I Manage

My friends and family know me to be creative; not eccentrically so, but i have been known to get a chuckle out of them with my ideas. these ones are just a few that i have done.


this is my branch from a Manzanita bush/tree. my parents live on a big plot of land in rolling foothills of Northern California, so one Christmas i set off into the country and cut off a big branch and snipped off the little branches. it is currently hung on the wall above my couch.


Rocks and things from the ground have a special place in my heart. this one is a shell from a spring break trip to Maui. these necklaces first started when i was traveling Europe. instead of buying tacking souvenirs for friends, i picked up rocks from different countries and back in the States i wrapped them in gold wire and strung them on gold chain. they still wear them and it gives me no end of pleasure when they do.


I used to work in a wine tasting room and we would get all sorts of fun merchandise; one of which was bottle stoppers made from salvaged vintage door knobs. i loved them and an idea for a functional art piece popped in my head. i ordered old glass knobs from ebay, had my dad cut a plank of wood i found, i drilled holes into it, hammered some nails in it now functions as a key holder next to my front door. it was one of those pieces that actually turned out exactly how i envisioned it. it has a special place in my heart. hope you enjoyed.

Creative Power

These are the times of conscious and creative thinkers and creators. So much of that creative power is lying within developing nations’ women. One of my best friends forwarded me a New York Times Article, The Women’s Crusade, which speaks directly to this fact; that if women of developing countries are allowed to run businesses their surrounding community benefits and ultimately the nation.

A beautiful example is 31 Bits formed by four friends with 33 women of Uganda. Its “centered around using the creative art and entrepreneurship already present in the women. [31 Bits] goal is to help get them out of poverty, provide consistent schooling for their children, and proper nutrition and healthcare for the entire family.”
And they just recently partnered with Reef sandals, making a limited edition line of sandals. They also hope one day to extend 31 Bits to the women of Haiti.

There are many other groups such as these around the world who are providing an outlet for women feel empowered and change their circumstances. Live consciously and create.

The Year of Side Projects

I was listening to KCRW’s Morning Becomes Ecclectic with Jason Bentley and guest DJ Jason Schwartzman and they made a reference to 2009 being the year of the side project. So, curious is what I am; I decided to scour the internet hunting for these so-called side projects. Holy-molely there is a lot. So here is a list of some of the interesting ones I found (some are old news, but whatever).

-Monsters of Folk- Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis from Bright Eyes, Jim James of My Morning Jacket and M. Ward
-Flashy Python- Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands and Say yeah
- Riceboy Sleeps- Jonsi Birgisson, singer of Sigur Ros
-Rainbow Fang- Robin Pecknold from Fleet Foxes. no music released yet
-Julian Casablancas (self-titled side project) of The Strokes
-Ramona Falls- Brent Knopf from Menomena
-Handsome Furs- Dan Boeckner from Wolf Parade
-Drummers- Dan Auerbach of Black Keys
-Sunset Rubdown- Spencer Krug from Wolf Parade
-Black Prairie- Jenny Conlee, Nate Query, Chris Funk from The Decemberists with Annalisa Tornfelt and Jon Neufeld
-Codeine Velvet Club- Jon Lawler of Fratellis
-Atlas Sound- Bradford Cox of Deerhunter
-Thom Yorke from Radiohead
-Tired Pony and Listen…Tanks!- Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol
-Helsinki- Drew McConnell from Babyshambles
-Volcano Choir – Justin Vernon singer of Bon Iver
-Palmer, AK- Eric Howk from The Lashes (Seattle band)
-Shy in Sunshine- Sneezy Waters Jr. of Hopscotch Boys (Seattle band)
-Discovery- Rostam Batmanglij keyboardist/producer of Vampire Weekend and Wes Miles singer of Ra Ra
-Apparatjik Guy Berryman Coldplay bassist, Jonas Bjerre from Mew, and Magne Furuholmen keyboardist for A-ha
-Dead Weather- Jack White from White stripes
-Jenny Lewis(self titled project) of Rilo Kiley and The Watson Twins

this one is not really a side project but i found them in my searching. i love them! Dear Reader and Birdie Hilltop.

Have fun with these sides...devour and enjoy

an etsy bit of fun

I put up some etsy things before, so i thought i would put up some more shops and items that i have found. Faithful Roots made this Steering Wheel Sconce Nostaglia has these great dresses Autumn Blossom Supayana Grey Recon Top Alyssa Ettinger Ball Mason Jars
have fun

At the end, it all about lists

Coffee is kicking in. If you are like myself, you have notice (and not for the first time) that at the end of each year people feel the need to compile lists. lists about everything and usually "top 10" "ton 20" or "ton 100" of this or that. So i thought i would compile a list of the lists for your list viewing convenience. They will be mostly drawn from several websites that seems to have an affinity for enumeration. Ok, this first one is pretty accurate The Best 20 T.V. Shows of the Decade (2000-2009) Guesses? next, The 10 Best Comedians of the Decade, ugh, this one gives me anxiety just looking at this ridiculously long list 2009 Year-end Online Music, Pitchfork does some good lists... Top 50 Albums of 2009 and Top 100 Tracks of 2009. Boston Globe put out 10 Unforgettable Books for the Decade, changing course a wee bit Fashionising blog compiled sublists of Fashion Trends of 2009. The New York Times Top 10 Travel Stories of 2009. are you listed out yet? i may be. there are more lists out there. search, list, compile, and say goodbye to a decade.

search and discover

music. now with ipods and other portable music devices we can make playlists that basically make walking down Sunset Blvd to the metro seem like a movie. our personal soundtrack. oh, yeah. but even with about 4,000 songs on my ipod i constantly want the new and lesser heard tracks from emerging artists. and its easy now with the internet and the awesome review websites that are there to help scratch our musical itch. i love discovering and sharing new music i have found, so i guess will share the various sites that i find stuff... WOXY, an amazing radio station bases out of Austin, Texas that plays fresh tracks and new bands. you can download an iphone app and stream it into your car radio or listen in your itunes.
Paste Magazine . They have reviews on just about everything and great music compilations. Filter Magazine has its finger on the indie label pulse and i have heard the thump of some pretty awesome bands and PitchFork which a good friend of mine, Jess, introduced me too. she was always asking me if i had heard of this band or that band and i was amazed. so, when i asked her where she found them, she said Pitchfork. there you go. discover, listen, love, enjoy

the danger of Etsy

For those of you still in the dark, let me show you the luminous light (redundant? pah!) of ETSY its a dangerous and and wonderful world FULL of handmade sellers. this site enables people, such as you or i, to sell the things we have created and for buyers to search for basically anything that they can think of. in my constant browsing here are some inspiring and breath taking sellers. Sarah Seven whose dresses are insanely beautiful (albeit expensive) and unique.

Slide Sideways has creative and fun prints for cards and wall art
and Solidio constructor of unique and earthy wooden belt buckles.
so, i hope you are hooked now... browse and delve deep into the wonderful world of etsy.