We're stoked to get a copy of the new publication our friend, Charlie, just launched.
Simple and beautifully highlighting a handful of great emerging photographers from the NW and beyond.
Seeing some of the photos makes me really appreciate the soft glooming light we get in the NW 75% of the year. There's just something about the light that makes everything seem more mysterious and dream-like...
Watching the garland dance while enjoying some light breeze coming through the window...hope this will last.
We're SO excited to see photos of the Shape Shop popup on Sight Unseen they just posted! Everything looks amazing and the range of works there is all pretty insane. They've selected works from bunch of great designers and artists, and we're just super happy to be included!
There's so much excitement that I wish I can integrate bunch of explosive graphics like "AWESOME!" "WOW!" "AMAZING!" "NO WAY!" or "I REALLY LIKE THAT AND WOULD LIKE TO GET IT PLEASE!"
Anyway....here are some photos of the popup:
Here's our BLOC necklaces!! yay~~
It was a total coincidence that our necklaces happened to be totally inline with the Shape Shop theme...using simple shapes and block, and even colors....it freaked me out a bit...but in the best way possible!! We hope to have these up on our site next month!
There are bunch of great things from some friendly AmDC folks ( Fort Standard, Patrick Kim, Brian Persico) and other awesome designers we've admired like, Shabd, Fredericks and Mae, Tanya Aguiniga, Fort Makers and tons MORE! See more HERE.
ON TOP of al this, Sight Unseen also released their new book!
Also, the popup will be up at Creatures of Comfort in NY until May 6th!
We're excited to start a tumblr page (lgstudio.tumblr.com) to share more visuals of our process, findings, and inspirations...and more frequently!
Lately I've been bad about posting on the blog only because of how time consuming it is for me! And yes...guilty as charged, I've had my share of back posting!! :P
So I think using tumblr will be really good since it'll force me to do short & sweet updates!
But for those who likes to read more in general, we'll still continue to post on website our blog especially for times when sharing just one sentence or one photo doesn't do justice on the subject....or for when I absolutely need to ramble and share all my nonsense. :)
And in case you didn't know, we also have our Facebook page! So follow us to see more udpates.
But I have to say I'm one of those people who still can't come around in using twitter....sorry, twitter users. I can only handle managing so many sites... :P
Mother nature is amazing…to design something as perfect as this pod vessel. Once tipped, thousands of poppyseeds falls and spreads to the ground.
We went to a really fun opening for Stacy Rozich's show at Flatcolor Gallery yesterday.
All her colorful and intricate water-colored prints are filled with humorous and rich narratives of the strangest-looking folklore creatures doing random things and acting like ironic hipsters....standing around nonchalant....smoking, drinking Rainer, playing music, cards, or causing some sort of mischief.
They look wild and crazy and all the while incredibly endearing at the same time....each carrying their own personality.
I couldn't help but to create mini conversations (with different voices and all) in my head as I looked at every print.......
Rabbit guy: "Heeeey...so I'm a little worried....I think fluffy is not feeling very well...."
Pipe guy: (playing music) "hum-dee-doo...la-did-da....HUH? what?... you said something?"
Rabbit guy: "oh...nothing, I mean....I was just trying to say that fluffy looks a little malnourished...it looks like she's loosing a lot of weight...."
Pipe guy: (inhale pipe and puff out smoke) "uh...hmmm...its probably the dogs stealing her food or whatever"
Rabbit guy: "ohmygawd...really?? you think they'd do that?!"
Pipe guy: "uh, yeah. they're dogs....they'd eat anything." (resume to playing his music)
Dogs: "grrrr...."
Tree guy: "gawd....why da hell did you make me steal this tree from your neighbor's yard?"
Gun guy: "cuz she always up in my biznezz and wouldn't shut up about everything I do"
Tree guy: "uh..so you steal her tree?...what's the point exactly?"
Gun guy: "I don't know...just so she'll learn to not F with...wait a minute....I didn't kidnap you so you can ask me all these damn questions!" (spit)
Tree guy: "all right...fine."
Bug: (in little voice) "heeey!! get back here! You guys have no rights to move the tree, I was living under there! It says here on my lease that I have every right to sue you guys! I'm a bug lawyer and I can get you guys thrown in jail!!...uh....guys..did you hear what i say!!"
Birds: "KAAAAH!"
Big guy: "WOOOO!!!! NO HANDS MOTHERF*#%ER!!"
Little green guys: (with tiny high voices from left to right)
"heeeeeell yeeeeah...rager paarrrtaaaay!!"
"ah maaaan...think i'm out of beer..."
"zzzzz...snore"
"damn it! give me back my cigarette!! stop hogging it!!"
