Noticed

Sometimes I find myself looking at something I see everyday and noticing for the first time. It's a strange phenomenon to say the least. Usually it makes me want to take a picture of it, as if I'll never be able to notice that certain characteristic of that object/place again. It makes me think we're all mostly unnoticed... and it also reminds me of that other strange phenomenon when people start looking really strange when you look at them for too long.

Paper Purge

I have a sickness. I have this uncanny love of paper. It nears obsession. I just have a really hard time letting go of paper. When it's unused it has so much potential. I want so much to use every single square inch of that paper. I want to fulfill the paper's desire to be useful. (I imagine that that's what would make paper happy if paper had feelings.) Maybe it's a kind of vicarious satisfaction. I know I want to be useful to my utmost extent, and I wish God would make me feel as useful as I think I'm making paper "feel." I dunno how to really explain it.

So when paper still has the potential to be useful - a blank side, an interesting graphic, etc. - I can't let it go. It's crazy, I know. An paper that holds specific information becomes like a keepsake, and everyone knows a keepsake is meant to be kept. I swear, I have every single piece of school work since I started school. It's absolutely ridiculous.

I've been feeling recently that really all that paper is a physical manifestation of emotional baggage. It's as if I can't move on with my life because the stuff from my past is weighing me down, literally. And so I've decided to really organize all that paper. It's a daunting task. I don't know when or if I'll finish. I'm hoping that by performing this paper purge I can feel a little less tied down. Of course, it is utterly time consuming. I don't think I'll have the time to think about anything else besides ridding myself of irrational attachments and unnecessary stuff.

I'm beginning to find more and more truth in Goethe's quote, "We are the slaves of the objects around us."

Minimalism Re-thought

I did a total redesign of my space, and now it's very minimalistic. I guess I'd say I don't naturally tend towards this aesthetic, but I'm growing to like it immensely.

I first got rid of everything on the walls and basically stored everything in boxes and out of the way. One good thing about this arrangement is that it really prompts me to clean and keep tidy because anything that's not in it's place is immediately noticeable.

Oh, and my mom got me a new plant. It's a seven leaf schefflera. It sits next to the spider plant which I've done a fine job at not killing. Hopefully the schefflera will do just as well at not dying.

The Monsters in Your Head - Tentacle Eye Patches

So here's the scoop: new creative eyewear from j-han!

This time I've got eye patches with a twist of course. They've got these crazy tentacles busting out of them. I hand sculpted the tentacles out of polymer clay and painted them gold. Then hand cut and hand finished each eye patch from leather. I am quite proud of these little puppies.

Bubble Lens Monocles

Goodness gracious I am so bad at blogging. I mean look at this, posting about my Bubble Lens Monocles so long after they've been made. The fact is that they haven't been as popular as I thought they would be. Although at this point the two gold monocles have been sold, and now only the silver ones remain.

Oh, and modeling these monocles is the lovely Modded Minimee Head of Aoi of Gazette fame. I am by no means a fan of Gazette or of j-rock for that matter, but the head was practically a steal! And since I really needed a modeling head I couldn't pass him up.

So that's what's been up in my dollie world. Hopefully I'll be cooking up some new dollie crafts to send out into the world very soon~

Furniture Wish List

CB2 Graph Desk - $299

Bright white. Spacious. Powder-coated steel! Peek-a-boo of natural wood. Just enough storage asymmetrically located <3

Artecnica Garland Light by Tord Boontje (White) - $75

Ethereal and whimsical, organic yet precise. Laser. Metal. White. Light. How mesmerizing?

Tolix Marais A chair by Xavier Pauchard (Vermillion) - $250

Painted steel? Like I could resist...

Case Study v-leg bed (natural queen) - $1,455

Sleek, modern & minimal. Low to the ground but the Roomba can still get underneath.

Waldilla naturally curved Hardwood Flooring - $??

Whimsical, organic and little bit "fun-house."

Malin Kallman Darwin Bookcase - $??

The desire to climb on furniture never seemed more sane.

Kartell Philippe Stark Louis Ghost Chair (Transparent) - $410

Plastic fantastic in a 16th century silhouette.

Ikea Poang by Noboru Nakamura (Birch & Dala natural) - $119

Seemingly breakable by the weight of a fat man, the sleek curvature of its back is so affordably sexy.

Herman Miller Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair/ LCW (Ash) - $679

A sculpture disguised as a chair! How brilliant.

Herman Miller Eames Lounge Chair & Ottoman (Cherry & Black Leather) - $3,899

You know you've made it when you have one of these welcoming you home.

Forsythia & Butterflies

What have I been up to the this last month?

Now, that is a very loaded question, isn't it?

Because the very simple answer is "nothing," but surely all those hours must have been spent doing something, neh?

I spent a good amount of time waiting for a decorative throw pillow to arrive from a rather frustrating, non-communicative etsy seller. It has, however, finally arrived. It is quite lovely. It's made from a vintage Robert Van Allen screenprinted canvas with a cute, cute forsythia design. I love it. I really do.

I currently have it set up on this folding chair that I got for fifty cents at the Unique thrift store in Falls Church. For less than a dollar this chair was a steal!

Of course I've been working on some decorative projects around the house. I made myself a paper cutout butterfly mobile to hand under one of my hall lamps. It's a nice whimsical touch to my basement abode. It was largely inspired by that classic Pottery Barn Kid's butterfly mobile.

Oh, I also made a little ruffle shade out of some scrap fabric and some rubberbands for my other ceiling lamp, but I couldn't get a good picture of it with my cellphone camera, which is what I've had to resort to recently.

Maybe if I feel like it I'll get some more interesting stuff on this blog. Only if I feel like it, which happens to be my motto as of late.