Claw Machine Skills

I've never been good at those stupic claw machines but tonight I struck gold! I was in Little Tokyo tonight checking out the Ham Ba Ga show over at Q Pop. Afterwards, I headed over to Mikawaya in the Japanese Village plaza to get some mochi. What I love about Mikawaya is that they make mochi from their gelato...appropriately named mochilato. Today, they had creme brulee flavored mochi and it was AMAZING! So naturally, I had to head over to the Sanrio store across the way. I checked out what was in the claw machine today and it was Apple and Strawberry Hello Kitty! So I just had to give it a try. $1 and one try later...I scored this sweet Apple Hello Kitty. I was pretty stoked.

Little Tiger Invades Mountain Village

Remembering ReadyMade

I just heard the news yesterday from my friends at Poketo that ReadyMade is closing shop. They made the announcement last week but the news has been slowly spreading amongst the DIY community. It was a big shocker to all of us, but the thought of it wasn't a complete surprise. Like many publications, they struggled to stay alive in this digital age where blogs/digital periodicals reign supreme. I felt a great sadness when I heard the news because I felt that ReadyMade played an important role in the making me the designer/creator/maker that I am today.

I remember when I first heard of ReadyMade, I was in high school and wanted to launch my own apparel company with my bff, Nisa. We had this brilliant idea to create our own polo shirt brand to sit amongst the ranks of Lacoste, LeTigre, Penguin, etc. That's what we wore back then: Lacoste or LeTigre polo shirts that we got off eBay with a Member's Only jacket, boot cut jeans, and a pair of Chucks (but only the ones made in the USA. aka pre-Nike acquisition). We thought that the whole silkscreened t-shirt company run out of one of our garages thing would be the more typical and expected thing to do. Which was why we didn't want to do that. Yeah, we thought we were too cool. But we would never openly admit it. Although we never took that jump into apparel, ReadyMade inspired us  that we could really make/build anything.

The first time I saw ReadyMade's website it was only made up of maybe 2 or 3 pages. They had an online store where you can buy one issue, 5 issues, a subscription, or various DIY kits. I even remember when Poketo made wallets out of ReadyMade. This was back when some of their first wallets were made of scantrons and measuring tape. One of the first projects I ever made shortly after discovering ReadyMade was a wallet made of old magazines and packing tape. I admired Poketo's wallets, but I was young & broke. It was very similar to this project which can be found on ReadyMade's website today. I called it the "I'm not a slut." wallet. I had used pages from a crappy teen magazine that I had lying around from junior high. I tore out a page with an article about teen body image and that was the headline. Looking back on it now, I only had those magazines to fit in with the rest of the girls. But moving on to high school, I had ditched those bitches and found a group of friends who shared my interests (the kind of girls who read Giant Robot and Juxtapoz). That wallet came out pretty cheesy. And I never used it as a wallet. At least not in public.

What I loved the most about ReadyMade was that it showed you how to do everything from something as simple as stenciling a rodeo cowboy onto a pillow to building a printing press with a hydraulic press. No project ever seemed too outrageous. And the best part was that they listed what exactly what you would need, what skills you would need, difficulty level, time it would take, and approximately how much it would cost you. Everything I ever needed to know before jumping into a project!

I love you ReadyMade! Thanks for making us want to build things! And not because they were things we needed, but because they were just really cool things to make!

Andrew Byrom on Business Cards

Hobo Cat

Sebastian thinks he's a bum. He loves the cheapest (and by cheap, I mean free) toys.

Favorite Toy: Q-tips
Favorite Place to Sleep: On a pile of unorganized stuff and (on occasion) plastic Target bag

It's not like he doesn't have a bed. He has a nice comfy black plush bed that matches with the majority of decor in my room. He just recently decided to stop sleeping in it.

