colored markers.

(via flickr)

in high school i used to keep interested in boring classes by taking my notes with colored crayola markers. i would color code everything so that the topics would be one color, underlined in a second color, with the sub-topics in yet another. all complimentary colors, of course. the notes themselves would be in pen or pencil. if i messed up on one of the topics, as long as i wasn't too far into the notetaking, i would rip out the page and redo the whole thing. (yes, it was a little OCD of me, but it certainly made studying for tests much easier when i had those notes to review!)

i also have a dorky obsession with new art supplies - pens, colored markers, notebooks, drawing paper, freshly sharpened pencils... i love the way they look when they're new, how they write... and is there anything nicer than a blank notebook just waiting to be filled or an empty sketchpad full of possibility?

technicolor.

(photography by travis de clifford)

"The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Think only on those things that are in line with your principles and can bear the light of day. The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you do is who you become. Your integrity is your destiny - it is the light that guides your way."

saltwater.

(you couldn't lose me if you tried)




(photo by margaret durow)

puritan.

Designs by Made in Donald

those who know me know.

on perfection.

what is 'perfect'? when talking about a person, what does that mean? when talking about an object, or a situation, it usually means having no flaws. but is this what it means for people? because if so, then 'perfect' must be incredibly boring, and i can't imagine anything LESS perfect than that.

when someone is described as being 'too perfect', i can't see it meaning anything other than dull. flaws are what make people interesting, what give people character, and distinguish us from others. what makes one person perfect for another is not the absence of flaws, but flaws that one person can relate to, can overlook, can find endearing. what defines perfect for one person cannot define it for another. i don't want to be with someone that doesn't have flaws, because i certainly have many. some i'd like to work on, others i think i can live with. i am not seeking to eliminate flaws, to chisel away at myself or others so that i am left with something i don't recognize anymore, but to find someone who appreciates me, who i can appreciate, despite all these things... and maybe sometimes, because of them.

sketchbook + subway rides.

(drawing again!)

i love when i end up in a subway car with a bunch of kids on a field trip into the city. its so interesting to see the way they all react to each other and hear the things they joke and laugh about. today it was a group of 9-10 year olds headed to a museum. they were all scrambling for seats so i got up to let a boy sit down. once they were all sitting, they were allowed to eat the snacks they had brought on the train, and the boy promptly pulled out a bag of chips and began munching away. soon the bag was nothing but crumbs, which he would scoop into his hands and pour into his mouth, inevitably getting them all over the front of his jacked and on the floor in front of him. it was so funny to watch this awkward chubby child wedged between two people on their way to work, and their reaction, as he ate his snack oblivious to all around him. i thought it was cute... the people next to him probably didn't agree.

morning coffee.

its going to be a good day.

american dream.

beautiful video, the colors, the room, her style.
not to mention, i think her voice is incredibly sexy.

nothing is random.

and we met for a reason.

bits and pieces.

Cal Lane - Steel Lace

life is funny. its ironic and sad and horrible and hilarious.
something happened this morning, something that not long ago would have made me upset, and really down on myself. this morning though, i found it funny. it was so sad that it crossed the line into amusing. i don't know whats going on but i feel like life is playing a big joke on me. i'm not sure what else i can do but keep on the way i'm going, and keep being amused rather than sad about the inevitably depressing outcome of it all. maybe somewhere someone is watching and laughing... so i think i'll just join in.

julian.

what an incredible show. this needs to happen more often.

voila.

Chicago Chair by Krueck + Sexton

i am making this chair... into a coat and dress.

birds of a feather.

Numero Editorial #109 by Miguel Reveriego

places i've been, places i'm going.

