Lucky So and So

The Good, the Bad, and the Rainbow

2012-02-09T20:38:45+00:00

They say you never forget your first poncho. This is mine, and it was love at first sight. I spotted it from across a crowded field on a hot, muggy day of the most recent Brimfield Antique Market. As it was August, the last thing I wanted to touch was a heavy wool item, but I couldn’t resist the beautiful colors, and I knew my future self would thank me come winter. Man was I right! Wearing this is like hanging out inside a hug. And I always get smiles and winks from the people I pass. Based on this blog post title, which was suggested by my Studiomates, I gather my poncho makes me look like a Technicolor version of Clint Eastwood. Hey, I’m cool with that.

folk-artsy hat - $20 Carousel Antiques, Hudson NY
rainbow poncho - $20* Brimfield Antiques Market, Brimfield MA
color wheel pendant necklace** - gift from Maria
printed canvas vest - $7 East Village Buffalo Exchange
striped shirt - $8 East Village Buffalo Exchange
teal britches*** - $3 St Matthews Goodwill, Louisville KY
bright green belt - $2 Fulton Mall Goodwill, Brooklyn NY
red roper boots - $12 Repeat Street Revolution, Starkville MS
TOTAL - $72

I see the resemblance!

*Originally, this poncho was priced at $30 and would have been worth every penny. But after the vendor recognized me for having helped him push his hand cart out of a rut in the mud earlier in the day, he offered it to me for $20.

**This handmade pendant necklace by Yellow Owl Workshop in San Francisco was an extremely thoughtful gift from my Studiomate Maria Popova. I wear it all the time; it goes with everything! You can get one of your own here. If you don’t already subscribe to Maria’s amazing blog brainpickings.org, you should. She writes relentlessly about, well, pretty much everything I can think of related to culture and creativity, and I learn about amazing things from her.

*** My friend Casson calles these britches my “Z. Cavariccis.” I wish!

And A Happy New Year

2012-01-01T21:46:21+00:00

I had so much fun in this outfit when I wore it to the AIGA/NY Winter Bash that I decided to wear it again to celebrate New Year’s Eve!

I believe I was officially the sparkliest person in my hometown of Starkville, Mississippi on this particular evening, and while my outfit may have temporarily blinded some unsuspecting party-goers, it was really my insides that felt like they’d been coated with glitter. Surrounded by my mom, stepdad, sister, brother-in-law, three of my best friends since childhood and their fellas (one all the way from where he’s currently stationed in South Korea), I spent the evening beaming. It was a pretty decent way to start 2012, which I predict will go down in the books as “The Year of The Sparkle.”

green sequin shirt - $55 (+$9 shipping) Etsy: BambieJonesVintage
pink tule skirt - $18 East Village Buffalo Exchange
embellishments - $12 Guvnor’s and Downtown Brooklyn Goodwill
red tights and silver Rockette shoes - in my closet 5+ years
TOTAL - $94

The outfit started with my finding this crazy pink cloud skirt at Buffalo Exchange. Then I shopped for the perfect shirt over at Etsy. And to give it that special festive boost, I sewed on all the red, glittery second-hand holiday decor I could find, leaving just enough aside to pin in my hair. My goal was to take advantage of every opportunity for shininess from head to toe, leaving no sparkly stone unturned. I shall consider this goal achieved.

AIGA/NY Winter Bash Collages

2011-12-19T20:05:22+00:00

Something about working around all these digital masterminds at Studiomates has me going analog, as in cutting and pasting using actual scissors and glue. Of course I scan it all back into the computer so it really is digital in the end, but the process of pushing paper with my fingers instead of a mouse is fun! It feels like recess!

This particular image went out with the caption “DEBBIE DOES ELVIS.”

I think of collage as a spontaneous, messy and irreverent art form, which is also exactly how I’d describe this party. I know we’ve got an awesome presenter in Debbie Millman, but what will go down after that is anyone’s guess. Debbie will kick off the live karaoke portion of the eve (THAT’S RIGHT; WE WILL HAVE A LIVE KARAOKE BAND) with an Elvis number, and then, I’m hoping, all hell will break loose. Singing, pizza, prizes, dancing, paper chains, tinsel, fake snow and more drinking? Anything could happen. It’s the one AIGA/NY event where I hope questionable decisions will come into play.

Another thing I’m really looking forward to is that friends Dave Dawson and Aymie Spitzer (along with many elves from the AIGA/NY Community Committee) have been making decorations for the party using all recycled materials. Tons of newspaper and packing peanuts are getting a new festive spin, and we picked up lots of lights at Film Biz Recycling!

