Empty Canvas

I'm pretty much way too excited about moving into my new adorable downtown Davis apartment (with Hannah Johnson and Bomi Kim!!!!! eeeeekkkk!!!!! shits gonna get artsy) to not do this. I'm neurotic and I have a need for planning so all summer I've been allowing myself to get really interested in garage sales and thrift stores......some of the cutest furniture I have EVER seen.
For you I have an incomplete list of some great thrift/antique spots in Sacramento and Davis:

The Antique Company on X street has a lot of furniture and other cute knick knacks.
Fringe which is right behind The Antique Company is equally adorable with some glamorous clothing and housewares.
Homestyle is in between The Antique Company and Fringe, and it has a little less vintage but still a good selection of furniture.
The 57th st Antique Mall in East Sac is well known for a great selection and good prices.
Summer Porch on J and 33rd has good service and quaint easy to find pieces.
The Shabby Shack on J and 37th is a little difficult to navigate, but their cute antiques are negotiable in price.
Of course The SPCA is always reliable, there is one in E st in Sacramento and one on 3rd st in Davis.
L Street Furniture in Davis has a reputation for being disorganized but having some great finds and they are open to bartering.

  Seeing as I'm ridiculously poor, however, I have not bought a thing and have stuck to the extremely generous donations of my family and friends. Already I have my childhood bed, my childhood kitchen table, my best friend Hillary Livingston's old couch and her brother's old desk, and recently I discovered that I may inherit the dank, kushy, and original couch from Mat Carvalho's basement. So....anyone with some chairs coffee tables or bookshelves, I would love your old crap!! Haha, anyway, the parents have prevented me from buying anything new (though I did secretly buy an adorable antique jewelry music box and some flower power measuring spoons :p) so naturally I've had to scope it all out! Off the top of my head, here's some cute non hand-me-down stuff that I've been eying:

1. An adorable ashtray from Urban Outfitters.
2. A mosaic table that I am obsessed with from World Market.
3. A homage to Davis....this is from Urban Outfitters as well.
4. One of those super cool moon chairs...I couldn't find the exact one I like but they can be bought at World Market also.
5. This awesome wingback is from Anthropologie and comes in multiple cool colors and patterns.
6. This guy is one option for a sofa-bed...or in this case a chair/mattress bed from the one and only Ikea.
7. And finally, this is the sofa-bed I'd like to have...but yellow in this size would just be a bit much I think (especially since the 2 donated couches are already yellowish). This is of course from Ikea also.

I know, I'm typical of someone moving into their first apartment....and I love it. If you have any suggestions or donations for me and my soon to be home, please shout it out! Hope you enjoyed my neurotic ramblings and shopping

<3 F. Fashion

Sizzling Styles

Holy crap! When did August get here?? Whatever, it's still summer!! Especially here in the Central Valley......hot hot and hotter. Speaking of, summer styles are still worth the purchase, and if not, it'll still look great on you next summer right? That's what I thought. 

Literally, I have been obsessed with rompers since last summer. And by luck, my baby girl Hannah Johnson grew out of her adorable multicolored, patterned, but simple romper. Of course, seeing as she loves me dearly, her first move was to hand it over to me......for this I love you Han! But really. Rompers (also known as jumpsuits, playsuits, bodysuits....yknow) are the most practical and comfortable invention in fashion like....ever. Now I'm not gonna lie, it is difficult to go to the bathroom, but  I find this small hassle completely worth the effort. Now for some fun facts about rompers, and of course some snazzy suggestions :] As I was saying in my last post, retro fashion comes for us all, and the romper is no exception. These playful pieces are no newer than Windows 97 (though I honestly could not tell you what era they are from), and in fact, I have come across some vintage ones that are even better than the modern takes! Here are two of my favorites from the genius Cuffs Boutique: 

And if vintage isn't quite your fit, here are a few of the cutest playsuits I've come across this summer:

the first one is from Topshop, the next three from Cuffs Boutique (the first is the one I have...SO COMFY), then we have the more and more sophisticated Dakota Fanning, my personal British muse Keira Knightley, the simply chic Blake Lively, and finally the hardcore kooky Agyness Deyn!

So ladies, whether you like vintage, glam, business, flirty, casual...or whatever style! Just make sure you find the right fit for your personality and for your body. I cannot stress it enough, with a romper it is essential that it fit you perfectly or else you will be uncomfortable and you will look that way. But when you get a winner, let me tell you ladies....so absolutely worth the search!!!!! And as my good friend Lily Rothrock says, a good romper is amazing because you can "run and dance like you're wearing pants!" I know I'm sold.

<3 F. FASHION

Warm Welcome

CUFFS URBAN APPAREL BOUTIQUE

 Ok so it's been a while since I have poured my artistic heart out, but never fear, I have returned! And what better to return with than gifts? Gifts from the past in fact.

You know how everyone tells you that fashion goes in a big circle? Well here's your proof; gorgeous stylings from the 20's and 50's have resurfaced in this 21st century, and they are even better! Beautiful bodices and full skirts, sequins, feathers have all been taken and redone in the most inspiring and modern ways, and I for one am in love with these hybrid silhouettes. So ladies, if you're looking for something to show off the girls but to bring some more class and femininity to your wardrobe, these new/old styles are great!

