leather, moda + revistas

November 06, 2014 in TRAVEL, INSPIRATION, IN THE STUDIO

NY Garment District - etxe.co **warning: do not read this if animal skins freak you out**

My last trip to New York was for a garment tour with Bits of Thread, the studio where I do design work, sewing, etc. They hold various sewing and fashion design classes and hosted a trip for some fabric shopping.

I started the day at The Blind Barber in Williamsburg. They have Blue Bottle coffee and internet, which is all you ever need from a cafe.

We met at Mood. I got lost in the aisles searching for fabrics. Many stores in NY, including Mood, carry the remnants of fabrics ordered by designers. For example, if Theory orders thousands of yards of a cotton twill, but doesn't use all of it, it could end up at Mood where someone else can buy the very same fabric they use. At Mood they usually label the lot if it was made for a designer. The bummer is there is only a certain amount and you can't order more.

Mood - fabric shopping - etxe

For lunch we stopped at Schnippers and I had a huge cobb salad. Yum.

Lunch

Then we had a class at Global Leathers and learned about the different types and qualities of leather. We touched a lot of skins and discussed properties, treatments and uses. We also got to feel some exotic skins like stingray, zebra and python. It was pretty amazing to learn from an expert everything there is to know about leather (well, not everything!).

After I stopped at some other fabric stores, then Fashion Design Books for some art supplies and Around the World Fashion to browse through fashion magazines from around the world. To end the day I stopped at Moda Espresso Bar for a cappuccino and some down time with my swatches and new colored pencils.

Never fear, Brooklyn is here

November 04, 2014 in TRAVEL

Last weekend I went to New York for some fabric shopping. I hung out in Brooklyn with my friend and on Saturday we walked across the Williamsburg bridge on the way to Mood. I took some photos of the stunning bridge which has all forms of transportation in one: pedestrian path, bike path, 8 car lines and 3 subway lines. They are all running at once. It reminded me of schools of fish crossing each other in the ocean. Or blood cells. Or spaceships. You could feel the energy come up from the floor through your feet.

The bridge has been around for over 100 years and is one of 5 suspension bridges going into NY. At 7,308 feet long, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world when it first opened in 1903. The Williamsburg bridge connects my two favorite neighborhoods--Williamsburg and the Lower East Side--over the East River. If you've never walked across it, you definitely should next time you are in New York!

Here are my favorite shots:

Eating in Helsinki

October 21, 2014 in TRAVEL

Eating in Helsinki

I was only in Helsinki for about a day. Luckily, I found some great spots to eat at--special thanks to my airbnb host for his great tips!

The salmon soup at Cafe Bar 9 was amazing. I had it with one of the local beers and some bread. This cafe/bar was full, but not crowded. You have to order at the bar, so don't sit at the table reading for twenty minutes wondering where you waiter is like I did.

I stopped at Moko Market because I heard there was coffee inside. And there was! Kaffa Roastery is in the back. Their coffee is amazing and definitely worth a visit. Plus, you can order pastries at the Moko Market side and take it over. Moko Market itself is really cool--like a Scandinavian Anthropology. I loved the artwork on the walls and the variety of home wares.

street food eating in Helsinki

I grabbed a toast burger at this street food truck on my way to the ferry station. I thought I took a photo of it but I can't find it -- so here's the truck! I also have no idea what the truck is called, but if you are taking the ferry over to Tallinn, it's the truck right across the street from that station. Nothing like non-American fast food!

Have you been to Helsinki? What did you eat? Read what I ate in Copenhagen...

