The Cheaper Show No. 9 & Bookmark Sunday

So The Cheaper Show was last night, and It was my first experience with a large art show like that. I really enjoyed myself, and I really wish I would have had the extra cash to pickup something. The space they used in Gastown was so beautiful, and so perfect for this type of event, they organized the art so that the traffic flow was really good too, and the whole atmosphere was just great. Serious kudo's to the organizers of this event, and for supporting art in this province, because  there are so many talented people in this area that it blows my mind sometimes. 

It's been a good week! One roommate graduated from Ai, the other is off to Prague to sing! So we will be welcoming someone new in the apartment soon. Excitement. For some reason the weather in Vancouver refuses to accept that it is summer, which is frustrating me to no end. Anyways, Bookmark sunday for you today, since I have been falling a little behind these past weeks.

GOOD . com 

Really interesting articles, and fun inspiring info graphics. Sign up to get their emails every week, I always enjoy them.

Brand New CLASSROOM

I love this site, it has such a benefit to learning designers, and young designers. Students submit their redesigns of popular brand names and logo's and the members (often more experienced designers) give them feedback and a grade on each one. Some super interesting stuff, and great community vibes. 

Sea of Shoes

I love shoes, and her style. Always inspiring.

Sprouted Kitchen

Great recipes, really really fabulous simple photography.

Gotta work on some logo's now. Hope everyone had a good weekend! 

♥khw

Busy bee

Posting has come to a hault because these past few weeks have been crazy! Full of work, sunshine, vollayball and wonderful yoga. I promise I'll be back soon enough, but right now I'm doing some last minute preparations for an interview tomorrow! I am terribly excited about it, it would be a wonderful job. I am also about to head off to enjoy some of the days last bits of sunshine and a hot yoga class. This is Nixon enjoyig some quality time with the boys after they took over my bed Sunday morning, he loves it when they come over, and this picture Makes me happy! Toodles! Go outside!

♥khw

Bookmark Sundays

I figure every sunday I will try to share two or three sites that I find inspiration from. So below are three from my favorites folder, I also included three of my very talented friends who I think you should most defiantly check out! 

On a side note I saw the new Sex and the City movie today, and you know what, I didn't hate it. After hearing all the horrible reviews I decided to go in without expectations. I was thoroughly entertained, I don't understand what all these people ripping it apart were expecting, there really isn't space for depth and a whole lot of meaning within the guidelines of what Sex and the City has been about for years. I mean yes some of the episodes showed valid points on life, and dating, but there was never a strong realistic feminism vibe to them. Carrie ends up with the one guy who has continually screwed her over time and time again, what an empowering theme. So I just don't see how all these reviewers can get a knot in their panties about how anti-woman and anti-realistic this movie was, because there was no reason to expect that of it. She plays a novelist who can afford multiple pairs of Louboutin's in the series, what was ever realistic about that? One review I read put it wonderfully,  "what is essentially a home video of gay men playing with giant Barbie dolls." Yes, but fabulously dressed barbie dolls. I loved the HBO series and of course nothing will ever be as good, but I was entertained by this movie, and thats what movies are for, or all I usually expect of them. 

Also, I wish the sun would come back, it has been awful rainy here lately. I still managed to golf today though! Anyways, happy bookmarking! 

100 Layer Cake is a wedding blog that I often steal color boards from, and other whimsical images. They feature cute weddings and have a ton of DIY ideas.  Really awesome color boards.

Craftzine Blog I read everyday if I can. There are so many updates that it is easy to miss something if you don't, they have tutorials and ideas for all sorts of things. Some of my favorites are the Recipies they post and their CRAFT flickr pool round up. 

Supermarket is a smaller version of etsy. It has all handmade items from designers of every sort, and I find that the quality of everything on this site is a little higher than the overall etsy marketplace.. not that I don't adore etsy, but you have to do less sifting at Supermarket. 

Benngie is the tumblr of my very photograph talented friend Ben. He takes great pictures! Also my friend Jordan has become quite the Lookbook star, he is quite talented with a camera as well, Check out his tumblr as well. aaaaaaand the ever so wonderful Tori Reid has a tumblr now! 

 ♥khw

Wise words

" We are at our most free when we are at our most organized. "

Reading How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul, and this stuck out. So very true.

♥khw

Simple twist of fate

 

Spending a quiet friday night sifting through bookmarks, listening to Mr. Dylan, relaxing and waiting for Craig Ferguson to come on. Found this today, Here. I think it is a beautiful way to describe how it feels to really love what you do. I often get overwhelmed with everything that I have going on, and I have to step back and realize how lucky I am to have all that I have, and all the opportunities that are open to me. I get to sit at this desk everyday in this wonderful city, and just work on things that make me happy, and inspire me.  

