USE ME show: OPENS TODAY!

We got our pieces in the show!! Woo Hoo!
This will be our first time participating in a design show in NY!! We're stoked!!  But sad that we won't be able to be part of the excitement in person.. bum bums....

Some JOIN peeps like Iacoli & McAllister, Grain, and FTI will also have stuff there!It's gonna be a pretty amazing group of designers and I'm 101% sure there will be pretty amazing stuff, there, too!
...but here's our crazy shipping mess & packaged items before shipping them out to NY...which took me all night to makeshift a custom sized box from scratch.....who does that??
I think I ended up using every types of packing material possible for this box.
It was seriously a total piece of work in itself. :P
...but i think the people at AmDC will probably forever hate me because it's probably going to be a total hassle to unwrap it.....saaaaawweeeee~!!

We'll reveal the pieces under all those mysterious foam, bubble wraps, and cardboard pieces soon!!


Margaret Howell S/S 2011 Collection

I Love this whole collection by Margaret Howell.

Even though its the Spring/Summer collection, most of the pieces can totally be worn all year round....or even year after year with such classic timeless look.

All her pieces are especially perfect for Seattle's spring/summer....

Ok...summer...any day now~

Via Sokokashiko

Some ideas brewing...

....for AmDC's upcoming "USE ME" show for ICFF.

Made our submissions and is crossing our fingers...hope we make it in!



Holy Mother of Leather Bags!

I think I died and came back to life when I saw these ridiculously amazing leather bags by Nutsa Modebadze!
She makes each bag with the MOST beautiful leather.
Nutsa designs all her bags with a such great sensitivity to all the leather she uses by truly celebrating it's texture, color & shape.

I literally spent HOURS clicking through EVERY single page looking at EVERY single thing...
And all these photos here are just a small tiny percentage of all the things she's ever made....

You can see all her latest work and her process on her blog...she's currently working on some wonderful woven leather stuff...I simply can't wait....
If only I could even just touch one of these bags...I would die a happy person.

The Bestest Giveaway

Our friends from Iacoli & McAllister is giving away one of their frame light!


Not sure why they would do such a crazy (but awesome) thing....but I won't stop them or say no to this!!
All you gots to do is leave a comment on the post or their FB page!

It's been exciting to see how they evolved over the years since they first started. Jamie & Brian are such great designers and the hardest working people I know, so it's seriously awesome to see that all their efforts are really paying off with how much exposure & positive response they've gotten thus far.

I'm loving all their new stuff!
You guys rock!!

PS. J&B....I'm not saying all this just so so you'd pick me for the give away....but then again, I won't stop you from doing so. (wink. smiley face. )

Fantastic Knits

've been MORE than obsessed with Annie Larson's knit brand, All Knitwear, for a long time now...and it's seriously amazing how she knits everything with a knitting machine. I totally get lost in time between looking at her blog with great photos of her space & process & her shop with all the fantastic wearables. Her sense of color & pattern and the way she puts it all together is simply beyond fantastic!
....and with Seattle's weather being so stupid cold & wet...I'm seriously considering getting these knitted sweater leggings! Just look how happy Annie is wearing that! I just love that photo. And of course THESE!: One of these adorable colorful hats wouldn't be too bad either....
It's all too good...


Drooling Over These Wood Bowls by Mute

Drooling over this whole line of wooden bowls & containers by Mute from Japan....
God! I wish people in Japan would start making some ugly lame stuff one of these days... If only god would grant me a wish...that's totally what I'd wish for....
For once I like to see things aren't as beautiful and lovely as these...
I just love the simple form and how they celebrate the wood material so well and with a little playful touch with the bold red color makes it that much more special!via Roger Allen

JOIN at NYIGF 2011 Report

We were excited to see the friendly folks at the American Design Club (AmDC) and check out what new exciting works was at their booth.
Started by Kiel Mead around the same time as when Jamie started JOIN, AmDC is like the East coast version of JOIN; A grass root design collective with a common goal to promote and showcase emerging US design studios and designers. A wonderful collection of silver cast jewelery & accessories by Kiel Mead. I love his new "Pennant Flag" necklace where each flag is movable!
Simple & clever wooden tongs by Patrick Kim / Charming wooden "Merit Badge" necklaces by Fort Standard. Elegantly modern "Tool" pendant & rings by Silvia Bradhsaw / Faceted "Octagon Face" hanging lamp by Brendan Ravenhill.
Beautifully grotesque "Swell Vase" made with insulation foam & produce mesh by Chen Chen / Playful faceted wooden "Balancing Blocks" by Fort Standard / Flocked "Coatknob" by Brian Persico / "Tendril" lamps by Chen Chen. It's always so fun to connect with the delightful folks from AmDC and learning about them, what they do, and all that fun stuff. It made me realize that we actually have more in common than most people's perception about the east & the west coast...
As emerging designers, we have a lot in common in our situations, goals, values, and interest....and can totally geek out over tools, machines, materials, and other random topics like how the sound of falling wood blocks is oh so satisfying....