Cafe Bar 9

Uudenmaankatu, 9 00120, Helsinki, Finland Mon–Fri 11am-2am Sat–Sun 12pm–2am

Kaffa Roastery

Pursimiehenkatu 29 A 00150 Helsinki, Finland Mon–Fri 8am-6pm Sat 10am–5 pm Closed Sundays

DC Art Scene: Art all night + (e)merge

October 20, 2014 in TRAVEL, INSPIRATION, IN THE STUDIO

DC ART SCENE (e)merge and Art All Night

One of my dreams is to just travel and attend art shows. I love love love it. We recently had art all night and (e)merge here in DC. They were both fantastic. I took photos at both, but I must have had one to many drinks during art all night (which, I think is understandable considering I hosted a chili+cornbread dinner at my house and the event went until 3am) because this is the only photo I feel ok publishing: artallnightshaw-1

The next weekend we headed over to (e)merge, a huge art event that intends to connect the collector and emerging artist. This year it was at Capitol Skyline Hotel near the Waterfront in SW. Val and I biked over on a Sunday and spent hours wandering the hotel rooms. On the way, we found some public art as part of 5x5.

We said hi to our friend Fawna who does fine art printmaking and is off on an epic adventure right now.

We ran into people we knew, or kind of knew, or lived in places we used to know -- like Ana Schmidt who had a landscape acrylic painting of Arenas on view. AMAZING. I used to live in Sopelana and teach in Getxo when I lived in the Basque Country. Really, quite crazy. I was staring at the painting thinking, this feels familiar, and then I looked closer and recognized the bridge, the maze-like neighborhoods, the port...I looked at the title and sure enough, it was Getxo. I'm still kind of shocked by this coincidence.

We met artists and gallery attendants that sometimes looked bored and sometimes chatted with us, like Justine Otto. I was asking her about Hamburg and she was sharing her experience of DC and apparently we were talking for too long because my sister claimed she went through the rest of the rooms and came back in that time frame (lies!). Anyway, I love Otto's work and I hope you check it out!

We also met Mercedes Teixido who was doing a site-specific letter writing piece where a person reads and she draws two copies of the same thing using a contraption that was used by Thomas Jefferson. Here's Val reading her article about the female body being exhibited so people could learn more about anatomy.

There was a garage, called the 'lower level', that house more installations. We loved this interactive piece:

And this column:

And this:

And upstairs this photobooth set up (where you had to pay to get your picture taken). I really liked the concept, but not the awkward moment when the artist kept asking us to take a photo and us not really wanting to and being confused. Or I was confused, Val just turned around.

When we started to get tired, we got coffee.

Then we got tacos.

Then we went to an opening at Blind Whino and ended the night at DC9.

Me taking photos of myself.

Other people taking photos of us.

WE MISS YOU FAWNA!

Los Angeles is not a place

September 25, 2014 in TRAVEL, INSPIRATION, IN THE STUDIO

Los Angeles is not a place.

It’s a feeling. A memory. A phase. A thought. A dream. A desire. A living history. A destination. A destiny.

It’s the sensation of driving down the 101 in no traffic and thinking about the intersections and the off ramps and the blood rushing in and out and the interconnected separation that makes it so perfectly juxtaposed.

It’s the ocean breeze that you can feel even under layers of smog on the rooftop of a downtown highrise.

It’s that smell of burning wood when you’re chilling in a hoodie after a day of baking on the beach.

It’s the sound and sight of car chases and sirens. The stairs and hills and lights that illuminate your favorite neighborhoods. The movie stars that are dead and the living screenwriters that are sleepwalking.

It’s the casual bliss of being -- comfortable, aspirational, convenient, but unattainable to everyone else.

It’s the art deco and the western and the overcrowded church with no air conditioning. It’s the glitz and the violence and the mosh pits on the boardwalk.

It’s the mountains and the canyons and the clubs and the beach and the asphalt and the sun and the tacos and the palm trees and the supermarkets and the drivethrus and the old movie theatres.

It’s the ability to drive anywhere and do anything and be anyone at anytime so long as there isn’t traffic.

It’s the expectation and the setting and the pleasure of knowing what you will find. It’s the surprise of the new and the constant reminder of the familiar.

It’s the landing strip and the luggage and that weightlessness that just never goes away.

It’s the way you think it was and will always be even when it’s moving a million miles a minute.

But it’s not a place.

Last night when Nick Waterhouse gave a shout out to that intersection on Echo Park and Sunset Boulevard it reminded of this. That place that isn’t a place. That memory that lives forever and keeps growing every time I return to it. To that thing that won’t stop pulling me back to something I can’t even really define.

