the light telescopic

Josey Baker Bread

2011-04-13T20:03:00.001-07:00

After a quick but fruitful day of shopping on Haight street with the lovely Iris we headed over to Mission pies for an afternoon delight. Man oh man they did not disappoint. Not only was the pie delicious, as always, but Josey baker (yes that's really his name) of Josey Baker Bread was there with a smile on his face, selling his amazing bread. I used my fresh from the oven sourdough loaf to make a havarti grilled cheese but think it's best warmed up with a little bit of butter. I strongly suggest you drop by and buy a loaf for yourself. Josey's there Tuesday's and Wednesday's but get there early as they go quick!

Daily Door

2011-02-02T22:43:00.001-08:00

Spotlight on Jennie Ottinger

2011-01-09T19:49:00.000-08:00

Hello out there! Gillian here. I was out in Oakland on Friday night for Art Murmur with some friends and came across SF-based artist Jennie Ottinger's show at the Johannson Project gallery.
Her work drew me inside, away from the vegan cupcake hawkers in the streets, and I was completely captivated. The show featured many paintings, all with her signature minimalist renderings of folks. Spare though they are, each portrait transmits a surfeit of emotional content.

For me the highlight of the show was her collection of "books". The dust jackets of each of these classic novels displays an original cover design conceived and painted by Ottinger, but inside are the real treats. Ottinger has distilled the essence of each of the novels into tight, irreverent, and highly opinionated summaries; post-modern CliffsNotes for Twitter attention spans.

Ottinger's synopsis of Moby Dick begins with, "This book is more tedious than the war parts of War and Peace but the character names are so much better!" Each of her boiled down summaries is smarter and more hilarious than the last.

Thanks to MKC for several of the photos, and thanks to the Johansson Project in Oakland for putting together such a great show!

--gillian

Clouds

2010-12-03T13:33:00.000-08:00

I'm not entirely sure what's going on a meteorological level but the clouds in San Francisco lately have been out of this world, gut wrenching, can't believe my eyes beautiful. So next time your having a rough day just take a moment and look up. Here's what I've seen....

I took the one above at 6am from my apartments balcony. While I am definitely a reluctant early riser I have to admit their is nothing more beautiful then the a sunrise.

--whitney

Daily Door

2010-11-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of the lovely Meghan Rand.

Pretty, Pretty bowls!

2010-11-03T13:44:00.000-07:00

I am totally powerless when it comes to the lure of ceramic bowls (teacups and mugs as well but thats another fetish all together). Thus as you can imagine I nearly fainted with envy when I saw this cupboard on You are my fav jr. Someday I will have a cupboard dedicated completely to pretty little bowls.....

I can barely wait!!

--whitney

Musings on Creativity. And pianos.

2010-09-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

Hello Visionaries!
Lately I have been plunging headfirst into the arts, with an open mind, an open heart and an open imagination. I have felt this incredible urge to create, create without limits. My time has opened up, and with that, my energy had simply multiplied! So I have been stoking the creative fire with all tastes, and all mediums, delving into writing, drawing, cooking, meditation, sewing, ceramics, and today, (I am grinning proudly as I write this) I had my first piano lesson!
Well, actually not my first. But my first of this millenium. I think probably my first since the 80s. Therefore I will count it as a capital-F First!
What brought this on? Well, aside from a love of music, I have had the pleasure of being invited to several truly astounding, seriously inspiring concerts lately. Seeing music live just fills me with so much energy... as if it emanates from the performer's voice and fingertips and floods the room. I drink in as much of it as possible, but I'm overflowing. It's as if I'm trying to take a breath of air large enough to last the rest of the day, and my lung capacity is just bursting.
I'm sure you have felt this feeling before. After hearing an incredible piece of music, seeing a moving painting or photograph, or reading something which touches your very core. What to do with all this excess creative energy? How do I utilize this frantic overwhelm of action potential?
My old strategy? Consume. Buy a CD. Buy a book. Buy an ice cream cone. Buy anything, in order to feel like I had satisfied or somehow squelched that gnawing grumble.
But my heart and my creative channels, though still in their infant stage of development, are more open than they used to be. I now realize that when life gives you lemons, you don't go for a bike ride. What I mean is, there is a way to take in beautiful work, and photosynthesize your own creative energy out of it. Julia Cameron calls it "filling the well". What it does is gives you the raw material of creativity: the spark, which energizes you, PROPELS you, to create of your own accord. This kind of raw energy can be intimidating, scary, perilous! Or if used correctly (meaning, if used, period), can be immensely productive and useful.
All that is to say, today, I made some noise on the piano. It wasn't music yet, but I made something.
I'll leave you with some inspiring images of pianos, in hopes that they might propel YOU to make something, anything.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ninajeaninephotography/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vyno/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lifein2-d/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12919827@N04/

--gillian

Daily Door

2010-09-18T16:31:00.001-07:00

It's official. I am in love with the Hipsmatic app on my iphone. And in the throes of new love, I have been draining my battery like crazy, taking pictures of pretty much everything around me. More awesome daily doors to come!

Top of the morning

2010-06-30T08:09:00.001-07:00

Have a great day, everyone!

love,

gillian

Slow Down... it's all in the details

2010-06-18T23:08:00.001-07:00

Tonight was one of those unexpectedly lovely nights.

My plans for the evening had fallen through and so I (only somewhat) begrudgingly decided to stay home and watch a movie: Amelie. As luck and serendipity would have it, this turned out to be precisely what I needed after a exhausting and trying week. The film's protagonist is a shy dreamer who seeks refuge from her lonliness by savoring life's little details: discarded photo booth portraits, a colorful bustling marketplace boasting its wares, the perfect skipping stone. While I'm hardly the shy type, I can relate to the meek, sweet Amelie as I also revel in life's little pleasures and surprises.

I suppose I needed a reminder that when the big picture seems too overwhelming, there can be solace, refuge, and inspiration in the details.

By the way I am loving this Japanese poster for the film. How gorgeous are the characters streaming down the center of the page?

-whitney

Found Lighting

2010-05-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

Allow me to shine my light on the amazing work of London-based artist Stuart Haygarth. He creates astounding lighting fixtures out of found and discarded objects.

Tide, shown below was assembled out of various detritus and small translucent objects that had washed up on the shore of a particular stretch of beach in Kent, England.

Illuminating!

The Spectacle series is a tiered chandelier made of used pairs of prescription glasses.

It would be amazing to see these pieces in person; I'm sure the various translucent and colored surfaces and textures would create quite a spectacle of light.

--gillian

Kindling the flame of passion (for real books)

2010-04-03T11:26:00.000-07:00

While the convenience of carrying your entire home library with you in one digital volume is indeed enticing, many old-school bibliophiles (myself included) are hestitant to succomb to this seduction.

Why? Well, in exchange for the convenience offered by digital readers, real, actual books contain the full-sensory experience of delving into a good novel/biography/self-help tome (hrm-hrrrm). The textured feel of the pages of a vintage dime-store paperback, the musty smell of a hand-me-down volume, the dog-eared corners that allude to the journeys of all the readers who came before you... these experiences are lost when the work is delivered via Kindle...

