ALL

Above: all images courtesy of Annie Lee Larson
Below: All images from American Fabrics Fall 1971- knits by Betsey Johnson for Alley Cat

Just ordered this fab top from Twin Cities based designer Annie Lee Larson (aka ALL) who is a genius. I blogged about her before. So excited to support this artist & receive my top in the mail. I think we can look forward to big things in the future from Ms. Larson.

Her work reminds me of these knitwear designs (pictured directly above) by Betsey Johnson that were featured in the autumn '71 issue of American Fabrics magazine (I'll be posting more images from these vintage magazines in the near future...they are chock full of inspiration). Congratulations on opening your store, Annie!

Crystal Bomb

all images courtesy of Debra Baxter Crystal Bomb DB/CB.

My friend Deb opened a store for her fine jewelry!

Corner View: Animals

Do you see her? There in the middle? At the top of the hill? When we first moved into our house almost 3 years ago, we had a coyote (I'm guessing it was a female) that liked to hang out in our yard and nap on our hillside. She disappeared after the 4th of July...fireworks scared her away.

Since then- we haven't noticed any other coyotes in our yard, but we have had the usual birds, squirrels, raccoons and opossums.
In the last two snapshots- there are no animals present- this is intentional: we are trying to keep them away from our strawberries.
We have a real life Strawberry Thief (see the last image: William Morris' famous "Strawberry Thief" textile he designed for Liberty of London...any excuse to mention Liberty in a post...).

We think it's a opossum (possum? why do you need to put an "o" in front of it...readers: help me out!) or a raccoon- no little pecked away berries. Whatever was eating them, it would pluck the whole berry from the stem. Whatever it was, it was also smart enough to lift up the netting we first placed over the berries. Tomory had to fashion a wire cage as the next step, secured with latches- we shall see if that works!

Go here to view additional members of the animal kingdom.

**UPDATE 4/29/10 : We just ate the first strawberries tonight...they we so flavorful! Delicious. Sorry, critters.

Lizzie Fortunato

Can't find or afford the Isabel Marant Flana Jacket (image below: via Net-A-Porter)? This "New Dawn Fades" necklace (pictured above) by Lizzie Fortunato is reminiscent of said jacket and is slightly more attainable (give or take a thousand bucks ;)

I first became aware of Lizzie Fortunato Jewels through their interesting and beautiful collection they did for VPL in SP'09 (Lizzie Fortunato Jewels is a joint venture between Elizabeth who does the designing and her twin sister Kathryn who handles the marketing). Below is another example from the SP 2010 line. The last image is from the awesomely named Fall '09 "Long May You Run" collection. I kind of have a soft spot for this design just based on it's name: the Desert Wedding Necklace. Our first anniversary is coming up this week!

1st & 3rd images via Charm and Chain.

All other images (exception noted) via Lizzie Fortunato.

Views from the new studio.
At last I have a proper cutting table, and can finally see what fabric I have!

Fortune

Umbrian Vegetable Stew made with Swiss Chard, Fava Beans, and Carrots from out of our garden. Bruschetta which included fresh peas from our garden.
Amazing.
Tomory made all of this for dinner the other night. I'm a very fortunate gal.

Sholten & Baijings

Above: Image courtesy of Vivid Gallery

Below: All images courtesy of Sight Unseen

Moving on to other things- ready to start kicking ass and taking names.

I'm setting up my studio this weekend. The guest room is all cleaned out, so now I'll be able to work on the next ERMIE collection in earnest. In the meantime:

I've been posting about veggies from our garden lately, and in keeping with this theme here are some vegetables that just happen to be inedible (a feast for the eyes only). These textile vegetables were produced by designers Sholten & Baijings. Via the queen of everything colorful Kris. Photo #4 is of the rhubarb stalks in progress- especially beautiful. Look at those colors in the blankets (also by Sholten & Baijings) too!

**Jennifer Zinn is having a give-a-way. Be sure to check it out!

Lesson Learned

Sorry for the poor quality photo. It was taken with a cell phone. Read on...

Does this textile design look familiar to you? If you've read my blog for awhile, it should. The picture above was taken in March 2010, by Tomory at a store, (that's me off to the side) and the garments pictured were not produced by myself, but by another "designer."