"what, you mean this? what? you want it or something?? I thought you said you're quitting?...you really shouldn't smoke, you know...especially if you want kids and all"
"damn it, shut up, and just give me the damn cigarette!"
___________(The End)______________
Yeeeah....got a little carried a way....maybe I'm crazier than all those creatures combined...
anyways...moving on....
MUST SEE this amazing stop-motion illustrated by her for Fleet Fox that totally made my heart stop... I even teared up a bit at the end.
It's insanely beautiful and magical.... it's almost like the song and the animation were made for each other.
On top of Charlie Schuck's photography studio, he opened an amazing shop in Seattle, and now is launching this visual photo journal tomorrow...
AND he always throws the best parties....
AND he can fix broken iPhones. No joke.
Sometimes I wonder if this guy ever sleeps...
We're excited to have some special new necklaces for Sight Unseen's (one of our fav design blogs) upcoming popup shop at Creatures of Comfort!
These are times when I wished we lived closer than the total opposite side of the states. :(
But if you're in NY, go check it out! The shop will be up from from April 9th to May 6th.
See more event info and RSVP HERE.
Featured Work: Chalk Piggy Bank.
Featured Work: Chalk Piggy Bank & Perimeter Tray.
So....part II of my epic birthday DAY! I'm done talking about myself and would like to just devote this post to share this amazing place to the rest of the world! I had one of the most memorable dinning experience at Belle Clementine for my 30th birthday!
It's a fairly new restaurant opened in Ballard just last December and lucky for us... only a 15 min walk from our house!
We didn't know that much about it besides that they do communal-style coursed dinners, with only 36 seats, one meal a night, 3.5 course meal + 1 drink for only $40 (including tip!), everyone sits next to each other even if you don't know them, and the idea is to just enjoying food with "simple ingredients, treated simply and honestly" (which reminds us of Italy in a lot of ways!)
So just knowing all that alone made us convinced to try the place....AND also invited 29 other friends to try it for the first time, too!!
....now thinking back, that was prooooobably not the smartest move for the fact that most of our friends are foodies, and none of us knew that much about it!!
But we decided to just take the leap of faith and just go with it....
and boy was I more than pleased....
The owner, David Sanford, who conceived of the idea for a restaurant that is all about building a community through people and food, and about connecting and sharing over meals. The building itself is a century-old and used to be a furniture warehouse. David designed & built the space with a perfect balance of elements: simple, clean, sophisticated, and best of all, warm and comfortable like home...
When we first got to the place, we walked through a narrow hallway that almost felt like an entryway to a house...as we reached the end of the hallway, the space opened up to an expansive space with a tall wood ceiling, an open kitchen on one side, and 3 long dinning tables on the other. There was even a wall with coat hangers, shelves & a bench for people to drop all their stuff off and get comfortable just like at a nice dinner party at someone's home...an AMAZING home that is.
As everyone settled in, two servers went around and served everyone a drink of their own choosing and served up some bread and beautiful fresh olives with orange zest as starters (orange zest was an increbily simple way to make the olives all the tastier).
The format of having this fixed dinner for only 36 people and serving one meal for one evening was surprisingly relaxing. We didn't really realize why that was at first...and were just feeling that everything simply..well, just felt nice! But as we thought about it more...we realized the fact that everyone eats at the same time, makes a huge difference in the whole experience!
This meant that we didn't have to deal with the usual stress like going to a busy place where we'd have to wait for at least an hour, if not more in Ballard on a Friday. After finally sitting down, then taking too much time debating what to get, and then dealing with grumpy impatient waiters...and then the worst is when we feel rushed after eating because the bussers keep wanting to clear the table even though there's still food on the plates....and really, they just need to clear people out so they move to the next diners....
So this was SO refreshing for a change, we didn't have to worry about what dishes to get, the servers & chef were all super accommodating and had time to actually have a conversation about what we were eating! There was none of the crazy intensity of servers pacing around with multiple dishes in one hand, breaking plates or serving up the wrong food....
It was just a pleasant low-key dinning experience minus all the stressful & chaotic elements at a typical restaurant. Doesn't that just sound so nice? I have enough white hair as it is and certainly don't need more just from eating dinner!
So finally, the best part....the food! Here's the menu served that evening!
All the dishes were made with locally sourced ingredients, so it was all seasonal and super fresh.
Beyond that, each dish had this unexpected combination of simple, yet complex flavors....where they were so simple that I could taste the actual flavors of each ingredient, but complex in how the flavors unfolded in layers with each bite....It was a perfect balance where nothing was overpowering...and instead everything complemented each other really well.
