Irene from Bloesem did a brief post about L&G's storytime segment for Poppytalk. She used a photo of our living room! Yay! Thanks Irene! We love your blog and are honored that our new space made it on there! :D
I'm so excited. I just picked up a classic Rolleicord V twin lens medium format camera today on Craigslist! It's from the mid '50s but has (according to the owner) had less than 10 rolls of film shot on it EVER. It shows too. It's absolutely clean right down to inner workings and the near-perfect leather case.
The best part: it was only $125!
I can't wait to get out there and take my first shots! In the meantime I'll just oogle over my latest find.
We're SUPER DUPER excited to share that we actually got featured on "Get The Look:Home Edition"!! Our items from L&G has gotten picked for other people's spaces in the past, but now we finally got our own article! Hurray!! But being featured on Etsy was a totally unexpected surprise!
This post is on the apartment we lived in Capitol Hill last year. We did a studio tour awhile back for Poppytalk. I still dream about the tall ceiling and the old word charm of the building, but we've moved on...on to bigger and better thing...maybe? We hope to do another tour of our home when we get or act together...
Here's a the "Get the look" article about our apartment:
This weekend's Get the Look: Decor is inspired by the bright and colorful Seattle, Washington apartment of Jean and Dylan of ladiesandgentlemen. When it comes to finding great deals on vintage treasures and furniture, this couple has discovered the secret. With their background in industrial design, they also enjoy the challenges of remodeling a kitchen or building custom shelves that meet the demands of displaying their many vintage collections. I recently interviewed Jean to find out more about Ladies and Gentlemen's decorating process. Read on to learn how to achieve their distinctive look.
This post is on the apartment we lived in Capitol Hill last year. We did a studio tour awhile back for Poppytalk. I still dream about the tall ceiling and the old word charm of the building, but we've moved on...on to bigger and better thing...maybe? We hope to do another tour of our home when we get or act together...
Here's a the "Get the look" article about our apartment:
This weekend's Get the Look: Decor is inspired by the bright and colorful Seattle, Washington apartment of Jean and Dylan of ladiesandgentlemen. When it comes to finding great deals on vintage treasures and furniture, this couple has discovered the secret. With their background in industrial design, they also enjoy the challenges of remodeling a kitchen or building custom shelves that meet the demands of displaying their many vintage collections. I recently interviewed Jean to find out more about Ladies and Gentlemen's decorating process. Read on to learn how to achieve their distinctive look.
Dylan and Jean appreciate objects, be they high design or the everyday mundane. Dylan tends to gravitate to modern, clean, technical and minimal pieces, while Jean has a way of finding items with lots of color, texture and character. They're both accumulators, so the resulting collection is a great mix of simple and complex.
"When we started the L&G shop last year, our affection for knick knacks, housewares and various eclectic objects really grew. Every time we find things for the L&G shop, we ended up keeping some stuff for ourselves. It's kind of a curse in disguise, since we still have trouble figuring out where to put everything."
Ladies and Gentlemen love to display objects they cherish, so shelves and storage are critical. Storage within storage is even better to create various divided spaces to display items from giant beakers to tiny little pods and toys. "Shelves allow us to quickly and easily change the feeling of our space and house our collection of goods. In our dream space, we would like have an entire wall of floor to ceiling shelves. It's well worth the added dusting!"
Dylan and Jean use their finds to create collages in their space. "Our permanent architecture and furniture tend to be more simple, timeless and versatile, so that they work well with whatever 'collage' of quirky objects we collect. As we develop our new space, we try to make initial decisions deliberately to change and grow over time. Every once in awhile we like to completely rearrange on a whim, too. It's always changing and evolving."
Visit Etsy's There's No Place Like Here flickr pool to view more photos of Jean and Dylan's home.
You can see the actual post, too see what they pick to get the L&G look! here.
Here's some recent picks of L&G items on other Etsy posts.
