Working With What You've Got

Today kind of sucked. Not sure why, but I have not been very motivated. To say the least, summer can be an isolating time for grad students, especially for those of us who are far from home. Today, late in the day, after dragging myself out of bed, I began plotting menus and a table setting for an upcoming dinner party. Even during these rough days, I enjoy cooking and baking.

My table is piled high with papers to grade and inhospitable for such experimentation. Instead I settled for my porch. On the ground I set a rug purchased years ago in Turkey. For me this rug has come to represent good taste within financial constraints. One of the people with me on this trip was a wealthy woman, an heir to a major computer company, who bought several rugs worth around thirty grand. Seriously. I was in a slightly different league. I wanted a rug and had budgeted about $300 thinking this would get me something grand; I had no idea how expensive they actually were. I was so determined that I was willing to search and search until I found the most beautiful version for the most affordable price. I was not willing to settle for less.

I found this small rug at a very special store in the heart of Istanbul (I had previously been looking in rural areas thinking they would be cheaper). Also on the trip was an Armenian Stanford professor and his amazing Finnish wife who happen to be the parents of this well known artist. This store was owned by thier friends and he was fairly certain that I would find my rug; he fully supported my mission. In Turkish fashion one of the employees lifted rug after rug also in support of my cause. And, suddenly after weeks and weeks of searching and let downs, there it was in the middle of one of their hundreds of huge piles. When I saw it, I crossed my fingers my budget wouldn't be exceeded. It wasn't. When I showed my teacher, he looked at me with pride. "You have an excellent eye" he told me. It was exquisite and I knew it was the perfect one. Only about 3 ft x 3 ft. in size, it had been used in Iran as a nomadic table. Today I decided to restore its original purpose. Forget hanging it on the wall as I had done before, no, it was now my temporary porch table. And a reminder of restraint, high standards and the importance of narratives attached to our possessions.

Next, to frame the table, I placed cream colored candle holders, a sage plant growing in terracotta on my porch and filling the gaps with my new set of porcelain mixed nuts. This table setting may actually work for the dinner party, although I am not sure I can convince the guests to sit on the floor. Perhaps there will be a reinterpretation for the dining table

The menu also came naturally from my CSA box and the Irvine Farmer's Market; in other words, I made it up and improvised the tapas-like mini plates with what I had. First I made caprese with fresh mozzerella, heirloom cherry tomatoes and basil (growing on my porch). Nothing is better during summer when tomatoes are fresh. Next, I concocted a sauté of purple potatoes with smoky arbol chilis and rosemary, followed by three little pan-roasted shrimp with a verde sauce containing garlic, arugula, tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. It was accompanied by a grassy, cantelope-y Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and all of it followed by organic yellow watermelon.

I am not certain this will be the menu for the dinner party, but it significantly improved my day.

The Weekend

I had a lovely weekend in Los Angeles visiting the Renegade Craft Fair and the Rose Bowl Flea Market. The former was a chance to collect data for my research project on crafting; the latter a mission to find some vintage buttons.

I first heard about Renegade Craft Fair a couple years ago from one of my friends in Chicago. Once I formally started the research on crafting, I planned to travel to San Francisco to collect data. Much to my delight, they decided to offer renegade in LA this year saving me a trip that I don't have time to make (although I do enjoy San Fransisco).

In terms of my research, I wasn't let down, but as a consumer , it was a bit disappointing. It was a bit disorganized; they ran out of food and drinks; and the energy seemed low. However, most of the vendors I spoke to were selling a lot of stuff, so in that sense it was a success. I found a number of interesting things to buy including the above set of porcelain mixed nuts. A woman from Brooklyn who has a company called kg + ab, sold them along with other very adorable porcelain pieces. She made them from a 1950s mixed nut mold. Despite their monotone appearance, the life-size walnuts, Brazil nuts, almonds, etc. look so real. They were kind of a splurge for me because I certainly don't need them, but I couldn't resist. In years past, I had been collecting white porcelain, and have never seen anything quite like this. You can find your own set or some of her other creations here.

Another highlight was Reform School, whom I wrote about a couple weeks ago, had a DIY crafting booth set up where you could make your own wood stamped scarves. They were so beautiful. We tried to sign up for the class, but were too late. I am hoping they have it as an activity in future public crafting nights.

