big things ahead

WE'RE MOVING!!!

2010-10-03T23:02:00.001-07:00

we're moving to BIGGER and BIGGER and BIGGER things...visit us at BIGBIGBIGTHINGS.COM!

thanks for reading!!!!!

BIG THINGS shop preview + trunk show!!!

2010-10-01T03:12:00.000-07:00

i'd like to cordially invite all of you to the BIG THINGS shop preview and trunk show this coming thursday, october 7th at the silverman gallery in san francisco. the ladies of serial cultura, stars & ravens and micaela greg will be showing their most recent collections and i will be previewing some select pieces from my new online shop!

BIG THINGS is a collection of extraordinary objects to wear, admire, and use in your extraordinary life. gathered from around the world, the pieces speak to an audience appreciative of color, tradition, design, humor, and nature.

new mexican pueblo jewelry, turkish hand-woven textiles, greeting cards by gold teeth brooklyn, nutfang soft sculptures, kith & kind totes, tracy's friendship bracelets, vintage discoveries....and more more more!

hope to see you guys there! i've been working really hard and am sooooo excitedddddd!!!!

mathematical genius!

2010-09-28T00:07:00.000-07:00

who would have thought that googling "pencils" would lead me to the incredible geometric work of george hart?! professor, engineer, writer, sculptor, puzzlemaker, and all-around awesome dude, george hart has credentials under his belt to knock any rocket scientist into space. but what's even more impressive is his love and enthusiasm for math, shapes, form, sculpture, and the sharing of that with people all over the world.

his website features his sculptural work, as well as puzzles, papers he's written, and documentation of lectures and programs he's participated in. there's mathcamp, puzzle conventions, university lectures; workshops in rome, taiwan, atlanta, michigan, kyoto; central park sculpture building and a bagel-slicing workshop at the whitney biennial in new york; and even a portable, $10 sculpture that he brought to burning man!!!

his online encyclopedia of polyhedra, which allows you to virtually create any polyhedron form, is also quite amusing even for those completely unaware of what the icosidodecadodecahedron, the rhombicosidodecahedron, or the small dodekic icosidodecahedron really are.

be sure not to miss the itty bit link in his bio, which says: "and if you like cookies, click here" for his recipe for trilobite-shaped cookies. could george hart be any cooler?!? i don't think so!!! he is my new hero!!!

hot and heavy

2010-09-24T19:39:00.001-07:00

steamy sex scenes, bashing out brains, firey flames, cigarette smoking, wizard of oz references, lipstick-ed faces, 90s lace and red suede pumps, a snakeskin jacket, gwar, new orleans, boobs, tons of car crashes, murder, jealousy, hitmen....we obviously watched david lynch's wild at heart. i really haven't seen any his movies (lost highway freaked me out as a teenager and i never came back!) so this was definitely a wild ride into his land of bizarre-o characters. nicolas cage, fresh out of jail, and his peanut, laura dern, are a sexy duo on the lam from her wacko drunk mommy and her army of weirdos. watch the trailer and you'll totally be hooked.

thanks for the images, brandon & joey!

BIG THINGS AHEAD: SOMMER

2010-09-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

sommer and i worked together at metier when i first moved to the city two years ago and i was immediately won over by her wit, wacky jokes, and awesome come-backs. since those fateful days she's been in and out of the fashion world, the fancy bakery world, and the san francisco world, but now she's gone her own way (so fleetwood mac of her!) and is opening her own vintage boutique. full of handpicked clothing, jewelry, accessories and art (this time around by stephanie adams), ramona lou promises to bring a little bit of sommer's style to her hometown of auburn, ca-- a little mixy-matchy, a dash of polka dots, and just the right amount of crazy. we can't wait to see what sommer has "in store" for us!!!! (yes, pun totally intended.)

stop by the grand opening of ramona lou this thursday, september 23rd at 923 lincoln way in auburn.
Name: Sommer Naffz

Age: 30 (at press time)

Hometown: Auburn

Where are you right now? In the loft at my new shop sitting at an antique desk which belonged to my mom (she's still alive, by the way, the desk is just in my possession now). She was planning on refinishing it but never got to it so now I'm working at/on it with all of it's chips, nicks and glory!