Tech-curious bibliophiles: all is not lost!

Long Live Books is the brainchild of a Minnesota artist who recognized that while the Kindle and other e-book devices may be here to stay, they don't have to render your future reading experiences cold, streamlined, and impersonal.

These "book" covers are handmade in his studio out of real wool felt, and offer customizable titles, such as This is not a book. So for those who have already made the leap into the future... you can take a little bit of the present (past?) with you, and reconnect to the inimitable pleasure of cuddling up with a good book.

Happy reading!

Gillian

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

2010-03-27T20:11:00.001-07:00

I just finished watching the second episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and I am hooked!

I had no idea what a food-consciousness bubble I have been living in. Growing up in Marin County and now living in San Francisco, understanding the importance of local, fresh, seasonal food seems like second nature to us.

The segment which hit closest to home was when Jamie asked kindergartners to identify vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes and beets and was met with blank stares. Frightening.

This show could not be anymore relevant than right now. Congress has just passed a major piece of legislation meant to "improve" the health of every American-- but with the government's somewhat dubious track record as far as keeping OUR best interests in mind, I'm not sure they ought to be trusted to solve this nation's health crisis.

Grassroots action starts in your own kitchen. With each purchasing decision we have power. If you want to see fewer processed foods in your grocery store aisles, simply don't buy them.

Hopefully the rest of the country will soon see the Light, but until then we must carry the torch.

--Whitney

Daily Door

2010-03-16T13:46:00.000-07:00

In Remembrance of Swallowtail

2010-02-10T23:54:00.000-08:00

One of the sadder aspects of our current economy is that your favorite stores can fold at any moment. I do my best to stave off this trend as much as I can by patronizing stores I love, even if the best I can do is buy the occasional bar of soap. One of my longtime favorite stores, Polk Street's Swallowtail, recently closed its doors. What I loved about Swallowtail is that they always had the perfect mixture of beautiful artwork alongside historical treasures and botanical curiousities. Below are just a few snapshots by which to linger just a little longer in this magical store, and hopefully glean some inspiration for the future...

On a more optimistic note, I did see a Swallowtail booth at the Alameda Flea Market this month, so there are perhaps a few more goodies to be found.

-whitney

Chinatown

2010-01-29T16:04:00.000-08:00

Since my camera has unexpectedly decided to... retire... I have decided to seize the day and post some pictures from my ever growing library of shots from around our fair city. So below are just a few of the shots I took last time I visited San Francisco's Chinatown....

--whitney

Vintage Suitcases

2010-01-29T15:52:00.000-08:00

I admit it. I have a bit of a vintage suitcase fetish. However, I have never been able to rationalize buying one, as they are highly impractical. So today, I set about finding a way to justify such a splurge. Lo and behold, the internet provided (as it often does) a myriad of creative ideas...

The bar above is my favorite.

Bon Voyage!

--whitney

Daily Door: Paris Edition

2010-01-25T22:19:00.001-08:00

It often seems like the more ambitious the project, the harder it is to get started. As these things go, despite our lofty ambitions here at the Light Telescopic, we have been dragging our heels about posting anything from our marvelous European vacation last September. Perhaps it just seems that no posting can do it justice... In an effort to kick things off (better late than never?) I thought a few Daily Doors a la Parisienne might be in order...

OK so technically, this last one is not a door at all - but it was too cute to leave out so I thought I'd just slip it in at the end of the post. You didn't even notice, right?

Daily Door

2010-01-23T13:47:00.000-08:00

Wood and Wool

2010-01-10T16:27:00.001-08:00

When the weather is chilly and inhospitable, it really makes me think about the concept of home-- what makes your home the most comfortable place in the world? The place you can't wait to get to when the world outside is blustery and unfriendly...

Perhaps the current chill has made me even more receptive to these beautiful images from the Dutch Wood and Wool Stool Company. They are colorful and cozy and soft-- rustic, a bit sentimental, sure, but still fresh and modern.

I hope you enjoy these images as much as I currently am. I find myself continuously returning to them to transport me to "home", wherever that might be.

Hm... it seems my real home might be the Netherlands...

--gillian

Daily Door

2010-01-07T21:20:00.001-08:00

Golden Oasis

2010-01-07T07:10:00.000-08:00

Some amazing new architecture was recently brought to my attention (many thanks to Mikey, who was fortunate enough to ring in the new year in this psych-glam getaway). These are two incredible edifices, which could either be qualified as the most spartan luxury vacation homes on the planet, or the most glamorous campsites ever conceived.

Either way, they are truly a sight to behold. Acido Dorado, the transcendent golden palace pictured below, as well as Rosa Muerta, the onyx-toned modernist shanty, were both conceived and built by architect Robert Stone, in the vast desolate sandscape that is Joshua Tree, California. This locale has served as a inspiration ground for many, and spending some time in either of these structures would certainly provide the perfect backdrop for some introspection (acid trip optional).

The breezy, indoor-outdoor quality of Stone's structures invite the visitor to turn inward, while simultaneously opening up to the vastness of the world just outside the open glass walls. With Acido Dorado's simmering jacuzzi, metallic mirrored gilt ceilings, and outdoor firepit, this oasis melds the most natural elements of its desert surroundings with a strikingly spare, modernist yet fluid structure, which seems utterly at home nestled into landscape.

--gillian

Framed Polaroids

2009-11-25T11:05:00.001-08:00

I love the idea of framing multiple Polaroids together, turning them into one grand visual statement. These examples are from the Palihouse LA, and though I have not seen them close-up, I would like to imagine that there are some naughty photos or a least a few unexpected shots hidden within....

--whitney

Daily Reminder...

2009-11-23T11:56:00.001-08:00

Polish Book Covers

2009-11-07T18:09:00.000-08:00

Loving these Polish vintage book covers. Found via

A journey round my skull's flickr page...

-whitney

Daily Door

2009-11-03T21:04:00.001-08:00

It's the little things that bring me joy...

2009-10-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

I get immense joy from the often overlooked details that make our city the beautiful, quirky place that it is. One such detail that fascinates me are building numbers. Below are a few of my recent favorites.

--whitney

Daily Door

2009-10-08T16:00:00.000-07:00

Pierrot Le Fou

2009-08-29T18:43:00.000-07:00

Just finished Pierrot Le Fou for the second time. While it does have a tendency to ramble on in every which direction the film is worth watching if for no other reason then the colors! Take a peak at a few of the stills I managed to find....

Am thinking about painting my dining room chairs this shade of red.

This scene is shot with a variety of lenses, green being one of the most aesthetically pleasing.

--whitney

Daily Door(s)

2009-08-29T16:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Ms. Gillian

2009-08-27T18:12:00.001-07:00

My lovely cohort (Ms. Gillian) is hosting what is sure to be a smashing birthday bash. In honor of her special day I thought I’d post a little inspiration for the lawn party themed event.

Pictures from last years Jazz Age lawn party on Goveners Island Courtesy of A Cup of Jo and the Satoralist.

