On Loop

This song on loop in the studio  today :)

Dreamy

Summer vibes, iced peach tea, breeze through the window. 

New work, some thoughts

 
Lately I've been creating things just for the pure joy of creating. I know it sounds silly like, shouldn't you always create what you love? And I do, it's just as Artists I think we sometimes get tied to these cycles of making the same thing over and over again because it's our "best seller" or it's what you think people want. So it's been nice to step away a little and just spend some quality time in the studio. It's been nice creating without thinking much about pricing or how it will look on the display table at a show.

Not to get deep or anything but,

My greatest joy comes from bringing to life designs that have been inspired in the moment. Ones that I have jotted down after being moved by a line in a book, or sketched out after seeing something in nature or an outfit on the street. They are not usually quiet, small, everyday, goes-with-everything designs. I feel like it's important to sometimes take a break and remember why you started making in the first place.

These designs created with freedom, I think,  are the ultimate reflection of who I am as an Artist and it brings a great sense of peace when I bring to life these things that have harbored in my head and on paper. I hope to take more of these little breaks in production work this year and just sit and make what I truly love. I hope you like them, and if not, that's alright too :)

Inspiration Sunday

I've been spending a lot of time researching and exploring Japanese traditional textiles related to Shibori hand dying. I of course love Japanese patterns and fabrics but I've really been concentrating on the patterns displayed in this particular type of fabric. Since Shibori patterns are made by a resist dye process done by hand-tying, knotting, and stitching, no two patterns are alike. I've been highly inspired by the freedom and chance of this kind of pattern and I'm planning on incorporating my own Shibori patterns I make this year into my designs. Which brings me to my main point: Tie dye party?? I think yes!

  HGTV has an awesome intro to indigo dye if anyone is interested!

Arashi Shibori technique uses a pole or stick to wrap fabric around and dip into the dye vat. You can create all sorts of patterns depending on how you wrap the fabric with twine or string. (image courtesy of Honestly WTF)

 

ori-nui Shibori pattern

 tying fabric for the resist. (image from eye-swoon.com)

Vintage finds

Part of my Saturday morning I spent cleaning out one of my display cases in the corner of my studio. It's always an adventure doing this because I stash old designs and mock ups that never got their time in the limelight in this case. I decided a while back that in order to save space and headaches later on, that I'd go through and digitalize most of my older pieces and then move them into storage or recycle them. Here's a few oldies that I found today! 

Coral Dresses

Coral Dresses Summer Outfits by sunahjewelry featuring a sweetheart dress

Ann Taylor three quarter sleeve dress
anntaylor.com

Monsoon midi dress
monsoon.co.uk

Dorothy Perkins bird dress
dorothyperkins.com

Pleated dress
$70 - aspirestyle.co.uk

AX Paris sweetheart dress
$36 - newlook.com

Wedge heels
modcloth.com

New Look strappy high heel sandals
$43 - asos.com

Wedge heel sandals
avenue.com

Wallis oversized scarve
wallisfashion.com

Beautiful Bookshelves

Modern Living Room design by San Francisco Interior Designer Chloe Warner

Just wanted to share some of my current bookshelf obsessions. When We first moved into our house the previous owners left us with about 8 generic ikea bookshelves in various heights. They were actually an eyesore to us so we ended up giving most of them away to new homes and the rest I ended up using in my studio and as a makeshift "custom" closet insert. However, because we rid ourselves of so many large pieces of furniture, we now have lots of strange empty wall space. I've been collecting photos of interesting bookshelves in hopes of one day filling that void :) How you place things are almost as important as the shelves themselves. What inspires you to rearrange?

xoxoxo - Amy


remodelista.com

Modern Staircase design by Vancouver Architect PLACE, hl johnston architect ltd

Contemporary Dining Room design by Atlanta Interior Designer Joel Kelly Design

Modern Living Room design by Other Metro Photographer Marco Antunio

Modern Home Gym design by Seattle Architect SHKS Architects

Modern Living Room design by Los Angeles Architect Paul Davis Architects PC

Eclectic Living Room design by New York Architect Jordan Parnass Digital Architecture

