Tag Archives: Colors in the City
Pumpkins, Anyone? Half Moon Bay at a Glance
Saturday I mozied over to Ebb Tide Cafe in Half Moon Bay with my friend, Mladen (awesome morning!) for hot coffee, warm conversation, and a beautiful view.
The road from my town on the Bay to Mladen’s neighborhood by the Ocean is only about 14 miles. But it’s a 2-lane road dotted with pumpkin patches and Christmas tree farms. So rather than sweat the Pumpkin hunting traffic to get home, I stayed in town for awhile taking in Half Moon Bay’s beautiful surroundings and quirky architecture. Take a look…
Color in the City, Brooklyn Part 3
It's Spring and the flowers have sprung here in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.
And I’m feeling right at home with my new friend, Ed Roth, founder and creator at Stencil 1 (which, by the way you, have to check out at www.stencil1.com). Although I’ve admired his urban and playful stencils and books for years, we’ve only recently become acquainted. But, I know we’re going to be fast friends when he guides me to our first stop, an adorable vintage shop on Roebling Street called RePop:
Ed's already making a purchase- man, this guy doesn't mess around!
We saunter down a quiet old block of homes…
to another quaint little shop, Brooklyn Reclamation, with old things so carefully curated and clean- it almost feels like the home it likely used to be.
I see this cool old free standing mirror that I’m pretty sure I must have… that is until the store owner says he thinks it’s from a sanitarium in Pennsylvania (um, never mind, but thank you!)
Just around the corner across from new construction (there’s a lot of it in Williamsburg)…
and tucked next to a genuine Social Club (complete with pet turtle and late night Salsa music, I’m told)…
is Ed’s friend, Patrick Bradley’s studio.
Of course, I immediately appreciate his work with it’s layers, textures, and colors.
I especially like the wood grain piece tucked just one layer behind the front paintings
And the three of us continue on wandering down gritty vibrant streets to more clever cool stores like:
Nightwood: reincarnated textiles, interiors, and furniture
There’s so much to see in this up and coming pocket of Brooklyn- too much to capture in a day (or even in a blog post) so we stay focus on vintage decor (there are so many other kinds of shops and restaurants here!) and urban art… here are just a few more of my many and diverse impressions from the day…
Ed's sweet stencil of his mother. She's watching over the progress at Grand Ferry Park
My favorite discovery- this wallpaper reminds me of my chalk drawings and actually makes me a little homesick- but we power on. There's too much to see to be sad about home.
Another crack in the urban landscape- I love these colors!
As we rest at Grand Ferry Park we decide we'll each pick one photo that we've taken today as kind of a tryptic memento of our day...
Here’s Ed’s Photo (see more of his pics on Instagram!)
Patrick’s photo (he’s got plenty more on Instagram too!)
And my shot of Hotel Delmano, where Ed treated us to old fashioned cocktails and conversation.
Ed Roth and Patrick Bradley were fantastic tour guides of Williamsburg, a gritty, vibrant neighborhood of contrasts and Creatives making their statements with food, clothing, art, furniture, interior design, and landscape. And all this in spite of the stark new condo construction and other homogenizing signs of gentrification casting shadows on the time and color weathered streets. To symbolize the contrast I choose two colors today to add to my Brooklyn palette:
Color in the City, La Quinta
Of course there are world class golf courses, splashing waterfalls, and lush green grass… but that’s the man-made side of La Quinta and the Palm Springs area. The real Coachella Valley is rich in geographic diversity, Indian history, and uninterrupted sunshine.
Cahuilla Indians are known for their intricate basketry mostly woven in just three colors from natural plants and earth
Since Walter Morgan built the now famous La Quinta Resort and Spa in 1926, frequented by movie stars, writers, and artist from the very beginning, the area has also become the picturesque mid-century snapshot we know today.
When I think of Palm Springs and La Quinta, I think of this:
The Flintstones and their home in Bedrock with all the modern conveniences of the ‘sixties’.
But it’s the resilient topography, and brilliant sky that really defines this miraculous country.
Colors in the City Berlin
My Paul McCartney impression outside of Berlin's famous prop shop
I didn’t really have any expectations for my visit to Berlin so it was a treat to find such diversity, color and creativity in this gritty, energetic city flashing with hot 80′s pink, new leaf green, spray paint silver, muted brown grays, and setting sun yellows.
Sometimes gritty, sometimes gorgeous- Graffiti is everywhere
All of the trees were burgeoning with fresh new leaves
