Lately . . .

In between days, you can find me on Instagram. 

 studio visit with the lovely Jennifer Parry Dodge of Ermie

my dirty stained glass 

been doing some Kumihimo weaving . . . trying it out with beads here

Stopped by & Pens in Culver City. Got crazy inspired by the amazing collection of books, shot the sh*t with rad owner Andrew, found out that their sister shop Needles & Pens is next door to my old San Francisco apartment on 16th x Guerrero and discovered that he's hubs / baby-daddy to Michelle Blade. Stop by before they shut their doors and head east. Luckily, we can expect pop-ups from them this summer! Art above left by Victoria Wagner

studio visit with the lady-who-can-pretty-much-do-anything, Tanya Aguiñiga

Recently, I've been neglecting the indoor bloggy side of things [read: photo editing, post and writing / run-on-sentencing-word-making-upping] and spending more time exploring. But now, NOW (finger in the air!) I'm gonna do my best to hunker down to focus on stained glass, design work and kids (in opposite order of importance). I'll also be trying to edit and post all my studio / class / shop visits. So please keep checking back – stuff will be up some point soon, I promise - including some of the goings ons from my Instagram above.

xo!s

Sight Unseen OFFSITE

With ICFF and NYC Design Week happening in New York City and rolling off all the art radness from last week, go (GO) to the 2014 set up of Sight Unseen OFFSITE – on view now until Tuesday, May 20th. Every thing there is pretty much genius in concept, imagination and execution. 

There are way too many amazing designers to mention, so see the full list here.

The branding and identity designs were created by Kokoro & Moi. Their work is equally on point and radical.

Please share all your pics! #SUOFFSITE on Instagram. And um, I'd love a little SUOFFSITE tote & ceramic piece from the Ceramics Shop by Su Wu of I'm Revolting. Thank you.

Sight Unseen OFFSITE

Fri May 16 - Tues May 20

200 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012

corner of Lafayette x Broome in Soho (entrance on Lafayette)

free and open to the public

p.s. Too many good things there in the city now: Also, head over to the Gallery at The Future Perfect and please say farewell to the Domino Sugar Factory before it becomes condos with Kara Walker's Sphinx (& another interview, with Leonard Lopate here).

Nue Market

Nue Market is a two-day pop-up, featuring local makers, artists and designers this weekend, May 10th & 11th at Space15Twenty in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

Here's a peek of the work by some of the designers included. Full list here.

Blooms In The Air

Jen E Ceramics

Chris Fong

Adrian Clutario

Gamma Folk at Young x Able

In addition to the curated vendors, there will be workshops. Space is limited, so go here to rsvp and for more info. 

• Ji Kim of Blooms in the Air will be teaching a community paper flower workshop installation

• Karla Aguiñiga will be hosting an art and nature workshop

• Rebecca Buenik will be instructing a macrame workshop

The idea for this event is a collaboration between Melanie Abrantes, Eileen Lee and Chris Fong with the mission of providing a platform for emerging designers, artists and makers to showcase their work and fostering a creative community. I'm super stoked to check out all this fresh design from up-coming creators! Kudos guys!

Nue Market

Sat May 10th 11am-6pm & Sun May 11th 11am-6pm

Space15Twenty  |  1520 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028

all images courtesy of Nue Market

Kohei Oda x Adam Silverman at Chariots on Fire

The exquisitely curated shop / creative studio in Venice, Chariots on Fire has commissioned renowned LA-based potter Adam Silverman to create a new set of work filled with the plant artistry of Kohei Oda, owner of Qusamura, an award-winning plant boutique in Hiroshima, Japan. The result is "A Tale of Plant & Pot" on view now through May 1st with the opening reception this Sunday, April 27th.

In keeping with Chariots on Fire philosophy of mixing old with new, local with international, both artists worked independently in the US and Japan respectively. Each sharing a common vision based on their love of the natural world and the age-old harmony between pot and plant. The union comes together as an exchange of ideas formed by an understanding of space & form, and the timeless relationship of art to nature.

