Monday, May 23, 2011 
This new online lifestyle magazine, Collected, launched this May founded by Krista Schrock and Jessica Comingore.
I love all their well-curated hand picked items. Pretty much.... I just want everything on these pages. 
Thursday, February 24, 2011 
've been MORE than obsessed with Annie Larson's knit brand, All Knitwear, for a long time now...and it's seriously amazing how she knits everything with a knitting machine. I totally get lost in time between looking at her blog with great photos of her space & process & her shop with all the fantastic wearables. Her sense of color & pattern and the way she puts it all together is simply beyond fantastic!
....and with Seattle's weather being so stupid cold & wet...I'm seriously considering getting these knitted sweater leggings! Just look how happy Annie is wearing that! I just love that photo. 
And of course THESE!: 
One of these adorable colorful hats wouldn't be too bad either....
It's all too good...
Friday, November 12, 2010 
This isn't your typical old lady yarn store filed with the scent of potpourri..... these ladies from Wool and The Gang had created a shop in making a yarn store and the act of knitting totally cool again...hipster cool again that is....
They offer bunch of more than stylish pieces in DIY kits including yarn, kitting needles, instructions, and all the coolness you'll ever need. And especially seeing their clean & cool branding designed by Be-Poles...it's just so hard to resist!
This is a perfect project for the winter and reason to stay cozy at home, knit, and drink some (or a lot) spiced wine! But of course if you want more of an instant gratification, they also have already made pieces you can just purchase! What bunch of smarty-pants they are!
Sunday, August 29, 2010 
Check out these beautiful textile designs and wearables by Bhalo with a powerful fair trade mission to facilitate women in rural Bangladesh.
"Bhalo is a fair trade design label that aims to create desirable fashion whilst empowering disadvantaged people, especially women, allowing them to work their way out of poverty.
Our cotton is hand loomed and hand embroidered by women in rural Bangladesh, not only giving them much needed employment and training, but providing them with simple things that we take for granted - education/childcare for their children, basic health care, and most of all, dignity. We oppose human exploitation and feel everyone should be given the right to fair employment terms, and given a decent price for their work. Wouldn't you expect the same?"
You can read all their fascinating process, here! I would love to go there in person one day and learn all about their process! One of my dream is to travel from place to place and learn the regional crafts whether it be weaving, carving, dyeing, or casting....It'd be like the show "How it's made" but specifically for arts & crafts from around the world....wait....I think I should totally pitch that idea to Discovery Channel!!
Via Johnny&Stacie
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
I made a new friend over the blogosphere recently...It all started when Chika forward me this link to ET AL., ETC. shop on Etsy thinking that it'd be something that I'd like. Interesting enough...she was right.
I was more than excited to see something as nice as Évita's work existing on Etsy....Besides the fact that her handmade clothes are well-made & adorable, she also seem to have a great sensibility to create simple, refined, and delightful clothes and objects.
Being able to keep things simple is harder than it sounds...it's a talent to be able to know how to pare down and know what the right element & design details to use that can make something feel well made and special. It's what I aspire to be...I'm still working on it...
Évita seems to have it down though!
Once I went to her Etsy shop, I couldn't stop looking at every single item if not once, but three times! It totally boggles my mind how she can make all these variety of garment from shirts, to knitwear, to sweaters, to dresses, to skirts, to bags...and even custom jeans!! 
Now... how many of you out there can say that you have sewn jeans let alone custom ones for other people?! I know there's no way in hell that I'd be able to sew a pair of pants that would look remotely as good or at all wearable...it'll probably end up with some weird puckering in the crotch area. :P
And of course..she also has these wonderful, well-packaged delightful object like this stamp set. I'm obsessed with stamps in general...and this one is no exception!
Somehow along the way of purchasing some of her clothes. I ended up contacting her with few inquires and I couldn't help but to ask her a ton of questions trying to grasp how she does it all.
I just think It's so interesting to learn about what creative people do and how they think. I especially like to hear stories about how they end up living where they are and doing what they do...
