Wedding Design?

Late last year, as I was nearing the end of my pregnancy, I was asked if I'd be interested in helping to plan/design a wedding. I'm not a wedding planner, but I am a designer who easily gets inspired by a new scope for a project ... so of course I said YES! I've been working with the bride and her parents for the past several months, fine-tuning concepts, developing designs, fabricating mock-ups, and most recently meeting with florists. We are still in the midst of finalizing the fine details for the ceremony and dinner (which will both be held at The Walker Art Center) ... but the invitations are done and have been mailed out - and I've been dying to share them!

So, neither the bride or groom are from Minnesota originally, but they moved to the Midwest to pursue their PHDs from the U of MN and have fallen in love with Minneapolis. The bride's parents just officially became Minnesota residents as well (moving from Washington DC to Duluth, MN) and so the majority of the guests will be coming from out of state for the wedding.

The concept for the invitations was to have a sculptural paper element wrap and enclose the flat written portions of the invitation. When the outer piece was unwrapped, I wanted it to be able to stand on its own and be a beautiful teaser before the wedding and a visual reminder of their weekend after they return home from the wedding. Given that most of their guests will have never been to Minneapolis, it only seemed appropriate to have the city greet them when they opened the invitation ... and be the sculptural paper element that wrapped the invitation.

We decided to use stock paper from PAPER SOURCE for all elements of the invitations using a mixture of Lux White that has a bit of texture and Lux Silver that has a bit of shimmer. The invite and response cards & overall envelope in white, the city-wrap and response envelope in silver. {side note: it was only after these had been finalized that I heard Jeremy Messersmith coining Minneapolis as the Silver City. How appropriate!} All printed text was done in black ink. I etched the bride & groom's names on the front flap of the city-wrap (and included the .silvercocoon. copyright on the back side where the Walker Art Center is revealed.)

During our first discussions I assumed we would have someone print the invitations for us, but in the end I produced the invitation cards, response cards and the city-wrap and we had only the envelopes printed by a printer. I even designed a little "logo" for their wedding {as seen on the response card} that might transfer to other elements {like thank you cards etc.} I thrive on finding a good process and developing a system for producing multiples of the same item, so I was well suited for making 130 invitations! And even better ... they've been received well.

blog feature

I send special thanks to local photographer, Jennifer Simonson, who featured some of my jewelry in her recent blog post. I love this photo of her jewelry collection on the wall-mounted Minus + Hanger by Steve from Danish Teak Classics. (You might remember seeing them at their debut back at my Catalog Release Party in 2009)(Steve and I have since developed a table-top version that I use for jewelry shows ... which deserves its own post another time.) In Jennifer's collection of photos you will see that she has the small POD earrings in cherry wood and a single strand STONE necklace in paduak wood - both with oxidized sterling silver.

the start of "new"

I'm ironing-out the kinks in some new prototypes and can't wait to start sharing some new pieces soon. In the meantime, I can give you this little teaser ... a small-scale earring that is so light and easy to wear that I've been known to sleep all night with them on and not notice! Available in the online shop in a variety of colors of sandblasted acrylic and wood.

playing a bit of catch-up

So, in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and being so-pregnant last November & December, I neglected to share any of my new jewelry work from my "winter collection". I revisited an idea that was such an integral part of my initial collection back in 2007 = SANDBLASTED acrylic. And then I added a new element - OXIDIZED sterling silver. I have talked before about how the even the smallest moves have the power to completely transform the feel of an object. I knew how beautiful the translucent acrylic was when sandblasted, as well as sandblasted red. But I was entirely blown away by the effect of sandblasted black: it was transformed into the ultimate (architect's) charcoal gray - pure excitement! If the sandblasting was transforming, then the oxidizing of the silver was the perfect mature match to the look -- it had the same effect with wood. These changes breahted new life into my collection, making it feel fresh and mature.