What do you do? Good question. I try to translate my thoughts into something comprehensive to others. Right now I'm doing this through opening up a vintage/ random-things-of-my-choice shop. My goal is to make a living doing something I enjoy. I do have a back up plan of stand-up comedy though. Really, I'm going to make people piss themselves laughing if this clothing boutique explodes into one ginormous lint fireball.

Where are you going? Currently I'm going a little nuts but really liking the high of it all. I almost think I'll be able to keep my Windex sniffing habit at bay now!

What will you be doing when you get there? When I get to nutsville? Well, I hear they have a great tour of the city on a hot pink double-decker bus. I may grab a flask of Horonitos and go for a spin. I hope business owners aren't super serious :)

How did you decide to go in this direction? Honestly, I just sort of decided that collecting old things and cleaning off the stink was something I enjoyed and, maybe, just maybe I could do it for a living and be able to shoot-the-shit with folk in a creative space, play music I like and hope that some of my vibes (or whatever) spill onto one person having a crappy day and then they fall in love with a troll later that day.

Do you have any expectations? Expectations... great ones. :) In my heart I really just want to be able to do this and enjoy it!

Are you excited? Nervous? Terrified? Thrilled? Totes! Nervous? Like a 16-year-old boy pinning a dyed-carnation on a bosom. Terrified? Nah. Thrilled? I don't know if I thrill that easily but I sure hope others find the shop thrilling!

What are you looking forward to? I'm looking forward to getting up in the morning and being happy to go to work! I'm also looking forward to meeting and gaining a new clientele. I've been away from Auburn for over ten years now so I'm stoked my shop will be an outlet for me to meet some wonderful new people who dig on the old threads as much as I do.

What are you scared of? These really are deep questions. There's all sorts of risk involved with starting one's own business and of course you have those moments of, "I hope someone's going to actually going to shop here!" But for me the scariest part, making the decision to do it, is over.

What happens if it doesn’t work out? If it doesn't work out at least I can say I tried it. Life changes with every second and you have to be able to roll with the punches. I'm going to roll with it.

What is the worst thing that could happen? The worst thing that could happen... Yikes? I'm thinking someone breaks my front window and puts a dead cat in the store with a note attached saying, "I like your style."

What is the best thing that could happen? The best thing... I wake up tomorrow and own a furnished apartment in San Francisco, New York and Paris and unlimited miles so I can travel and gather amazing pieces for the shop and not have to worry about the major expenses involved! I could also let my family and friends enjoy the apartments too!

Did you ever think you’d be where you are now? No way. I never thought I 'd be back in Auburn. It must be something they put in the Taco Tree. (Taco Tree is an Auburn institution more sacred perhaps than the historic Courthouse or Gold Rush history. In particular, Placer High School Alumni need it to survive and most tend to have life-threatening withdrawals once moved away from Auburn.)

What are you leaving behind? I'm leaving (or have left behind) the luxury of being able to see my SF friends at the drop of a hat. (Insert tear) It's a little tougher now but we aren't too far apart.

What will you miss? I will miss having a weekday off to watch Ellen and raid my parent's pantry.

What did your friends say when you told them? My friends said: "Go for it you sexy bitch!" ;) Well, they encouraged me!

ARE YOU READY? Am I ready??????? Ask me in 10 years.

thanks to sewthrifty and sommer for the photos!

the little people

2010-09-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

gifs gifs gifs! i love these process gifs from brandi over at paperwhistle. tiny cut-out paper people!

get real

2010-09-19T19:33:00.001-07:00

melissa, lev, nico and i went to the EAT REAL street food festival in oakland a few weekends ago. it was awesome to see the whole street food movement in one place- tricked out food trucks (and buses!), the wacky food fusions, the massive numbers of people showing up to eat locally produced meals. we started at le truc, where melissa's brother, myles, was serving pork buns and from a converted school bus!! next was gerard's paella from ginormous pans; korean tacos and pancakes from namu; nopales fries from 51st state, and a veggie bahn mi from ebbett's. we had some good bites but somehow i left feeling a little overwhelmed by the crowds and underwhelmed by the food. best of show definitely goes to these weird korean pancakes from namu! and um...the huge bowl of ben and jerry's we devoured (what!? the local ice cream and gelato lines were unapproachable!)

