This is an aesthetic that the Husband finds to have an agreeablely austere allure:
This is the actuality..
with ample amounts of accountability on my part:
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Showing posts with label Design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Design. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Born On This Day- April 4th... Designer & Hip-Hop Artist Lil' Jake
Today marks the birthday of my good close personal friend, the designer/ hip-hop artist- Lil'Jake.
Jake came into my life via the Husband. They became fast friends while working together at a posh, pricey Portland Pearl District shoppe that sold bedding & linens to Portland's monied, nouveau riche, & old guard. The Husband & the Jaker were held together by their mutual love for the exclusive, entitled customers who desired lavish, lush, luxurious linens... but only if they didn't need to be pleasant.
Lil' Jake & I have always gotten along. We have never had a cross word, intrigue or fight in the nearly decade of being friends. We speak a special, secret language that mortals can not hear- Show Biz Talk. Other people in our lives tune us out, but we can go for hours. One of our favorite pastimes involves recasting Broadway Shows & movies.
Emmy winning rapper & Broadway veteran, Jake France enjoys a rich, varied performing career as soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, recitalist, university professor, design librarian, editor, publisher, fine arts administrator, set designer & commercial designer. His work as a designer has been featured in Popular Mechanics, Boy's Life, Highlights, & Elle Decor Libya, NW Home Chickens, New Age Traveler & Portland Poser. He also very occasionally posts on his own site: The Kenton Collective.
Jake graduated summa cum laude, with an AA in the Hospitality Arts from Obsorbine Junior College in 2000. His senior thesis involved canning insects for fun & profit.
During the late aughts, Lil'Jake was a leader in the early 21st century Brooklyn Hipster movement & was responsible for several special facial hair selections. While living in Brooklyn, Jake released an EP- Foot & Mouth Disease which spawned the hit dance re-mix- I Wanna Touch Your Body With My Body. He is listed in Who's Who in American Women, Who's Who in Brooklyn, Who's Who in American Design, Who's Gay in America, & the International Who's Ho Is Whose. He has performed with the Biscuit Boys, The Tel Aviv Twisters, Viva Iraq!, & The Tri-Met Clown Posse Players. He was the recipient of The Minnie Maddern Fiske award for his work as Second Whore From The Left in the Chateau d' Ville Dinner Theatre production of the Christian industrial rock musical- Babble On, Babylon!
Next up for this busy boy? He is working on a special project with my husband. I don't know what it is. Everything is hush-hush. 2011 brings the release of his long in the making Art Book- The Annotated & Illustrated 101 Gay Love Making Positions.
Today,on this special birthday, Jake comes out as gay publicly, right here at Post Apocalyptic Bohemia!
Jake came into my life via the Husband. They became fast friends while working together at a posh, pricey Portland Pearl District shoppe that sold bedding & linens to Portland's monied, nouveau riche, & old guard. The Husband & the Jaker were held together by their mutual love for the exclusive, entitled customers who desired lavish, lush, luxurious linens... but only if they didn't need to be pleasant.
Lil' Jake & I have always gotten along. We have never had a cross word, intrigue or fight in the nearly decade of being friends. We speak a special, secret language that mortals can not hear- Show Biz Talk. Other people in our lives tune us out, but we can go for hours. One of our favorite pastimes involves recasting Broadway Shows & movies.
Emmy winning rapper & Broadway veteran, Jake France enjoys a rich, varied performing career as soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, recitalist, university professor, design librarian, editor, publisher, fine arts administrator, set designer & commercial designer. His work as a designer has been featured in Popular Mechanics, Boy's Life, Highlights, & Elle Decor Libya, NW Home Chickens, New Age Traveler & Portland Poser. He also very occasionally posts on his own site: The Kenton Collective.
Jake graduated summa cum laude, with an AA in the Hospitality Arts from Obsorbine Junior College in 2000. His senior thesis involved canning insects for fun & profit.
During the late aughts, Lil'Jake was a leader in the early 21st century Brooklyn Hipster movement & was responsible for several special facial hair selections. While living in Brooklyn, Jake released an EP- Foot & Mouth Disease which spawned the hit dance re-mix- I Wanna Touch Your Body With My Body. He is listed in Who's Who in American Women, Who's Who in Brooklyn, Who's Who in American Design, Who's Gay in America, & the International Who's Ho Is Whose. He has performed with the Biscuit Boys, The Tel Aviv Twisters, Viva Iraq!, & The Tri-Met Clown Posse Players. He was the recipient of The Minnie Maddern Fiske award for his work as Second Whore From The Left in the Chateau d' Ville Dinner Theatre production of the Christian industrial rock musical- Babble On, Babylon!
