Studio TOTA

morgane le fay

2010-02-08T10:48:00.002-05:00

I'm on the search for some dresses recently, and I discovered a {new-to-me} designer Morgane Le Fay. Apparently a shop that started in Soho back in the early 80's when Soho was REALLY Soho...they have established themselves to presence on Madison Avenue now. Their style is to create mysterious pieces that can be worn in various ways - use a sash as a tie piece around the waist or bring it up and over your shoulder to create an asymmetrical accent. Creating maybe a dozen cuts of outfits, they are executed in some basic hues to create a full collection. "Our sole concern is for fit, ease, and elegance - not for age or background."...which was seen as the dressing room was comprised of totally different types and ages of women. On a fun note, Morgane Le Fay debuted costumes for the world premiere of Peter Martins new ballet for the New York City Ballet last fall - which I can totally imagine seeing all the flowing chiffon and silk materials used in their pieces. Here a few snapshots - and check out their website for a better look at their beautiful collection~

duck duck green

2010-02-02T07:33:00.002-05:00

I'm planning a baby shower for my sister and so I'm taking notice of all the cute baby things out there~ {and there is SO much!} On that note, I wanted to introduce my friend's online shop Duck Duck Green that sells everything eco-friendly for those newcomers to this world. My friend and her partner are moms and have collected their favorite things - and even created some items for their own line. Photographed above is their cozy kit that includes everything soft and cozy for the little one. I recently bought a few gifts and the packaging is so great topped by their cute branding touch - photographed below. I also read their blog and they had this great digital scrapbooking idea to create an email address for your baby {exerpt here}:

When our kids were born, we created an email account for each of them. We email them on special occasions, or whenever we feel like sending them a little message. Birthdays, we send a happy birthday message & attach a jpeg of their invitation. When we send baby photos to family members (almost daily, I admit) we CC our kids. First steps, video clips of dance parties, Halloween costumes. Or most often, we’ll just send an impromptu love note.

We also gave their email addresses to our family and close friends so that they can say hi when the mood strikes.

Every so often, we’ll check their email accounts. It’s already so much fun to read about all the little moments we’ve had with our kids over the past two years. It’s sort of like a photo album meets journal meets scrapbook. I love to picture our son, 10 years from now, reading a note from his uncle on his 2nd birthday. Or our daughter watching a video of her first birthday cake.

Great idea right?

{Product photos courtesy of Duck Duck Green}

happy feet

2010-02-01T08:28:00.001-05:00

Bundle up out there {or you'll end up like me, a stuffy sinus mess!} With the frigid weather back, everyone/thing needs those extra layers...and why not your chairs? These chair personality socks made me smile. Argyle or athletic tubes...I think I would do a mix and match for a kid's room or put them on your boss's chairs to fun up a Monday morning?

{Photos courtesy of Charles & Marie}

dancing poem {lou doillon for vanessa bruno}

2010-01-27T11:53:00.004-05:00

Found this...love it.

From Style.com:

Lou Doillon returns in the second installment of Vanessa Bruno’s ongoing video poem directed by Stéphanie Di Gusto, which goes live tomorrow on the designer’s Web site. Kitted out in Bruno’s designs, Doillon performs impromptu choreography in talc and goes for a quick frolic in the dunes, all set to a composition especially for her by the Canadian pianist Gonzales. “There’s something really primal about Lou; she has great freedom,” Di Gusto told Style.com. “We just left it up to her, and at one point, she just let go. There was talc all over the room.” We got a sneak peek, below.

chamber music @ the met

2010-01-18T09:55:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, while it drearily rained outside, I spent a few hours at the Met Museum where there was a chamber music concert at the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium right inside the museum. With a program of Mozart, Ravel and Brahms pieces, the intimate auditorium space was filled with soothing music from string instruments and piano by Yefim Bronfman.

After the concert, I visited the Temple of Dendur and the Impressionist section of the museum - how can you not see some of the great art while you are there. These are some paintings that particularly caught my eye on this specific visit...

Mada Primavesi (1903-2000) - Gustav Klimt - 1912

The Bath, Javea - Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida - 1905

{forgot to capture info!}

{Photo of Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium courtesy of here}

january 2010 {tota press}

2010-01-14T11:19:00.002-05:00

Inspiration

Happy New Year! Cheers to another start of a new year, where we can restart/reboot ourselves to plan and hope for a year full of goodness. All Japanese families gather together {New Years is the biggest traditional holiday - almost the equivalent of Thanksgiving here in the US} for a meal heavy on symbolism to wish for a joyous, healthy and prosperous year.

