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The Best Thing I Ate: République

On Sunday, I finally got a chance to try République after weeks of seeing everyone's gorgeous photos on Instagram. And I can honestly say, the food tastes just as amazing as it looks.

Behold the Croque Madame, which is a Croque Monsieur with an egg on top. To some, a Croque Monsieur is just a glorified grilled ham & cheese sandwich. But I would argue that when it's done right, it's so much more. Being a lover of sandwiches, I'll order a Croque Monsieur or Croque Madame every chance I get. Luckily, in LA I've been able to get one at a handful of places.

Croque Madame

At République, the Croque Madame is served open-faced. The bread, perfect with crunchy crust and soft, chewy insides. The ham was something from another world. It was thinly sliced with an almost shredded appearance. It was tender and had the right balance of flavor. I never thought I could ever describe ham as being "melt-in-your-mouth". Prior to this experience, I associated ham with being tough and briny. Now I just want to hunt down that ham and make all sorts of sandwiches with it!

I love black sesame things and I think there's never enough goodies being made with black sesame. Like black sesame ice cream—YUM! But not a lot of places make/serve it. So when I saw a black sesame croissant, I HAD to have it! I couldn't even wait until after I took the photo to take a bite out of it.

Black Sesame Croissant

République had plenty more delicious pastries where that came from, but silly me; I was too in awe to bother to take a photo of their pastry case. And that's what second trips are for! I was hanging out with Keiko of Small Adventure, and she let me have a bite of her canelé and it was perfection. I have a feeling I'll be making another trip there soon, and this time I'll take a tip from Keiko and take home a whole box of pastries for myself!

Skipping Along

I released a new print this week & it's now in the shop!

This skipping CD player is for the upcoming 90s Nostalgia show hosted by A Little Known Shop. I will have a table at the event along with some great local artists. I hope to see you there!

In other news, I think I'm going to be shifting the focus of this blog to be more about my personal life and everyday things. For all art/work related things, please check out my Tumblr.

More Mini Paintings!

I've been adding some original mini paintings to the shop. The best thing about them is since they're small, they're also really affordable at $20 each. Here are the two in the shop right now. More are being added every week. Check them out in the shop!

Let's Be Teenagers Again

Today, while channel-surfing, I desperately landed on mtvU—a channel aimed towards college students. There were just playing a two hour block of music. Most of the time they'll play things I actually like. I left it on for a while…until this video came up.



I remember listening to American Football when I was in high school; in the early 2000s. This single was released in 1999. Their record company, Polyvinyl just released a deluxe edition of this album a couple of months ago. I don't know if it was their way of celebrating the 15th anniversary or not, but it sure made me feel old. It made me wonder, "Do college students actually listen to this stuff?"

FYI

Sometimes I wonder how many of you actually read this blog. I've been pondering and there's a possibility that I might stop blogging here. I haven't really decided yet but I've been spending more time on tumblr again. It just makes things easier sometimes. I might just leave this blog here and update it occasionally, but most new posts are over on tumblr.

New Burger Stuff!

Added some new stuff to the shop today! Meet Burger Dude, he's available as a 5x5 print or as a sticker!

Bunny Boy

I've been working on some new stuff for the upcoming Artist Walk at The Community in Anaheim. It's this Saturday, July 19th 6–9pm. Come by and say Hi! I'll have some prints & cards for sale and I'll also be doing some live drawing/painting.

One of the newer prints, that will be available on Saturday, is this Bunny Boy. For those of you not in the area, he's already up in the shop!

Upcoming Studio Sale!

Hey Peeps,

I’m not going to be at any of the Renegade Craft Summer shows this year. I decided to sit it out to save my energy for the Holiday shows. In the meantime, I’m going to have a quick little Studio Sale in the next week or so. I’m going to have some small, affordable originals for sale.

I was flirting with the idea of doing a flash sale on Instagram, but I like running it through a shop so people can shop at their convenience and also not have to wait on PayPal invoices. Now I’m just trying to decide if I want to have it on the main shop on bigcartel or if it’s going to run separately on storenvy. Chime in if you have a preference.