After the craft fair we went to a beautiful new restaurant in downtown LA called Bottega Louie. The food was delicious and quite reasonable. Most importantly, Fran Drescher was there with a camera crew filming a new reality TV show. Remember her from the Nanny with that crazy laugh? I am so Midwestern because I still get very excited about celebrity sightings.

Finally, at an unbearably hot Rose Bowl Flea market on Sunday, I started a small collection of buttons and clip on earrings with which I will start making button rings. For one of my research projects, I have become a vendor in Venice Beach and need something to sell. In August I will live in Venice and work everyday selling my jewelry (full on participant observation). I also just ordered a bunch of beautiful buttons on ebay (for about .25 cents each) to make the rings. I will post some of them as they are done: I have a feeling they are going to be quite beautiful and if you live in LA you can come buy some (they will be really affordable).

Let's Discuss American Apparel

A couple of people have asked why I don't post items from American Apparel. My response: they are an incredibly confusing company. On one hand they promote ethical production with clothes made in downtown Los Angeles, rather than in sweatshops abroad. On the other hand they use hyper-sexual images, especially of women to promote their clothes. Some argue that they are smart for using "found" talent rather than professional models, others think this is strategy for exploitation by the former (and quite creepy) CEO. You see where I am going here: American Apparel is a polarizing company.

I have shopped there, in fact I went the other day to buy t-shirts. I am not going to lie, they make my absolute favorite v-neck t-shirts (pictured above) that sell for $19. When I go to the store, I feel very old and very uncool. For example, they are selling neon t-shirts. I wore neon in sixth grade before everyone else in the store was born, and frankly, I am having a hard time imagining it as cool again. While, I have nostalgia for the 80s, no need to relive the fashion of my youth.

Another thing that drives me crazy about them is that they copy many of the up and coming design stars. For example: here is Clare Vivier's clutch, and here is American Apparel's similar, but much cheaper and less cute looking version. Coincidence? I doubt it. I am sure they have their LA based designers trolling all the hippest places for inspiration.

So I have a love/hate (mostly hate) relationship with American Apparel. Will all this stop me from buying their t-shirts? Probably not. But it should.

Wine

I have recently been enjoying the Wine Library TV video series from Russian born, New Jersey bred, wine expert, and internet superstar Gary Veynerchuk. He does informal wine reviews from the office of his family-owned wine store accompanied by his camera man, Mott; a Jet's spit bucket; and an array of Thundercats, the show's mascot. While a wine expert, he remains very down to earth with no trace of snootiness. He urges people to trust their palates and to look for affordable wines (according to him, wine is an industry not dictated by price). He also challenges the "great" wine critics like Robert Parker often giving very different scores based on his own taste and not their expertise. To this end, he is also very controversial. Wine has for so long been surrounded with an air of pretension and snobbery. Not Veynerchuk's wine world, no way; he wants everyone to be in on it. He is actually quite funny and can at times be over the top as in an episode where he urged people to expand their palates while stuffing his face with palate building "foods" including jams, spices, candy, even dirt and rocks. Actually this episode made me laugh so hard, I cried.

Despite these minor flaws, he is rather endearing and incredibly knowledgeable. I have already learned a lot from watching the shows and am especially excited about his focus on affordability.

Bangles

The last photo I posted reminded me of Nancy Cunard who is famous for many things, but especially her bangles. Man Ray took many glamorous photos of them. This photo was taken in the 1920s and it is absurdly stylish. While she has long been a fashion icon, it looks like her style is back, perhaps a way to actually start wearing the jewelry we have rather than let it just sit in a drawer.

I have been grading all day and looking for images online is my new form of procrastination.

Bold Necklaces

Check out this wonderful audio slideshow from Bill Cunningham (NY Times) on trends in women's jewelry. He points out both the boldness of the necklaces and their relative affordability. He even offers some creative DIY ideas on how to make new necklaces working with what you already have.

Hasn't contemporary street fashion photography been tremendously influenced by Cunningham? I feel like he is the original, but never really gets much credit as his work has been usurped by the Sartorialst, Garance, etc. I remain a fan of Cunningham, especially his commentary. So charming.

Photos via Bill Cunningham, NY Times

Happy 4th of July!

I am not sure why, but I have always loved fireworks. Tonight I am going to watch fireworks on the beach in Venice. My friends have told me that you can see them all the way up and down the coast. Exciting. Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.