Through school one thing really stuck with me that a teacher of mine talked about, he said that If you are actively working on projects of your own, with no one assigning them to you, and no one paying you, its a true indicator of someone that really loves design, and is genuinely interested in it. 

I guess that makes total sense, but up until that point I had never really thought about it. My only complaint is that I still don't feel like I am contributing to something of importance, I can't wait to have that feeling. 

Anyways, read and enjoy this, it certainly made me happy to be creative. Also, I have decided that I really want a jumpsuit. I will explain later. Goodnight! 

Living a creative life is taking joy in thinking outside the box. It’s finding abundance in the most simple things: basic ingredients for a healthy supper, uncut fabric, dirt, a camera, a crayon, a thought. A feeling. It’s the happy medium between haves & have-nots, finding joy in both. It’s taking a little and making something that’s more.

Creative living is not being satisfied with boredom. It’s seeking stimulation and not escape – well, seeking stimulation to escape from the banal. Even finding the wonderment in the mundane. It’s about being spontaneous and having a passion for life, the process of living. It’s the struggles – writer’s block, tech failures, blank slates, depression, misunderstanding, being outside the norm – and it’s the moment of clarity when passion overrides pain.

It’s a mess on the kitchen table, supplies strewn around the floor, an open door to studio that’s a little less than neat.

Living a creative life is being satisfied while always crave more. It’s the independence of knowing you’re not reliant on the status quo.

It’s about finding joy in the similarities of friends and finding excitement in the differences.

It’s savoring each moment, making it precious – but still always wanting more.

A creative life is one to call your own.

A creative life is one lived in conversation with yourself, your surroundings, your community, and your raw materials – whatever they may be. Living a creative life is a philosophy, a way of thinking, not a label, an education, or a profession. Living creatively is knowing the rules and occasionally – or more often – ignoring them. It’s coloring outside the lines and sometimes on walls. It’s daring to be different when everyone tells you to be the same.

It’s a good reason to wake up on Monday mornings. And a great reason to celebrate the weekend.

Living creatively is not separate from the everyday – it happens in between the couldas, wouldas, and shouldas.

It’s not dependent on being an artist, a designer, or a maker – although I know that you are all of those things.

Designing makes me happy image via. THINGS I HAVE LEARNED IN MY LIFE.

♥khw

We are made of star stuff

Summer is my favorite season in Vancouver. Being so close to sunset beach and Stanley Park make it that much better. Since I'm not slaving away on schoolwork this summer I will actually get to enjoy every last bit of it! Some images I have collected over the past few months, as well as recent things. Left to right, top to bottom. 

Some adorable invites I found (not sure what blog though), I love fireflies and in artwork they just seem that much more mystical and beautiful, these really remind me of summer. 

One of the many BEAUTIFUL photographs from this amazing wedding. There is a lot to look through, but my favorite part was this. 

The couple is non-religious – he is a staunch atheist and she falls somewhere between agnostic and new age – so they looked to science and music to find inspiration and greater meaning for their ceremony. They read thoughts on the universe and love by Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking, Douglas Adams, Mark Twain, Buddha, and The Beatles, and combined the words and concepts into a few paragraphs that were read by friends and family at the ceremony and reception.

“The size and age of the Cosmos are beyond ordinary human understanding. Lost somewhere between immensity and eternity is our tiny planetary home. And yet our species is young and curious and brave and shows much promise. In the last few millennia we have made the most astonishing and unexpected discoveries. They remind us that humans have evolved to wonder, that understanding is a joy, that knowledge is prerequisite to survival. Our little planet floats like a mote of dust in the morning sky. All that you see, all that we can see, exploded out of a star billions of years ago, and the particles slowly arranged themselves into living things, including all of us. We are made of star stuff. We are the mechanism by which the universe can comprehend itself.  The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth. We should remain grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides. The sum of all our evolution, our thinking and our accomplishments is love. A marriage makes two fractional lives a whole. It gives to two questioning natures a renewed reason for living.  It brings a new gladness to the sunshine, and a new fragrance to the flowers, and new beauty to the earth, a new mystery to life. Kestrin and Jonathan choose to enter this relationship before you, their community, and ask for your support and blessings.”

 Although I have little to no money to shop, I have made a vow to myself this summer to only purchase cute summer dresses. So far this has only resulted in a folder on my desktop with a photo wish list in it. This is from anthropologie. 

Not sure where this image came from, just was floating around in one of my insperation folders. Its pretty though.

Another dress from Anthropologie.

