margaret marks studio

moving day, um, months, many moving months

2011-08-25T15:06:00.002-06:00

so, hello. this is the last post on this blog. you can find me here, soon. it's been six months on the road. total renewal. so much so that this blog has to go so that i can start over. i went from winter to spring to summer to winter to spring to winter to spring to spring to summer. seriously. can you guess any of the places i've been? they are basically in order. to put it mildly, i've been nearly everywhere. more places than i have photos of because life was often too immediate for photography. there were bats coming out from under bridges, kevas and pinion pine smoke, wildfires and moose, many feet of snow and deserts in spring, saguaros and redwoods, retreats and lots of campsites, there are now 20,000 new miles on my car and i'm pretty sure there was at least one close encounter of the third kind. mostly i was alone except when i was not, and i spent two months without my dogs, really really really alone. and i did remember what i'd forgotten. and now i've found a home, i just don't have a house yet. infinite gratitude to all those old and new friends who've conveniently left town just when i needed a new place to stay. and welcome to los angeles.

keeping it weird

want face

good juice and hippies

enchanting

sort of surprised that i loved it here

awesome hotel in the mojave

so obvious

everyone says to bathe here and i can think of 10,000 reasons to

perfect

moonset at dawn

i could have moved in to the cave dwellings

my first tent

yes, i know what that one looks like

rainy easter sunday, deserted park, one of my favorite places

'i hate this sweater'

ganesh temple

she was thisclose to me

just a little babe

well these are kind of obvious, aren't they?

this was the end of may

they had just crossed the highway

i had never been here and i wil go back

gorgeous, no fog day

my car is tiny but geez trees, you're huge

see me waving?

camping with my dogs means lots of adopted children

indians lived here

never get to the castle but always get to the elephant seals

wasp nest in taos

barefoot hiking in a valley near the valley

topanga, of course

tiny me hard at work, standing in a driveway

caught dozing, my new dress

maximum size difference

i call her baby driver

iPhone, on my way to where i am now

keep connecting

2011-02-13T10:23:00.001-07:00

antonio roman-alcala's documentary 'in search of good food' is ready for screening, somewhere in the bay area most likely, sometime soon. i'd like to go.

repurpose.

2011-02-11T09:05:00.000-07:00

alienina

backyard brand

beautiful things made of other things.

gone rogue

2011-02-10T15:18:00.000-07:00

last three photos courtesy of david lebovitz

first photo is mine, taken with my adorable new leica-lensed buddy, the lumix lx5

while i've been so busy with work and with travel planning, i've had time to get myself a valentine's day present. there's this guy who must be a genius (as in both nuts and indispensably wonderful), up in minneapolis making just three or four different bars. colin gasko at rogue chocolatier does it all from bean sourcing to bar making (this is a big deal), including his own letterpress labels, which are beeee-autiful. i have tried a LOT of chocolate and have been searching for a favorite dark for years, never finding what i was looking for. this is the jazz. complex and powerful with no chemical taste, no bitter finish, no whomp of caffeine (more like a body buzz of energy, forgive me for saying 'body buzz'). it's fine, sexy even, and frankly kind of spiritual (to those who know me, this'll make sense). i sent him a little note of thanks (who even does that?). i stopped short of offering to accompany him on his next trip to peru but the chocolate is that good. get your love some of this stuff and you will not emerge from your cocoa induced cocoon for days. get some!

amazing.

2011-02-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

courtesy of ...etc

i got some devastating news today about a dear friend and finding this on one of my favorite blogs made me remember the largeness of life. i'm too busy to post much and probably will be for a few more weeks. i somehow fell on an exciting new project that i will share in a bit. things should even keel themselves soon and i'll get back to futzing with my cute new camera and start plucking the fabulousness from the universe again to share with you.

mungo and maude

2011-01-26T11:11:00.001-07:00

photos courtesy of mungo & maude

i know it's hard to find beautiful dog accoutrements. i'm always poking around looking for the antithesis of what paris hilton might outfit her dogs in. because i also have chihuahuas, i am very careful that they be warm without looking silly and since my taste runs high, it's not easy to find truly beautiful dog wear and accessories. i fell over when i found mungo & maude. of course it's british. it's all neutral colors and natural fabrics and i don't know that i'll ever see a weirder and cuter poop bag holder. those knit toys are beyond. my girls will face the rest of winter in their grey puffer jackets and i'll tote the small one around in that scrunchy sling bag come spring. and i'll look really anti-small-dog- establishment while i do it!

for a bit of doggy style refinement closer to home, check out the collars and reversible waxed canvas jackets from all quarters here. it's all handmade in new york and pretty preppy cute. i totally said doggy style, but at least i spelled it wrong:)

brrrrr

2011-01-24T09:42:00.000-07:00

it really is very cold ouside. let's just watch netflix, read blogs, and eat popcorn. unfortunately i have to go outside to get some popcorn. exciting things are developing, more soon!

bis bacio and gaman, all things eh?

2011-01-19T10:37:00.006-07:00

that was fun.

EXHIBITION a

these kookaburras might not look familiar, why would they? although waris is pretty recognizable. anyhoo, they have something to say about art. some of it's quite rather a bit interesting and the site itself is a good concept about a thing that you can't conceptualize.

go here to read.

american craft

and on the topic of art...this knocked off my socks. the people in the camps carved whatever out of whatever (and they had NOTHING), they had to scavenge materials and make their own tools all while trying to function in what must have been very challenging circumstances for many of them. i didn't realize that isamu noguchi and george nakashima were interned in these camps but of course they were. humans are really quite amazing. Delphine Hirasuna is awesome for collecting this work before it disappears completely. you can see it at the smithsonian american art museum or check out her book here. read the article here or pick up the dec/jan issue of american craft. these people were artists who went back to their day jobs and most of them seem to have never made art again. i've been thinking about dharma and how it finds you, and about art and intellect and how they are each a counterbalance for the other, and about walking barefoot more often and floating in the pacific ocean off of Mexico, and about an artistic life that favors the silence, and about Marfa, Texas and South America, about cutting my hair and growing it out again, about love.

mid-winter fun

2011-01-16T20:02:00.000-07:00

Film by Jim Mangan, Winter's Children, Park City, Utah

If you like baths, flavor savers, glasses, pretty people, white underwear, or los angeles, you'll probably like this film by Lisa Eisner for Oliver Peoples.

looking forward to...

the johnsons and a pretty lady

2011-01-01T20:10:00.002-07:00

meet the johnsons, click here to read their story

so they are super cute up in mill valley having only stuff they love in their home and not too much of it, living for experiences and all that goodness. it's extreme but not preachy. i've been working on refining and defining the slow lifestyle concept and applications for the new year. it's in the air apparantly! bea johnson is kind of what i am...a slow lifestyle advocate and consultant who can help you whip your lifestyle into shape and guaranteed that whip will affect your inner organization and settled sense of peace just as the outside gets streamlined. in the article she says that everything in one's environment should be loved and adored and they really took this on. i think it's gorgeous. just look at that pantry. i firmly vow to shut down all the un-useful crap that keeps trying to infiltrate my days and to put slow lifestyle into practice on every level. i may have more clothes in the closet but hey, that's kind of my thing. so check it out.

and i'm posting this just because she's adorable. from refinery 29.

and as for you, in this new year, i wish you to be surrounded only by what you love, and all things which do not support you to be your fullest, truest self can fall away now. and all the magic will happen there.

i'm off on a retreat for a week or so. it's my first one. see you in transformed times!

resolution 2011...adios social networking!

