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archives |
Wednesday 03.10.10
unexpected guests: jasna janekovic.
today on unexpected guests we’re headed all the way to Germany, specifically, we’re dropping in on cologne-based graphic designer jasna janekovic. jasna has a sweet little home that she decorates with lots of love, and plenty of charm. she’s also incredibly creative, and multi-talented, with a wonderful line of accessories she sells in her dawanda shop. for more from jasna, follow her on flickr. for now, let’s take a hop over to visit to jasna’s home and studio in germany.
What city/neighborhood do you live in?
I live in Cologne in a part of the city where a lot of young families are living. I love the big park at the end of my street and the organic supermarket close to my home.
What is your idea of a perfect day in your city?
A perfect day is a sunny summer day with a light breeze (very rare in Cologne). The trees in my garden are whispering and rustling. And I listen to the birds of heaven. I am sewing a dress or a patchwork pillow after my morning meditation.
Then I ride my bike to the farmers market to buy some flowers, vegetable and raspberries. Back at home I cook a macrobiotic meal and read a sewing book in my garden or in the park. I order some new fabrics at some internet shops and paint new ideas in my sketchbook. I smell a summer lilac flower, while I m thinking about new projects. In the afternoon some women are coming over and I m giving a sewing lesson. We are sewing a big bag and having fun.
What don’t you leave home without?
I don’t leave home without my big patchwork bag (not made by me) and in wintertime without my hippie coat with brown fake fur. This coat is like a mother bear in the deep forest sleeping in a den.
What are a few of your favorite local shops?
My favorite local shop is a thrift store. Love the atmosphere there (it’s very tidy) and the smell of old things. Most of the things in my home are from there. I always find some beautiful kitchen stuff there. Lillyed für dich is one of a few shops in Cologne that sells products from House Doctor and other danish labels.
What’s on your wish list?
At first fabrics, fabrics and fabrics (Liberty fabrics!). I am always thinking about fabrics, pattern and colours. And I spend the most of my time looking for new fabrics in Internet shops. I am a Graphic Designer and my future plans are to design patterns for a fabric collections. I’m looking for a vintage school map at flea markets (for my future balcony) and for one of those wonderful botanical flower maps, Moroccan lamps, Afghanistan jewelry (I love ethnic jewelry), vintage suitcases, a funny, colourful cabinet from india, and enamel dishes.
What’s your favorite bargain find or product?
i have found a black tapiovaara chair at a building lot it was full of bird shit. i took it home and washed it in my garden. love this chair.
What is your biggest interior design nightmare?
I don’t like big flat screen TVs (I don’t have a TV) and big piles of CDs and DVDs. To much dark colours and cold decorations and built in kitchen with wall unit.
Who is your favorite artist? And why?
At the moment I like Rie Elli Larsen because it’s wonderful how she plays with patterns, colours and texture. and Anna Maria Horner — I love her Little Folks and Good Folks fabric collection. the Music artist I like Iron and Wine at the moment — so relaxed and down to earth.
Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration everywhere: magazines, blogs, flickr, shops, nature, people, my dreams, flea markets, thrift stores, vintage children books.
Do you collect anything?
vintage buttons, fabrics and ribbon. but I don’t just collect them, I really use them.
What’s your favorite feature in your home?
My apartment is only 32 qm small but it looks much bigger. In spring I will have a balcony. I m sure it will be my favourite place in summertime. Cant wait to look for some furniture for my balcony. I will decorate it like a room with pictures at the wall and piles of pillows and a lot of candles. I love the Goethe poems at my walls.
Who would you like to sit down to drinks with?
I would like to sit with Buddha, Ramana Maharshi, Amma, Mooji or other enlightened people.
What is your most treasured belonging?
Nothing in my home was expensive, everything is from thrift stores, flea markets or Ikea (the furniture, but I have painted it ivory white, so it looks NOT Ikea like). I like every thing but especially things that are really old, like a wooden box with woodworm holes (for my ribbons at my workspace). I love baskets in every sizes and forms, and a Jesus picture from 1925 I found at the flea market some time ago. My mom is crocheting a granny squares blanket for me. I m sure it will be my treasured belonging in future when it will be finished.
What’s souvenir did you bring back from your last trip?
My last trip was in Croatia, my hometown, and I brought back some fabric, ribbon and a cute vintage children’s book.
What is your greatest indulgence?
organic (vegan) and macrobiotic cooked food.
What is your idea of living hell?
working the whole day at a job you hate, living in a dark apartment on a loud street, having no energy and time for being creative.
