silver pearl strand jesus necklace / tom binns

but out of my price range

girl thing necklace / tom binns

i’ll have to browse 41 perry st for more

Embracing Geatano Pesce

A major component of our 2010 holiday exhibition is the presentation of important (and large) new work by the indefatigable Gaetano Pesce. L’Abbraccio (the embrace) stands over eight feet high and with its doors fully extended, reaches over ten feet in width. The figures themselves are familiar to anyone who knows Pesce’s work, but it’s rare for him to work in wood. The cabinet, both joyous and tender, is beautifully made and is a commanding presence in the gallery. It’s the centerpiece of an important new collection that Pesce has designed for Italian furniture maker La Fablier and this is the first example ever to be produced. Open or closed, it’s impossible not to respond to L’Abbraccio.

blue diamond sequin merino-wool sweater

my ice skating uniform in sixth grade was, of course, the vibrant lycra mini skirt – untraditionally paired with a DIY sweatshirt.  i’d been gifted a sequin craft kit and placed my shiny reflective teddy bear pattern on a black haines sweatshirt. one day i’ll share pictures.

i think i’ll go scour the interweb for another DIY  version — glue works just as well as stitches and i smell holidays!

after entirely too much time spent vacillating over this book shelf or that one – scouring IKEA, crate & barrel, cb2, west elm, vintage stores, you name it. . . (yes, i admit: i am one of those people always searching for the *perfect* solution + have a challenging time settling on the first thing i come across, even if it is *best*) i made my own.  with some bonus time on my hands, the DIY route felt right.  thanks to design*sponge + apartment therapy, i gained confidence plus inspiration.

my process: (1) measured the space, (2) had wood cut to size (the home depot in manhattan doesn’t do this, but most others do). fortunately the HD in my parents’ neighborhood has super friendly staff (FUBKLYN) and a very patient gentleman offered tips on securing the unit to the wall with the thin strips below the shelves — they are fastened to studs. (3) sanding – i put ar to work here: the repetitive motion of guitar strumming seemed to be great experience for 8 boards needing a once over [plus i hate sanding like i hate nail filing boards ::shivers:: ]

(4) STAINING IS HARD and this comes from an art major experienced with paints of different compositions.  not the best stain job, but good enough (5) cut 2 holes in the bottom 2 shelves to allow for tv cables (6) assembly !  in between the boards are plumbing materials : threaded pipes, flanges, nipples [insert awkward punch line from my trip to home depot]

all in all, she came out to be pretty sturdy [fingers*crossed] of course if i could do it all again, i would have the pipe cut to size and threaded, because i don’t totally love the blank space above the tv – but for a first go at furniture, i’m really really happy with it.  next i’d like to make a small box to house our records below the receiver.  ideally, the speakers wouldn’t rest on the floor – but it’s a manhattan apartment, it is what it is.

thar she is ! (though i take no credit for the uneven floorboard and tilted speaker)

» TOOLS:

4 pieces of 12″ wood cut to length

4 pieces of 2″ wood cut to length

16 screws to attach the pieces of wood to one another

12 screws to go through wood into stud

16 pluming flanges

8 threaded pipes in various sizes

64 screws to secure flanges to wood

+special thanks to brothers gibson for the person tips!

nytimes article

the use of blank space to the right of the Q& T makes this shelf.   incredible // aakkoset by kayiwa

he’d definitely have me hand grating fresh. (found on design boom / scratch my back)

a personal inspiration, design glut, has set up a kickstarter page + is offering pre-order of limited edition necklaces as a vehicle to fund their creativity

i love the clever chain usage

pre-order these and more here.  go on, support small design duo liz kinnmark + kegan fisher.  small businesses are rad, women run businesses are fab and small women run businesses are my favorite !