Modern Hall design by San Francisco Architect CCS ARCHITECTURE

How to Make A Japanese House : Modern Architecture

I just had to share this ideabook! These Japanese Architects push the limits of design and are an endless source of inspiration for me. I hope you find inspiration from them as well.

xoxoxo -Amy

6 Innovative New Japanese Houses

Houzz- Kitchen Remodel, Bathroom Remodel and More »

Browse Furniture on Houzz- For Example:

Bar Carts · Bar Tables · Buffets And Sideboards · Chairs · Dining Chair Cushions · Dining Chairs And Benches · Love Seats · Sectional Sofas ·

Fabulous Green Spaces

Even though the weather is still cold out, I can't help but start thinking about spring. What excites me most about warm weather is the planting possibilities. This year along with vegetable gardening I'd love to add more greenery around the patio and indoors. Did you know that certain plants are better for filtering the air than others? English Ivy, Gerbera Daisy and Spider plants are three that work harder than most to make your air cleaner.  I've been collecting some inspirational photos for how I want add more green to my environment. Challenge yourself this spring to plant more! Enjoy!

xoxox -Amy

Modern Landscape design by New York Architect pulltab design

Contemporary Patio design by New York Landscape Architect The Artist Garden

Contemporary Living Room design by Other Metro Photographer Elad Gonen & Zeev Beech

Eclectic Hall design by Other Metro Interior Designer uttara and adwait

Spaces design by San Francisco Landscape Architect Flora Grubb Gardens

Contemporary Landscape design by Boston Landscape Architect Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design

Eclectic Patio design by New York Architect Tobin + Parnes Design Enterprises

Modern Patio design by Los Angeles Architect Bondanelli Design Group, Inc.

Early Start

Ah! I got up so early today. Feeling pretty energetic after doing all that cleaning! You could say that my oosouji was a great success :) I got my run in this morning and made this delicious and nutrient packed egg white and spinach pepper omelet. A great start to a great day! Now I'm off to donate clothing since I had a closet Zen moment yesterday haha. Since I'm still feeling quite minimalist today I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from, Tales from the Tao:

"In the world of knowledge,

 Everyday something new is added, 

In the pursuit of Tao, 

Every day something is let go" - Lao Tzu

New Combinations

I've been playing around a lot with new ways of combining my separate pendants into larger necklaces. I really like the way the different shapes and forms look together as a collective piece. I even have been considering merging some of my collections together as shown in the 2nd photo. 

It's still a work in progress but I smile when I look at these so I know it's just a matter of time before I debut the redesigned final of these mock ups! 

Also  I realized I haven't been good about telling everyone where I'll be next! So here are my next 2 upcoming shows:

May 29-30

Viva Vienna!

Vienna, Virginia

June 4

Art in the Park

Westminster, MD

Hope to see you there!

xoxoxo -Amy

Kanzashi

I love Etsy! They just had a new article I found today about the art of Japanese Kanzashi making.You can read the article Here.  These elaborate fabric ornaments are carefully handmade traditionally from silk and are worn with kimono and traditional dress. Earlier this year I found an amazing kanzashi artist named Yonuko. Her Kanzashi are just exquisite! I wish I could find where to buy her wares. You can read an awesome article  in Ping magazine's archive about her and the making process here. I find constant inspiration from looking at these gorgeous hair ornaments.

This is my Favorite of Yonuko's.

Floral Inspirations

My Fiance brought home a stunning bouquet of Flowers for me today and I was so inspired by the colors I went and created some candy coated freshwater pearl jewelry that simply GLOWS! The colors are very vibrant but they are surprisingly wearable!  The full line will be on sale at viva Vienna later this month.