Sweet Home Alabama

I am back from my road trip to Alabama and Tennessee. This was just what I needed! I drove down with Aimee her two cats (Pepper and Carmine) and Dog (Bixie) to Albertsville, Al where Aimee grew up and owns a house. We spent out time shopping, eats grits, biscuits, BBQ pulled pork, and sweet tea, and hanging out by the lake. Here are a few photos from the trip, all of them can be seen here

Vacation!

I am taking a little trip down to Alabama and Tennessee with Aimee. We will be staying at her house in Alabama. Hoping to get lots of relaxation time in! Over the weekend I'll be visiting my sister in Knoxville. I have never really been to the south besides Florida so I am excited for a change of scenery and pace for a few days. Be back in Brooklyn late sunday night!

Almost Ready to Print

I have almost everything to begin silk screening. I tried silk screening with the jaquard textile paint today and wasn't quite satisfied with the results. I was going to try to mix a batch of the procion dye but realized that I was missing one thing, not to mention that I should probably go out and buy a scale. Even though I have a studio space in the ID building it is nowhere near adequate for silkscreening fabric AT ALL and it set up for well industrial design related projects of course. I have access to the silkscreening facilities but they too are not nearly large enough to do repeats. Right now I am really missing those wonderful fabric printing tables in Copenhagen. If I had my own studio I would be building my own printing table asap!

Jillian Ditner

I have a soft spot for libraries since my mother was a children's librarian and these prints by Jillian Ditner are just lovely. If I had some money lying around I would buy all three in a heart beat!

Let the job search begin!

I started sending out my resume for full time jobs about a week ago, which is exciting but nervewracking all at the same time. I had an interview on Thursday for an entry level textile position at a company in midtown. It was honestly the fastest interview I have ever had in my life, I sat down and felt like I was putting my jacket on 5 minutes later. I am not expecting a call back from them, but I went straight from the interview to an get some amazing Korean food in Koreatown a treat for myself which made up for it.
I had another interview this morning at another home furnishing company in midtown in the same building but one floor down. It was for a temporary internship/assistant position to the tableware designer. This one went much smoother thankfully! I should be hearing back at the end of the week if I got it or not. Even if I don't get it or any of the jobs that I have been applying for it is putting my mind at ease that I have my resume floating around and I feel like I am one step ahead, which is all that counts for the time being right? May can't come soon enough, or can it?

Screen printing!

I have been itching to do some printing ever since I got back from Denmark in August and I think that the time has finally arrived!! I am working on various patterns that I am going to be using for pillows that I am working on in my studio. I have been doing the research to prepare and it is very daunting! Space is an issue here in Brooklyn, as is the fact that I don't have access to the wonderful kitchen that I had in denmark full of huge sinks, oversized boilers, a steamer and an ironing machine! I have ideas for printing large quantities of fabric and turning them into lovely pillows but I am not so sure if my ideas are a bit too lofty at the moment since Pratt doesn't quite have the facilities to print 10 feet of fabric. I think that I am going to start small, but I am still excited to get printing none the less!

Wis Design

I am completely in love with these tables! <3 <3 <3

Wis Design via Core77

Baltic Bazaar Trip

I finally made it over to Baltic Bazaar on Atlantic on Saturday while my friend Holly was visiting. I picked up some wonderful jacquard fabric which will be turned into pillows. I have a bunch of it so I am hoping to sell some on etsy! I am also looking into selling at the Brooklyn Flea, so be on the lookout!

I swear I am not an oompa loompa, the lighting was crazy in my kitchen!

Dress- Thrifted yesterday for $7 at the salvation army on atlantic, it is originally from forever 21
grey shirt- thrifted a long time ago in NH
sweater- thrifted at salvation army near my apartment 2 years ago
leggings- thrifted @ my local salvation army for 99 cents! weee
boots- old navy $6

Seacoast NH Heartwalk 2008 Walking in memory of Cheryl Lewis

My sister Kristen will be walking in the 2008 Seacoast NH Heartwalk on May 18th in memory of our mother, Cheryl Lewis, who died in December of 2006 from a rare heart disease called ARVD. Unfortunately I will not be able to walk, but will be there in spirit. This year our team is called "Thump Thump" and our goal is to get as many people to walk with the team or donate. Our team goal is to raise $1,000. The goal for the whole Seacoast heart walk is to raise $88,000.