Symbolism is a huge part of Japanese history and culture. During my last visit to Japan, I visited Nikko in the Tochigi prefecture, which is the home of Toshogu, a lavishly decorated shrine and the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site - justified by its beautiful grounds, rich history and presence of significant cultural relics. It rained for my visit, but I still enjoyed an inexplicably peaceful walk through the site and learning so much about it. One of my favorite new discoveries was one relatively small object - a helmet which was part of a Samurai war armour that Tokugawa Ieyasu gifted to his grandson, Tokugawa Iemitsu. The helmet {on display at Taiyu-in in the complex} had a large gold dragonfly on the top center. Dragonflies fly directly forward never deviating from its path; Traditionally known as katsumushi or the "victorious insect", the dragonfly was a favorite symbol of strength among Japanese warriors. This philosophy - to be always forward-moving despite any distractions or barriers - was the message that a grandfather wanted to give to his grandson. Despite this being more for war fighting {which is not something I believe in}, I was fascinated by the symbolic creature prominently adorning the helmet. And at the time of a new year, I wanted to borrow that message for all of us to shed the past and move forward with strength and positive energy. So, 1 of the cards has a red dragonfly as a small accent motif with hopefully a bigger meaning.

The 2nd orange card is meant to be a light-hearted design that was inspired by the fireworks, lights and party garlands {I am a long-time fan of the Fabulous Garlands by Sophie Cuvelier} for a fun new years party. The orange was the color choice to honor 2010, which is the year of the tiger {for the Chinese Zodiac}. May your year be fiesty, grand and exciting like our celebrated animal~

May this year bring you amazing experiences, joy, laughter and happiness in all ways~...cheers!

Many much more photos on our Facebook page - January 2010 album »

We are accepting orders now...go to www.totapress.com and click on "Yes, sign me up".

Become a TOTA Press fan on Facebook to get the latest news + updates and to share with your multitude of friends~
Join the mailing list...go to www.totapress.com and click on "Join Mailing List" on top right of page.

subway architecture

2010-01-13T09:24:00.001-05:00

Came upon this feature of subway architecture through a random blog stroll. I'm a big fan of the NYC subway station art {tiles, installations, mosaics, etc} ...but I am absolutely impressed with the imagination and vision to create these stations photographed here. Subways/metros and their stations are such an integral part of urban design and is something that really represents that city's personality. I appreciate Design Boom for putting together this overview~

Photographed here from top to bottom: 1. moscow – komsomolskaya station; 2. prague – line a, 3. tokyo - iidabashi station; and 4. stockholm tunnelbana. See more here.

{Photos courtesy of design boom}

brief encounter

2010-01-11T19:46:00.003-05:00

Over the weekend, I saw the play Brief Encounter at St. Anne's Warehouse - and what a great stage production! Based on David Lean's 1946 film {same title Brief Encounter} about a doomed love affair between two married people, this specific production is by the Britain-based Kneehigh Theater. With actors performing in front of originally created black-and-white film clips, they are trying to honor the spirit of the film that inspired it from the 1930s. The talented cast plays multiple varying characters, sings while acting, and does a lot of the stage setup themselves {moving set pieces, producing sound effects, etc}, which I loved. I really admire the creative direction taken by Emma Rice to put on stage her very unique take of the story - that all can enjoy. It's no wonder that this performance got extended {the reason why I was able to go check it out!} for more people to experience...

{Photos courtesy of NY Times and here}

art of the samurai {met}

2010-01-07T07:33:00.000-05:00

This is the last week for the Met Museum exhibit called Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor. I went to check it out as I know there is so much rich history, culture and artistry involved with anything samurai - Japanese warriors who were members of the feudal military aristocracy. Aristocracy, being the keyword, samurai held a high and respected role and led lavish lifestyles for their time. The Met collection {apparently the first comprehensive exhibition devoted to the arts of the samurai in the US} featured samurai helmets, armor, clothing, swords and their cases, saddles and artwork. The objects date from the rise of the samurai in the late Heian period, ca. 1156, through the early modern Edo period, ending in 1868, when samurai culture was abolished. Every item is hand crafted with artistry, which shows the high respect and honor that was given to these warriors. You get to see many pieces that are practical warrior tools that also embody many layers of symbolism. Various helmets were crafted for indiviuals that represented their philosophies and beliefs. There was a helmet that was in the shape of a swallow's tail {bottom image} that was not only aerodynamic, but also represented the speedy force in how a swallow flies. My other favorites from the exhibit included a video that showed how 15 people and 6 months are involved to create 1 sword, as well as jinbaori {surcoats that warriors wore off of the battefields} that had amazingly modern motifs despite them being created in the 16th and 17th century. I recommend the exhibit for anyone who wants a glimpse of this realm of Japanese culture {up at the Met until Jan 10}.

