artist jonna pohjalainen, who transformed a bunch of aspen logs into massive colored pencils as part of a finnish environmental art installation. sooo freaking cool!
inspired by…
wednes-diy
i’m so excited about today’s guest DIY! it comes from halligan norris smith, who i met through fp jemma and is an amazingly talented and crafty lady! we posted some photos from her beautiful wedding a little while back, and they definitely give you a taste of her creative aesthetic…so when she said she wanted to do a DIY for our blog i knew it would be awesome!
i’m sure you’ve all seen the foxtail trend that seemed to take over the blog world last summer… well in a spin on that trend, remember the phenomenon that was rabbits feet? i had a few of the so-called good luck charms when i was little. but thanks to the crafty genius of halligan, you can make your own faux rabbit’s foot in just a few easy steps and have an adorable keychain or accessory to wear this summer!
Tools:
needle and thread
glue – such as E6000
Materials:
faux fur
beads
wire or looped head pins
bead caps
chain
embroidery thread
tin foil
Instructions:
Step 1: Download and print out template from our flickr page. Cut out your outline.
Step 2: Trace paper template shape onto the back of two pieces of faux fur.
Step 3: Cut out both shapes.
Step 4: Place both fur sides together and do a simple blanket stitch around the outside, leaving about 1 1/4″ open for stuffing.
Step 5: Turn rabbit’s foot fur side out. Then take your tin foil, roll it up and squeeze enough to fit vertically inside the pouch. Then, use polyfill to fill any remaining open space.
Step 6: Slightly curl lips of opening, line with glue, and pinch closed with a clothespin.
Step 7: Trim extra fur from around tip of you rabbit’s foot form.
Step 8: Use embroidery thread to wrap tip of rabbits foot, tie off and glue string ends.
Step 9: Sew 3 bead “toenails” onto base of rabbit’s foot.
Step 10: Use a curled head pin or curl wire to form loop. Put loop through bead cap and put glue onto wire before inserting into top of rabbit’s foot.
Step 11: String chain into loop.
All done! Use them as keychains, hang from your car’s rearview mirror as a good luck charm, or clip them to your bag or belt loops for a super cute accessory :)
images by the talented jess roberts, and be sure to check out halligan’s website here. thank you so much ladies!
top two images via fashiontoast and minkpink.
tunesday: stevie nicks
i feel like i’ve been hearing a lot about stevie nicks lately… maybe its because she’s touring right now so she’s at the forefront of people’s minds. even my boyfriend has a crush on her- which is totally fine, she’s amazing (the first concert he ever went to was fleetwood mac, isn’t that cute?). one of my friends posted this video on facebook today and watching it, i’ve got a bit of a crush on her too. so, since we could all use a little stevie every once in a while, here’s that video and some of my fave quotes and pics of her. she will always be one of those inspirations that never, ever goes out of style.
“She is like a cat in the dark
And then she is the darkness”
“Like a heartbeat drives you mad
In the stillness of remembering
What you had
And what you lost…”
“And it all comes down to you
Well you know that it does, well…
Lightning strikes…maybe once…maybe twice…
Oh and it lights up the night
And you see your gypsy”
“She broke down and let me in
Made me see where I’ve been
Been down one time
Been down two times
I’m never going back again”
“rock on, gold dust woman”
job alert – cali stores!
we’re opening a store in studio city, california, and we are looking for sales associates! for more info and to apply click here.
in addition, our santa monica store is looking for store managers – for more info and to apply click here.
if you’d like to get in touch with our store hiring team directly, check them out on facebook here!
a bag for coachella
who’s going to coachella this weekend?! unfortunately we aren’t going this year but that doesn’t mean we can’t get in the mindset… here’s a look at what i would bring if i were heading to coachella…
i drew most of my inspiration from the two outfits pictured above. the outfit at far right is PERFECT- our little plaid cropped bralettes can be worn on their own, over a tank, or under some cute overalls like the puddle jumper romper! add the romana fest sandal and gorgeous rio brillante bag to complete the look. then the next day, wear it with some bright blue cutoff shorts and the embroidered mesh crop top like sasha pivovarova from our april catalog :)
packing lightly and being able to mix and match is key for music festivals – the sophia bikini top would look great with the overalls or just with the cutoffs as well! i would also bring a scarf to either sit on or cover up my hair, which would surely be a mess after dancing in the hot sun all day and into the night. the feather straw fedora and sunglasses would also be in my bag to keep the california sun out of my eyes. and in addition to the sandals i’d bring along some comfy kicks like the muddy waters sneakers.
