hand-stitched blogging

another fp girl told me about this awesome embroidery by brooklyn artist iviva olenick.  she describes her work as small-scale, semi-autobiographical pieces that make up a hand-stitched blog. what a neat idea! the pieces include signs she sees on the street, maps of brooklyn and little quotes or things on her mind, and she also writes about the inspiration behind her projects on a blog called were i so besotted.

i really like the idea of sewing inspirational quotes or song lyrics onto blank tshirts or pillows! adding to my long list of projects i want to try…

sxsw style

the weather forecast for sxsw is looking beeeauuutiful! sunny skies and temperatures in the seventies – could it get any better than that?

with that in mind here is a suitcase of suggestions for what to bring if you’re heading to texas this week…straight from one of our experts who is going and has been there before:

first of all – pack light! bring a backpack.  inside she recommends a pair of amazing, wear-anywhere jeans, easy lightweight tops and a good pair of boots and/or sandals.  a breezy skirt or dress to wear during the day and into the night, and make sure to bring a light jacket because it gets chilly at night! i also threw in a bandana and a small bag that’s just big enough to hold a wallet, phone and camera for shows.  sunglasses are a must and i never go anywhere without a journal – use it to keep track of shows and setlists! oh and the bathing suit in case you take a break and hit up barton springs, or one of the other awesome swimming holes austin has to offer.

barton springs

the items pictured above are:

1. seneca rising aurora ruffle top; 2. classic aviator; 3. folklore sandal; 4. we the free sargeant jacket; 5. sidewinder slip dress; 6. jonsi distressed bandana; 7. harness harley boot; 8. patch printed onepiece; 9. military patch slouch skinny jeans; 10. studded side sling bag; 11. leather and canvas backpack

mrs. bea’s

if you’d never been to austin before and you were walking down the street and passed mrs. bea’s, you probably wouldn’t even notice it.  you definitely wouldn’t think it’s one of the best venues to see a show during sxsw. but head around back and you’ll find an outdoor stage, dance floor and bar where no matter where you are you have an up close view of the band.  plus music is always better outside in my opinion!

check out these amazing photos one of our fp girls shot at the no age show at mrs. bea’s during last year’s sxsw:

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3406304798_57f84ccb98_b mrs beas

art wall

a couple of weeks ago i got an email from a reader named katie, who wanted to tell me about a website she started called art wall. i wanted to share this cool site and a brief interview with you…

a lover of art with a background in display and visual merchandising, katie always felt that there was something missing from the experience of shopping for art online: the “wow” factor that inspired display can add to the equation. with art wall she saw an opportunity to bring the two together. read on for a brief interview with katie about the website.

wall

what inspired you to create art wall online?

if i think back it was really out of a desire to showcase special picks and finds for a fan-based site i run: savegocco.com.  i wanted a way to feature and highlight my picks:  enter the “studio” room.  it was going to stop there as just a page in the save gocco domain, but then i thought: why not make a whole website with pages dedicated to different rooms in a house?  i have a total crush on art walls, i find them fascinating and think it takes a special skill to create them in a way that looks interesting. i’ve studied them in magazines for years so it was only natural that i used that type of display to highlight multiple pieces of art that worked together…i used my own home as inspiration.

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the website features different rooms- an entryway, dining room, master bedroom, etc. – each with a selection of artwork displayed on the walls. viewers can click on the artwork to see an image of the piece, and information about the artist.

i read on your blog that february’s master bedroom had a “love” theme – do all the rooms have themes?
all the rooms have a very subtle theme in the sense that each one has at least one piece that relates to the room.  read: a key lino print in the entryway, the gocco prints in the studio, a sultry portrait in the bedroom.  i don’t love themes for rooms in general but i do appreciate that different pieces may work better in specific rooms.

family-room-set
i love all the artists you feature on art wall – do you select who you’re going to feature, or do people submit their work to you?

the displayed pieces are a mix of artists who have submitted their work to me and artists i’ve invited to display.  i want the site to continue to have a specific look and feel so i think it’s important for me to keep scouring the indie marketplaces for that look.

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lucy snowe

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marcy davy

check out art wall here, and also check out the art wall blog, its full of inspiration! thanks katie!!