reviewed by me, for you!: jeu de paumes - interior inspiration

my creative inspiration and creative thought expands far beyond that which is wearable, sometimes (no, often!) venturing into the product design, and interior design realms. fashion is not, by any means, the be-all-end-all.
i want the space that i live in to represent me and feel like my aesthetic just as much as the clothes i choose to put on my back. my creative drive is by no means limited to my person or the human form...it seeps out everywhere and into everything. everything is up for grabs for inspiration and as a target for creative energy.
i often find myself looking at as many or more design and interior design blogs and books than i do fashion. because really, eye candy and inspiration is everywhere, and really, the boundaries between the worlds of design are really, truly permeable.

***

so on that note, i've been starting a little collection of jeu de paumes books. jeu de paumes is a japanese company that publishes little books that peep into the abodes of creatives living in major european cities like paris, london, and stockholm. the books are full of color and whimsy, and are brimming with creative inspiration, especially for those who like things quirky. above all, though, the interiors shown feel very accessible: they are full of flea market and thrifted finds, inspirational uses of IKEA wares, and making do with what one has...and most of the spaces shown aren't grandiose or ridiculously outsized, in fact, many of the apartments are quite small. great inspiration, then, for those of us elsewhere who are also living in diminutive spaces (most city dwellers the world over, i'd venture!).
a peek inside two of the jeu the paumes books shown above...

***

from paris love apartments:
i adore the bright bed linens shown here, and placement of the quilt above the bed.

if i didn't have two cats and a child on the way, i might go for a white couch. but alas...

because i favor such bright colors (all of them at once sometimes!), i keep finding myself attracted to stark white walls and solid, simple hardwood floors: both make a fine blank slate for an abundance of bright hues.

***

from stockholm's love apartments:
these shots are from the apartment of cilla ramnek (and her partner), a swedish textile designer i've mentioned here before. she's also the author of knitprovisation, a book i reviewed on bits and bobbins back in february of last year.

the collage above her computer desk is so awesome...i'm in love!

note the granny square blanket and needlepoint pillows. in an alternate universe, this could be MY apartment. seriously.

***

also from stockholm's love apartments:
i love how this couple (who's expecting) just has a simple crib and a few choice toys for their baby-to-be, and it's in their bedroom. something similar will likely be happening in our household.

a few choice, colorful, things makes more sense for a newborn (and for our space) to me anyway. i like the minimalism of it all.

***

i found my copies of the paumes books at the kinokuniya here in san francisco (i'd venture to guess the location in NYC has them as well), but they can apparently be ordered online as well, from the paumes website.

***

bonus: there's also a jeu de paume inspired community on flickr!

reviewed by me for you: new york look book

it's been a while, but here comes another installment of …reviewed by me, for you! more to come in the coming days and weeks. i've got a backlog!

***

new york look book: a gallery of street fashion by amy larocca & jake chessum:
not sure how i came across this new tome, i pretty sure i stumbled across it on amazon.com. good old amazon most likely recommended it to me based upon my other purchases (isn't that nice? i'm always lurking around over there...i'm OBSESSED with books).
tis an offshoot of new york magazine's look book street fashion feature, the archives of which can also be found right here. i've been checking in with said archives regularly the past couple of years, and i was delighted to see that they had been compiled into an actual, factual book. the internet is more than fine and dandy, but there's something temporary, ethereal, and changeable about it, just as it's nature, whereas a book is a tangible record. me likey.
i believe that this street fashion photo book is better than many i have seen. why? well, here's the theory i'm positing:
-the white backgrounds give the portraits a clean feel, undistracted by cluttered backgrounds (i like these sorts of street portraits both ways, actually (sometimes the background gives a mood, or sets the scene or says a lot about the individual)), but here it works, and it sets the new york magazine look book photos apart from the pack as a result. one could argue that the white backgrounds let the clothes (and the people wearing them) do the talking.
-the book has short interviews with the individuals, which give a deeper look into their style and their life on the whole. why they wear what they wear, what their clothes say about who they are. i've said it about a million times before: clothing is more than just shaped pieces of fabric we use to cover our bodies...it is a form of symbolism which defines who we are and how we want to be perceived by the world at large. the words add something to the photographs...they make the person more real, and their portrait that much more rich.
-it's about new york. a portrait of the people of new york is a portrait of new york as a whole. 'nuff said. (damn i miss that place! good thing i'll be visiting in two weeks, starting nov. 7th!)
-the people pictured in the book are diverse: it's not all ridiculously rich, young, skinny people clothed in the latest designer threads or all coked-up hipsters. it's young, old, rich, poor, all colors, all styles, all everything. again, a reflection of NYC as a whole. LOVE it.
-the back has a shopping guide, broken up into sections by NYC neighborhood. nice!

***

here's a small peek at some of the pages and the terrific portraits. check out the quote on the middle one.

reviewed by me for you: showing your colors

i love libraries! whenever i have time, i love to go to the local library and peruse the stacks.
my favorite library sections to cruise? the craft section (which contains the knitting, crochet, sewing, and fiber art books) and the fashion section (including tomes on style, fashion history, and the like), and the art, photography, science and history sections too. i especially love the older books (pre-1990s) because they often give a fun peek into the cultural and aesthetic norms of the somewhat-recent and sometimes not so recent past. i look at my local library (or libraries as the case my be) as a terrific an extension of my own personal book collection, there for the borrowing and sharing.
i'm really bad too: i always end up checking out huge stacks of books, intending to gluttonously OD on knowledge, and i struggle to get them home as a result! it's quite a funny sight, i'm sure, with me nearly dragging my stack along behind me and cursing myself because of the tremendous weight pulling down on my shoulders and back.
i think that we're so lucky to have libraries, really! they are undeniably a rich resource at our fingertips, ready to enrich our minds for *nothing*. thus proving the adage: some of the best things in life are free.

***

on my last library visit, i found this great 80s book, showing your colors: a designers guide to coordinating your wardrobe by jeanne allen, in the style section.

as one might guess, it's all about coordinating the colors in one's wardrobe. it talks about the mixing of colors, the feeling said colors give off alone or when used in conjunction with other colors.

it's really a fun way to see at a glance how colors sit with one another on the body in different proportions, and can help one ferret out interesting, unexpected pairings that might be fun to take for a stylistic spin.
suffice it to say: awesomeness overload for a color junkie like myself! worth a flick if you can find it at your local library.