metal head

2010-09-12T22:33:00.000-07:00

wow, look at these rad anodized aluminum cups i'm fawning over! being the nerd i am, i did a little research into the process of anodizing. according to wikipedia, anodization "changes the microscopic texture of the surface and changes the crystal structure of the metal near the surface." it pretty much thickens the aluminum and prevents it from wear and corrosion. the resulting layer is quite porous and accepts dyes easily, hence the fabulous rainbow of colors! it was was first used to prevent seaplanes from corroding but since then has been used on everything from buildings to cups to carabeeners and ipod covers. can't wait to make a pitcher of iced tea and serve them in these babies...

cups from kup and saucer in philly

double birthday

2010-09-12T22:00:00.000-07:00

a few weeks ago we went to gabe's birthday bbq at his parent's house in berkeley. they've dug this deep pit bbq in the backyard and slowcook meats in there overnight....this time it was brisket, buffalo, pork, and ribs. we brought veggie burgers and some corn on the cob- whateverrrrr!!! gabe's mom always makes the best desserts and she busted out this incredible chocolate cake, which was essentially chocolate pie crust dough baked in thin layers, stacked up, and frosted. delicious!!! it was great to sit around the pit and stare into it, mesmerized by the possibilities of what you cook 5 ft under the ground. next pit victims- TURKEYS AND DUCKS! happy birthday gabe!!!

back in the city, we headed to melissa's bday blowout at booty bassment at the knockout. god i love to dance, so glad the girls do too! we definitely grooved to some jams with melissa and the gang. shout outs to lev, eyon, kevin, noah, phoebe and everyone else who came out. happy birthday melissa!!!

BIG THINGS AHEAD: VICTOR

2010-09-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

you know how you sit around with your friends and dream up some awesome, ironic idea that you're sure no one else has had and you all get into character and screw around for awhile with silly voices and dances and maybe you even bust out some costumes. then you're all, "duuuude, we should totally record this shit!" and everyone agrees that you could make a killing selling your raver version of lambchop and friends. then you probably pass out and forget all about it. well victor solomon is the friend that actually writes that shit down, shoots and directs it while you're busy ordering another pizza.

the valentine sainsbury series is probably my favorite. featuring victor himself as 80s-inspired charlie-rose style talk-show host, valentine sainsbury, various "intellectuals" muse on their work and the state of the arts with ironically upturned noses. these shorts are a good example of victor's style-- dry, mocking, and hilarious. his most recent project, life of leopold, is a mockumentary peek into the world of LOLcats. plus cat puppets!!!!! april also just told me that she plays a big role in the movie, as beatrice, leopold's assistant! life of leopold premieres this sunday, september 12th at viz cinema, the new underground theater in japantown's new people shopping/art/entertainment destination.

check out victor's website for more of his work; his collection of vanity license plates (NO H8TN, DOGS RLE, etc.); his podcast radio show; and uplifting ghetto e-greeting card.

Name: victor solomon

Age: 29

Hometown: San Francisco by way of Boston.

Where are you right now? I’m in my office. It’s 2am and I want to go to bed.

What do you do? Film-maker, anecdotalist, silly-idea-haver.

Where are you going? Somewhere good I hope!

What will you be doing when you get there? Making new things every day.

How did you decide to go in this direction? Because everything else is boring!

Do you have any expectations? I generally don’t have expectations, but am simultaneously completely unaware of failure. I’m almost always in a perfectly ignorant state of forward momentum because I don’t care much how things turn out.

Are you excited? Nervous? Terrified? Thrilled? The first one and the last one.

What are you looking forward to? I’m looking forward to finding financing for my projects so I can shoot every day.

What are you scared of? I have a phobia of bridges and vomiting.

What happens if it doesn’t work out? What?

What is the worst thing that could happen? That nothing happens.

What is the best thing that could happen? That everything happens!

Did you ever think you’d be where you are now? It never occurred to me. “where you are” only exists to me in retrospect. I can look back and say, “hey, look where I was”, but I never think of it in the present.

Have you ever felt like this before? This tired? Often.

What are you leaving behind? Nothing I regret.