I'm guessing archery is not legal in SF parks but wouldn't it be fun to do in big beautiful dresses...

The perfect dress.

Gillian and I by the end of the party. Who am I kidding this is us in the begining, middle and end!

--whitney

Double (Telescopic) Fantasy

2009-06-26T22:20:00.000-07:00

I spy with my little eye...

Daily Routines

2009-06-20T10:21:00.000-07:00

Inspiration can be a fickle mistress, and part of the artist's work is to develop an effective seduction strategy. Sometimes it can take a great deal of finesse in order to entice the muse of productivity to come out and play. Encompassing favored locations, drugs of choice, or even requisite lunch menus, many artists have come to be known for their very specific (and often peculiar) work habits, which can be as interesting and unique as the work they help produce--sometimes more so.

Daily Routines is an amazing collection of interviews with artists, writers and great thinkers about the way they structure their days. I love being able to get a firsthand account of extraordinary people doing ordinary things. It's somehow simultaneously comforting and inspiring. (hey, even Virginia Woolf needed a snack break sometimes...)

Many thanks to Tim for the great find!

Here is an excerpt from Daily Routines, which details Simone de Beauvoir's day-to-day working habits.

Enjoy!

-Gillian

Simone de Beauvoir
INTERVIEWER: People say that you have great self-discipline and that you never let a day go by without working. At what time do you start?

DE BEAUVOIR: I'm always in a hurry to get going, though in general I dislike starting the day. I first have tea and then, at about ten o'clock, I get under way and work until one. Then I see my friends and after that, at five o'clock, I go back to work and continue until nine. I have no difficulty in picking up the thread in the afternoon. When you leave, I'll read the paper or perhaps go shopping. Most often it's a pleasure to work.

INTERVIEWER: When do you see Sartre?

DE BEAUVOIR: Every evening and often at lunchtime. I generally work at his place in the afternoon.

INTERVIEWER: Doesn't it bother you to go from one apartment to another?

DE BEAUVOIR: No. Since I don't write scholarly books, I take all my papers with me and it works out very well.

INTERVIEWER: Do you plunge in immediately?

DE BEAUVOIR: It depends to some extent on what I'm writing. If the work is going well, I spend a quarter or half an hour reading what I wrote the day before, and I make a few corrections. Then I continue from there. In order to pick up the thread I have to read what I've done.

INTERVIEWER: Do your writer friends have the same habits as you?

DE BEAUVOIR: No, it's quite a personal matter. Genet, for example, works quite differently. He puts in about twelve hours a day for six months when he's working on something and when he has finished he can let six months go by without doing anything. As I said, I work every day except for two or three months of vacation when I travel and generally don't work at all. I read very little during the year, and when I go away I take a big valise full of books, books that I don't have time to read. But if the trip lasts a month or six weeks, I do feel uncomfortable, particularly if I'm between two books. I get bored if I don't work.

The Paris Review, Spring-Summer 1965
(Thanks to Marcine Miller.)

Vintage Bally

2009-06-09T18:28:00.000-07:00

Graphic design in classic French advertisements has long been a source of inspiration for me (though lately others have been drawing inspiration as well... see Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, et. al).

Designer Jacques Auriac's work for Bally is a sensational representation of what makes this genre so alluring: the colors, the bold shapes, the simplicity. What I really love about these images is how they convey such a strong statement without making any direct references to the products being advertised. Instead, the prints rely on visual elements to convey the style and energy of the brand.

(My apologies for the tiny image - but it was too cute not to post...)

-whitney

Time-saving tips for busy graphic designers

2009-06-02T10:09:00.000-07:00

Thank you to JP Williams of Amassblog.com for sharing this letter from one of his vast collections of typographical ephemera: written on official Bauhaus letterhead and signed on page 2 by Walter Gropius, this official correspondence is typed entirely in lowercase font.

The bottom of the letterhead contains the adage, "wir schreiben allas klien, denn wir sparen damit zeit", which translates to "we are writing everything in lower case in order to save time".

I love the idea of letting one's design influence all aspects of life, correspondence, love... to efficiency and beyond!

--g

2009-05-28T08:59:00.001-07:00

Daily Door

2009-05-22T17:36:00.000-07:00

Things we forget

2009-05-22T17:13:00.000-07:00

The following post-its are part of a project called "Things we forget." The author puts up one post it a day in Singapore. Here are just a few of my favorites.

A few weeks ago - I found the San Francisco equivalent to Singapore's "Things we forget." While the calligraphy may be a bit rougher around the edges - I always appreciate sentences beginning with "Please."

Daily Door

2009-05-19T17:19:00.000-07:00

Simplicity: Thoughts for Monday

2009-05-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

Q: Is there a specific object that changed how you think about design?

A: I've always been told that the egg is something that can't be improved upon. Giving it some thought, I agree.

--William Krisel, mid-century architect, in conversation with Dwell Magazine

Stopping to smell the roses...

2009-05-14T16:48:00.000-07:00

While it is infinitely rewarding to share inspiration with one's readers - for me, the best thing about contributing to our blog is that it serves as a constant reminder to open my eyes and take stock of the world around me. While meandering through Pacific Heights this afternoon, I noticed some roses growing on an old Victorian. After snapping a shot with my ever-ready digicam, I decided to take a city walk to see how many more I could find. Boy was I in for a treat: roses were everywhere! I found at least one bush on every block.

It is a amazing what you notice when shift your focus. You'll be surprised by what you often overlook in your very own neighborhood.

--whitney

Heath Ceramics

2009-05-10T22:53:00.000-07:00

The time is ripe for Spring Cleaning! We here at the Light Telescopic, eager as always to find the most spectacular, most inspiring, and most special things this big, wide world has to offer, are equally aware of the importance of editing. The fewer less-than-inspiring elements we surround ourselves with, the more we can really appreciate the things which really move and delight us. The world is full of so many options, all vying for our attention, that amassing things has become the easy part, and paring it down to the truly meaningful objects, passions, and people can be a real challenge.

Do I digress?

Today saw me engaging in an all-out Spring Cleaning Catharsis, in the middle of which I was presented with an irresistible invitation from my roommate: a quick trip to Sausalito to the Heath Ceramics factory Open Studio.

Heath Ceramics, family-owned until 2003, has been manufacturing beautiful, hand-crafted ceramic tableware and tile in their Sausalito studio since the 1950s. Using Midcentury potting traditions, their kitchenware is all fired and hand-glazed here in the Bay Area, using locally-sourced materials, lending each piece its one-of-a-kind finish.

Beyond the Heath aesthetic (rustic yet elegant, organic yet geometric), one other thing I really admire about this company is their clear commitment to sustainable design: the pieces are not cheap-- but the cost covers quality materials, local manufacture, and fair pay for their workers. And the company's ongoing commitment to traditional Midcentury Modern design ethos: efficiency, functionality, and beautiful clean lines, ensures that their wares are investment pieces. Employing thoughtful design and careful manufacture means that these pieces will stand the test of time: a truly "green" concept.

But enough about politics... did I mention they are gorgeous? And how they feel so nice and earthy and cozy in the hand?