For the Walker Jewelry Mart back in November, I offered Translucent, Matte Black, Matte Red and Matte Brown as well as Cherry, Walnut, Paduak and Maple wood - all with the oxidized sterling. It was very well received and I will continue making/offering these material finishes going forward. In fact, I'm adding sandblasted ORANGE to the list for Spring and Summer! (Updates have been made in my online shop, but if you notice something I've missed, just send me a note.)

back from maternity "leave"

When you work from home, and give birth at home, a maternity leave seems a silly thing to call it. The only thing that I really seem to have left is this blog....but it takes time to do all the things that one should when you have a baby, and when you transition into the new old routines again. It all takes time, which doesn't leave much for blogging. I won't go into too much detail, but I will say that I had an amazing second birth experience - one that I couldn't have imagined making happen a year ago when I first found out I was pregnant again. My first son's birth happened to me. My second son's birth transformed me. Veli Hanka arrived at 10:16am the morning of December 26th after six hours of smooth, natural labor. Our second boy was born in our basement, in a birthing tub, next to a roaring fire. The Japanese try to avoid fours ... but so far my little family of four is very harmonious - it's like he allows everything to fall into place. Veli - (sounds like belly) - means 'brother' in Finnish and 'guardian' in Turkish. Hanka is my mother's maiden name and the surname of my late grandfather who passed just over a year ago.

The last three and a half months, during the snowiest winter Minnesota has seen in years, have been spent laying low at home and getting used to new routines. I tried to refrain from jumping back into work until the 3 month mark, but I failed. Luckily (and possibly because of the fact that) I work from home! One project that I tackled within the first couple weeks was to design these THANK YOU cards. My husband took the photograph and I designed the cards to fit a specific envelope that I have and use often. I wanted the card to provide a space for a written note but also allow the thank you to be visible right away . The layout also allows people to save just the photo element that has his name and birth details included on the back side. With the immediacy of facebook, we didn't send out an official birth announcement, but I considered changing the thank you to 'welcome' and that would have worked as a great for that, too.

blog/facebook/ huh?

I struggle sometimes, when there isn't enough time in the day .... I have found myself using facebook instead of this blog and it forces me to question the function of each - because they're not really the same thing. I've found in the past that this blog has functioned like my memory - a record, a diary, a calendar of my creative process and schedule. I started using our silvercocoon-facebook page to highlight blog posts and I felt that it was redundant...that facebook was the "repeat" of what I'd already done.

Lately (and mostly since I've been pregnant) their roles have reversed. I'm not sure if it is because of the way that facebook functions; how it allows interaction and immediate sharing of information ... or if, simply, it is just faster to pop a pic up on the wall with a quick, quirky-like caption and I can call it a day. ---- Even this train of thought is classic blog not facebook. My next thought is - do you even care? Seriously....it is hard (given who I am in this case) to decipher the thoughts that spin inside this prego-brain of mine. Relevant? Not-relevant? TOTALLY wacko!!??



Anyway, I have lost hold of the memory that this blog used to hold. My goal for the New Year is to get back into the habit ... for my sake. (and maybe for yours?)

THERE_craft

A while back I was invited to write an article for the University of MN - School of Architecture Grad-Student Journal of Design - called THERE. The topic of issue6 was going to be "craft" -- and they were looking to pull together a diverse group to talk about "craft" from a myriad of perspectives. So, I wrote and whittled and edited an article that ultimately seemed reflective of me -- practical, emotional, based on my personal experiences and not very scholarly :) Well, anyway ... I'm excited to share that the journal is printed and out in the hands of real people! I have really been enjoying reading my own copy and am excited to share a glimpse of it with you.

The thick journal/book is beautiful, with a thick glossy cover and nice graphic detailing. For those of you interested in getting your hands on a copy, you can find them on Amazon here.

one of many new photos ....

PHOTO: Christopher Selleck

MODEL: Elle Richards

MAKE-UP: Tai Rosa

JEWELRY: POD earring - sandblasted acrylic & oxidized sterling silver

OK .... ok ....