Next up for this busy boy? He is working on a special project with my husband. I don't know what it is. Everything is hush-hush. 2011 brings the release of his long in the making Art Book- The Annotated & Illustrated 101 Gay Love Making Positions.
Today,on this special birthday, Jake comes out as gay publicly, right here at Post Apocalyptic Bohemia!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Fine Dining
When we moved into Post Apocalyptic Bohemia 9+ years ago, we dismissed what had been described as the "formal dining room" as a nook of little importance. The Husband announced that this space would never be a dining room & that we would be treating the space as a "nook" off the front room.
In 2004, the Husband took this space down to the bare studs. We lived with it this way for 6 years. I loved it! It was very Post Apocalyptic Bohemian, the style that I go for. I was always inspired by spaces in Venice that were elegance layered with decay. I always thought I could love in a reclaimed ruin.
We seem to be getting all grown up. Darn! The Husband, with some help from T, has been finishing this space (or at least until he gets his next big idea). What I enjoy the most is the gradual transformation from the least desirable part of the house to my favorite spot to sit & just be. Larry & Junior find it to be inviting also.
Two of the walls are boards that the Husband cut, bleached & stained to look the color of Oregon driftwood. In late February, he plastered the other wall, repeating the stripe made from the joining of the boards of the other wall. It took the Husband 5 tries to create an effect he was pleased with. At one point the Husband had buffed the plaster, without the stripes, so that it looked like animal hide. We both hated the result. Tears were shed, with the Husband doubting his own talent. I never doubted him.
The Husband & I met 34 years ago in the Theatre World. He was an extraordinary set designer & his talent is what first drew me to him. The telling is in the details. Here are a few details from a space truly transformed through talent & tenacity:
In 2004, the Husband took this space down to the bare studs. We lived with it this way for 6 years. I loved it! It was very Post Apocalyptic Bohemian, the style that I go for. I was always inspired by spaces in Venice that were elegance layered with decay. I always thought I could love in a reclaimed ruin.
We seem to be getting all grown up. Darn! The Husband, with some help from T, has been finishing this space (or at least until he gets his next big idea). What I enjoy the most is the gradual transformation from the least desirable part of the house to my favorite spot to sit & just be. Larry & Junior find it to be inviting also.
Two of the walls are boards that the Husband cut, bleached & stained to look the color of Oregon driftwood. In late February, he plastered the other wall, repeating the stripe made from the joining of the boards of the other wall. It took the Husband 5 tries to create an effect he was pleased with. At one point the Husband had buffed the plaster, without the stripes, so that it looked like animal hide. We both hated the result. Tears were shed, with the Husband doubting his own talent. I never doubted him.
The Husband & I met 34 years ago in the Theatre World. He was an extraordinary set designer & his talent is what first drew me to him. The telling is in the details. Here are a few details from a space truly transformed through talent & tenacity:
Friday, May 28, 2010
The Chrysler Building Turns 80 Years Old Today
I am zany about architecture & design, & certain buildings & structures really grab my attention & move me, among them (these are structures that I have actually visted): the Woolworth's Building (NYC), the Duomo in Sienna, the Space Needle, the Hollywood Sign, the Boston Public Library, the Brooklyn Bridge, Chateau de Versailles, Church of San Spirito (Florence) The Cliff Dwellings of Mesa Verde, the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, The Flatiron Building, Freeway Park (Seattle), The Golden Gate Bridge, the Customs House (Portland), Leaning Tower of Pisa, Lovejoy Fountain Plaza (Portland), Lovell House (L.A.), Mount Vernon (Virginia), MOMA (NYC), Paris Metro Entrances, Piazza del Campo(Sienna), Piazza of San Marco (Venice), Rockefeller Center, Santa Maria Novella (Florence), San Simeon (California), San Stefano (Venice), Sears Tower (Chicago), Seattle Public Library, Seagram Building (NYC), Saint Mark’s (Venice), Statue of Liberty, Stonehenge, the Louvre, the White House, Transamerica Pyramid (SF), the Custom House (Venice,), Washington Monument, Watts Towers (L.A.), Capitol Records Building (Hollywood), Shaker Barns, Covered Brudges, Tuscan Farmhouses, Yurts, Fairie Structures at Collin’s Beach- Sauvie Isalnd, & St. Johns Bridge (Portland).
My favorite man-made structure in the world is The Chrysler Buliding in NYC. At the beginning of the 20th century, the race for the tallest building in the world was on & the Chrysler Building was the first building to top the then tallest structure, the Eiffel Tower.
