light at the end

i'm approaching that last flight...... my huge athletic club project will have 100% design drawings finished and submitted to the contractor for pricing and construction by monday. it will be a long weekend finishing up all the last details. but i can finally see the light at the end of this long tunnel {which has been anything but a straight path ~ rather full of twists, shoots & ladders!}
i hope y'all have a peaceful & prosperous weekend!

oh yeah ~ also, welcome jenni & seth to the goldengate heights 'hood ~ it's my greatest pleasure to now call you neighbor! hopefully you don't have many more moving steps to climb today. i'll bring the champagne for happy hour!

{photo from john pawson's house}

london design festival ~ lighting loves

the reporting teams over at mocoloco and design boom brought back a ton of lighting lovelies from the london design festival week. and you know i'm a huge fan of lighting design, so i just had to share some of these!

{tom dixon's installation in front of the national gallery in trafalgar square ~ a huge chandelier made of his blow lights. he gave away 1,000 of these low energy blow lights as part of his campaign to change how we think about energy consumption}

{flower ball light, made from recycled plastic bottles, designed by heath nash ~ the brilliant south african designer who uses people's rubbish to make lovely furnishings}

{the anglepoise fifty lamps, designed by anthony dickens, are an innovative take on an old school table lamp ~ the injection-moulded polycarbonate design is a transparent shade with a lamp fitting. the back of the lamp is exposed, which floods the wall behind it with light and projects the color of the lamp forward through the plastic body}

{multicolored striped steel and aluminium table lamp by fredrik mattson: pxl. this would look great in so many settings! to add fun to an office, for a kid's bedside lamp, in an ecclectic sitting room. i'd love to find several happy homes for these}

{the dandilight by benjamin hubert is made of cast resin and aluminum. i've been working with cast resin on several project and i tell you it is an amazing prodcut! this lamp is available as a floor lamp or hanging pendant. i love dandelions anyway, so this was one of my insta-favorites}

the alpha workshops

based in new york city, the alpha workshops is an interesting and inspiring organization ~ a non-profit started in 1995 that trains and employs people living with hiv/aids in the decorative arts. and this isn't some half-hearted effort. their work is exceptional and significant. they will create fully custom, one-of-a-kind finishes and furnishings, and they offer a ton of ready made products too ~ gorgeous wallpaper, lighting, decorative finishes, gilding & restoration in the highest craftsmanship. an entirely impressive company!

mom's special day

happy birthday to the kind, thoughtful, classy, huge-hearted, dedicated, talented and inspirational lady i'm lucky enough to call my mom! hope your day is filled with delights & wonderfulness ~ here are a few to add to the birthday blisses:

p.s.

the

sunrise view today from my living room ~ above the fog the golden gate bridge peeks thru, and

downtown sf in apricot glow ~ a perfect way to start mama's birthday

tanguera nueva

last night i not only met jennifer bratt and ney melo ~ i got to take a class with them! considered one of the most elegant, skilled & connected tango couples, it was a privilege and inspiration to learn some movement from them and watch their sparks fly up close.
to see what i mean {well if you haven't tried tango you may not understand just how incredible they are, but trust me this is way more difficult than it looks}, check out this video clip of them dancing to carlos di sarli's nido gaucho, and soak in the passion ......

custom piiroinen

a finnish furniture maker has once again brought innovation to the furnishings market! piiroinen offers an online software tool that allows you to upload any photo or pattern for them to use when making custom tables and chairs for you from their flakes line. made of transparent glass fiber and stainless steel, they are great for indoor & outdoor use, as the frame is specially treated with zinc and lacquer.
what a fabulous idea! check it out here.

{thanks to the diva at design-milk for introducing me to it}

bloom where you're planted

i'd like to share a few favorite pieces that have caught my eye lately ~ all are functional and decorative at the same time ~ a perfect combination really.{the flamenco chandelier by charles loomis ~ the embossed glass diffusers on stainless steel arms may appear to be some fancy floral mobile0like art, but it's actually a light fixture ~ dramatic, passionate & fun, just like its namesake dance}

{fresh fat chair by tom dixon ~ extruded and hand-woven clear plastic. the material glistens like glass but is much less fragile. it looks like a delicate piece of art, but is also a durable and {supposedly} comfortable place to take a load off}

{the bloom table by twentieth art & design serves as a vase for any seasonal blooms or branches, and it makes a nice side table for your tea cup, or a place to set a few books or magazines, or evento store a rolled towel or two if you decide to use it in your bath. it comes in polished stainless steel or a variety of painted steel colors}

{susan bradley's creep shelf is glass powder coated steel and comes in white or black. it works as a shelf to offset some favorite little tid-bit collectible, but it could just as well remain as-is and look lovely on your wall all on its own. found on rocket st.george}

.