Now I will return with fabulous photos and greater detail, but for now I would like to direct you to a small Sacramento boutique that expertly mixes new and vintage styles. Cuffs Boutique on J street in between 25th and 26th in Sacramento, CA has the formula down pat, and every day they are bringing in new funky styles! Cuffs ships all over the world, so check them out and support this smart small business, believe me, you won't regret it.

Illegal/Rogue Design

Design is a culture that infiltrates everywhere around the globe, into the homes and lives of every country, culture, religion, political affiliation or belief. No person is safe from design, for as a human being, one is constantly creating and being influenced by the creations of others. From the smallest functioning tool to the industrialized and mass produced economy of the modern world, design has its place in every life. Sometimes, certain designs are banned or looked down upon. For example, the illegal and rogue cultures existing in many modern adolescent populations. Specifically, I would like to focus on drug culture. It is interesting to discover that drugs inspire people even more than sobriety, especially in the realm of design.

Things like piercings and tattoos are often seen as unneccessary elements of design, things that display an attitude of disregard or disrespect for the rules. Drug culture escalates this same idea, yet many musicians, actors, and various other categories of artists are only socially approved of once their designs have been inspired by the illegal. This does not come as any sort of surprise to those immersed in that culture, for the drug culture is often about blocking out the bad in life and experiencing an otherworldly happiness or state of understanding. Altering one's state of mind often results in a higher state of art as well, with greater appreciation for color, texture, and idea. Also, the same attitude of drug culture in its disregard for rules must come to apply to the rules of design, for drug immersed designers are more likely to take risks in their art as well as in their lives. So, if this type of drug culture is so looked down upon that it is deemed illegal and highly punishable, why is it that the rest of society sees the products of such a dangerous way of life as some of the greatest works ever created? Is this a reflection on the human race's inhibitions against rebelling, while we all still harbor an innate desire for these "out of the box" experiences?

Design History

In the field of design, it is important to study designers aside from oneself. We find inspiration from preceding designs as well as concurrent designs when creating our own, but to know the work of other designers is more than inspirational. In the past few months, I have been exposed to many different designers and their different mediums of design as a part of my learning process. By studying the works of artists like Cy Twombly, Nathan Shedroff, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Charles and Ray Eames, Christine Gambito, Andy Goldsworthy and more, I have been exposed to their different takes on design and their process and message.

It has been important to be aware of these designers and their past work as well as their current work, and it is likewise important to remain aware of other designers as I grow in my own design career. By studying designs outside of my own, I create a context for myself to design within. Every design has a message; the designs of OBEY present a more obvious political message that provides a good example. Political messages or just a social commentary are constantly being created by designers everywhere, and it is these messages that allow designers now to see and understand the time period and the meaning of such designs. By playing off of these designs and techniques, we learn to propose concurrent or contrasting ideas to already existing enterprises. This is what gives design its purpose, the message and the process are the true driving forces behind design. With designers constantly pushing to create something that will present their ideas or the social ideas they experience, we must be able to pay attention to such comments and understand the role of design in our society.

More Sustainability

Nathan Shedroff's book, Design is the Problem, is in no way the first that the design world has heard from the sustainability issue. In fact, sustainability has become more than a mere issue, it has morphed into a trend, particularly in design. After the initial concern over global warming and diminishing resources, the design world in particular has been sent into a frenzy, with everyone attempting to hop on board to prove that their design thinking has always been eco-friendly and that their designs will always be "green."

Unfortunately, sustainability in design is more than the "green" movement and the trends, it comes down to the fundamentals of design and the thorough thinking of designers and consumers. Shedroff recognizes these more important aspects of the move towards sustainabilty, saying that design can never be fully sustainable, but that with work and thought, design can stop being the problem and become a more sustainable solution.

Shedroff's book goes through the different ways to be more sustainable in design, beginning with the idea. Function and aesthetics must conform to sustainability, resulting in sleeker, simpler products such as the thin aluminum keyboards manufactured for Apple Inc. Shedroff's process then takes care of itself, once designers begin to think about their products in a more sustainable way, use of raw materials will follow. Shedroff stresses this, that materials must be minimized so as to be rid of excess waste, and that they must be both enduring and recyclable. According to Shedroff, the application of these aspects of design thinking will lead to more sustainability in design, invoking greater creativity in designers and elminating design as the problem.

Opposites Attract-Colors

On the traditional color wheel, each color has an opposite, a "complement." Some artists will start out thinking that to use complementary colors in close proximity is not to be done, a sort of color taboo. However, the use of complementary colors is much more than the existence of opposite ends of the spectrum, it can invoke strong emotion and therefore sell the intensity of a design through the conflict and resulting harmony of the opposite colors.

For example, the most common combination of complementary colors in modern society is the combination of red and green, especially during the winter holiday season. The red and green combinations invoke thoughts of Santa Claus, presents, winter, family, and food. Despite cultural differences in the world, most will at least recognize Christmas from the combination of red and green. The complementary colors are able to invoke such an easy association because they have such impact when placed together. The red and green theme of Christmas is known worldwide for it represents a thing of so much harmony and celebration that it is easily recognized.

Though red and green are opposites on the color wheel, no new artist should shy away from such use, rather, the art world should and does recognize the potential impact possible with complementary colors. In this case, opposites attract to produce something with more meaning, something likely to be remembered, all because of harmonious color conflict.