3 new projects commencing September 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kitchen remodel, along with 3 baths in SW Portland. The kitchen was torn out on Monday September 10th, more photos to follow.

                                                                                                                                                                      

1950′s home restoration in Lake Oswego, very similar to one you may have seen before on this site. Same builder – different location.

Skylights are being installed, floors are being refinished, new oak floor to match to be installed in kitchen, furniture being purchased, kitchen slated for restoration. More photos to follow.

                                                                                                                                                                       

 

 

 

 

1950′s restoration of an ocean front property in Manzanita, Oregon. Existing photos above, exterior renderings below.

Exterior work to begin soon and to include new roof, windows, siding and decks. Interior work to follow. Stay tuned for updates.

 

take-root

I met Julie Pointer at a YU Contemporary founders dinner, while she was there observing the art of the table and assisting John Taboada from Navarre with the preparation of the food and serving. The table, in my opinion, is roughly translated in how people come together to break bread, and the ways in which magic can happen when meals are shared and when one least expects it.

She has been attending a 2-year joint MFA program between PNCA and OCAC, called Applied Craft and Design.

The program focuses particularly on merging craft/design solutions with relevant social and environmental issues, and has an entrepreneurial push to it.

Julie has been observing time, place and environment, recently completing the massive undertaking of providing an artistic backdrop, along with table settings and pot luck assignments, for an outdoor meal. Gifting this, her thesis, to her direct neighbors and community where she lives in SE Portland, she created what I believe is so desired by many, that of creating relationships around sharing food together. I have been following her blog for awhile now, and am always amazed at her perception of beauty in the natural environment, the simplicity in which she weaves items together to create a whole new world for this one event. Whether through the invitations lovingly prepared or to the thought in which she chose the dinnerware, and brought together perfect strangers for a captivating event on May Day. She is someone to watch. The inspiration pages that she created as a backdrop for where she was headed with the final project are something that seems to have come from my dreams, I love the way her eyes and design sense capture exactly what I think is quite exquisite and complete to me.

YU Contemporary Art Center

YU hosted it’s first dinner for founding members yesterday evening. The meal was prepared by Navarre’s chef/owner John Taboada, with wine provided by Carlton Cellars and Martelo winery. The history of contemporary art in Portland for the last 30-40 years was distinctly represented around the table by Mary Beebe, Mel Katz and Jay Backstrand from PCVA 1972-1987. I was struck most by the intrinsic marriage that I feel must take place between the old guard and the new, with Portland sorely lacking in a contemporary arts facility and home. YU has the capability to become larger than anyone can conceptualize at this point of it’s early inception. The promise is high and I believe that it will be met.

I wanted to recommend attendance to this event this evening.

Art in the Garden Lecture:

Just Enough: Lessons in Living Green from Traditional Japan, Author Azby Brown

(images courtesy of Just Enough’s website)

Portland Japanese Garden hosts a lecture on green living next Friday, January 28th with Tokyo-based author Azby Brown.

Friday, January 28, 2011
5:30-7:30pm; Pavilion
$10 members / $15 non-members
Reservations required, space is limited
Purchase on-line or call (503) 542-0280

(from Portland Japanese Garden’s website)

Inspired by his first visit to Katsura Imperial Villa in the 1980s, Tokyo-based author Azby Brown went on to pursue a career in architectural design, ultimately writing The Genius of Japanese Carpentry and a number of other successful books, including Small Spaces, The Japanese Dream House, and The Very Small Home. A graduate of Yale, Brown is a professor of architectural design at the Kanazawa Institute of Technology, and founder and director of the Future Design Institute in Tokyo. His presentation will be on his latest book, Just Enough: Lessons in Living Green from Traditional Japan, published in 2010.

Through words and sketches, Just Enough tells how people lived 200 years ago during the late Edo period in Japan, when traditional technology and culture were at the peak of development, just before the opening of Japan to the West. Brown shows how people in the 18th-19th centuries dealt with some of the same issues we are facing today—energy, water, materials, food, and population—and forged from these challenges a society that was conservation-minded, waste-free, well-housed, well-fed, and economically robust, and that has bequeathed to us enduring standards of art and beauty.

The lecture will include reflections on Katsura Imperial Villa as the inspiration for Brown’s lifelong career in Japanese architecture and design, as well as his insights into the lessons to be learned from traditional Japan on ways of living green in a densely populated urban society.

A book-signing will follow the lecture.  Buy the book here!

---

Azby Brown:

A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Azby Brown is an artist and designer who has lived in Japan since 1985. He is the author of The Genius of Japanese Carpentry (1995), Small Spaces (1996), The Japanese Dream House (2001) and The Very Small Home (2005). His most recent book, Just Enough: Lessons in Living Green from Traditional Japan was published in 2010. On the faculty of the Kanazawa Institute of Technology since 1995, he is the director of the KIT Future Design Institute in Tokyo.