{Photos courtesy of Met Museum - photographs were not allowed for this exhibit}

more feasting {adour}

2010-01-05T08:01:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was my mom's birthday and so my family and I celebrated her special day at a special restaurant here in NYC - Adour Alain Ducasse at the St. Regis Hotel. The concept of the restaurant is to create a classic-turned-modern menu that pairs well with wine - so the decor {interior by the Rockwell Group} of the space complimented that idea with a few largely prominent wine vaults as well as glass walls with grape + vine etchings. The food was phenomenal - everything cooked to perfection and the presentation being small works of art. And speaking of art, there is a beautiful large installation mural by Nancy Lorenz {top middle photo} that caught my mother's and my attention. With thick organically flowing gold gesso and mother of pearl inlays, the relief piece creates the mood of the dining room. Adour is definitely a special occasions kind of place and if you have the chance...bon apetit to you~

Main Dining Room

Poached Lobster Entree, Chocolate Leaf Dessert & Birthday Hazelnut Souffle

Beautiful Decor of the St. Regis Hotel

new years feasting

2010-01-04T07:05:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year!!! How did your 2010 begin? Thanks to my dear mom, my day 1 of this decade began with a traditional Japanese new years feast full of symbolic foods. My favorite is ozoni {toasted mochi rice cake in a clear soup}, but we all also enjoyed black beans {mame = which also means "health"}, chestnuts, seaweed {konbu = associated with the word yorokobu, meaning "joy"} lotus root {renkon = when sliced it lookes like a wheel with spokes and gaps, and wishes for a "clear, good future"} and nishiki tamago {an egg dish that separates the yolk and the whites, where yellow symbolizes "gold" and white symbolizes" silver"}. All Japanese families gather together {New Years is the biggest traditional holiday - almost the equivalent of Thanksgiving here in the US} for a meal heavy on symbolism to wish for a joyous, healthy and prosperous year. So I share some photos from our table and wish you all a super year {of the tiger!} with amazing experiences, joy, laughter and happiness in all ways~...cheers!

happy holidays~

2009-12-24T07:20:00.001-05:00

Happy Holidays to everyone~ At this time of wrapping up the year, I want to thank you for your continued support and encouragement. I hope you, your friends and family all have a super holiday season and a new year full of good times~

I leave you here with some photos of my favorite Christmas find...ornaments made of pages from Pride & Prejudice from Brookish.

{Photos courtesy of Brookish}

edgy-er pearls

2009-12-22T18:27:00.000-05:00

Pearls have always had a difficult time being cool. But perhaps that has changed with Thakoon's debut jewelry line for Tasaki. I like the simple line of pearls and can imagine it subtly dressing an outfit up. It definitely has a more youthful feel and look forward to checking them out in person {coming out in April 2010}...

{Photos courtesy of fabsugar}

roy haynes @ birdland

2009-12-21T08:49:00.003-05:00

This weekend I got surprise tickets to see the legendary jazz drummer, Roy Haynes, at the Birdland. He is apparently known as "one of the seven wonders of modern jazz" - and it is amazing that at 24, Haynes was the drummer in Charlie Parker's group on Birdland's opening night, December 15th, 1949. So, fittingly, this set was the cornerstone of Birdland's 60th Anniversary celebration. Get this, he's 84 YEARS OLD! But he played like he is decades younger - and how appropriate that his band's name is "Fountain of Youth"...inspiring~

{Photos courtesy of Josef Polleross and Carolyn Appel (JALC)}

must-have handheld of 2009

2009-12-16T00:17:00.005-05:00

I watched this little parody of an iPhone and thought it was pretty well done - and so true! No waiting for pages to load, no contract, no losing reception - there's no substitute for the good old paper. Created to celebrate the the 40th anniversary of the Sun, this video is a fun way to fight the paper cause...

numbered bowls {gleena}

2009-12-14T11:54:00.003-05:00

This weekend I went to a nice housewarming/holiday party at my friend's home. I was looking for a housewarming gift for this family who already has all of their basics. I came upon these bowls by Gleena and thought these could be so pretty in a new home. They are a versatile size that could be good for the kitchen {for little treats}, the bathroom {maybe soap?} or the bedroom {perfect for your jewelry}. I love the shape and simplicity. Apparently they are inspired by gourds found during the designer's trip to French Guiana. Just lovely...

