Richard Saja is No Wet Blanket

eyeprinciple — Thu, 05 May 2011 03:49:14 +0000

In these times, a blanket is a utilitarian necessity, or it becomes a canvas for over-designed Ikea duvet covers. But the old-world tradition of tapestry-weaving transforms the humble blanket into a work of art. Recently, I was introduced to textile artist Richard Saja who weaves one-of-a-kind blankets that deserve the kind of exposed brick wall-space that none of us middle class city dwellers will ever have access to. These blankets are huge and completely breathtaking when hung from the ceiling. Saja’s work is available for purchase at de Castellane Gallery in Brooklyn. Each blanket is unique and the price? Surprisingly low for such detailed handiwork.

old habits die hard

eyeprinciple — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 07:41:55 +0000

I came. I tumbled. I sort of got bored and kind of stopped tumbling. And yes, I mean Tumblr, which I have to blame for the recent lull in blog content. Of course, I am still an advocate for Tumbling–the dissemination of re-purposed content through the simple click of a boomarklet and the half-poetic, half-baked sentences that become captions for interesting photos. Initially, I wanted to escape the murky trenches of blogging, which had become out-of-mode and tiresome, like a bumbling old geezer recounting tales from the barber shop. Tumblr on the other hand had cooler layout designs free-of-charge! But cheap and easy has never been my thing.

What it all boils down to, is that I have a lot to say. Why wouldn’t I? I live in NYC and ride the subway, which alone gives me 60% of my content. I recently experimented with gluten-free eating to tame my eczema, and that’s another 10%. I enjoy doing stuff, seeing stuff, and listening to stuff that hurts my eardrums. Twenty percent. Run-ins with old flames. Ten percent (though, this number would be higher if I was still living in Cali). With all of this material, how could I have ever found blogging to be tedious? I blame it on the non-stop visual orgasms New York City-dwellers get from doing the most mundane things, and the difficulty of conveying these experiences in blogspeak. So, naturally, we do the next best thing: we use Tumblr, we tweet, and our lives become headlines or punchlines and we stop telling the good stories.

10.31.10

eyeprinciple — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 19:48:52 +0000

Rolling in bed as the LED screams in red
my stunted dreams bled.
Jolted from sleep to wake, but sleep I choose instead.
My casket–tempting–two pillows, those warm embraces
a black tarp of forlorn faces morning erases
this eternal tryst with death replaces.

And then chapter two. You.
Words tumbling over breasts and thighs
fumbling “rest of our lives”
faking “goodbyes”
Your eyes, Nirvana
idyllic wandering around infinite shades of blue
lull me into comatose longing for you.
and suddenly, I’ve put sleep on hold.
It’s you I’ve chosen instead.

An Ode to the Wooden Heel

eyeprinciple — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 23:09:25 +0000

Perhaps it was Rachel Comey who did it–who made me fall in love with the wooden heel. It was this shoe from her spring 2010 footwear collection that inspired me to “spruce” up my shoe collection. But alas, I had to choose between paying rent or looking chic–oh New York. Those Carrie Bradshaw-illusions feel so early 2000s, now don’t they?

Since then, my taste has evolved. I’m not sure I like fringes or wedges as much anymore, but I am still head over heels in-love with the wooden heel. There’s something fantastically mid-century furniture-esque about the contrast of leather and wood, paired together like an Eames lounge chair. I went shoe-shopping last weekend and found myself in Park Slope’s only acceptable shoe store, Eric on Seventh, and stumbled upon fierce wooden heeled-oxford-pumps blurring feminine and masculine, casual and dressy. Basically, it was my kind of shoe. The price–though not cheap, was doable. And it was definitely the most comfortable in its category. And here’s the shocker: These shoes were Timberland’s. The same brand that the hip hop streetwear community embraced in the 90s. Wait a sec. TIMBOS? I have a pair of Timbos at home but they’re mustard-colored construction worker shoes that I purchased to be quirky. These Marge lace-ups emanated something totally different–elegance and timelessness. But after a little research, I found out that Timberland does carry a luxury line of footwear that includes various wooden-heeled brogues, lace up pumps and boots, and more. Anyway, loving them!

Eric on Seventh
202 7th Ave., Brooklyn, NY
(718) 369-4189

Ikea rules

eyeprinciple — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 20:46:36 +0000

Ikea dominated the furniture market, and now the Swedish retail giant is rolling out a mass media takeover. The recently-launched Ikea cookbook is visually remarkable. The arty photos were shot by Carl Kleiner and styled by Evelina Bratell; and though it’s not food porn, it’s definitely soft core art porn. One can only imagine how fun it was to strategically place the ingredients in abstract formations. Well, fun, or just really annoying. This reminds me of this video.

But Ikea isn’t stopping there; a branded iPhone-app that’s being marketed with the book, the Kondis, is being rolled out. Here’s sneak peak:

The app is more or less a cooler, streamlined version of Weight watchers. And honestly, I’m not over the moon about the app’s usability. I’m mostly impressed with how awesome (and Scandinavian) the commercial is.

Wing Dog

eyeprinciple — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 17:06:36 +0000

While walking back home from the Creatures of Comfort store opening yesterday, I ran into this little guy, who like a good wing-dog, was waiting for his friend to finish chatting up ladies at a local bar.

NYFW/ Spring-Summer 2011

eyeprinciple — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 20:43:02 +0000

It’s wild in NYC right now–Fashion Week is full speed ahead and the city is not short of burgeoning trends or juice-fasting girls. So far, from what I’ve seen (while waving from the sidelines), there is some chic nail action taking place. Here are some hands from the Vena Cava show, courtesy of Refinery 29. A little tribute to this from a few days ago.

don’t snooze on Kisses

eyeprinciple — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:00:53 +0000

Kisses @ La Cita in Los Angeles

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of catching Kisses at the Echoplex. This was a show I’ve been holding my pee for. And the band, the show, did not disappoint.

Months ago, I found out that my friend Zinzi and her boo Jesse started side-hustling with a music project (aka Kisses). Since then, their “project” has evolved from two songs-to-their-name-unsigned band-music to opening for Stereo Total at the Echoplex with almost a whole album’s worth of awesome tunes. The duo (trio, if you count the shadow-dwelling drummer), has been all over the internet recently–and despite all the hype and despite the fact that I love Zinzi to death, I just had to see the show to believe it.

And now, I don’t just believe it, I’ve totally converted.

Kisses (see their tour schedule, listen to their music)

get a tan

eyeprinciple — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:34:54 +0000

Denim cutoffs, midriff-baring tees, and Jeffrey Campbell sandals–your 5 minutes of fame are coming to an end. It might still feel like summer outside (and definitely on the subway platforms), but the trembling, brown leaves gripping tightly to their stems offer a glimpse of climatic salvation. Autumnal promises of beautiful coats and boots and scarves offer a renewed enthusiasm for shopping. And yet the wallet aches.

This year, forget ebony and ivory, it’s all about the marital vows of black and tan/camel/khaki, renewed. Lush fabrics are hushed by minimalist cuts and prints. I am in LOVE. There’s a time and place for in-yo-face color, and then there’s just … this.

Les Chiffonier’s Fall Collection via Refinery 29

Acne flight bomber for men

Acne flight bomber for women

Marni winter 2010

The Perfect Tangent via Selectism

Wood Wood

pink jacket

eyeprinciple — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 14:21:47 +0000

Dezeen’s review of Munich’s Designliga