L&G item on Etsy's Finds Vintage: The art of Display
L&G on Etsy's "A Cozy Home" gift guide.
I was browsing Etsy's great "Get the Look:Home Decor Edition" and was thrilled to find that one of the Etsy admin picked an L&G item be part of the look ! The inspiration was from the Brooklyn, NY home of illustrator Alex Eben Meyer. This happened on the 8th...I'm always little behind on the news...but I can still pretend that it just happened, right?
Here it is nonetheless! Ta-da!
They picked out L&G;s vintage dart board! I had to put a heart around it. :D
You can read the article, here!
Just saw the trailer of the HBO version of "Grey Gardens" starring Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore. (Playing April 18) I have to say that was a little skeptical when I first heard that Drew Barrymore was playing Little Edie...not because I don't like her, it's just that she typically plays the ditsy sweet girl in most movies. So it was hard to picture her playing the eccentric & carefree (and somewhat delusional) Little Edie. But after watching the trailer with scenes of Little Edie talking about her costumes, I was surprised by how much Drew Barrymore spoke and acted like the real Little Edie. I'm actually curious to watch the HBO version. It's a fictional film depicting their lives before and after the original documentary....definitely more like a typical dramatized story, but curious nonetheless. There's even one of the Baldwin brothers! I just can't remember his name...do they have any names besides Alec? :P
The Original 1975 documentary is a must-see. It's a true all-American tale depicting the daily lives of two relatives of Jacki O after they lost their wealth. Big Edie and Little Edie lived in a decrepit manor living amongst dozens of stray cats and wild raccoons. They live their lives remember their glamorous past in the crumbling house of East Hampton.
Watch the original trailer below:
Since the film, Little Edie's sense of style has served as inspirations in the fashion world. Designers like Laurie Foon , Todd Oldham, and beyond has used Edie's mix-match technique, her color pallet, and her signature head wrap in their collections.
I found these fashion spread (via Zoom Zoom) referencing scenes from Grey Gardens. I really like the soft and the dreamy feel of these shots.
So, here's Little Edie's best fashion tip. “The best thing is to wear pantyhose or some pants under a short skirt, I think. You have the pants under the skirt and then you can pull the stockings up over the pants underneath the skirt. And you can always take off the skirt and use it as a cape. So, I think this is the best costume for today. I have to think these things up, you know..."
Now I just have to go bribe someone with HBO to watch the movie now.
Bonjour à nos amis! Today’s Poppytalk Storytime centers around the graphic treasures of the 1960 French language book Parlons Francais.
You don’t want to end up like Brett and Germane, so follow us and Parlons Francais and brush up on your French!
What better motivation to learn a foreign language than the promise of an incredible, neat illustration waiting for you on the next page? Learn some words and you can impress pretty much anyone! We learned some French terms and now use them on a daily bases! We like to walk the corner market “Sept-Onze” (or more commonly known to Americans as 7-Eleven) and pick up a croissant and a slurpeé using our superior French speaking skills. We come off so cultured.
Parlon Francais is a set of 8 mini-books that are full of charming illustrations that make the leafing through them a delight. The best part is that each book has pages that can be removed and played on a record player for pronunciation.
Here are a few lessons along with some darling visual aids for you (read and repeat aloud…you want to learn French don’t you?): 
“Comment allez-vous?” - How are you?
“l'oiseau est dans l'arbre” - The bird is in the tree.
“L’Oiseau et Le Chat” - The bird and the cat.
"La Famille" - Family
"Nous allons en vacances" - We go on vacation.
"Mes chaussures sont de très petites" - My shoes are very small.
“Je voudrais un grand ballon rouge, s’il vous plait” - I would like a large red balloon please.
“Regardez-vous les animaux” - Look at the animals
Now you know all these phrases, your homework is use them and we'll gurantee that you'll impress someone...unless that person happens to be French. Au revoir! You can see more images, here.
