holiday craft swap update!

good morning everyone! if you are participating in our holiday craft swap, it’s about time to get your crafts in the mail if you haven’t already!  the photos are starting to go up on our flickr page, and i’m so impressed with what i’ve seen so far…

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that last picture is adorable! keep an eye on our flickr page as more photos come in!

book club update!

as i’m nearing the end of on the road i was inspired to take a look at the fashion of the beat generation.  beatniks were characterized by their rebellious spirit and anti-establishment, anti-materialistic philosophy, and they expressed this through stark and simple fashion.  jack kerouac and his crew wore old, ripped jeans and t-shirts because they didn’t care how they looked, while others wore head-to-toe black with berets or glasses.

what else about the beat generation’s style and culture is still resonant with you today?

share your thoughts in the comments section!  also for those of you reading on the road, try and finish by january 4th if you can, and check the blog for a final post about the book!

dallas shaw

dallas shaw is a delaware-based artist who’s work ranges from acrylic and watercolor paintings to notecards and tee-shirts. she also happens to be a big fan of free people! dallas was kind enough to answer a couple of questions for me and picked out some illustrations that she feels are representative of free people.

when and why did you decide you wanted to be a professional artist?

oddly enough i knew i wanted to be in art in some way when i was very young. i wrote a letter to the head animator of walt disney world when i was in 6th grade and asked him for a job! i think i was a little too young, but i worked at it since grade school, kept drawing, majored in illustration… as i grew older i really began to love the fashion industry and wanted to work in fashion but the right opportunity hasn’t come up just yet so here i am!

i read that you’re inspired by fashion and music…what designers and musicians are your personal favorites?
i do listen to music when i paint but i am really heavily influenced by the fashion industry. my personal favorites change by season but i am currently crushing on collections by phillip lim, lanvin & peter som.

what do you like to do when you’re not drawing and painting?
i don’t have a lot of free time on my hands this year. if i do end up with a few extra hours during the week i try to make time to spend with my really supportive husband. if I’m not with him during those couple of hours you’ll find me shopping!

to see more of dallas’s awesome work, check out her website!

he-art & sole

on wednesday i took a little field trip over to city hall to check out the philadelphia mural arts program’s winter art exhibition, which featured the work of their very talented big picture and mural corps students. big picture students designed and painted sneakers and large-scale mixed media “treasure maps” representing their ideas on how to “be the change you wish to see in the world” (based on the gandhi quote). mural corps students explored notions of identity through self portraits. i spoke with some of the students and they were so proud to show of their work, which was available for sale to raise funds for the program…and they have every right to be proud- they are seriously talented!

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for more information about philadelphia’s mural arts program, visit their website.

sneak peak: home sweet home!

i have a very special preview for you today of a new segment on the blog called home sweet home!  we thought it would be fun to give you all a glimpse into the homes of some of our free people team members, and to kick things off we took a trip to the beautiful home of our managing director of design and image.  she’s a big part of the free people look so we’re thrilled that she let us in and we got to see a little bit of her personal style and what inspires her.   we also got to meet her adorable children!

here’s a sneak peak into her home, and stay tuned for the video… it’s coming soon!

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