process

recently some time off work gave me a chance to review my direction and goals. in doing so i came to an interesting conclusion: as a very goal oriented person i tend to focus on the end result, and do not enjoy the process in between goal making and goal achievement. this cannot be fun! and maybe one of the reasons i am so serious. so, i made a little reminder graphic/text mix:

article review: interview with pierre hardy, OOoOO blog

(see interview with pierre hardy, OOoOO blog dated september 3^rd, 2010). when asked how he has kept his feet on the ground, or remained humble so to speak, hardy explains he could be doing something else, that his present occupation has never been an end in itself. and that for a lot of designers their career is their only fulfillment.

very intriguing statements! as an admitted workaholic, and someone who gets a lot of satisfaction from work this is certainly something to ponder. hardy further goes on to say that if not in his present fashion career he could be doing something else. brilliant. all too often we limit ourselves (i have to have only this, i can only do this for work, etc). a wonderful book that encourages expanding the way we look at things is the hourglass solution by jeff johnson and paul forman. at some point in the future perhaps i will write a quick review on it. in the meantime, i encourage reading the book.

book review: girlfriend in a coma, douglas coupland

in this book the world comes an end of sorts. only seven people live on the world for a year after this ending, and are given the chance to return to a functioning world (at the exact moment before its ending) once again providing they each take on a new purpose and direction: that of continually questioning life: things, systems, time, etc. the purpose of this questioning is to be aware of what is happening, and to examine whether those directions are best. the world was at a crisis just prior to it’s ending, and these characters are returning to remedy the problems.

admittedly most of the book has a pessimistic, doom and gloom feel. but, i do like the main point: to question. it’s something i do a lot – for better or worse! (sometimes i think i drive myself mad with incessant questions). questioning is particularly relevant in light of the financial crisis or recession from 2008. most would probably agree recessions are the result of systems not working.

one ‘system’ i believe needs questioning is our notion of time. it seems we are continually in a rush. while attending school and at a young age we are pressured to choose a career path. there is pressure to attend college or university immediately after finishing high school. no time to think, just go! how often do we get to have a meal in relaxation? no time to think, just go! etc, etc.

by encouraging questioning i am not suggesting things are bad or terrible. but rather to make sure we are on the right path or direction, or perhaps to see if there are better ways of doing things.

saturn return . . . 28th year of birth

a friend recently mentioned the 28th year of birth can be a crisis point of sorts for people. this is based on astrology, where the planet saturn has circled your chart and returns to the place where it was at your birth (termed "saturn return"). apparently this is a point where it is important to see if we are doing the things we really want to, and heading in our right direction. i was nervous about this for a few days until i realized we can examine ourselves and initiate change at any point in our lives.

i consider myself someone who is conscious and aware of the directions and paths i am headed. so, if my 28th year of birth really calls these into question i should well prepared - here's hoping!

i saw a great bumper sticker yesterday, that said something like the following:

are you grateful today?

timing

recently a friend uttered the words "it's not how i felt at the time" in one of our conversations. as soon as they were said i had a revelation moment: the things we say and act are connected to timing. where we are at a certain point in terms of maturity, experience, association, and so on. an interesting insight.

and speaking of timing . . . i will start blogging again on a more frequent basis very soon. it's been quite a summer! i initiated a lot of change in my personal and work life, and am loving the results.

candle

jo malone has collaborated with farrow & ball to create a limited edition collection of colured votives. there are five versions, each in a different colour: lime basil and mandarin, wild fig and cassis, blue agava and cacao, grapefruit, and pomegranate noir.

i think i must own one. after all, i have a tradition of getting a great candle each time i move into a new place - and at any other point where I can justify it! i am leaning towards wild fig and cassis, or pomegranate noir. i hope holts carries them. i want to smell in person before purchasing.

a big step . . .

i finally got an iphone!

3gs, 32 mb, white back. it really is a remarkable gadget, putting so many things at your fingertips. it's a sure bet most of my blog posts will have pics from this phone.

(still playing catch up with my blog posts. i purchased my iphone on april 3rd!)

victoria, bc

picture from the ferry. oh, how i do love the majestic landscape.

a loft building i adore.

chinatown, victoria has lots of brick buildings.

i love this sort of 'corridor' between the back of several buildings.

inspiration for textiles? a yarn store has given a bicycle a new skin. it certainly got my attention, i had to walk in.

after returning from new york i had to spend a few days in the office playing catchup with paperwork, and some other urgent matters. then i spent april 2-4th with a good good friend of mine in victoria, bc. i loved this trip! we spent lots of time around china town, an area i grew very fond of. there are lots of interesting people and things happening here. it feels like a cleaned up version of gastown, vancouver. (i really feel that gastown has the potential to be one of the most interesting areas of vancouver. but before that can really happen solutions have to be found for the homeless. several projects have been established to change the area (woodwards being one of the best known). more and more cool spots seem to be flocking to gastown: acme cafe, everything cafe, and several furniture stores)

nyc 2010: misc.