Epic Eating

Today, my friend Carolyn joined us for a Sunday Food Adventure. The day started off with a trip to Galco's Soda Pop Stop. Galco's was once an Old World grocery store but to soda junkies, it's home. They have many familiar and not-so-familiar sodas. They even claim to have over 400 sodas. The once produce section of the market was also converted into a nostalgic candy corner. If you've never been, it's definitely a must if you LOVE soda. I decided to be good today and not get the 6 pack of Original formula Dr. Pepper. But I did get one of my favs: Cheerwine. If you like Dr. Pepper and/or Black Cherry soda, you'll love Cheerwine! And you don't even have to go all the way to Galco's to get it. I've seen it at most BevMos.

After Galco's, we headed over to Melrose  and wandered around peeping in & out of the various thrift shops and boutiques. We stopped by Japan LA to check out the Kittens & Ice Cream show. And I just had to get this one-of-a-kind kitten ice cream necklace by Axelhoney. She made quite a few for the show and they all sold out the night of the opening, but she recently dropped off a few more. I'm super happy I was able to snag one! They're just way too cute!

After a whole lot of window shopping, we decided that it was time to stuff our faces. So we decided to take a trip to Pink's. Honestly, if you're from LA, Pink's isn't even a big deal. But because Carolyn was with us, we figured "why not?!"

And then at this point we were trying to figure out what to do to kill some time before heading out to Glendora for Donut Man. Because obviously, we were way too full to head straight there after this meal. So we went to Old Town Pasadena. But it ended being a total bust because silly us forgot that it was Sunday and most places closed really early. (at some point, I checked my phone to make sure Donut Man was open but Google told me it was closed. we were totally bummed out and I was like WTF?! they're supposed to be 24hours.)

So New Plan: Bigfoot Lodge

And it being Sunday meant BINGO NIGHT! Had a few drinks and played bingo. We nearly won a few times but never did. Then we decided to double check again to see if Donut Man was open because we were really looking forward to it. We ended up calling them and we probably sounded really weird and crazy but they were indeed OPEN! So we drove our asses to Glendora STAT!

When we got there, the line wasn't looking bad at all. 

And of course, we bought more than we can eat so we would have them throughout the week.

So the grand total was: 5 strawberry donuts, 3 blueberry cream puffs, and 2 tigertails. Not bad at all compared to our usual damage.

And the best part? We totally beat the late night rush.

Ridiculous Skills

Dana Tanamachi is a graphic designer most known for her hand lettering skills with chalk. Just the amount of precision and depth she's able to create in her typography using a simple and low-tech medium, such as chalk, just blows my mind.

If you've never seen Dana work it, I suggest you take a gander.


Ace Hotel Room 1021 from Dana Tanamachi on Vimeo.

Lazy Saturday

Today has mostly been a day of lounging. Sebastian spent the whole day sleeping or basking in the sun.

I, on the otherhand, spent my time playing with Vignette. I remember when I used to carry a camera with me everywhere and document everything. And now with cell phone cameras and various apps, it's so much easier. Yet, it's something I don't do anymore. So I've been trying to get back into that habit.

Basic Space

The Newest Thing I Can't Live Without

For being unemployed, I have quite a busy summer ahead of me. Between launching a new jewelry line, looking for work, and working on my portfolio. It's getting much harder to keep track of things. I never thought I'd see the days when I would actually need to make a To-Do list. In the past, every time I made a list for myself I ended up failing to look at them. Or even worse, I acknowledge their existence but simply ignore what's written on them. Also, with the new trend of everyone having a smartphone, it makes it easier to always have the list on you. But for me I always find that I remember things easier when they're written than when they're typed. So I keep these Desk-Its from Poketo at my desk.

The awesome thing about Desk-Its is that they're pre-printed with the days of the week Monday–Sunday with lines for your list of things to do. and next to each item is a box to check things off when you're done. It's also conveniently almost the same size as your keyboard so it can also double as a wrist rest for when you're typing. Or if you want, you can just tear off the sheet and stick it anywhere you want like to the bottom of your computer monitor or your fridge. 

But one thing is for sure. It has made my list of things I cannot live without.