2010-12-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

Welcome to slowbook! There is no need to create a profile or upload any information at all. If you are on slowbook, I already know you and we already have each other’s contact info. In fact, we probably talk on the phone and have dinner parties, or perhaps we sit in chairs together with our bare feet on the ground. We might play bocce in the yard and buy each other birthday presents, or send letters with our personalized stationary. So join slowbook now and get connected!

frozen fog walking

2010-12-27T14:37:00.001-07:00

happy new year!

mr. ford

2010-12-13T10:26:00.003-07:00

photos courtesy of vogue.com

all i want for christmas is you, mr. ford...see full article here

i can't really explain what this man's clothing does to me (or the man himself for that matter). well, i sort of can but perhaps not in mixed company. the men he has been dressing couldn't be more beautiful (don't believe me? see here. what's UP with these guys???) and now the women...the pull of the 1970s mixed with something so super modern and sexy. his 'i'm not having any runway productions' philosophy and that great disregard for the fashion machine of instant gratification through the press...there never was a man who understood me better. i'll be keeping the automatically generated 'thank you for your resume from tom ford hr team' forever. i'm going to spritz some oud wood on it right now and put it in my love letters box, which i totally have. goodness, look at me! all rambly and incoherent. i better put away this blog for a while.

oh and i nearly forgot...

the electric love ring for your electric love...here

marriage, a handmade house, and christmas gift #1

2010-11-29T10:23:00.001-07:00

flora grubb, san francisco

each week until christmas i'm going to post at least one thing that costs under $50 and would make someone (not just me, silly!) pretty tickled to receive as a gift.

i also found this in the dec/jan issue of dwell. these folks are in arizona and although i hold a great love for modern, i do have kind of a farm-in-the-woods fantasy, make that a need. i think i dream of hand building (with who exactly? how many people want to hand build the insides of their house?) my home in this same way. although i'd like more wood than these guys and perhaps just a scootch more furniture, i love the space. i LOVE the feeling of having space, of each thing being important, without too many things. a handmade house. here's some of their words...read more here.

with this blog i mostly need to write about and collect things of beauty and sustainability that i want to keep record of. this being the case, i've tried not to talk about my personal life too much here but there was an article in the NYTimes with all the usual statistical crap about marriage and it got me going a little. i know what it's like to not listen to your heart and to go ahead with something that, intuitively, is maybe not the most super healthy choice. i have an opinion as to where the mistake lies in our culture that sends the divorce rate ever skyrocketing. but i almost feel like i should keep that to myself. i wouldn't have listened to me two years ago. which is actually perfect because i wouldn't be able to understand that i am actually capable of being married if not for my failed first endeavor. i'm thankful for the evolution of everything. i'm thankful for the understanding that it is what i can give that is my greatest 'possession'. i love the idea of marriage but it sits best for me in the context of a larger family, mine, my spouse's, and friends who are family. i am still looking for my tribe. i don't think marriage makes any sense unless you are truly willing to come to the essence of who you are in this life. your spouse is only a mirror showing you where you lack faith, self-love and acceptance, patience...what's the point of entering into the contract if you're only planning to leave if the self-inquiry becomes too much for you? in my months of reflection i have learned what commitment is for me, how much i am capable of loving, and that true love might be mostly mutual willingness to explore together, to face what comes together (although a little swashbuckling and derring-do might be nice too).

so this is for you to know, you who i don't know... i have no fear to lose myself in you and if i ask you for the truth of your heart, and i truly love you, i will accept your truth as it comes, just as you will accept mine. i can spend quite a lot of time not speaking but when speaking i will remind you how much i love you with the feeling under my words. communion is a mutual allowing of space and a lack of rejection of differences and if ever you want me to be someone other than who i am i will know it. be aware that, if i were to marry you, i will see god in you, and i will never get tired of serving you because it gives me strength. i want your family to be my family so that i can have another opportunity to learn how people give to and take care of each other, as my family will do for you. and if there never is another, there will be me, and that's enough.

an artist direction

2010-11-22T10:31:00.006-07:00

maui

It was announced to me a little while ago that I would be moving in an artist direction. That sounds good. This is the jumping off place, here. Everything now can be done with disregard to any purpose except my own intuitive fulfillment. And if I can pick up a few collaborators, a few lovely and brilliant artisans, to be on my team along the way, what a good life this will be. I am so inspired by your creativity. I was watching Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (soooo good, nearly tied for my favorite movie with The Thomas Crown Affair remake, sigh) (I know I've just admitted A LOT about myself here) for the hundredth time last night and at some point Shahrukh Khan's character says "there is no pain in true love". And I got to thinking that everything we do, if we know what true love is, is without problem. It all goes towards a distinct and delightful lack of problems. My mind will always want to pick things apart, weigh and judge, which is great for getting me across the street safely. But the quieter bits, beyond the mind, closer to the heart, say "there is no problem here" and that is the best part of myself that I can share. This way I also get to go where the wind takes me, not where I think I should be. That is so liberating.

recent work/rework

uHaul

2010-11-21T13:13:00.002-07:00

Potential. Funny thing. I've just been involved in the first part of my greatest migration to date. Possibly this is the greatest migration of my life. Leaving one's house and town for another place, an unknown place, is one thing. But leaving behind your attachment to the life you were planning to have is something else entirely. There was a point last spring when something shifted so much within that the entire world began to respond differently to me. A giant hand lifted me into the river and every time I try for the shore I get a nudge back to the swiftest current. The river swept everything away, everything I thought I had or would have, my marriage, my home and my family. Everything I thought I knew has become an illuminator and the light is shining on the truth: that I am not in charge. At some point recently I became aware that I do not function well in the collective consciousness, that I have another purpose, perhaps just as a counter weight. I function from the heart and my greatest goal is still family, home, chickens in the yard, love, creativity, regardless of what looks like it has been taken away. I love and appreciate beautiful things and experiences, and I am willing to work to have them, but not at the expense of the delicate and sweet things within myself that will suffer if I get too tired. Being back here in Fairfield for a bit is like being in the wash. I'll be all clean and shiny when the spin cycle spits me out into Dharma. And speaking of Dharma, this is what I know right now, when they said follow your bliss, they were not lying. The bliss is the Dharma and whatever actions the bliss manifests itself in is the Work. The life's work, you know, until something changes! I have spent too long believing in things I was told I should believe, I should think, I should do, I should want. That's done now. I've vowed to get out of my own way. I might be really happy about where I end up. I have a few leads and I'll keep you posted.