What will you miss? Nothing I’ll miss.

What did your friends say when you told them? Only the best things.

ARE YOU READY? YES!

patio party

2010-09-07T12:09:00.000-07:00

now im obsessing over these salterini chairs. these first two are from the vintage supply co on etsy and the others courtesy google. that last image from the old salterini catalog is me preparing for my guests in my dining room complete with green shag carpet! OMG!

whistle while you work

2010-09-06T13:34:00.000-07:00

enjoy these great images from an artificial flower factory in new york, c. 1907. HAPPY LABOR DAY!

BIG THINGS AHEAD: KELLY

2010-09-01T21:44:00.000-07:00

kel ly tunst all comes into metier every so often to say hello, usually with adorable, squirming, blue-eyed baby brixton in tow. i'm always impressed by her sweetness and positive energy considering her busy artist/mom schedule. when she mentioned she was working on some new paintings for a show at giant robot in new york, i thought she would be a perfect candidate for BIG THINGS AHEAD.

the ladies in kelly’s paintings are long limbed, well-dressed, and always emanate a certain magical mysteriousness. painted with dainty strokes, opaque layers and delicate textures, each woman is intriguing, her giant eyes and mona-lisa-smile masking a rich history right beneath the surface. for this show, kelly employed snapshots of friends wearing necklaces as inspiration and painted portraits in her signature style. tracy and i were even included in the show!!

she’s also been working quite a bit with husband, ferris plock, whose bolder lines and goofy characters add another narrative dimension to her portraits. together they create wacky worlds in which kelly's wispy dames and ferris' toothy dudes go on adventures and morph together into hybrid mermaids and monsters. but their greatest collaboration to date (in the "real world") is baby brixton! it's hard to be an artist and arguably harder to be a mom, but to do both and still maintain some kind of normalcy is really impressive. the whole family went to tokyo early this year for a show at ftc tokyo and both are in the upcoming fecal face 10 year anniversary show. big things are definitely ahead for kelly and clan, and we can't wait to see what happens next in their world. out and about, indeed!!!

see more of kelly's work here, ferris' here, and their joint efforts here. and don't miss kelly's show at giant robot in new york, this friday, september 4th!

Name: kelly tunstall
Age: 30
Hometown: Tualatin, Oregon

Where are you right now? My studio/house

What do you do? I am an artist, designer, wife, mother, and daughter.

Where are you going? We’ll find out! But in the short term, New York.

What will you be doing when you get there? Showing my artwork at giant robot’s gallery. The work is focused on ladies that I like that I run into in daily life. Most with great necklaces. I think I am going to do a self portrait too.

How did you decide to go in this direction? I needed a show to think about after having our baby. I asked giant robot, and they obliged.

What led you to make this decision? Well, I was feeling a little –um- just lacking a sense of where I fit into the bigger picture. I just needed to place myself in a context.

Do you have any expectations? Mmm. Not really. Showing up and bringing great work. My work has always been about painting imagined archetypes or family stories or personal ones. This is just a small stretch from that. I hope to expand from whatever I do for this show wherever it takes me.

Are you excited? Nervous? Terrified? Thrilled? I’m at a crossroads of those things, but not terrified. I know everything will be ok. I’m more introspective than anything. I just took my son who is not a year old yet to my home town, to the house I grew up in and we spent a little time there. My mom has a bunch of my art from many different times in the house, so I couldn’t help but compare and contrast and see how far I’ve come but also how I started. So much support from my family and my husband, so I’m pretty humbled, but I feel good.

What are you looking forward to? Painting!

What are you scared of? Uh. See above.

What happens if it doesn’t work out? Failure is not an option. It’s just to what degree I succeed and whether I embarrass myself. I just don’t want to disappoint!

What is the worst thing that could happen? Nothing.

What is the best thing that could happen? I like leaving that one up to the future to decide. I just hope the pieces end up in good homes.

Did you ever think you’d be where you are now? Hm. No, I had an inkling I’d be at the very least a creative of some sort.

