HOME • VISIT : Doug Johnston + Tomoe Matsuoka

photo courtesy of Doug Johnston & Tomoe Matsuoka

Having written about Doug Johnston and Tomoe Matsuoka's work, and shot their studio in this early Studio Visit, as well as waxing poetic about what they do just in everyday life, I won't say too much about it again in this post. But as sort of magical and interesting as their studio is, their home is a lovely, quieter, airier extension of that. 

I had the pleasure of house sitting for them last October while DH & I were in Brooklyn and they were traveling in Asia. Without any sort of plans on doing this little tour, I woke up in the morning to find nice little shafts of light everywhere in the apartment. What was I to do but start taking pictures? In the end, I had this nice little collection of pictures documenting their home, and tidbits of their life together.

I love how this visit came out. Its a bit more intimate than the others. Just a quiet morning at Doug & Tomoe's house. 

                      

- See the entire tour on VISITVISIT.US -

New Moss Poster

During an early spring evening hike up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, I happened upon blankets of reindeer moss. My only other experience with this moss was at an exhibition by Icelandic artist, Olafur Eliasson at the MCA, where he had installed live reindeer moss on an entire wall of the gallery and the viewer can watch (or not watch) as the moss naturally & slowly changed color, feel it warm the air of the gallery and smell its earthy fragrance. 

And for some reason, I thought this beautiful plant only existed in the magical land of Iceland, so you can imagine my surprise when I came upon so much of it during my nature walk. As striking as it was to see a whole wall blanketed with nothing but reindeer moss, I also loved how, in nature, its cloud-like forms burst through old forest debris. Now you too can have your own reindeer moss wall. On white paper and blue paper to accentuate the low, glowing evening light in the forest. 

Available only in 36x48". Click here to view listing and order.

Youtube Mixtape

Here are some high, middle and low brow videos culled from Youtubes to enrich your Friday.

Culture in the form of music and dance, animals to warm the heart, and a funny segment from Jimmy Fallon to bring the smiles.

Sohn - "The Wheel"





Das Triadisches Ballet by Oskar Schlemmer





Robert Breer's slow moving forms





The beautiful sounds of the Kulintang from the southern island of Mindanao in the Philippines





Jam City - "The Courts"





A red panda playing with a small pumpkin





"Let us play with your look" with Bryan Cranston on the Jimmy Fallon Show

NY ART BOOK FAIR

Going to the NY Art Book Fair this week / end? Don't forget to stop by Stall Q27, in the large room (Gallery Q) on the second floor! The Manila Review and The Office of Culture and Design's table, set up like the ubiquitous Filipino Sari Sari store, will be showcasing the new issue of The Manila Review, a cultural and literary journal from the Philippines. They will also be featuring various wares by the artists and designers featured in the magazine. 

I'm so excited to be part of the magazine (front and back covers as well as a little photo essay inside) and will have prints, postcards and photo_books at their booth. I'm just sad I couldn't be there myself. Send me pictures na lang!

LA

It is all of a sudden very very cold here in Michigan so I thought I'd revisit some pictures I took during the deep summer times. I want to share with you some highlights from my LA trip from July. It was some of the best times. Lots of food, getting to hang out with one of my oldest friends, Barsh whom I've known since 8th grade home room back in Manila, and her new wife Charlotte, getting to hang out with friends from Chicago, getting to hang out with new friends, getting to hang out with family, enjoying the sceneries, gawking at the natures and more food.

Loved going through these pictures and dreaming about the next time I can go back.

Studio Visit: Ina Grau

When it comes to my dress I keep it fairly simple, and this extends to my shoewear. I have a basic black canvas shoe I wear 99% of the time and when its too cold for that pair, I wear a pair of black desert boots. I wish I could have the confidence wear bright colors and mix/match patterns but my palette tends to remain fairly neutral and when I do venture into pattern its not too crazy. 

The shoes by Ina Grau, however, are different. I would wear all sorts of Ina Grau in a second. Their materials and colors are by themselves pretty neutral but the way they mix them up is just the right amount of statement. Customizable lace colors sporting brass ends and cute polka dot patterns burned into the bottoms of the shoes are the perfect finishing touches. They are lovely and considered details not immediately noticeable, but you love knowing that they are there.

They invited me over to their Minneapolis studio earlier this year and I had the best time chatting with Luisa and Crystal, and being shown around their workspace. In my mind, shoemaking is such a traditional men's craft, so it is really awesome to see two very talented women take this on and just totally kill it. The traditional craftsmanship is there and it is impeccable, but the vibe is entirely now, young, and exciting. 

What I also loved about meeting them is there is this creative energy that they exude. You get a sense of how much fun they are having doing what they do, as well as how excited they are to experiment and learn more about it. I left their studio feeling incredibly inspired and wanting my own pair of Ina Grau shoes more than ever. 

See the entire visit over on  Visitvisit.us !

DHC for CB2 Curtain Panel

 

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Our new curtain panel for modern furniture and design store CB2 is now available online and in stores! It is sheer so you can see through it during the day, but have the illusion of a sunny window at night. We love it and we are so excited about it!

Click here and the image above to read a little more about the image and to purchase it.