I have a long love affair with Ray LaMontagne. Mostly because he can make this.

DM/DM and studio gorm, different, good

2010-11-14T19:12:00.004-07:00

let me share a couple of furniture designers that have made me very happy in my weekly discoveries. the photos above are courtesy of studio gorm in eugene, oregon. this is their wood peg design, which comes as a set in various different woods. i love the ability to put douglas fir legs with a walnut surface. it is very simple, good design and i think beautiful, even cute. i would want to sit on the bench and take off my Wellies after mucking about in the coop.

there is another studio you should check out, although i can't borrow photos from the website and since my scanner is all packed up for the move, i can't scan in the lovely magazine article either. still looking and if i find any i'll see if i can post them. anyhoo, check out the december issue of W or go to the DM/DM website to see some very beautiful work from doug mccollough. it is all very elegant and at the same time not precious, just refined furniture that your dog could lay on and the kids could play on but that you would still get a kick out of living with and loving even as it ages. the materials and shapes are stunning and, at least from the photos on the website, there's a hint of the danish but overall so new england to me, in a kind of vernacular that i haven't seen before, which i think is brilliant. they remind me of my childhood, completely on a feeling level, which is unusual for me to find in furniture. i think you should go buy a DM/DM piece for the foyer, or maybe for me for christmas.

objectified

2010-11-13T12:10:00.006-07:00

This is a very nice film from 2009 with a philosophy to be considered, although I should say it has been more than considered but things have gone a bit awry anyway. Watch for the super elegant Parisian designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec speaking about the design of a chair, its aesthetic beauty and other fine things, and conclude that "So Australians who have drunk a lot of beer can plunk themselves down in it." Also, watch for Dieter Rams speaking about "the arbitrariness and thoughtlessness with which many things are produced and brought to market" while a montage of distinctly European Braun products is run through in a loving manner. After over half a century the philosophies of these aging modern designers are still poignant and still unadopted by the masses. I love a little gilt mixed in with my austerity but the gilt is decoration while the design is function. This film reinforces that idea for me. I find I'm continually trying to ferret out more permanence and slowness from the design world. This is the curator in me. What do we gather and use that stands the test of time? Why do we replace things that still work? I do both of these things but as I get older I both acquire less and get rid of less. I'm very interested in why. What is the difference between the need to acquire something and the ability to savor the emotion that it produces in you but not need to have it? I love things, and human creativity astounds and delights me, but I think we are at the point where we need to curate our lives in a different way. The choice to move out of the collective consciousness seems to be inspiring many people to finally go for what they really want in their work and to also remove what is no longer working from their spaces. I want to help facilitate this phenomenon.

natural fashion, what inspires me

2010-11-11T17:34:00.000-07:00

text from Departures magazine

Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa

Hans Silvester's photographs of the Surma and Mursi tribes of the Omo Valley. Nomads with no architecture or commercial crafts, it's all about physical ornament from the nearly infinite palette of their surroundings. They are stunning children. Imagine creating all that without a mirror to look into. Why would you do it if you couldn't look at yourself? With the abundance of blogs where cute girls photograph themselves in their daily outfits, it's kind of major to think about these tribes motivations. What are the differences between what they are doing and what we are doing in our own closets each day? I'm not sure, but I think the differences are vast and worth considering. We are bound in a system of commerce and lack of community. I believe there is change ahead on both counts.

california sunrise

2010-11-11T09:57:00.000-07:00

feeling the weight of the world on a beautiful snowy day? i am today. each time i think i can move forward in action, things stall or delay. i've put all my faith in the river and discarded the life vest. these kids, john and lincoln ballif are in high school in san diego. their band is called dirty gold, the song is california sunrise. it's a perfect warm kiss if you have a cold cheek. all things are moving towards bright.

hometown pride

2010-11-10T22:08:00.000-07:00

little rhody, i'm so proud. i just ordered mine. go here for a great video on rhody warm blankets. click here to order one for your rustic, hot chocolate fueled winter! here is the text from the article in design new england magazine. link to it here. all of my friends can expect one on the nearest holiday!

Sustainability takes many forms, few as comforting — in both a tactile and soulful way — as the Rhody Warm blankets produced in Rhode Island. It started with sheep, as so many things in Rhode Island have over the centuries. Sheep have grazed its seaside meadows since the 1600s, on land graced by dry-laid stone walls that can still be seen today. Exports of wool, mutton, and cheese (yes, sheep cheese) formed the basis of the colony's earliest commerce and are said to have brought the state out of the economic plight that followed the Revolutionary War.

So it rankled Polly Hopkins when in the 1980s and‘90s there was so little demand for sheep's wool that farmers were literally throwing it away. “We used it as mulch in our garden for a few years,” says Hopkins, a third-generation sheep producer who is president of the Rhode Island Sheep Cooperative, a group of farmers dedicated to finding markets for local sheep products.

As Hopkins and other Rhode Island farmers watched the demand for wool decrease, partly due to the popularity of synthetics such as Polarfleece, they did some brainstorming. They had some success selling yarn for hand-spinning and knitting, which were both experiencing a resurgence, but found that the yarn took only a fraction of the hundreds of pounds of wool the Ocean State produced each year.

“We're creative; we find other ways to sell wool,” says Don Minto, a sheep producer who, with his wife, Heather, manages Watson Farm in Jamestown, Rhode Island, a 265-acre property with a 1796 farmhouse owned by Historic New England. In 2006, Hopkins, the Mintos, and other farmers collaborated on procuring a government grant to finance the initial costs for producing an undyed soft wool blanket made entirely from local fleece — and Rhody Warm was born.

It was an immediate success. The 2006 blanket featured a win-dowpane pattern in gray and off-white. “We placed an ad for it in the local paper on a Thursday in mid-December,” recalls Don Minto, “and the blankets sold out by Sunday!”

That first year, 19 Rhode Island sheep producers collected 1,600 pounds of wool to produce 371 blankets in sizes ranging from crib to king. Since then, says Hopkins, as many as 65 local producers have contributed wool, and as many as 600 blankets have been produced in a given year. “It goes up and down, depending on how much wool is produced,” says Hopkins.