And here is some Heath Tile... rustic yet refined:

Being surrounded by good design for the afternoon definitely infused my Spring Cleaning efforts with renewed energy. Even so, I did end up picking up a little present for myself anyway: this cool 60s-style ashtray. Already at home on my nightstand and making itself useful as a catch-all for change, hairpins and jewelry.

Note to Whitney: Ashtrays as decor items... do I smell a future post? I'm handing this one over to you, can't wait to see what brilliant ideas you come up with!

Ciao!

--gillian

Daily Door

2009-05-01T16:44:00.001-07:00

Maps!

2009-05-01T16:18:00.000-07:00

I’ll let you in on a little secret: Gillian is the mastermind behind the written words on this site…. We’ve known each other so long that she can usually read whatever jargon I’ve hastily posted and transform it into something magical with a few minor but often priceless changes.

On this rainy afternoon I’ve found a lovely collection of maps that I’d like to share. Since I can’t seem to find the words to express myself I’m going to let these images do the talking. Hopefully, my partner in crime will eventually be able to put some words to my visual story...

*Ed. note: Nothing left for me to say... These beautiful photos took the words right out of my mouth!

*Ed. note II: This doesn't happen often.

--g

Daily Door

2009-04-29T23:20:00.000-07:00

Steam Power

2009-04-27T07:29:00.000-07:00

One of my latest inspirations has been the Steampunk movement, an aesthetic combining Victorian sensibility with modern innovations. I find myself drawn to the amazing jewelry being created, most often out of found objects, deconstructed watch parts, mechanical detritus and antique bric-a-brac.

(kitschycottage.blogspot.com)

(kaboodle.com)

(clockwork-zero.blogspot.com )

But lately, I've been running across all kinds of other delightful consumer accessories incorporating the Steampunk aesthetic. Check out this fabulously tounge-in-cheek iPod skin:

And I thought this was just brilliant: a portable USB drive, with antique brass gears and wheels, which is, I'm sure, how people transported data in days of yore. The predecessor to our modern, streamlined external hard drives. This just makes me smile:

But the favorite object I've found so far has to be this absolutely breathtaking computer mod, by Steampunk engineer Jake von Slatt. I doubt the computer itself is kerosene-powered, but the monitor is encased in an ornate brass frame, and the each of the keys on the keyboard has been lovingly replaced with antique typewriter keys. I just imagine how much more productive i could be with a computer like this:

Besides the fact that antiquated scientific ephemera is a particular soft spot of mine, I just find this kind of creativity so inspiring. The world as we'd like it to be is most often not the one we were born into. I find it so invigorating to see people who think beyond the aesthetic boundaries they inherited and feel free to re-construct their worlds as they see fit.

I'm off to design my day, I hope you do the same!

--gillian

Alicia Bock

2009-04-26T16:40:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed how some photographers' or artists' aesthetic seems to evolve in a parallel trajectory as your own?

When I first fell for Alicia Bock's photography, it was during a period where many of her photos dealt with dreamy pastoral subjects.

More recently, I was thrilled to discover that she has widened her lens to include some more subject matter near and dear to my heart, such as cityscapes, as well as still-lifes which manage to capture the magical qualities of everyday objects. Below are just a few of my favorites. Check out Alicia Bock's etsy store to find more inspiration...

-whitney

New Soul

2009-04-26T15:49:00.000-07:00

I've been working on home projects all weekend (namely wallpapering my cupboards) and for some reason this Yael Naim video seemed to sum up my mood. I guess sometimes we all just need to break down (or at least re-decorate) the walls around us.

Enjoy!

-whitney

Musings

2009-04-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

"Design will often make the difference between a place that simply exists and a place that can thrive for many years to come-- which is the most sustainable result of all."

--Richard Rogers

The Living Wall

2009-04-14T16:36:00.000-07:00

Obviously green technologies are everywhere these days and for good reason. One of my favorite new trends is the appearance of living walls. Abroad, Parisian botanist Patrick Blanc has been popularizing this new art form through his work on the CaixaForum Museum, which has attracted tourist from around the world to view the wall shown below which houses over 15,000 plants.

Patrick Blanc's verticle garden at Marches des Halles.

Oulu Bar and Eco Lounge in Brooklyn

Thus I was excited to see a smaller version of the living wall on apartment therapy today (see the two examples above). Crafted by the always delightful Flora Grub, this smaller option provides a vertical garden which could fit in nearly any setting. And if you haven’t checked out Flora Grub Gardens yet hop in your car or alternate form of transportation and check it out today. You won't regret it!

--whitney

Systematic Landscaping

2009-04-13T15:33:00.000-07:00

After my attempt to visit the California Academy of Sciences today was thwarted (once again) by impenetrable throngs of schoolchildren on Spring Break, I took my consolation in a stroll around the west end of the Academy, to enjoy artist Maya Lin's permanent installation, 'Where the Land Meets the Sea'. Fabricated out of stainless steel wire, the suspended sculpture is a representation of the underwater topography that spans from Angel Island to the Golden Gate Bridge.

I must admit, I hadn't thought about Lin's work too much since seeing her captivating show last winter at the DeYoung. But my ill-fated attempt to visit the Cal Academy was the perfect reminder of just how much I adore her work. Her pieces are kinetic, yet at the same time gracefully still. And I am blown away by how she manages to combine the mathematical and the organic, using data sets taken from the natural world as her inspiration, and creating mathematical models which are anything but dry and technical-- they seem to dance with the distilled energy of the natural forces they represent.

So I suppose not all was lost today. I'm off to enjoy my waning weekend, so I'll leave you with a few more compelling pieces of Lin's.

--Gillian

Daily Door

2009-04-08T16:14:00.000-07:00

Stairs

2009-04-08T15:46:00.000-07:00

While most of you are familiar with my door obsession I do have another guilty pleasure: stairs. Apparently, I'm not alone in my stair fascination - the first two images are from one of my new favorite sites stairporn.org.

We're Back! And hungry for more great finds..

2009-03-29T09:06:00.001-07:00

After a too-long "brief" hiatus, the ladies of the Light are back in the blogosphere, with an amped-up appetite for the undiscovered good things that are all around us!

Jumping right in...

This new find got me really excited: For the epicurean with a taste for the ephemeral, there is the brand-new Kitchenette SF. From 11:30 to 1:30 Monday through Friday, stop by the pop-up kitchen at 958 Illinois St in the Dogpatch to pick up your lunch. It's cash only, and the menu changes every day (check their website the night before), featuring amazing and innovative lunches made from all organic and sustainably farmed ingredients from local farms.

The chefs are a group of friends with an impressive pedigree: veterans of Chez Panisse, Foreign Cinema, Betelnut, all coming together to create a project that really puts the "here today, gone tomorrow" ethos of seasonal eating in the spotlight.

Happy on-the-go munching...

