Ojai

Just returned from a couple of days in Ojai for my birthday. It is so beautiful up there! Such a great, quick trip (a little less than a 2 hour drive out of L.A.). We ate really well, went hiking in the Los Padres National Forest, and relaxed at the Love Shack- listening to the sounds of the creek running behind the cabin.
No coverage up there really for the Internet/ phone, so that is why I haven't been very responsive the last few days. I'll get to all of your messages, asap, I promise! More posts to follow on the trip. I hope you are having a great week so far!

Thank-you for all of your comments on the Magic Marker Print. It's a blast to collaborate with my husband.

(A special thank you to HBT for sharing, and Robert and Anna for making our stay in Ojai so wonderful :)

Mr. Hatman has the right idea.

All images courtesy of Net-A-Porter

Necklace (and fabric pouch for storage) by Isabel Marant. Would go great with the Magic Marker Print. Hmmm...

Obsession: Modaspia, Judah Ross & Twentyfive

Above and below: the Modaspia Fiji Dress



Below: Modaspia for Twentyfive French Summer Weight Tee





Detail shots of the fabrics:









Shoes worn throughout: Rachel Comey from Beklina

A while back I purchased the Floral Fiji Dress from Ursula Dean of Modaspia. I meant to post about it earlier, but you know how that goes! I have to say I Love this dress. I wish I could own it in every color & fabric that Ursula uses, and let me tell you, the fabric she uses is of very high quality. Much of the time I feel I look rather mannish, but this dress makes me feel very feminine. It hugs your curves in the most flattering way.

I bought this Fiji dress for a friend as a gift, and Ursula and I traded for the French Tee! Come on people: this is the perfect striped tee! For $40 bucks you get Great fabric (organic cotton), a perfect fit- just long enough in the body, bracelet length sleeves, slim-fitting but not too tight. Not to mention you get to support an independent designer!

Both the dress and tee are shown in a size small above.

Twentyfive is the limited edition line that Ursula and her good friend Oami Powers of Judah Ross are collaborating on together. Oami is a brilliant designer as well, and makes the most fabulous prints. I'm still lusting after this pillow pictured below:

Photo courtesy of Oami Powers/ Judah Ross for Twentyfive

Magic Marker Print

Textile design © Jennifer Parry Dodge & Tomory Dodge 2010

Hot Pink Wrist Wrap worn throughout by Clare Vivier
Long Beaded Necklace worn throughout by Hadley Holliday

My other collaborative print that I made with my husband. This one, the Magic Marker Print, is based on one of his sketches (literally done in magic marker on tracing paper) for one of his paintings. The fabric is 100% cotton in a quilting weight. This print will also be featured in the ERMIE Fall 2010 collection.

What would you guys like to see in the Fall collection? Dresses? Blouses? Skirts?
How about yardage of the prints?

Little Creatures, Salvation in the Desert, and the Best Time of the Day.

Petroglyphs & Gram Graffiti at Cap Rock, Joshua Tree, CA

How I prefer the Coachella Valley- empty (no rock festival crowds)!

Above & Below: Twentynine Palms Inn Garden, white pomegranate from the same garden.

Twentynine Palms Inn palm tree poolside, and textile in Irene's Adobe.

Whoa: Look out!
This post not only has a long title, it is a bit lengthy in and of itself in a stream- of -consciousness kind of way.

I was thinking about print and pattern the other night, which is not unusual, but I was thinking of one of my all time favorite images that depicts print, color & pattern: the cover art of Talking Heads album Little Creatures. 30 years later & it still looks great.The back cover is my favorite (pictured above, topmost photo) although I also adore the work of the Reverend Howard Finster (may he rest in peace) on the front cover of the album.

Rev. Finster got me thinking about Salvation Mountain near Niland, CA. I posted about this a long time ago, but we took so many great photos on this trip in 2008 (which also included stops at Twentynine Palms, Joshua Tree, Desert Hot Springs, and Palm Springs- some of my favorite locales in the world) I wanted to share more of them with you.

One more thing, please check out Giovanna Parolari's (owner of Una in Portland, OR) great blog for loads of inspiring pattern, and colors. I love this blog because it more often than not features topics and artists I've never heard of. Not a small feat in the blogosphere...

Satoko wearing the ERMIE Sunset Dress in Smoky Quartz
Shikinejima, Japan.

All Photographs: Alex Dodge, 2010.

My uber-talented brother-in-law, Alex, just sent me these photographs. He's currently vacationing in Japan. Can you believe he took these with an iPhone?
I want to be there now.

I had actually designed the dress that Satoko is wearing with the idea in mind that it would be worn at the beach. However, it could be completely about-town appropriate, too: It looks really cute belted & worn with a cardigan in this shot. Doesn't she look stunning in it?

As of this writing there is still one left in the shop in Blood Orange linen!

Great cut & textiles : Carla Fernandez at Mohawk General Store.