Signage Sunday!

Wednesday Want: Pendleton Point Blanket Cape

I'm totally obsessed with this Pendleton Point Blanket Cape available at UrbanOutfitters.com. Pendleton is most known by their vibrant colors and high quality wool. I just love the boldness of the stripes and the overall minimal look.

Getting Ready for a Long Winter

I have been talking about this for sometime now. That this winter will be my final year of producing knitwear. And that decision still stands. I am both relieved and sadden by this decision, but I feel that it is quite necessary. The time and energy I've been putting into it over the years just isn't worth it anymore. I'm tired of having too much yarn and bins full of finished product occupying every single inch of my very tiny room.  So I've started knitting up all my yarn in preparation for UniqueLA. Even if I don't get in, at least everything will already be made and I can just post it all to Etsy.

So what does that mean for the future? As some of you may know, I've been exploring the realm of laser cut jewelry. And although it has been received quite well so far, I don't see it as being a very permanent thing. It just doesn't really feel like me. I feel like this is just what people expect from me based on their perception of me/becausemaybe/whatever. I've been thinking about going back to my roots in writing and curating. Mostly writing about music and pop culture, with a touch of nostalgia. And that would carry over into the curation and sale of vintage items.

I spent a lot of my summer in self-reflection. I looked back at the early years of becausemaybe and even went as far back as the high school years. I thought about what inspires me and what drives me. I reminisced about old hobbies and old interests. I've been searching deep within myself to find what it is I really love. And what really makes me happy. And I don't know the answer to that anymore. I feel like I've strayed very far from where I started and not so much in a good way. I feel like I got distracted somewhere along the way and lost sight of things. 

Several of my friends have asked me this week about my experience interning at American Apparel so far and if I would ever consider working there. I told them, "If they want to pay me to be there, I would have no objection to that." Sometimes I wonder if this economy has made me desperate, because I know deep down inside the real answer to that question is "No." Sure, the environment is laidback and some of the employees are cool to talk to and hang out with. But the actual job itself, isn't really my thing. They don't really have anything to offer me in terms of what I want out of a job. 

So what do I really want to do? I still want to move to Minneapolis and live out there for a few years. Just be away from things for a while. Spend some alone time. Or maybe that's the problem. Maybe I already spend too much alone time. But at this age, everyone's always too busy: trying to startup their career, getting married, having kids, or just plain trying to graduate. Everyone's always too busy for everyone else. Right when you think you've found people you really connect with, it's already time to say goodbye. 

Life always manages to catch you by surprise. But I don't wait around for life anymore. Because every time I've been patient, life served me some disappointment.

Weekend Recap

So over the weekend, I originally had every intention of taking a trip to the LA Printer's Fair at The International Printing Museum. But I woke up late (just a little before 1PM). And being that I had to be back in Eagle Rock at Leanna Lin's Wonderland by 5PM, I decided that wasn't happening. 

Luckily, Gallery Nucleus was hosting the SC3 Party in collaboration with the Southern California Classic Collectors. There were over 30 classic arcade machines available for game play and with that, of course, comes BurgerTime!!!

Anyone who knows me really well knows that I have some serious beef with BurgerTime. (pun intended? sure!) Growing up, I had it on my original Nintendo NES console and I remember it being really hard. Well...now as an adult, I still think it's pretty damn hard. And even harder on a classic arcade machine that isn't as quick and responsive as it was in its prime. 

For those of you who have never played it, you play the role of a chef and the goal is to build burgers but in the process you're being chased by eggs, sausages, and pickles who are trying to stop/kill you. And your only weapon is pepper, which you get limited quantities of and it only stuns them temporarily. You also have to run across each layer (bun, patty, lettuce, bun) to get them to drop down. But they only drop down by one level each time, so you gotta repeatedly run over the layers to get them to drop. Sounds difficult? Yeah, I know.

Does that sound confusing? Here...why not watch some gameplay....

Then when I was done totally done with losing to BurgerTime, I moved on to the next machine to my left...Oh Hey! What do you know...it's Paperboy! I think we were all totally falling for the sweet novelty handlebar controller. But once playing it, we all realized how much it sucked. And I mean SUCKED! I don't think anyone spent more than 3 minutes with this machine. Too bad. It had the potential of being awesome.

Then came Sunday which is Kevin's day off (he works Tues–Sat. it's the typical art gallery schedule), so we took a trip over to Nickel Diner in Downtown LA (most known for their bacon donuts).

