Simply Brilliant: Local Natives and la Blogoteque

One of the best things I've ever heard said about music is this; Music is what feelings sound like. Before you get all "wow she's profound" about me - it's a quote, I'm just borrowing it. But isn't it true? Music produces such pleasure for me and my family that it would be difficult to live fully without it around our house. My "indie" children, Olivia and Noah, are both marvelous singers and my niece Morgan, plays the piano with élan. Noah strums the strings off his guitar and visitors to our home are subject to impromptu "jam sessions" on a regular basis.

Recently, my daughter introduced me to a marvelous band called Local Natives an "indie rock" band based in Los Angeles. Their debut album, Gorilla Manor, was first released in the UK in November 2009, and later released in the U.S. in February of 2010. According to Wikipedia, their sound has been described as "afropop-influenced guitars with hyperactive drumming and hooky three-part harmonies." Clash Music has also described their style as psych-folk, or modern worldly folk. All I know is that I like 'em and I hope you do, too.

So, here's the video Olivia shared with me - it's a magical video from la Blogoteque filmed in Paris and posted on their video series called Take Away Show. La Blogoteque describes these shows as a weekly film session with an artist or a group who has been invited to play in the city, a bar, the street, a park, an apartment, with the passage of incidents, hesitations or those moments of madness. The videos are free of mounting cosmetics, with a gross capturing the moment, filming music as it comes, without preparation and without tricks. This video was directed by Nathaniel Le Scouarnec. Members of the band are Taylor Rice, Kelcey Ayer, Ryan Hahn, Andy Hamm, and Matt Frazier.

Watch the Take Away Show Here.

Local Natives will be preforming in Austin on Mar 11th at Stubb's Barbeque. Off to get tickets!

Images, film and sound courtesy of Nat Le Scouarnec, Sound by JB Aubonnet and François Clos, Mix by JB Aubonnet, Production Management by Hedwige Hénain and was produced by Chryde for la Blogotheque. The song title is Who Knows Who Cares and is off of their Gorilla Manor album.

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Gardenhouse: Vintage With a Twist

There are a finite number of times one can safely visit a website in a single day; after that point the whole exercise becomes kinda creepy and potentially stalker-esque. I have visited my new favorite online vintage furniture store, Gardenhouse, about five times . . . in the last 24 hours.

I believe the clinical term for what I suffer from is gluttony, because I want it all! Gardenhouse, located in Palm Beach, Florida, re-works vintage furnishings with crazy fun colors and fabrics. I find myself thinking things like . . . "I will take one of everything and . . . I’m going to have to give the deck a good power-washing and refresh the stain . . . Oh, and . . . which internal organ will I be selling to be able to afford all the pieces that I would like to purchase."

When I think of Palm Beach, its iconic 1960s prints and sun soaked living jump to mind. Gardenhouse Decor is keeping that heyday look and vibe alive and well. Owner, Cheryl Maeder, a fine art photographer, has gathered her vintage finds, and has given them new life with happy paint colors and modern fabrics. Visit her website the next time you are in need of some inspiration or a mood elevation.

Cheryl met her husband Gary Antonio, an artist, metal sculptor, and constant source of inspiration in San Francisco. She opened a successful advertising and photography studio and worked with some of the country's finest art directors there, and on weekends, she would search flea markets and antique stores, and meet dealers who shared her passion for vintage furnishing. After re-working these finds with her own signature style, she filled her home, studio, and her friends’ homes with these marvelous finds. After she and Gary bought a charming building in Northwood Village, they renovated it with the help of a grant from the CRA of West Palm Beach and they are now living out her dream of creating one of a kind home furnishings and contemporary fine art work. Their retro redo's have been published in several of the national magazines such as Coastal Living, Southern Living, and Architectural Digest to name just a few.

Since arriving in West Palm Beach, Cheryl has also been focusing on her fine art photography. Inspired by a trip to Spain several years ago along the coastal towns of the Costa Brava, she began photographing in an impressionistic style. Shortly after moving to Florida, she began her series entitled Dreamscapes. Cheryl's magnificent work is presently represented by galleries in New York, Paris, Miami, and Palm Beach. You can see more of her work here.

Cheryl believes, as I do, that our homes are our havens, our sanctuaries, our places to unwind and regenerate. Gardenhouse decor expresses a lifestyle of comfort, hospitality, and warm individuality that I strive for on a daily basis. Recycling and being green never looked so good!


Photos courtesy Gardenhouse Decor

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Mama Shelter

I've stopped my 'full-tilt-flail' to prepare for my upcoming antique show in Round Top/Warrenton, to check out a link sent to me by a favorite friend - and I'd like to share!

My existential hero, Philippe Starck, has done it again! The new hotel Mama Shelter, designed by Philippe Starck, is the latest favorite address for usually spendthrift travelers having to watch their expenses. While not exactly an exercise in deprivation, Mama Shelter comes with all the embellishments and Lucite you’d expect from Starck. It received the most avant-garde and innovative projects award by Travel & Leisure magazine. The hotel was also voted Best Large Hotel 2009, only six months after opening.

Created by the Trigano family, co-founders of Club Med, and French philosopher, Cyril Aouizerate, Mama Shelter was designed by Mr. STARCK and offers an eclectic and electric ambiance thanks to its friendly, warm and casual common areas.

Located in Paris, in the neighborhood of Saint Blaise, Mama Shelter reflects the rebel character and city life at a country pace.

According to it's website, the hotel welcomes travelers to its 172 rooms with many different style options. All rooms offer a sensual refuge with their five star bedding of 100% cotton satiny smooth sheets, a microwave oven, minibar, 24 inch IMAC, TV, radio, cd/dvd, Internet with free wi-fi, an office where you can work or write a love letter, and an elegant and functional bathroom. Some rooms have a large terrace and a view of the cosmopolitan districts of Ménilmontant and Belleville. Tragically hip? Yes, but comfy and welcoming to all at the same time.


Aaaah . . . . my tender constitution is all better, now - so, I can cancel the trip to the psycho-pharmacologist, because now I'm too blissed out to acknowledge the sobering reality that I'm 1 day away from packing up all my vintage goodies and leaving civilization for 14 days of the equivalent of a 'junkin-antiqueing' rave.