The blanket production sequence that began in 2006, a lengthy and geographically circuitous one, is still followed. The animals are shorn in late spring, and in June the sheep producers gather to “skirt” the fleece, that is, remove matted sections and sort it by color. White, nonwhite, gray, and black fleece are bagged separately and shipped to a wool scouring facility in South Carolina (no such facility remains in New England). “The wool comes back clean and fluffy,” says Hopkins. At this point, the blanket design is discussed. “Only after we see the wool washed and carded do we know what percentage of light and dark we have, and then we can plan the design,” says Heather Minto, who is not only a sheep producer but a textile designer as well.

A small windowpane pattern with a natural background and oxford grey panes was chosen for the 2010 blanket (past patterns include buffalo plaid and herringbone). After the pattern is committed to paper, the washed wool is shipped to a mill in Massachusetts, where it is spun into yarn. Another textile mill in Massachusetts weaves the yarn into cloth, which is shipped to a Rhode Island mill where it is cut into various sizes, the edges are finished, and the Rhody Warm label is added. The final products range in size from lap throw ($80) to king size ($225), and this year, shawls and dog coats are also being offered.

“We like to get the blankets back to the farmers by late October, so they can sell them in November,” says Hopkins, who says the blankets are a favorite holiday or wedding gift. As for the sheep, well, they're still grazing, and that's the way it should be in Rhode Island.

HOMEGROWN BLANKETS

Long before “locally grown,” “sustainable,” and “neutral palette” were part of the consumer vocabulary, New Englanders used simple blankets in whites, grays, and browns to ward off the chill. They had to — there weren't other choices. Today, in addition to Rhode Island, several other New England states are again making wool blankets from their locally raised sheep.

RHODE island

Rhody Warm blanket,
risheep.org

CONNECTICUT

The Connecticut Blanket Project,
ctsheep.org

MASSACHUSETTS

Baaay State Blanket Project,
worcestersheep.com

VERMONT

Vermont Fiberworks Blanket,
vermontsheep.org

founders & followers

2010-11-03T20:08:00.000-06:00

from top: mission statement, bodkin, shipley & halmos, risto, gar-de

a beautiful, simple website, founders & followers. not much to say about it except that i look forward to the idea of boutique shopping changing and evolving and this is an inspiring direction.

pf chang's loves me

2010-11-01T19:38:00.000-06:00

here is the transcript of a phone message I received last week:

"hello, this is zang from, uh, pf chang's. your orange chicken is ready. we have a limited time offer, very good deal, uh, four chicken egg roll and four hot and sour egg roll for two dollar. very good deal, very good deal. so please drop by our store at flatiron's crossing. we a very good store, very good food and very good deals. free fortune cookie, too. ok! love you, bye!"

i've never been to pf chang's but they sound really nice! and multicultural judging by the Indian accent!

naya shoes

2010-10-30T19:23:00.000-06:00

this is a busy packing weekend so my post is just a lil bit. these are naya shoes. it's not very easy to find non-major designer shoes that are sustainably produced but also attractive. i think these are pretty fashiony, do you?

AW2010

2010-10-28T16:48:00.001-06:00

hand woven harris tweed, lined in organic cotton

woven organic cotton, raw wool, and bocote wood buttons

organic cotton, wool, linen, moss agate

all work by margaret marks studio, 2010

time to show some of my work. i get all freaky about that. usually i just wear it and call it a day. so breaking that habit is top of the list! i don't do much construction, i prefer curation, but sometimes i have to try and get at the thing i see in my head. it's really pretty funny to sit in a malestrom of thread and needles and fabric bolts draped everywhere with steam coming out my ears because between my construction skills and what i see in my mind is a long road of 'huh?' it is so much easier to deal with other people's designs, or to work on a landscape design issue. maybe that's why i really just want to ride my bicycle around town all day, eating. because then it's just constant inspiration and the technical production can be a great fantasy. so nice but won't pay the bills! so if sharing is caring, i love you.

no subject

2010-10-26T17:53:00.003-06:00

stay centered, be disciplined, do what you love.

my girl doesn't go for sticks anymore.

we think too much. i know this because i was thinking today how much i'd like things to be different from how they are. or at least, how they were today. i was doing some pretty major mid back arch yoga this morning and i think that let the cat out of the bag. it appears i'm storing major stuff in those little vertebrae. by the way, how cool a word is vertebrae? i want to pack this house and leave but it is my home and when i go, where do i go? faith. stay centered and follow that little silvery thread connecting me to the next action, the next only coming after the first. in this transience, this blog is now my only discipline that does not involve sitting cross legged. and it is about what i love; beauty and writing and small delicate things, and having my mind blown by what comes out of the creativity of others, places where words fail. faith says things will get created from what seems like nothing but isn't. nothing is really the great water wheel of dharma, spinning away. i've almost got it unstuck from the mud in my vertebrae! whatever context i saw myself in has been dissolved and that is painfully fabulous. next post will be totally frivolous, i promise. i'll find some pretty FSC certified wood ceilings or an organic, vegetable dyed caftan made of the fine hairs of the baby cashmere goat to knock your socks off with. because this is the story of how i'm getting where i'm going.

sabbatical

2010-10-25T17:38:00.001-06:00

the morton salt girl, halloween costume of my dreams

i debated with myself as to whether to start over with a new blog but instead i've kept most of the postings from the last year and only changed the 'art direction'. although everything is still business related, the definition of business has changed. so hello again, my vixens. i'm so glad to be back. i've put up a new sidebar pertaining to what exactly it is that i do do. i'm the proud owner of a lifestyle design studio addressing ecological and sustainable issues while providing clients with styling, decorating, and landscaping services. there is no home base yet, everything is in limbo since life exploded this summer. but i've realized that, after extended and concentrated time spent healing, that it is better to work, to move forward and open those dreams up from dormancy. open sesame little sturdy dreams!

and moving on.

sass brown is a professor at FIT and this is the book i've been waiting for someone to write

i don't think i'm related to jessica but i wouldn't be surprised if i was, just judging by subject matter

on its way to my mailbox now. elyssa is a bright young thing teaching at parsons

what is so delicious right now is the scope and accessibility of sustainable design. ecological and social issues are being addressed more than ever and the collective consciousness that makes that possible is allowing more consumers to drop out of what was and to regroup, to reform possibilities around lifestyle that hold more delicate things. if we don't need clothing to fill a hole in our spirit then we are free to use it to enhance what is possible for us on a feeling level. we are free to play dress-up.

'all that vastness, all those small symmetries, all the brutality and fragility. nature may be beautiful, but nature is not pretty. Nature is the original punk'.