--Gillian

Daily Door

2008-11-13T11:09:00.001-08:00

Time for class

2008-11-13T10:49:00.000-08:00

I stumbled upon this vintage school desk while perusing the ever so magical Factory 20 website and got instant goose bumps. I had one just like it in the 1st grade where I would store my pencils and reading workbooks. I was going to post a bunch of school house nostalgia pics but decided I liked the simplicity of these shots instead…

Daily Door

2008-09-29T23:11:00.000-07:00

Textures

2008-09-29T22:58:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has wandered the streets of San Francisco with me can attest that I tend to dawdle behind, taking snapshots of any little sight that might tickle my fancy. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with textures and geometric architectural details. Below are just a few of my most recent finds... I’d love to take about 15-20 of the best ones and frame them in my entryway eventually but for now I thought I'd just share them with you, my observant readers, in the hopes that doing so will inspire future projects...

--Whitney

No photos, no photos

2008-09-24T23:30:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to me! That's right, and this year was a big birthday too, though I'm not telling you which one. A lady never tells.

The greatest gift of all was, of course, sipping French 75s with friends and family, and shooting many games of billiards, during which the skill level exhibited did nothing to justify the level of photographic documentation that followed.

That being said, one of my other favorite gifts of the night was a book of Ron Galella's photographs. Galella was one of the most famous paparrazi photographers of the last half of the century, and his photos stand alone as art as well as documentation of the celebrity culture of the 60s and 70s. He shot many photos of icons such as Jackie Onassis, Marlon Brando and Andy Warhol, as well as incredibly evocative portraits from the disco scene.

His photographic style has come to be so inextricably linked to the scene he inhabited, that it becomes hard to tell where the journalism ends and the history-making begins.

cheers!

Gillian

Daily Door(s)

2008-08-17T21:09:00.000-07:00

The Life of Lee Miller

2008-08-15T20:44:00.000-07:00

I know that the city is abuzz with excitement over the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the MOMA, and rightfully so. However, the best thing that came out of my recent visit to the Museum was stumbling upon The Life of Lee Miller.

While some of Miller’s work has registered on my radar in the past, I had no idea just what a broad range of subjects her works touched on.

In the Lee Miller retrospective at the SFMOMA, museum-goers are treated to a multi-course visual feast that follows Miller’s career through her early days as a model...

... to a stint as a surrealist photographer in Europe where she cozied up with Picasso and Man Ray...

(Lee Miller,Charlie Chaplin, Paris, 1931© Lee Miller Archives, England. [above])

(Marie-Berte, Max Ernst, Lee Miller & Man Ray [above])

... continuing through to her more shocking photojournalist work, including this self-portrait of Miller bathing in Hitler’s bathtub shortly after the fall of The Third Reich…

...and on to her eventual settling down to a life on a small country farm. I could delve more into the fascinating story of Miller’s life, but truly, half of the fun of going to an exhibit is in leading your own tour through a body of work, so on that note, I'll bid you adieu...

Home sweet Home

2008-08-11T20:32:00.000-07:00

While I generally prefer to write about restaurants that I have a personal relationship with, i.e. that I have eaten at, I couldn’t help but share my latest gustatory/design find. Located in Via Tortona, the Milan neighborhood known for its discerning aesthetic, Home is the brainchild of owner Monica Bagnari, designer Luca Rossire and architect Riccardo Salvi. But Home is more than an evocative restaurant name; this epicurial sanctuary is also the personal residence of Bagnari, who converts it back into her home every night once the doors are closed to the public.

Each April, the Via Tortona neighborhood hosts the Salone del Mobile Internazional – one of the world's largest design trade fairs. In consideration of the project's unique location, Rossire and Salvi offered a number of top furnishing companies a partnership in the restaurant in exchange for donated goods, an opportunity they were wise to jump on. As you can see, the result is a striking space where designers and gourmands alike would feel right at Home.

Midwest Side-- Sonnenzimmer

2008-08-11T09:39:00.001-07:00

Of the many artistic talents to have blossomed in the Windy City (Frank Lloyd Wright, Ernest Hemingway), there are but few I have personally chatted about vegetarian cooking with, most notably Nick Butcher and Nadine Nakanishi of Sonnenzimmer Studio in Chicago. Whit and I met them several weeks back, and amongst a sea of felt-applique pillows (nothing against felt-applique pillows) and cheeky canvas totes (and who doesn't love a cheeky tote?), I was immediately drawn to their graphic design collaborations. Sonnenzimmer's subdued use of color and non-representational style made them really stand out. With their mastery of geometric imagery, these two visionaires seamlessly blend both mod and futuristic/technological influences in a very subtle and yet striking way.

Their gig posters were really captivating in their design and simplicity, and seemed to really represent the underground Chicago music scene they help to promote: confident, stylish, a little stark, and ultimately, very cool.

Daily Door

2008-08-10T23:06:00.000-07:00

Victory is yours... if you're hungry

2008-07-30T23:55:00.000-07:00

(an inspiring pitstop from my recent trip to LA)

The Victory Gardens so widespread during WWI and WWII are having a modern resurgence-- and a modern re-interpretation. Urban organic gardens are popping up all over our city, as a way to reconnect with the land, a way to foster self-reliance in an ever-unstable economy, and a way to utilize public and private space to provide local, sustainable organic produce and reduce the food miles associated with the average American meal.

There are several community gardens in the city where yard-less urbanites can have access to a plot of soil on which to plant, tend and nurture greenery.

San Francisco Garden Resource Organization has a directory of all the Community Gardens in the city.

Also check out SF Victory Gardens, an amazing citywide project in which 15 households are chosen as sites for urban gardens, in an effort to create a city-wide mini farm of sorts. These households will be welcoming expert Garden Teams into their yards/porches/windowboxes/etc., in order to ready them to yield abundant produce right here in the city, with crops assigned according to the various growing conditions of the sites chosen. The fruits of their labors will be collected and re-distributed throughout the city as part of an urban CSA box.

Last but not least, check out the blossoming Victory Garden in the sprawling front yard of our very own City Hall. Tended lovingly by SlowFoodNation volunteers, this ambitious garden will provide organic produce for local food banks, in an effort to get quality organic food to those who would otherwise be unlikely to acquire it.

Happy planting!

Gillian

SF Events about town

2008-07-10T16:44:00.000-07:00

A friend recently pointed out that we have a habit of posting pictures of events after the fact instead of letting our readers in on the fun. Since there are an abundance of fun events this weekend we thought we’d list a few:

Home: New work by Julia Rothman and Caitlin Keegan at Rare Devices. The opening is tonight from 7-10pm. Guests who participate in this jumpsuit themed event get 20% off all merchandise.
The 13th annual Silent Film Festival runs Friday July 11th –Sunday July 13th. We stumbled upon this event last year and were blown away by the live musical accompanists.

Musical highlights this year include Bay Area ensemble the Baguette Quartette, who specialize in Parisian dance hall music of the 1920s and will be making their festival debut with comedy provocateur René Clair’s LES DEUX TIMIDES (Two Timid Souls, 1928).

