Hip to be Square

There once was a time when I was not a crazed succulent and planter-loving lunatic. But that was before I stumbled upon an article about Molly Quan in ReadyMade magazine. The piece featured her very cool, hip Portland home and revealed her love of cacti and succulents, as well as her shop Life+Limb (now defunct) a source for all things modern home and garden. 

Not long after seeing this article, I visited a local greenhouse and bought my first succulent plant. I was instantly hooked, and simultaneously I was scouring thrift stores for pottery and planters similar to Molly's collection. I particularly was mesmerized by the aqua-glazed and textured pot in the photo above. 

Years later, I still had not come across anything remotely similar to this object despite persistent questing.  Until a couple weeks ago. 

I was casually browsing the shelves of Goodwill, when, there at the very bottom was not one, but TWO pots  remarkably similar to what I have been trying to find all this time. 

For full effect, you know I had to plant a plant in it like the one in the picture. 

So, as if finding two of these beauties wasn't enough, I scored ANOTHER one yesterday for $5 at an antique store. This one is more the color of Molly's but it has a softer more finished texture. Please keep in mind I was not greedily seeking more of what I was already so lucky to have, but the universe kept throwing them at me and I couldn't not do it.... Yeah right, I snatched that pot up like a feral raccoon. 

Pottery

I am lusting over these new pieces at CB2. 

Studio Update & Hanging Planter

I've been gradually settling into my new studio: organizing, re-arranging and adding.

I love having all my supplies at an arm's length. Before I had my own space, I was constantly running back and forth for this and that.

I added a second row of shelves for more storage and display (mostly plants and books)

I found this lovely hanging planter at a thrift store recently. I replaced the old, dirty leather with natural jute twine and added one of my favorite plants.

I'm completely in love with it.

P.S. Happy Birthday to my sweet & wonderful husband!!

I Have a Brand New Studio!

One major big thing I've been looking forward to is the day when I can dedicate an entire room in our home to an art studio and personal space for myself. Currently, we live in a two bedroom apartment (the second bedroom serving solely as the guest room) and I've always assumed there was no room for a studio. Until now!!

Sure, it might get a teensy bit cramped for our guests, mostly Matt's parents and our good friend Joe, but it's a beautiful room with a huge window and I just couldn't let it go virtually unused any longer.

I raided my bedroom closet for the three white shelving units you see supporting the tabletop, as I wanted to complete this project on a strict budget. I paid about $30 for three pieces of MDF at Home Depot, and the white cubes you see on the right I got on Amazon.com also for $30.

I couldn't be happier with my new space. It's exactly what I wanted: lots of room to spread out while I'm working, and tons of space for storage and display.

An art studio wouldn't be complete without a bulletin board to post your ideas and inspirations. I found a ginormous one at the thrift store for $2, covered it in white cotton fabric and went to town.
Currently, I'm obsessed with the Southwest, deserts, warm rich colors and the like.

I've already gotten to work:

I finished this lion soft toy I started last year. He got a brand new fancy mane, a nose, and a sweet little crown.

Isn't he positively wonderful? Keep your eyes peeled at my Etsy shop for one or two coming up soon.

See you later, I'm off to my studio!

A few new things

A few days after I photographed my pottery collection, I was browsing around a nearby thrift store on my lunch break. The first aisle I always go at this particular store is the pottery/planter section. I didn't really see anything too exciting, so I moved on to check out the kitchenwares. I'm looking through the coffee mugs and something catches my eye on the top shelf. That's an odd-looking mug I momentarily say to myself. Realizing what I'm looking at is an amazing piece of pottery, I quickly grab it, take a good look at it (and the $1.99 price tag!!), and promptly put it in my basket. This is by far the most exciting find I've had!

On a different note, my cat has been having fun crawling into my large tote bag I use to carry around my gear during my work day. I carried him around in it for awhile then hung the bag on the door knob. He soon jumped out, but not before I could snap a few photos.

I like how the colors in this photo are so simmilar to the ones in my bag!

Show and Tell: My Pottery Collection

One of my passions is collecting pottery. Last weekend, while visiting my wonderful in-laws, we toured the numerous antique shops in the area. I had a fantastic time. One of my best purchaces of the weekend was the tall brown Haeger vase you see above, center. I started thinking how large my collection is growing, and thought, why not gather it all together to see what it looks like.

I love to scour thrift shops, antique stores, junk stores and garage sales. Some days I hit the jack pot and other days I don't find anything. It takes a comitment to go different places, hunt through a bunch of junk and sometimes it pays off and I find something really great. It's an art.

Usually things that catch my eye are vintage, handmade, and have interesting colors, form and textures. I also seek out items that have a Japanese or Scandinavian vibe.

I had a lot of fun going around the house, gathering all my pieces and arranging them together, then splitting them up by color:

The large yellow and white piece on the left is one of my favorites. I found it recently at St. Vinnies--the best thrift store in Madison.

I made the little vase on the right and the bowl on the left in a pottery class Matt and I took last year. The large bird is Jonathan Adler (a gift from Matt a few years ago) as is the curvy vase in the center.

Usually, I will go awhile without finding anything, and then one day I will really score big. I think this is one reason that keeps collecting so exciting. Yesterday I was poking around at a near-by second hand store and came upon an absolutely fabulous, beautiful, wonderful piece (which I will blog about later this weekend) and I literally got that rush of feeling like I really found something special.

I don't just shop second-hand. The square vase with the hole in it, above, is Jonathan Adler which I bought on sale online a few years ago. The little green owl is from Pier-1. I love him!

I found the planter on the right at a garage sale last summer. It holds one of my favorite plants; a spiny aloe variety.

The little birds you see on the right are a chick and rooster salt and pepper shakers. There are no markings on them, but they look Scandinavian to me. They are one of my favorites. I also found the Mexican folk art bird at a thrift shop--it's in perfect condition.


Thankfully I have an absolutely wonderful husband who never complains about my collecting tendancies. Sometimes I even catch him re-arranging some of them. :)