~linda loudermilk

perfume news you need now

2010-05-18T20:51:00.001-06:00

these two fragrances are two of the worst offenders

i have been working on education about the chemical indiscretions of the cosmetic industry with my clients for years now and i wanted to share this important study. Thanks to the great environmental working group for continuing to make the total lack of chemical regulation known to the public. in sharing what i have learned about the actions of these chemicals on the body, it is important for me to stress that in an unregulated industry, even the makers of product don't know what these chemicals do, nevermind what happens when combined with eachother to create new chemicals in reaction (sodium benzoate + vitamin c = formaldyhyde)! there are wonderful perfumers who use none of these chemicals in their formulas (no petrochemical products or synthetic perfumes, and are free of coloring agents and phthalates, among other things). we have a woman here in boulder who creates delicious and sophisticated oils and i'd bet there is a growing demand for these natural scents. also, check out spirit beauty lounge.

one excellent way to help in an oil spill

2010-05-05T09:59:00.003-06:00

when I had my salon I donated all my hair to a company called excess access. each one of my clients had a direct impact on cleaning up after the 2600 or so oil spills in the US each year. this current spill is a doozy. go here for more information on how to help by getting a haircut. matter of trust has a huge amount of hair donations that have been made into mats and booms and is mobilized and in action on the gulf coast right now. if your salon doesn't donate, ask them why not!

anndra neen, pretty green!

2010-05-03T11:04:00.000-06:00

This is Phoebe and Annette Stephens, artists in a line of artists, inspired by their grandmother, Annette Nancarrow, they live part of the year in Mexico City and part in Manhattan, their workshop is in Mexico City, they use metal scraps and low-impact techniques to make this beautiful, beautiful wearable art // amulets //body armor // howl-to-the-moon badass ornament. Anndra Neen.

Bolle vessels, how beautiful

2010-04-30T09:58:00.002-06:00

Venini is the best known manufacturer of art glass in Italy and has been hand producing these stunning Bolle vesels, created by Finnish designer Tapio Wirkkala, for 44 years. The exacting process of Incalmo that creates the fusion of two pieces are carried out in the Venini studio in Murano by master artisans and their apprentices. It takes two people to create each half of the vessel and carefully join the two halves. The Incalmo process has existed since the Renaissance and in the 1960s Wirkkala discovered a refinement to the technique, making the pieces more delicate and therefore more structurally beautiful. The color scheme for each bottle remains the same: straw yellow with red, gray with blue-green, apple green with amber yellow and violet, straw yellow with apple green, and gray with amethyst. Italy has an incredible art glass industry and these vessels sit at the refined end like little pieces of elegant candy. They are very difficult to find on ebay but are all available at moss. Type Bolle into the search box.

bon anniversaire

2010-04-29T22:06:00.007-06:00

photograph of work by suppose design office taken from desire to inspire

I'm inspired by another blogger to produce this list.

101 things I am grateful for:

- driving with the windows down

- melody

- delicious anticipation

- 4:30 am birdsong

- john douglas // the wholeness // all that jazz

- pirate esme nu

- the smell of rain, anywhere

- running // dancing // singing // performing like a child

- bamboo

- beautiful interior design

- global diversity of ornamentation // perceptions of beauty

- sharing snacks

- my health

- my mother and sister and friends and loved ones

- taking ambling, meandering walks

- aloe vera juice

- fashion magazine

- coco chanel // stella mccartney //loro piana

- vampire weekend

- meditation

- down comforters

- farmer’s markets

- la mer (the ocean not the cream)

- france

- colors and color theory

- beautiful jewelry // shoes // apparel and the wearers of

- taste

- knight rider // macgyver // misfits of science // (was I a boy or what?)

- the 1980s // 1970s // 1940s // 1930s

- michael pollan

- j. crew

- james perse

- awareness

- taking the long way home

- southern california

- a good cry

- chamomile yogi tea

- strength // integrity

- botanic gardens

- the french west indies

- cyndi lauper

- french lingerie

- order // neatness // architecture

- cafes

- homemade raw organic almond milk

- life openings humanoid raw chocolate fudge

- the freshness of an organic permaculture + polyculture + biodynamic farm

- the meal at the end of a day at the beach

- road trips

- white peaches // cherimoyas // sweet pineapple // avocados

- cire trudon candles

- trains

- going where I’ve never been

- lots of windows

- mastering the kitchen arts

- handmade things

- braids

- facial geometry

- words like languid

- men’s watches

-silence

- mexico

- hafiz

- that x means kiss and o means hug

- the expression ‘took a shine to’

- baths

- saturdays

- art

- thigh high socks

- sustainability in practice, without fear

- dreams of the future // hatching plans

- hindu deities

- new england

- sitting cross legged

- touching lives

- the idea of reading a newspaper but then reading women’s wear daily instead

- brunch

- giving presents

- iowa thunderstorms

- leonard cohen

- my ancestors

- monogrammed napkins // porcelain // cut flowers // iced tea // badminton

- fresh ricotta

- anti-collision window decals for birds

- what is unspoken but known between two people

- abundance

- sacred geometry // being in and around structures built by it

- elevator etiquette

- my breville juicer

- real elegance

- hayrides // horse rides // ponies // popcorn // apples

- the sense of home

-yoga asanas

- books with purpose

- the general acceptance of outrageous baby names

- lippman collection happy birthday nail polish

- everyone who has ever helped me // loved me // honored me // set me free

- hilltops

- mucking about

- the certain something about something that makes it delightful // just internally, no need to share with anyone

- english manors, the well kept ones

see you soon.

one more try

2010-04-19T16:00:00.001-06:00

within the thread there is a thread. just have to find it.

cabin fever

2010-02-28T14:35:00.003-07:00

first post after break

2010-02-09T13:35:00.003-07:00

pirate esme nu

for my clients: best beauty products!

2010-01-11T14:09:00.003-07:00

This list has been meticulously researched. Enjoy!

Hair Care: Any of the Pratima products. Amazon Beauty makes an amazing leave in mask treatment called Rahua. I use C-tonics at least once a week. And a good hair powder is a must, like Lulu.

The John Masters products available at Pharmaca are better than many others. I especially love the Salt Spray.

Skin Care: I can't recommend Dr. Alkaitis products highly enough. The stars of his line are the Nourishing Oil and the Toner. I mix it with his moisturizer and use a little of the eye cream. His shampoo is also good, truly excellent ingredients. Also, Pratima products are wonderful and there is a new line that I'm getting great results with, Tata Harper.

Make Up: Rejuva Minerals mineral foundation without mica, which is important as most contain mica and it's size is smaller than a pore, which means clogged pores. Also, Rejuva makes a great mascara, much better than Dr. Hauschka. I recommend all of their powder products and they have a great vegan Kabuki style applicator brush for the mineral foundation.

Eye pencils and crayons from Zosimos Botanicals. The color range is awesome and the products are very pure and highly pigmented.

