The San Francisco Files Part I - SF bloggers meet!

with lovely Mackenzie of Rue Magazine

with editor in chief of Rue Magazine Crystal Gentilello
and Caitlin Flemming of Sacramento Street

There is so much to share from my 6 days in San Francisco but I have hardly had the time to report. While flying out to New York I am writing this post which is not even about the many wonderful sites, the excellent food and fabulous shopping! No it is about my fortunate experience meeting a whole group of kindred spirits. Crystal Gentilello and Mackenzie Horan of Rue Magazine kindly invited me along to a SF bloggers meet up organized and hosted by Cristin of Simplified Bee and Malka of Closet Innovations. The event took place at the wonderful historic old warehouse building of the San Francisco Design Centre where the showroom of Closet Innovations is located. I was simply over the moon to meet with bloggers I have been connected to for quite a while like the elegantly tall Caitlin of Sacramento Street, stylish Kate of Centsational Girl and a beaming Erica Cook of Moth Design (who came all the way from Calgary)! I also made new blogging friends amongst others artistic interior designer Claudia Juestel of Adeeni Design Group, lovely photographer Krissy of Cottage Farm and up beat interior designer Courtney Lake of Courtney Out Loud. Meeting such a group of beautiful talented women (and man, sorry Courtney) was more than inspiring. We had a great evening sharing experiences and ideas and I can't thank everyone enough for making my SF trip extra special (and thank you Courtney for taking pictures!)

O yes and be on the look out for the upcoming issue of Rue magazine which includes a tour of my Studio!

all smiles with Courtney

classy ladies Kate and Cristin

with Krissy of Cottage Farm

with host Malka and some delicious Nappa wine

The LA Files Part II

I only spend a few days in LA catching up with old friends, visiting galleries, great food, just a bit of shopping (really), relaxing by the pool.
One of the galleries I visited is Claudia Deutsch' Artspace Warehouse on 7354 Beverly Blvd (between The Grove and La Brea Blvd). The gallery exhibits a great selection of original artwork with an affordable pricetag. With galleries also in Zurich and Cologne Artspace Warehouse offers an international selection. Lovely Monica Telega (in front of the gallery in the picture above) gave me an extensive tour of the gallery.

My favourite works of the current exhibition are by LA artists Lucinda Luvaas and Brad Reyes. Lucinda has this amazing experimental mixed media technique resulting in modern impressionistic pieces (below "Alley Kids"). As to Reyes' work I love the urban vibes and especially in the below diptych the amazing skies ("LA Skyline (dawn)" no 1 and no 2).

The LA files Part I

I flew to Los Angeles on Thursday and can't believe it is already Sunday. LA gives me so much energy. There is so much to do, to see. Staying at the Beverly Hilton is already a treat by itself. This hotel which opened in 1955 is amongst others famous for hosting the Golden Globe Awards. A dangerous place for my credit card since Rodeo Drive is just around the corner. One of the real perks is that it has the largest pool of Beverly Hills. There is nothing better then a cool dive and a perfect Mai Tai after a day in this bustling city. Mai Tai translates from Thahitian to mean "out of this world" and consists of rum, lime juice, orange curacao, orgeat syrup and a maraschino cherry. For the original recipe click here.

Photo (my own): Mai Tai still life with the Beverly Hilton pool in the background.

Blogsy continued

detail from my studio

Just a short post to test whether the app Blogsy is still my new best friend when it comes to blogging from my iPad. There is so much technology to keep up with. My kids keep amazing me how quick they absorbe. But about a year ago I bought a typewriter. It was the first time my daughter had to ask me how something works ;).

Mind boggling Blogsy - fab App for iPad!

How proud I was to have purchased my iPad 2 just a few weeks back. Thinking it to be a wise decision. So much lighter than a laptop, easy for my travels, a great tool to blog......Arrrrrghhhhhh. Not so easy as I had hoped. To be honoust I didn't do extensive research simply assuming mister Apple had 'it' all covered. I could not upload any pictures and let's face it.....a blogpost without visuals is like the Tate without its art. The guys in the Apple Store told me to wait for the Cloud. What cloud, I can't just sit around waiting for a cloud. Sorry Steve, this is simply asking too much from this not so patient girl. I have my iPad NOW meaning I want to blog NOW! I could not believe that some clever person had not already found a way around it. So I googled myself 'color blind' searching for a solution and voilà I found an App named Blogsy. Super technical as I am (not) I started to venture into this whole new scary area today promising myself to eat this particular ugly frog first before doing anything else.
And guess what.....with some very helpful tutorials on YouTube I have suprised myself and I am starting to believe I can actually blog from my Ipad including visuals. If this is the case Blogsy is going to be my new best vriend on my trip to the States next week. The only thing is that I will only know the outcome of this very first Blogsy try out once I have posted. Keeping my fingers crossed that it can be done (and if it works thank you Lance)!
note: in the picture I am sporting one of my new designs, the Painted Peacock scarve (100% silk, Made in Holland) to be launched at the New York International Gift Fair in August

Happy Independence Day!

 

American Flag interpretation (Mariska Meijers - ink on paper)

American art dealer Leo Castelli poses with Jasper Johns' American Flag

(photo via life.comlife.com)

   

Don't deny freedom to yourself,

don't let yourself caught by the expectations of others, 

permit yourself the freedom to chase your own dreams! 

(quote: my own :))

Creating Still Lifes

(still lifes @ home - photo's Mariska Meijers)

(snap shot living room - photo Mariska Meijers)

My home is my inspiration board. I have collected so many things over the years. Everything has a story. I just love moving furniture around, creating Still Lifes with books, art and objects. My interior evolves continuously and consequently my art and designs.
I can totally find myself in Eddie Ross' approach to decorating "I love a well-travelled, eclectic house with furniture and objects, layered one upon the other, that tell a story about who lives there, where they've been and what they love." (note: I found Ross' quote in Holly Becker's fabulous book Decorate)

Wonderful Wisdom: It is You!

Precious Slippers (oil on canvas - Mariska Meijers)

"YOU HAVE THE BRAINS IN YOUR HEAD AND FEET IN YOUR SHOES.

YOU CAN STEER YOURSELF IN ANY DIRECTION YOU CHOOSE.

YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN AND KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW.

AND YOU ARE THE ONE WHO WILL DECIDE WHERE  TO GO."

-DR. SEUSS-

There are days that I feel I am not moving forward. My brain is messy and I am just overwhelmed by the amount of work ahead of me. On such days I have to remind myself that I am the one in charge  and there is no use tinkering about. Dr. Suess' quote captures this in the most simple and wonderful way. Wishing you a lovely weekend ahead!