I love that the Nickel Diner serves bottled sodas...no soda fountains to be found here! Unfortunately, I didn't realize it until after the waitress brought out my Coke that they had Dr. Pepper. But it's ok, bottled Dr. Pepper is only 8oz. whereas the Coke is 12oz.

Kevin ordered the Biscuits and Gravy (comes with 2 poached eggs) that's only available on Saturdays and Sundays. The gravy was a sausage gravy which made it 10 times more delicious!

And I got the 5th and Main (which is spicy BBQ pulled pork on potato hash with 2 poached eggs). It didn't look like it was a lot of food but it was really HEAVY. But equally delicious. 

I want to eventually go back to try their Irish Car Bomb donuts, Strawberry Crumble donuts, and the Dutch Baby. They also have really great homemade poptarts!

At the end of my weekend, I came home to this:

Sebastian was super bummed out that he had to stay home and miss out on all the fun.

Exercises in Writing

I've been dabbling in the idea of dedicating time to running Quiet Tiger. I think of this as a creative outlet for my writing. As a counter-balance to design. But like all things, it takes a lot of time, patience, and hard work. I have every intention of branding Quiet Tiger. And this week, I came closer to narrowing down what exactly it will be and what it will do. I felt like what happened over summer when I started Quiet Tiger was that I was taking a shot in the dark. I didn't know what I was doing or what I wanted. And unfortunately, that resulted in the failure that is The Fabrication Dept. But now I feel like I'm finally on track. I need Quiet Tiger as much as I need becausemaybe. And with that, I'm going to commit a portion of my time to making this work out.

It's a Small World!

Back in late July/early August, I was invited by Joey Chou to contribute to the It's a Small World show.  I met Joey one night when I was stopping by Flock Shop to drop off some new items on consignment. It just so happened that it was the same night as the opening of his solo show.  We struck up a conversation about Comic Con and cats, and how much we love Mary Blair...and the next thing I knew, I was invited to take part in this show.

Well, that show is finally here! I stopped by Gallery Nucleus yesterday, and all the pieces look amazing. You'll just have to see for yourself in person.

The Opening Reception is tonight from 7PM–10PM

Timed with the release of illustrator Joey Chou's latest children's book from Disney Press, a select group of talent will contribute work paying homage to this beloved and enduring theme of global peace. The book features Chou's illustrations interpreting the Sherman Brothers classic song written for the popular Disney park attraction.

This is an all-ages event. Meet some of the artists including Joey Chou who will be on hand signing copies of the new release.

Here's the schedule for the night so you'll know what to expect:

7pm-8:30pm: Joey Chou Book Signing

8pm: First Raffle Drawing - Signed copy of Joey's book and a new print from Seb Mesnard!

8:30pm: Patrick Awa, Israel Sanchez and Joey Chou start live painting demos.

9pm: Second Raffle Drawing - Signed copy of Joey's book and 2 signed Joey Chou prints!

10pm: Final Raffle Drawing - Finished live demo artwork by Joey Chou, Patrick Awa and Israel Sanchez!


Exhibiting Artists Include:

Joey Chou
Lorelay Bové
Patrick Awa
Brittney Lee
Becky Dreistadt
Patrick Hruby
Michelle Romo
Eric Diaz
Michael Fleming
Grace Lee
Brendan Wenzel
Justin Parpan
Israel Sanchez
Seb Mesnard
Griselda Sastrawinata
Rad Sechrist
Nellie Le
Pete Oswald
Mark Sperber
Winnie Ho
Olga Stern
Christian Robinson
Victoria Ying
Ryan Kramer
Alex Chechik
Kevin Chan
Sean Sullivan
Ryuku Uratsuji
Chris Turnham
Josh Parpan
Jesse Tise
Elizabeth Ito
Jing Wei
Ben Butcher
Brigette Barrager
Chris Sasaki
Claire Keane
Uwe Heidschoetter
Oliver Akuin
Edward Juan
Linda Kim
Jackie Huang
Patrick Raines
Eren Blanquet
Drake Brodahl

Rethinking Relocation

I've been considering for some time now, the possibility of moving to Minneapolis after graduation. I've grown tired of making dream job lists that just scream "Get the hell out of LA!" The fact of the matter is, most of the firms out here just aren't doing the kind of work I want to be doing. And the people who are doing that kind of work...they're kinda like a rare breed of individuals, who run their own studios and run in the same circle of friends as the other individuals who run their own studio. It sometimes feels like it's an exclusive club that everyone wants to be a part of but no new kid knows how to get into. The only logical explanation I can come up with is to move to Minneapolis, work at some of the places (or similar places) I want to work at, then come back and start my own gig. I'll always have a place in my heart for LA (or more accurately, LA county). Sure the cost of living is high, and there have been many things said about it being fake, lacking culture & a sense of history. But that's what I love about it. It doesn't care. It's as individual as the people who occupy it.

