently, blue and grey take up residence in our living room. they are very social birds who love to be around people, and they can be loud too - when things get out of hand, their cage gets covered by what we call the shut-up quilt. it works.




Sunday, September 22, 2013

the theater of insects

completely by chance, i stumbled upon a copy of jo whaley's book "the theater of insects" (2008, chronicle books) at a yard sale this weekend and i am so inspired. i absolutely adore the whimsical and poetic little still lifes, created by this san francisco artist, especially the ones that incorporate vintage victorian portraits. check out her website: http://www.jowhaley.com/.







Friday, September 20, 2013

alphabet de la brodeuse

this little book with embroidery templates for letters and monograms has been in my family's possession for as long as i can remember. i have always loved it, not only because i like the idea of personalizing items with a letter or monogram, these patterns also appeal to me on a purely graphic basis. it also recently occurred to me that these embroidery templates really have that retro 8-bit aesthetic that's so big again among kids.... what comes around, goes around...







Friday, September 13, 2013

fly ashtray

i seem to have started yet another collection: fly ashtrays, a real category apparently in the world of tobacciana. i found my first ones at various flea markets, and am happy to report i paid nowhere near what these critters go for on ebay. my plan is to collect enough to mount on the wall all around a door frame. fly on the wall.... get it?




Tuesday, September 10, 2013

yellow!

here's some color inspiration, by way of these silk spools i picked up at the braderie de lilles two weeks ago. i know i am not supposed to like yellow, because i am a blonde and it doesn't work, but i don't care. someone once told me yellow is the color of insane people. i still don't care. i love all kinds of yellow - with the exception of really pale pee pee yellow, that color should be outlawed.




Sunday, September 8, 2013

armadillo

i've always been on the look-out for a vintage christopher ross animal belt buckle, his hare would be a top score. no luck so far, they're very collectable and quite expensive. so imagine my delight at finding this armadillo belt at the flea a few weeks ago. how cute is he?.... also, he was $2.


Friday, September 6, 2013

beauty

among my grandmother's collection of vintage postcards, i found these glamour shots from the twenties and thirties. somehow, this uncomplicated, fresh and pretty - almost naive - idea of beauty feels very modern right now. my grandmother once told me she used to rub rose petals on her lips as a teenager, to give them a pink hue. i love that idea, and I can picture her pouring over these images, dreaming of mary pickford, janet gaynor and carole lombard.




Sunday, September 1, 2013

braderie de lilles

we spent yesterday at the braderie de lilles, in the north of france. touted as the largest flea market of europe, it is really more of a street festival, with lots of booths selling t-shirts, socks, gadgets, and most of all.... food! in fact, the signature dish of the day is mussels, and the restaurant that has the largest pile of empty mussel shells at the end of the weekend wins some sort of prize. of course, i was mostly looking for the booths selling vintage flea-market stuff and i did find those, mostly on the outskirts of the town and away from the commercial center. here are some pictures to wet your appetite.