Renegade Craft Fair at the Fort Mason Center this weekend July 12th and 13th from 11am-7pm. Contributors include: Art School Dropout, Betsy Ply, 3 Fish Studios, Caralyndon and many more renegade crafters from across this industrious country of ours.
Local handmade guru Minnie Wilde hosts a summertime sale with other local designers turk + Taylor, Tinc, and Alma at El Rio (3158 Mission Street) this Saturday July 12th from 4-7pm. 21+ no cover.
Bambuddha Lounge hosts Stellar: SF Fashion Awards Show. Over the past few months, local fashionistas have nominated their favorite designers, style bloggers and models – winners to be announced Sunday July 13th from 3-11pm. DJ commodore 69 will be mixing electro-rock favorites.

Daily Door

2008-07-07T19:26:00.000-07:00

Quantum Physics in your Living Room

2008-07-04T22:10:00.000-07:00

Created for British furniture company Meta, the Ivo_03 table was conceived for "Atmospherics", a gallery exhibition of object architecture by Asymptote's founder, Hani Rashid. Based on his series of M-Scapes, or Motionscapes, the table's base is made of a single piece of diamond-faceted Tula steel. The shape's undulations are mathematically projected to convey allusions to both the technological and the organic, as well as convey a sense of motion in a still object. I love the way the Ivo_03's curves suggest to the viewer that the utility of modern technology and the beauty of the natural world are inextricably linked, in today's increasingly high-tech world more than ever.

--gillian

Daily Door

2008-07-03T11:32:00.001-07:00

The way I feel's contextual...

2008-07-02T22:07:00.000-07:00

"With fashion or photography, I always tried to start with depicting the topography that gives context to a subject."

--Hedi Slimane (former art director for YSL, Dior)

-gillian

White Elephant Vintage

2008-06-26T22:43:00.000-07:00

I’m on the hunt for the perfect alarm clock and while I’ve yet to find anything I’m over the moon about, I did happen to stumble upon a great vintage resource on etsy. Here are just a few of the fun finds I spotted on the lovely White Elephant Vintage…

Alarm clock candidate #1

Vintage pool balls in an egg basket

A good vintage fan is worth its weight in gold. I bought one similar to the fan above at the Alameda Flea market last month and it has been a godsend over the past few hot weeks!

Alarm clock candidate #2

Sears celebrity typewriter

Daily Door

2008-06-26T21:48:00.001-07:00

Area_2

2008-06-12T21:24:00.000-07:00

Its official come June 10th I’ll be taking my first graphic design course and I couldn't be more excited. One of my classmates gave me a crash course last week so that I could make the (very amateur) logo below for my Commercial Design Concepts class.

I’m particularly interested in graphic design because at its root much of graphic design is ultimately about reinterpreting images and re-purposing them to fulfill a new function. Thus I was elated when I stumbled upon Area_2 : 100 Graphic Designers, 10 Curators the newest volume in Phaidon’s acclaimed “Area” series, which features 100 of the world’s most interesting emerging graphic designers, as chosen by 10 of the most respected figures in the field. More than 1,500 images reveal the talents and trends of contemporary graphic design as it has evolved over the past five years. It’s literally eye candy for the soul. Each of the book’s 100 four-page sections is devoted to the work of a single designer, and includes a critical essay written by the relevant curator.
Priced at a cool $90, Area_2 may just have to go on my ever growing list of things to buy when I finally get my stimulus check.

p.s. I have a feeling I’ll be eating my words in a few weeks when I’m struggling to master Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop but a girl can dream...

-whitney

Daily Door

2008-06-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

Keep Calm Gallery

2008-05-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine recently turned me on to Keep Calm Gallery. The site is loaded with prints bearing quirky and yet poignant sayings. Below are just a few of my favorites...

Which brings me to my love of maps. I've been eyeing some vintage maps at Aria in North Beach, but they are a bit out of my price range. OK, more like $300 out of my price range but they have the USSR on them - I can't resist! The Soviet Union itself fell under less pressure than this!

Buck up!

-whitney

Daily Door

2008-05-28T12:19:00.000-07:00

Mission Dolores

2008-05-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

My mother once remarked that the Mission reminds her of a Wes Anderson Movie. While I've yet to spot any Gypsy cabs, I have found that the Mission does seem to possess the same idiosyncratic eclecticism and questionably ironic self-awareness that make Mr. Anderson's films so enjoyable. Below are just a few of my favorite neighborhood sights...

Lunch with my friend Tony at Tartine.

The endlessly entertaining X-21: a vintage/collectible warehouse which boasts a disorganized array of everything from a Styrofoam superman to crocodile hides. While trying to navigate the chaotic quagmire that is their basement I ran into an older British gentleman ailing from a tequila-induced hangover. In the course of inquiring about several of their unique wares, he not only proved less than helpful, but managed to insult every item I showed any interest in. When I commented on his poor salesmanship he scoffed and said he was the store's visual design person. Go figure.

More X-21 treasures...

Time to shop!

My neighborhood liquor store which I secretly think is run by the Russian mafia. If this is the last blog post ever, you'll know that the owners were Light Telescopic fans who were less than happy that they'd been outed.

This sign was posted in the window of vintage housewares shop The Apartment. The shopkeeper looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if I could take a picture of his "Photo Menu." Apparently, he failed to see any humor in "3 persons photos men & Womens".

Art Spotlight: Dennis De Bel

2008-05-24T00:03:00.000-07:00

I just tripped across the work of Dutch artist Dennis De Bel today, and I couldn't wait to share it. The piece which really caught my eye was 'Naaitafel', in which De Bel re-engineers a vintage Singer into a record player (probably appealing because it marries my two favorite vintage appliances into one twisted monstrosity of nostalgia). The title is derived from the similarity between the Dutch words for "sewing table" and "turntable."

Check out his website for many other quirky objects, many of which toy with off-beat overlaps of form and/or function, as well as our culture's unholy reverence of technology.

Another gem is the 'Stratenspeler,' which signifies a "street-player" as opposed to a record player. It amplifies the sound of whatever textural surface it's placed on, allowing the user to create a looped feed of say, a crack in the sidewalk, the sound of grass on a warm summer evening, or the sweet song of hot inner-city asphalt.

--gillian

Procrastination is the name of the game

2008-05-20T17:33:00.000-07:00

Am struggling with the worst sort of ADD so instead of actually buckling down and working on my commercial design project, I thought I'd share a few images I've found inspiring thus far.

The final project for the class is to design a retail space via perspective drawings, material boards and CAD drawings. I was originally going to design a vintage/furniture store similar to Swallowtail on Polk St. (see below) with lots of architectural elements...

...however, as I became more involved with the project I realized that my favorite part of that space was an area housing design books that I had dubbed the Library....so I decided to scratch my original idea and am now designing a vintage bookstore.

A (very illegaly shot) picture of Will Wick's library at this year's Designer Showcase.

OK, this picture is not so much inspiration for any of the architecture or interior design of my project, but it's exactly how I'd like to look if I owned such a bookstore. hehehe.

My apologies if the image above is a bit blurry - I just took a shot of my inspiration board at home.

The last 4 pictures were orignally posted by the lovely Automatism --one of my new favorite blogs.