The Feta with locally forged nettles was probably the most interesting for the fact that it was so different. Most of us aren't even that familiar with the taste of nettles, or doesn't even know that they're edible! But now we know we wanna get more!
The halibut dish with russo Kale and white beans was also amazing where the lightly roasted crispy kale paired perfectly with the soft halibut in terms of their texture and taste.
I still can't believe that David and his staff were able to pull off the meal that accommodate all 29 of us! Dylan made the reservation for everyone and mentioned some dietary restrictions certain people have (50% of us in fact!), thinking most likely that someone will just have to not eat some of the dishes...but instead, David said it wasn't at all a problem and ended up creating a whole meal that everyone enjoyed.
If it was any other place to ask that many people to just go and try without knowing that much about it...it would have been a TOTAL disaster ......and worst of all, we would end up being black listed by all our friends as someone to never have dinner with, EVER! :p
Just the THOUGHT of trying to find a place that can possibly accommodate that many people between all the different complexity of various dietary restrictions/ preferences / standards just stresses me out, since usually there would be at least a few people to end up walking away not satisfied.
But I was more than impressed that David somehow managed to cater to all the different needs and STILL create dishes where no one felt like the meal was a compromise. Everyone walked away from the place feeling full and amazed by everything they tasted. Unbelievable...
So lucky for me, BC turned out to be the perfect place to have a great meal and a special birthday party! David even came out to talk to us about the place, the food, and then sang happy birthday with some surprise dessert!!
Cupcakes with sheep's milk cream frosting! UH-mazing!
David letting us check out the kitchen and let me go camera crazy!
All this talking about BC is totally making me hungry...
Check out their FB page to see all the updates, what they're serving up each day, their process on where and how they get ingredients, and all the beautiful dishes they've served in the past! But just to warn you, it'll make you super hungry...and most likely drool on your keyboard....a lot.
I'm still floating on clouds thinking about my epic golden day last Friday!!
Here's how the day went...
Dylan woke me up by bringing me breakfast in bed with some coffee and treats from Besalu pastries. 
Then I got kicked out for the rest of day, since Dylan had to take over the house to decorate. But I especially don't mind in cases like this. :)
I was excited to meet up with Ashley a bit to go over some new ideas we're collaborating on...here's a SNEAK PEAK!
Then I met up with my sister and got some play time with my niece, Yvette! Awww....look at her adowable worry eyebrows!
Then it was time to put on my outfit for the evening with a gold rope necklace with materials I found at Joann's of all places!
Even the sun came out to say hello....
Then bunch of friends and I went to Belle Clementine for a delicious community coursed meal.
This was one of best dinner experience with good food, good drinks, good friends and people at the restaurant. (more details about the dinner later!)
Here's a teaser photo....a glass of Lillet, some lightly pickled green olives with orange zest, and sheep's milk feta cheese over saute nettle forged from the Northwest.
Then after dinner, we went back for more partying at our house withe the whole place decked out in all sorts of gold decorations!
I also got this special giant gold gobblet to drink out of!
and then totally stuffed my face with more homemade treats & special cocktail drinks from everyone.
Thanks Dylan & everyone that came out to celebrate with me on my special day! I had the most amazing time...and I really couldn't have asked for anything more!!
xoxo
L&G is totally stoked to be in April issue of Dwell! ...we're actually in there twice! First feature is of the piggy bank along with other neat items...
here's piggy the Dwell website.
...and the second feature is of my Mega-Doily rug project under Meg's "Crafting a Meaningful Home" book!
Yay! Double awesomeness.
This all started back in March when we went over to Ashley's moving sale (yes, I got some awesome stuff!) at first was just us doing a little shopping, but one thing lead to another, we ended up talking about a collaboration of some sort!
This year, we REALLY REALLY want to make it out to NY for ICFF & NY Design week, since we've never been!! We firgured this would be the best time to collaborate & come up with something to submit.
We've always admired Ashley's warm & natural sensibility of using super natural materials. So we thought it would be great to merge both of our aesthetic to design & create furniture pieces for NY Design Week. We' were so excited to hear that Ashley was just as excited about it as we are!
Our first brainstorming session was at Elliot Bay books. Without shame, we sat down and just covered the whole table with bunch of vintage books, drawings, inspirations, and materials to look at together. We were like kids in a playground going from one idea to another getting more and more excited as we talked & sketched.
At the end of the meeting we decided to go with designing some sort of lounge chair or hanging chair...the concept & design was still a bit undefined, but we continued to explore...
We then looked at some random materials we had sitting around our house in hope to find something that can really compliment Ashley's rustic warm aesthetic and also utilizes her textile skills.