A painting by Amanda Besl. I have followed her work for a long time, and she is one of my favorite artists. . One day I will own one of her paintings. 

From this lovely photostream. 

Another Amanda Besl painting. 

Picked this up recently from a wedding blog recently, I couldn't find it again, but i love the pearls.

More flowers from an inspiration folder, a beautiful dress with back cleavage found somewhere on etsy, and an old NYC drink stand. 

 ♥khw

I want to live life, and be good to you.

My life over the past few months has been a blur of exhaustion, craziness, joy, and excitement. I had little to no time to keep up with updates, but now that things have slowed a little I thought I would share the craziness with you all. I had pictures upon pictures filling up folders, as well as a very large list of links and pretty things to share over this week, so get ready for regular updates again! I have also finally launched my portfolio website, and I am working on some side projects for the boys and Tori. The majority of these are taken with my iphone since the loss of my camera, so I apologize for the quality of some images. Here's the last few months of my life in a nut shell. Big changes to come, couldn't be happier! 

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My final term started off wonderful, Some awesome karaoke with my absolute favorite people, and I also discovered that Vancouver has its very own flee market and its full of goodies. I received my grandpa's old Lino cutting tools and a few extra blocks from him and came up with the brilliant ( although I would curse myself many times afterwards) idea to block print my portfolio. Muffins also become a daily part of my life when I took on the 5am shift at work 7 days a week. My only design outlet working in a coffee shop is soup labels, and decorating muffins, so I always make sure they look extra yummie. 

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Olympic Madness starts, the torch gets run right by my front window but I couldn't be bothered to get out of bed at 7am, So I just watched from bed. It is so funny, since the finish of the olympics I have seen at LEAST a hundred photos of people placing themselves inside these crazy things they put on Granville street. Although the entire world is partying in Vancouver I am busy working, building my portfolio and cutting through buckets of Lino. The most of the party I get to enjoy is the walk home from work some nights as I cross Granville street, Its okay though, my friends partied enough for me.  Photo shoots with tori start and we get the first half of my projects shot, what a difference a real studio makes. Also I almost have a heart attack at work during the Gold Metal hockey game, it was so packed at the cafe, but lucky for us everyone was so busy watching the game that we had time to watch it as well!

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With one week to go for the show, I decide that block printing my business cards is a good idea as well. Sometimes I think I try to set myself up for disaster, but lucky for me it works out swell. Taped up all my pages on my wall to dry after printing them ( I'm not taking any risks with tables or floors right now), and I couldn't be happier with the outcome and texture that was produced. My roommates want to kill me on account of the amount of plastic Lino shards that are ALL OVER our apartment. Nixon rubbing in the fact that he can sleep, when at this point I have gone over 48 hours without it. I now realize that when Dan and Andre named their book Never Sleep, it wasn't a cute joke. Portfolio show day comes and goes in ten seconds, all the Lino bits payed off and I was awarded best in show for all my hard work. The next day I flew off to Pennsylvania, where I slept for a week straight and met the fattiest wiener dog I think in existence. For ever ounce of fatness he was just as sweet. 

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On arrival back in Vancouver my Dad comes to visit and we take Nixon out to Lighthouse park. Vancouver gets more and more beautiful with everyday that summer approaches. Although the craziness is mostly over I still sleep sometimes with my computer under my pillow. I am reminded over and over again that I have the most amazing friends in the whole world. Tori graduates from the Langara Photo Program, and has a inspired portfolio and sweet little business cards that I helped her design. I take a quick trip to whistler for the weekend to visit Sarah Bowers and celebrate some birthdays, I am again reminded how blessed I am to have such great people in my life, and great shoes. Picked up How to be a Graphic Designer without Losing Your Soul by Adrian Shaughnessy, and am loving it so far. 

♥khw

All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Vancouver is busy busy with olympic business/excitement/buzz an i'm busy busy busy with work and school. I have lots to share, only i can't even begin to imagine when i will have time too. I managed to find time to take nixon for a walk the other day, and it was one of those beautiful vancouver rainy days. I don't know if everyone else that lives here appreciates them as much as i do, but something about how calm it gets down by the water clears my head, and i love it. Rain and i get along most of the time, back to work now. I tried to take pictures, but this was the best i could do with the tiny little camera that i have now :)

p.s.  the wonderful boys over at dress code have a new site. check it.

♥khw

contagious

a. Recycle! Eyeglass lens chandelier, Stuart Haygarth. b. Post It show. c. I am dying to try this, It looks so cool. The photographs turn out awesome too. d. The golden Age of Moustache e. I just love this. f. Mary Iverson

Food & Doodles

These little cartoons put a smile on my face. Check them out. 

♥khw