What did your friends say when you told them? I’m always doing stuff- but I think it’s been fun to share some of the progress with the ladies that I’ve chosen to paint. And I think I surprised a few…

Have you ever felt like this before? Nope. Every day is fresh. Looking forward to the next, not that that’s unusual but things keep unfolding and now I’m seeing the bigger patterns. I know I’m not that old, but I feel great about getting older. Things feel so rich. This series has helped me enjoy the beautiful things and people around me.

What are you leaving behind? I think Ferris and Brixton will stay at home.

What will you miss? See above.

all images courtesy kelly! portrait of kelly by howard cao!

istanbul street smarts

2010-09-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

my entire istanbul experience was about as traditional as a pork chop in a mosque. i barely glimpsed the hagia sofia, spent about an hour in the grand bazaar, and turned down a boatride on the golden horn. istanbul is one of those cities where you can just walk and walk for hours without even entering a building and you still learn so much about the city, its history, people, and culture. i have so many stories to tell, but i figured we could start with a few basic observations:

the street economy was alive and well in istanbul. various goods and services were available in carts, baskets, out of windows, from hands young and old. you name it, they've got it and it's definitely for sale. get something weighed by the guy on the sidewalk sitting next to a scale; fruits and veggies by the kilo (obvi!); pocket tissues from grandmas sitting on crates in doorways; don't miss the guy with the cactus garden cart; kids selling spirograph sets complete with neon demos (got some!); dudes weaving through traffic with bouquets of roses, ice cream, newspapers. bubble machines. tea. corn on the cob. bouncy balls. chestnuts. oysters. umbrellas, if it's raining or not! enormous flower arrangements. watermelons branded with the vendor's phone number (in case you need to call!). round, seed-coated simit bread....

the way people moved in the city was also like nothing i'd ever seen before. traffic is a daily nuisance (and nice contributor to the appalling pollution!) and pedestrians are required to dodge vehicles constantly. people dart across train tracks, wait on freeway banks for buses, and cram into street and subway cars. bicycles are rarities, especially due to the hills that rival even the steepest in san francisco. the whole city is jam-packed!!! i've never been on a more crowded street in my life than on istiklal, the permanently populated promenade on the european side. being around so many people makes you constantly aware of your space, or lack there-of. but at the same time you feel almost empowered by your ability to walk anywhere, crossing streets youd never imagine crossing in places you never thought you could be, avoiding your rational fears of speeding cars and adapting to the pace of the city.

despite the 13 million (according to wikipedia) people and probably 12 million cats (OMG! soooo many cats!) the city was remarkably clean and functioning. it was chaotic and stressful to be in, but somehow quite organized. unlike athens, which seemed about to tip over at any moment, istanbul was a well-oiled machine- a bit complicated at moments, but certain in its past and future. the constant building and construction throughout the city, including giant sky-scrapers, is a sign of the continued push for modernity despite the anchors in religion and deep-rooted tradition......

stripey

2010-08-31T19:24:00.000-07:00

stripes. flag banners. rainbows. massive public installation. i've been obsessing over all of these things lately, so daniel buren's work is really resonating right now. i love the picketers!

friday night lights

2010-08-31T01:33:00.000-07:00

we went to see april jam on the keyboard/flute/maracas in the teenage dance craze house band at the knockout on friday. weird coincidence, the roommate of new metier girlfriend, rachel, is also in the band. so tracy, rachel and i had a metier dance night and got our cute outfits all sweaty. the band- april, lisa, russell, and sergio - looked quite snazzy in coordinated polka dot outfits; so good to see phoebe and meet bf willy; and traded retail horror stories with katie. just another night at the ko!

fly away home!

2010-08-28T22:44:00.001-07:00

window shopping

2010-08-26T22:48:00.000-07:00

storefronts are always so interesting in other countries; how people display things and make products attractive to the public. check these fresh ideas from european communist storefronts! making a little go a long way, for sure. all photos taken by david hlynsky between 1986 and 1990 behind the iron curtain.

waterlogged

2010-08-26T01:05:00.001-07:00

don't miss this article on caitlin and the crew's floating art space, the LABRADOR PROJECT, up in portland! do it!!!

penduluminations

2010-08-24T23:41:00.000-07:00

courtney and i are working on graphics for some BIG THINGS and she sent me to find more about emma kunz - swiss healer and artist! emma used her telepathic inclinations and a pendulum to create her geometric drawings and to help cure patients in the 1940s. she also discovered the healing stone, AION A, at a quarry in switzerland with the help of her pendulum! get healed at the emma kunz zentrum!

