i cracked the lid
steven miesel via fabulousfindsandco.blogspot.com
yes, i took a quick peek into the abyss, i couldn’t resist before digging into the nightshift. you know how blogging makes me all happy and stuff. well, i clicked on a random day and just two links pulled onto just the ride i needed to recharge. this universe never disappointsl!
so this just a non sequitur from a free fall. hope you have fun where ever you’re headed!
Ziegfeld Girl
loveyourplace.blogspot.com/2009/08/vintage-vanities-old-hollywood-glamour_24.html
starletshowcase.blogspot.com/search/label/mirrors
flickr.com/photos/gatochy/400136275/in/set-72157594356254349/
flickr.com/photos/gatochy/sets/72157594356254349
flickr.com/photos/gatochy/3526176732/in/set-72157594356254349
it’s funny how this trail of breadcrumbs was all about flappers.
anyway, duty calls. i’m starting to see the light, sort of. the details never seem to end, i can’t wait to say, fini!
ok enough talk, work!
one heavenly night
hi everyone! i hope you’re having a splendid afternoon! i’ve been watching taped tcm films while i’m working, can you tell? two from the 30s and the flapper fashions are to die for! not sure about the story line, i’m barely paying attention but it’s set in budapest and a she’s queen for a day who gets to be wild and free!
imdb.com/one heavenly night (1931)
i’m home tonight working on a newsletter, logo and pr stuff for the launch…i can’t believe how much work has gone into ‘it’ but the tunnel is definitely lit and i’ll be blabbing about it soon. in fact if anyone wants to host a giveaway on their site, let me know, i need all the help i can get. and i promise to stop being annoyingly clandestine as soon as i can!
so since i’m home alone i can indulge in the ridiculous and take stills with my new iphone! (the most fabulous indulgence ever)! i thought i’d share a scene from the movie that just ended, born to dance (1936). this film was beyond surreal in that it had songs like ‘you’d be so easy to love’ and ‘i’ve got you under my skin’, but also a couple of buddy epsen numbers that border on disturbing! still, i can’t turn off an old film if i haven’t seen it (or even if i have), and it was worth it. as you can see, the fabulous broadway star has a dream apartment. but you really don’t know how it’s laid out till she takes this enormous glass teardrop and lobs it into the mirror surrounding the mantle!
it was actually aimed at him
mmmm mmmm mmm, i do love the 30s sets! even those built to be destroyed!
anyway i just wanted to say hi and thank you for checking in. i really appreciate your friendship and love knowing you’re there for me. me too you!
have a great sat nuit!
our rainbow connection
(i’ve been messing around at conde nast again. most of these pics are from there!)
happy friday everyone! it’s been a good long week and i’m tired but happy. my 30 days of solitude is coming to a close as my guy’s getting back tomorrow. i accomplished a couple goals including finally losing 7 pounds! it only took 30 days on my own and a recession to make it happen after 5 years of trying!
so i just wanted to stop in and say hi and let you know what i’ve been up to. i’m planning a trip to paris from april 9-27th to tour with some clients. as the newspapers are saying, it’s a good time to go to europe, (one said take your mother in law)! fuel’s down and airfares are at an all time low. and the dollar’s high! anyway, you know you have a standing invitation to come anywhere i am!
before i leave i’m doing my homework, still determined and working on building this biz in a crazy time.
my homework included a virtual rendezvous from my friends lynn and janet who you’ve met before. they encouraged me to place ads on my site. i wasn’t sure about it at first cause i sort of liked having this little diary that wasn’t really commercial.
but these ladies are powerful!
like all ladies :)
and convinced me. now that it’s up i’m realizing that it’s an amazing way to strengthen our network!
it’s virgin territory and i want it to be accessible, so ads are affordable and it’s a business write off! if you’re a blog friend of course you’ll get a special deal :)
well, there you have it, the start of a new era!
who knows, hopefully it will be like going from this
to this!
thanks guys, bon nuit!
everything old is new again
image by tim walker
bonjour mes amis! just stopping by to say hi to and not overload on posting like i seem to have been doing lately! i’m dying to do some visiting instead of writing, so i stopped by to visit my girl janet at french blue and co., and discovered yet an other fabulous book by tim walker. funny thing is he reproduced an image i’ve been saving forever in a folder and this was a good reason to break it out. it’s from an old film, a silent i think. anyone know which one?
this is a closeup of the actress. sorry the pics are so bad but i shot them out of a movie book years ago with a digital that’s now a dinosaur.
