sunday



observations.

at most moments i have approx. five actively itching mosquito bites.

tuesday




Drying cilantro; its seeds will be planted again next year. For now, it just looks nice.



friday






I have been sewing some simple shirts for the summer. i don’t mind paying for nice things but it seems stupid to pay the going rate of $80 for a tank top i can make myself. my friend described this fabric as “looks like formica.”



thursday




Very excited to share some words with Seb Brown, a Melbourne artist who makes handmade jewelry pieces that are so unique and special. Plus, the styling is incredible in all the images on Seb’s website. Read on!









+can you quickly describe your aesthetic? what are you currently working on?


My aesthetic is quite broad but generally involves something that is obviously hand made. A thumb print in a ring, a chip out of a resin something or a smudge in a collage.


I’m currently working on my Jewellery line ‘Seb Brown Jewellery’ which is also about to incorporate fluorescent Kangaroo leather bags. I am also working on fluoro raver resin jewellery. I’m also looking into making bedding. So, plenty to keep me out of trouble.





+you live in melbourne. is this where you’re from? do you like it?


I grew up in a small coastal town three hours from Melbourne, surrounded by rainforest, wind, drizzle and ocean. We wandered a lot as children and I think this gave me a good understanding and respect for the natural environment, which in turn influences my work.


I love Melbourne! There is so much going on with the arts, some amazing arts and music festivals. You can live as cheaply or expensively as you like. There are many great artists and designers around. Although it is pretty flat.


I think the fashions are quite good too. There are stores like Alice Euphemia and Fat which help to support emerging designers, and people are generally excited about up and coming designers and artists.


And with an abundance of fresh produce and a large mix of immigrants there are so many delicious and varied things to eat.



+can you walk me through a ‘typical’ day for you?


My day usually begins with a coffee in any number of cafes with my friend Adelaide. Then I head home and work most of the day. This includes dropping things off, picking up supplies, delivering stock and general running around. I’m never in one place for more than an hour or so. I like to work quickly and I am generally unhappy if I haven’t made something in the day.


Having said that I don’t have a very regimented routine. The best part about working for myself is the flexibility; I will go and see a show or hang out with my friends as readily as I will spend the whole day working. I’m not afraid of hard work but I try to keep a good balance.


Dinner is usually at home or somewhere cheap, hopefully incorporating something from the garden! Then usually a bit more work when the house quietens down (I live with four others) and bed.





+ do you have any small daily rituals?


Morning coffee is about the only constant. I like to leave the house first thing and then come back and start fresh. I like to debrief with my other housemates as they trickle home from work as it brings me back down to earth and I stop thinking about what I’ve been doing most of the day.


I tend to be very into something for a short while and then it either runs out or I get sick of it. Although I do enjoy Japanese green tea with roasted rice.



+do you like to cook? if so, what things do you enjoy making?


I love cooking very simple big meals. A few of my favourites are; Lentil shepherds pie, My take on Pasta Puttanesca (Whores pasta), Yoghurt cake and lately I went though a spate of fried zucchini flowers from the garden.



+how do you usually spend the time between dinner and going to sleep?


I generally have a cup of green tea. I try to tie up any loose ends on my work table before bed so I feel mentally prepared for the following day. I really love the house at night when everyone is in bed and I can relax on my own, I usually read my book for a bit and go to sleep.





+what do you like to do when you aren’t working?


I go to as many exhibitions as I can. I love travelling and visit my boyfriend in Sydney when I can! I like to ride my bike and look in nice shops, eat out, I play mixed Netball, I love shopping in thrift stores. I would like to say gardening but I will save that for later.



+do you read any blogs? if so, what are some of your favorites?


Hmm… not really, I can never be bothered, and I forget which ones I like. They also often make me sad about the plethora of cool stuff that I didn’t make. Although I do spend a fair bit of time on Twitter and Instagram. And I don’t know if this is really daggy but I love The Sartorialist!



+what creatives: writers/designers/musicians/etc are you interested in right now?


At the moment:
Musicians: Grimes, Chet Faker, Alpine, Cocorosie, Big Scary.
Artists/Designers: Miuccia Prada is an absolute legend. Romance was Born, Natalia Milosz-Piekarska, Jeremy Scott, Raf Simons, Mark Silipo, Tom Polo, Lydia Wegner, Kate Rohde, Bianca Hester, Katie Lee, Sally Gabori, Luci Everett, Hany Armanious, Lucio Fontana, Patricia Piccinini… the list goes on!



+what are five things that you love?


