OK not really good at this blogging thing

I realize now that I've started blogging about 5 different things all half-cocked like a stairway in the Winchester Mystery house that leads into the wall. It's just months of silence punctuated by non sequitor.
I'll try to do better.
Just needed to get this off my chest real quick. Now that the campaign season is over and the chips have fallen... I must say that as heinous a person as Meg Whitman turned out to be and regardless of that fact that they were not all true her campaign's anti Jerry Brown TV ads were stunningly beautiful.
One came on while I was in the kitchen and my husband paused the ad so that when I came back into the living room I could see it from the beginning.
The art direction is brilliant. The lifetime of politics legacy of failure spot especially so. It has a strong concept--using the medium of a particular era to show Jerry Brown in each decade. first a record on a turntable, then newspapers, then TV, then the internet all cycling back to the record on the turntable. Brilliant.
I include some screenshots below:






Her other ad about Jerry Brown as Mayor of Oakland is just as stunning
Here are more screenshots:

Making my own wedding dress

So what happened is this. When I started digging my hands into the wedding planning in earnest I was looking at all these great blogs where brides had created all these personal touches. Being an artsy/craftsy person myself I felt like saving money and making it really personal and meaningful were two good reasons to craft things myself. So I decided to make my own wedding dress.

Most of the other craft projects have fallen by the wayside as I realized that I was turning the wedding into my own personal crafts fair and the only things left on the table were the invitations and the wedding dress.

Being a graphic designer by trade I am slightly less daunted by the invitations. But while I've sewed off and on for most of my life I've never really become expert at it and have definitely never made anything couture-level at all. So I'm terrified I'm going to screw it up but I'm also committed now.

I've already started the process and I feel the need to document it so this will be the first of a series of posts on how the dress is going.

SHOE DESIGNER OF THE DAY: DKNY

So in love with all the new fall styles from DKNY. Can I just say that in terms of fashion Fall is absolutely my favorite time of year. Don't really care about Spring or Resort. Give me silks velvets and tweeds, tights, boots and menswear-inspired everything! On that note.. the DKNY shoe line-up is so perfect I almost love them all. The are the perfect fall shoes. Here are my favorites:

SHOE DESIGNER OF THE DAY: CHIE MIHARA

Ok. i cannot possibly express how much I love Chie Mihara shoes. They're pretty much in the perfect sweet spot of gorgeous, well crafted, not-too-high heeled, and edgy without being too wacky. These are the perfect work-appropriate shoes for creative professionals because they're subtle enough to fit into a corporate environment but still have a lot of personality.

SHOEMAKING CLASSES / LESSONS

www.shoemakingbook.com is kind of a logical place to look. There are a few books on this site. Some leatherworking books that are not shoe-specific and a few other manuals on shoe, boot and last-making. The comprehensive shoemaking book is quite expensive and ships from Australia so i haven't pulled the trigger yet but there are examples from different sections of the book to give a taste of the contents.

http://shoeschool.com/

http://www.simpleshoemaking.com/

http://jeannebjorn.com/

http://www.internationalshoemakingdesign.com/

http://www.shoecollege.com/

http://www.prescottandmackay.co.uk/courses/two-day-shoemaking.php

FAVE TEXTILE DESIGNER OF THE DAY: ETSUKO FURUYA

She designs the Echino line for a Japanese fabric company called Kokka. (They make a wide range of really adorable prints) But her work stands out. It's mostly uphostery weight fabric good for pillows and bags but someday I'll make a dress out if one of these.

Some of her fabrics can be found on Ebay. There are also a few online sellers who specialize in Japanese imports like superbuzzy.com

Lots of natural motifs without being too sweet and girly. And her color choices are so unique it creates a distinctive palette.

SHOE COMPANY OF THE DAY: FRYE

I've been very impressed over the last few years with the transformation this brand went through (and continues to pull off). To be able to take a brand known for basically one thing (not unlike converse or doc martens) and expand it into a diverse range of women's shoes while still maintaining a certain rugged, Americana, craftsman-like sensibility is really a feat. Docs have tried to expand to more styles beyond the lace-up boot but they really don't stand on their own nearly as well as the assortment from Frye. A sampling...

I have a secret crush on so many of these shoes that if my other shoes knew they'd be jealous.

The color range is just right--not too solemn--throwing in some wide-open-country brights like yellow and sky blue.

The heels are substantial without seeming overly chunky, the hardware and studs are a little macho. The simplicity and finesse of the details strikes a nice balance.