"I'm the Mayer Hawthorne-type singer that's perfect for adding sensual tension to any given David Lynch soundtrack," Nick Waterhouse

I met Nick in San Francisco. I don't remember how much we used to talk about LA, but I'm sure we did. I'm sure we talked about how strange it is or was or will always be. He lives there now and I live in DC. It's pretty amazing to see how far he's gotten and incredibly inspirational. A true testament to sticking with it and doing what you absolutely love. I really do miss those walks through the mission, up Potrero hill, with a coffee from that weird coffee shop near that Bart station in hand...those walks to jobs that didn't really care so much when we showed up. Both of us terribly thoughtful about everything. One of the few people who understands why the world is so confusing and with whom I could talk for hours about the intricacies of things people don't normally take the time to ponder.

Anyhow, Nick and his band played an amazing show last night and he just came out with a new record, Holly, which you should definitely buy. If you have any interest in well-thought out melodies, precise rhythms that flow or historically rooted music that sounds familiar and innovative at the same time, then you will love it. Oh, and if you have any interest, desire, or memories of a non-place called Los Angeles, it's kind of essential.

Adams Morgan Day

September 19, 2014 in TRAVEL, IN THE STUDIO

Adams Morgan Day DC 2014 Most Sundays are spent relaxing, going grocery shopping, doing laundry and binging on Netflix. You know, what Sundays are really meant for...

But every once in a while you decide to do brunch with your best friend, you decide it's more economical to get bottomless, and you end up having the BEST DAY EVER.

These Sunday fundays are even better when a nearby neighborhood is having their yearly festival. This is the story of Adams Morgan Day 2014.

My friend Anita and I started the day with a casual brunch at Satellite room. Yes, the place behind the 9:30 club that is also known for their boozy milkshakes. There was no wait and they were playing edm. So obviously we loved it immediately. (The waitress told us they switch up the music between edm and old school hip hop, so don't be scared away.)

brunch at Satellite room

We sat in the back patio where we had plenty of room to relax and ya know, hear each other speak. This would have never happened if we had gone somewhere on 14th.

A table of boys were playing cards against humanity. Did they bring it themselves? Are they regulars? Are there games at Satellite room? Questions for another time, because we got distracted by Wu-Tang Mimosas. Yes, these are mimosas made with tang.

Is tang still around?

Is a Wu-tang mimosa just tang powder with champagne?

How long does brunch go until at this establishment?

These are the questions you really want answered after your first Wu-tang mimosa. After much debate between ourselves we did confirm that they are made by mixing tang with water (first), then adding some champagne. And brunch goes till 5pm at Satellite room, just like brunch should.

Wu-tang mimosas Satellite room DC

Anywho. Here's me happy for food. I have a strict rule about always ordering omelets when getting brunch, because I love omelets but can never successfully make them for myself. (Editor's note - I can confirm this-she always burns the eggs... --xoxo Stephanie)

brunch at Satellite room

We had a lovely 3 hour brunch, like only best friends can have. Aww. Then we made our way to Adams Morgan, because hey, we still had about 3 hours left in our no worries Sunday funday.

"Adams Morgan Day A community festival one community, one people, one love, we are one." - adamsmorgandayfest.com

There were vendors selling food, pottery, paintings, and other cool things you would have no where to put in your rented apartment.

Clothes you want, clothes you don't want, and t-shirts that remind you of the friend that taught you to appreciate/love sloths.

Adams Morgan day

There were friends, families, small children, older people, college bro's ... and these two fools loving life.

Adams Morgan day Sunday funday

OH - and the best part about neighborhood festivals - the music!

[video width="854" height="480" mp4="http://www.etxe.co/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Adams-Morgan-day.mp4"][/video] Don't worry. I didn't leave empty handed. We made sure to get coffee at Tryst. You can't ever leave Adams Morgan without getting a coffee from Tryst. (but why don't our iced coffees come with animal crackers, too??)

I also found Georgetown students and alum I knew selling their awesome shirts. check them out at www.dchillin.com. A comfy new T that exclaims my dc love and supports fellow Hoyas, killin' it.