Monday 03.08.10
moving on out!
eclectic simplicity via emma’s design blog.
i’ve got some pretty exciting news today! sfgirlbybay is moving! or more precisely, i am moving into a cute little rental house in san francisco’s noe valley neighborhood. and you may have seen this house before, because my good friends eszter & dan used to live there, so i’ve shared it here, and it’s also been on atsf. the house has come available again, and i swooped on it! now the packing and purging starts! i’m one of those weirdos who actually likes moving, and looks forward to starting fresh in a brand new (old) place!
a couple of eames eiffel dining room chairs to mix it up, via the brick house.
so, you guys are gonna be forced to watch me redecorate the new place, and i’ve got quite a few rooms to contemplate. it’s two bedrooms, one of which will be my studio/work space, a living room, dining room, a funky old kitchen complete with beautiful old gas stove, with a breakfast nook and small patio off the nook. it’s also got a garage (if you don’t live in san francisco, you can’t understand the significance of a parking spot!) and a small backyard with a patio and garden! i am excited beyond words (although, i’m doing a pretty good job of gushing right about now, aren’t i?).
some butterfly chairs for the patio, via the brick house.
i went to some of my usual suspects — the brick house, door sixteen, design*sponge and emma design blog, to name just a very few — in search of inspiration and i’ve got a pretty good inkling of what i’m going for. thanks ladies, as always for your excellent taste! here’s what’s inspiring me right now for the new place. you know how obsessed i can get, and how much fun this is for me, so stay tuned for more!
i’d like a painted chalkboard wall like this in the dining room, via emma’s design blog (above) and maybe in the kitchen too, which has black & yellow vintage tile, like this wall via door sixteen and design*sponge (below).
maybe some black and natural wood kitchen accessories, via emma’s design blog.
a simple, well organized studio like some of these via emma’s design blog, design*sponge and the brick house.
maybe some spalshes of bright colors in the studio, like these from the brick house (above), and skinny laminx (below).
fun & funky chairs like these i found on skinny laminx (above) and design*sponge (below).
a clean, simple looking bedroom with lots of calming white and dramatic black here and there, via the brick house.
lots of comfy white bedding like this from design*sponge and emma’s design blog (above), and maybe even one black wall via door sixteen (below).
Friday 03.05.10
london loft candy.
i discovered this london loft via my salmagundi’s tumbler page today, and just had to share. tucked away in london’s old Spitalfields market place, what stylish old bones to fix up and make your very own. at least that’s where my mind was traveling to when i took a look-see. ah, i do love a lot about london!
Thursday 03.04.10
good reads: appartements de filles à paris.
i love paumes books, even though i can rarely read a word of them. the photographs speak volumes, though, so a pretty picture book is never a waste of inspiration. paumes is a small, family-run Japanese publisher, working in close contact with artists and designers all over the world to bring you these beautiful books featuring designers’ homes, apartments, studios and ateliers.
the lovely yvonne from yvestown blog is a distributor for paumes, so you can easily order these books directly from her website. she recently sent me this beautiful new paumes, called ‘appartements de filles à paris‘ which is the sequel to the well-received book ‘Petits appartements à Paris‘. the new books are so popular, they hard to keep in stock, but if you don’t mind a short wait, you’ll find the wait well worth it, and plenty of older titles are readily available in the yvestown shop! thanks yvonne!
Wednesday 03.03.10
unexpected guests: elisabeth dunker.
i’m so happy we’re headed to Gothenburg today, the second largest city in Sweden, to the home of photographer and designer elisabeth dunker of the blog fine little day. i have been a huge fan of elisabeth’s work for some time now, so to have her as an unexpected guest is quite a honor. elisabeth shares a studio with artist camilla engman, and together they have created studio violet.
you have no doubt seen their lovely work, and may know that i only use their journals to write my task lists each day. somehow their journals make my tasks seem that much less daunting! for more of elisabeth’s design work, check out her shop and studio voilet. so without further ado, let’s pop into elisabeth’s life in sweden for a bit.
What is your idea of a perfect day in gothenburg?
The sun is shining. Me, the kids and my husband are biking the cycle route along the sea side to Saltholmen, the ocean. We take a dip in the not too cold water and are having a picnic on the rocks. Then we stop by a couple of fleas on the way home.
What don’t you leave home without?
My mobile phone.
What’s your favorite local shop?
Holmens marknad, a big second hand store with furniture, household goods, books and a lot more. I go there as soon as I got a chance. One can find nice things for the kids there as well.
What’s on your wish list?
A summer house. Something like this maybe. Or this. Or this. Or why not like this?
What’s your favorite bargain find or product?
I like rough handmade stuff, toys, paintings, crafting. I also love to re-use objects.
What is your biggest interior design nightmare?
A whole home decorated in nothing but brand new Ikea furniture maybe?
Who is your favorite artist? And why?
For the moment, english ceramic artist Claire Loder. I just love her craziness and playfulness. Not only her ceramic work sparkles, take a look at her web identity.
Where do you find inspiration?
Above all – at flea markets, second hand — and antique stores. But a lot on the web too.
Do you collect anything?
I have several of items which I have more that five of, like sewing boxes, aprons, flower paintings… so yes I believe I do collect even if I don’t always plan to from the beginning.
If you could photograph anyone in the world, who might that be?
My self as a child. I have only a few photos of my self as a kid.
Who would you like to sit down to drinks with?
My mother and my youngest sister, we meet too rarely. But next month we’re going on a trip together to Prague, that will be swell.
Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Berries with a lot of cream. Chocolate, Valrhona or Marabou Schweizernöt for the moment.
What is your most treasured belonging?
My camera and my computer. Boring answer but it’s true.
What’s souvenir did you bring back from your last trip?
Napkins, cones and toe socks.
Greatest indulgence?
That would be books and magazines.
What are some of your favorites websites/blogs to visit?
Mieke Willems, Stork Bites Man, Weird Friends, Lena Sjöberg and many more.