If you would like to go to our team page it can be found at:

http://heartwalk.kintera.org/seacoastnh/thumpthump

My personal page, where you can donate is located at:

http://heartwalk.kintera.org/seacoastnh/KimberlyLewis

*Copy and Paste above addresses for some reason when I link them they direct you to a general page*


Currently in my studio I am in the process of designing a necklace to promote the awareness of heart disease in memory of my mother and all of those who have lost a loved one. I am also working on a set of plush cushions in the shape of organs. My first one being the heart. I will be posting my progress as soon as I get something a bit more tangible. I am hoping to sell them and donate a portion of the money made to the American Heart Association.

Happy Valentine's Day <3 Kimberly!

I had a hard time deciding which one to post so you will have to take a look at all of these wonderful cheeky, suggestive vintage valentines over at 7 Deadly Sinners

Polly Apfelbaum Lecture Tomorrow

I will be attending the Polly Apfelbaum lecture tomorrow at Pratt! It is free and open to the public! Here is some more information from the Pratt website.



Visual artist Polly Apfelbaum will speak at Pratt Institute about her artwork and career, as part of the 2007-2008 Visiting Artists Lecture Series, from 12:45 to 1:45 PM, Tuesday, February 12, in the Engineering Building, Room 371, on Pratt’s Brooklyn Campus. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Apfelbaum creates floor and wall art using bright color and expressive line and shape. She works with a variety of media including dye, velvet, paint, glitter, marker, woodblock print, and silkscreen, and fashions the material into vibrant floral and nature-inspired imagery.

Apfelbaum has had solo international exhibitions at such galleries as Frith Street, London; Galeria Camargo Vilaça, São Paolo, Brazil; Museum of Contemporary Art, Klasma, Helsinki; and at various contemporary art galleries throughout the United States. Her work has been featured in numerous international group exhibitions and belongs in the public collections of The Brooklyn Museum of Art; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, among others.

Apfelbaum received her bachelors of fine arts degree from Tyler School of Art in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania and has since received grants and awards from The American Academy of Arts and Letters, The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, and Artists Space.

The Not Too-Too Beret

I really want to try knitting hats again, my last couple were a complete disaster but I'm thinking that maybe I could handle this one? I found the pattern via Craftzine

Sneak Peak into my Apartment

I am working on my portfolio today and snapped a few photos of the textile I designed hanging on a curtain rod in my room. Pacha coudn't resist jumping in the frame!



Here is a peak into a corner of my room. Notice the sewing table that I fixed up, but try to ignore the bags of cat food, I obviously don't live in a magazine!



I got the various bottles below from when I helped Aimee clean out a brownstone, I loove them! The angel ornament I got in Finland, and the purse is thrifted.

Peruvian Inspired Tableware

I am finishing up some studio work that has been hanging over my head for a while. I am in the process of designing tableware inspired by the cuisine and culture of Peru. I visited Lima, Peru last March during my spring break with a group of students from Pratt and volunteered in Villa El Salvador through a program called Cross Cultural Solutions.

The napkin ring below is inspired by a tapestry that I saw in the Museum of Natural history. It consisted of a repeat of intricate birds, I took the pattern and simplified it to come up with the shape below. The colors are inspired by the colorful tapestries that Peru is known for.



Both the coaster and napkin ring are made out of recycled leather. I did not design the placemat, although I did pick up a set of four when I was visiting Lima and I think that they compliment them very nicely! I am currently working on the designs for a glass for the Pisco Sour, a plate, and a fork. I will be silk screening a design onto the napkin this weekend also. So stay tuned!

Koi Suwannagate again!

I know I just did a post on Koi Suwannagate summer collection a few days ago, but I just stumbled upon photos from her fall collection that was debuted at NY Fashion week and I am on a KS kick

Published!

Last Monday I when I went to Miss Saturn's Birthday at Galapago's I had my camera in hand and snapped away all night long. I had posted my set on Flickr and Aimee took a couple and put them in a press packet for her and Jenny's show. She gave me a call yesterday to inform me that one of my photos (photo above) is going to be published in a NY newspaper! I've never had a photo published before, or well anything really so this is quite exciting for me! Click here to see the rest of the set.