So what started as a simple shopping transaction turned into a long winded impromptu interview/conversation between two strangers....so much of it seems odd that things like that can happen, but at the same time so normal because it's so common to connect with people through the internet...weird how that works. But I love the internet for this reason.
Luckily, Évita wasn't weird-ed it out by my compulsive manner and was generous enough to take the time to answer all my questions. :)
Q: Are your clothes one of a kind and made from existing vintage clothes found in Japan?
Most, if not all, of the garments are one-offs/one-of-some-kind and they're made and patterned (from scratch) to new or vintage fabric. The vintage fabric comes "as fabric" and not from vintage clothes (vintage clothes have a life and time of their own so I don't really do the cutup & reconstruct). The garments are sometimes informed by vintage styles.
Q: Do you make things from scratch? I love to know a little bit more about your process!
All of the garments are made from scratch, from the fabric up or in whatever direction it wants to go. My process is straightforward, completely circumstantial and depends on the remnants I find and what sort of garments they’ll allow. I draft the patterns in order to minimize the waste produced, which explains a lot of the long sleeved garments even in the summertime and all the size small. I try to make clothes/basics, that, by dint of combination with clothes the buyer might have, work with a wardrobe. I stray away from making "statement pieces" or "handmade-looking" clothing and just try to produce garments that are well constructed and understated, defaults or whispers even.
Q: How long have you been living in Tokyo and been doing Et al etc? What brought you to Tokyo? I'm super intrigued since I love the idea of doing my own thing and be living in Japan!...yeah you're sort of living my dream right now....
ET AL., ETC., in general, has been around for 4 years. The plainclothes & whitespace has been around for almost 2 years – it started up after Beth (of ofmatter.etsy.com) introduced me to Etsy, after I re-discovered my amateurish ability to sew and pattern. I've been in Tokyo since mid-February.
I came to Japan as a total-tourist, on a travel grant, after having spent a few months in the Philippines. I chose to stay simply for the reasons that Tokyo is not where I was (nor is it the Philippines); Japan has a similar strain of post-war-Americanism that engulfed the Philippines but Japan managed to develop and maintain its own (culture) despite that; and I wanted to be in a place where I could have my quiet, my say and more importantly do. Every project I've wanted to do here, I've completed.
You should come to Tokyo with your pal and dream and do! Especially since the economy is so unreliable right now – it’s the perfect time.
Q:Where did you live before you moved to Tokyo?
I went to school in Providence, lived in NYC, worked in The Land of Enchantment (New Mexico), and left the States from SLC (where I was before moving to New England).
Q:Do you have a design/art background? specifics?
I went to RISD and studied A/architecture and got a bonus degree in Fine Arts; I also dabbled committedly at the school up the hill in Anthropology and French. As for specifics: RISD came with a lot of personalities, but was a rather conservative environment/monoculture that instills the belief and attitude that talent and individualism are real and that art is somehow divorced from cultural production and value systems. I was, however, fortunate to find teachers that helped me find a way out of that; those conversations and critiques are my background.
Q:what do you love the most about Tokyo, and what do you miss the most since living in there?
For a metropolis that ranks one up from NYC on the list of those most populous, Tokyo is amazingly quiet. Since I hadn’t left the States before my recent, now almost two year, bout of tourism, I like that I can see too much architecture here and see the (sort of) aftermath of postmodernism (built or otherwise) sufficiently working for a city.
I don’t miss the attitudes. I do miss my family a whole lot at times, a few friends that I was starting to get to know well, large windows that spanned the entire façade of a previous apartment, coffee cups that come in more than one size, and driving the Volvo240 wagon with ETALETC plates recklessly on my way to wherever. 
Thanks for being so wonderfully open...
Monday, May 3, 2010 We all know about L&G fascination with felt... and we're of course suckers for "how it's made videos"
So, let the two collide here in a great little video on the making of a felt fedora. Enjoy:
Soulland // Making the Adler Fedora from Soulland on Vimeo.
via selectism
Thursday, June 18, 2009 
Check it...remember the summer dress I wanted, and how I wanted to wear it everyday and everywhere? Well...someone is validating my idea with this concept of wearing one dress for 365 days, called the Uniform Project by Sheena Matheiken! It's a brilliant concept!
