Quote of the Week - Robert Kennedy

Grassy Point, Hornby Island 

There are those who look at things the way they are and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?

This Bed Has Trouble Written All Over It

Who's with me on this? Particularly on that concrete floor - or a grassy hill...

designed by Joe Manus for Shiner

Do you receive my newsletter? It's a collection of tips, rants/adventures I don't post on the blog.

Currently on Rotation in My Car

Seriously, ever try belly dancing while seated?

Rough Guide to Bellydance

I got pretty excited when I saw these

and trust me, I don't get excited often. Jason Koharik takes vintage furniture and gives it a one two - that is, he beats it into better shape than it had been in its previous life. Koharik's philosophy is simple;

  'I look for the discarded and under appreciated. I value the beauty and potential of all things wood and metal. I collect them. I clean them. I fix them. I rebuild them. In some cases, I just place them in the right environment. I follow a use what you have mentality. Nothing goes to waste, that way everything has possibility'.

For more of his amazing collection - entitled Collected - visit his site here. 
You'll have to head to LA to touch it - available at Lawson Fenning

all images © Jason Koharik

Tip of the Week - At the Table

Clyde Common, Portland

• Napkins should be unfolded after everyone has been seated. 
• Place your napkin neatly over your thighs, never tucked into your collar. 
• At lunch, unfold only half the napkin; at dinner, unfold the whole thing. 
• If you need to leave the table, do not place your napkin on the back of the chair; alternatively, place the napkin on the seat of your chair: servers will know you're returning and will not clear your plate. 
• At the end of the meal, place your napkin, lightly folded, to the left of your plate.

Quote of the Week - Voltaire

Judge a man by his questions, not by his answers.

Vintage Yves Saint Laurent

1970 Paris
Vogue France

photo: Jeanloup Sieff

model: Charolette Rampling

São Paulo School of Arts and Crafts

available at Espasso

available at Modern Furniture


available at R 20th Century

available at Adesso

available at noho modern

Liceu de Artes e Ofícios is a technical college located in São Paulo, Brazil. The school was founded in 1873 with the mandate of meeting São Paulo's need for skilled labour. Their objective - 'to train artisans and workers for workshops, trade and agriculture'. 

'The College also produced furnishings and wood paneling. Some of these works can be found in places like the Rio Sheraton, Meridien Hotel, Sydney Hilton, Hotel Tropical Manaus Hotel Transamerica - Sao Paulo and in airports. There is also a room with furniture in the Lyceum Ipiranga Museum and also the Immigrant Memorial.' more here.

Furniture produced at the school during the 1950s-1970s is now highly collectible.

Gussied Up Abandoned Buildings

Patrick Baillet's, Spaces Palimpseste, takes me back to my first year art history class and our examination of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's battle against the, 'frivolous art of the day.' Baillet paints Pre-Raphaelite images, such as Rosetti's Monna Vanna, amongst graffitied walls of abandoned, decaying buildings in France. Not sure if this is where he was going with the whole thing but it sounds good. For more of his work visit is website here. Images © Patrick Baillet

Digital Graffiti | Architecture | Thought Rants | Fashion | Design

Tagging a gravestone, locking locks on a fence, sticking gum on a wall. Why do people participate? Self expression? Community? Dopamine? Are Facebook, Tumblr, or Foursquare forms of digital graffiti? Why or why not?


image via my tumblr via here

• be fearless
• go beyond the obvious
• never assume
• look for hints transform them to innovation
• ideas for ideas' sake are worthless

The day before I left for my holiday vacation two of my instructors took me out for drinks - which somewhat turned into an intervention. They told me my job was sucking the life out of me. I appreciated their candor because I'm a tough love kind of chick.

Time for some changes - 2013 will see me up in front of a class again. I'm looking forward to making my students' brains hurt. I'll be teaching into the digital marketing program I created so expect to see a few thought rants like this one. I'm also going to be creating a new e-retail program which I'm really looking forward to as that's where my business was born. Besides thinking, I'm also passionate about design, architecture and fashion so I'll be blogging more - which is also a passion. Oh - and I'll also be opening shopbijouliving.com Three cheers for the entrepreneur!

Happy New Year to You! I really appreciate you sticking around and following my ups, downs and circular motions! The best is yet to come.