Below are some of Ashley's felting & weaving project she was working on another day when we went over to talk. If you follow her blog, you'll quickly get a sense of how everything she captures is beautifully simple, warm, and balanced....and something that we really want to embrace.
I held on to this little tiny ball of Navajo wool sample from Ashley for the longest time...not only to look at it as a sample, but also because it was so darn cute & fuzzy!
playing with some materials....but ended up looking like a robot!
Various cotton ropes to mock up a mini hanging chair concept
All this is still quite priliminary....but I think we've honed in on some good general direction and pallet focusing on a more natrual, simple, and warm feel. Good thing we live & work in the same place, so we can literally look at all this 24/7!!
Featured Work: Full feature on owners Jean Lee and Dylan Davis
Check out this amazing photos essay by our friend Kyle Johnson who did the piece for Kinfolk Magazine Vol. 3!! Kyle proposed the project and shot the story while Ashley Helvey styled the shoot at the top pyramid part of Smith Tower.
When the NYT feature of the space came out about 2 years ago, I wrote a blog post about that space and about how my life won't even compare to the 3 year old kid who's been living there!! But that was the past... now the NEW me, is little bit more optimistic knowing that I'm less than 6 degrees separated from the people who lives there. I'm getting SO close I can taste it!
But seriously though....I'm SUPER excited for Kyle & Ashley that they got to do this (and of course, equally jealous! ) It looked like such a surreal expereince....to hang out in the space, see the view of the city & the water from the 40th floor, while eating a homemade meal by Molly Wizenberg (of Orangette) and Brandon Pettit ( of Delancey)!
Yah, I know, can it get anymore ridiculous than this? I would very much like to shut the front door on them, too.
Someday....I'll get to a point where I don't have to pay $35+ just to see views like this on a day-to-day bases.
All this awesome goldness in the air gots me thinking about how we'll need some party beats like a little Santigold....
A little Goldfrapp...
So....this is sorta kinda a big deal....well, not as big of a deal compare to the golden year...BUT still...this year, 2012, this month, March, tomorrow, the 30th......is gonna be my golden birthday!!!!
Damn right.. I'll be turning 30 on the 30th!
But I'm WAAAAAAY more excited about the GOLDEN part than some silly insignificant number!
For anyone who knows me, I'm not the type of person to make a big deal out of my birthdays...(except when it involves kareoke)
Dylan is being a TOTAL sweetheart and is planning the event, and all I know is that we'll be having an nice group community dinner at Belle Clementine, which I can't wait!!!
So all I have to worry about is how I can make myself look golden for my big day!
Yah... I know...I sound like I'm 16, but it's been awhile. :)
(Gold image and tassels above from Confetti System)
I'm not one to go all out and cover myself gold from head to toe like getting some fancy gold evening gown, sexy gold heels, and flashy gold tooth (they all go hand in hand, right?)
...BUT I'm always up for some tasteful gold accessories!
I was looking for a button up shirt with gold accents of some sort and ended up finding THIS gold collar necklace!....that's not available anymore! Bummer!!
But I think I can make something up by sewing a gold collar to go on a simple white dress shirt to classy it up!
I also really want gold polka dots tights, but can't find it anywhere!...I guess that means I'll need to make my own polka dots on my black leggings!! :D
Of course....I would need some solid dancing like THIS pair of amazing gold & black stripped shoes from Totokaelo. DROOOOOL!
Also would love this classy Gold Cambridge Satchel (and the neon yellow,too!)
I've also been wanting a gold casio calculator watch for years now.....and I ended up finding THIS 70's vintage Casio on ebay going for about $600! .....it's unbelievably awesome....
Aaaaaand while we're at it, I might as well add THIS special edition Gold Hasselblad camera going for $5,000+ to the of all the things on my list on how to look golden. Why not?
Well...actually I can think of more than a doezon of reason why I shouldn't get all that! But hey...a girl can dream right?!
But, hopefully I'll be able to get at least one of those things before the NEXT golden birthday of 50!
Sorry to have to play favorites , BUT this one deserves a few EXTRA exclamation mark!!!!
We LOVE this awesome UK magazine and was more than stoked to have BOTH our Chalk Piggy bank AND Perimeter Tray be featured in the April issue!!
Reading this magazine is like having THE BEST worldly European friend with phenomenal taste to hang out with you.....I just automatically feel a bit more awesome and well-informed about all the current events around the world.
On top of all that, I get to meet the most amazing people, see the most incredible spaces and places, AND learn about the best places to eat & shop!!!
Now if ONLY that friend was REAL.....
BUT since I don't have a real friend like that, that's where Monocle comes in!
Hurray! my life is saved again! Monocle, you're the BEST!! We're gonna be BFFs for, like, ever.