-Whitney

Abandoned Treasure

2008-05-09T21:45:00.000-07:00

Here are some more images we captured while checking out the Pinhole Photography exhibition at Rayko studio. After we returned from the exhilarating ride aboard the Bus Obscura, we got distracted (as curious little girls with cameras often do) and began wandering through the urban wasteland under the freeway, snapping shots of all the eye-candy/industrial detritus we found there.

--gillian

The higher the graffiti, the closer to god?

Such a sweetly proud logo

A close-up of part of an enormous mountain of snowy white scrap metal

An unfinished thought

5 o'clock shadow

The New York Revue

2008-05-07T23:44:00.001-07:00

After being inundated with requests by anxious and impatient Telescopic superfans, I have acquiesced and finally produced some blog-worthy selections from my (not-so-recent-anymore) trip to New York...

Enjoy!

--gillian

These first few are shots taken aboard the Long Island RailRoad... just some cool metalwork and industrial dinosaurs.

I spent a day in Brooklyn with my friend Ahsen, where we took tea, Williamsburg-style:

...and then enjoyed a delicious afternoon brunch (the best kind) at Egg. Here's Ahsen & co. while we wait for our table.

While in Brooklyn, we checked out The Future Perfect, a totally awesome spot well-stocked with hand-picked furniture and accessories for the modern urbanite/borough-dweller...

...including some bad-ass jewelry personally made by the adorable Kiel Mead (jeweler/shopboy/cutie)...

... and these fine art skateboards (they read Father/Son/Holy Ghost).

Another lovely New York day was spent, West Village style, with my good friend Will.

I was lucky enough to get taken on a tour of this adorable neighborhood, stopping at a couple of his favorite spots, which I'm delighted to share with you!

Our first stop was Lord Willy's: a little nook of a men's shop where sharp-dressing New Yorkers can get outfitted with the finest in haberdashery: colorful shirts and ties, heirloom-quality suiting, and cheeky cufflinks. Keep your eyes peeled: you'll know it by the garden gnome standing guard in the front window.

"Don't be silly. There's no such thing as too many shirts!"

Will also took me to Greenwich Letterpress, one of the most adorable card shops I've ever been to (and I've been to a lot!) -- it's beautifully arranged and packed with charming stationery, hand-selected cards, antique-y bookplates and vintage maps.

He also turned me on to my new favorite stationer: Jonathan Wright. I love to get some anatomy with my correspondence. Thanks, Will!

And thanks to the entire city of New York for keeping its shops tended by adorable and charming shopboys the whole city over. How can you not love this?

Daily Door

2008-05-07T23:03:00.000-07:00

Analog Dreams

2008-05-02T21:01:00.000-07:00

Check out these slick Nakamichi Cassette Decks. These completely feed into my love for obsolete electronics of questionable functionality... if only my mechanical tinkering skills would ever catch up with my insatiable urge to rescue ancient personal electronics off the street, my wood-encased Marantz tuner with matching speakers would be more than just musically suggestive decor for my living room.

Woldwide Pinhole Photography Day

2008-05-02T17:35:00.000-07:00

Pinhole photography has always seemed like a mysterious art form that only people infinitely more pretentious then I could master - thus we here at The Light Telescopic were happily surprised to find out that the folks at Rayko took a much more user-friendly approach to their Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day exhibit last Sunday. On top of workshops and displays of homemade cameras, the piece de resistance was the Bus Obscura, a roaming multiple-aperture camera obscura which gave passengers free rides around our gorgeous city. The windows of the bus were blacked out except for hundreds of tiny pinholes, which projected images of the passing landscape onto plexiglass screens inside the bus.

For just $5 you can buy an original piece of work from the Art-O-Mat.

We took multiple pictures in Rayko's Photobooth - look for those soon!

The view from inside the bus!

I almost forgot one of the most enjoyable aspects of our amazing Bus Obscura experience - sound artists Michael F. Zbyszinski and Walter Sisper providing the live soundtrack for our trip. When we thanked them for the great music Michael had to double check to make sure we weren't being facetious. Flabbergasted, we assured him that here at The Light Telescopic we pride ourselves on our highly refined appreciation of all types of art, sound or otherwise. Thanks again, boys!

Daily Door

2008-05-02T15:07:00.001-07:00

Rayko Photo Center door. More to come soon on Rayko and their infamous World Wide Pinhole Photography Day Celebration....

Tonga

2008-05-01T22:29:00.001-07:00

Good evening, and Mahalo! Just returned from a ridiculously festive dinner with my friend Will, who is visiting from NY. He was eager for the full SF experience, including the famed Tonga Room, in the Fairmont Hotel, so being the supportive friend and excellent tour guide that I am, I obliged and joined him as his date for an evening of Polynesian delicacies, Mai Tais served in fake coconuts, and "feel good" music played by a 3-piece band floating on a pool surrounded by fake rain. If that doesn't scream San Francisco, I don't know what does.

After several courses of "exotic" fare (and one flaming volcano-shaped dessert), and trying to outdance retirees to MJ's "Rock With You" (stiff competition, I'll say), we took a stroll through the ground floors of the Fairmont and admired the museum-caliber collection of artifacts and photos from the famed hotel's history. Among old brochures and advertisements were many photos from the era that begat kitsch: royalty wining and dining at the Fairmont, bathing beauties, pre-war extravagance. There was also an entire hall of photos chronicling the citywide destruction from the fire at the turn of the century.

It's amazing that so much history (and so much South Pacific style fabulousness) is right here in our little city. Just walking through the opulent lobby with its gold mouldings and velvet settees makes one feel decadent.

Well, despite my coconut-cream Tongaccino, I'm feeling a little drowsy...

Over and out,

gillian

Haste makes waste

2008-04-30T08:16:00.000-07:00

Someone took this message a bit too literally...

Wallpaper Love!

2008-04-24T19:31:00.000-07:00

While browsing Marimekko's new Spring line of fabric's I came across a link to Ferm. Founded by Denmark textile designer Trine Andersen, Ferm specializes in one of a kind wallpaper designs but has also started using their textiles for diverse products such as bedding, kitchen accessories, and stationary. They even have their own line of wall decals which are a great option for renters, such as myself, who can't wallpaper their apartments. Am considering using the feather wallpaper below for an upcoming commercial design project I'm working on at school which you'll be hearing all about as the project progresses.

Feather

Branch

Orchid

Polka Dots

Marimekko's Pelmanni Black fabric

P.S. I love how all of Ferm's wallpaper has the most literal names ever. I have a feeling if they had named Marimekko's print above it would have been called black squiggly lines.

Gray Area Beacon

2008-04-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

Here to report on the opening gala for Gray Area Beacon, a new multimedia gallery and the brainchild of my brilliant friend Josette (of Gray Area Gallery/Hear Gallery fame). It was a fabulous show, and not just because of the strong showing of high-tech works by featured artist Aaron Koblin in his first San Francisco show. Looking around and taking in the gallery, a freshly-converted SOMA garage still smelling of paint and sweat, there was a palpable feeling of collaborative accomplishment and (well-earned) pride shared by the bash's hosts as well as the intimate gathering of attendees. Here is a perfect example of a small group of motivated people, dedicated to creating a forum to showcase something they believe in, and building it from scratch. I was dazzled and inspired.