Revisiting Old Drawings & Working on New Stuff

A few months ago, I got really into drawing food with colored pencils. It's a really fun process for me and I've always been much stronger with dry media than wet (i.e. paint). Lately, I've been working on sorta figuring out my drawing style. It had been a really long time since I just drew what I like. So naturally, when I started drawing again, a lot of my stuff looked a little bit like the artists I admire. And I was obsessing too much about how I was drawing and what I was drawing. Being in the graphic design world for a little too long, I had forgotten what it's like to work loosely. 

Once I got back into the groove of things, I realized that the food I had drawn a few months earlier don't really fit the style of my work. They mostly looked like studies that you were draw for a drawing class. So I revisited them and found that all they really needed were faces. 

This week I had a breakthrough in how I draw people. For a while, I was obsessing over the texture of hair. Don't get me wrong, when I really focus I'm pretty darn good at drawing hair! But what I found was in my attempt to give hair shape, I was making it look really flat. So I thought, "If it's going to look flat anyways, I might as well make it a whole shape!" That then opened up my mind to the possibility of infinite shapes for hair. Everything from something natural to something that looks like it's from another dimension (or a dream!)

Something else I ended up liking from just playing around: working with just two colors. What I like about working this way is it's a constraint that makes me have to figure out how to make something work. So after a drew a few heads, I challenged myself to figure out how to make this work with a body.

As you can see, I'm slowing working my way up to doing full figure drawings and eventually whole scenes. This is also my way of prepping myself for the Art Walk I'm participating in next month at The Community in Anaheim. I'll be doing live drawing during the event.

Thanks for following along! I'll be posting more works in progress soon!

Changes

I've been talking about this for quite some time now, and at the end of this year it's going happen. On January 1st, 2015 I'm going to shut down my Etsy shop. That doesn't mean I'm going to stop knitting just yet. It just means the shop is moving off Etsy. I'm tired of a lot of the changes Etsy's been making to the site and also (as I mentioned before) their fees. Last December, my Etsy bill was nearly $300 for the month. And most months, my bill ranges from $20-60 depending on how much I sell. That's a pretty hefty chunk of money that could've been used to grow my business or pay bills. I only pay Big Cartel a flat rate of $9.95/month regardless of how much I sell. Since being featured by Frankie, I've been getting a decent number of orders through Big Cartel. That gave me the confidence I needed to grow my business without Etsy. Starting bookmarking it now, because soon the knits will only be available HERE.

Knitting isn't the only thing I'm doing for a living; I've been trying to focus on my illustration career. When I'm not knitting, I'm drawing. It's a much scarier path than graphic design, but it's so much more satisfying to me. I love the challenge & excitement of the unknown. I'm currently trying to work on new pieces and prints to get ready for Renegade Craft's Winter Shows. The application period starts in September and it's only open for a week this year. So I really got to get it together! In the meantime, you can see what's currently available HERE.

Kevin and I decided to skip the Summer shows this year because it's too much work & stress on me for very little profit. Every year, he has to go to Comic Con for work so it leaves me working alone on the Summer shows. It's just too much work on one person. So we've been changing up the shows we do as well as researching some smaller ones to try. I'll be participating in the July Art Walk at The Community in Anaheim. (more about that later). In a couple months, I'll announce the Holiday show schedule so you know where you can find me at a show near you! Til next time!

New One-Offs

I've been working on some small one-off items to keep my hands working while I think up some new stuff for the shop. A while back I found a pack of 50 cards & envelopes at Big Lots. The price was so cheap I couldn't pass it up. I've been thinking of what I could do with them ever since. The quality of the cards are standard card stock, but the envelopes are definitely on the thinner side. Since I'm sorta in a lull right now, I thought the cards would be great for quick little one-of-a-kind cards. These are hand-drawn with colored pencils and are one-of-a-kind, never to be reproduced. These are the two that were released this past week, but more are on the way! You can find them in the shop!

