Home Office

I tend to be a bit messy in my arrangements but they all have a purpose:

The things that I leave undone, I tend to leave out and visible in hopes that I'll find further inspiration for them, if not from them.  My mantra is "organized chaos."  I'm constantly looking to make nothing into something and everything else into something more.

- Esoteric

Made in Brooklyn

Over the past few years I have been honing my craft for creativity in visual arts, merchandising and curation.  More specifically, for the past year or so I've been working more on tailoring and garment making.  My projects have taken me from dressmaking, to denim repair, repurposing leather, and accessories creation.

My latest work has been with handmade accessory pieces using different fabrics, including, denim, wool, leather and silk.  Though I will be creating items for sale soon, the main goal is to create quality items that I am proud to display and/or add to my wardrobe.  I find the experience of seeing your thoughts and ideas coming to fruition in the form of a product or good to be quite rewarding; even more so when you can be directly involved in every step of the creation from inception to conceptualization to the finished product.

For my latest endeavor, I decided to seek out fabrics to make the perfect scarf for a perfect winter day.  I thought of what feels good? looks good? and still keeps you warm.  That led me to marrying silk with wool.  Neither of these two fabrics was perfect on their own for the weather, but when combined together they are perfect.  Feel the silk against your skin and leave the wool fight the element.  The bordering edges that reveal the two fabrics in harmony creates beautiful luxe aesthetic.  The silk against your skin not only feels soothing but it insulates and regulates, to a certain extent, your body temperature allowing you to stay warm while not overheating.  The suiting wool that I sourced gives a very premium look to garment without losing the strength of the fabric to fend off the cold.  It's not much more to say about it, besides it is truly perfect for the season.

Have a look at a bit of the creative cut'n'sew process:

A good pair of scissors is clutch

steady hands are a plus...

...but not a necessity as long as you can sew cleanly.

always be sure to find the front-side of your silk before sewing

Classic Plaid

Understated Grey

Fin.

A Night with Jeff Koons!

The Whitney Museum of American Art is pretty popular on a Friday night! And rightly so, seeing as the policy of “pay-what-you-wish” is in effect. This particular evening, I went to see the JEFF KOONS: A RETROSPECTIVE 1978-NOW.

Going in, I didn’t know too much about the artist and I wasn’t prepared for a few things I saw. It’s not all shiny dogs and blow-up flowers! There are some cute, family friendly things to see and also a few adult-only pieces (you’ve been warned!)

There’s so much stuff, I don’t even know where to begin. So I’ll just highlight a few of my favorite pieces. From the Antiquity collection I fell in love with the Balloon Venus and the Pluto and Proserpina sculptures. Seeing these historical sculptures brought up to date in a modern medium and vibrant colors lends fresh perspective to a younger generation and also if replicated at about half the size would be welcomed additions to my room.

Balloon Venus (front)

Balloon Venus (back)

I also enjoyed the Made in Heaven collection; 1. for its openness, (the is the exhibit that isn’t for the kids) showing lovers in sexually explicit situations, literally and metaphorically. Reason 2. for the different mediums that were used there are large screen printed photographs, glass sculptures with splashes of color and polychromed wood. Oh! I can’t forget the random shaggy dogs, cats, butterflies and sparkly marble self-portrait busts.

In any case, when visiting this exhibit there is never a dull moment! You’ll see images that remind you of your childhood (superheroes and play-doh) and things that may remind you of summertime fun or your own mortality (inflatable bunnies and flowers). So, if you are in the NYC area or have plans to visit before October 19, 2014, I strongly encourage you to take some time to check it out.

If you'd like even more info on the artist, check out this fantastic link: Artsy.net - Jeff Koons

Pluto and Proserpina

-Amanda

Raw Denim Art Project

 So...in my never-ending pursuit to turn my life from one big sociology case study (long story...see the last 5 years of my life living in Chicago) into an everlasting exploratory art project, I am incorporating fashion and more specifically personal taste and style into an art project.  The feature--raw denim from the A.P.C. brand.

A.P.C.'s Petit New Standard Jeans

There are plenty of brands that make very high quality denim incorporating the world renowned Japanese loom process (see High Snobiety's piece on Japanese Denim), but I chose A.P.C. because they give you the opportunity to give your denim story a second life. Through their "Butler" program, customers are able to purchase and wear-in pairs of raw denim fit jeans in order to create exciting new wash and wear styles that could never be created through the pre-consumer wash and wear processes that machines do create the worn looks that popularize today's fashion trends.  After thoroughly breaking in and personalizing your pair of A.P.C. jeans you are then invited I return your unique creation to a store where, if eligible, you can resell for 50% off your next pair.  That's a pretty sweet deal.

I may not be a complete denim aficionado but I can definitely appreciate a good art project.  Also, the idea that my legacy can live on through someone else's experience is a rewarding notion to me.