tucked in the folder were all sorts of other scene sets. well some were sets and some were real homes.
i know you’ve seen this one before, can anyone place it for me? i have no credits on these at all!
anyway it was a good reason to finally clean out this folder and share these gems with you.
i hope you’ll forgive the quality of these shots and just see the beauty and detail that went into these rooms!
alcoves are my weakness!
and so is trim
and tufting
and divas!
well if you happen to know any of these films or locations i’d love to know, i even forget the book they came from. i’ve had them since the ’90s!
so that’s it for now. but i couldn’t leave without sharing one little thing i learned today. it has nothing to do with this post but good to know nonetheless.
i’ve been looking for a long time to find a company to print small quantities on fabric and finally came across a good one! if you’ve been looking too, try spoonflower’s website and blog if you have ideas for bedding, pillows, lampshades or curtains, here’s your answer! now i need to take my own advice!
light sweet crude flappers and philosophers
photo via fashiones-de-mi.blogspot.com
how far we’ve come in 80 years. i definitely take for granted how easy we have it technologically.
hi everyone! it’s feels like forever since i’ve been here and a ton of stuff on my plate. it’s been one of those weeks where no matter how much i did it only scratched the surface of what seem like insurmountable challenges facing me. and i’m sure they’re no bigger or any more difficult than anyone else’s. thank god for blogging :)
like everyone else i’m obsessed with what’s going on with the state of our country so i started researching the last depression to see what it was like, and how they fared. i started with what i know: flappers who were having the time of their lives in the jazz age, the roaring 20′s. at least till the crash of ’29.
photo via 16sparrows.typepad.com
turns out the 20′s were just like our own time in that everything was new, electricity, appliances, fashion, hairstyles, legs! cars, communication and sound in film… they never stopped saying’ “what will they think of next?”
and the glamor of fitzgerald’s writing made it all the more enchanting. life was a roaring carnival.
until 1929. and then even the flappers had to deal with realities of the day. they tried to stay bright and cheerful as women always do.
once the crash hit, things changed including fashion and fancy free days. they began to stay home to cook and make their own clothes. thrift became de rigeur.
fashiones-de-mi.blogspot.com/2008/09/flappers.html
i keep thinking about this video i saw the other day that shows what life was like leading up to the crash. i haven’t even watched the entire piece but the first 10 minutes really stuck with me. it’s a little blurry at first but clears up. i highly recommend it.
assumption.edu/users/McClymer/his394/FlapoverFlappers.html
of course you can’t start to dig into a topic like this without falling into the you know what.
these are some random links to the night’s breadcrumbs, it’s again only skimming the surface of what’s out there on the subject.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnZCVkP7GlE
funny to see how that one shift changed so much in film, fashion, design, and general thought. but it opened even more doors to new ideas, and the art deco period flourished and designers like schiaparelli and chanel rose to the top. i never noticed till tonight how pronounced the change between the 20′s and 30′s really was.
20′s
30′s
on a personal note, it’s the end of yet another era. i moved out of liz’s house this week and am in lovely, albeit temporary new digs. all i have are my most prized possessions.
liz and i have been roomies off and on for 18 years! finding the kitten really changed us both and made us a lot softer. we both thought we were dog people. i am gonna miss that little panda mitten man but will see him often.
anyway here’s my new abode for now (my guy’s place, which as pretty as it is is beyond neglected). i’m meditating on a real move to happen soon and am keeping my eye out for a miracle deal on a dream apartment. of course i want the impossible but then i believe in all that jazz.
bon nuit mes amis and keep on carrying on!
louis’ lusty ladies
or maybe was louis’ lust FOR the ladies
hi guys! i was so happy you’re so into LC too that i was inspired to do another post on his work.
as much as he was peaches and cream
he also had another side one that was fascinated by the mysteries and sensual charms of of women
striking risque poses
and wearing whisper thin dresses
without a care in the world, especially the dangers of smoking =p
he painted an age of folly and it was a new and exciting time
especially for a generation who were shocked at an exposed ankle
not to mention a glimpse of stocking
sometimes the paintings are almost dark
but they’re always playful
but these ladies weren’t playing
when it came to love and seduction (i actually have the one above signed and framed on consignment in ny. if you like it let me know)
his body of work is endless!