Happy Apple Card

Pizza Face Card

My Life is Kinda Complete

Last week, I was featured in the fashion section of Frankie Magazine's blog.  I was super excited and extremely honored to be featured by them. They're my favorite art & lifestyle magazine from Australia. It's currently Autumn there, so my hats are perfect for the weather.

For the past couple of years, my friend Janie from Janie XY would joke that I'm famous in Australia because I get a good amount of orders from down under. Well, now I am actually kinda famous in Australia! I'm also super stoked about this because in the past, Frankie has featured quite a few of my friends. So at the start of 2014, one of my goals was to eventually make it into Frankie. Although, I didn't get published in the actual magazine, this is pretty darn close!

You can check out the feature here.

NEW Goodies in the Shop!

I've been working on some new items for summer. Here's what's new and currently available. More are on the way!

Get them here!

Doggie Wonderland

Join me this Saturday May 10th at Doggie Wonderland: An Art Benefit for Ken-Mar Rescue, presented by Leanna Lin's Wonderland & Supahcute.

Doggie Wonderland “Fun Adventures with Your Best Friend” is a “cash and carry” show with artwork and products all priced at $100 and lower. The show will open with a reception at Leanna Lin’s Wonderland on Saturday, May 10 (6-10pm). All proceeds from this group art exhibition and benefit will be donated to Ken-Mar Rescue, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit small dog rescue.

You can also check out the facebook event page for more info.

Donating Artists and Designers:

Adrianna Bamber / Allison Koberstein / Allison Revilla / Angela Song / Ann Shen / Andrea Kang / Audrey Miller / Atiliay / Aurora Lady / Azul Piñeiro / Bored Inc. / Bubi Au Yeung / Bunny (Pamela Barbieri) / Camilo Bejarano / catmandru! / CJ Metzger / Clara Grisanegra / Coney / Crowded Teeth / Cuddly Rigor Mortis / Doubleparlour / Em & Sprout / Emma Goo / Enkyskulls / Erica Sirotich / Eva Sowinski / Flat Bonnie / Genevieve Santos / Goreilla + Moemoe / Greg Ham / Jackie Williams / Jaclyn Ashley (Shlii) / Jared Andrew Schorr / Jenipher Lyn / Jeremiah Ketner / Jerrod Maruyama / Joey Chou / Kevin Chan / Kelley Frisby / Kristen “Hapa” Lau / Laura Berger / Luli Bunny / Lisa Aileen Dragani / Liz Adams / Locketship / Marie Dolphin / Michael Fleming / My Zoetrope / Natalie Naito / Nellie Le / Nicole Piar / Oscar Rosales / Orbital Ox / Oubly / Raymond Sanchez / Rhodora Jacob / Sharodactyl / Simone Listiak / Teddy Bear Republic / This Paper Ship / Unicorn Crafts / Vanessa Ramirez / Varinya Nunez / Vitamin Cats / Yumiko Kayukawa / Yummy Pancake + more!

Here's a sneak peek at the piece I contributed to the show:

Dog Meets Dog

Weekly Want: Yelapita Polka Dot Bag by Scout & Catalogue

Like most women, I'm obsessed with handbags. I've been a fan of Scout & Catalogue for a couple years now and own one of their denim galaxy clutches. But with their recent collection, they're expanding upon their leather offerings that we got a taste of last season. What I love most about their leather collection is there's an understated cool about it that I absolutely love. I've been into smaller bags lately as a way to force myself to only carry the essentials. When I was carrying a tote bag (or a larger purse), I had this bad habit of carrying two cameras, a sketchbook, art supplies…it just got way out of hand. Now I only carry those things with me when I'm *really* doing work. This bag is just the right size to carry a wallet, phone, keys…the only things I really need. And what I also love about it is the strap is detachable so it can be carried like a clutch, although the straps are so beautiful I would part with them for a second.