The jeans are practically new in these shots:

I look forward to creating a very uniquely styled garment once I begin my particular washing recipe after I give them at least 6-8 months of wear.  I only hope that I'll still be interested in parting with them once the time comes. There will be follow-up posts on the development of this project and I hope that you all with enjoy this project with me.

More about A.P.C.:

Atelier de Production et de Création, better known by it's acronym A.P.C., is a French clothing brand founded by Jean Touitou in the beautiful year of 1987 (pardon my bias for my birth year).  The clothing takes a very minimalist approach. You won't find numerous logos and overly intricate designs.  With their pieces. Lately the company has been doing numerous collaborations with other brands and celebrity designers that have garnered it much notoriety as of late.

I initially discovered the brand back in college when looking for French style influences and again while looking for some better denim options. At the time, I chose to go with Nudies because of their more intricate and now famous back pocket detailing.  I think I was more interested in the world noticing what I was wearing as opposed to satisfying myself.

My personal style is constantly evolving with my maturity.

- Esoteric

Life on the Rocks: Urban Exploration Day

Above the tide,

Yet weathered from erosion;

Beyond the waves,

But a slave to the surf.

Ones environment dictates much about their life and its inevitable experiences.  Human geography is a broadly vast experiment.  With that being said, I personally seek to suit up in my lab coat, glasses and gloves and blow shit up as often as possible.

Today's experiment took us into the field known as the Wiliamsburg neighborhood, with a quick romp into adjoining Greenpoint.  Often known as "Hipsterville," be it affectionately or otherwise, this section of northern Brooklyn offers a large array of diverse dining and shopping experiences as well parks and natural scenic grace (as natural as can be in a heavily built environment such as New York City) .  As diverse and the commercial real estate is also the housing offered in the area.  There's everything from high rise condominiums to walk-up apartments and, characteristic of Brooklyn, gorgeous brownstones.  With such a wealth of contrasts, it is quite amazing how well these neighborhoods operate in harmony; even with all the damn tourists.

- Keilon

“In wisdom gathered over time i have found that every experience is a form of exploration”

  -Ansel Adams

“...and i plan to experience a lot by the end of my time.”

-Amanda

with that being said, we ventured into a little place known as “hipsterville”, pardon, williamsburg is what this area is called. it’s a journey to get to depending on where you call home in new york city. we took three trains to get there; borough hopping from brooklyn to manhattan back to brooklyn. but once we got there and saw that the sun was still out i was happy i made the trip. it's a nice little area that reminds me of neighborhoods from home (Chicago). our reason for making this trek was to explore the Brooklyn Flea's winter market-Smorgasburg.

brooklyn flea is a very large market where one can procure vintage, modern, new, used and modified items as well as fill your belly with delicious grub. we decided to have a breakfast classic; a chocolate doughnut from Dough Brooklyn. and it was amazing! (had two actually) and browsed lots of sparkly jewelry and cool rustic home decor.

after the flea market we explored more of the area walking leisurely even though it was windy and chilly making sure to take everything in. getting brunch at Mable’s Smokehouse & Banquet Hall and traveling to the greenpoint waterfront to see the east river at sunset. overall this exploration experience was nice. williamsburg, we may be back soon…

-Amanda

Selected shots of the day:

From Brooklyn...

...to Manhattan

Public Transit in NYC can be a daunting and incoherent excursion.  Why must you travel from Brooklyn just to make it back to Brooklyn via grumbling train ride through lower Manhattan?

Street art and murals have come to define much of this portion of Brooklyn

Amanda surveys the scene on 5th & Berry

The scene in front of the Brooklyn Flea's Smorgasburg

....from clothing...

...to trinkets...

...and, of course, food!

There's a little bit a lot of everything to see and eat at these Brooklyn Flea sponsored events.  Be sure to visit www.brooklynflea.com for information and schedules on their various markets throughout the year.

Street Scenes:

thoughts on the wall

There's no shortage of street art in Williamsburg.  One can argue that at times, there's a bit of visual overstimulation but how can you not love art?  And by love art, how can you not appreciate the process of seeing and loving or seeing and loathing; be utterly intrigued or utterly disgusted; whatever your reaction may be you felt something and that's the central theme to revisit in life.  If this post leaves you with nothing else, take away  the desire to Feel Something.

photo-op time...
                                     The eyes are always watching
almost as effective as the yellow lines
                                                                             Chilly
Vivid
                                                      the pursuit of "Epic"

trying to find "that shot"
                                                             Behind the wallStreet art

Greenpoint Waterfront:

After the endless bombardment of industrial fortresses that crowd the Williamsburg portion of the East River it's nice to break into the somewhat more serene setting of the Greenpoint waterfront at WNYC Transmitter Park between Kent Street and Greenpoint Avenue.Taking it all in...

Nearing sunset......Manhattan across the East River

Amanda near sunset......Keilon's silhouette

testing lowtide...

...relinquishing camera duties

shutterbug......Greenpoint Avenue

Fin.