The Chrysler Building was in a race with the Bank of Manhattan (40 Wall Street) for the distinction of being tallest building in the world. It seemed certain that the Bank of Manhattan would win the race, with an expected height of 927ft against 755ft for the Chrysler building, but the spire of the Chrysler building was constructed in secret inside the tower.
Just a week after the Bank of Manhattan had reached its top, the spire of the Chrysler Building was put in place, making it 318 meter (1045ft) high, thus beating the Bank of Manhattan as the tallest building in the world. It would not keep this title for long, a year later the Empire State Building was erected.
The Art Deco Chrysler Building features gargoyles that depict Chrysler car ornaments & the spire is modeled on a radiator grille. The building's Art Deco interior is even more magnificent than its exterior. The marble floors & the Art Deco patterns on the stylish elevator doors make the Chrysler Building one of New York's most beautiful towers.
When I lived in Manhattan in the mid-1970s, I never grew tired of looking up & I never was less then thrilled when I caught a glimse of this stunning tower. Like most of the structures on my list, viewing them was made more special by watching the Husband’s reaction to expereincing these wonders of design.
My favorite man-made structure in the world is The Chrysler Buliding in NYC. At the beginning of the 20th century, the race for the tallest building in the world was on & the Chrysler Building was the first building to top the then tallest structure, the Eiffel Tower.
The Chrysler Building was in a race with the Bank of Manhattan (40 Wall Street) for the distinction of being tallest building in the world. It seemed certain that the Bank of Manhattan would win the race, with an expected height of 927ft against 755ft for the Chrysler building, but the spire of the Chrysler building was constructed in secret inside the tower.
Just a week after the Bank of Manhattan had reached its top, the spire of the Chrysler Building was put in place, making it 318 meter (1045ft) high, thus beating the Bank of Manhattan as the tallest building in the world. It would not keep this title for long, a year later the Empire State Building was erected.
The Art Deco Chrysler Building features gargoyles that depict Chrysler car ornaments & the spire is modeled on a radiator grille. The building's Art Deco interior is even more magnificent than its exterior. The marble floors & the Art Deco patterns on the stylish elevator doors make the Chrysler Building one of New York's most beautiful towers.
Annie Leibovitz attempting to get that perfect shot
When I lived in Manhattan in the mid-1970s, I never grew tired of looking up & I never was less then thrilled when I caught a glimse of this stunning tower. Like most of the structures on my list, viewing them was made more special by watching the Husband’s reaction to expereincing these wonders of design.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
On The Street Where You Live
The Street of Dreams is a charity event that started in Portland 34 years ago. You get the chance to tour luxury homes & see how the rich people live. The event is usually in the ‘burbs at some development of McMansions & it always seemed horrifying to me. But this year Street Of Dreams is urban for the first time. 9 penthouses in 4 luxury condominium towers are open to tour starting today. The Husband does occasional work as an Associate Designer for his friend's firm- Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs Inc, & they were honored to be asked to design a penthouse at The Encore on the Park (it is sorta a big deal to be asked). He & the very lovely Kimberlee have been hard at work for the past 8 weeks. Tomorrow will be the Husband’s first day off in 2 months. The name of their creation is- An Uncommon Life.
The silver wall was silver leafed & hand burnished by our friend Tad, who is a gilder by trade & the wall just glows at night when candles are lit in Quan Yin's cage.
On Thursday night we attended the Black Tie Gala & we got to see all 9 units. I really loved 3 of them, but Kim & the Husband’s penthouse really was the stand out. The Husband had really raided our house of objects & treasures & I was not all that happy about it, but it became a very valuable lesson. When the stuff was out of the house, I really didn’t miss it that much & I realize I can live with a lot less. He used a lot of our books. I collect loving cups, orbs, Rs, & architectural pieces & many of them were used & can be spotted in the pics. I think that Kimberlee & the Husband are world class talents & they seem to really enjoy working together & bringing out the best in each other. On her blog Kim says of the Husband- “we finish each others’ design sentences.” I was able to see the penthouse at each stage of their work & I loved to walk around & pretend I lived there. The Husband’s background is in theatre set design & it has been fun & crazy spending 30 years with his projects & designs in our homes & apartments. Because of his set design experience, he tends to not do the backs of things that are not in the” audience’s view”. He can upholster a couch, but he doesn’t do the back if it is facing a wall. He also tends to do 9/10 of a project & then move on to the next. I have gotten used to it through the decades. I didn’t even complain when he tore down the dining room walls to the bare studs & lathe 3 years ago & then never did anything with it (please note the top picture). I call our style of design Post Apocalyptic Bohemian & it has now become our entire lifestyle.
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