a visit to oakland’s umami mart.
umami mart is a gorgeous shop of japanese kitchen accessories and barware hand-picked and curated by yoko kumano and kayoko akabori. if you’re on the hunt for beautiful and unique gifts, hop on over to their shop located in downtown oakland and take a peek inside. The entire shop, including the Umami Mart logo, travel mug and the graphics on the wall were designed by Anders Arhoj from Copenhagen, DK, a friend of Yoko’s from when they lived together in Tokyo.
umami mart started as a food and drink blog back in 2007, and the brick and mortar shop opened just last year in 2012 to showcase these beautiful kitchen tools and wares. in the spirit of their original focus on celebrating and conversing over meals, umami mart goes above and beyond by also offering community events throughout the year.
tuesday’s girl: elk accessories.
Elk is an australian lifestyle brand created by adam, marnie and their daughter, willow. focused on contemporary accessories and apparel, elk has just recently launched in the U.S. if you’re in the bay area, you can view their classic wood necklaces and jewelry in person at the SFMOMA store! these wooden pieces are made from sustainable plantation timber, and dyed using chemical free vegetable dyes.
elk upholds a commitment to using high quality raw materials and working with small manufacturers who help create the authentic, stylish and beautiful results you see here. i am loving the whimsical touches paired with the simple layered shapes and fresh colors of each of their pieces.
vintage-inspired in sweden.
Jonas Ingerstedt is a stockholm-based photographer with an amazing range — from cozy swedish cottages to mid-century modern, and more contemporary homes. as a photographer, he captures all interiors beautifully no matter the style, but today i chose to share an eclectic mix with a few of his more vintage-inspired spaces. to see his whole gorgeous portfolio check out Jonas Ingerstedt photography.
• all photos courtesy of Jonas Ingerstedt photography.
have you got a creative bug?
do you know about creativebug? creativebug offers online workshops for making loads of great crafts as close as your computer. i always love the idea of making handmade gifts, and they’ve got some really great ideas for crafting your own hostess gifts. or perhaps you have the idea of making lovely treats for summer house guests. whatever you’ve been dreaming of, you can learn how to make all kinds of gifts online — Handmade Soap with Lindsey Stone; an Upcycled Pouch with Maya Donenfeld; a Tassel Necklace with Liesl Gibson; make an Apothecary Facial Toner by Amy Karol; learn how to Draw with Thread and make a votive/vase sleeve with Improv Sewing; or take this free class and make a Market Tote with Cal Patch. i think if you watch this video featuring some of creativebug’s teachers you’ll be very inspired to check out their classes.
creativebug is offering a discount for all sfgirlbybay readers right now — $15 off any Creativebug subscription package, for access to all the featured classes plus 150 more, with new classes added every week. simply enter SFGIRLBYBAY at check out (note: Expires 7/1/2013).
creativebug has gathered some of the most inspiring designers and crafters to bring video workshops right to your computer screen. Whether you’re an accomplished artist or just getting acquainted with a glue gun, their workshops provide project ideas, expert guidance and a healthy dose of creative inspiration. Fancy learning how to crochet at midnight? Have a hankering to paint in your pajamas? Once you become a member, you’ll have unlimited access to all the creativebug workshops. they keep a library of your favorites and even remember where you left off if you want to continue later. Each workshop is broken down into video segments so you can skip ahead or watch a video again and again until you master a technique.
creative bug is also striving to make a difference by donating 5% of all subscription revenues to non-profit art organizations. so, what are you waiting for? go online, make a pattern. make a print. make a difference.
• this post in partnership with creativebug but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
thoughts for a friday.
well, readers we’re coming up on mother’s day, so i want to wish all the mummies out there a day of rest and repose (hopefully) for all your hard work, and a day filled with happy family memories. if i could send you all roses, i would. i was born on mother’s day, and lo and behold it’s my birthday again this sunday, so i’ll be celebrating in a slightly different way. as the years creep up i think about the women who inspire me. my own mum — she’s an interior designer who influenced my career path immensely — probably without me ever giving it proper thought or appreciation — i just soaked it all in like a sponge. i veered off my path a lot and more often than not took the least beaten one, but she’s always fully supported (if not simply just put up with) my random meandering. so, here’s to the mums today and here’s to some of the other fabulous women who inspire me. happy mother’s day and happy birthday to me.
page from then again; photo by Annie Leibovitz for vogue.
• have you read diane keaton’s book then again? it’s an insightful, and often poignant story of Keaton’s complicated relationship with her aging mother. Woven throughout the book are excerpts from the dozens of journals Keaton’s mother, Dorothy Hall, kept over the years. If you’re a Diane Keaton fan, you’ll adore her even more after reading this memoir.
hand lettering by lisa congdon.
• did you know julia child didn’t begin her career in cooking until she was almost 40 years old? Julia enrolled in a Los Angeles cooking school to prepare for married life, though she’d later admit her early forays in the kitchen were disastrous. see? it’s never too late to start doing what you love, and doing it the way only you can do it. she’s such an inspiration.
• i adore grace coddington. she’s my favorite Fashion Editor, the Creative Director of VOGUE, but more than that she’s just a supremely creative, witty and intelligent woman so i always enjoy following her career antics from afar. i’ve mentioned it before, but she steals the show in the september issue so if you haven’t seen it, it’s a good mother’s day indulgence. eat bonbons and watch grace clobber anna wintour with her cleverness.
• have you ever listened to joni mitchell’s miles of aisles album? i have it on vinyl and it’s typically on my turntable saturday or sunday afternoons and i listen to it over and over. joni mitchell’s song lyrics are sublime. this is a live album and there’s one part where a guy in the audience yells out, “Joni, you have more class than Richard Nixon, Mick Jagger, and Gomer Pyle combined!” and she laughs really hard. she laughs this really great, infectious laugh and it might be one of my very favorite bits on the record. i love how a part of her audience she feels and that moment reflects it perfectly. you might like to listen to that this weekend, too.
