Posts from e's home (14)

The home that Jw and I share is definitely a crazy one... we really like stuff and we tend to be doing projects (paper, design, music, etc.) all the time. So, it makes sense that Apartment Therapy would post a quick feature on our place, with the very appropriate title, "Josh & Emily's Project-Friendly Apartment"!...

Here are a just few quick pics from the house tour, but be sure to check out the full slideshow and our interview about everything from our style inspirations to our biggest induldence...

You've seen our studio+shop, now enjoy this sneak peek into our tidied-up-for-the-camera living space!

Thanks to Jason Loper and Apartment Therapy

I'd like to introduce you to Lenny. I just bought him from Etsy seller, Lauren Alane after a mad dash to the finish line against other buyers scrambling to have a little needle-felted bird of their very own.

Lauren's tiny winged creations are in such demand that, if you want one, you really need to sign up for shop updates just to know the exact moment that new birds are available.

I can't wait for my little Lenny to arrive!

images c/o Lauren Alane

Back in May (right after we returned from the craziness of NSS), I contacted Etsy seller, Brokesy, with an Alchemy request, which is a feature on Etsy where buyers propose custom items to sellers, and the sellers, in turn, 'bid' on making those items (read more about that here).

After seeing Brokesy's shop (check that out here), I desperately wanted a pair of 18x18" pillows for myself, but wanted them to be personalized in some way. What better subject matter than my two awesome cats: Pablo & Solomon!!!

I gave Sarah (aka Brokesy) a brief description of the cats, i.e. Pablo's a jerk & Solomon is fat ;) and told her which color/fabric combinations I liked from the pillows already listed in her shop... and here's the final product!!! Aren't they AWESOME?!?

I can't wait for them to arrive!

Thanks, Brokesy!

After L's post yesterday about textile design company, Rubie Green, I scoured through both RB's (awesome) website and owner, Michelle Adams' blog, M.A. Belle (also awesome)...

I stumbled upon this totally amazing image of a dining room (!) designed by Australian interiors firm, Diane Bergeron Interiors - who also happens to be an AU distributor for Rubie Green's fabrics.

Someday, I will have bookshelves like this in my home. Or maybe in OrangeBeautiful's studio... or both!

images c/o DB Interiors

Jw and I carved our pumpkins last night... and I think they turned out pretty great! Mind is on the left; Jw's on the right... we both had slightly more elaborate/creative ideas for what we'd carve before we opened 'em up and found the walls were inches thick!

If you haven't carved your pumpkins yet (or want a tip for next year), I definitely recommend this knife set - specifically, the 2nd knife in from the left with the jagged edges... it's great for carving tiny little details & I found it much easier than any of our regular knives for cutting through my super-thick pumpkin.

Once we were finished, we brought them inside and took some photos of them all lit up... and we just couldn't resist playing with the exposure settings on Jw's camera!

Here's hoping for a safe & fun Halloween for everyone!... I'm looking forward to seeing adorable kids in costumes, eating tons of candy (which is the #1 best part of Halloween, by the way) ...and then taking the weekend to recover from my candy coma!

images c/o me and Jw

After only a few short days of waiting, my jackalope from girlsavage arrived at the house...

I couldn't stand having him in the box any longer, so over the weekend, I hung him on the narrow wall at the end of one of the kitchen counters. I'm not completely sure if he'll stay there - (at some point, we're planning on painting that room, so he might be relocated then) - but for now, I think he looks right at home.

p.s. I've decided to name him Paulie - after Michael Cera's character in Juno... no particular reason other than I thought it was a good name and I (definitely) thought it was a good movie.

images c/o Jw's sweet new camera.

There have been a few requests for an easy way to reference/re-visit my November '07 guest blog over at design*sponge... Since there have been many new guest bloggers since then, my posts have been pushed toward the back & are a little hard to access at the moment...

Here's a bulleted list for your (re-)reading pleasure...

• (1) the intro post...