(nice, france. lake como region, italy. sicily, italy.)


found out recently that i'll be taking a 2 week business trip with my creative director to maastricht (holland) for the TEFAF design fair. this couldn't come at a better time, since i've recently been itching to GET AWAY. i need a little change of pace, a change of place... looking back through old photos of places i've been in the past couple years makes me nostalgic and a little sad for places, people, times in my life when everything felt completely serene. every time i crack a red bull here at work, all i think of is the stress free days in our beautiful apartment in milan, with the doors to the balcony wide open, barefoot, sitting at the kitchen table working on assignments for classes at the Politecnico. there's nothing more powerful than sounds and smells to trigger a memory... and when that red bull is paired with sebastian tellier or the cure, with eyes shut i would swear to you i was back there.

while i know that this trip to holland will include full days of work at the fair, i also know that being there without friends (aside from a coworker) will allow me plenty of time to make the time there as much like a vacation as possible. i can't wait to explore the different areas in maastricht, to take pictures, to meet people at the fair, attend some of the cultural events they have going on around the city, cook good meals at the apartment we're renting, read books and sketch. it's been a year and a half since i've traveled anywhere (far too long) and with any luck, this won't be the last trip of the year...

the third and the seventh.

this is pure beauty.

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

100% CGI, short film by Alex Roman

for some wonderful but unexplained reason i've been feeling really positive all week. less stressed about certain things, and really good about some things that are going to happen, or could happen this year. i hope this continues because i have a couple garments to make in about a month, and i need that positivity in order to come out with something that isn't a total piece of crap. in fact, no pressure to myself, but its kind of going to have to be awesome.

with creative projects or professions especially, the game is how to keep the creativity flowing CONSTANTLY. its impossible just to sit down and "do it", there needs to be some level of inspiration and excitement about it, otherwise the whole project will just suck. like an author who is stuck with writers block, when its not happening, its just not happening. not surprisingly, the times in my life that i've done the best work have been when i was incredibly happy in other aspects of my life, or feeling really positive and capable due to other projects or things going on at that point.

then of course, there are the times when inspiration just HITS you. like last night, as i was about to go to bed early for the first time in maybe forever, when i all the sudden leapt out of my bed to sketch an idea that i just knew i would forget by the morning. in those instances, no sleep, people or plans can get in the way of work, because if that moment of inspiration is lost, chances are it will be gone forever.

oh boy.

Timothee El Kaim by Matthew Brookes

i know not everyone can pull it off, but i can't help but wish i knew guys that would dress like this.

fresh start.

via flickr


in the spirit of the new year, starting over and "cleaning house", i recently took on the half of my room that serves as a studio and ventured into piles of fabric and plastic bags full of patterns that haven't been touched in almost a year. being someone who likes to save everything (too many experiences where i've gotten rid of something seemingly useless, only to find i'm looking for it the next week), i had to force myself to be ruthless and ended up throwing away about 10 bags of fabric scraps, cardboard tubes, paper and patterns that i'd been pushing aside for months.

the five trips it took me to dispose of the unwanted mess left me wondering how it all fit in the corner of my room in the first place. either way, i feel a million times better now that it's gone. its funny how easily physical clutter can affect (or reflect...?) clutter in other aspects of my life. sifting through the remaining fabric, i rediscovered some ideas that i didn't have the space to act on before and was inspired to new possibilities that i previously wasn't sure how to approach.

now that i have the space, i only need the time...

2010.

more reading.
more writing.
more conversations.
more concerts.

less tv.

more art.
more sketching.
more sewing.
more museums.

more cooking.
more water.
more gym.
more energy.

less couch.

more exploring.
more traveling.
more learning.
more experiences.

illustration by Vania Zouravliov


more doing.
more ideas.
more productive.

less stressing.

more honesty.
more love.
more laughing.

less regret.

new and used.

photography by pam sattler


i am a compilation, mix tape, new and used parts. some are my own, born out of some inspiration or moment, others from a quote, book, story read somewhere and imprinted in my memory. some have been borrowed from people who i am inspired by, intrigued by, people who i respect. picking pieces and adding them to the puzzle, creating a more complete 3d image of who i am, who i am becoming.