(vintage) book peeks: golden hands bargello

for a long time i have been yearning to take books from my collection, and show you and share with you their interesting insides. not all of them are "fashion" related, but are inspiring all the same. i can't keep all this good stuff to myself! i want to share it! when i can find the time (i have so little of it these days, what gives? *sigh*) maybe i will share some peeks into my books with you. cool?

perhaps they will inspire you somehow, even if it's for something as simple as a clever color combination in the clothes you deign to wear or perhaps a personal touch you can maybe add to something you're making (clothes or otherwise)? or maybe they can just fun to look at!? i think so!

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most of the books in my library are craft, art, or fashion related. i am a book lover, a book addict. i especially love old books, and seek them out wherever i can: thrift stores, antique fairs, amazon, ebay, you name it. i love the old, sometimes forgotten tomes and styles of the past; old books are a lovely window into past styles, fads, and norms. so, so fascinating, no?

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here's a book i found at a thrift store this past week for one dollar: golden hands bargello.

looks like it's from the 70s. for those who don't know, bargello is a style of needlepoint embroidery, usually employing wool yarn, which is stitched to a canvas backing. you often see it adorning old pillows, ottomans, and the like, but it can and has been used to adorn clothing and accessories. decorator/ceramacist jonathan adler has famously used bargello on some of his pillow designs.

i love bargello for a bunch of reasons: it's graphic, it's textural, and there's a lot of potential for colorplay. i love bargello best when it's especially colorful...the more riotous the colors, the more i like it, as is my way! i have a small collection of bargello pillows, i would like to add to it over time, if time and money will allow!

anyway, here you go:

love this shot and all the pillows, immediately made me think of the interiors work of wary meyers (whom i LOVE):

love the bottom pattern here:

patchwork! yes!:

more patchwork, yes x2!:

this one is especially timely for me...i found a tiny little ottoman at a thrift this week that i want to restore/restyle/referb, and seeing this page (and the whole book, really!) totally makes me want to stitch up a little bargello topper for it!

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fun, eh?

(thrifted) stuff

some recent thrift finds (if recent means within the past month or so):

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i'm obsessed with these funny handmade earrings. they're made of polymer clay, i believe, and are iridescent teal. i found them just after the holidays in san jose, california at a goodwill while visiting a friend/co-worker who lives in that area.

they were the kind of thing i liked enough to buy, but later i found myself wearing all the time...like had turned to deep, deep love. i'm wearing them in this recent wardrobe_remix photo.

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some handmade symmography (string art) in a lovely spattering of purples. handmade in the 1970s (according to the hand-scrawled script on the back).

i have a soft spot in my heart for handmade things that get donated to the thrifts. i feel a compulsion to buy them and love them, knowing how much effort went into making them.

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.

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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...

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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