And as a little luxury, RMS Beauty is a wonderful line created by a make up artist in New York. It is a great company, great colors, and the little glass jars are lovely.

The brow kit from Jane Iredale is super, as are the lip glosses. I also like the lip gloss from 100% Pure.

All of these great, non-toxic make up lines are tried and tested by me, a girl with sensitive Pitta skin. In the interest of ironic tension, other products that are in my arsenal and do their jobs best out of all contenders are Georgio Armani Luminous Silk foundation, Nars Orgasm blush, Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage, and Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat. No replacements for these. Yet.

.............................. .................................................................................................................................................................................

And lastly, an important set of books to have.

Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0865715742/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients, 7th Edition http://www.amazon.com/Consumers-Dictionary-Cosmetic-Ingredients-Cosmeceuticals/dp/0307451119/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262142452&sr=8-1

Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things http://www.amazon.com/Slow-Death-Rubber-Duck-Everyday/dp/1582435677/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262793757&sr=8-1

You never know what market saturation will produce!

2010-01-07T16:11:00.001-07:00

An assortment of organic denim from top, right to left...

Kuyichi, 7 For All Mankind, Nudie, Ever, 7 For All Mankind, Stella McCartney, and PRPS.

Here's what WWD says about this today...you do subscribe don't you?

i want to eat this whole idea

2009-12-18T20:55:00.002-07:00

photos courtesy of WWD.com

PARIS — About 200 Chanel employees demonstrated Thursday over salary conditions outside the company’s Neuilly-sur-Seine, France-based headquarters.

At issue was the 1 percent pay raise to be given to staff earning less than 3,000 euros, or $4,301 at average exchange, per month. They are demanding a 2.5 percent salary hike instead.

Chanel executives are surprised by the demand because the proposed 1 percent salary increase allows its employees to preserve their spending power and even raise it in the difficult economy, according to a spokeswoman.

She added only one of the four unions at Chanel called for the employees to demonstrate and also that all of the workers’ benefits have been renewed, and some of them increased.

hello beauty

2009-12-09T17:50:00.003-07:00

dries van noten spring rtw 2010

maison martin margiela rtw spring 2010

stella mccartney rtw spring 2010

These pieces are warmer than my fireplace! It's been so cold we've all been cooped up like little foxes. Off to knit.

Photos courtesy of WWD

you want to go to here, and to here

2009-12-05T18:27:00.003-07:00

MMM boot, just sold out at Barneys (I almost snagged it), just lovely.

I want to go ice skating. I want to share these blogs, regardless of their eco or non-eco content, as being awesome little nuggets of the human psyche in all its glory. Love.

Just go here...

the girlie girl army

atlantis home

leese looks

thick as thieves!

2009-12-02T11:17:00.007-07:00

Thieves Boutique!

Organic cotton and wool and sustainable fabrics and high design!

not regretsy!

2009-11-08T16:04:00.004-07:00

softspoken bonnie parker berets

ozetta large warmer

look for fiddleheads organic tees

These are a few of my favorite things...

lalalala lalalala lalalalalaaaaaa.

lagerfeld, therapiste.

2009-11-02T09:57:00.001-07:00

karl lagerfeld wants you to feel better.

photo courtesy of maisonchaplin

bodkin! loving ny designers, part two.

2009-10-28T16:40:00.002-06:00

I am so glad for the wisdom of those who came before. Here is a great link to a chat with Tonya Boone and Regina Root, collaborating professors at the College of William and Mary, talking about what the heck 'eco-fashion' might be. It's smart. I only have to disagree with their idea that organic cotton isn't necessarily better in context of processing. Organic is always, always, always better in the big picture!

Now check out these gorgeous pieces from Bodkin's Spring/Summer 2010 collection!

here's the word on Bodkin from their website...lovely, eh?

A bodkin is a dagger, hairpin, or sharp, slender instrument used for making holes in cloth.

posting my own ornaments?

2009-10-25T12:57:00.001-06:00

hahahahahaaa!

and new york and london!

2009-10-21T18:23:00.001-06:00

olsen haus

stella mccartney

two vegan shoe designers that rock it. stella has a knockout with that mesh pump and elizabeth olsen has quite a collection coming for fall. check out the lookbook on her website. I bet you'll find something you love.

i love la designers part one

2009-10-20T21:15:00.001-06:00

these sleeves!

that hat and skirt together!

those gloves!

the color stories at stewart+brown are pretty tough competitors with their texture stories.

here's why you should go buy a sweater or two, besides that it has become true autumn.

snowy day, stumbled on early halloween fright!

2009-10-10T10:55:00.002-06:00

these disasters are from miu miu spring 2010

and these pvc monstrosities are from prada spring 2010.

now i love design based not on any one particular aesthetic or style. my eye is completely devoted to what is striking, whether beautiful or ugly and certainly something being in fashion has no real influence. i look for pieces that will stay with me for preferably a lifetime. so what can i say about these shoes. rarely does a designer create something so awful that i feel any need to comment but these shoes presumably sprung from the mind of miuccia prada. prada has been a label consistently unconcerned with any form of sustainability, environmentally or socially and i take a bit of pleasure in seeing these tragedies for the feet. pvc? really?? add velcro and chandelier crystals and voila! the worst and most pointless bit of design i have seen all year. and you're going to see them everywhere.

the doomsday vault

2009-10-08T12:11:00.002-06:00

Uncertain Peril: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Seeds

Excerpt
By Claire Hope Cummings
Beacon Press, 2008
Straight to the Source

Claire Hope Cummings, a longtime ally of the OCA, has been selected as a winner
of the thirtieth annual AMERICAN BOOK AWARDS for 2009 by the Before Columbus Foundation. Cummings was an environmental lawyer for 20 years. An environmental journalist, she has also farmed in both California and Vietnam. This essay is an excerpt from her new book, Uncertain Peril: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Seeds (Beacon Press, 2008) .

On a frozen island near the North Pole, a huge hole has been blasted out of the side of an Arctic mountain and a tunnel has been drilled deep into the rock. When the facility under construction here is completed, it will be lined with one-meter-thick concrete, fitted with two high-security blast-proof airlock doors, and built to withstand nuclear war, global warming, terrorism, and the collapse of the earth's energy supplies. It's known as the "Doomsday Vault," and in it will be stored millions of seeds and mankind's hope for the future of the world's food supply.

The idea is that in the event of massive ecological destruction, those seeds could be used to reconstruct the planet's agricultural systems. Exactly who might remain to begin replanting the earth after such a catastrophe is only one of the questions this astounding project raises. The more immediate question is, are seeds in peril? The answer is yes, especially the seeds that provide us with food, fiber, and fuel. Both the diversity and the integrity of seeds are threatened, in the wild and on our farms. They are being put at risk by agricultural technologies, patents and corporate ownership, and the overall degradation of the environment. The plight of seeds is one of the most important environmental stories of our time. Until now, however, this critical issue has not received the attention it deserves.