Saw this via Garance Dore. with tons of fantastic people with great styles. They're all too cool for school.
I'm absolutely in love the this gold yellow coat. Simply clever.
I'm in need of more sunshine, and wearing gold and yellow is a perfect way to brighten up an outfit without depending on the moody weather in Seattle.
Some nice use of the color.
It's been super nice in Seattle this last week, and I've been listening to this album EXIT by Shugo Tokumaru. It's been the perfect album to listen to. His music reminds me of spring and sunshine! Sounds cheesy, but once you hear it, you'll know what I mean. Thanks to Sonicboom, I picked up this album by chance when test-listening their used albums. I love finding music when I least expect it!
Shugo is a music genius who intricately weaves sounds of all sorts by using random everyday objects to classical Japanese instruments. He has collected hundreds of noise makers and often incorporates them in his music. Every song is a delightful collage of sounds that is simply wonderful to listen to over and over again. There's seriously not one song in there that I don't like. You can listen to some of his songs, here.
Hope it will brighten up your days like it does for me. Enjoy and have a good weekend!
I love knitted, crocheted, laced things....but especially when they're enlarged and used in an unexpected context. As you know I hand-crochet a giant doily rug last December for JOIN:Design Seattle, and named it....Mega-Doily. (Don't judge because of the name. I'm not the most creative when it comes to naming things.)
Since then, I've been getting links to all these other cooler knitted art/design/jewelery that totally puts my rug to shame! UGH! It's so unfair! People who try to make me look less cool totally sucks! I wish my friends never sent me those links! It's as if they're indirectly saying "Hey check this stuff out! This reminds me of your rug, except your rug isn't nearly as cool as this! TTYL! XOXO! :D"
But despite my obvious jealousy-manifested hatred, I'm glad I saw them...cuz they are cool...I suppose....And I guess I SHOULD still share all this with everyone. Whatever....
Okay, check these knits with gigantic upholstered tube by Bauke Knottnerus.... Titled 'Phat Knit'. They are indeed phat and literally fat....like your MOTHER! OH! BURN!
This yellow knitted bench by Imaginary office have been making its way around the blogosphere. They're pretty awesome.....Like your MOTHER!...oh wait...that doesn't work. crap!
But my jaw dropped when I saw these amazing series of knitted lamps with single strand of cord by a Korean artist, Kwangho Lee...I couldn't stop looking at them. It's simply brilliant and totally stunning. I love the more tangled ones, too. Lee has tons more other stuff that are beyond amazing....like your....ahhh- I give up.
Via come up to my room.
Elegant looking knitted necklaces from Jaclyn Mayer
And of course, who can resist Yokoo's edgy knitted accessories. I got a mustard scarf from her a while back, and is still totally in love with it. But now I'm dreaming about how I can rock the big knitted chain look....maybe if I wear my jeans backwards and sag them a little then I might be able to pull it off...hmm?
But I'm still warning all you out there who's trying to be better than me...watch your back! Because I'm totally gonna say angry things about you and make fun of your mother (when I get the hang of it) on the blog with my angry face!
Like this -->\ --/
Like this -->\ - >\ Or does that look more like an Asian face? Ugh! Double crap!
We couldn't help but jump on the found photo bandwagon when we found these precious bundles of snap shots at the Ballard Senior Center Rummage Sale. The photos follow a family on a road trip across the country in the 40's (our best guess). From Yellowstone to Massachusetts, the photos alternate between America's classic roadtrip sites and shots of the family tending to their classic car and trailer. A great number of the photos are well taken; dramatically lit and well framed. Makes us want to leave it all, jump in the trailer, and hit the American open roads...one of these days we just might actually do it...just you watch!
Check out these great bags by Stefan Diez for Saskia Diez. They get my vote for the classiest use of Tyvex. The well-done forms and details make you forget all about the fact that these are made of the same material as fedex envelopes. Bravo!