Some standout works included The Sheep Market, a collaborative drawing project where Koblin collected digital drawings from countless participants after giving them only these terse instructions: Please draw a sheep facing to the left. The result is a large scale, ever-changing projection of line drawings which is simple, yet totally hypnotic. It was like counting sheep for the laziest insomniac.
Koblin also showed his reconstructed $100 bill, a project in which he broke down the C-note into thousands of pieces so small as to be unrecognizable as part of the original. He sent these units out to participants who were to draw a likeness of what they saw and send it back. An image of the bill, reconstructed from its new constituents, was on exhibition as part of the show.

Also showing was a breathtaking light show of a map, exploring Koblin's interest in technology and human systems. The display simply tracked flight patterns across America throughout a day. But the more I looked at it, the less it seemed like what it was. The flashing lights and dynamic, organic rhythm could easily have been neurons firing in a baby's brain, or a fluorescent spiderweb being spun at hyper-speed.

As far as I know, Koblin's main focus with this piece was on the human level, but it's one more experience that reminds me that the same forces that operate on a micro level govern the macro as well.

(While I'm on this tangent, check out the short film The Powers of Ten made by Charles and Ray Eames. I just watched it again and I still enjoy it as much as I did in the 4th grade when I first saw it!)

Not just for the boys anymore!

2008-04-19T15:37:00.000-07:00

Barbecue-manning, grass-mowing, inability to ask directions... the growing of a fine arrangement of facial hair and the subsequent appreciation thereof used to be relegated to the territory of these other fine pastimes, a place known as Boys' Club. But no longer! Everything's coming up moustachoied as we seek out new ways for all people, regardless of testosterone level, to incorporate some whiskers into their lives...

Start 'em young! Whitney's dad exhibiting proper moustache maintenance as his wee daughter looks on, probably making a mental note to dig up this pic in 25 years and use it on a blog...

Confining one's moustache to one's upper lip is so 1973...

We found this quirky little book on Dali by Dali (co-written in some part I'm sure by his moustache) at the Melrose Flea Market in LA. He poses questions to himself and then answers them (perhaps foreshadowing David Byrne's hilarious self-interview circa Stop Making Sense?). The back of the book reads "Warning! This book is preposterous"

But preposterousness is the spice of life, as they say, so go forth, and seek a moustache of your very own!

Let them eat cake!

2008-04-15T16:52:00.000-07:00

After a lovely cappuccino with my mother at Café Triste in North Beach I stumbled upon an awe inspiring cake store. Not your average bakery – I Dream of Cake specializes in custom made cakes that look like they belong in a museum rather then in your stomach. My favorite was the Napoleon Bonaparte bust but I must admit I was equally enamored with the polka dot cake!

It's a little tricky to see from this angle but the birds and flowers in the window display were made from marzipan!

Daily Door

2008-04-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

1.618, or Ain't it Hip to be a Square?

2008-04-12T23:43:00.000-07:00

"Mathematics is the majestic structure conceived by man to grant him comprehension of the universe" --Le Corbusier

Since antiquity, artists, architects and math freaks alike have been transfixed by the Golden Ratio, known also as the Golden Mean or the Divine Proportion. In a nutshell, the ratio is said to encompass those shapes found in nature as well as the world of geometry which are undeniably pleasing to behold. This ratio, 1.618 to be specific, has been used to quantify the beauty of nature, as well as ensure the transcendency of man-made art.

The painter and architect Le Corbusier was so enamored with this figure and its relationship with the proportions of the human body that he extrapolated it into an entire manifesto, The Modulor. He envisioned it being used to design the world of the future, in which all structures would mirror the proportions of this Golden number, and thus our human grandeur would be reflected all around us.

Le Corbusier consciously used these relationships in many of his latter-day architectural and furniture designs as a way to strengthen their visual appeal. Many of these works are now considered archetypal and classic. The concept of the Golden Ratio can also be spotted in the work of some of his contemporaries, such as Mondrian, Mies Van der Rohe, and composer Bela Bartok.

It's amazing to think that there are formulaic reasons behind our conception of something so seemingly mysterious as beauty. But who's to say that the underlying relationships that hold it all together aren't just as beautiful?

--gillian

My city home

2008-04-11T23:02:00.000-07:00

Just arrived home from Peter Light's birthday celebration atop his rooftop terrace overlooking Dolores Park... as the sun was setting on this warm evening, I just admired my enviable 360 degree view of SF-- the Mission, Noe Valley, Dolores Park, the Safeway at Church and Market, vintage font aglow in red neon , downtown, the Bay Bridge, little houses tucked into the hillsides, all nestled in the warm pillow of pastel dusk. I just have to say, what an amazingly beautiful city we live in. Really.

--gillian

Doing our part to fortify the economy

2008-04-10T23:26:00.000-07:00

In celebration of her newly acquired tax refund, Whitney decided to take us girlies out to Amelie, a wine bar in my hood we'd been meaning to patronize for ages.

I've walked by it millions of times and what always caught my eye were the vintage movie theater seats lining the walls in the front of the place. It had a very warm and cheerful ambience, and was quite crowded for early on a Thursday evening-- next time I'd definitely like to go a bit earlier still and grab, I dunno, a seat, and maybe some munchables; there was a cheese platter I was eyeing that looked mighty scrumptious.

Worth noting was the wire mobile hanging from the ceiling over the bar, which displayed well-wishes and what I took to be inspirational quotes from patrons handwritten on pieces of paper. Also not to be missed (and I almost did) was a passage from Victor Hugo's "The Legend of the Centuries" printed on the ceiling over the dining room. The passage, printed in the original French, alludes to alcohol as a universal emotional soother (and by soother, Hugo surely meant cure-all). Please enjoy my Star Wars-like photo, above.

--gillian

Daily Door

2008-04-10T11:26:00.000-07:00

John James Audubon

2008-04-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

One of my new favorite websites features the work of John James Audubon. It's estimated that Audubon painted nearly 500 of the 700 Northern American bird species which existed during his lifetime. Nearly two centuries later his works are still often cited as inspiration for modern artists. Below are a few of my current favorites.

~whitney

Civic Center Farmers Market

2008-04-06T13:52:00.001-07:00

Visual inspiration from the Civic Center Farmers Market....

Daily Door back in SF

2008-04-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

Fragrance Lab LA

2008-04-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

One of the favorite surprises we stumbled upon on 3rd street was Le Labo fragrance lab -- a newly excavated nook of olfactory splendor. The interior is airy and spacious, especially with respect to its modest dimensions, and the decor evokes a sort of French/Industrial apothecary with a leaning toward botanical minimalism. The shop features ten signature perfume blends and offers visitors the opportunity to custom-blend their own fragrances from all-natural essences. I would have happily hung out all afternoon pretending to pore over the infinite nuances of vetiver and iris just to spend a couple hours among the storied-seeming antiquated steel fixtures and reclaimed wood flooring.. can't wait to visit again when we've got more time to stop and smell the Fleur d'Oranger.

--gillian