*image from Scout & Catalogue

Available from Scout & Catalogue for $180

Recap: LA Cake Club April Meetup

This past Saturday, I went to my first ever LA Cake Club at littlemeatsLA. LA Cake Club is a monthly meetup started by my gal pal, Sara Tso of Matchbox Kitchen, where a bunch of dessert lovers get together and just eat a bunch of deliciousness. The only criteria for attending is that you must bring a homemade dessert (no store-bought here!). For me, it was a super fun reason to try out new recipes.

Kevin's mom recently bought a puff pancake pan from her coworker for a fundraiser, so I took this as an opportunity to put it to work. I found this recipe for ebleskivers (Danish puff pancakes) with lingonberry jam from Serious Eats that totally did the trick.

Everything looked so good that this little dude wanted to join us.

Licorice

This tres leches cake showed up late and I knew I was in trouble. I LOVE TRES LECHES!!! I went back for multiple servings and took quite a bit of it home.

Loquat Cake

A few more cakes at shown up but I was too busy stuffing my face to continue taking photos. I had lots of fun and I'm looking forward to next month's meetup.

Weekly Want: Tiger Scarf by Leah Goren

A little over two weeks ago, Leah Goren announced her new Fall/Winter 2014 scarf collection and it's absolutely gorgeous! There's six different beautifully illustrated scarves to choose from, so there's bound to be one for everyone! Of course, being a tiger lover, I naturally want the Tiger Scarf.

image from Leah Goren

The entire collection is currently available for pre-order (with early September delivery) in her shop.

Lady in the Water

I've just been drawing a lot, trying to create some new work. It's been very challenging for me to just get past the sketching phase and commit to an actual piece. I think a lot of it for me is the fear of failure and the other part is just feeling completely out of practice. It's been a really long time since I've drawn for "art" if that makes any sense. I usually just sketch out ideas for client work, then most of a project will be done and finished on a computer. It's been a very long time since I've created work with analog media. And although I have a digital drawing tablet and a great set of Photoshop preset brushes, I still prefer to work with the physical materials. For me, they're much easier to control but I know for others it's just much faster, easier, and less messy. 

So I honestly don't know where all this is going yet, but you'll just have to keep following along to see where it goes.

Hello Sunshine!

Today, I added a new card in the shop. The weather has been super hot and super summery and spring just barely started! I don't even want to think about how hot it will be when summer finally comes. I've been drawing lots of summery things, since I'm not really into a lot of spring things other than fruit. So here's a happy little sun.

Get it here!

What I Ate: Fusion Burgers

On York Blvd. in Highland Park, there's an unassuming little burger joint serving up some mighty tasty burgers. Some have referred to it as an Umami Burger knock-off, but I would say Fusion Burgers has its own character. For starters, most of their burgers are $2-3 cheaper than Umami. Second, at least half of the burgers on the menu are "fusion" in that they don't use a traditional hamburger patty. They have burgers with patties made of al pastor, turkey, pork…just to name a few.

Cheese Tosos

Dan's Inferno - Turkey Patty, Dan’s Inferno Sauce, 1000 island, pepper cheese, roasted peppers, and onion ringlets

So if you're ever in Highland Park and craving burgers, head over to Fusion Burgers. And if you just go a little further down York Blvd., you can stop by Donut Friend or Scoops for dessert.

New in the Shop: Calico Button

Now available in the shop!

Food Envy: White Castle Chicken & Waffle Sandwich

If you've been following along, then you know that I LOVE sandwiches. My favorite being fried chicken sandwiches. White Castle just announced that they will be serving this Chicken & Waffle sandwich as part of their breakfast menu.

Chicken & Waffle Sandwich with Gravy (image from LA Times)

We don't have White Castle in LA, so the only time I've been able to get some is when I'm in Minneapolis visiting my brother. Otherwise, the only way we can get our hands on them is in the grocer's freezer. Too bad, I'll just have to keep imagining that it's as good as it looks. For those of you lucky enough to live in a state with White Castle, tell me how it goes!