She wears the same dress (she has 7 of the same dress that is...) and find ways to reinvent the outfit everyday for an entire year! She started in May and it's been fascinating to see all the outfits she created.
Shenna got inspired by her childhood memory of wearing school uniforms and how everyone would always try to express themselves by accessorizing their body. So she collaborated with Eliza Starbuck to create an everyday "uniform" that was designed to be worn all year round.
The idea of wearing the same thing everyday can go a long way in changing our perception of fashion and the value of garment.
Clothes should last longer than one time wear, but why is there such a stigma behind wearing something twice in a row or too many times?
I've caught myself thinking before meeting up with someone "Did I wear this the last time I saw them??"
But why do we have those thoughts? Does it really matter whether the person wore the same thing twice...well...it matters to Jerry Seinfield...BUT...WHAT IS THE DEAL?! (In Jerry's voice)
This whole concept is very refreshing and inspiring to see. I mean, just look at all the variety and adorable outfits she's able to put together! Granted she still wears a lot of other shirts and garments with it...but the idea that one garment can be worn so many way is pretty fascinating!
I have about 10-15 pieces of garment that I always tend to grab and would mix and match them and layer them differently. This habit came about because of my own personal laziness of thinking about what to wear everyday....but maybe I SHOULD consider making it more of a fashion philosophy! I mean, why not? It does make more sense to have fewer but more versatile garments where they can be worn for different occasions, weather, and settings.
This could be a worth while challenge...and I think it would just be good to purge a little and re-evaluate the things I REALLY need.
If you're finding yourself wanting to do a little purging, too, make sure you donate it to the UNIFORM PROJECT!
Friday, September 19, 2008 
Impulse Boutique, Seattle, recently posted a bunch of amazing designer clothes for the new season....my favorite season...Fall! It's the time when I can start wearing layers, boots, and scarves and still stay warm and dry...for the most part. 
They've been adding great designs from Junya Watanabe, Yohiji Yamamoto, Isabel Marant, and tons more on their new online community shop called Totokaelo.
I'm really likeing the loose, drappy look. It seems very versatile in terms of being able to wear over and under layers. And I'm all about layering!!
Thursday, September 18, 2008 
Finally!! The moment that I've been waiting for....Seattle Ikea gets the fabric by the yard department! For the longest time, the Seattle Ikea never had the fabric department and I was always bummed about it. I would go to Vancouver Ikea just so to get some yardage of some sort to fulfill my itch. (even though that's usually just a detour after a dim sum meal, a walk in Stanley park, a visit to the art museum, and another Taiwanese meal in Richmond.) Nonetheless, it wasn't the most accessible.
So Last week, Dylan & I went to Ikea to do some shopping for our new home and I found this fantastic FIALENA line with this adorable bold black and red heart pattern for only $7.99/yd! I had to use it for something, so I decided to make an reversable apron for Chika (my biz partner)as her birthday gift!! So this is it! My first stab at making an apron....
It's reversable...
with pockets and button hoops on each side to hang hand towels or oven mits.
It took me a good 5 hours to figure out the pattern, cut it, iron it, sew it, and iron some more...I think I'll have to modify the design so it's not so tedious to make. It made me kind of depressed to see Ikea selling their clever aprons for mere $7.99. But I suppose that's not the point...the point is that I had fun making the apron! On top of that, I think Chika did appreciate it much more knowing I put all my "hearts" into make the apron for her...Well, she better!! I'll be checking her kitchen regularly to make sure she's not cheating on me with some other aprons!
Thursday, August 28, 2008 
I found this fabulous etsy seller, Yokoo, who knits these great thick massive scarves that just gets me so excited about winter!
It's been super rainy and I'm trying to keep things positive by looking at fun cozy winter accessories such as these scarves and neck warmers. (especially that mustard one!) Alright! I'm ready for you....crappy Seattle weather....YOU!