I think it is about time to admit that I am not able to keep up with my normal-self's workload with this baby growing inside of me. When it was other outside sources of distraction, I could more easily ignore them in order to get the work done or take a quick break to reflect (blog) on the progress I was making. But, when I try to do too much, my body literally will not give me that quick break to reflect (blog) ... instead I find myself out cold in an afternoon nap, or worse yet, just sitting ... unable to move from exhaustion. I exaggerate a little - but really only a little.



With this blog, I've tried to keep it as much about my work, creative process and business-related events as possible. But again, my hormones have pulled much of my mental focus to more motherly concerns. My first born is a kindergartner - his first time in a structured social environment since he was born (no daycare, no preschool) which means it is also the first time that I've really had to start letting go. I experienced the initial twang of emotion on those first days of school and I've worried my fair share about how he would do socially, would he find friends, what if someone was mean to him etc. Generally my concern has been for not. He is adjusting so beautifully that I couldn't be more proud.



I mention these things here, now - because I believe that design and creativity stems from one's own experiences and perspective. Even in the most accessible design, there is something of the designer's person contained within it. I am trying to keep this perspective right now and hope to be fabulously surprised by the content and direction that will come from this period of time.

One of the things that fascinates me most about design is the amazing power that even the smallest variables can have on a finished piece. Architecture is BIG and there are so many decisions to make. While the number of design decisions diminishes when you consider the scale of a piece of jewelry or personal accessory, the impact of each move does not. I have been revisiting some old ideas -- back-tracking up the path, if you will -- in order to bring new life to certain pieces in my collection for Fall & Winter. The differences are subtle but they present a completely different perspective ... of maturity and growth and warmth.

WINTER 2010/11: wood, sandblasted acrylic, oxidized silver, rich colors of wool and leather.

where have i been???

Well, I have certainly have taken a hiatus from this blog, and I apologize to those of you who have checked-up on me in the past couple months with nothing reported. And to those who have forgotten, I hope you'll somehow discover that I am back.

My time away has been well spent on a few house projects, a bit of nesting, some gardening, mothering my almost 5-year old who will start school this fall ... and with a whole bunch of napping. My body has needed extra sleep the last 3months to make energy for the new little one that is growing inside my belly. Yes! - I am pregnant and we are expecting a new baby around the 4th of January. We are all so excited. Luckily my Spring schedule was light enough to accommodate the sleep! But, I have entered my second trimester and the energy and motivation is all coming back to me and I have quite a few new things to share with you in the coming weeks. But, I thought I would take this first post to share some pics of the mini house-projects I've completed.
First project that I tackled back in April was to paint the "walls"of our exterior "dining room" (patio) a dark-dark almost-black grey. I painted far wall as well as the large window to the left -- they're somewhat hard to see because they recede back given that they are so dark. I love how it responds to the almost black bricks of the sunken dining area - pulling the defining lines up from the ground onto the walls of the house. >> My husband then continued upgrading our outdoor space by creating this awesome pea-gravel sitting area ... as well as a gravel-pit play area for our son back by the garden.

The next project was a one-day face-lift of our entry way. I completed all the work myself in about 6 hours (actually brought me back to my IKEA days!) -- I started by pulling some carpet tiles from the basement laundry room and then laid & cut them to fit wall to wall in the entry. I then covered the carpet with plastic, while I (removed the TRONES bins from the wall and) painted the walls. This color is the same color as the exterior walls and our front door, so there is a visual consistency that I've started to carry throughout our house.

And most recently........ we've swapped my son's room and the guest room, to allow for the kiddos to share a room come the new year. Major nesting tendencies caused me to take the project on now, and with the help of my mother, we painted both rooms and switched all the furniture around in 2 days! I again carried the same color from the entry, patio area and all exterior doors into the kids' room by painting the wall behind the awesome built-in that came with the house. I actually tried the golden yellow that had been in my son's old room, as well as a royal blue color before settling on the dark "Night fall" by Benjamin Moore. It grounds the room. I'll be sure to post updates in a few months when I set-up the crib - so you can see how the room will adapt.

So....there it is. And here it is - my blog renewed. Thanks for reading!