globe trotter | lisbon

jerónimos monastery in lisbon, portugal. breathtaking right?

                                                                               via | toast 

party crashers | davos edition

the world economic forum is unfolding in davos right now. great opinion piece from joe cerrell (director of the bill & melinda gates foundation, european office) titled: "global development crashes the davos party." check it out.

                                                        image |  charity water

all ears | cement pearls

cement pearls by metsa. a cheeky, industrial response to the uptight, preppy pearl culture that pervades dc.

                                                                        via | seesaw | metsa

blog travels | falling in love at a polish coffee shop

been into all things polish since seattle. (long story that involves a pickle. naturally.) isn't the ambiance of this polish coffee shop jozef  k. cafe so vividly intoxicating? you get the feeling just by looking at this place that you want their coffee. scratch that. you need their coffee. can you start a tab at a coffee shop? because we would have a running tab at this one.

                                                                     via | bedlam of beefy

label love | attica plates & utensils

an impossibly chic collection of handmade multifunctional utensils from australian company attica.  the mix of stonewear and wood takes the art of dinning to another level. seconds please?

                                                                  via | attica | elephantine

foto files | hills of los angeles

it has been predicted by capricious weather people that there will be a snow storm that will dump 6 inches on dc thereby rendering it unnecessarily paralyzed for the next 24 hours. escaping into this image of los angeles. can you feel the vitamin d beaming out?

                                                              image | “field of poppies” (retail: $50)

label love | fleabags

fleabags: a cheeky collection of eco-friendly totes.  (love the impish name.) each bag is created from organic  & vintage materials with a bit of american and italian leather thrown into the mix.  extremely partial to the salt bag (featured above) and the saddle brown original flea. (below) check out the rest of the collection here.

                                                                                         via | fleabags

closet chronicles | the coveted

the coveted = a favorite online destination. it's like the selby. but just for closets. the coveted chronicles the closets of global tastemakers and catalogs their personal style through the lens of jake rosenberg. wicked. check it out here.

                                           images via |  jake rosenberg for the coveted

label love | valhalla brooklyn

shikutso traveller by valhalla in walnut wood brown. scandinavian style never looked so good.

onyx feather | back in inspiration mode

 

already designing the new onyx feather spring line. 

love doing warm cities. can't wait to announce which city it's inspired by.

                                             
                                             necklace | onyx feather cyprus collection                                               
                                                  image | melia moore

travel | missing seattle

just got back from washington state.
and down with a bad case of temporary east coast blues.
(started when my creepy dc cab driver explained to me he had needs that needed to be fulfilled once a week and then tried to reroute me to his apartment and crown me his second wife at two in the morning.)

loved seattle.
particularly the brilliant shades of green and blue.
and the skyline. first time i've understood skyline passion.
and the snow frosted mountains that disappear in the haze.
quite intrigued by the fact the entire city runs on coffee beans.
and that amazon is headquartered there (didn't realize they were based on planet earth).

                                         images | j. gusman | melted moments

rocker chic | alt adoration

“forget the trendy designer labels. jeans, a sweater or a t-shirt worn under a jacket that seems welded to you. when it’s just right, when you don’t see the effort, it’s irresistible. " | e. alt     

everything alt: jak and jil 

 

wild thing! | white turquoise + gold spike earrings

been playing a lot with white turquoise stones for the cyprus line. so imagine the delight that washed over me when i saw these little daggers of joy by new york-based jewelry designer kim dulaney. each earring is a piece of white turquoise wrapped in gold-plated metal with a flirtatious addition of a vintage chain. check out more of her pieces here.

                                                                              image | kim dulaney

clock in | the nixon time teller P watch

buck the oversized vintage watch trend with something a little more modern and unexpected like the nixon time teller P watch. the matte black surface pulls you in and at 60 dollars a pop you’ve got a steal on your hands.

 via | nixon | destined to design

paper trail | lambskin leather journals

always on the hunt for journals or new sketchbooks to use for design sketches. this week the hunt led to the karleigh jae store on etsy. it features an affordable array of unique leather & lambskin handbound sketchbooks and photo albums. got a flair for the wild? check out this textured alligator pattern black journal.

 

via | karleigh jae | creatures of comfort

color wheel | shades of green

love the retro-ethereal vibe of this photo; it reminds me a lot of the onyx feather thalia necklace. the olive, kelly green (is that kelly green? sometimes i don't know what i'm talking about), deep purple, and brown all blend so well together. (found on tinytoadstool; she takes such rewarding risks with style.) the result of this outfit? a really relaxed comfortable-chic look.

on a deadline tonight to create a custom piece for a really cool and unusual client based in seattle. trying to decide whether to go with sparkling onyx stones and create a luxe cairo collection piece, or shimmering pewter quartz ones and make an enticing paris collection necklace. can't wait to share details when it's done. happy weekend everyone!

                                                                 image | tinytoadstool

label love | ellery

 

pondering the intensity of the gynecoid summer leather shortie by ellery.

orange sherbet high-waisted leather shorts. everything about these say "photoshoot."

and nothing about them say "practicality." love that.

image | ellery

blog travels | finish your chai

 

love that she's taking the time to finish her chai before things get hectic.

(despite the fact the photographer is exasperated.)

                                                      image | sam haskins

                                                          via | happenstance

label love | bernardo aguayo

label to watch: bernardo aguayo. fully in tune with the playful modernity of his dresses. aren't they fun? color blocking can be so visually jarring sometimes but he excels at executing it. i'd wear his pieces to all the finest events. and i'd pair the garbardine and suede dress (bottom left) with the onyx feather zalika piece from the cairo line.

                           
                                      images | bernado aguayo | e. barenbregge + m. moore for onyx feather
                                                        via | shiny squirrel

step it up | osborn shoes

i have a secret weapon (named joan) who periodically sends me 2 line emails about funky companies with great business practices. (always look forward to them). her most recent email directed me to osborn shoes: a quirky shoe line run by a team of designers based outside of guatemala. the business was co-founded by aaron osborn in 2009. (his family runs one of the biggest orphanages in guatemala.) each eclectic oxford shoe is hand-crafted, hand cobbled, and signed by the person who designed it. check out the entire collection here. or an article about how the line started.

                                                                                              images | osborn  shoes

onyx feather | invisible children stories from the field

one of the most exhilarating things about working on onyx feather pieces is the privilege of being able to take 15 percent of the revenue onyx feather makes and contribute it to the invisible children legacy scholarship fund. it's a scholarship fund for former child soldiers and children affected by the conflict in northern uganda. kicking off the year with an uplifting update from the invisible children blog on daniel; he's a ugandan legacy fund recipient finishing up his second year at university! it's wonderful how a little support can make a huge impact on another person's life. read the update here.

                                                             image | charlotte's web

great expectations | new year tidings

two thousand ten was an incredible year.
this time last year i was in phase one of starting a company.
it felt like jumping out of a plane.
(after cutting the strings off my parachute.)
the line changed my life.
and has been a catalyst for meeting
extraordinary
creative
fearless
people.
and for being able to participate in so many
remarkable
opportunities.

and this is just the beginning.

image | morgue files