Seeds are as critical to our survival as air, water, and soil. And yet despite the everyday miracles that they perform, we tend to take them for granted. Seeds sustain the beauty and vitality of the earth. Seeds are essential to the regenerative capacity of the planet. We will need their natural resilience and adaptability even more as temperatures rise. Biologically, each seed has a unique way of fulfilling its promise. Taken together, the world's seeds maintain the plant systems that keep the planet breathing. Every breath we take has been exhaled by a plant, which turned it into oxygen for us. Seeds have always been our silent partners in maintaining life on earth.

People and plants coevolved through the ages, and that relationship has been mutually beneficial. Seed plants dependably meet our needs, producing the corn and rice we eat, the flax and cotton we weave, and the oak and pine we use for shelter. Eighty percent of the people in the world still rely on plants as their primary source of medicine. The remains of long-dead plants provide all of us with our fossil fuels. As metaphors, seeds are a rich source of inspiration in art, literature, and religion. We cannot afford to lose any more of this generosity, this beauty, this abundance.

We find ourselves at a dramatic turning point for life on earth. Population and consumption are rapidly expanding. Industrial food production is exhausting the planet's basic biological support systems, making them even more vulnerable to the effects of global warming. The natural world is experiencing catastrophic losses of biodiversity, fresh water, and fertile soil. All of these trends are threatening seeds and forcing us to take a careful look at how we will feed ourselves in the future. It comes down to this: whoever controls the future of seeds controls the future of life on earth.

Is industrial agriculture, with its focus on chemical and genetic technologies, the best choice for ensuring a healthy future? Genetic engineering is a commercial technology controlled by private corporations, who use it to dominate agricultural production from seed to stomach and to profit from every bite. Given the enormous environmental stress the planet is under right now and increasing demands on our natural resources from all forms of human activity, can this one technology provide for our food and environmental security? The answer is, unequivocally, no.

There are five solid reasons that genetic engineering is not right for agriculture. One: it's bad science. It was developed on the basis of flawed assumptions, which have since been discredited by the scientific community. Two: it's bad biology. It was deployed without regard for its potential for genetic contamination and its risks to human health. Three: it's bad social policy. It puts control over seeds and the fundamentals of our food and farms into the hands of a few corporations who have their own, not our, best interests in mind. Four: it's bad economics. After billions of dollars and thirty years, only a few products have been commercialized, and they offer nothing new. No one asked for genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and given a choice, consumers would reject them. Five: it's bad farming. GMOs don't address the real issues plaguing agriculture; they're designed to substitute for or increase the use of proprietary weed and pest control chemicals. Patented and genetically altered seeds perpetuate the very worst problems of the industrial food system, and they are undermining the autonomy of the farmers who use them.

According to the Global Crop Diversity Trust, the organization that is building the Doomsday Vault, there are more than 50,000 edible plants in the world. About 150 of them have been commercialized, and only 40 of those are cultivated regularly. Only three of them – rice, corn, and wheat-provide most of humanity with its mainstay foods. Three others – soy, cotton, and canola – get more than their fair share of attention because of their industrial uses. Other plants are important sources of sustenance for many people in the world, especially potatoes, cassava, and taro, as well as barley and sorghum. That's the short list of plants that we rely on for our basic needs, and all of them, as well as tobacco, sugar, coffee, sunflowers, and most fruits and vegetables, have been patented or genetically modified.

Seeds are the common heritage of all humanity, and yet they are being stolen right from underneath our noses. If someone came into your kitchen and took all the food off the shelves and out of the refrigerator, you'd notice. If someone came onto your farm and stole the seeds you were about to plant, you'd notice. But the theft of the world's genetic heritage has not been so overt. It's been done by changing the biological and legal character of plants, so that while the food and seeds remain where they were, ownership of them has shifted.

While all this has been going on, there have been plenty of welcome countertrends. A dynamic new food and farming movement is rising up all over the world, bringing local food and farming back to life and restoring agriculture to its ecological roots. This is where the hope lies. It can be found in the natural world, in the promise of the seed, and in the hands of the farmers and the native planters who tend the earth with the wealth of nature in mind. Organic farmers, chefs, urban and rural youth, artists, and activists are all working in their own ways, and sometimes together, to change the way we produce and consume food. New sustainable strategies and green technologies are being created. There are many proven ways to produce food and energy that protect both human health and the life of our soil and water while providing for our prosperity. These new agrarians are restoring respect for the skills of the human hand and the ingenuity of the natural world. They're putting the culture back into agriculture.

The story of agriculture is often told as the story of man's domination of nature. Now a new story is being told. The new story of agriculture combines the guidance of the old creation myths with the insights of science. We are learning the language of generosity from nature and of tolerance from our experiences in returning to local economies. As we go about searching for ways to return meaning and morality to our lives, and possibly, dare I hope, to the political system, the decisions we make now, and the wisdom that we choose to guide us, will make all the difference. What's at stake is nothing less than the nature of the future.

The Doomsday Vault is only one way of preparing for an uncertain future. Someday we may be glad it was built. My hope is that we will create a future for ourselves in which it will never be needed. Right now we can let others decide our fate and continue living in a fundamentalist "Frankenstate" where the corporate gene giants feed us artificial food and drugs produced with their genetically modified patented plants and lull us into complacency with their choice of electronic conveniences and entertainment. Or we can summon the courage to resist the worst of all that and begin restoring ourselves to our rightful places, as members of both human and biological communities and caretakers of our commonwealth.

We are facing a planetary emergency, as Al Gore says, but our "collective nervous system" still has trouble recognizing the threats to our survival. As an environmental journalist, I see this all the time. I often feel it myself. I wrote this book because I love seeds and because I have found that telling the stories of the people and places behind these issues can help us face them and the complex challenges they present. Industry spends millions telling its story and defending its products, and it stands poised to convert our upcoming ecological crisis into a commercial opportunity. I'm not offering a prescription for the future, just an invitation to consider our options carefully. The answers we need will come when we begin the conversation that starts with telling and listening to each other's stories.

I have brought all my life experiences, as a mother, a farmer, an environmental lawyer, an advocate for traditional native land rights, and a journalist, to weave together a meaningful context for the subject of genetic engineering and the future of seeds. All of my work has been guided by one central value: respect for the integrity of the natural world. This is what I have learned: if we can, even for a moment, pause and stop looking at the world through the lens of technology, then suddenly the beauty and wonder of nature reappear. Then we remember who we are and where we are, and the healing begins.