when i’m at a festival, sometimes i don’t want to worry about carrying a bag so the artists and revolutionaries fanny pack would be ideal, and would hold my small journal and some sunblock. and i’m loving these candy-colored shades of nail polish by chanel! finally, i’m obsessed with the bag charms by the 2 bandits and the cute saba feather clips (on the straw hat and in sasha’s hair above)! clip ’em to your bag, hat, belt loop or right into your hair! the perfect festival accessory.
those are my picks, click here to go to our festival shop for more inspiration :)
behind the scenes of our April Lookbook
Our April Look Book went up today and it’s truly beautiful. The concept is called Modern romance of a beautiful ballerina in decayed, decadent environment. It was shot in a dilapidated house in west Philly with crackled walls and peeling paint. I joined the image team to take some behind the scenes photos and to get to know the model a little bit more. The place was beautiful – the walls were full of texture, and the light was soft. It definitely gave that feeling of something beautiful falling apart to reveal something even more interesting. We had a great time!
you can see the lookbook here
april catalog diary: day one, shooting with sasha
last week i gave you the low-down on hair and makeup and the lead-up to shooting, and now it’s time for the action to begin! here’s a behind the scenes look at shooting with sasha pivovarova.
being able to watch a world class model in action was such an awesome experience. sasha blew me away- she was so sweet and soft spoken in person, and had a very graceful, swanlike presence on set. her ability to strike completely unnatural poses and make them seem effortlessly natural is incredible.
sasha’s jewelry and doodle on the makeup table.
in between shots hair and makeup were touched up.
guy reviewing the shots – he’s so good, he could probably take one photo for each outfit and be done, but he seemed to have an idea in his head of what he wanted each shot to look like and wouldn’t stop until it was perfect.
sasha was a natural with the animals – very playful and sweet.
we were all crazy about this outfit – the combination of the long-in-the-back raglan tee and mesh ombre skirt is to die for! i loved that she just wore socks with this look too, giving it a very relaxed loungy feel.
someone on set (i cant remember who) had the idea of using one of the belts in the shoot instead of a leash :)
stylists at work.
i love this photo :)
the light outside started to fade as we neared the end of our allotted shooting time.
sasha loved this necklace – and we all loved this outfit, our favorite of the day!
and that’s a wrap on day one! stay tuned for day two :)
Erika Pena featured accessories designer
Erika Pena is a dreamer, who started her journey into Fashion design and accessories when she was 18 and attended Parsons school of
Art and design in New York City. Her Accessories draw inspiration from her move to Manhattan from Puerto Rico conveying the rough and edgy city life of NYC to the light and airy free spirited air of the Caribbean. All her work derives inspiration from her travels, the people she meets and the cultures she absorbs herself into – making her pieces extra special!
I played around with her pieces in the studio the other day I feel in love with the unique rings that sit just delicately on the tops of your fingers. The textures of her jewelry make for exquisite accessories perfectly dressed down for a festival and easily adapted for a lovely night out. Sasha wears the rings throughout our April book, they add that extra special to any outfit.
I’m hooked. You can find her pieces here!
monday quote
“Our lives are not as limited as we think they are; the world is a wonderfully weird place; consensual reality is significantly flawed; no institution can be trusted, but love does work; all things are possible; and we all could be happy and fulfilled if we only had the guts to be truly free and the wisdom to shrink our egos and quit taking ourselves so damn seriously.” — Tom Robbins
one of my favorite writers of all time.
image by ann he.
i’d rather be with an animal
have you ever been asked the question, if you were an animal what kind would you be? i have a friend who is so good at determining that about people… anyway i like to think that these paintings by jen mann are portraits of girls and their inner animal spirit.
so good- go see more on her website. discovered via daydream lily.
gus
another puppy to introduce you guys to! say hello to gus, who lives with our creative director. he’s quite a character- he explored every inch of our office and just wanted to say hello to everyone and help out!
i love his collar!
our vintage team was working on something and gus wanted to help…
but our graphic designer had to take him back upstairs so he wasn’t in the way :)
see ya gus! nice meeting you!
it’s been a long day :) happy friday!
office style
One trend of the season: Chinos rolled up a little to show sandals and letting your cute little ankles breathe. Our intern has styled her high-waisted chinos with a cropped jumper and a statement necklace, making a sophisticated look playful by adding braids to her hair. This is a perfect look for those mild, breezy days going into spring.
Her shoes are free people get them here!