This practice of 'grafted cactus' is the art and science of connecting two pieces of living plant tissue together to grow as one composite plant. Kohei Oda uses this technique to preserve the original nature of the plant and to allow it to thrive and grow in unexpected forms. RAD. All the cacti are grafted and most are very rare species. The cactus are composed of two elements: the tops (rootstock) and the base (scion). Usually, the tops will grow, multiply and flower, while the bases don't grow so much, they can sprout additional arms. His philosophy has always been to work with plants that have personality, to salvage what could be discarded as a damaged plant, to see the potential in each imperfection. In Japanese, the word for horticulture is EN-GEI: EN - meaning garden, GEI - meaning performance. For Oda, it is the GEI that he accentuates, allowing the plants perform as individuals. 

Kohei Oda has a blog which gives a peek into this fascinating process. His non-traditional approach to horticulture earned him a Wallpaper Design award in 2013 and has exhibited widely in Japan. This will be his first show in the US.

Adam Silverman is .... uh AWESOME: he has a BFA in Architecture from RISD, was a practicing architect in California, is co-founder of X-Large & X-Girl and earned an MBA from UCLA. Throughout his "career meanderings," Adam had made pots as a hobby, which he started doing in high school and went on to become a full-time professional potter in 2002. I first saw his work in this 2005 fantastic 6-page article in Brutus Magazine. Since '08 Adam has been partner and studio director of Heath Ceramics. He has exhibited extensively in the US and Japan including large-scale installation work that gives a connection to architecture.

Kohei Oda's living sculptures in play with Adam Silverman's other-worldly textural glazed experimental pottery showcase the beauty in the perfectly imperfect.

Graphics and packaging by Tamotsu Yagi Design who also designed the Rizzoli monograph on Adam Silverman released last fall.

A Tale of Plant & Pot : Kohei Oda & Adam Silverman

Opening Reception with artists Sunday, April 27th, 5 - 7pm

On view through May 1st now extended through May 7th 

Chariots on Fire | 1342 1/2 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, CA 90291

all images courtesy of Chariots on Fire

Eastside Handmade

I'm excited for tomorrow's edition of Eastside Handmade in Highland Park. Many designers have been creating special stuff just for the event. 

In case you are like me and plot out your food options before you go anywhere, there will be boxed lunches by Urban Palate and those oh-so-yummy frozen treats by Si Paletas.

Here's a little sneak peak of the goodness: 

Le Renard and Maricolous Textiles have a collaboration they will be revealing.

Amongst other goodies Chaparral Studio creates, Bianca will be bringing these "sweet little fluorite pyramids... said to clear the negative energy in the space."

Nora Flora Studio

The Slow Season  |  Mt. Washington Pottery

Tiny Armour

Barrington Blue

This is only just a sliver of everything there. See the flyer above for full list of folks.

Also, if you see me with the camera snapping and chatting away, please say "hi!"

Eastside Handmade

Saturday, April 19th, 11am - 4pm

hosted by ShopClass | 5215 York Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90042

all photos via Eastside Handmade and participating designers 

Bailey Doesn't Bark x Helen Dealtry

Re Jin Lee of Bailey Doesn't Bark makes delicately gorgeous one of a kind ceramics. BDBxHD is a collaboration with the incredibly talented textile artist, Helen Dealtry. So breathtakingly beautiful and sweet. They put the collaboration online only a few hours ago and it's already all sold out.

I really was coveting this dotty series above – and luckily made it in time to purchase one. I rarely spend my pennies these days, but feel that this is certainly a keepsake I will treasure forever.

Each piece is hand made by Re Jin and then hand painted by Helen. The series is made up of jewelry holding pods, ring cones, bowls and little domes with holes to display your studs.

Equally beautiful are the jewelry by Fay Andrada and Odette NY; and the perfectly complementary florals are by Nicolette.