Read More: Essay by Azby Brown on The Design Observer Group website.

Indigo is the Color of My Dreams – exhibit at Japanese Gardens

Among the oldest dyes used for textiles, indigo was widely used throughout India, China, Japan, the Middle East, and West Africa.  In Japan, during the Edo period when silk was outlawed, indigo dye became especially prominent as cotton began to be used for textiles. Even today, indigo is the dye of choice for summer kimonos.

Indigo textile artist Shihoko Fukumoto’s beautiful linen and flax panels are currently on display at the Japanese Garden. Bridging traditional and modern methods, Shihoko masterfully achieves deep blue tones using traditional Japanese dye techniques.

Indigo is the Color of My Dreams

October 30 – November 28, 2010

Monday 12 – 4

Tuesday – Sunday 10 – 4

*Tea ceremonies will be held Sundays from 1 -3 pm in the Fukumoto Indigo Cube in the center of the pavilion.

Excited about – Little Winter Market – Ace Hotel this weekend

photo courtesy of the little winter website

At the cleaners at the Ace Hotel | 1022 SW Stark 503-228-2277

11-6 Saturday, November 6 | 11-5 Sunday, November 7

www.littlewintermarket.com

vendors |

• Abby Try Again
• Amanda Blake
• Hetterson Clothing
• Cori Kindred
• Favor Jewelry
• Fieldguided
• Forestbound
• Garment House
• Herriott Grace
• Jordan Ferney
• Julianna Swaney
• Kiki + Polly
• My House Party
• Mossiere
• Paul Ferney
• Secret Pocket
• Shanna Murray
• sulu-design
• Tokketok
• Twigs & Honey

 

Portland is so charming

Great Smithsonian article about Portland’s many charms by local author Katherine Dunn.  Click here to read the article.

EXCLUSIVE: Death Cab’s Chris Walla Covers Led Zep!

photo by autumn de wilde

http://www.spin.com/articles/exclusive-death-cabs-chris-walla-covers-led-zep

This has been the highlight of the project thus far, okay, well maybe one of many…it is a gorgeous personal rendition of the original off of In Through the Out Door.

12 things that I could not live without + favorites from Danielle Delceppo {wallpaper designer}

i cannot live without:

1. my cats, chicken and waffles
2. eye liner and lipstick
3. something to read
4. travel
5. a beautiful night cream
6. rock music
7. sunshine
8. chocolate croissants
9. fresh flowers (preferably roses, orchids, chrysanthemums, dahlias, magnolias, cherry blossoms, rhododendrons, monkey paw)
10. sunglasses
11. scarves
12. olive oil (for skin care and cooking)
13. exercise

A. favorite hotel? Gild Hall NYC
B. favorite music? Neko Case
C. always in my fridge? brut champagne
D. favorite food? tomatoes in the summer
E. favorite clothing? my vintage indonesian dancer print bullet bra wrap dress that makes me feel like bridget bardot every time I wear it.
F. an odd thing in my house i cannot live without? my partner.

To see the lush and gorgeous wallpapers Danielle designs, and to custom order for your home or business, go to www.delceppo.com

hint: to see a collaborative project that resulted in a beautiful wallpaper or potential fabric option, look under pattern design – illustrative wallpaper and fabric, then check out ‘winter ink blot’ from a photograph that sbaird design took near the willamette river in a 1998 snow storm. danielle’s talents and creativity are unparalleled.

personal dominions and thoughts #3

may juliette barruel – a friend, a small business owner, a local force in the art + music community and someone everyone should be inspired by….visit NATIONALE 811 east burnside portland, oregon 97232.

favorite wine?

shiraz grapes, usually. for special occasions, vacqueyras and chateau neuf du pape have been my favorites so far.

what is always in your fridge?

good butter, which i keep sealed in a glass jar. i got the trick from my friend laurence a few years ago to avoid taste contamination. this way, it stays as good tasting as when you bought it. my boyfriend calls me “the butter snob” and he’s completely right. the best butter that i remember having was at navarre, french with big pieces of salt!

music…

my music collection is pretty small, because i am quite happy with the few things i have and still not tired of bill callahan, neil young, and bruce springsteen. my solo show last fall was a lot about these three guys and how their songs have been a constant for me, especially emotionally.

thank you bill callahan (detail), thread on linen, 2009

i‘m very obsessive in my listening process. mostly because of the meditative mood i get from the music looping. on repeat lately, men with broken hearts, a country music tape compilation by josh kermiet.

