what's hot, cold, sweet, spicy and cool?
Friday, April 25, 2008
Sorry everyone for missing the last couple of days--it's been jam-packed with work and today, some play. Thought I would share a little of what's been going on:
It was blazing hot when I arrived around 11 this morning at LACMA and this structure was already melting quickly. It's the first of a series of reinventions of Fluids, one of Allan Kaprow's Happenings, first realized in 1967 when teams of volunteers built rectangular ice structures throughout Los Angeles.
Fluids 1967
During the weekend LACMA, MOCA, and The Getty Foundation will coordinate the recreation of Fluids at about twenty sites across Los Angeles. Each enclosure of ice blocks (about 30'x10'x8') is built and left to melt.
Tomorrow, Overflow by the L.A. Art Girls will reinterpret the original score at The Getty.
My lunch was canceled, so I headed over to Little Next Door for an iced coffee--it's the annex cafe to my long-time favorite restaurant in L.A., the Little Door. I had about an hour to poke into some of the shops on Third street and was really smitten with Em and Co--they carry a great mix of designers, from heavy-hitters like Vivienne Westwood, a good smattering of European designers, to lots of newer local L.A. designers.
I couldn't leave without my favorite sandwich (chicken tarragon) at the newly expanded Joan's on Third. Then I headed over to Beverly Hills for a little hair color therapy from Nelson at Nelson J. Salon. After even more coffee and sugar with some friends, I swung by Fred Segal for Natalie Chanin's trunk show and book signing.
Her new book, Alabama Stitch Book, is beautiful and I can't wait to read it at a leisurely pace. It was also wonderful to check out Natalie's newest designs, which are beyond exquisite!
I fell in love with the hand embroidered rose embellishments (above) on one of of her dresses. (Apparently I went straight to her most expensive design. Sigh.) They are all works of art--and I don't use the term 'art' when it comes to fashion very often. Seriously, I've never seen any garments like hers--they're couture with insane amounts of fancy and non-fancy hand-stitching, beading, etc. on soft thick organic cotton. You feel like you can't stop touching them, which isn't a usual reaction to couture pieces.
Tomorrow Natalie will be offering a Half-Day Sewing Workshop at Fred Segal Flair in Santa Monica, so for those of you who live in town and want to learn some first-hand stitching techniques, definitely stop by. If you'd like to buy her book (I highly recommend!) you can order it from her website: alabamchanin.com.
Natalie Chanin and me (you can't see it, but I'm clutching my new book)
I am such a fan of her work, it just gets better all the time! There was a big party happening at Fred Segal simultaneously--it was full of some spicy L.A. attitude at it's best: think Rolls Royces, tan men, and overly-enhanced ladies...I think I've been out of town a smidgen too long because I found myself actually kind of glad to be in the mix of it all again.
On the way home I stopped in at the "Long Live Love" show at the The Surf Gallery, an opening for Andy Davis, Alex Knost, and Tyler Warren. I've been following their work and it was cool that they all showed up. It looked like people were having a good time, but I was ready to head home and recline on the sofa in front of a nice fire, which is where I am right now...home sweet home, phew!
I'm really looking forward to covering the annual Art and Architecture Tour this weekend for tys, so please check back soon for more on that. Hope all of you are having a great weekend!
It was blazing hot when I arrived around 11 this morning at LACMA and this structure was already melting quickly. It's the first of a series of reinventions of Fluids, one of Allan Kaprow's Happenings, first realized in 1967 when teams of volunteers built rectangular ice structures throughout Los Angeles.
During the weekend LACMA, MOCA, and The Getty Foundation will coordinate the recreation of Fluids at about twenty sites across Los Angeles. Each enclosure of ice blocks (about 30'x10'x8') is built and left to melt.
Tomorrow, Overflow by the L.A. Art Girls will reinterpret the original score at The Getty.
My lunch was canceled, so I headed over to Little Next Door for an iced coffee--it's the annex cafe to my long-time favorite restaurant in L.A., the Little Door. I had about an hour to poke into some of the shops on Third street and was really smitten with Em and Co--they carry a great mix of designers, from heavy-hitters like Vivienne Westwood, a good smattering of European designers, to lots of newer local L.A. designers.
I couldn't leave without my favorite sandwich (chicken tarragon) at the newly expanded Joan's on Third. Then I headed over to Beverly Hills for a little hair color therapy from Nelson at Nelson J. Salon. After even more coffee and sugar with some friends, I swung by Fred Segal for Natalie Chanin's trunk show and book signing.
Her new book, Alabama Stitch Book, is beautiful and I can't wait to read it at a leisurely pace. It was also wonderful to check out Natalie's newest designs, which are beyond exquisite!
I fell in love with the hand embroidered rose embellishments (above) on one of of her dresses. (Apparently I went straight to her most expensive design. Sigh.) They are all works of art--and I don't use the term 'art' when it comes to fashion very often. Seriously, I've never seen any garments like hers--they're couture with insane amounts of fancy and non-fancy hand-stitching, beading, etc. on soft thick organic cotton. You feel like you can't stop touching them, which isn't a usual reaction to couture pieces.
Tomorrow Natalie will be offering a Half-Day Sewing Workshop at Fred Segal Flair in Santa Monica, so for those of you who live in town and want to learn some first-hand stitching techniques, definitely stop by. If you'd like to buy her book (I highly recommend!) you can order it from her website: alabamchanin.com.
I am such a fan of her work, it just gets better all the time! There was a big party happening at Fred Segal simultaneously--it was full of some spicy L.A. attitude at it's best: think Rolls Royces, tan men, and overly-enhanced ladies...I think I've been out of town a smidgen too long because I found myself actually kind of glad to be in the mix of it all again.
On the way home I stopped in at the "Long Live Love" show at the The Surf Gallery, an opening for Andy Davis, Alex Knost, and Tyler Warren. I've been following their work and it was cool that they all showed up. It looked like people were having a good time, but I was ready to head home and recline on the sofa in front of a nice fire, which is where I am right now...home sweet home, phew!
I'm really looking forward to covering the annual Art and Architecture Tour this weekend for tys, so please check back soon for more on that. Hope all of you are having a great weekend!
posted by Mary Jo at TrustYourStyle at
Friday, April 25, 2008
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2 Comments:
great post, as a budding artist, my mom taught me to sew and i have always loved stitching and sewing.
will get that book! looks amazing!
Hi Patricia, I think you'll love it. I have been reading mine every spare second and can't wait to try out some of the techniques!
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