oh, dooce!

i discovered dooce.com (heather armstrong, wife and mother of a 4yr. old daughter) earlier this year (i'm a relative new-bee considering she's been blogging for over 7 years) and have been addicted to her blog ever since. it is seriously a daily read (and on days that she doesn't post, i sometimes re-read old posts.) anyway, i sent her an Obama necklace and her husband an Obama pin....last week because she has expressed being a supporter of Obama and i absolutely love her spin on things given that her family is prodominantly republican. {and secretly, i always dreamed of being in her daily style section!} i am giddy and HONORED!

that's my brother....

the MUSEUM OF ART AND DESIGN (formerly the museum of arts and crafts) opened in new york city this weekend. i wasn't there, but i'm sure my brother was. pentegram (and, my brother, kai's team at pentagram) did the graphic identity for the museum. on kai's website, he shared a link to pentagram's blog sharing the design package. nice! it's fun to see Michael Beirut's sketches and how things are translated to things like window decals, jewelry boxes, museum guides ... and ties! the "mad man" wearing the tie is kai! (he's also the guy in the spinning entrance.) i must admit that i have been living vicariously through him - working in manhattan, living in brooklyn -- the nyc dream. as much as i wanted to live it myself, i'm glad one of us gets to do it! (so proud of that guy!)

hive

this is another new piece that i previewed at the fashion show last weekend: the HIVE_brooch/necklace.
earlier this year i found a "vacant" dried out bee hive on the sidewalk in front of our house. i brought it in and looked at it on my desk for weeks, mesmerized and totally inspired by it. i started designing a piece comprised of perfect hexagons, but i wasn't satisfied with the result and felt it lacked the impact of "three-dimensionality" that the actual hive possessed. i spent a lot of time working things out in autocad and am pretty excited about the perspective that i achieved. the piece is as flat as all the others, but jumps out at your ... or sucks you in, depending on how you look at it.


{side note} some of you have asked when/where these new pieces will be available and wanted to let you know that i am still refining some of the connections and details of these pieces - since i basically made one of each for the runway show .. prototypes, if you will. i will keep you posted as soon as i feel confident in the details and have a chance to make a few more of each to sell ... so please stay tuned! THANK YOU

a 'mighty goods' nod

FALL FLAIR_tia keobounpheng jewelry

arwyn birch

amanda christine

emily weich

at the end of the show, we (the 6 designers: emily weich, amanda christine, arwyn birch, adrienne grahn, karin jacobson and i) took a "designer walk" down the runway. i had a lot of anxiety leading up to it, but i must admit, it was kind of fun after being in the basement all night!

all photos by DAVE KAPELL

FALL FLAIR_karin jacobson jewelry

emily weich

amanda christine

arwyn birch

all photos by: Dave Kapell

backstage

the fashion show was a total BLAST!! i spent the show backstage getting jewelry on the models and collecting it from them after they walked - and i must say it was exciting and unlike anything i have been a part of before. thank you to karin and adrienne and arwyn and amanda and emily for a great night! thank you also to my friend, berry, who helped me keep track of everything backstage ... and to dave, who took photos of the actual show. i will share some here when i get the disk from him.

saturday on the runway

wanted to post a reminder about the fall flair runway show this saturday at la bodega. i'm getting excited about it and have been working on some new pieces for the show and thought i would give a sneak peak at a couple of them (as enticement) will share others after the show.

i'm also going to be at this house all day sunday as part of the Homes By Architects Tour that the AIA is organizing for the first time this year. i will be representing for Salmela Architect as my father can only be there for the Saturday portion of the tour. i've got a full weekend ahead!

fall feeling

it has been somewhat surprising how quickly fall has arrived in minneapolis. the arrival of cool weather timed itself perfectly with labor day, and while we've had a fair share of warm days in the last couple weeks, the nights and early mornings have been cool and all instincts are shifting with the season. {it makes me think about kirsten, half a world away, having her own spring-inclinations...in september!} i've been wearing jeans and cotton sweaters the last two days, but am still holding on to my sandals (they help regulate my internal thermostat that is prone to over-heating in this adjustment phase of season-change.) fall's arrival has also shifted my desire for richer colors and wood materials. for the first time in a year, i am testing my designs out in BLACK. {those who know me know that i wear a lot of black} i must admit, it feels really good! i'm not sure why it has taken me so long.
i'm also doing dark brown, golden yellow, and light grey. the light grey reads differently that i expected/wanted it to....almost like it is not grey enough. maybe it just reads lighter when paired with a dark wood. maybe it needs to be paired with white in order for it really read grey? i'm not sure yet... {reminds me of martha and her greys.}
i'm working on some new designs as well, a couple specifically for the fashion show this weekend and a couple for a more permanent collection. but i am not ready to share just yet. stay tuned ......

POMEGRANATE_pin

i dropped off these pins at the Walker Shop yesterday.

goose grease

i discovered goose grease on etsy a little while back....and i can't stop thinking about these little people. they remind me (particularly the unpainted ones) a little bit of some finnish wooden toys that i had growing up. {i'll see if my mom can snap a picture of them for me} my older brothers hated playing with the woodend toys, but i am still fascinated by them to this day. perhaps that is why i love these so much. i want to have her make my little family and i can think of a boat load of people i'd love to give them to as gifts.

a first for me...should be fun!

lovely mahagony

i have been testing out some new woods and new colors for fall and mahagony is one that i am currently enthralled with. it is the messiest wood i've worked with yet it terms of the burn and residue that is left from the laser cutter - but after the extra effort to clean and oil it, i become entranced with the variation and near GLOW that it has. who knew mahagony could be so exciting?!?

one year ... transition

it hadn't occured to me until i was thinking about a title for this post, that i have officially reached the one year point for this little 'jewelry-thing' that i've been doing. it is a good milestone to have reached, but it has been the one furthest from my mind these past couple weeks.

i've been neglecting this blog because i've been transitioning into a new living arrangement ... my husband, son and i have welcomed another family {of three} into our home for the next 10 months. not just any family - but my dearest friends from Oulu, Finland {and their 4 year old boy} ... whom i met when i was 18 years old and an exchange student in their school. over the last 13 years we have visited back and forth several times and our friendship continues to grow deeper and deeper roots.

while the last 3 weeks of transition have been quite smooth {especially considering the boys are sharing a room and do not speak the same language} - and while i've even been working on some excting new things for the fall - my full days have stripped me of some of the extra time i used to blog. i am confident that it will get easier as everything else continues to fall into place and the routines become more fluid...... i must also remind myself that the last week of 'summer' is always hectic - with my son's birthday (3!) and the minnesota state fair (& free brandi carlile concert!) ... and labor day.

we returned today from a long weekend in duluth ... at our 'cabin' {my newfound name for my parents' new house.} and with my parents away for the weekend, we had the place to ourselves! it is a fantastic place to reflect and take note of one's goals for the coming year....