that being said, i’m also very lucky to have someone in my life with an amazing record collection and who always brings various records over for me to listen to. saturday night, charles mingus’ tijuana album blew my mind.

favorite city...

different places are good for different reasons and portland has been a very good city in terms of living and enjoying the everyday routine. but, just thinking of walking down a tiny sidewalk full of bursting life on a foggy parisian morning, well there is no denying that i will always miss that so much. the general aesthetics, the sexually charged looks, the perfect balance of speed and quiet living.

wet sidewalk, paris, may 2009

favorite piece of art that you own…

so hard to pick, especially because i like how over the years art remnants from friends have all accumulated on my walls to form one big piece.

but, to answer the question,

the embroidery piece ( detail above ) from ty ennis’ you’ll love it here show that i received as a present last year and

the paper dumpster with casey’s graffiti from ryan boyle that i purchased in SF a few years ago.

what is hard and what is not about owning your shop?

hard : the talkers, they make it hard to know who to trust. and the constant worrying. not knowing if it will make it. not having the financial means to do what would make it successful. my brain working 24/7. not ever getting a paycheck. always having to plan the next show/event, even before the current one has happened.

not hard : the collaborations that have happened and weren’t part of the plan. my initial feedback given to heather from olo on the scent that she did for NATIONALE (6/7) and it leading to us having an entire line of her perfume being sold here, and the customers going pretty crazy for it. also rikki rothenberg having her studio at NATIONALE and helping me in exchange with the shop. not having planned any of this, and just watching it unfold. it’s been such a pleasant surprise.

what windows give the best light that you can think of?

the winter months in my apartment, when the tree leaves are dead and light comes in all day ( south ). crazy big windows that make me want to not leave the house. ideally, a home would follow the pattern of the sunlight, with east facing windows in the bedroom for easy, happy getting-up, south exposure living area, and maybe sunset deck for dinner?

favorite chore – why ?

washing dishes after dinner at friends’. it calms me and it’s a good time to be alone for a bit. although i have the bad habit to leave out the silverware. i don’t like washing the silverware at all.

item that most represents you…

these boots that i bought at the salvation army in pendleton last summer. because of their utilitarian aspect, strength, and history ( the ranch’s letters are branded on the back ). they are a no bullshit kind of object, so well made and the best spent $5.95. i wear them every day. they’re also a very personal symbol for me, of a great time of happiness, when everything falls into the right place. a reminder of that being a possibility.

what is on your bed right now?

my cat malick, my big bags that i just dropped there when i got home.

what does your office space look like?

right now, non-existant at home and in transition at the gallery. it’s usually very messy and always has pieces of inspirations pinned on the wall, souvenirs, a vision quest of sorts.

misconceptions about you…

that i do the things i do because i’m french. people like to always say that, “oh, she’s just french”, on issues that are such clichés. but then, they never really take the time to ask themselves what is truly different within these two cultures, and they often fail to recognize the things that i do do because i’m french. because of my upbringing. my not shaving my armpits has nothing to do with my being french, every woman i know in france shaves their armpits, maybe not obsessively everyday, but they still shave them. however, my not being an optimist has a lot to do with growing up in a country that lost its glory two hundred years ago and has gone through two world wars on its soil while being occupied. my grandmother at her death left a letter saying ” i was a very happy person until the age of 7, in 1914, when my father was sent to war”. this, i think, reveals so much more about me and the culture i come from than whether i have baguette, cheese and red wine for dinner every night.

marthe arnaud, 1907-1998

fitness routine…

none. hopefully start biking and walking to work again real soon.

what inspires you the most and the least?

most: collaborations

least: people with an agenda / shark-like ambition. it is so transparent and boring to me.

fantasy career…

when i went on my first road trip by myself two years ago i decided to start a blog and pretended i was sent on a job. for five days i forced myself to describe as best as i could and in my own style the places that i visited. the process and results were so rewarding on a personal level that i have fantasized ever since that this could be my career. may juliette barruel, professional blogger! with no pressure whatsoever about the things and places i would cover. i guess i have tried to continue doing that with a la claire fontaine, but lately there is just no time for it.

some favorite traveling posts:

http://5408miles.blogspot.com/2008/06/my-architects.html
http://5408miles.blogspot.com/2008/06/lets-move-to-country.html
http://5408miles.blogspot.com/2008/06/your-majesty.html
http://5408miles.blogspot.com/2008/08/bits-of-paris-in-seattle-not-just-in-my.html
http://5408miles.blogspot.com/2009/10/we-were-like-tourists-at-end-of-world.html
http://5408miles.blogspot.com/2009/05/just-outside-of.html