Here's the story: About a month ago, Tomory and I were at the aforementioned to -remain- unnamed store shopping for a shirt for his London opening. We came across the pictured garments from a designer's (that shall also remain unnamed) Spring 2010 line.
Roughly half of the garments featured a print that was strikingly similar to one of my original textile designs, that I initially created back in May of 2008. Even the colorways were similar to those I had designed. I first posted this design on my blog back in October & November of 2008, when my blog began. I did not register the copyright of this design. The unnamed store was/ is selling these garments for $300- $700 each.

Let's face it folks: There is fair use, and then there is "lazy" design, and then there are just a lot of plain bad designers out there. I'm still angry about it. Angry at this other "designer." Angry at myself for not registering the copyright. Angry because I trusted that people would do the right thing and not use my designs without my permission. But at least I know now what I need to do to protect my work, and know that my work is good enough to be sold at a certain high-end store (I'm really trying to find a sliver lining in all of this) !

If you are an artist or designer let this post be a warning to you. A PSA of sorts, even if at first, like me, you are producing work purely for your own enjoyment.

Here is some advice: Copyright your designs. It costs about $35 per design. Save yourself a lot of heartache.

A note to any "lazy" designers out there who may be reading this (doubtful that you've read this far...too lazy!) : Don't try to profit unfairly off of other people's hard work -it's bad karma, unethical, and eventually people will realize what you are up to and you'll have to face the consequences.

Rely on your own creativity. Don't sell yourself short. Do the right thing. Please note: Unless otherwise stated: All original textile designs and photographs © Jennifer Parry Dodge 2008- 2010

Desire

Solveig Dommartin. R.I.P.

5/16/1961- 1/11/2007

Isabel Marant. Image Via RUSSH.

Dommartin

Above: Marant via Metier

Below: Solveig Dommartin- still from Wings of Desire

Girl Crushes. Seems to be a rampant issue with female bloggers (females in general?).

This blogger is not immune. My current girl crushes...

I watched Wings of Desire again for the first time in about 15 years (yikes!). Brought back so many memories-my freshman year of college, my first serious boyfriend, Halloween snowstorms in Minnesota. Solveig Dommartin, who played the female lead in the film, was a stunning woman. I think I was one of the few people who enjoyed Until The End of the World (loved that soundtrack) and she was one of the reasons why (Dommartin co-wrote and starred in that film). Until recently, I had no idea she passed away at the age of 45-of a heart attack- in 2007. Far, far too young.

Other crush: Marant.
For her personal style, design work, and she's got a damn sexy voice, too!

Corner View: Earth Day

evening light

chive blossom

baby spiders

onion blossom

lettuce (haven't had to buy lettuce in months!)



"We can never have enough of Nature."

"...in wildness is the preservation of the world."

-Henry David Thoreau

More nature here.
Happy Earth Day.

Harvest

Harvest time is year- 'round here in So Cal, depending on what you planted.

Anyone want any carrots? They're organic!

I don't get you

all images via Kiitos Marimekko

Was it something I said? Something I did?
I don't get you, Internet. Please don't tell me that it's you and not me.
We both deserve better than that.

Seven people visited my blog today? Huh? Really, I don't get it.
Maybe I'm getting too predictable.

I'm kidding. Sort of- but really only seven people visited my blog today. That's 10 times less than a normal day (not counting all the times I'm obsessively checking my blog myself- ha!). So strange.
While I ponder my role (or lack thereof) in the blogosphere, here are some images (color! pattern! predictable of me??) of Marimekko Spring 2010 for my seven readers to enjoy :)

LaMill

Went to LaMill Coffee for breakfast on Sunday in Silverlake.
It was a glorious morning. Balmy and sun-filled.

The menu here is a bit overwhelming in terms of the drink (coffee) options. About ten different brewing methods and many different types of beans to choose from.
I chose a Japanese hand-drip brew, with the very dark Onyx beans.
Tomory had a fizzy mojito- like drink. The egg dishes were excellent, and by the time we were finished, we were properly fueled for a day of household chores.

A nice treat before we engaged in some major spring cleaning...attempting to purge our closets, and clean out the guest room which will become a "real" studio for me!