I hope I see you there!!!

Meow Mix

2011-12-19T15:49:00+00:00

LOOK OUT! Cat wearing giant plaid pants alert! (Giant as in the size of the plaid, not the size of the pants, although by cat standards, I guess these pants would be kinda large.)

Of course I love mixing super bright colors, but lately I’m deriving great satisfaction from mixing textures and patterns as well. Finding things that seem like they shouldn’t go together and putting them together anyway is oddly thrilling.

There’s geometry to it: the angular embroidery of this top next to the stripes of the sweater and plaid of the pants. I think it works, and the best part is, that’s all that really matters! Yeehaw.

cat hat - gift from friends at MailChimp
striped cardigan - $22 Side Show in Hudson, NY
embroidered button-down shirt - $18 Side Show in Hudson, NY
plaid pants - $22 Side Show in Hudson, NY
two-tone cowboy boots - $22 Side Show in Hudson, NY
TOTAL - $107

That’s right, everything except for my hat came from the same place, one of my favorite thrift stores in the world, Side Show, during a recent visit to one of my favorite towns in the world, Hudson, New York. (I’ve mentioned Side Show before.) Man I love that place!

This hat serves the important role of defending my ears against the intense DUMBO winds I encounter on my 4-block commute to work. It was created by the always ridiculously nice (not to mention intensely smart and talented) team at MailChimp. They are pretty famous for their chimp hats, and they recently branched out into kitten hats to celebrate the release of their new QR-code-generating/embedding app, Pyow. MailChimp is always so supportive of us here at Studiomates, and on their last visit, they bestowed this hat upon me, probably because I couldn’t shut up about how much I love our chimp hats, but also possibly because they got the sense I’d take extra good care of it.

And I’ll leave you with this parting thought: never underestimate the power of a good animal-face hat to put people in a good mood (insert most adorable link ever). Sometimes I forget I’m wearing one and get kind of confused by all the people smiling at me as I pass them on the street. Then someone will say, “Nice hat!” and I remember I’m walking around with a kitten on my head. There’s also the potential for things to get a little weird. The fully grown man who runs my dry cleaners actually walked out from behind his counter to grab my hat by its dangly parts and give it a few good tugs, all the while giggling. What? Ask before you touch, sir! But then he gave me a discount on my tailoring, so I guess we’re all good.

Studiomuppets!

2011-12-15T05:09:35+00:00

Studiomates + Muppets = Studiomuppets (or S’muppets for short).

It’s one of my fondest hopes to one day be walking down the street and pass a Muppet… on his way to work, or band practice, or where ever Muppets like to go. And upon seeing this Muppet, I simply smile and nod because passing a Muppet is NO BIG DEAL. They’re just here, among us. I believe with Muppets around, we would never run out of friendship, acceptance, music, laughter, or color. That’s the kind of world I want to live in.

The closest I’ve come to this, thus far, is to encourage my friends to dress as if they were Muppets. These are photos from the Friday before Halloween (or “Halloween Beer Friday” in Studiomates terms). The fact that I’m friends with people willing to so readily pretend to be Muppets means I must already live in a world where some pretty serious awesomeness abounds.

Bunsen and Beaker

Super Grover and Camilla the Chicken

Elmo and Cookie Monster

Lew Zealand (this guy)

Kermie and Piggy

Sweetums (this, um, guy) and Animal

Oscars the Grouch

Waldorf and Statler

Kermet, Animal and Josh the Muppet celebrate a Sunny Day (you know, chasing the couds away)

Super Grover in flight

Siegfried & Roy with their tigers Pinky and Kurt… OK, they’re not exactly Muppets, but they’re pretty outstanding, right?

More pics of Studiomuppets! (Just in case you haven’t seen enough.)

Muppetypography

2011-12-14T22:43:07+00:00

Muppets. As letters. AMAZING.

The Muppets represented are Animal, Bunsen and Beaker, Crazy Harry, Dr. Teeth, Sam the Eagle, Fozzie, Gonzo, Hilda, Irving Bizarre, Janice, Kermit, Lew Zealand, Miss Piggy, Newsman, Otto, Pepe, Quongo, Rowlf, Statler, The Swedish Chef (aka “Tom”), Uncle Deadly, Vendaface, Waldorf, Xomfey, Yolanda Rat, Zoot.

