Inspiring Images...turquoise

Fortnum & Mason logo, London - Gaetan Lee

Guess what I've been up to on my day off? Pinning images, of course! Does that count as a day off?

Here are some favorite turquoise images I've come across...

rotary phone - splityarn

Mrs. French

Kat

Marshall Field's, Chicago Great Clock, StGrundy

Mijita

Nick Saum

Kent Henderson

Kat

Lydia Abaté

LOVE TURQUOISE!

The Whimsical World of Cig Harvey

Another wonderful discovery -- London-born, Boston-based photographer Cig Harvey. Ms. Harveys unique images are dreamy and colorful with a vintage twist. And more interesting, most of her personal work is actually self portraits! Now that must be challenging.

Cigs clients include Kate Spade, Ralph Lauren, Bloomingdales, Bazaar and W Hotels to name a few. Her work has been featured in many galleries around the nation and she teaches classes Rockport College in Maine at the Art Institute of Boston.

You can view more of her exquisite photography here.

photos: Cig Harvey

Back to Reality

Just returned from a wonderful, but too short getaway in Southern California. It was so nice to see the sun and spend some "girl time" with my dear friend!

Four short days away and I forgot about our horrendous San Francisco weather. I ran out last night to get a bite to eat and couldn't help but take a little video to share a little bit of San Francisco summer with you...

On another note...


My "guess the photo" post last week was solved! Once again, the ever-so-brilliant Roseline from This is Glamorous identified this photo. It was actually part of a Photoshop contest (had me fooled) at Worth 1000. Credit: Oil Corner. Thanks Roseline...your prize is on its way!


The current issue of Vintage Magazine, Deuxieme issue has launched. For excerpts visit their website or pick up a copy at fine shops and museums, or subscribe. It's stunning!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Wanna Play Sleuth?

I've been goofing off again pinning some favorite online photos to Pinterest. I came across this magical image of a floating island from Tumblr. Once again, I can't find any image credits for it. This is becoming a running theme for me, now it's your turn to to take a stab at it.

I was thinking...I'm going out of town until the end of the week. Let's play a little game, shall we?

You help me find the photo credit for this image. First person to find it and leave a comment gets a prize/goody. Don't know what it will be, but it will be something fun. Maybe a vintage treasure!

Let's give credit where credit is due!

Happy Hunting!

Summer Inspiration: Beach Huts

I've been goofing off way too much on Pinterest and Flickr -- tagging & pinning lovely images that I come across. LOVE these photos of beach huts & cabanas. They're so festive and bright!

Wishing you all a fun-filled weekend!

{photo credits left to right} 1. Beach Hut Series 75, 2. Rust & Pink, 3. What a grey day, 4. Blocking The Beauty, 5. In perspective stripes, 6. Pink pavillion, 7. Mint green pavillion, 8. Beach Huts Series 26, 9. CARRIBEAN BEACH CABANAS, 10. yellow cabanas, miami beach, 11. Beach Hut Series 61, 12. b2379_7_8: Array of Colours, 13. Beach cabins, 14. Playa de San Lorenzo, Gijón, 15. Sparkling Morning, 16. Beach Hut Series 22

The "Little Box" I Grew Up In...

photography; Thomas Hawk

Ahh... Daly City. The small suburb about 10 miles south of San Francisco. When I was 4, my parents bought our first house in the Westlake district of Daly City.

Malvina Reynolds' song "Little Boxes" was based on a drive she took through Daly City in 1962, and became a hit for folk singer Pete Seeger in 1964:

"Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes all the same,
There's a green one and a pink one and a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same."

photography; Adrian Hayes

Now these houses above are big two-story "boxes."

Here is the "little box" that I was raised in. I just took a drive by --the first time in decades. It's now mint green...

I actually think Westlake homes, designed by developer Henry Doelger, are "Mid-Century Modern cool." The only bad thing about growing up in Daly City was the climate. Foggy summers...just like San Francisco.

Leah Giberson

You may be asking, what prompted me to do this post? Her name is Leah Giberson. I met her last week at the Pinterest meet-up held in the shop, Rare Device in San Francisco. They had a gallery of Leah's work. I nearly flipped when I saw her renderings of Westlake homes!

Leah Giberson

Leah's work is inspired by "photographs of seemingly ordinary and mundane scenes, which she then paints directly upon them to reveal the visually poignant moments that exist all around us, but are usually overlooked."

Leah Giberson

This "Westlake Green" painting (above) began with a photograph she found on Flickr taken by Adrian Hayes in a series of photos he shot of Westlake homes. (I had the pleasure of meeting him too.) Notice the brilliant detail...the house looks real.

The is the original photograph by Adrian Hayes

Leah Giberson

Not only does Leah have series on homes, she works with varieties of subject matter including her airstream series (above.)

So... now my latest "must have" is a "Westlake" painting by Leah. Possibly commission her to paint the "ticky tacky" house I grew up in. Now wouldn't that be cute?

To view or purchase Leah's fabulous work, you can visit her website, blog, flickr series and etsy shop. Also included are her upcoming gallery exhibits. {Oh, and Leah sells prints of her paintings as well!}

And for more history on Westlake, visit this website!

Summertime...

If I could escape the fog of San Francisco,

I'd take a long nap right in the middle of a warm beach...

Perhaps I'd hide out in a vintage caravan and have a fancy English breakfast...

or a pink Gypsy Caravan...