Carolina Herrera Ready to Wear @ Fashion Week

I should be sleeping, but instead I have been perusing through the pages of Style.com to see what hit the runways today. I'm really loving Carolina Herrara's Ready to Wear collection. Nice pops of color, feathers, vests over dresses, and this collection is even making me lust over ochre velvet jeans, what?! Did I say that? Here are a few of my personal favorite picks from the collection.

Screech Owl Design

I was really excited to come home today after class and find an email in my inbox fromScreech Owl Design. I had met Jacqueline and George Schmidt at the Bust Craftacular right before Christmas and had purchased their boxed postcard set and am absolutely smitten with them! I had tried to link to their website earlier but it was still in the beginning stages. Today they unveiled the site where you can see some of their products. I have the above and below postcards hanging on my wall along with the rest of the set. I am looking forward to when they put up their living products.

Back! + Bahamas + Koi Suwannagate

My computer is finally happy since it has Leopard and CS3, my wallet is not, thank god for student discounts!

A pleasant surprise in the last week or so has been that I will be going on a four day cruise in May with my dad, sister and his girlfriend to the Bahamas! I've never been to the Bahamas or a cruise (ok I went on a "cruise" when I went to Finland for one night but that doesn't count) and I'm excited. It is right after I graduate so I will get a nice little break before going crazy looking for a full time design job.

I am loving Koi Suwannagate's Summer 2008 collection which has a tropical vibe going on and is filled with intricate textures. I am imagining myself wearing these right after I've spent the day at the beach. A girl can dream!

Monday Night!

Tomorrow night you can find me at Galapagosin Williamsburg. It is my friend Jenny aka Miss Saturn's birthday and everyone is welcome to come join in on a night of comedy, circus, and burlesque! A few of my friends in the "Animal Crackers" dance troupe will be debuting a dance, and I can not wait to finally see it in person. It starts at 9:30 and is $5

Sick...

Last weekend Pacha was sick and this weekend it is me. Can someone come make me soup please and stir the bubbles out of my ginger ale? Thanks. I wrote about three posts during the course of the week but then realized that I didn't have photoshop. I bought CS3 on Wednesday only to find out that I need to upgrade my OS too. :( :( Why does this all have to be so difficult and costly?

New Couch!

Creating a space that feels like home to me is something that is on the top of my priority list. My roommates often laugh at me when I am at it decorating again, but I would go mad living in a white box. Our living room still feels unresolved. It is such an off space and we really don't have any money to spend on decorating. I was fortunate enough to receive a free ligne and roset couch thanks to the wonders of Brooklyn Freecycle right at the start of the new year! Here are some photos



Above is the view of the living room from the bathroom. Here is the new couch (free) with thrifted pillows ($2.50/each) along with my stoop sale rug ($15). Something defininetly needs to happen on the dead space above the couch, I've hung a shawl that I have had since I was a child to add a dash of color. I was thinking floating shelf (that I just so happened to thrift the other day $7) with various knick knacks and maybe two framed pieces of vintage wallpaper that I bought back in NH over thanksgiving. Still thinking about this.



View of living room from my room. Something needs to happen in that wall space between Rachel's room and the kitchen, but not sure what yet. Please ignore the crooked frame! Here is a sneak peak into the kitchen, but I will save that for another day when our dishes are actually done!



View from front door. I got the oversized chair on craigslist for $50 when we first moved in because I could not deal with the empty space.

In the next week or so I am going to be playing around with a few different things and will post the results later!

Class Schedule for my last semester

Monday
2:00 - 4:50- Portfolio w/ Judy
5:00 - 7:50 - Studio w/ Langhorn

Tuesday
9:30 - 12:20 - Creative Writing
5:00 - 7:50 - Advanced Solidworks (bleh)

Thursday
9:30 - 12:20 - Textures (?) Not signed up for this yet but might try to get in
5:00 - 7:50 - Studio w/ Langhorn

Filling the remainder of my time up with teaching at various schools around Brooklyn. I am also in the middle of helping a friend reorganize/decorate her apartment in the financial district and may have another interior design job in the east village!

Last First day of school!

Today is my last first day of school so in celebration I made Rachel take some photos of me and vice versa on our lovely banister.