he did it all,
whether it’s the weather,
paris
or just plain capturing glimpses of beauty,
there’s always a new one to discover
well i better go, stay cozy and have a great weekend! i’m gonna sequester myself cause my new web boutique is going up next week and so i have a lot to dot and cross! xoc
louis’ lovely ladies
hi friends! i know it’s pretty cold for so many right now so i hope you’re tucked in warm and cozy tonite!
yesterday i started cleaning off my desktop and was happy to see you enjoyed it. today i started working on some of the folders. so many of the images aren’t hi res so they can’t go to print. soooo the next best thing is to share them with you! i wish i could figure out how to get them to blow up when you click but it seems like wordpress may have changed that feature.
so tonite it’s louis icart, one of my favorite artists. he captured moments of contemplation,
trepidation
elation!
and anyone who loves dogs, well…
he painted women so delicately but still kept them strong
i have tons more so if you like him too let me know and i’ll finish up that folder tomorrow!
for tonight, stay dreamy
don’t work too hard
and enjoy your friends in person or on their blogs! love you!! xoc
channeling helena
quel bombshell! i’ve always loved katie holmes and it’s great to see her front and center again.
especially when she’s sitting on the helena rubenstein chair!
or doing anything, really. she’s the epitome of glam in these shots. they were done for the ny times by Solve Sundsbo who really captures an era that’s hard to replicate, but they nailed it.
it’s a supporting role but to see her on this chair is a thrill! she’s perched on the original from alan moss’ showroom in nyc, one of my favorite resources with one of the most comprehensive collection of delicious objets and furniture you will ever covet!
Single Lucite Chair Commissioned for Helena Rubenstein
United States
1930s
Single lucite chair with etched rose motif. Commissioned for Helena Rubenstein by Ladislas Medgyes the orignal set of eight chairs were made by Roman Haas who made the first lucite furniture. Documented in the book “Over the Top” by Suzanne Slesin.
the paris apartment collection
(if you have a store and would carry them or want one for yourself, let me know)
ok, i’m off to art basel, it’s my first time! have a wonderful wintery night!
my mom doesn’t know
i talked to my parents last night and was surprised when mom said she has no idea what i do in florida! it made me realize that i may blab a lot, but maybe not about what i’m actually up to with the biz. sooo, for starters, mom, these are the latest in our Helena line of lucite chairs and stools. They’re inspired Helena Rubenstein’s own collection and love of acrylic furniture (even her bed)! even tho lucite’s making a comeback, it’s been around for decades. take a look at our girl’s place in the 30′s:
and her new york apartment, shot for elle decor:
the early days in nyc, 635 Park Avenue designed by J. E. R. Carpenter. Madame Helena Rubinstein’s triplex penthouse, view of her foyer
searching around led me to some other wonderful memoirs of her life, like this portrait
and art she collected
but it always leads back to paris, doesn’t it? this was shot by Richard Avedon in her apartment on Ile St Louis in Paris, 1947
ok, i’ve gone and opened a can of it now, take a look if you dare! so…we’re officially off the topic. it’s so easy to get lost so i’ll sign off now. have a great sunday!
ps i couldn’t resist looking one more time and found this photo: F.S. Lincoln captured a quiet moment in the garden of Helena Rubenstein’s Paris penthouse for the January 1938 House & Garden. The apartment on the Ile Saint-Louis overlooks the Seine, with a distant view of Notre Dame.
she was one grande dame!
and mom, the tables were for jonathan adler, my idol, and it’s been stressful to say the least. so just wish me luck!
how i got my groove back
i admit falling off the earth for the past few days. between having 10 days left before relocating, the kitten and my guy, i haven’t had time for much else. leave it to another blogger to bring me back
to the lovely blogging arena, full of new, beautiful and inspiring pics, places and people! (and pets)
this time it was paris atelier. she did a divine post with pictures that hypmotized me! and to top that post off was a great big cherry cause she mentioned my trips to the fleas en Paris! check her out, i just had to share her delicious pics and shout ‘thank you’ from the rooftops!
a couple other things are going on, i’m determined to finish the boutique revamp (preview above, think i shared this before but i swear i’m making progress)
and we’re adding the final touches to the Boudoir Noir Line
making the final choices
there are so many beauties
these are only a few of the pieces.
there’ll be chaise lounges, mirrored beds,
loveseats and slipper chairs, vanity benches
and everything will be tufted and pink and silk! (sorry, i got carried away :)
ok, maybe not this one will have a limited market…well now back to work, hopefully i’ll accomplish a lot this week, i’m so motivated right now and want to take advantage of myself! ;p