i enjoyed getting a feel for different areas in new york by strolling by foot. there is so much to see on almost any given road. after all new york is a city of diversity: art, architecture, food, people, etc.

i think public spaces are very important elements within a city. rockefeller centre, and washington square are just two i can think of off the top of my head. pictured here is the green market at union square. i love the sense of community. i found people in new york to be very friendly. on two occasions people stopped me, because i had a map in my hand, and offered to walk me towards my destination.

something unexpected in new york in march: renovations and "spruce up" work. bryant park and washington square were just two examples of projects undergoing this work around the city. my guess is by summer the work will mostly be complete.

in a previous post i have spoken about the moma. with picasso's les demoiselles d'avignon i wanted to point out just how amazing this museum, and in general how art culture is in new york. the moma (along with several other galleries) has a tremendous collection of very important works. new york is a city that sets trends and that inspires a world of things (art, architecture, etc) around the globe.

a general note: the weather in new york in march was cold (but to be expected for this time of year). between 2 and -2. suffice to say i did not dress warm enough, making it a challenge to spend hours on end walking. however, i found the motivation to keep going. after all, i was in nyc. i miss the city dearly, and will have to visit again in 2011. cannot wait.

nyc 2010: public library

this was my second visit to the new york public library, stephen a. schwarzman building. and again i was taken by the architecture, the feel of the spaces throughout, and the lighting (natural and artificial). i am a fan of modernist architecture, but there is something to be said for classicism/neo-classicism. the stephen a. schwarzman public library is a beautiful building, and one that i feel a strong connection with. i would spend a lot of time here if i lived in new york. a very tempting idea, living in new york . . . even just for a few months.

nyc 2010: moma

sol lewitt. serial project, i (abcd). 1966.

a full scale helicopter. it's the moma, why not?

visiting the moma was a profound experience for me. i started my visit to the museum by going through the exhibition marina abramović: the artist is present. this show runs until may 31st and is a retrospective of her work. marina herself is present in the museum every day through to may 31st. when i entered this exhibit to my right was a video installation of a new work of marina's, dated 2009 . in this work marina stands as still as she can holding a full pot of milk, all the while trying her best not to spill. marina wears black, like a nun's outfit, and when milk does the contrast is consequently dramatic. to the left of that of this work was a video showing one of her older and well known performance pieces: where using a razor blade she cuts the pattern of the star of david on her stomach. i am very sensitive to the sight of blood, and this piece put me into another zone right away. however, i continued to go through marina's entire exhibition. one work that has received a lot of attention is one where a real life man and woman stand facing each other in a doorway. viewers can go through this doorway by walking through a narrow space (about 12") between the man and woman. the space is so tight that you inadvertently end up rubbing yourself against their bodies. apparently more people choose to face the woman then the man. realizing i could go around the exhibit and avoid this passageway, i neglected to go through the naked man/woman exhibit. i was, after all, still affected by the blood video!

on the third floor of the moma a large section is devoted to architecture and design. i loved seeing the good design exhibit: it was something i had studied during my architecture undergrad. another show on the third floor focused on proposals for a waterway near chelsea. the presentations were immaculate, and showed a variety of solutions and building types.

nyc 2010: highline

an incredible project, an old raised railway station turned into a park. running from gansevoort street to 34th street , between 10th and 11th avenues. it was rainy the day i visited but that didn't stop people from going for a stroll - a testament to how new yorker's feel about the park. i love the views and perspectives of the city the raised park affords. one monumental residential building stands above the highline. it reminds me of corbusier's marseille block with its large raised pillars and overall aesthetic. i will definitely be checking this out the highline again the next time i visit. for more info visit: www.thehighline.org

new york 2010

i visited lovely new york from march 25-29. i have assembled a bunch of photos (condensed version!) that i will put together in some organized way to show what captured my attention on this trip. 4 sections on new york, coming one by one as i have time.

great quote

i've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life, and i've never let it keep me from doing a single thing that i've wanted to do. georgia o'keefe

tale of a plant

i was recently inspired by an incident. when visiting a friends place during summer of 2009 i commented that his plant was dead, and should be thrown out. well, he kept it and just a couple of weeks ago 5 flowers blossomed! it makes for a nice tale of holding on to hope.

failure, an opportunity for greatness

new blog philosophy

my blogging has taken a pause the last few months as i have been caught up with work. during this time i have come up with a series of designs i am proud of, and which will soon be showcased on my blog and site.

2010 a new year. perhaps we live in a time and place we wish was different. but i believe it's important to look for the best in situations, especially when not dealing with the best of circumstances. after all, aren't there always things to be grateful for? the simple act of being able to breathe for instance.

2010 is supposedly a great year for pisces! i cannot wait to see what wonderful things happen.

blog philosophy. initially i intended for this blog to showcase work in progress, sketches, and the production side of things: textile, furniture and product design related. my new approach (effective 2010) is to use this blog as a forum to acknowledge and present things that inspire me: nature, work of other designers and artists, music, statements, etc. This blog acts a diary of sorts for me. i hope others find it interesting and informative.

happy 2010