This went so fast, perhaps we'll be lucky enough for them to do another collaboration soon. Since both Helen and Re Jin have goods available separately and collaborate with others, there is always more room for more of their hand made art to be found in case you missed this one.

all images via BDBxHD

K&R Ceramics : Paint + Clay Pop Up at Platform

Whew! I just came out from a doozy of a cold-flu-crazy-thing. And, now I'm back! Yipeeee! Apologies that I'm a little last minute on this due to a 4-day feverish haze:

   

K&R Ceramics are having their 3rd Paint + Clay pop-up at Platform in Highland Park – which also happens to be the first place that showed their work.

Kat Hutter and Roger Lee are the rad duo of K&R. Both are talented artists on their own, and together they create ceramics that are a combination of "classic shapes and graphic surface patterns with earthy natural clay textures." Yes, please!

New works will be on display today (or tomorrow, depending how late you're up with me) with an opening reception to kick it all off in the evening.

Roger and Kat in the studio working on their pieces for the pop up.

The set up looks magnificent! Congratulations guys!

You can also see their work previously on The Radder, at Deck the Halls here. And a fun group photo from the LA Fibershed x Space 15 Twenty opening here, with Kat & Roger alongside Nikki (Lookout & Wonderland) and Yusuke (Katsuo Design and POP Studio).

K&R Ceramics "Paint and Clay" Pop Up
Opening Reception Saturday, April 12, 6 - 9pm
on view through April
at Platform | 5027 York Blvd., Highland Park, CA 90042

all photos via Platform and K&R Ceramics

Alley-Oop II : Eric Trine & Will Bryant at Poketo

Awesome art powers collide once again with Alley-Oop II featuring a return of the combined forces of Eric Trine and Will Bryant at Poketo.

Photo above via Cool Hunting who has a great article about it here.

This hip-hop-ya-don't-stop ditty of a Scion car will be part of an art experience happening tomorrow night.

The lovely ladies of Poketo filled me in about the upcoming show when I stopped by a couple months ago ogling this chair from last year's exhibition.

Jenny. Not only are Poketo's owners Ted Vadakan and Angie Myung way rad, so are the peeps that help run it.

Sonya Gallardo is the store manager and the genius behind High/Low Jewelry. I met her at Renegade last year and have been stoked to notice her jewelry every where I turn lately. The "materials and concepts combine ancient with modern, and tradition with the unexpected." So true. Along with hand painted brass, she also works with polymer clay which is pleasingly flexible to the touch. 

So, tomorrow night, head on down for the opening and partay which starts at Poketo's DTLA shop and migrates to the The Line Hotel in Koreatown.

Alley-Oop II at Poketo

Saturday April 5th 5 - 8pm

Opening Reception at the flagship store

820 East 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013

After Party at The Line Hotel

9pm - 12am

3515 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90010

Visit : Parachute Market - Let There Be Light

The Spring Equinox was celebrated this past weekend with the third Parachute Market, themed "Let There Be Light." The seasonally inspired design fair and marketplace is conceptualized by Coryander Friend, a production designer living in Laurel Canyon. With her high priestess-like ability to orchestrate just-about-anything combined with a keen interior design eye, she brings together over fifty designers, makers and artists for a 2-day weekend in Downtown Los Angeles. This edition featured site-specific light installations, edibles, collectible books, furniture, one-of-a-kind objects, music curation by FYF Fest's Phil Hoelting and Parachute's continuing partner of vintage fashions, A Current Affair.

There is definitely a kinetic creative energy happening in LA that runs a thread through everyone here. Inspired by all the incredible folks who do the making, I turned my camera on the artists rather than just their product. 

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Stylist extraordinaire, Agnes Baddoo creates a multitude of magic from her numerology-inspired, Everyw'air Sprays to her exquisite leather goods that wear beautifully with age.

Wendy Polish and Lara May Meyerratken. Like Agnes and almost everyone at Parachute, these lovely ladies are multi-disciplinary talents.

Wendy is a freelance designer with clients that include rad LA shops Chay and Moon Juice, maker of limited edition silk-screened home goods such as her Heart Pillow collaboration with Beth Katz of Mt. Washington Pottery and co-creator of Le Feu de L'eau (above) – a gorgeous line of delicately scented candles. 