I'd invite all of you to a party delivered by Enjoy Cupcakes, and
have treats served to us out of their adorable restored vintage Shasta trailer...

Then we could pay a visit to Fresher Than Fresh Sno Cones in Kansas City for some yummy flavored snow cones such as watermelon basil, lime mint and ginger rose. All served out of their renovated 1957 Shasta trailer.

Ah... it's beginning to feel like Summer...

How about climbing up in a tree house?

Bedtime in the forest...so warm and comfy...

Happy Weekend Everyone!

photo credits in order;
Agent Bauer,

photography; Debi Treloar
photography; Hayley Rose
photography; Enjoy Cupcakes; Jose Villa
Fresher Than Fresh Snow Cones
Treehouses from FFFound
photography; Ditte Isager

The Mystery of the Floating Bed

Much thanks to Roséline at This is Glamorous for identifying the talent behind the beautiful floating canopy bed image that I posted this past weekend. I had stumbled upon the image on the web, but was mystified as to who the photographer was. I searched and searched with no avail. No photo credit was given to this talented artist {that's a topic I'll cover later}. In any event, Roséline was a great help with my endless search.

The artist is Vincent Olinet. French, but of course. The work is titled, "Pas encore mon histoire," and is an installation piece from the Lauren Godin Gallery in Paris.

I've located a French design blog that details this unique installation and have done my best to translate it into English. Follow along and enjoy the lovely photos and story behind them!

"Pas encore mon histoire," 2007

Floating bed, installation by Vincent Olinet
Presented by Galerie Laurent Godin, Paris
2009 in the Tuileries

A bed canopy floats elegantly over the basin. As it sails delicately, the cushions call for a romantic girl. A fairytale that appeals to little girls who love stories about beautiful Princesses in danger to be rescued by a Prince Charming.

Upon closer inspection the seemingly pristine bed reveals its yellowed blue and white veils. There are slight tears in the muslin and gold swags from heavy rain. The wonderful yields to the blows of reality and the nightmare is not far. The bed is a crumbling fairytale. The Princess is missing and Prince Charming is not coming.

Vincent Olinet anchored his four-poster bed in the Exedra north of the Tuileries Gardens. Pushed by the wind, the ghost ship drifted a few inches into the basin. Ducks climbed onto the bypass or white sheets at the risk of soiling. The bed was flanked by statues inspired by classical Greek mythology: on one side, Venus Callipyge (Aphrodite), the other Apollo chasing Daphne.

The time for fairy tales are over. Visitors gazed at the facility with pleasure, attracted by the sweetness of the first installation.

photo credits: Vincent Olinet via archéologie du futur

Wanna Join Me?

As you may have noticed, I've been having a grand old time with my latest obsession, Pinterest.

Pinterest is a visual bookmarking site that allows you to make ‘boards’ under any theme of your choosing and add to that board by linking images from anywhere on the internet!

I have always loved organizing things -- although I wish I could apply that organization to my housework. Pinterest lets you save any photo you come across on the web by just pressing a "Pin It" button and walla!


These are some random photos I've stumbled upon and added them to my "Think Pink" board.

My "Think Pink" Board

What more can I say? This is such a great way to organize your favorite things/photos all in one place.


Currently Pinterest is by invite only. I have some invites left, so if you'd like to join me, please leave a comment (email included...I'll need that to invite you). I promise you'll get hooked! I'm working on getting more invites so don't hesitate to ask...

Pinterest credits: pelicans; vintagerosegarden.tumblr.com, chandelier; tumblr.com, dresses; heygorg.com, striped umbrella; matissecolor.blogspot.com, swimsuit; designismine.blogspot.com, woman in pink skirt; sayyestohoboken.com. {This is not to say that these are the original photographers. Many have been "re-pinned" from other sites.}

Escape.

Do you know what I've been doing all weekend? Hibernating in my home, heater full blast (it's bitter cold outside), and losing myself on Pinterest, a visual bookmarking site. I am thoroughly amusing myself finding photos on the the web and pinning them to my inspiration boards on Pinterest.

Yes, lots of hours that I could be... well...doing chores or reading a book perhaps...but this is way too much fun! Can't wait to share some of my favorite photos with you.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

photo credit: Vincent Olivet

Whatever Your Plans Are...

Day...

Or night...

Have a fabulous weekend!

photo credits: @frecklewonder on twitter. pink wallpaper

Lights, Camera, Action!

designed and fabricated bus stop for a San Francsico photo shoot

I just stumbled upon this San Francisco-based company, Scene 2. I think it was this photo above of a Grey Poupon bus stop in the middle of San Francisco that caught my attention.

The young hipsters at Scene 2 have a full service design studio that specializes in 3-D media. From small scale models for a photo shoot, to large scale installations for music festivals and concerts, these people are very talented indeed!

Do you like a carnival? Mister Gnogiurzauchshoff’s Traveling Midway of Curiosities and Delights has been traveling the dusty roads of America’s great carnival past. Conjuring up memories of the traveling circus and images of America's small towns, transformed by the arrival of the carnival.



Check out M.T. Pocket's 2009 tour (above) that traveled from San Francisco to Austin, Texas!

If you're looking for set building, model making or custom fabrication, be sure and check these folks out!

Scene 2

1335 Yosemite Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94124-3319
(415) 822-2020

photo credit: Scene 2