western spagetti by PES

poor brian burnt some garlic tonight when we were cooking. i saw this video (which is amazing) and made him watch it so that he would know how to make me a nice proper spaghetti sauce. :)

western spaghetti by PES

miss mies louise: updates

"uhm, so how do get down from here again?"


"seriously."


"oh, i am regal, i really am"


"hi-eeeeeeee"

"so i have some chest hair poking through, so what?"


so it's been awhile since i have had a totally mies dedicated post, and it's high time. i have been playing around with b's camera this afternoon (i am feeling under the weather, and it's about all i could bring myself to do). enjoy!

temporary structure @ design miami

i have been meaning to blog about this for a bit now, but other things like the holidays, the snow and eating every sort of peanut dessert imaginable (brittle, fudge and cookies) has gotten me a little backed up, regarding posting, of course...
so...
let me introduce you to the work of aranda/lasch (that is, of course, if you didn't already know of them). they are the architect team behind the temporary structure that housed Design Miami earlier this month.

how i miss you miami sky.

above photos courtesy of james harris via dezeen

not only did they come up with this bangin' structure (that looked way permanent - in a good way), they also make some super cool furniture and installations. we were fortunate enough to hear them speak at the design talks hosted by dezeen; along with ross lovegrove (who doesn't consider himself a designer, but is super intelligent and just a little eccentric), and john maeda (the 16th and current president of RISD).

anyhow back to aranda and lasch...
(photos courtesy of me)
i want this in my bedroom. please.

that's a table handmade out of individually shaped blocks of wood (!!!!)

little tiny geometric smalls.

big. tall. installation.

another smaller installation.

so aranda/lasch are pretty nerdy (in the best way) and they look at patterns in nature to create their furniture pieces. but they don't just look at patterns on a micro level, they look at the process of why the patterns are created. they are pretty darn smart if you ask me. and you can read a lot more about them here in this article on iconeye online magazine.

Cinders Gallery @ Aqua Art Miami

i know i am still digesting everything we saw at art basel, but these kids from cinders gallery in brooklyn really stood out.

about cinders (from their website):
"The idea for Cinders began from a desire to create a space to show art that felt more homey, warm, and inviting than the often cold and intimidating atmophere of galleries. When we realized that we were not alone and that there was quite a significant community out there who felt the same way, we were inspired to start bringing these like-minded people together under one roof."

it was great to see some kids with a d.i.y sentiment make it into the art basel miami beach scene.

(photo courtesy of cinders gallery)


"times of the day (stacked up)" - paper mache, paint and cardboard - sto (artist and co-founder of the gallery). (photo courtesy of cinders gallery)

according to sto this raft was floating around the hudson for a significant amount of time (i don't remember how long). they were hanging out on their raft when a big old yacht came by and rosie o'donnell popped her head out. apparently she was just tickled pink, asked them aboard and they shared some beers (sounds like the plot of a south park episode). "raft manhattan" - tod seelie (photo courtesy of cinders gallery)

suzanne sattler's piece really sucked us in. i love being able to every whispy pencil stroke. "mimicry in orchids" - pencil on paper. (photo courtesy of cinders gallery)

multi-colored ladders are cool

where do i begin...
it's been a whirlwind month...the midwest, miami beach for art basel and design miami, back to seattle to set up our show and then bam! the show and now....there's so much to blog about i just can't figure out how? huh? where? uh........

i'll start with the most recent and work my way backwards to all the highlights of miami.

setting up for "JOIN: Design Seattle"

holy crap, it's christmas

mies helps brian with the tree stand.
we have a tree!!!!!


and we have snow!! i love being snowed in!

so it's here. and it's lovely. we have a tree and i actually have cards to send out this year. only i had to do them TWICE. that's right, i went to the post office today and my cards were 1/4" too small all around (they were square 4-1/4" x 4-1/4") and i had to buy new and do them all over again. so i have spent the evening re-writing all cards and drinking manahattans alone. oh the holidays.

on the right: the first set // on the left: the second 'usps approved' second set



and it's hard to believe i was here a week ago:

someone slipped me a mickey

photo credit: jean lee


otherwise known as a 'roofie' or 'the date rape drug'. seriously - see the photo above? don't remember it. not an ounce of it. i apologize to anyone who had to deal with my swaying blubbering-ness. really. apparently it's flunitrazepam. you can read all about flunitrazepam here.
i only had a few glasses of wine, but let me tell you, i never feel or act that way when i drink wine. i couldn't see or think straight, i couldn't keep my balance, and i felt like i was sort of 'swimming' all night. and of course i blacked out most of it. like the embarrassing part where i handed the president of idsa a card RIGHT after brian gave her one. and she was all like, 'looks like you guys should get some food.' and now i'm all like embarrassed.

and i can't even wrap my head around who? when? and WHY? :(

i'll post photos tomorrow of the event as well as photos from miami in the next few days.



photo credit: wikipedia.org

folkert de jong @ art basel

we have been soaking up some sun as well as a whole lot of contemporary art and design at art basel miami beach. it's been a whirlwind. going to art basel and any of it's satellite events is like going on a world tour and checking out the offerings from this planet's best galleries. it's truly something amazing to experience.

one of the standout (i have a list of about 100 of such standouts) artists that we saw was folkert de jong. de jong is a young artist (b 1972) living and working in amsterdam. his use of pink foam and polyurethane is really stunning. i don't have images of the piece we saw at art basel, we couldn't take photos in there. we aren't vip enough. :) but here are some examples of his other work. i love the drippy rough feel juxtaposed with extremely detailed parts - the hands on the piece we saw were amazing, they even had finger prints.


