true nyc fashion

Not quite sure why I have so many fashion entries recently - perhaps fall fashion is catching up to me. {Don't go yet summer!} Anyways, came across these great images of a fashion shoot by New York Mag taken in the streets and sites of NYC and couldn't resist to share. Apparently going on location at 5AM, these models wearing classic style gowns and formal wear allow Coney Island, NYC cabs, Times Square, etc. to become one of the other supermodels of the photo shoot. How great is the top image of all those yellow cabs lined up, especially because you know there is no Photoshop action going on there. And how could you not appreciate a classy shot of the favorite Cyclone ride. I love the mix of real NY with the stylized fashion...
Check out all photos here and in the most recent issue of NY Magazine.

muto {by blu}

Check this video out - MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU. Crazy technique of grafitti-esque drawings that eventually get animated and set to sound/music. I can't even fathom how long it took to create this thing but it's quite a piece of work.

materializing flowers

I feel the air cooling down here and so the fall clothes in the store windows are not looking as "unthinkable" anymore. But I'm going to keep a hold onto the summer as long as possible - so ode to blooming flowers (but with a fall palette)...I love this look of cascading flowers created from material being cut, folded, and manipulated to become surface relief objects.
Photographed above are from top to bottom:
1. hand-crafted leather manipulation by Helen Amy Murray
2. flower petal top from Bottega Veneta's fall collection
3. contemporary armchair by Helen Amy Murray
4. detail of the armchair leatherwork
5. detail of Valentino's Jardin Rose Frame handbag
6. skirt from Vera Wang's fall ready-to-wear collection

organic giraffe

Put a graphic designer and a fashion designer together and we get Organic Giraffe. This NYC duo's debut creation is an organic cotton scarf wrap that has writing in the Basque language and their great giraffe logo silk-screened on it. The scarves have been hand-dyed in various colors {red and purple shown above are part of their summer collection} and are nice addition to the eco-friendly fashion family. They are so soft to the touch and is a perfectly fun accessory for all 4 seasons.
Organic Giraffe scarves are available at shopbop.com, OAK, and other stores in NYC...

up to vermont

Last week, I went up to the mountains in the Vermont Stowe area and had some R+R time away from the city. As I looked into vast skies with enormous clouds, biked through expansive fields of green, walked by flowering gardens and cornfields...I got to breathe in that air of nature that is a "bit" harder to find in the city. It's little escapes like this that allows one to appreciate minutes and hours that usually just whiz by in the normal everyday. Photos above are some shots I got to capture during the days that I was up there. If you haven't already, may you enjoy the end of summer and fit in some relaxation time that can recharge your energy and rejuvenate your mind, as you do things at a pace a little different from your ordinary...

where the hell is matt?

It's the first week in August~ This video Where the Hell is Matt? from Matthew Harding, that celebrates dancing + traveling just made me smile...have a great start to your week.

soledad barrio and noche flamenca

Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenca are in town and I had front-row seats. And wow, are they a dynamic, passionate, and artistic group of dancers, singers, and musicians. Flamenco is an art form with such mystery, but this company has the experience, essence, and spirit for anyone to appreciate. As the stage shook with their feet powerfully stomping on the ground, I saw the dancers' sweat whisk off their face as they did a quick turn and singers belt out a beautiful voice from their soul. They are here in NYC for all to see - do go and enjoy the powerful performance that just makes you feel the passion of flamenco.
Olé~...and have a wonderful weekend all!

modern mantra {thomas broome}

With crazy precision, Swedish artist - Thomas Broomé - uses indian ink on white paper to create interiors and illustrations constructed with words and letters in Modern Mantra, a series of 18 text drawings. Broomé masters perspective by positioning letters at certain angles and degrees. As seen above {click on image to see enlarged version}, he uses the word of what he is drawing in repetition until it forms the shape of that item. His drawings were used in an ad campaign for the Yazigi English School with the tagline, "Life has no subtitles.", {how excellent is that?}. Not sure how appreciated his drawings were in these ads but his technique + method captured my attention for sure...

gather around the table

Last night I had dinner at Oriental Garden in Chinatown and had an absolute feast. I went with some regulars of this establishment, who have created their own custom menu of their favorite dishes. The double-digit course menu included the above pictured scallop with garlic, chicken feet and conch, massive oyster in the shell, and abalone + fish soup. As we sat around the large round table with a varying age group of people present, one older gentleman had interesting words to share: "I have one mouth and it is meant to talk and eat!" And that's just what we did. Sharing stories of travel, family, work, health, and more - we savored one of the best meals that our Chinatown has to offer. Cheers to enjoying good food with good people~

go upcycle!

