Awwwwww the holidaze.....

ARE ALMOST OVER! Naw, it's all good. Being a mommy this time of year ain't easy.

You have to make cookies.


Put up decorations.


But then sometimes your hubby realizes all the work you go through and gets you something like this!


I saw this number at the Blue Genie and just had to have it. "Sorry girls, mommy needs a giant, scary gorilla face to go with the chrome gnome." I hope they don't have to spend too much money on therapy.

Off to the New Year! And we're ready for it. We have some great new ideas in our favorite medium PLEXI and know 2010 will keep the momentum rolling.

Melissa

Fa-la-la-la-la to all

Happy holidays. May Santa leave you a smattering of fabulous mid century finds under the tree. And if he doesn't, splurge, you deserve it.




Have a smurfalicious holiday

We're in the Statesman!

Can't believe we've just been hustling this for a little over a month and already got in the Style section of the Austin American Statesman! Check it out! There's even a picture!

If you want to see what all the hub-bub is, then come to the Friends Not Family Christmas Party at Mohawk Sunday night. The flyer is below. There will be food, xmas music and most importantly, we'll be raffling one of the album cover frames.

It's all so exciting!

Melissa

My door, oh my door.

Oh how I love this door, especially when I bought it 2 years or so ago off of Craigslist.

It was going to “make” my house look amazing, it was going to set my house apart and radiate pure “mid-century greatness.” It has all the components of what I love: shades of blue, Plexiglas (and perhaps polyurethane) and well, just loads of amazing style. I could just see it hung, with some fab. shiny silver knob and lock. When the sun hits it, the colors look crazy gorgeous.

Well, 2 years later, it is sitting in my garage … with that unfortunate feeling of it will never be a part of my house. My hubbie, with all his practicality swears it can not be hung correctly. Such minor details as it opens the wrong way and it doesn’t come with a frame seam to be getting in the way of my dream. So for now, it stays stashed away in the garage, waiting for the miracle of a free handy man to rescue it and place it in it’s proper place … my front porch.
Wendy

Single House Numbers

This section of our address plaque line is a deconstructed version. The plexiglas fits tight around the house number. It gives you control over how you hang your numbers, you know - horizontal, vertical, your own spacing, choose your color or colors. It's really about your image. If you want it to have an Eichler appeal, then we can mount all the numbers and plexiglas onto a larger piece of clear plexiglas.


This green is amazing. It IS our favorite.


Black.


This number is mounted on a greyish black piece, with a touch of bronze in it.

If the house is a rockn', don't bother knockn'

I have problems. I don’t like new stuff. I have been known to buy a new piece of furniture at a store, only to sell it and buy a 50 year old, beat up set to replace it. That needs to be reupholstered and refinished, but I can’t help it. I like stories.

My house, that I love, had the original 1960’s vintage tile bathrooms, in good shape, the original kitchen cabinets with hardware and other things I just loved. Like this.





Yep, it’s a knocker. On my bedroom door. Short enough for a child to reach. And in the whole house, our bedroom is the only lock that works.

What’s amazing to me is this is clearly something that probably was installed by the original owner. And it’s still there. That gives me nothing but warm fuzzies to know that all the folks who lived in this house before me, obviously had a good sense of humor . Or maybe they just found it super useful .
Melissa

Blue Genie Art Bazaar

It's time! It's time for the Blue Genie Art Bazaar ! A great place to check out arts and crafts from Austin folks. Free to get in and loads to see & buy. Open daily through the 24th.


and yes, those are snow flurries!




the greatest purse ever (except for the burt reynolds purse right behind this one). and yes, that mustache is deliciously furry.


it's kinda like before and after sushi!


teeny tiny facial expression paintings,
just waiting to be a group wall hanging.


geeze, who doesn't adore feather jewelry!




my word this shirt is waiting for a classy fella to buy






the mermaids are fabulous

New address plaques

Here's a couple of newbies we just did. The red is such a fab color, especially with outdoor light. The black and clear one ... is a new kinda creation. Certainly influenced by Eichler house numbers ... just with a new edge. So excited about it and fine tuning the details now. We find them utterly amazing and otherwise badass!!!


The cadillac of address plaques

E.A.S.T. Austin Art Tour

"Love art or I shall eat you too"

Austin’s E.A.S.T. studio tour did not disappoint this year. It is the best way to see loads of independent art in one shot. Tons of studios (154) on Austin’s east side open their doors for two weekends. The punch it packs is well, for an art lover like me, to the floor knockout! I mean the amount of art I got to witness and be a part of was/is amazing. I made out a strategic map detailing every little spot I needed to see. Here is a handful of the amazing collective that create on the eastside. Let’s just say if I had oodles of money, I would own a piece from each of these artists … and then some. It was an overwhelmingly wunderbar experience of sensory overload! For realz …


The Super Alright! studio had it all set together with everything you needed to appreciate the moment. Adreon Henry stole my heart - i love his art work and have been a devout follower for years. Check out his website for pics of his art.


Bearded Lady offered a little bit of everything. Ingenious art and screen printing on display.


James Ferraro's art was on display at Gat5. His art lit me up! I can not wait to own a piece. He combined multiple mediums into an amazing product. Not to mention the other artwork and photography on display at GAT5.


Ian Shults is one of my absolute favorite artists. I mean his skills are just, geeze, off the charts. He can do anything! His recent "party people" series is to die for.


Ian Shults



Federico's Farrah on black velvet. What to say, except Federico is crazy unbelievable. Who wouldn't want this painting? His portraits and stencils continue to blow my mind!


This is part of a series Federico did on cardboard, with part of the artwork showing the inside texture of the cardboard (corrigate). Simply amazing. MLK


David Leonard


David Leonard He takes ideas/shades of blue and turns them into everything gorgeous!


Jennifer Balkan Her art is unbelievable! I love the pieces where she takes maps and stitches them into the painting. In this picture, she uses the map as part of the face.


And then there's Blue Genie! What to say, but expect the funky!

Here's more spots who also have unbelievable art work:
Shawn Camp
Caroline Wright
Jeffery Swanson
Monofonus Press


Guess you could call it "yard art." Fabulous none the less!


"Our supplies for the day!"
photos by Roberta & Kelly

Plexiglas frames

Ok, our plexiglas frames are where the imagination really steps in and takes modern design to a whole new level of well, amazing-ness! The frames take your art, albums, and pictures to a whole new level. You design it, we make it a reality.
See for yourself ...

Address Plaques

Here's some examples of the address plaques that we make. It's a combination of transparent plexiglas and modern house numbers. There are lots of colors to choose from to make your own statement of fabulousness.