Moon Face

Here's the final image of my piece for Q Pop's upcoming Magical Girl Heroines show. Check out the Facebook event for more info. If you're in the area, stop by April 5th 7PM – 10PM.

What I Ate: Chan Darae Hollywood

Last week, after watching The Grand Budapest Hotel, Kevin and I decided to stop by local Thai restaurant Chan Darae for a late lunch/early dinner. About a year ago, my best friend Nisa left her job at American Apparel's web department to take over management at Chan Darae. The restaurant had been in the family for over 35 years, and she had a vision of revamping it with a fresh new look and curated menu. Last year, I had worked on the branding and menu redesign of their family's other restaurant Bamboo Thai Bistro in Redondo Beach and never had the chance to try out this one.

We started off with the Shrimp Toast which I totally forgot to take a picture of. We then realized when the Deep-Fried Green Papaya Salad came out that we might have accidentally ordered too much fried food. (The Shrimp Toast was fried!) Luckily, the Shrimp Toast was served with a light & refreshing cucumber salad that help balance out the heaviness of the toast.

Deep-Fried Green Papaya Salad

The Deep-Fried Green Papaya Salad was a dish that Nisa was experimenting with that currently isn't on the menu. There's a possibility it might be added in the future.

The main dish, which we were splitting, was the Spicy Boat Noodles. The broth was a flavorful beef broth with a kick of spice. All the meat was tender and it had my favorite: beef meatballs (bò viên in Vietnamese). The best way I could describe this soup is that it's a good, solid Southeast Asian noodle soup. If you like Vietnamese phở, you'll most likely like this. In comparison to Vietnamese noodle soups, I would say this was like a mix of phở and bún bò huế.

Spicy Boat Noodles

During our meal, Nisa's sister Alisa came by and asked what we had for appetizers. She asked if we had gotten the "Spicy Fries" and we said we debated about it but ended up not getting it. She then replied, "You gotta have the Spicy Fries! They're so good! You gotta do it!" And next thing we knew, they magically appeared on our table.

Spicy Fries – tossed with Serrano peppers & fish sauce, served with Sriracha Ketchup (half order)

When it came time for dessert, we were really full but I just couldn't say "No" because I really love their Coconut Ice Cream & Banana Samosas. It's the same dessert they serve at their other restaurant and it's just so perfect! The coconut ice cream is non-dairy so it's great for lactose intolerant peeps AND it doesn't feel super heavy. Together with the fried banana samosas, it's a nice balance of creamy and crunchy.

Coconut Ice Cream & Banana Samosas

So if you're ever around the ArcLight or Amoeba in Hollywood and have a Thai food craving, I definitely recommend giving Chan Darae a try. They also have the best Happy Hour prices in the area!

Weekly Want: Wolverine X Samantha Pleet Digby Sandal

The weather has been in the 80s here in LA and it's not even summer yet! It's been so hot, I can't even think about putting on shoes. I've been wearing my Birkenstocks almost every day for the past year since we didn't really get any rain this year. But now that Spring is officially here, I've been shopping around for some cute new sandals. I fell in love with all the Wolverine X Samantha Pleet boots, but I just don't wear boots often enough to really commit. So naturally, their sandals are definitely need-worthy. These are the classy Digby Sandal with a nice touch of contrasting canvas.

Available from Wolverine for $222.

Eggs

Available here in the shop.

Falconwright Spring/Summer 2014 is HERE!

Yesterday, my favorite Canadian handbag makers Falconwright launched their new Spring/Summer Collection. I've been waiting for this collection for the past two months as they teased us all with sneak peeks on Instagram. And now it's here! (Now if I could only decide which pieces I want…)

Here are a few of my favorites:

White Grass Clutch

Reversible Shapes Clutch

Sprinkle Clutch

Eyeball Mini Pouch

Eyeball Card Holder

*all images from Falconwright

You can get your hands on the collection here.