From Uncertain Peril, by Claire Hope Cummings (Copyright © 2008 by Claire Hope Cummings.) Reprinted by permission of Beacon Press, Boston. Visit Beacon's website at www.beacon.org and Beacon's Blog at www.beaconbroadside.com

mon dieu chanel!

2009-10-08T09:48:00.001-06:00

goodness, a menage a trois of models in the hay of the transformed grand palais while karl strolls by...would to have been there! i realize fashion week is perceived by many as an absurdist, overdone, hulabaloo of nut jobs running around thinking that things that are not important are so important and oh my, how i would LOVE to be there.

a little tree hugger love from style.com

2009-10-02T07:11:00.001-06:00

john patrick on a bicycle!

HIPPIER THAN THOU

the fashion bohemians giving peace, solar power, and paraben-free cosmetics a chance

It's been 40 years almost to the day since Woodstock, and some would say that four decades on, the Man has won. But we've rounded up some contemporary fashion types who, whether through a commitment to organic practices or just plain shagginess, are keeping the spirit of '69 alive. Just don't call them hippies—they prefer to be known as free spirits.

click here for the slideshow
style.com

newness

2009-10-01T18:35:00.002-06:00

pringle of scotland spring 2010

doo.ri spring 2010.

haider ackermann spring 2010,

here's what he said, "She's coming from nowhere and brings her treasures with her"

john patrick organic spring 2010

complex aesthetics

2009-09-12T18:57:00.005-06:00

This is the cell sweater from complex geometries.

I can't get over it, or any of their design work.

I walk the sustainability line and I seem to fall on both sides.

I appreciate beauty and artistry in design so much that my principles get stretched.

All I want is for every fiber to be organic, all dyes to be vegetable,

all labor to be fair, and all chemicals to be eschewed in favor of plant extracts.

But when I see work like this...

...from salvatore ferragamo, I just want to melt with aesthetic ecstasy.

I appreciate so passionately the potential of beauty in the aesthetics that we create and

I abhor so passionately the lack of earth awareness and sacred ritual in luxury fashion and beauty. To be very honest it really feels much better to appreciate than abhor!

And that's the place I dwell.

more complex geometries

design for a living world

2009-09-02T20:41:00.001-06:00

just got this one in the mail.

The Nature Conservancy invited ten designers to create new objects from sustainable materials sourced from around the world. Wood, plants, wool and other organic materials were transformed into intriguing objects, revealing extraordinary stories about regeneration and the human connection to the Earth’s lands and waters. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the people, places and projects featured in Design for a Living World. Learn more about the Conservancy’s work around the world, read what the designers had to say about their projects and explore the emerging world of sustainable design.

garance dore

2009-09-02T14:57:00.004-06:00

garance dore has such an eye for the beautiful regarding the human form and adornment. her contribution to sustainability is in the beauty of her drawings and in her runway photography, which rivals scott's for sure.

wildlife works and new paradigms

2009-08-31T22:24:00.003-06:00

wildlife works uses an organic cotton so yummy that only feeling is believing.

organic by john and miguel

2009-08-24T16:46:00.010-06:00

top: organic by john patrick spring09

bottom: stella mccartney resort 2010

I have a beautiful knit dress by organic that I'll have to style up and post and 15% of stella's line is 100% organic. barneys will help you part with your money.

and lastly today on the whole clothing topic, the big awesomeness of miguel androver, creative director of the groovy hessnatur. they ususally have a couple of gems per season.

and on a related note...

rms beauty top photo
zosimos botanicals bottom photo

figgy

2009-08-21T19:15:00.002-06:00

absolutely qualifies as a skincare product, excellent for vata and pitta. fig season is here!

margaret marks studio

2009-08-21T18:03:00.002-06:00

work by margaret marks studio

dr. alkaitis and special guests!

2009-08-21T14:56:00.002-06:00

I am so excited for the coming fall season! I am offering wonderful new skin and hair care products that I have found after years of careful researching. I am very passionate about being informed enough to direct my clients and friends to the absolute best in pure and clean organic skin and hair care, fashion and adornment. I am very excited to introduce Dr. Alkaitis Holistic Skin Food to the margaret marks repertoire.

Here is a little from the horse's mouth..courtesy of www.dralkaitis.com.

"Your skin is the largest organ of your body and caring for it is not just a quest toward superficial beauty, but actually a necessity for preventive health care. As a research scientist working with cancer treatments including plants, Dr. Alkaitis became convinced that there is a correlation between our society's dependence on synthetic chemicals and the rapid increase in people suffering from cancer and other degenerative illnesses. Even the 'pure' and 'natural' cosmetics we use are created from chemicals that don't support your skin's natural, healthy balance. For this reason, through the synergy of science and nature, Dr. Alkaitis has created the Alkaitis Holistic Organic Skin Treatment Product line as a holistic approach to a beauty that is more than skin deep.
All life springs from Earth and within this truth lay the foundation of Dr. Alkaitis Skin Care. We have discovered that only organically grown plants or those harvested from unpolluted wilderness hold the superior therapeutic properties used in our products. For you, this discovery means that all Dr. Alkaitis skin care products are created only from organically grown or wild-crafted plants and sea life. Our herbal extracts are made in-house and only pure water, and certified organic alcohol made only from grapes and/or vegetable glycerin are used as solvents. To preserve the healing power of our products, we blend only small batches at a time."

I am thrilled to announce that I have narrowed my search for a equally pure and effective make up line down to just a few candidates and will have wonderful things for sale in the studio by mid-september.

work from margaret marks studio

2009-08-19T09:58:00.003-06:00

the capelet above is made with raw wool, silver, and gemstones with wood buttons at the clasp.

08.18.09

2009-08-18T22:51:00.001-06:00

welcome to the baby blog! it is about the growing synergy between health and beauty and the paradigm shifts that are making way for a new definition of luxury. i am so into stuff. having been so into stuff since i was tiny i've really had a chance to spend a lot of time acquiring or thinking about acquiring. little of that time was really devoted to wondering why i wanted what i wanted. until recent years when it's become apparent that there's quite a lot of work to be done to shift human adornment back to a beautiful ritual that has meaning, that is food for the soul.

i am a stylist, an artist and an educator. i have put years of research into the ingredients of skin and hair care products, the manufacturing processes of the apparel industry and the sheer awesomeness of human creativity in design. this blog is here to pull all those elements together and to share the news.

i am currently back in school getting my masters in design and merchandising. i am determined to spread the delicious marriage of sustainability and luxury to any corner of the world that's interested. kind of like alice waters's delicious revolution with a scope that encompasses what we put on, as well as in, our bodies. thanks for reading and i hope that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!

oh and margaret marks is my paternal grandmother's maiden name and this company is a tribute to her.