L'Occitane

Like how L'Occitane, which is sorta the GAP of fragrance shops, makes good products that are not crazy expensive and available to the masses. Nothing super exquisite but interesting fragrances and I am in love with the amber bottles for their Pour Homme products. Maybe more than how they smell.

Look good on my bathroom widow sill once I clean off the NYC dust that floats in after a day or so.

S-l-o-w-l-y.....

Pulling together my space. Did end up buying a couch. Got it delivered on friday. I walked into the apartment and saw it there and it looked like a fabric elephant. But now I like how it looks. And it sure is comfortable. Still a Milo Baughman from RICO but not the wood backed one. Too heavy looking and double the price.

Found this super nice mid-century ceramic vase which is such an amazing color and shape. Don't know much about where/when on this but who cares, it is so interesting right?

Interiors Book post #1 (The Find)

Shot the pics for a book on decorating with vintage and thrift for a book by Stan Williams named The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details ( I know a VERY long title). Some of the photos did not make it into the book and I thought I would occasionally share some here.

These are from the home of Carl Martinez. Carl is a super-talented designer ( an artist, really) of high-end hardware pieces.

Love how simple Carl keeps his home so the few things he has get the attention they deserve. Basically his place was a jaw-dropper. I think an 1890 townhouse with 3 or 4 floors and a great backyard.

We can all daydream, right.

Nature gone nuts...

Did nature really intend for some flowers to be this crazy color? I hope so!
Shot these quick little pics and still can't believe the plant kingdom is capable
of creating blossoms in this color. Feels like a "safety" green color
a school crossing guard would have to wear as a vest.

Sofa

Well, I need a sofa. I have/had a white one and it is feeling just a little too long for this smaller place(42nd Street was a loft-ish floor plan) and just too white. Saw this one from Thayer Coggin and like it. I have to see how much this sofa will cost and also what color fabrics are offered. The wrap-around wood is a nice touch and adds a bit of warmth to the design. Maybe not the most design-forward thing in the world but looks comfortable and bridges the gap between minimal and sit-able.

And has that "honey-I-made-you-a-sofa-in-my-basement-wood-workshop" piece of furniture that your grandmother would not allow in her living room.

UPDATE: Well, I found the sofa at a place called RICO in Brooklyn. It seems that the sofa is something like $4800 so it this won't be sitting pretty in my apartment. I like it enough but that sort of cash seems out of proportion to this sort of sofa.

Practical? No. Cute? Yes.

So today received a housewarming gift. It is a little nightlight designed by David Weeks from a line named "Ulterior Votives". Pretty funny, right. Weeks designed this particular piece to look like a mini campfire. It is made up of three pieces. My middle name is not exactly "whimsy" but I like this alot.
Thanks, Joe.

1935 or 2009

Here is a new pic I shot down in Miami of a model named Lin. She was perfect for this. Very still and private and not quite contemporary but not quite old-fashioned. I like that it has a 1930s mood to it. Kind of They Shoot Horses Don't They meets Willamsburg hipster.

You want what you can't have

These last few days I have yearned for shooting film. Right before I began to shoot digitally I was way into 4X5 viewcameras. I would even drag them across the globe for travel jobs. There is something very satisfying about the process of using polaroids and film. Not easy, of course, but it is a very forgiving medium and can produce images not possible with digital, even with tons of photoshop.

So today I went to B&H and bought some 4X5 polaroid, well, Fuji instant film since Polaroid is out of business. Of course about two hours into my romantic "polaroid" moment I ended up switching to digital because I wanted to capture some images and didn't want to wait for the film to be processed, printed, scanned, etc.

Here are 4 polaroid images and two (knife/flower) digitally captured with a Phase One P45 back.
(Polanoid.net is a great site with tons of polaroid imagery and they are trying to bring back polaroid-type instant film).

Cloudy? Rainy? Time to talk about sunglasses

It seems in NYC that is has been raining forever. Sometimes poetically, sometimes epically. When the sun does come out I am going to wear my favorite sunglasses. They are from Tretorn, the Swedish fashion and footwear company. I have in black too. And their sneakers and winter boots are great too.