Last night I met with my former colleague and founder of UpCycle, a progressive company that is encouraging consumers and businesses to create an environmentally sustainable economy. UpCycle promotes responsible consumerism by building the infrastructure to allow people to recycle everything - especially products that go beyond paper, plastic, glass - and get rewarded. They hope to close the waste loop by giving people incentives towards new products by recycling their old product. So let's say your inkjet printer is no longer doing its job...you can go through UpCycle to recycle it (yes...printers can be recycled!) and get a discount to buy a new printer via a store that is also part of the UpCycle program. Everyone wins! Studio TOTA has been given the opportunity to create the identity for this promising program. After many rounds of decision making, above is the official logo - and we are in the works for a website and promotional materials...so stay tuned!

people cutouts

Noticed a new graphic trend {that I do like} lately in editorials and ads: rough cut-out photos of people. Top black & white image is from the newest Converse ad campaign - photos of 3 artists are multiplied and stacked and flipped through as a fun visual affect. Bottom is nymag.com's Party Lines, New York Mag's showcase of celebrity pics at parties - the background of the celebrity is cut out and the resulted photos are treated like a little collage project. Granted it creates a more casual aesthetic, the cutouts result in specifically unique shapes that give some movement to an otherwise flat medium and allows images to escape from the boxed in standard. Always open to being a little out of the box...

grid wall pockets

Designers Jaime Salm and Elizabeth Ingram have designed a solution for you to get rid of all the *misc* clutter on your desk and put them in pockets on your wall. Made from die-cut and stitched recycled felt, Grid Wall Pockets Organizer is easy to install on any wall at home or in the office. Available in 3 colors {Hot Rod Red, BB Blue and Orangina - how cute!}, this is a "green" item available at MIO, an online store promoting well-designed, modern, sustainable products.

music in the park

Summer in NYC is amazing. Especially when you take advantage of all the outdoor activities hosted around town. During this past week, I was able to go to 2 concerts (did I mention FREE?) on the Great Lawn in Central Park - Bon Jovi and the NY Philharmonic - how vastly different can we get?
Bon Jovi's appearance was to celebrate Major League Baseball's All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, that is getting retired at the end of this season. Over 60,000 people filled the Lawn to bring out the Jersey girl/boy out of them and scream all the words of "Livin' on a Prayer" and "Runaway".
Last night was another packed Lawn for a concert where the NY Philharmonic annually treats us to their orchestral sounds. People kicked back on the lawn chairs, sipped some wine, picnic-ed under the stars to a backdrop of Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and more. The concert's encore finale was a fireworks show at the south end of the park!
The 2 concerts were so different in music but were so similar in that they both brought together the otherwise disjointed NYC-ers to share their love for food, culture, fun, and social gatherings. Topped by perfect weather, I soaked in the positive energy flowing through the notes of the music into the veins of everyone there.

subway art {christoph niemann}

Found this charming blog piece - The Boys and the Subway - part of the NYTimes.com Abstract City section by illustrator, Christoph Niemann. This visual story is about his young children who grow up in New York City and LOVE the subway. When you get so jaded about the main mode of transportation for all of us here, it's stories like this and the innocence of children that reminds you about the fun in something that is so habitual.
Niemann's illustrations have appeared on the covers of various publications {New Yorker, NY Times Magazine, etc} and he is the author a few children's books.

photography {by cedric bihr}

French photographer, Cedric Bihr, has an intriguing point of view that captures romance, mystery, and beauty via his lens. The mood and color he portrays are things that can only be described visually through his photos. Above are photos from a fashion editorial {Redux magazine} and landscape shots of the French countryside. See more pics and get swept into his world...

chance printed cards {postalco}

Check out the new cards/envelope set from Japanese company, Postalco. Named Chance Printed Cards, these are one-of-a-kind creations via bouncing rubber balls moving at random and applying paint to the cardstock. Reminds me a little of spin art at carnivals where you drop some paint onto a t-shirt and let it spin crazy and...voila~ art on a hanes tee =). These cards are just as fun but much more modern + pretty...

color your home

I see that fashion designer Missoni is quickly expanding their home collection. For a modern minimalist home looking to add a splash of color, I think their bold but carefully chosen color palette can be a nice accent. Above items {bedding, floor cushions, pillows, and candles} are all available at auto.

moving momentum identity

Studio TOTA has been working with Portland Oregon based pack-and-load moving company, Moving Momentum, for a bit now. After getting the essentials of business cards and a simple informational website up and running, we had the opportunity to develop a logo for the company. Keeping their signature colors, as well as the chevrons that point upwards to represent the positive change that Moving Momentum participates in for someone's life, we finalized the logo as above. This logo will be used on all marketing materials going forward, as well as shirts and hats for the movers!

graphic equalizer

Something fun I stumbled on - Revamped Graphic Equalizer from Marcelo Costa. Turn up the music, sit back, and relax and enjoy the long weekend! Happy 4th everyone...

reasons to be pretty

Have you ever experienced the whirlwind of emotions of a Neil LaBute play? This week at the MCC Theater is Reasons to be Pretty, the final ferocious cap on a trilogy of plays that began with The Shape of Things and Fat Pig. Revolving around the sensitive topic of physical beauty, the play is about how it can create and destroy relationships. The story is developed and richened by LaBute's amazing writing and character development - his trademark blunt honesty and shock value was also present, of course. This play is punctuated by monologues by each of the 4 characters, which allows us to see a little deeper into the different points of views of the characters. I loved being immersed in LaBute's dramatic but real/relatable world - and recommend this show to anyone up for a little jolt to their week.