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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
if you live in austin or are heading there for sxsw, be on the lookout for the wondercraft!
it’s a vintage airstream trailer (named “stella”) stocked with arts & craft supplies! the wondercraft is the brainchild of four creative ladies who had a goal of bringing supplies to wherever there was a need for artistic expression. they offer mobile classes, parties and events and keep their trailer stocked with a unique selecton of inspirational products. i love it! such a great idea, and the vintage trailer just makes it even better :)
we just opened a store in toronto, and for all you readers that live there, here’s an art exhibit definitely worth checking out! it’s a group exhibition presented by 01 magazine – we’ve posted about a couple of the artists involved before (david horvitz, jennilee marigomen) and they’re ridiculously talented. today i wanted to post some of the work of alexander binder because it reminds me so much of our tangerine dream imagery…and it’s just pretty awesome:
at first glance, these look like really pretty ceramic vases, right? take a closer look…
these vases are crafted by german artist markus linnenbrink out of recycled objects (recognize that gatorade bottle now?) and colorful resins.
you can buy these pieces at artware editions in manhattan. but i’m wondering how hard this would be to do yourself? i mean mine probably wouldn’t look as pretty as his, but still…it seems doable, right? you can buy natural resins online or at art supply stores, and mix them with oil paints to get a glossy finish like these. there are probably lots of other cool ways to decorate them though – if you think of any other ideas let me know!
we’ve posted some of marcelo gomes’s work on the blog before- his photos are breathtaking. he emailed me recently and told me about his new book, taciturn heart, so i took the opportunity to ask him some questions for the blog!
i was born in brazil, but i’ve been living in the u.s. on and off since i’m 15 years old.
when and how did you get started in photography?
i started shooting very casually when i first moved to new york, around 2003. i worked at a magazine called index here in new york, and i got my first camera then, just for fun.
where do you draw inspiration for your work?
more and more i find that inspiration comes from colors and music, both these things make me want to pick up the camera!
who are your personal favorite photographers/artists?
i love gerhard richter, donald judd, dan flavin, roy andersson, caetano veloso, there are so many…
if you weren’t a photographer, what would you do?
i think if i weren’t a photographer i would be a filmmaker (which could happen anyway) or a windsurfer dude…
what are some of your other hobbies?
music is a very big part of my life, even though i can’t really play any instruments (yet).
taciturn heart, published by hassla books, can be purchased here.
space15twenty, where one of our newest stores is located, is holding a relief benefit for haiti this sunday, march 7 from 2-8pm. “haiti cheri” an artist for artist benefit for our brothers and sisters in darling haiti, will feature performances by l’esprit d’afrique and queztal guerrero along with DJs, special guests and visuals & photo exhibit from cine institute.
yes it’s another dresser idea but i wanted to share this today too because i think its such a unique, cool idea.
if you happen to have a really old beat up dresser that you don’t use, take out the drawers and paint them a a bright color, line them with some cool wallpaper and turn it into a sweet-looking shelf!
i think this would look awesome if you used some old vintage wallpaper like these…
so what do you guys think, would you try one of these ideas on your dresser?
one of our readers, jessica, makes these adorable hand-knit coffee cup cozies with decorative felt flowers- a cute and eco-friendly alternative to disposable paper sleeves. nice work!
We are featured as one of the best places to work, Which is pretty exciting!!!
I got shown this book today “I Wish I Worked There!” It’s a very cool book by Kursty Groves co founder of Headspace and www.spacehopper.com and Will Knight the founder of Brew, a London and New York based creative collective.
The book reveals some of the world’s most inspiring workplaces and we are in there!
Here’s an excerpt
“An environment that appeals to their imagination and encourages them to explore…
“The Philosophy has fuelled a multitude of creative solutions and whimsical additions to the working environment over and above the restoration and preservation of the buildings themselves. An acid bath is transformed into a fern garden, former wood columns become grand staircases, and an abandoned decompression chamber has a new life as a sculptural piece between buildings”
This book is great – Google’s and Innocent work space looks pretty fun too, but i think we give them a run for their money!