{the anna morph shelving unit by sawaya & moroni ~ matt sindall photographs colorful floral and geometric subjects, prints them on transparent melamine, and uses it to wrap the wooden structure of the limited-edition bookcase. it can stand proudly on its four stainless-steel feet, without so much as a single volume inside}

{the bouquet fixture line by minital lux ~ made from glass and aluminum. for decorative lighting and splash of sparkle}

tara in totnes

if you'd like a delightful distraction to ease you back in to monday (or any particular reason will do) ~ go visit paris parfait today. she's posted absolutely wonderful photos of her visit to totnes, devon.

framing audrey

this weekend i finally got to frame the posters from two of my favorite audrey movies. i've had them for a while now and it feels so good to have them out of their rolled-up storage and on rightful display.

(the italian version of the movie poster for breakfast at tiffany's is now framed in an old window i got at a flea market in seattle. it waited 5 years for the reason to use it again. ah-ha! it's a perfect fit for audrey)

(the italian version of the movie poster for funny face got framed in gold. it fits pretty well above my stack of vintage cases next to my bed, but eventually it will go up on the wall. for now i like having it close to brighten my dreams)

~ ~ ~ ~

oh yeah, and i also cleaned and organized the rest of my apartment too. talk about happy satisfaction!

(our vintage ge cooktop, circa 1960 with cook's provisions along side and tangerine dahlia's on the sill above. and my handmade john herold ceramics lined up along that gorgeous mediterranean tile backsplash)

(even the magazines and books in our foyer got cleaned out & adjusted too)

and i'll leave you with one of my favorite audrey quotes: "for beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.” ~a.h.

uprooted

ever feel like this?
over exposed, displaced, bedraggled, bewildered. yep. it's been a rough week.
but it's friday & i can't wait to sleep in tomorrow morning & relax in my pj's til noon. this too shall pass.

btw ~ it's kind of hard to see it, but that's my favorite light house in the world in the background. heceta head lighthouse. ah october. i'll be there in october! yes.

have a wonderful weekend, lovelies.

maxine snider

tailored, polished, and refined, maxine snider's work draws on classical traditions, interpreting them with a fresh and modern twist. taking inspiration from the shakers, the french modernists, the great scandinavian designs, as well as the simple beauty of japanese everyday objects, her collection offers a lovely variety of furnishings. many finishes are available for each, and she we will even custom design pieces to create the perfect fit.

see how gorgeous green can be

this weekend september 20-22, 2007:
west coast green! a residential building conference & expo at the bill graham civic auditorium here in san francisco.
shown above is the phinney ridge remodel ~ with an entirely green & modern remodel, it sold within two days of going on the market.
the project architect (blip design) followed the built green remodeler checklist that is specifically designed for home remodels or additions. quite lovely, isn't it?

speaking of baked treats

i love to bake & i find it very inspiring. it takes technical skill, creativity, & determination. some of the best bakers are true designers with their work. in fact that's why i'm posting about miss.bossacafez (evan) today. she is an entirely self-taught baker ~ never taken a single class (but admits to spending a fortune of money & time on baking books). her creations are unique, gorgeously well thought-out, and stunning to look at. by the popularity she's gained from her blog & flickr sites i'm sure they are delicious too, but i haven't ordered anything to try myself. she's based in singapore but hopefully she can ship her treats? i've selected a small sampling to show here, so please do check out her blog & flickr to see her full range of baking talents.
and have a delicious wednesday!

(green tea macha cupcakes with macha cream cheese frosting and topped with pink wafer flowers. finished with a sprinkle of macha powder. wow.)

(pistachio apricot cake on the left and a summer berry tiramisu on the right. beautiful yum!)

(her jaw dropping mooncakes ~ this one is mache snowskin with green tea lotus and toasted melon seed filling)

(and her most popular ~ for obvious reasons ~ her macaroons! she creates amazingly unique flavors: lavender, rose, green tea, pistachio, sesame noir, cafe noisette, frambroise, apricot, mango, cocoa just to name a few.)

three cakes, one day

this past saturday teri & i set out on the ultra ambitious mission of trying 3 new cake recipes. there was a theme: chocolate & pomegranate; and a sub-theme: tuaca rescues disasters.

(swiss butter cream, naked chocolate cakes, and our projects in progress)

(teri not amused by the parfait failure, our tuaca soothers, and me photographing our fave cake)

(all that was worth showing of the parfait disaster, the bleeding heart cake surprise, and the ganache covered dream-come-true cake)


(this one goes in the portfolio)

many more photos here & here.

true nature

what happens when you come across a beautiful redhead who's a talented artist, excellent photographer, deep thinker & world traveler? you tell your friends on your blog with glee, that's what! jenny of true nature blog (based in buenos aires) has captivated me. i'm sure she'll do the same for you. . . . . look at these samples from her blog to see what i mean:

(lovely photo of seafoam clouds & golden umbrellas)

(i heart tango and this is a painting i'm trying to buy from her. yes she painted it!)

(colored pencils & jewelry parts in her studio. she also happens to make beautiful jewelry too)

and here's to the crazy ones (many happen to be my heroes):

(albert einstein, bob dylan, martin luther king, jr., richard branson, john lennon, r. buckminster fuller, thomas edison, muhammad ali, ted turner, maria callas, mahatma gandhi, amelia earhart, alfred hitchcock, martha graham, jim henson, frank lloyd wright and picasso)