Drawing Things

Late last week, I created a new Tumblr as a way to force myself to draw more. I've been out of practice for quite some time and I keep making excuses about not having time. As part of the new Tumblr, you can now purchase original sketches and prints of anything you see on there at an affordable price. 

This little bottle guy is something I drew up quickly tonight. You can see more over at Nellie Draws Things.

Brush Play

I recently downloaded a great set of Photoshop brushes by Kyle T. Webster and of course it's appropriately called Kyle's ULTIMATE Photoshop Brush Set. I got a chance to play around with it last night and it's by far the most naturally looking brush sets I've ever seen and used! And it's totally worth the $5. You can get it here.

And here's a quick little cat guy I painted up in Photoshop.

Song of the Week: "Do It Again" – Camera Obscura

This week, Camera Obscura released their new single "Do It Again". It's a great upbeat number that makes me super excited for the new album out June 4th (June 3rd in the UK). I've had this on repeat all week!

Monday Munch: Koko Churro from Cafe Dulce

I finally made a trip over to Cafe Dulce after hearing many good things about it. Instead of going for the ever popular bacon donuts (and donutholes), I got one of the koko churros. They look nothing like the churros most of us are used to. They're big, round, and stout…they kinda look like potatoes.

The dough is made from tapioca flour and the inside is hollow. The texture is like the sesame balls you can get at dim sum. They're crunchy and chewy.

I also got a jasmine tea latte with soy milk that went perfectly with the koko churro.

Come On, Get Happy

A couple of days ago, I checked out Stefan Sagmeister's new show appropriately titled The Happy Show. 

The show is currently up at MOCA's Pacific Design Center until June 9th, 2013.

This show (oddly enough) came around at just the right time in my life. Earlier in the day, I had lunch with my friend Michelle Romo (of CROWDED TEETH) and we were talking about our career choices. What we have in common is that we both want the same end goal: To work for ourselves & build something for ourselves. It all comes down to happiness and what makes us happy is doing the work we want to do.

OMG Ina Grau!

Two days ago, Minneapolis-based shoemakers Ina Grau officially launched their website & online store. I've been obsessed with their shoes since Whitney from Myrtle introduced me to them. I've been patiently waiting for this day to happen and it finally has! Their shoes are limited edition and made by hand in the USA & Columbia. Take a look at their small but gorgeous collection!

Moxpox (these are my favorite!)

Jean

Gomez

*photos from Ina Grau

Naoshi DIY Sunae Kit

Today, I stopped by Q Pop to check out the Human Flower show since I missed the opening yesterday night. The show featured work from Naoshi, APAK, Minifanfan, (three artists who I totally love!) and a few others. While I was there, I picked up one of Naoshi's Sunae (Japanese sand painting) kits. I first saw these Sunae kits in San Francisco at New People, but wasn't interested in any of the available images. Q Pop had this ‘Bear Office Worker’ kit and I had to get him. He just looks so smug like he's too cool to be working in an office.

Note: The Challenge level of this is 2/3 stars

Each kit comes with instructions, a sheet of newsprint paper to use as a work surface (folded with the instructions), pre-cut artboard with an adhesive surface when the top layer is peeled off, 3 colored sands, a toothpick, and a ribbon twist-tie (I still don't get why this was included).

This kit makes it pretty easy to make your own Sunae. I would say the most difficult part is peeling off the top layer with the toothpick to expose the adhesive. The artboard looks like it was cut with a laser cutter and in some areas, it didn't seem like the top layer was cut all the way through. So in the detailed areas (mostly around the glasses) it was difficult trying to peel only the area that needed to be exposed for that color.

And in about 30 minutes, I had my very own Sunae.

This was a fun little activity to do on a Sunday afternoon. I'm thinking of going back and picking up a couple of kits for my nieces, because I know for a fact that they can't get stuff like this where they live. Not to mention, these are totally cute!

Current Tunes: "Out of My League" – Fitz and The Tantrums

I have never been a fan of Fitz and The Tantrums, but their latest single "Out of My League" is too catchy to pass up. I think it also helps that when I first heard this, it didn't sound like them. To me, this track kinda sounds like a mix between The Bravery, The Killers, and maybe The Rosebuds? In some ways, it reminds me of David Bowie's "Modern Love"…if it was slower.

This week has been pretty busy. Early in the week, I got a wholesale order from Rare Device in San Francisco. I'm so happy and excited that they want to carry my journals in store. So I had to quickly make a batch of 25 journals, each made by hand. Hopefully, this is a good beginning to a future list of great stockists. Then yesterday I got a call from a new client who was referred to me by my friend Leanna, so now I have that project on my plate as well. But luckily, the order for Rare Device is being shipped tomorrow. 

This track has been the perfect track to leave playing in the background. It's catchy and upbeat enough to keep me going, but repetitive enough that I can ignore it. It's easily one of the least memorable songs I've ever heard in my life. Honestly, once it stops playing I can't even remember what it sounds like. A that's a weird phenomenon that's never really happened with any other song for me.

Song of the Week: "The Kids Were Wrong"- Memoryhouse

I've been listening to a lot of Memoryhouse lately, especially their latest album The Slideshow Effect. There's something very soothing about Denise Nouvion's voice…it's kinda a mix between Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura and Verity Susman of Electrelane. I've been thinking a lot about my career path and just doing the things that I want (and like) to do. I recently completed some freelance work that's allowing me to continue to be self-employed. It was a great experience, but it was even more proof that a day job just isn't for me.

Yesterday, I met up with the ever-lovely Satsuki Shibuya over tea to talk about life and work. We talked about just following our dreams and keep working hard towards it. We also shared what we love most about not having day jobs and what we love about being able to run our own show. She recently started a consultancy service called DREAMCOÖP to help creatives find balance between work & life and just follow their dreams. And I can definitely say, Satsuki is one of the best people to talk to when you're in a rut. Everything about her is very soothing and comforting.

It's been almost a year since I graduated from college and for once, in a long time, I'm starting to feel like myself again. And I feel like I'm getting a lot closer to the life & career I've always wanted.

Late Night Sketch Session: 02.15.13

I did a bit of sketching to try to loosen up and get myself back into the groove. Above are some random things and a girl from The Sartorialist who looks kinda like Margot Tenenbaum.