Sale!

Photos: 2,3- Kate Miss
4-Jeana Sohn

New Studio Sale items are now up!

Hawaii: Food

The food was wonderful in Hawaii: fresh, organic, local fruit and fish- we gorged ourselves on it. You haven't really tasted bananas, mangoes, or ahi tuna until you've eaten them off of a tree or fresh out of the ocean (as it were). We drank local beer (my fave was a coconut stout that tasted and smelled of chocolate), prosecco, and wine--all of which were very good.

My favorite food experience though, had to be the roadside restaurants. Not exactly legal set- ups as they all shut down when the health inspector is about, it was nice to have Tomory's aunt & uncle who are local foodies, steer us in the right direction. I ate some of the best Thai food in my life at one of these little stands, and some excellent "tacos."

Living in L.A. I eat a lot of Mexican food. I love the taco trucks in our neighborhood--so cheap and delicious! So, I was a bit skeptical of these island tacos.
But: they were vary tasty! Again--not the taco I was accustomed to back on the mainland--but one made with a spelt tortilla, black beans, cheddar, and a choice of shredded or ground local beef, or vegetarian. All of the sauces were made from scratch, with a nice kick to them. Garnishes included cabbage from the cook's garden, and mung bean sprouts. Healthy and satisfying...and you could not beat the scenery!
You can see images of more roadside food experiences (coconut chocolate macadamia nut vegan ice cream!) on my Instagram @ermiegram.

Unrelated: ** I was able to finally snap some pictures of sale items today. I should have them up in the next few days!
&
*** Go, Renee!
****Go, Michelle!!

Hawaii Color and Texture

Aloha, Mahalo

Hi, I'm back ...I was in Hawaii!
Hana, Maui to be exact.
Here are some photos from our trip:















Tomory's aunt and uncle live there, and we figured it was high time we paid them a visit, as neither of us had ever been to Hawaii, we had the time, a free place to stay, and were able to get relatively cheap airfares.

Sorry for not placing any other items on sale before leaving--It was raining in L.A. before we left for Maui, making it difficult to take good pics of the sale items. It's also raining now...and I have to report for jury duty tomorrow...but I will do my best to get those sale items up this week...AND wrap up this SS '12 collection in the next month.

In the mean time, you must have seen the gorgeousness of Shara's and Ilana's SS '12 collections, right?
Also loving ARH's Light Portraits.

More later... (there are more Hawaii pics on my Instagram --you can find me at ermiegram--and I finally updated the ol' Tumblr).
xx

I Heart Japan...

I love Japan. I have ever since I was a small child. My Great Aunt Ermie traveled there, and even became friends with a Japanese woman with whom she exchanged Christmas cards each year. Ermie kept all of those Christmas cards in a scrapbook- they were printed in the most beautiful colors, in the most beautiful patterns, on exquisite and delicate papers. I was enchanted, and used to stare at the pages of that scrapbook for hours.

That scrapbook is now unfortunately lost to time, and thinking about it's loss also sets me to thinking about the tragic, devasting, earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis that occurred in Japan one year ago. Of course, I am not comparing the loss of a scrapbook to the awful loss of life and home on that occurred on March 11th, 2011. However, many cultural artifacts...such as textiles, were also destroyed forever that day.

Which makes my sister in law Satoko's collection of vintage kimono's and textiles all the more remarkable and precious. It was one of the highlights of my NYC trip to see a fraction of her collection. Each garment had been passed down from an ancestor: grandmother, grandfather, and mother.

Satoko's mother sadly passed away from breast cancer a few years ago, and these garments and textiles that her mother collected and wore are among Satoko's most prized possessions.
I think my favorite textile that Satoko showed me was an unfinished embroidery by her mother...colorful, intricate, poignant.
Textiles are more than decorative and functional objects: they contain love, history, stories and memory.
I was honored that Satko shared her precious collection with me. Thank-you dear sister!

New York, News

So, I was in New York...a whirlwind of Art Fairs, meetings, and visiting family and friends...







Above: With the talented Ilana Kohn at the lovely Brooklyn boutique, Beautiful Dreamers.
(Speaking of lovely-- y'all are going to flip out when Ilana releases her SS '12 Collection. I saw swatches of the prints she's designed and they are to die for!!)





Polly Apfelbaum at Hansel and Gretel Picture Garden. Loved this show!! I even purchased the catalog.






I took my sister-in-law, Satoko, for a little visit to Jennifer's and Helen's at the Dobbin Mews.
It's always so inspiring to see what those girls are up to!




A couple of shots of Alex & Satoko's apartment.

AND
the News:

My scarves at Platform were featured in the Los Angeles Times on 3/9!

Below: the stylish Sarah Brady of Platform, showing off a Soyer sweater and wearing my Yarn Print Scarf. Also, a shot of my scarves on display at the store. FYI: my scarves at Platform are currently marked down to $95 :)



Photos: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

Also: At the urging of my friends (peer pressure!) I caved and joined Instagram. More images from my trip may be viewed there. You can follow me at ermiegram (dorky, I know, but it was the best I could come up with). It is a lot of fun, and it provides a quick way to share spontaneous glimpses of my life that I wouldn't want to necessarily blog about.

It's actually a nice companion to this blog, which has become more about my design process, ERMIE news & travels, and to my Tumblr, which is a place for me to share images (often of the work of other artists and designers) that inspire my creative process.

Lastly: Don't forget, today is the last day to comment on these sale items if you are interested!