march calendar!

monday’s can be a little rough so i thought i’d try to make it a little better by giving you the march calendar a day early :)

i love march…those first few days when you realize a light jacket is enough, the trees begin to come alive again and the air isn’t quite so bitter, you leave work and it’s still light outside…it’s the best feeling. i am very much anti-winter but it’s worth suffering through just for the sweet feeling when spring thaws the earth.

i think our graphic designers captured that feeling perfectly with the march calendar… click here to go to our flickr page, where you have the choice of downloading either the regular or widescreen version.

A trend we love

Whoever knew the hem line could be this adventurous. The spring 2011 big trend is the hi-low silhouette, and we are huge fans!

We love the peek-a-boo factor that this look gives, a great way to show off your lovely shoes and a little bit of your leg when spring hits. It’s a look that’s making a romantic comeback from the 70’s in a new modern way. Play around with the look and add a little petticoat or slip to make it slightly more dramatic.

Recently Natalie, one of our favorite bloggers rocked the look on her blog and made us 100% sure that this trend is the one for spring.

Natalie’s Blog: www.natalieoffduty.blogspot.com

Hi-low shop: Fp hi-low shop

melanie rothschild

it’s no surprise that the woman who lives in the geodesic dome where we shot part of our february catalog is also an artist. melanie rothschild is a self-taught artist who studied ethnic art and anthropology. she creates both functional (frames, tables, boxes) and non-functional art that she describes as “intuitive. rather than starting out with a single concept, the work reveals its meaning as the process unfolds. it is never intended to have a single interpretation.”

her work is full of colors, shapes and patterns very reminiscent of her home itself…my favorite are the tables, which she calls “paintings with legs.”

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“collage boxes”

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“paint and air” series

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view more of her work here!

fp topanga puppy pow wow!

free people topanga is throwing the first ever “puppy pow wow” at our store tomorrow, saturday february 26th from 3-6pm! during these hours, come in with your furry friend and shop all our new spring product. your pup won’t go home empty handed either – every pup who comes receives a special “doggy bag” filled with treats, and everyone will get a special fp frame mailed to them with a picture of them and their pup at our event! what a cute and fun idea, i wish i could go :)

collective dreaming

we are currently carrying some awesome jewelry by dream collective, a line by kathryn bentley that is inspired by a more primitive era and indigenous cultures. she creates her pieces using rudimentary elements such as oxidized brass and bone, wood and antique african beads resulting in jewelry that has a very raw, earthy feel. the pieces we are carrying are from her braille collection, featuring a raised pattern that gives them a rich texture perfect for layering with each other or other accessories.

they also lend themselves well to photography :) i took some photos of the pieces around the office today, and mixed in are some images from the dream collective lookbook and tumblr. i definitely recommend checking out the tumblr, full of images from the designer’s travels and things that inspire her.

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the dream collective pieces we are carrying are the braille cuff, scattered dot bangles, braille bangles and braille band ring.

studio visit: sullivan owen

earlier this week i had the wonderful opportunity to visit the studio of floral and event designer sullivan owen, which just opened in queens village in philadelphia. i love talking to people who are passionate about what they do…their love for their craft is infectious. i could have spent an entire day in her beautiful studio listening to her talk about the artistry behind floral arrangements and watching her work.

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when designing her studio space, sullivan wanted to use a soothing palette with shades of soft gray and white so that when entering the space, your attention goes straight to the flowers. indeed- when i walked in, my eyes were immediately drawn to the pops of color peppering the studio.

when she was younger, sullivan worked at one of the first urban outfitters stores. she recalls the president of the company visiting often to chat with employees and see how the store was doing, and it was a huge inspiration for her to see someone with a dream who was able to make such a successful career out of it.  her dream was to tie together her fine arts background with her love of flowers, which is exactly what she is doing today.

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in addition to floral arrangements, sullivan owen offers complete event design – from mood boards and color palettes to textiles like bouquet wraps and table linens. to her it is about creating an entire atmosphere- an idea that reminded me very much of our free people stores.

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bits of inspiration from around the studio: vintage knick knacks, beaded belts, books and handmade table linens from her own wedding.

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a beautiful wall of vases and jars that can be rented for events – with the exception of the shelf of vintage glass bottles, which are her private collection inherited from her grandfather and serve as inspiration.

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when i arrived, sullivan was in the back finishing up an arrangement, and i sat and watched while she talked excitedly about how the floral industry is starting to attract a younger audience of people who appreciate the fine arts.  with her own background in the arts, her approach to putting together an arrangement is very much like an artist painting a picture – paying special attention to color and texture, and layering in a way that is also almost like fashion.

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a mood board hangs over her work table and incorporates fashion, color and landscape – all things she thinks about when putting together a bouquet.

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the flowers sullivan works with are all very special – for example at top left, a ranunculus that comes from japan where these delicate flowers are designed to be perfect. the one at bottom right is a dutch variety of the ranunculus, with a really unique color gradation. at top right is the anemone, a beautiful black and white flower with hints of purple that is one of her favorites to work with.

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above and below are what she calls the “spare parts vase” – where the flowers go if they’re cut the wrong length, the stems break or they just don’t make it into a final design. she doesn’t like to throw them away, plus they’re quite beautiful!

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she gave me a quick little lesson in putting together the above bouquet, and then i tried my own:

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i think i could use some help… luckily sullivan is going to be holding classes at her studio so you can go learn all about how to put together the perfect bouquet, and then take it home with you :) i will definitely be attending! you can find more info on the classes here.

the studio is open by appointment only – i definitely recommend checking it out. go see the website for more info and to see more photos of her incredible work: sullivanowen.com.

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last image via sullivan owen website.

fp greenwich style

check out fp girls taylor and haley of our greenwich store, rocking outfits they styled with some of our new items!

left: cropped bib tee, fp cargos, convertible traveler’s bag; right: shadow maxi cardi, eyelet dress, fp bra.

left: first bloom maxi dress, cropped trench coat, ombre braided belt; right: windows on the world top, printed wideleg pant.

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window on the world top, into your heart tank, printed chiffon maxi skirt.

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left: rugby tunic, eyelet scalloped short, chantilly trim sock; right: rugby tunic, macaroni dress

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left: floral fields wideleg pant, fine gauge top, sinclair sunglasses; right:snappy florals buttondown, polka dot short, tyler cinched hat.

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left: bow back cardi, seamless cap sleeve, lacey pedals layering skort; right: floral fields wideleg pant, fine gauge top, sinclair sunglasses.

looks like they had a blast, and they look lovely :)

thursday poll – edition 133

did you guys know we have a vintage loves lookbook? featuring one of our beautiful stylists and a cute little pup called georgie :) which of these looks do you guys like best?

look one:

look two:

look three:
three

look four:
four

look five:
five

look six:
six

look seven:
seven

look eight:
eight

look nine:
nine


and here are last week’s results:
results