Get them in poster or canvas form on Society6, or in t-shirt form on Threadless. I just might get this for EVERYONE on my holiday gift list.

Thanks to Mike Boon (@mikebaboon) for creating this and Elushika Weerakoon (@elushika) for sending it my way.

Embroider Me!

2011-12-13T05:22:48+00:00

As I work my way toward this Winter’s wardrobe, I’m finding myself drawn to chunky textures, like the embroidery on this felted vest. Also in this category, I’ve picked up a pair of multi-colored woven trousers (dubbed “serious pants” by my Studiomate Rob), some thick wooly sweaters, and a truly MAGICAL poncho that I have not been able to stop wearing (it’s like walking around inside a hug).

I like this textural look because A.) it suits the chilly weather and B.) something about the irregularities of these handmade textures has me resembling a high school art teacher from the 70s, which of course I REALLY dig.

embroidered vest - $20, Olive’s Very Vintage, Brooklyn NY
ruffled dress with shell - $9, Downtown Brooklyn Goodwill
red beads - $2 Brimfield Antiques Market
red tights - $10, The Sock Man on St. Marks
lucky cowboy boots - $40, Brooklyn Flea
TOTAL - $81

Plenty of room for hard candies and random crafting supplies in these pockets.

My lucky boots!

Magic Rainbow Skateboard Swing

2011-09-29T13:11:39+00:00

Holy Rainbow, I sure had fun painting (or more accurately dipping in paint and then swinging on) this skateboard deck for Bordo Bello. So much fun, in fact, that I had to make a silly little video!

Bordo Bello is a skateboard art fundraiser designed to support AIGA Colorado’s mentorship opportunities.

If you feel like your home or office could do with a skateboard deck turned rainbow turned swing, you can place a bid on ebay over the next 24 hours!

And now, some behind the scene stuffs…

To record the images, I used the iSight camera on an old iMac in combination with the awesome application Gawker. (For me, this required a good deal of help from the patient and wonderful Josh Stewart, but for most humans, it should be self-explanitory.) To edit the images and record the “soundtrack,” I used iMovie.

I filled the box the deck came in with paint and then dipped the skateboard into the paint, layer by rainbow layer.

In between dips, I clamped the board to ropes tied to a 2x4 which I had suspended between two sprinkler pipes at Studiomates. (I know what you’re thinking, and you are correct: this was by NO means structurally sound!) It was going great until the green, which got more than a little messy, I got more than a little stressed, and I had to channel James Victore in order to keep it going.

Finally, all 7 stripes were complete, and the effect was pretty cool. I untied the clamps and used the ropes to fashion a swing from the deck. I actually did a little swinging, until the 2x4 started to crack! (I was alerted to this by Creighton’s frantic yells of, “It’s cracking! IT’S CRACKING!”)

The box ended up as rainbow as the board. It was fun to ship the board back to Colorado in the same box, now fortified with layers of paint.

Thanks to Elysia Syriac, AIGA Colorado’s President, for asking me to participate in this very fun fundraiser! And thanks to Tina for posting the video I made over on Swiss Miss!

Bright Lights Big Stripes

2011-09-21T04:36:54+00:00

Almost as if someone flipped a switch, Brooklyn woke up this past Friday to fall! I decided to celebrate with a BIG splash of color.

striped satin dress - $24, Sweet Lorain in Cleveland
purple cropped jacket - $13, East Village Buffalo Exchange
purple belt - $4, My Sisters’ Closet in Minneapolis
orange metal flower broach - $10, The Sundial of Starkville, MS
buckle pumps - $25, Alameda Swap Meet
TOTAL - $76

The story behind the stripes…

I found this dress during my visit to Cleveland for WMC Fest. It makes my heart smile to know the place where I found it, Sweet Lorain, exists. It’s an 8,000-sqare-foot vintage store in what used to be a bowling ally turned bingo hall. While it’s been a vintage shop for more than a decade, the new owner, Redwin Lewis, has taken what had fallen into disarray and disrepair, given it all the TLC it deserves and stocked it with an amazing, organized array of clothing, furniture and memorabilia at very fair prices. Way to go, Redwin, for seeing the potential and continuing the legacy. In speaking with him, you can tell Redwin loves what he does. My favorite part of his story is that he still finds a bingo ball or two bouncing around every now and then! (I’m a bingo granny wannabe.) Don’t go to Cleveland without visiting Sweet Lorain’s.