So as you know, last Dec, Dylan and I were part of JOIN: Design Seattle show. It was at this show that the first Ladies & Gentlemen Studio pieces was born...our Alpha Brass lamps and Mega Doily rug. 
We're proud and honored to part of this new up & coming design collective along with other awesome Seattle designers like:
Iacoli&Mcallister and 
Gray pants. We are combining all of our forces to build a stronger design community in Seattle showcasing North American Designs through JOIN:Design Seattle. We are excited to present our next event, and our first juried show:
JOIN and Ouch My Eye are seeking submissions for Ctrl+Alt+Design slated for June 12th, 2009. The juried show will primarily focus on showcasing work by emerging American designers working in the areas of furniture, lighting, soft goods and home accessories. You can get more details about the show and apply, here. This is a good excuse to turn that napkin sketch into a real thing. It's free, so you just gotta make it happen!
We're looking forward to see all the submissions! Remember the Deadline is MAY, 8, 2009. So feel free to apply and spread the word to any desingers out there, too!
Check out JOIN Flickr site to see photos of our past shows.
Please contact Jamie Iacoli with any questions at:
press [at] joinDesignSeattle [dot] com.
I've been meaning to post about my experiments in making some black sesame flavored macarons after my first successful batch of macarons. These don't have the colorful charm that most French macrons have, but the taste is seriously out of this world!
You can get pre-ground black sesame packs at most Asian grocery stores. It's easy, you just have to memorize whatever character and proper pronunciation for black sesame depending on what type of Asian grocery store you go:
Japanese store, ask for "GOMA"胡麻
Chinese store, ask for "HEI-ZHI-MA" 黑芝麻
Korean store, ask for "HEUGIMJA" 흑임자
Cantonese store, ask for.....
Or you can just ask someone who can speak english or get it at any grocery store...that would probably make things a little easier. :P
Black Sesame Macarons recipe:
I got it from Martha Stewart, but altered it a little so the macarons arent' too sweet and won't get burn:
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 3/4 cup finely ground blanched almonds ( I get Bob's Red Mill pre-ground almond flour here.)
- 1/4 cup finely ground black sesame
- 6 tablespoons fresh egg whites (from about 3 extra-large eggs)
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- Preheat the oven to 320 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar and ground almonds and black sesame. Sift it couple of times, so there's less clumping. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip egg whites with salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar. Continue to whip until stiff glossy peaks form. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the confectioners' sugar mixture until completely incorporated.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Fit a pastry bag with a 3/8-inch #4 round tip, and fill with batter. Pipe 1-inch disks onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 1 inches between cookies. The batter will spread a little. Let stand at room temperature for 20-30 minutes until dry, and a soft skin forms on the tops of the macarons and the shiny surface turns dull.
- Double stack the tray (so it doesn't burn on the bottom) and then bake with the door of the oven slightly ajar held open with a water soaked wooden spoon or metal spoon. Bake for 5-6 minutes, turn the tray and bake for another 5-6 minutes if your oven bakes unevenly.
- Remove baking sheet to a wire rack and let the macarons cool completely on the baking sheet. Gently peel off the parchment. Their tops are easily crushed, so take care when removing the macaroons from the parchment. If it's sticking to the paper, spray the bottom of the paper with water. This will help peel it off easier. Use immediately or store in an airtight container, refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
Butter Cream Filling:
This is pretty much the same, make the butter cream and then add ground sesame. This yields more filling than the amount of macarons. So I take third of the filling, and mix half cup of ground sesame. You can save the rest for another batch or make different flavors with it.
- 3 large egg whites
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk egg whites and sugar. Set the mixer bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and warm mixture, whisking often, until it feels warm to the touch and sugar is dissolved, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Transfer bowl to the mixer, and fit with the whisk attachment. Whip on high speed until mixture is stiff and shiny, 3 to 5 minutes. Add butter, one piece at a time, and continue mixing until butter is thoroughly incorporated. The filling can be kept, covered and refrigerated, up to 1 week. Bring to room temperature before stirring.