Les Saltimbanques, 2007



Mount Maslow, 2007



Mount Maslow, detail, 2007



Mount Maslow, detail, 2007

check out more of folkert de jong's work here

perforated leather and double stitching

b and i first saw patricia piccinini's work at the frye art museum in the fall of 2007. we had spent the day sourcing materials; we checked out a powder coating facility and went all over seattle looking at materials and talking about design. we finished up our day by stopping by the frye.

the piece in the photo above was a part of the show. after a day of touching and really closely examining all these materials we saw this AMAZING upholstery job. the whole thing is like one big crazy organic sofa.....


and of course we were amazed by her work but you know, we were also really into the big white thing. perforated leather and double stiching. i mean COME ON. we were hooked. .....but.....we were so involved in our little exporatory world we ALMOST touched the piece and we TOTALLY got yelled at by the gallery attendants. ugh talk about EMBARRASSED. i started to explain that 'we are designers....' trying to make us look less like idiots...and then i stopped...totally no excuse...

this is her new work:


you can see more of her work on her website www.patriciapiccinini.net

super cool clock

i found this screensaver here . it's pretty awesome, especially when you don't own a wall clock.

get over yourself :)

so in the spirit of all things holiday, i thought i would post this. although i don't agree 100%, it's really too funny. (i don't remember where i found this image, so if you know the source, please let me know and i'll give credit.)

sneak peak to dec 11th -so exciting!

we'll be showing at JOIN: design seattle on dec 11th from 6-11pm at vermillion gallery in capitol hill. we're stoked!


urbancase
urbancase.com
urbancase is a seattle based furniture design and build firm founded in 2002 by metal worker and sculptor darin montgomery. our design philosophy is to create objects that contribute to a simpler, pared back lifestyle focusing on basic aesthetic elements and functionality. we make informed decisions about the materials and methods we use in an attempt to minimize the negative impact on the environment.
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meet me here
mmhclothing.com
meet me here is a line of clothing and bags designed by musician jonas de varona.
the line includes bags made from recycled materials as well as tops and skirts made from hand painted silk, leather and non woven fabrics. All pieces are cut and sewn by jonas in his seattle work space.
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submaterial submaterial.com
founder: david hamlin
works by submaterial explore the tension created by trying to define objects as art or as design. emphasizing texture, repetition of form and precise hand work, these pieces compliment modern environments.
all our work is made to last in the united states.
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iacoli & mcallister
iacolimcallister.com
designmate
iacoli & mcallister is a joint effort between jamie newman and brian mcallister. we are micro and we design in order to stay that way. we keep our hands on the process from concept to finished product, handing off to craftsmen and incorporating industrial processes as we go. we design honestly with real life situations in mind, thinking about the future and the world.
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ladies&gentlemen
ladiesandgentlemenhome.blogspot.com
dylan davis from henrybuilt kitchen systems
jean lee from chikabird inc
L&G celebrates objects and rituals in all their glory whether new or old, shiny or matted, natural or man made, simple or complex. their mission is to give new identities and value to mundane objects by highlighting their purity and inherent character.
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graypants
seth grizzle & jonathan junker
graypants.com
seth and jonathan are architects. they also like to use their hands, designing and building things like chairs and light fixtures. they first crossed paths at kent state university in cleveland, honing abilities to endure long winters and earning professional degrees in architecture + design. now, eight years of collaboration and spirited adventure has landed them in seattle, where graypants, inc. was forged from a desire to make a difference through design.

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in addition to the designers featured above, there will be artwork by ann farnsworth duffy (above) and paul thomas. sadly, birdwatchers united! have been called back east for an early christmas, and won't be able to join us dec 11th, maybe next time.


a special thanks to vermillion gallery for hosting our event!

the cube chair

this is the cube chair. when brian and i first met, like i might not have even known his last name at the time, he banged two of these out in one evening. i just stood there for hours watching him in complete amazement. while we were working, our neighbor -a plasma cutter- was also working. over a period of about four hours, our space was slowly - and unbeknownst to us - filling up with a yellow death-like haze. i left the space to call my mom and when i got back i told b that we should probably get out of there. the next day i thought i was going to die of black lung. brian, of course, was not phased. such is our story.

hehe

the battery in brian's camera has been dead so i don't have any new photos. until i do (which will be very soon) i had to post this. i promise this won't turn into a mies blog. i swear - all the way up to god.

and the postcards are IN

yay! now it's time to paper the town with postcards! i can't believe that it's already time to really start promoting this event. time is FLYING by - but that's a good thing, right?

i feel SO fortunate to have met such talented and enthusiastic people. i am so thankful to each of you for being so supportive AND patient. we're going to rock the boat a little in seattle's design community!!