Madewell was Made for Me.

Last week I received a catalog in the mail from Madewell. I almost entirely forgot that I had requested one in the first place. But upon first sight, I was instantly in love. From the typeface choices to the styling, I knew that this was a brand I can stand behind. And then, I found out that they were part of J. Crew. I don't necessarily hate J. Crew. I just remember some of the animal rights controversy they were involved with in the past. But Madewell is a very different brand and demographic than J. Crew. It has a very uniform and utilitarian feel to it. And I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt since it was just PETA that gave them hell in the past for where they got their fur and wool. (Sure as a cat owner and animal lover, I'm not cool with animal cruelty. But PETA hasn't exactly exercised favorable behavior either.)

Over the weekend, I met up with my bff Nisa who currently works at American Apparel at the corporate level. Nisa and I have been wearing American Apparel since our high school years and we remember when they used to only have 5 products. And whether or not a shirt was printed on American Apparel used to be the deciding factor in which online stores we would support. Well fast forward about a decade, and American Apparel is now this huge ever-expanding thing that just doesn't know when to stop (even when they're in financial trouble). Vintage watches & eyewear? Beauty products? WHAT?! We went from owning just a few American Apparel tees to wearing American Apparel every day. I wear at least 1 article of clothing from them every day. Nisa, for obvious reasons, wears American Apparel head-to-toe every day, but she was wearing them long before she got the job.

But what we laughed about over lunch was how we're still stuck on uniforms. We both attended Catholic school for 12 years of our lives where we had to wear uniforms every day. And every since we graduated from high school, we've managed to create our own uniform from pieces of different brands. Nisa has a rule about wearing mostly oxford shirts and cardigans. I have a specific color rule: I own mostly white, greys, black. With the exception of darks. So I can have color, but they have to be the dark shades of colors. So colors like navy, forest green, deep purple, burgundy, etc. Sure, some people think our wardrobe is boring, but it suits us just fine. The case we make for it is that everything in our closets will always match. We never have to worry about getting dressed and having our clothes not match. We can seriously be blindfolded and pick stuff from our closet and everything will match.

So what does Madewell have anything to do with this? Well Madewell looks like the next logical wardrobe upgrade. This year I'll be turning 25. I'm starting to hit that late 20s/early 30s age where I'm starting to transition out of young adulthood. And as comfy as an American Apparel V-neck is, it's not always going to be the appropriate choice. I've been looking to upgrade my everyday uniform from V-necks and jeans to casual button-ups with jeans. It's only been a matter of finding something I really like.

Here are some of my favorite looks:

And last but not least,

 this is my absolute favorite outfit!

I Finally Want to Use You

I'm so happy that Google finally changed the Blogger Interface. It just looks so clean and current. The old interface just felt very outdated...like the early 2000s. The new interface makes me really want to use Blogger. But I really just wish Blogger had better templates. Or at least be easier to edit the html so I can make my blog look the way I want it to.

Sometimes We Find Ourselves...

At a familiar place in our lives that we never expected to be back at. It's a place where all the familiar faces you once knew resides. And it's where they've been this whole time. Nothing could ever feel as good. You carry them with you in the back of your mind. And you've been searching for them all along. And you've been waiting for them to come back to you. Or is it them who's been waiting for you? It's the happiest place you could ever be and it makes you wonder how you lost your way in the first place. How did you make yourself so busy as to forget. How is it that we make it so easy to leave the lives we once knew. To leave it all behind. They're the people who hold the key to who we were and who we will be. They're the part of you you'll never forget, even if you wanted to. Even if you tried.

It's when you stumble back to the place that you once knew, that you try to hold onto it so tightly. As not to lose it ever again. And you wish it would last forever. But you know it can't, and in the end all you'll be left with are the memories of the time when you were once happy.

I get tired of believing in such things. I'm tired of all the missed opportunities. I'm tired of being left with just memories. And I'm just about tired of being content. I've outgrown my belief in sacrificing happiness for the greater good. I think deep down, I'll always have the greater good in mind. But I think I can become a much greater person if I could pursue all my goals with a much happier outlook.