My favorite tank top- Anthropologie via ebay
Sweater- My local salvation army
Orange skirt - American Apparel via Beacon's Closet in Williamsburg
tights- TJ Maxx in NH
Boots - Old Navy sale in LI my mom bought them for me for $6!
Earrings (can't see them!) - Early Designs via Bust Craftacular
Necklace - bought at market in Lima Peru
Silver Ring & Cuff Bracelet - gifts from my mother
green coconut ring - bought in Lima Peru

Sick Computer

My poor Powerbooks hard drive bit the dust last week so I am getting a new one. I won't have a computer until Wednesday but after that expect updates galore! I have lots to share and one of my new years resolutions is to blog as much as possible!

Meet Pacha

I adopted Pacha from BARC in Williamsburg on Saturday. She is a 2 year old tortoiseshell persian cat who was abandoned at the shelter with her "sister" a siamese cat who has already been adopted. When she was found she was very matted and flea infested. The nice people over at BARC took very good care of her. Unfortunately her fur was so bad that she had to be shaved but it will grow back soon enough! Pacha is a very petite shy girl that is slowly getting used to her new surroundings. So far she loves perching on the window sills, playing with her carrot and loves to snuggle with me when I go to sleep!



About BARC Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition's (BARC Shelter's) mission is to provide safe haven for homeless animals and find permanent, loving homes for them.

The animals in BARC's care receive quality food, shelter, and medical attention. BARC meets the needs of the animals through the assistance of dedicated volunteers, revenues generated from the success of our onsite SHOP, BQE Pet Supply, and from private donations.

Established in 1987, BARC is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit, no-kill, privately funded animal shelter, located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.For more information about BARC, visit their website The people and animals over at BARC are both equally wonderful!



Pacha and I wish you a wonderful 2008! Happy New Year!

Massimo Giacon + Alessi Nativity + Brooklyn

I am back in Brooklyn!

Ok I know it is no longer christmas anymore but can we please appreciate the above nativity set it can be found here

How to Knit Portuguese style

Until probably a month and a half ago I thought there were only two ways to knit, continental and english style (which is how I knit) and then I stumbled upon a very peculiar you tube video on someone's blog which showed a woman knitting with two crochet hooks, using a knitting pin, and putting the yarn around her shoulders and she referred to it as the Portuguese style. I searched the internet but couldn't find out much about this variation of knitting. I had to know and wasn't going to take "I haven no idea what you are talking about" for an answer, since I knew my grandmother who passed away when I was 8 would have known the answer, I HAD to find out. So I went to my personal knitting know-it- alls, my other grandmother, Grandma Honey and her friend Marie who lives next door. My grandmother had no idea what I was talking about and Marie accused me of making it up! Marie is quite the character, to sum her up she is the wonderful hilarious italian woman who lives next door to my grandmother (they have a path between their houses, isn't that cute?!) she shows up whenever she wants with her portable phone and is not afraid to grab knitting out of your hands and rip out hours and hours of sweat and tears if she sees a single mistake, even if you just learned three hours ago! That Marie is fierce more on that later before I go off on a tangent. Next I went to my dad, now I knew that my dad probably knew nothing about knitting but I thought I would at least give him a chance considering that Portuguese was in fact his first and only language until he was 5 and grew up in Stoughton/Canton MA which has one of the largest portuguese populations in the US and my grandmother was always making me pray novenas to the lady of fatima every time I visited, while knitting or crocheting up a storm AND blessing me with holy water at the same time! That is talent. Whew this is another tangent I could go off on, refer to two posts back about crazy catholic upbringing, but back to knitting. Nothing. To make my story short, I asked a lot of people and got lots of dead ends. To my surprise on Christmas morning, I opened a dvd shaped present from under our teeny tiny christmas tree and was surprised to find "Learn How to Knit Portuguese style". I immediately called my grandmother (pictured above) and spread the news. Sadly the woman in the DVD knits with regular knitting needles and not crochet hooks oh well. I've watched most of it sans knitting needles in my hands but when I get back to Brooklyn am going to break out my yarn stash and prized wooden needles. Stay tuned.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I am in NH for a few more days but will be leaving either Friday or Sat and be back in Brooklyn soon enough.