- To fill the macaroons: Fill a pastry bag with the filling. Turn macaroons so their flat bottoms face up. On half of them, pipe about 1 teaspoon filling. Sandwich these with the remaining macaroons, flat-side down, pressing slightly to spread the filling to the edges.
All this talk about macarons is making me wanna make them and of course....eat them too! God. I love them!!
We recently started watching "Important Things with Demetri Martin" on comedy central. (it's on every Wed.) and I have to say I found my love for comedy again. I can't stand most of the comedians on "Comedy" central. All they do is yell and scream and complain about life after getting married and about their mom or girlfriends PMS-ing.
Demetri Martin on the contrary has a very different perspective on everything...he's calm, relaxed, funny and insightful. He shares random deep thoughts that makes you ponder about things & beyond...sometimes so darn obvious it makes you wonder...."Why didn't I think of it? Why can he share useless thoughts like this and get paid? Why can't I get paid?" He delivers jokes through music & artful doodles. He's also ambidextrous...yeah, I know, can you believe it? Can anyone be more perfect?
Watch this 14min video and prepared to be enlightened. You'll walk away thinking about useless stuff more than you'll ever need. And that's priceless.
Enjoy, and have a good weekend.
Storytime on an awesome seventies home decor book "How to Decorate Without going Broke." Check it out! 
Here's some ideas....you thought it's about being resourceful and saving space? Well...Think again. During times like this, what better time to make a giant bird bed, some stuffed sheep as chairs, and giant soft set of teeth than now?
Read more and see more photos Here.
I just love TAF's approach to design and the result...common objects tweaked in a clever way to make them feel simply special and well-resolved.
They're a small studio based out of Stockholm who has been producing awesomeness since 2002. Blurb from their website: TAF’s aim is to make ordinary life less ordinary through subtle but effective changes in how products and architecture appear and function. A recurrent departure point in TAF projects is that everyday objects by their very commonness can be made uncommon. 
Saw this via Design*Sponge couple days ago. It's another magical and adorable stop-motion music video by Oren Lavi . I just had to add this to the list of stop-motion videos along with my other favs: by Labour, Hine, and the magical Origami commercial, The whole stop-motion technique is simply charming. It's as if they are bring a whole new world of magic into the reality.
It's just incredibly sweet...the sunny room, the clean sheet, the fluffy pillows, the little white socks....Le sigh...
Enjoy!
This is our second storytime post. It's a book by Tana Hoban, an amazing photographer and children's book publisher. This book if from the 70's and the photos are simply beautiful. It's fun for both adults and kids to read!
Check out the post, here to see the inside of the book!
And that's suppose to be me holding the book...hee hee.
Dylan and I are bring a few "Storytime" installments to Poppytalk. This first one is about the great 1962 Seattle World's Fair. We found this little souvenir booklet with colorful and charming illustrations of all the-once-fantastic-and-futuristic-monuments. They're all still fantastic of course, but the monorail is definitely not what is made up to be....
Read more on Poppytalk, Here.
I just have to gloat about the newest edition to my camera collection: A 1960's Nikon F + fun bells and whistles. Back in the day, this camera was the workhorse in many pro photographers' arsenals. Now that I finally picked one up, I know why...this photo-machine is tough as tank, very versatile and takes grrreat photos!
The coolest part about the camera is that the finder is interchangeable. It came with a standard metered finder, but it can be switched out with a waist level viewer like the old TLR Rolleiflexes and Hasselblads. I just got my waist level finder and can't wait to take some shots with it...there's something about the perspective in shooting from waist level that makes things look so much more interesting.
I wanted to share some of my second roll of film (black and white mostly taken in Portland, OR). I'm pretty happy about the way they turned out and can't wait to hit the streets again (packin' the waist level finder this time).
More on L&G Flickr. 