I’ll have to go out on a limb and say orange/red/purple one of the greatest analogous color combinations of all time.

Here’s to fall! Long may it linger.

The Surprise That Wasn’t But The Awesome That Was

2011-09-15T21:39:35+00:00

The second half of this article contains a DIY guide to low-fi shirt printing, but first, I’ll set the scene…

I love a good birthday party. This summer we had a couple of great ones over here at Studiomates, and the first I’ll share is for our beloved S’mate Jason Santa Maria. In my book, the #1 requirement for successful event planning is gathering a group of friends around a common mission, and if you’re lucky enough to have friends as fun-loving as ours, you’ve got it made. Add an authentic Brooklyn venue, pizza, beer and cake, and you’ve got a party worthy of not only our bestest bud Jason but also an 80’s movie montage. Fair warning, for this type of party you might also want a Megan. Megan is Jason’s lovely girlfriend, and she did all the heavy lifting: booking the restaurant, ordering the food, requesting the cake have blue and yellow sprinkles. My job was really only 1.) getting people there for the surprise and 2.) decor.

I flubbed big time on the first one, so I may have gone a tad overboard on the second. Here’s how that went down.

Megan shares the idea to plan a surprise party for Jason in the famed “Back Room” of Sam’s, Jason’s favorite old school pizza joint, on Friday, the day after Jason’s actual birthday. Brilliant! She asks me to spread the word to the extended Studiomates family without triggering Jason’s Spidey sense. Sure thing! I’m convinced Jason won’t buy any scenario that involves every single one of us forgetting his birthday; it’s written right there on the Studiomates calendar! I also don’t think he’ll buy us saying we aren’t in the mood or able to find time for a party; Studiomates are born to party. So I decide to go the other way: tell him we are having a Beer Friday and that we want to mix in some birthday fun. We know Jason will have to decline because Megan has already made “plans” with him that he can’t get out of. So on Wednesday I send an email, “Who’s ready for Beer Friday? A little birdie tells me we’ve got a birthday in the house, so let’s make this one special.” I wait for Jason to admit he can’t attend, and we anticipate giving him hell when he does. But the day ends, Jason leaves the office, and not a peep, which is pretty un-Jason like. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to us, Jason is heart broken by the possibility of having to tell us he can’t make it to Beer Friday. He’s making himself miserable. Megan finally decides she has to put Jason out of his misery by telling him we’re all in on it together. So SURPRISE PARTY PRO TIP: when creating a fake party to keep the Surprisee from realizing there’s another party being planned for him, don’t make the decoy party sound as awesome as a Beer Friday with Studiomates.

But Jason deserves the best, most fun party ever. He’s an amazing guy who’s talented enough to get away with kicking puppies. Yet he doesn’t; he picks them up and cuddles with them. He picks up your spirits if your down. He’s always up for a good time. He’s a major reason why I look forward to work each day. Now, with the element of SURPRISE! off the table, I decide we have to find another way to make sure Jason knows how much we all love him. And in my world, this takes the form of party decorations.

I mean what grown man doesn’t feel loved when he sees his face on a balloon?

Of course, true to my nature, I waitied until the day of the party to get started. Thusly, I now present:

The On-A-Dime And On-The-Fly Guide to Customized Party Decor

STEP #1
Cut a hole in a box. Just kidding.

STEP #1 Find a face to hang your hat on.
Use the morning of the party to scour Flickr or Facebook to find a photo of your honoree. (If he, like Jason, is a prominent Internet personality, your job just became a whole lot easier.) Try to find a photo that captures the essence of your subject. If he has distinguishing characteristics, tattoos or anything that would otherwise give him away in a police lineup, try to include that. Jason is known for his raised eyebrow, so I select a photo that exemplifies this quality. As long as your online, waste some time favoriting a few things and commenting on some photos.

The selected photo of Jason giving his “strong brow.” Jason and The Breakfast by Jeremy Keith.

STEP #2 Massage the face into something stencil-able.
Attempt a little Photoshopery. Convert the selected pic to greyscale and then bump up the contrast until everything is either black or white with no in-betweensies. This will inevitably leave you with some unclear (or as I call them “bloppy”) areas, so some finesse and drawing skill is required. Erase and paint until you’ve cleaned that sucker up and have your portrait ready to go. Perfection is not the goal; getting-it-done is.

The phases of Jason. He waxes and wanes much like the moon.