{Photos courtesy of gleena website}

museum of chinese in america {moca}

2009-12-11T10:41:00.001-05:00

After seeing signs for the new Museum of Chinese in America {MOCA} for some time now, it has opened and I went fora visit. The 12,000 square feet of former industrial space now tells a story of the presence of Chinese-Americans from the 1700s to present day. This space located in Chinatown is designed by Maya Lin {who is no stranger on this blog} and has a really nice facade on Centre Street. It's modern and tasteful - which I think is a nice first impression for the Museum and the people it honors. Highlighting the past and present of Chinatown {in NYC, as well as all over the country}, a visitor can read and see how the Chinese in the US have endured so much throughout time, have survived a tough history, and have accomplished so much. The museum has interactive elements, videos, anecdotes, old photo collections, original artwork from the various time periods {some samples below}. There is also a temporary exhibit called HERE & NOW of contemporary Chinese-American artists and their work {my favorite was the bottom photo if hanging Chinese and English books that all had view-holes carved into them with little figurines inside. Oh, and Thursdays grant free admission...nice.

fiat luxe soap

2009-12-08T07:56:00.000-05:00

I received one of these Fiat Luxe felted soaps from a friend and love it~ These handmade soaps - by Valley of the Roses - are wrapped in softly spun, natural wool to create a lathering effect. I have the green one that has a verbana fragrance that is subtle and refreshing. They say that when the soap dissolves, reuse the felt pocket by making a small slit and slipping your own soap inside...smart design.

december 2009 {tota press}

2009-12-07T08:04:00.001-05:00

Inspiration

Happy Holidays everyone~ It's that time of year where we wonder where time has gone and we are going in all directions to end the year right. 'Tis the season and NYC lights up to embrace the holidays and so this month's cards are delivered with some gold and silver shimmer in a subtle style.

I recently walked through Midtown and perused the holiday windows of Bergdorf Goodman - as they are always my favorite. This year's theme is called "Compendium of Curiosities" which I think is a loose interpretation of the Alice in Wonderland stories - there were windows that featured the red and black of playing cards, the rabbit coming out from underground, strange illogical adventures and more. I have to say that compared to other years, the windows {BG and others} are a little bit more "modest" {in a high-end luxury kid of way} but I think that might be an overall trend for the holidays this year...I still enjoyed seeing the glowing streets all lit up.

Also, just recently, I returned from a trip to Japan - and I am ALWAYS influenced by the beautiful aesthetic in the everyday, the understanding of simplicity, the care that goes into the tiny details and the respect for tradition while embracing innovation. Some highlights included a trip to Nikko where I stayed in a hot spring ryokan, the food {both the taste AND presentation}, visiting some 100+ year letterpress and paper shops, a vintage kimono shop and traditional paper fan store...the list goes on. Some trip photos »

I tried to capture that sense of simple beauty in this month's cards while keeping it festive {it is that time of the year!} with shimmer paper and metallic ink. Cheers to a warm, safe, fun, relaxing holiday season to you...

Many much more photos on our Facebook page - December 2009 album »

We are accepting orders now...sign up by December 23rd to receive TOTA Press's January 2010 card~ Holiday gift subscriptions are welcome!
Go to www.totapress.com and click on "Yes, sign me up".

Please help me *spread the word* and share this posting or website address www.totapress.com with friends, family, colleagues and anyone who you think would appreciate this idea. And! Become a fan on Facebook to get the latest news + updates and to share with your multitude of friends~

judy ross scarves

2009-12-03T08:16:00.002-05:00

Came across these beautiful embroidered scarves by Judy Ross. They are hand embroidered in art silk on wool - I love the modern design and neutral color palette. It looks like something that stylishly can keep us warm in this winter's-on-its-way weather...