So really..we're not that different at all...we're all just people trying to make the best out of ourselves, pursue our creative dreams and live a fulfilling life...we're like a bunch of little fishies in the big ocean!...or in this particular case...in the big Javits convention center with way over-priced mediocre food & coffee...so at least, we can all bond over that....
Then on one of the days, we got to celebrate Chelsea from Grain's Birthday! ..or should I say...Happy Boozeday!
Hey...we all needed a little break for having to be at the Javits for 5 days straight!! This shall be a good bi-annual tradition from now on. :)
After a long day at the Javits...there's nothing like shoving good ol' greasy comfort food in our faces at the crazy Hill Country BBQ (This is as far to Texas as I'm willing to go....) along with the folks from AmDC.
and this was how it all went down.... greasy bbq ribs, cornbread, collard greens, and couple of sweet vodka with ginger ale...
....aaaaand I'm out.

JOIN us at NYIGF 2011

For our second national show, JOIN has combined forces once again along with 6 other Northwest design studios to launch a series of new products and accessories at the New York International Gift Fair January 30th - February 3rd, 2011.

JOIN will be located in booth #3916 in Accent on Design.

We're stoked to see some exciting new things from our friends!R&L goods' new linen button scarves. (That's Dylan & I...ha ha)

Iacoli & McAllister's brass & suede adjustable necklaces,

Meet Me Here's recycled banner bag with a nice finishing touch of the leather handles.

plainMADE's perfect spring silk scarves

Grain's new hand mirror handbound with natural twine.

BLK Pine's new canvas bag line.



L&G's New Things!

We know that the winter holiday has just past...but this also means its time to launch some new items for 2011 Spring/Summer! I know I'm ready for it!

here's a quick intro of our new additions:

This little piggy has a twist!: A new, limited edition (of 100) Chalk-it-to-me Piggy Bank with a knotted leather tail.

Superior Server Blues: We added a handsome new spring color - Vintage Aqua - to the Superior Server family!

Porcelain Gem Necklaces: Hand-cast ceramic gem stone necklaces highlighted along with various type chains.
Some of these new items will be launched at this coming NYIGF with JOIN!
JOIN
has combined forces once again along with 6 other Northwest design
studios to launch a series of new products and accessories at the New York International Gift Fair January 30th - February 3rd, 2011.

Hurray for new things!

Starting the Year with a Little Attitude

I know most people tries to start the year with a great new year resolutions and to do things with a clear mind....but I couldn't help but be compulsive when I saw this AWESOME cat calender by Alex Lin (of Studio Lin) and got it!!
This lovely piece is a "limited edition 12 month calendar featuring beautiful kittens in United Bamboo Ready-to-Wear."
Each month is of a cat wearing especially designed outfits perfectly tailored & sized for the kitties...I know...
Now that's.....purrrrrtty cool.

I really don't think I can get as motivated for the year if I didn't get this!
On top of that, I'm also just a sucker for cleverly designed & packaged item. I just how Alex designs with a tasteful sensibility yet playful at the same time.
It comes in a beautiful silk-screened sleeve, and all the number on the dates are blind embossed onto nice  glossy paper. The very last page even has all 12 months silver foil stamped as well....drool....
....I think I died a little when I was holding it in my hands and looking at faces of these adorable cats in their fancy outfits...
and of course to top it off....they even included little brief bios about each kitty and even their petpeeves....
I know what you're thinking....I'm gonna become a crazy cat lady...
but guess what?.....you probably right...that might just happen.



Feast for the Eyes

I know these ridiculous photos created by Forsman & Bodenfors & Carl Kleiner for Ikea’s new baking book, Hembakat är Bäst (Homemade Is Best) have already traveled around already...but I needed to share it here!
Conceptually this is very similar to what I did for L&G's Superior Servers where each photo had an arrangement of ingredients for a dish....except they did it THOUSANDS times better and have taken it to a WHOLE other level that just totally blew my photos out of the water...and my mind.

I went with simple route and did dishes like ...caprice salad, berries with mint, and rosemary ham with potatoes....
And that was hard enough just shooting those 3 photos picking out the perfect-looking uniform sized cherry tomatoes, berries, mint leaves and all that...and oh...and that piece of picture perfect ham cost me $45.....I'll never forget that moment when I laid my eyes on it at the deli....I immediately called Dylan and said  "I think we found our perfect ham..."
It's not very often where I would get so excited over a piece of meat...but boy was that a fine-lookin' piece of ham!

So with that said,  I can only imagine how long it takes to plan and making the arrangement for all these recipes! There are only 50,000 of the book printed and only offered at Ikeas in Sweden....bummer...
So until I can fly over there and get a copy myself, I just have to enjoy them here.

