just kids, part three

i just got through the part of just kids in which patti smith recalls her encounters with janis joplin and jimi hendrix, shortly before both of their deaths. to have lived in that time, and experienced first hand how extraordinary they both were, i can only imagine the profound sense of loss she and others back then must have felt.  i wasn’t even alive yet but i am still incredibly saddened just thinking about it…i grew up listening to music from the sixties and seventies, and janis joplin was one of the first female artists i identified with. her and jimi’s performances at monterey pop are probably some of the best concert footage of all time, in my opinion.

i love the poem patti wrote about janis:

i was working real hard
to show the world what i could do
oh i guess i never dreamed
i’d have to
world spins some photographs
how i love to laugh when the crowd laughs
while love slips through
a theatre that is full
but oh baby
when the crowd goes home
and i turn in and i realize i’m alone
i can’t believe
i had to sacrifice you

her encounter with jimi hendrix took place at the opening of his electric lady studios in new york, when he found her sitting outside, nervous to go in.

“he spent a little time with me on the stairs and told me his vision of what he wanted to do with the studio.  he dreamed of amassing musicians from all over the world in woodstock and they would sit in a field in a circle and play and play. it didn’t matter what key or tempo or what melody, they would keep on playing through their discordance until they found a common language. eventually they would record this abstract universal language of music in his new studio. “the language of peace. you dig?” i did.”

this reminded me of one of my favorite quotes of all time, which comes from jimi hendrix:

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following their deaths patti describes a feeling of uncertainty about her artistic direction.

“i was both scattered and stymied, surrounded by unfinished songs and abandoned poems. i would go as far as i could and hit a wall, my own imagined limitations. and then i met a fellow who gave me his secret, and it was pretty simple. when you hit a wall, just kick it in.”

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as i was reading i felt like i identified most strongly with patti at this point…full of ideas and creativity but uncertain how to express it. a few years ago i reached a point in my life where i felt trapped and my way of kicking down the wall was driving across the country, finding myself in san francisco.

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much like patti’s time spent within new york’s rock and roll circle helped her realize her dreams, the creative energy of san francisco helped me realize mine.

Inside our closet

If you’re anything like us, you love nothing better than a good old nosey through somebody else’s wardrobe. We always end up feeling inspired! Here’s a little tour though my wardrobe. We hope to post more of these from some of our favorite Free People muses.

My style inspiration is a Rock ‘N’ Roll chic verses a hippie folklore rebel. Tattered sweaters mixed with ditsy florals, holey rock Tees and denim shirts.
My dad is a huge Eagles fan so owning this very rare Eagles in concert shirt is extra special to me. Pattern and texture consume the majority of my wardrobe. I have a huge love for crochet – my favorite item is the crochet swing top that I bought from Free People last summer. I own bags that look like they have been traveled and been on an adventure throughout life, old satchels and run down rucksacks. I collect Native American jewelry, Turquoise and necklaces that have been made in Indian pow wows.

My style developed from looking at Vogue from the tender age of 13, and my dad’s collection of American rock vinyls and books – I used to admire Joni Mitchell, The Stones and get a kick out of seeing bad ass rebel films such as The Wild One with Marlon Brando; I like how denim and leather give you an attitude. Fashion excites me every day and I love owning pieces that are extra special and have meaning behind them.

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The Bali Dream

Whenever I need to get inspired in work I locate myself in a different area of our building. Sometimes I need to get away from my desk for an hour or so… Cyber land numbs my mind a little sometimes. I headed to what I think is my favorite area in our building in terms of inspiration –  The store display and the  Fp one area. I sat on the floor looking through the beautiful collection of books there.

I came across books on Bali and thoughts of my travels came following back to me…

I traveled to Bali in the summer of 2009 for a couple of months and got completely caught up in its culture and lived and breathed the experience there. I traveled with one back pack, we hired a scooter with a surf board attached to the side and explored the island that stretches 3,000 miles from east to west and is home to 200 million people.

Here’s a little glimpse of what I experienced in Bali – it gave me the chills pulling these from my facebook album.

 A Sunday offering on a beach which finished with everyone dancing and clapping in the ocean. A rice field in Ubud, a shack draped in beautiful dyed scarves, a bungalow where we stayed, the breathtaking sun set that we watched from our window before we went to eat fresh grilled fish on the beach, a crafts market, long beach walks, perfect sets of waves. Night drives on the back of a scooter trying to find places to stay at night.

 The place will remain a strong thought in my mind always.

 


Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

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an old receipt…a bit of torn notebook paper…a shopping list…a scrap from a magazine…some pencil and pen sketches…a splotch of watercolor…a scribble of crayon…these are the elements that make up the mixed media collages by diego naguel. they combine to create something that has a childlike feel, an innocent beauty that i can’t get enough of. see more here.

one potato, two potato…

…three potato four.

i never heard of it until our graphic designer mentioned it as one of her favorite vintage stores, where she finds some of the awesome stuff in her home.

then today i was getting coffee and saw a flyer for a barn sale the store is holding this weekend and i checked out the website… now i know one thing i’m doing saturday!

the shop is full of hand-picked vintage treasures ranging from books, signs, glass bottles and mugs to blankets, furniture and other various oddities.  plus it’s owned by a sweet married couple with two adorable little kids :)  check out their blog too, where they post shop updates and cute family photos.

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this is the first barn sale they’re holding – as a change from having normal hours, they will have one of these every month. check out their website for more info!

friday cuteness

one of our fp girls out on the west coast sent me these adorable photos that i had to share…

our so-cal DVM had a day at her daughter’s school called “occupation celebration” where she talked to the kids about her awesome job at FP  – she dressed up the girls like mannequins and chatted all about being a district visual manager – how cute?!

and this is claude, a new pup belonging to our visual manager on the west coast! above is claude as an itty bitty pup, and here is is on his first fp store visit, in santa monica:

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this is just too much…i need a puppy!!!