Fresh Fruit

Today's market reminded me of two test shoots from last summer. One was berries and styled by Vivian Lui, a young food stylist. The other shoot I styled myself and I really got into making the whip cream. And eating the peaches.

Union Square Farmer's Market, NYC

Just about every saturday I head down to the Union Square Farmer's Market on 14th Street in New York City. Usually I meet up with my friend Jin who is a macrobiotic chef. I watch him do his careful shopping choosing the best organic vegetables and eggs and breads,etc.

I'm there for the atmosphere and the Cafe Mocha at the end of shopping, courtesy of Whole Foods. ( I hope to cook more in my new apartment...but I just finished takeout thai from Prem-On and it was fast and delicious).

Right now the Farmer's Market is gearing up for the time of year when it explodes with fresh food. Today I bought some delicious local strawberries (normal size not the gargantuan california ones with not so much taste) and a few apples--from last season of course. One apple, a Mutsu, also know as a Crispin, was about as big as a softball. The others were tiny and probably what nature intended.

There were very beautiful but not very cheap lilies from Jacksflowers. I don't know the variety but they are fragrant and yellow-ish with a dark pink center. I think they look right at home in my place.

Pretty near perfect

This white spider mum flower was like the Energizer Bunny. I bought it on monday and it kept going and going and getting better and better. Sometimes flowers freak me out because they are so perfect.

Trying out a few new pieces...

Well, I put my bed frame from Design Within Reach (outlet!) together this week after I drove back to pickup the correct parts that were missing from my first effort. I think it looks good. I do love how simple the bed was on the floor but the reality is that it is more practical and comfortable up off the floor. And yesterday we dragged a table up the three blocks from our prop rental biz to see if I think it fit in my bedroom (both literally and visually). I will use this as a desk. I don't have the chair here yet. Still figuring that one out.

High-ish and low-ish: Bed frame "Min" from DWR and the side table and desk lamp are both from Target...Thomas O'Brien collection I believe but from a few years ago.

Quiet is nice

Wednesday in NYC and it is raining now and darkening. Makes the city seem calm. Here are two pics I took that give me the same feeling. One is from the Chicago Botanic Garden and the other a pic I pulled together at Joe's apartment in Chicago.

Things I am finding out about the new place

A) The view during the day is much less romantic than at night but still interesting. B) My apartment (1) would have a nice view of The Empire State Building (2) if my window faced east. But B&H Photo and Video (3) is dangerously close. C) A downstairs' neighbor has a nice little terrace. D) Across the way is a very simple but lush private garden with a japanese maple and two blossoming Rhododenren. E) My gray apartment (with black-painted doors) seems right at home in the neighborhood since most everything out my window is gray and white and black.

First night in new place

I am spending the first night in the new apartment. It is not ready yet and I am not really moved in yet but just had to get a start and organize my bed and a small kitchen table and chairs (and flowers of course). The bed is supposed to be on a DWR frame but they sent 3 pieces for a full sized mattress and the rest for a queen size mattress, so it is back to Secaucus, New Jersey to figure this out at the outlet.

So for now the mattress is on the floor and that is cool since I lived the last 6 years with a mattress on the floor.

Still have to move my stuff here probably Tuesday or Wednesday but will edit down what I bring so I can keep the new place uncluttered.

Wasn't sure at first how I felt about the entire apartment being gray but I am happy with it now. I used four variations of a cool gray and the darkest is the bedroom and let's see if the darker room makes me oversleep!

Dance Photos from Andrea Mohin

The New York Times has a small portfolio of Andrea Mohin's dance photography. Sometimes I see something and it escapes me how a such a beautiful photograph was made. At first you think it was luck or the perfect moment. These two dancers were photographed at the EXACT time they should have been photographed. When you look at Mohin's work in the portfolio you realize this was not luck.

Think Pink!

Nothing much to say about pink except it can be such a crazy color. The rose is from the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and the dress is Valentino (and shot at the new Mondrian South Beach). Which came first, the chicken or the egg / the dress or the flower.