Also this video showing the making of it is pretty awesome, too.

IKEA – Homemade is Best. from Forsman & Bodenfors on Vimeo.



Sweet Leather Sheos & Bags

I've always secretly fantasized about making my own leather sandals or shoes...the closest shoe-making I've done so far are some simple fabric slippers and this felt baby slipper. But seeing these handmade leather shoes and bags by Alya B. Kazakevich of ABK makes me want to just make some awesome leather shoes...but most likely it will not ever look as good as these! I'd like to covet one of these beautifully made shoes or bags especially for how incredibly made they are! 

Take A Walk To Forestbound

I'm absolutely in love with these Forestbound bags...what a wonderful mix of beautiful leather, linen, and canvas, which are all from salvaged materials!


Print Magazine Shall Not Die

This is another exciting project by Meg Mateo Ilasco. Meg & Anh-Minh Le recently launched their quarterly print magazine, Anthology Magazine . It's just loveliness all around! They're only doing a small run of them now, and the last I've heard, they're about to sell out!!

I'm so glad to see actual print magazines coming out versus more web magazines. There's just nothing that compares to actually having the magazines in the hands to flip through the pages.
They even went all out and created this lovely stop motion video making a statement that print is not dead!! I love the cardboard typewriter, which Meg made herself!


I really don't know how she manages to do all this and come out with 2 books (Crafting a Meaningful Home & Creative Inc.) at the same time!!
Gawwwd....can anyone be any more productive?? 

Boom. Done. Arist Helped Artisans

So excited to see that Tanya Aguiniga was able to raise $8000+ to accomplish her Artist Helping Artisan (AHA) project over the summer!! I mentioned her project and donated some back in early spring, and it's just amazing that she was able to achieve her goal and make it all happen...just like that!!

I was stoked to receive a lovely package from Tanya with an original print and a charming handmade doll for help fund the project with a little bit that I had to contribute. I'm just inspired to see that all this can happen when someone has a mission, to get support, and then actually making it happen. I really I hope to do something as amazing as that someday.
Pompom hat, and a little baby on her back! It's simply too cute!
I'd love to see these wonderful handmade animals, too!

Also there's a great article about Tanya and her trip to Chiapas on Sight Unseen sharing some photos taken from her trip and even her LA studio!
Ahhh. My favorite pieces of jewelry that I own are those dipped dyed rope bracelets & necklaces!



Luxury Pad

As much as I appreciate the design of the iPad and the object itself, I'm not totally convinced that I absolutely need to get it since it really only does half of the things I'd need. But boy....but seeing this beautiful leather cover at Mjolk....I think that just changed everything...I might just NEED to get an iPad just so I can get one of these beautiful leather cases...
Perhaps I could just get this cover and put a regular pad in it....I mean a notepad.

That's SO Fair!

Check out these beautiful textile designs and wearables by Bhalo with a powerful fair trade mission to facilitate women in rural Bangladesh.

"Bhalo is a fair trade design label that aims to create desirable fashion whilst empowering disadvantaged people, especially women, allowing them to work their way out of poverty.

Our cotton is hand loomed and hand embroidered by women in rural Bangladesh, not only giving them much needed employment and training, but providing them with simple things that we take for granted - education/childcare for their children, basic health care, and most of all, dignity. We oppose human exploitation and feel everyone should be given the right to fair employment terms, and given a decent price for their work. Wouldn't you expect the same?"

You can read all their fascinating process, here! I would love to go there in person one day and learn all about their process! One of my dream is to travel from place to place and learn the regional crafts whether it be weaving, carving, dyeing, or casting....It'd be like the show "How it's made" but specifically for arts & crafts from around the world....wait....I think I should totally pitch that idea to Discovery Channel!!

Via Johnny&Stacie


AUG 2010 NYIGF Wrap Up

Alright, this is totally late...and we apologize, but here's a quick little photo montage of JOIN's premiere New York Gift Fair two weeks ago. We had a great time, the booth looked cowabunga, and there was great interest in JOIN and L&G's goods, so high five for all!

We're toting up to head on back to Seattle at last... Bye bye NY...for now. Before we jet-set, here's the brief run down of the show:

The good-looking JOIN crew in front of the booth, followed by some action shots throughout the fair:

 

The collage below is from the breakdown of the show, which was an amazing sight. Thousands of elaborate booths being broken down in 4-6 hours... complete pandemonium yet an amazing orchestration at the same time...just like the Big Apple itself! We'll miss it for sure as we settle back into sleepy little Ballard tonight.

I'd LIke to Tap That: Eclectically Modern Living Space

Amazing space via Office for Word and Image (OWI)....oh so wonderfully eclectic, airy and dynamic. I love the visual impact of the dark & minimal one-walled-kitchen.... The mix dining chairs collection reminds us a little like ours... looks like we're off to a good start....