Please Excuse This Interruption

We are experiencing a make over. Please be patient... and check back next week!



Pic from apparently nothing.

Above the City

As seen on desire to inspire, a modern apartment in the Northern suburbs of Johannesburg. Not really my style, but quite breathtaking.

Louis Boshoff

I could very easily see myself in this room.... loving the chair in the foreground...See more and be inspired at Louis Boshoff.

Update: Ruan Hoffman at the Anthropologie Gallery at Rockefeller Center

Thanks again to Louis for the pics... remember my post on Ruan Hoffman? Well, that could not prepare me for this gob-smacking exhibit. So beautifully put together.













You can click on the pics to see them larger (and you should!), including the bio from the exhibit. All pics from the Anthropologie Gallery at Rockefeller Center, you can see more of this exhibit on their flickr photostream.

Charlene Wittstock Gracing the Pages of Vogue

Although it is probably the least blogged about part implied in the "artsy/designery/craftsy" thing in my blog's name, but I do enjoy fashion. I'm not the most adventurous dresser but I love seeing those who are, and seeing what's new. So I started a Vogue magazine subscription a few months ago, and have not really been blown away by the couple issues I've received. But on Friday I got the July issue, with, not only fantastic fashion shoots and great articles, BUT a short little bit of insight into my favourite royal crush, Charlene Wittstock.







It was a nice interview, I felt like I could hear her voice more than I've heard before. You can read the article here, if you don't get the magazine.

I can't wait to see her wedding in July, but until then, let's enjoy these pics by Karl Lagerfeld.





First photos by me, the last two from Style Guide Cape Town.

Winter Show MMXI

If you are in Cape Town, pop into the Museum Photographic Gallery to see their Winter Show MMXI



Enjoy work by Dale Yudelman



Niklas Zimmer and Bryony Purvis



Les Goodman



Dylan Culhane



and Roger Horrocks



And, interestingly, I came across this image by Dale Yudelman that shows the graffiti of Faith47 hauntingly.



If you'd like to see more of Dale's work click here.

I Have Measured School in Ink Cartridges*

As some of you may remember, last year I graduated from a part time graphic design program... and I recently got to clearing out the bag of ink cartridges I'd been collecting since half way through the program (so about year 2 of 4)... how many ink cartridges does it take to complete a part time graphic design program?

8 HP 4-colour
4 HP Black
2 Epson Photo Black
3 Epson Gloss Optimizers
5 Epson Blue
4 Epson Red
7 Epson Black
8 Epson Magenta
8 Epson Yellow
12 Epson Cyan

61 in total.



*My obscure attempt to reference the Love Song of J. Alfred Profrock. Learnt it in Standard 1, maybe.

The Chinese Girl

You may have noticed this cushions at the end of my last post.



They feature artwork I'm sure you recognize, too. The artwork is by Vladimir Tretchikoff, a Russian artist who lived in South Africa for many years. His work gained notoriety as the epitome of kitsch but it was exhibited all over the world, and sold in the millions. Personally, I remember learning to do the locomotion with my best buddy in grade 4 under a Tretchi painting at her parents' house. They were everywhere.

I noticed this article a couple weeks ago on the Mail & Guardian website, about the woman who says she is the face of the Chinese Girl. Interesting reading.

Brimfield 2011

It's been a few weeks since I went to Brimfield, but I finally have some pics to share with you, if you'd like to see.



Brimfield is a GIANT antiques fair out in Western Massachusetts that is held 3 times a year. It's a treasure hunt, a foray into the past and also a quest for perfection. There is a lot to see at Brimfield... this past spring, we were there for 5 hours and only made it through 3 fields. There are 21 fields. And there are 5000 vendors... and anything and everything is for sale, because its not all antiques. Anyway, its good to get there early if you have something special in mind that you are after, but we go just for fun so we don't rush. I had decided beforehand what I wanted, so I went with those things in mind (there is too much stuff to look at otherwise!) and I knew what a good price for them would be.



What did we buy? Opalescent hobnail glass, a small silver bowl, a gift that I can't put up because the person who its for may see it, a painting and a print.

Opalescent hobnail glass is divine. You get it in all sorts of shapes and sizes but I needed bud vases and that's what I focused on... I chose blue and white (if you see my house, you will think those are predictable choices!) but there are all sorts of colors, including an eery yellow-green that has minute traces of uranium in it, and it glows under UV light. Anyway, here are my sweet finds.



The small silver bowl is because I couldn't find a bigger one, which is what I originally had in mind but it is so, so sweet and small and I'm glad I didn't find a bigger one.



The painting was unplanned. I spotted it walking past a booth for the second time, and I'm not very religious, nor am I Catholic but the painting is so tender I couldn't pass it by. Besides, those warm colours are just delightful to look at.



Finally, the print is of a DC3, and was the hubby's choice. I want to get it framed for his birthday... we found it at a dealer who must have had thousands of prints, and very funny printed stuff like Baywatch trading card galleys that have never been cut. Anyway, the hubby had to dig around for a long time before he found the right plane.



If you are ever in Western Massachusetts in May, July or September, I suggest you make a stop. Take a look around, as you never know what you might find.



If you'd like to see more, other bloggers spent much more time there than me and have more photos and more info. Design*Sponge has great coverage and a couple of other favourite bloggers of mine, at Good Bones, Great Pieces, also have good info.

haas Continued

Let's take a look at some of the artists, photographers, ceramicists, crafters, etc. at haas (read more about them on last week's post here)































If you right click on an image, the name of the image will tell you the name of the artist, as best I can tell from the website... if you want to see more, click here and enjoy exploring.