{Images courtesy of Judy Ross}

packaging with mt tape

2009-12-02T09:03:00.008-05:00

Yesterday, my TOTA Press December 2009 cards went out in the mail! The last few days and hours of the month are always spent where my working space is upside down and I am in major packaging mode. One of my favorite packaging "tools" is mt tape - a line of masking tape that comes in beautiful colors, sizes and patterns. I am a big fan of the grid pattern {shown above} as it's versatile but adds a touch of uniqueness. But during my last trip to Japan, I got to see their latest colors and patterns, as well as other brands that have come out with similar products {like Classicky, whose cute numbers tape pictured below I got}...and of course brought them home with me. I find the tapes to be refined + simple and use them to seal envelopes, as well as post little notices to customers on their packages. For the holiday season, I bought a silver and gold duo package and used them for the December packages~

Side note: Did you know that there are blogs out there solely about tape and their uses! Like this one, happy tape...ideas ideas!

{Images courtesy of mt, uguisu shoten and happytape}

bg holiday 2009 windows

2009-11-30T07:56:00.001-05:00

I hope that everyone had a warm and relaxing Thanksgiving~ This weekend was the kickoff of holiday this and that. On Friday night, I visited the Bergdorf Goodman windows that had their 2009 holiday windows, "Compendium of Curiosities". I think the windows are a loose interpretation of the Alice in Wonderland stories, as there were windows that featured the red and black of cards, the rabbit coming out from underground, strange illogical adventures and more. I took some photos of the windows - and here they are. I have to say that compared to other years, the windows {bg and others} are a little bit more "modest" and not decadent {don't get me wrong, they still exude luxury} but I think that might be an overall trend for the holidays this year...

Some views of 57th Street:

sogetsu-ryu ikebana

2009-11-11T11:06:00.002-05:00

I am staying in a ryokan {a traditional style Japanese inn} in the Nikko area called Fu-ga. It is beautifully located on a hilltop overlooking Lake Chuzenji. Ryokans maintain the beauties of Japan's past and for this particular one, they get over 100 ikebana flower arrangements of the Sogetsu method created to be distributed throughout the grounds. Whether at the grand entrance of the main lobby {top photo below} or the main focus of the hotel room {photo above} or at any corner where the eye may wander, I was so surprised by the beauty + variety of the traditional but modern displays. Please enjoy the photos I took of some of my favorites~

paper*related finds in tokyo

2009-11-09T07:32:00.002-05:00

Paper is an art here in Japan. Making it, using it, and presenting it/giving it. I had a wonderful opportunity to visit the showroom for Takeo Paper, a leading paper distributor in Japan. I thumbed through their collection of 1000s of paper types and was so impressed by their good taste, color selection {again, good taste} and variety. The 2nd floor of the showroom has an exhibit called "Self Money Design". 9 design teams were asked to design their idea/concept of money - and Takeo Paper produced prototypes to made them come to life. There was 1 design team who made coins square and bills with rounded corners - that when stacked created a nice pattern - as they did not feel it was important to have coins be round and bills be rectangular anymore. There was another design team that created currency of flower petals: 1 petal = 1 "dollar". And when you combined 10 petals, it would be a 10 "dollar" flower form. Hard to explain but beautiful to see {unfortunately, photos were not permitted on site!} Above photos are of the showroom and their papers organized by color.

I also got to visit a paper store called Papier Labo in Sendagaya {Harajuku JR Station}. They are a little shop that sells anything paper {cards, envelopes, notebooks} and also takes custom letterpress orders. This was the first time I saw metal type for Japanese characters - seems obvious but I just never thought of it. Anyways, I loved their shop presentation and selection of items - as seen photographed below - and walked out of the store with some new items~

sushi in japan

2009-11-04T10:06:00.003-05:00

Visiting Tokyo right now, I had to make a visit to my parents' regular sushi place, Senpachi. They serve fish that I sometimes can't even translate into English - and it's all delicious. Pictured above is o-toro {extra fatty tuna}, uni with lemon and salt, one of the fish I don't know how to name and aji with yuzu. Below is the entrance of the sushi place - right now is the season of chrysanthemums, and they have an arrangement shaped like a tree -, scallop with uni sauce, grilled tuna + scallions and anago {fresh water eel}. There are no added decorations - you eat everything that you see and get served. Beauty in simple presentation is what I get to experience here...and is one of the things I love to appreciate of Japan.