I love these lamps by Vij5, because rather than get in the way, the cord becomes a sculptural element that the owner can control. Plus, they remind me of the toggles that used to come on old Starter jackets back in the 90′s.. Simple, but brilliant!
A few new ones over at THERSIC Style Icons! Have a great weekend, everyone!
A friend of ours posted a link to this strange & eerie test which I just had to take, since I’m inclined to both. I have to say, I was even more creeped out how bizarrely accurate it was. Check it, it’s fun!
This is kind of cute for any crossword fans out there. Just wrap your gift, find the holiday that is most appropriate, circle it, and TA-DA! Ready to go.
So excited! The electric motorcycle that Wes has been helping design & create for Brooklyn Motorized is being featured in the NY Times today! I’m so proud.
Read the article HERE.
images via NY Times
After I posted a picture of a new desk chair Wes bought me yesterday, my brother called me and insisted that we should start a blog all about the crazy things Wes carries home on his Vespa. It got me laughing, b/c what I once thought as ridiculously insane has sort of become the norm here.
We used to have a cheap little car here in Brooklyn, but after having it towed b/c of street cleaning, we found out that it was going to cost us $700 to get it back. We decided it was more than the car was worth & said goodbye (even though a weeks worth of laundry was in the back!). Since then, Wes uses his Vespa for everything. Rain, snow, sleet, he almost always refuses to use public transportation.
Anyway, so not only does he ride it everywhere, he also uses it to carry EVERYTHING. And I mean everything from a months worth of groceries from Costco, to 10 garbage bags full of Salvation Army donations (seriously), to even a 6ft work table (not kidding here).
So I thought I’d share a few snapshots of Wes + Vespa’s greatest hits..
A trip to Costco, complete w/ 40 lbs of cat litter
new Knoll chair he brought home for me yesterday
old school chairs (one trip), Wes’ work chair (one trip)
Brought this 32″ screen TV home from a store in Queens, for Christ’s sake!
The Grandaddy of all Vespa carries: the 6 ft table!
I didn’t witness this one, but our friend Michelle did, and made a comic about it
I’ll try to get a photo of him in action from now on.. I think you’ll all be impressed!
After hand stringing, wiring, & tool-dipping over 40 lights for our wedding (see post on that here), we just couldn’t justify getting rid of them.. Even if it did mean shipping them all back (bulbs included) from Georgia to Brooklyn. If you have a tiny wedding budget like we did, you have to make sure some elements are sustainable, right?
Up until now they have been sitting in the box we shipped them in.. But since we are in the process of slowly redoing rooms in our apartment of 7 years, we finally decided to put them to use. So Wes took about 7 or 8 strands, strung them together, hooked them up to an adjustable dimmer, hung them over our bed and Presto! New, but recycled lighting.
I never can get enough of Modern 50, not just for their great mix of old stuff, but also their parade of nice photography. Plus I love the slate colored walls.. how did they do that, anyway? Makes me want to paint our place slate gray and get out big sponge for the texture, though that has an even chance of ending up like a bad home improvement show.
But here is something you can do: create a mirror. More about that after these five:
One thing that we have noticed is the vast majority of our readers are artists & designers, so many of you know what you want and do not shy away from making it yourself.
So, where do you buy a mirror? Make it. If you are in Brooklyn, get antique mirror from Bear Glass. They have good antique mirror, and it really isn’t that expensive. Make a frame, or design it and find a woodworker to craft it for you, and if you are looking for a woodworker, I know a few.
One more resource- If you are in Manhattan & have a Manhattan budget, go to Sundial Schwartz- they make their own mirror, and can do pretty much any sort of type of antiquing you can imagine.
Hey, if you do end up making your mirror, send us pictures!
The home of our dear friends, Courtney Wotherspoon and Trevor Byrne has recently been featured on practically every inspiring design/ interior site known to man.. This makes us once again late to the game, but isn’t it an amazing place?
Courtney bought, renovated, filled, and decorated their Toronto home all in less than a year, making Wes and I feel like we’re a couple of kids living in clubhouse. This year, I vow to grow up! And then hire Courtney as my decorator..
See more HERE
This is not a new rural studio project, it’s from 2004, but I like it and figure y’all may as well. I really can’t get enough Rural Studio.
The project page states:
Newbern, Hale County, Alabama
Thesis Project 2003-2004
Will Brothers, Matthew Finley, Elizabeth Ellington, Leia Price.
Project description
The Newbern Volunteer Fire Department and Town Hall is the first new public building in Newbern for 110 years. It houses three fire trucks and satisfies the town’s needs for a place to house elections, council meetings, volunteer firefighter classes, fund-raising and community gatherings.
The building is supported by a wood and metal truss structure, which is enclosed by translucent polycarbonate panels, protected from the sun by cedar slats and topped-off with a galvanized aluminum roof. Inside there is a mezzanine level for fire fighting classes and at the ground floor a bathroom and kitchen.
An extraordinary effort by four students. Not only was the project conceived and built in just two years, but at the same time student Leia Price raised $100,000 in materials donations.
I am not generally a fan of Frenchmen wearing thongs in the desert, but this man is incredible. 
Yes, he did choose to drive a Citroen 2cv into the Morrocan desert, but at least he brought tools. When car broke apart, rather than cry about it or start wandering the desert, he took the pieces of the car and built himself a motorcycle. Good thing he had 10 days provisions on hand, because it took him 12 days to build the thing.
Emile, you deserve that speedo.
We knew from the first moments of planning, that we wanted to get married at the tiny church that was down the road from Wes’ grandfather’s timber plantation. Built in 1856, it was the church that his grandfather went to as a small boy and it still remains in his family as a gathering place. It was hit by a hurricane a while back and still remains crooked because of it. It was perfect.
Did I mention it was 100° the entire day? Luckily our friends our talented photographers, and you can’t at first tell that were we all sweating through our clothes! When we were setting up the church the day before, we came across a big, nasty looking snake who lives under the church. I didn’t want to freak our guests out, so we didn’t say anything about it that day.. Thankfully she stayed put during the ceremony.
That’s my mom in the yellow dress looking radiant and my best friend walking her in. Below that is the one of my dad that gets me teary-eyed every time.
I mentioned this before, but we’ve had a few requests for wedding photos (you’re all sweet by the way, so thank you) and we finally have some to share. But I don’t want to bore the rest of you with our entire family slideshow, so I think I’ll divide it up into a couple seperate posts, so not to overwhelem you with too much lovey-dovey stuff.
Our dear and very talented friends, Jason & Rebecca Walker photographed us that day and did an amazing job despite the Georgia heat, bugs, and afternoon thunderstorms. We were so lucky to have them there, because Wes and I are typically super awkward in front of the camera, and they kept us laughing and feeling comfortable all day. Click any group to enlarge.
One of my favorite parts of the day.. hanging out with my sisters, Mom, and best friend drinking coffee & getting ready
Wes got ready with his guys at our friends’ beachhouse.. These quickly became some of my favorite photographs of our friends of all time
Wes & I decided that we wanted to see each other and hang out a bit before the ceremony (highly recommended to those of you getting married, it really relieves the nerves!), so we went to his grandfather’s timber plantation, where Jason & Becca set up a simple and sweet ‘reveal’
We then took a few more shots including a few with Wes’ old (and still much loved) cars, and even a few with one of the crazy dogs that likes to hangout around the plantation. From there we were off to the church (which was only a mile away)
More coming soon!
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