• (2) some thoughts about being good in business -

• (3) my interview with Richelle Albrecht from Chicago-based invitations & stationery company, Girl Metro, Inc.

• (4) some of my favorite reading recommendations that could come in handy for to-be and existing business owners alike.

• (5) a second interview, this time with Lisa Elkins of 2 Point Perspective, an architecture & furniture design firm, specializing in modern, eco-friendly design.

• (6) Small Business is Still Business, a post about treating your little business with the same seriousness as you would if you were responsible for running a major corporation...

• (7) a final interview with one of my favorite artists, Dolan Geiman... be sure to check out the interview and the goods at his Etsy shop...

I hope that those of you who are making some business-related resolutions for 2008 will find some inspiration here!

also, if you're up for some more d*s archives, just out the Sneak Peek of my apartment, right here!

I really didn't think I would get such a tremendous response from everyone about my little 'ol apartment... I mean, don't get me wrong - I think it's great - but it's always weird to see the place that you're so used to living in through other people's eyes.

Since I've already gotten numerous questions about what things are and/or where they came from, I figured I'd put up a follow-up post to cover some of the ins & outs of my d*s sneak peak... (thanks again to grace!) -->

1) the built-in project

2) a hand-blown glass vase I bought at an antique shop in Mt. Vernon, OH (near my alma mater)... it's so beautiful and tall and orange - I just love it!

3) this is a little coil-style "pot" (materials: twine, acrylic cording, ceramic buttons & ribbon) that I made in my fabric & textiles class, senior year of high school... the same class that introduced me to bookbinding!

4) a gel medium/pen&ink piece that I did nearly 15 years ago, when I was a freshman in high school (holy crap) - it was titled "Andrew Meets Oz" - "Andrew" because of Hurricane Andrew and "Oz"... well, you know.

5) two of my russell+hazel Mini Binders... available here.

6) the cats: Pablo (floor) & Solomon (window)

7) the window treatments!

8) our PÖANG chairs...

9) the wall shelves/storage units are called TRONES. Yes, they're from IKEA and yes, they're supposed to hold shoes...

the wall-mounted collator is another r+h find.

and you might notice some Dolan Geiman panel paintings on one of the shelves there...

10) by far, the most popular question has been about the desk: it's these sawhorse legs from IKEA w/ a hollow-core door on top (30 bucks @ HomeDepot)...

11) doncha just love FLOR?

12) a limited edition letterpress print from elum.

13) a mixed media piece of mine from college...

14) the art wall!

15) a zillion people have asked me about the couch... and, most specifically, about its fabric. Well, sadly, it's a discontinued item from (you guessed it!) IKEA. It's called the NIKKALA (in case you wanted to hunt for one on eBay. ;)

images by Jw.

I was honored when I was contacted by grace (from a little blog called design*sponge - maybe you've heard of it) asking me if I'd like to be a part of her Sneak Peek series. Click here for the full "peek".

Even though I still feel like my place is not "complete" (whatever that means), I love showing it off... mostly, because it makes me feel like I should work on it more often. I mean, I do still have those pesky window treatments to finish...

logo/screenshot c/o design*sponge; photo by me.

Back in October, our landlord outfitted the entire house (our apartment is the 2nd floor of a single family home) with lovely new windows...

When the installation took place, all of the existing window treatments (not-so-lovely white mini-blinds) were removed... and, well - we couldn't bear to put them back.

This weekend, I started (what I'm sure will prove to be) the immense project of making all the window treatments for the whole apartment (!) - In my previous homes, this wouldn't be that much of an endeavor (my last place - a studio loft - only had 3 windows!)... but this place has - count 'em - EIGHTEEN windows! I'm sure I'll be using my copy of Simple Sewing multiple times while working on these!...

These are the first three - in the front sunroom... only 15 to go! Wish me luck!

pics by Jw.

***POSTSCRIPT***

Jess recognized the fabric right away... I got it at the Schaumburg IKEA. It's not available for purchase online (only $6.99/yd.), but you can view it right here. According to the seams, the designer is Linda Svensson © 2005.