May 30, 2007

Clare Rojas show in LA

Only a couple more days to catch the Clare Rojas show at Lizabeth Oliveria Gallery in LA. The last day is June 2nd, and from the installation shots on the gallery website, it looks like a show that shouldn't be missed.

May 29, 2007

Paris, Je T'aime

We just got back from a wonderful week-long visit to New York, (which is why you haven't heard from us in a little while) and though we were technically there to do some buying for the shoppe, we managed to sneak in some fun field trips to museums and movies. On the airplane on the way over, I had read a review of a collection of 18 short films about Paris, called Paris, Je T'aime. As soon as we got to New York, we looked it up to see if it was playing at the Paris Theater, which it was! (The Paris is our favorite movie theater in NY- always playing fantastic foreign movies and never crowded.)

Some of my favorite directors (Gus Van Sant, Alexander Payne, the Coen Brothers) are involved, as well as a handful of well-known actors (Natalie Portman, Steve Buscemi, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Elijah Wood, Gena Rowlands, Willem Dafoe) so I knew we were in for a treat. The icing on the cake was spotting Wes Anderson outside the theater as we were leaving. Only in New York!

May 17, 2007

Poser

We love it when people we love collaborate.

Starring Miranda July....Directed by Mike Mills....Music by Blonde Redhead....

May 16, 2007

Follow That Bird!

Yesterday Derek and I hopped on the scooter and took the 49 mile scenic drive around San Francisco, which was so much fun! The drive was created as a promotion for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition, and it leads you all around the city, through most of the neighborhoods, up and down hills, through parks and around lakes, along the shore... I can't think of anything we didn't see. Supposedly you can trust those famous seagull signs to tell you where to go, but we mapped our route anyway, and it's a good thing we did (we only got off track a couple times). We returned home six hours later, with stiff legs and wind burned faces, and a quick check of our odometer showed that we drove exactly 48.5 miles. Not bad! You can see more pictures from our drive here.

Cesar Chavez and Dolores, our starting point.

Grace Cathedral

North Beach

Our scooter taking a break to admire the view at Fort Point.

We stopped long enough at Giant Robot, Amoeba, and the dollar store in Japantown to pick up some loot!

Fun

Sign spotted at the Musee Mechanique, San Francisco.

May 09, 2007

"Get on the Mike!"

I was checking out BoingBoing today and was delighted to see a nice post about one of our favorite new books, Mingering Mike: The Amazing Career of an Imaginary Superstar by Dori Hadar. We've been curious about this story since we first read about it in the Times a few years back. Basically, a dj was digging through crates of records at a flea market and discovered dozens and dozens of LPs by Mingering Mike, a "soul superstar" of the '60s and '70s whom he had never heard of. Upon closer inspection it was clear that these "LPs" were actually elaborataly hand drawn imaginary albums by an imaginary "superstar" filled with imaginary songs on an imagary record label....you get the picture. Realizing that he had stumbled upon some great outsider art (and that behind great outsider art, there's usually a good story) Hadar embarked on a quest to track down the mysterious Mingering Mike, whose story does not dissappoint. This book recounts that quest and includes color reproductions of Mingering Mikes amazingly detailed and wonderfully imaginative albums and 45s.

Get a copy of Mingering Mike at the Shoppe, and listen to stories about him on NPR.

May 07, 2007

Weekend Fun

Warm weather has arrived in San Francisco! I always forget how different it feels when it is sunny and warm out. This weekend I was happy to leave my scarf at home and scoot around town checking out some art and enjoying this fine city of ours.

Our weekend festivities began on Thursday evening with the opening of Optimism: A Natural Vector at our studio/gallery space. We had a great turnout, and there was even a special weaving performance by Travis Meinolf and incredible layer cakes that were made and served by Leah Rosenberg.


Friday night we attended the opening of Lovely, Dark & Deep at Doe, featuring works by Lisa Congdon and Stephanie Congdon Barnes. Beautiful, beautiful work by two sweet and lovely sisters.


Saturday I think the whole city was outside enjoying the sun. I spent the morning in Golden Gate Park, followed by lunch with Derek in Dolores Park, which was absolutely packed with picnickers and sunbathers.


Finally, yesterday we drove over to Sausalito for the Heath Ceramics open studio and sale, where we glazed tiles, ate free hotdogs and took their awesome factory tour for the second time. We just can't get enough of that place! We always leave feeling inspired and wishing we could stock all our kitchen cabinets with their beautiful dinnerware! But we will continue to grow our collection one piece at a time...

May 02, 2007

Shoppe Update

This week has been all about updating the shoppe- adding to our press page, making a new homepage, and adding tons of new products! Here are some of my current favorites:

"Winging It" notecard set with art by Charley Harper


Octopus charm necklace by Regina Pruss


Dress and shirt pattern from Built by Wendy


Mini-wallet from FluffyCo


Japanese cast iron wrench bottle opener


Birdie dishware decals