Lara is musician El May with the gift of creating insanely beautiful paintings. She concocts a mixture of minerals specific to each gem that she illustrates, thus giving it's glorious dimension and depth while remaining airy and dreamy. 

clockwise from top left: Sophia and Walker Watts | Brook & Lyn | Future Eyes worn by Sabine, daughter of Sheryl Cancellieri of Eastside Handmade - coming up April 19th (photo courtesy of Future Eyes)

Melanie Abrantes holding her wares | Melanie's cork planters and vases with beautiful paper flowers by Blooms in the Air (photos courtesy of Melanie) | a peek at the Rolling Shoppe of Half Hitch Goods | BKB Ceramics based in Joshua Tree

Wofum's Annabel Inganni with her daughter | The colorful array of prints created by Annabel are incorporated into home and office goods in collaboration with her husband, Brendan Sowersby of 100xbtr, a furniture and product design company

The ladies of Ermie represent! | Morgan Peck Pottery whose work is greatly inspired by architecture. | Unearthen is Gia Bahm, a stylist and jewelry designer based in New York City creates mostly with crystals, but I was very drawn to these sweet bronze cast Palo Santo incense holders

The always awesome Linde of Just Say Native | Insanely ethereal textiles of Anton Nazarko who works with Raquel Allegra | Bari Zipperstein's radical pottery line, BZippy and Company

Melissa Tolar of A Question of Eagles | Their work encompasses ceramics, jewelry and unique handmade quilts by Melissa's mom, Marcia | delicate enamel ring bowls by Melissa

The ceramic and wooden kitchen good and home goods by Knotwork is a collaboration between Linda Hsiao, an industrial and eyewear designer and Kagan Taylor, woodworker and co-founder of KnowhowShop, a design / build firm

Specialty Dry Goods is Edie Kahula Pereira. She treads lightly on this earth with her creations: bags, wallets and the sweetest potholders you've ever seen (!) with a focus on utilizing discarded surplus materials, linen & alpaca yarns, natural vegetal tanned hide and 100% USA grown organic wool

The magnificent crew that showed their vintage collections under A Current Affair's light inspired set-up: Rhianna of Mixed Business, Erin of Tavin, Richard Wainwright of New/Found and co-creator of A Current Affair, a vintage pop-up with it's next market April 5th | Linde of Just Say Native

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And the food, oh the deliciousness that was there!

Sí Paletas serves up ice pops in delectable combinations as avocado/chocolate and cucumber/melon/mint | the gentlemen of Horse Thief BBQ | almost too beautiful to eat, fresh from the ocean creations by The Ceviche Project (original photo here)

Lauda (right) of Sno Con Amor creates an updated twist on Raspados - Mexican Snow Cones

I wasn't able to capture all the edibles that were curated by Chef Nina Clemente and Gardener Tricia Mazure. Also included were Zen Bunni Chocolates, Flying Zepoli, Moon Juice and Handsome Coffee Roasters.

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And ever-present was the space-specific light art installations by:

Environmental artist and industrial designer, Doron Gazit of Air Dimensional Design and Frozen Flow

Sculptor Jason Meadows whose work has been exhibited at the Tate Modern and the UCLA Hammer Museum

Designer and architect Johanna Grawunder is based in Milan, Italy and San Francisco, CA with work that spans from large-scale public installations to limited edition furniture

Tahiti Perhson who creates large scale, intricate hand-cut paper installation

 * * * * *          * * * * *          * * * * * 

Like always, I wish I was able to capture all of the goodness there:

Heather Levine, Place 8 Healing (Azalea Lee makes beautiful leather pouch necklaces. She also does crystal healing and flower essence therapy), Vacation Days (as I'm now more of an Angelo, I think I should complete it with the Griffith Park Trails Scarf!), Victoria Morris Pottery, Wrk-Shp's concrete pendant lighting, Barbara C. Rourke's beautiful weavings (which is only her side hobby that she whips up when she's not flexing her supreme interior design muscles at Bells + Whistles) and many more - see vendor list here

.... Too much chatting, not enough picture-taking!

Big hugs, congratulations and thank you to Coryander and all the amazing folks who create the radness that fills the Parachute Market.