STEP #3 Get the face-art onto something cut-able that can take repeated paintings.
I suggest printing onto a transparency, the kind that your high school science teacher used to use in conjunction with an overhead projector. (What the hell transparencies are used for today and why Staples still sells them is beyond me; maybe solely for this purpose). A manilla folder can also work.

That Jason is so transparent.

STEP #4 Cut for what seems like forever.
Use an exacto blade to remove everything on the stencil that’s black, leaving only the clear. If you’ve got a clear area completely surrounded by black, you’re going to have to “bridge it.” Your hand will start to hurt. At one point you’ll have to take a client call while you frantically cut. You will narrowly avoid losing a finger tip. When all’s said and done you’ll have blisters. Remember you love your friend!

All cut out and ready to go!

STEP #5 Gather printables.
Find the things you want to have the image painted onto. Paper is good. So are wearables from thrift stores: t-shirts, sweats, pillow cases, Trapper Keepers, anything with a light-colored, blank-ish area on it will work. If you can’t find enough blank t-shirts, turn some inside out and cut the tags off. All this stuff should be pre washed. Luckily I keep a stash of it lying in wait because I had NO TIME to get to Goodwill on this day.

Ahhh! Only three hours to go!

STEP #6 Keep it cool and remember the balloons.
Take a client meeting and try to pretend like you’re not frantic. Actually, it’s a super cool meeting about a super cool project, so it’s fairly easy. Allow this rare moment of calm to provide presence of mind, reminding you to call the pharmacy down the block and place a balloon order. At 99 cents a pop (ha!), balloons add big bang for your buck. Plus they’ll be super fun to carry around and tie all over Brooklyn later that night. Just don’t release them into the atmosphere because we need sea turtles.

STEP #7 Spray paint!
Gather everything on this list and rush to a place you can spray paint:
- your stencil
- masking tape and scrap paper (tape the paper around your stencil to keep paint from hitting outside it)
- your printables
- a can or two of dark spray paint
- a piece of board to insert into your shirts to keep them nice and flat
- a drop cloth so that you don’t cover your building’s stairwell in paint
- gloves and a mask (um, yeah, I forgot these!)
Position the stencil onto whatever you’re painting and GO for it! Remember to create a brightly-colored shirt for yourself.

STEP #8 Pull it all together.
Get at least one good stencil painted on clean white paper. Once it dries (dry is VERY important!) scan this. Add some colored backgrounds to your computerized stencil and use it, along with your honoree’s nickname (in this case, Stan, a nickname no one seems to be able to explain yet all embrace) and maybe a few hearts, for the basis of stickers and garlands. Tip: limit yourself to one classic typeface, like Cooper Black, and three to four colors to serve as the palette for the party. This will help tie everything together. (Wowza. Did I just brand a birthday? Dork!)

It’s all about the love.

STEP #9 Pack it up.
Print out the flair in various sizes onto card stock and sticker paper. Shove everything into a bag. Grab tape, scissors, string, clothes pins, hole punch, you know, all the essentials. Don’t forget all your stenciled stuff. NOW RUN! And change into your stenciled shirt as you run.

Don’t miss an opportunity to express yourself with flair.

STEP #10 Decorate like it’s a team sport.
Have Rob pick up the color-coordinated balloons and then cram into the back of a vehicle with them as if it’s a clown car. Arrive at the venue a miraculous 20 minutes ahead of the honoree and get everyone to help decorate!! Tie balloons, stick stickers, hang garlands and generally plaster your honoree’s face and name everywhere. Stop sweating and keep a smile on your face. Everything’s in place, and it’s time to party!

Beers not only take the edge off; they encourage your team to decorate faster!

In the end, I don’t think we lost a thing by not having the party be a surprise. Jason had a big ole’ grin. Everyone donned stickers and t-shirts like a great sport. We dined like kings on pizza and beer (those on Scotchkins had steak and wine). Smiles were abundant. Candle apps were downloaded. Cake was cut and passed. Balloons bounced down Brooklyn’s Court Street. Gay marriage was legalized in New York state and over in Manhattan, the Empire State Building turned rainbow. Rounds of drinks were bought for us when we ran into Lucien. Purple roses were bestowed upon us when we came across Oliver Jeffers. Lots of cheersing and silliness. Love. Love. Love.

When it comes to party decor, personalization is key. When it comes to parties, friends are really what’s it’s about. Hopefully Jason knows how much his friendship means. I can’t imagine Brooklyn without that guy!

Friends who took the photos featured in this post include Skylar Challand, Erin Sparling and Creighton Merhson.