- Friends
- People genuinely being happy and excited about something I have made, even though they don’t know me.
- Camping
- Marble
- Surfing
- Making things and not having someone restrict me

thank you seb.

again, the jewelry website can be found HERE.

friday



sometimes in the late afternoon when i am in my apartment i stop and stare at the wall by the window where the light comes in in the shape of a right angle and i don’t think about anything except listening to the fan click.



wednesday





**i first saw san francisco jewelry designer michelle lane’s work at a shop on the lower east side in nyc (it was THIS rope necklace) and was completely enamored by its intricate simplicity; i find i am really drawn to jewelry that has a three-dimensional, almost sculptural quality to it. her work is so thoughtful and interesting, and it’s clear from her interview answers that lane lives her life in a way that is equally intentional and led by curiousity. read on!
**



michelle lane, by agnes thor.



can you quickly describe your work / aesthetic? what current projects are you working on?

I like to create an effortless elegance using utilitarian materials. Louise Enhorning just shot a short film for my Spring/Summer collection in Paris which was fun. I am also starting to take on fashion styling again which was my first career –but on a more personal, one-on-one basis. I’d like to call it fashion healing actually. It is a philosophy based on authenticity–never buying or incorporating things that are not actually necessary and is specifically unique to the individual.



photo by michelle lane, “a cool tie-dyed plant i found in golden gate park.”




what is an average day for you? can you describe your daily “routine”?

There is no average day. I have been traveling a lot over the past year and recently committed to San Francisco. It was hard. There are a lot of great places to live in this world but San Francisco is pretty sweet, gentle and unique–so I’m working on settling down. Francoise Sagan once said “speed is an upsurge of happiness” and I couldn’t agree more. I have tremendous faith in the power of good in the universe so things usually work out—or there is a really funny story to tell at least. I think I’ve pushed my radical space management perspectives as far as they can go, though.

what are some things you are currently interested in/obsessed with?


I am interested in playing experimental music that promotes healing. Music has always been very important to me. My friend Peter Coffin curates this amazing thing called Music for Plants: http://artonair.org/show/peter-coffin-music-for-plants which has been very inspirational.


what are some things you are always interested in/obsessed with?


Goldfish, giraffes, quartz, plants, salmon, playing cards.


Dynamic people or things in natural habitats.


synchronicity especially as it applies to quantum physics


Celine. I used to intern there and have always had a soft spot for it–especially now that Phoebe Philo is there.



michellelane.net.



what have you been recently reading?


A lot of Baudrillard for a class I’m taking.


I read Coeur De Lion by Ariana Reines in the poet’s rocking chair at City Lights the other day. It’s a gem.


I have also been revisiting some classics lately from Cheever, Vonnegut and Atwood as inspiration for a teen sci-fi novel I’m thinking about writing called Your Queer Ant. Margaret Atwood just announced the launch of her new science fiction magazine called the Loquacious Arthropod so perhaps I will submit a few stories.


what is your favorite possession?


I don’t really like to own many objects. I don’t get attached to things, and if I do, I rid myself of the attachment ASAP. Clinging frightens me. Perhaps this is where my sense of thrift and resourcefulness comes into play. I guess if there was one thing it would be my air mac—because I can’t make one of those by myself.



photo by michelle janezic: “my s/s collection at a pop up shop for www.shopanaise.com last weekend.”



where are your favorite places to go?


Usually somewhere green and/or near a body of water but I just like to go in general. My friend once used the word “d’togo” as an anagram for Godot from the play Waiting for Godot. So pulling a “d’togo” is one of my favorite things to do. It means going somewhere in a moment’s notice. I’m also pretty happy in my imagination.



******

THANK YOU michelle! you can see her website HERE.


this is the fourth installment in a series of interviews i have been compiling about art and utility; people who work in a way that makes me conscious about wanting to live in an intentional way, wanting to surround myself with things –small or large– that are significant and that make daily life more interesting and meaningful. some earlier interviews are HERE and HERE and HERE.

tuesday



i have been obsessed with the idea of wabi-sabi, which is “a comprehensive japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience” (i’m using some liberal wiki-excerpts here). its description of beauty is quite inspiring: “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.”


“…if an object or expression can bring about, within us, a sense of serene melancholy and a spiritual longing, then that object could be said to be wabi-sabi. [It] nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.


the words wabi and sabi do not translate easily. wabi originally referred to the loneliness of living in nature, remote from society; sabi meant “chill”, “lean” or “withered”. around the 14th century these meanings began to change, taking on more positive connotations. wabi now connotes rustic simplicity, freshness or quietness, and can be applied to both natural and human-made objects, or understated elegance. it can also refer to quirks and anomalies arising from the process of construction, which add uniqueness and elegance to the object. sabi is beauty or serenity that comes with age, when the life of the object and its impermanence are evidenced in its patina and wear, or in any visible repairs.”


[and, not to detract from the message, but every time i say it, in my head i say 'okey-dokey.' wabi-sabi.]

read more HERE.