images via little verses

holy sheet

2010-08-23T23:45:00.000-07:00

at pumpkin truck

dudes, i need new sheets for my bed! scouring the thrift store has proven fruitless so far, so im turning to the web for some full-size vintage sets. which ones?!

brights at at lucky carol designs

stripey at fuzzy mama and diamonds at shopatmoxie

big blue set at bizarre baubles and moroccan style at dahlila found

ebay!

dance, emu, dance!

2010-08-23T23:39:00.001-07:00

speechless

"we've just set foot in asia"

2010-08-22T23:49:00.000-07:00

from syros i took a day-tripper ferry to kusadasi in southern turkey. a quite obviously american couple disembarked before me and i overheard the man say, "well, this is it! we've just set foot in asia!" pretty awesome!!!

the journey to istanbul was long, exhausting, EXCITING. my overnight bus didn't leave until around 10pm, so i decided to trek to the roman ruins of ephesus to explore. ended up being picked up along the road by a sweet, generous family from macedonia. they took me along to the top of the mountain, where mary (you know, jesus' mother) was supposedly born. people lit candles, filled up water bottles and drank from the "holy" well, wrote wishes on tissues and tied them to the wall. it's always strange coming to religious mecca sites, but this was very serene and quite beautiful. until you get to the gift shop where they hit you up for your cash in exchange for any and every item in the shape of or plastered with mary's silhouette. trpe and his family, ana and jovana, were great companions and dropped me at the entrance to the ruins on their way down the mountain.

i wandered around alone amongst the collapsed columns of the roman empire's second largest city (behind rome!) but had to take cover from the rain under an ancient arch. another girl was stuck under another structure about 15 yards away from me, and we kept calling out to each other through the rain. when the sun finally came out, we made a break for it and explored the covered section of the ruins together (little did we know...could have just hung out in there for 45 minutes). i cant remember her name but she was from the netherlands and was traveling alone, as well. thanks for hanging out! another stranger proved to be a great companion.

the overnight bus from kusadasi was dreadful- a pudgy girl drooled and snored on me throughout the entire night; the day after tomorrow was dubbed over in turkish; the in-seat radio had sean paul's album in it's entirety on rotation. but hey, they served ice cream! we stopped at weird rest-stops throughout the night and i putzed around taking photos. at dawn, the bus pulled onto a ferry with several other buses. a girl's puppy peed and pooped on the deck. everyone was smoking around the barrels of gasoline and drinking tea in the fog. onward to istanbul.......

¡Siéntate!

2010-08-17T17:15:00.001-07:00

I AM OBSESSED!!! spanish-born patricia urquiola's furniture is tweaking me out. so many options with the new oakland space...too bad that hanging cocoon chair would put me out $8000+!!! but neon lounge chairs would look pretty freaking awesome in anyone's house...

i like to move it move it!

2010-08-16T22:57:00.000-07:00

i've been wanting a change of scenery for a while now and after much deliberation between berlin, new york, chicago, and mexico city, i've decided to move to OAKLAND! tracy and i moved a truckload of stuff over yesterday and nico helped me with the rest today. strange to be leaving my home here in san francisco, but there are many big things ahead! the new place is an incredible, huge warehouse space in west oakland with a lovely, artistic couple, jessalyn and paul. i'll share some photos when it's no longer an explosion of junk and boxes.

i will certainly miss my house and backyard; the mission; humphrey slocumbe; valencia community thrift; my bikeride to work; late-night burritos and rides home from the knockout; lucca for fresh raviolis and mozzarella balls; udupi palace and serrano's pizza; my corner store; and walks up to bernal. here's a look at my room before (well, half-way through) i took it all apart. i've lived in this house for two years now and put my heart and soul into it. it was good to me, but luckily i have great friends here that will hopefully let me crash on the couch once in a while. although there's a lot to miss, i'm really excited to be able to have the space and time to work on projects that i would have never been able do here. plus san francisco is just a quick bart ride away.

cheers to white walls and new beginnings!!