Maggie's 2nd Birthday: Carni-land!

My niece, Miss Maggie Magill, turned 2 a couple of weeks ago in Tyler, Texas.  My Brother and Sister-in-law, Matt and Megan Magill (check 'em out!) asked me to come out and style the party for Miss Maggs, and I was so so happy (and honored!) to oblige.  What we came up with was a colorful ABC and 123's carnival-like celebration to enhance one of Maggie's favorite things - a bounce house!  And with the September timing, the back-to-school element layered nicely on the carnival theme with hand-made chalkboard party favors, signs and an interactive station for the kiddos, all with colorful chalk, of course!  It was so wonderful to be with Matt and Megan, sweet Maggie, her baby-sister Blythe - and meet all of their sweet friends in Tyler.  What a great group of people!  Thanks for letting "Smmidge" style such a special party - I had blast!

Birthday girl and her mom in pretty plaid, pre-party!

See the whole party and even before-and-afters after the jump!

Little Boys & Bow Ties

Don't you love these Momofandango hand-cut felt bow-ties - sometimes finding things for little boys, especially toddler boys, that are not just mini-adult clothes isn't easy.  I LOVE bow-ties for men, too, but I'm not going to put Doss in a suit and real bow-tie at 21 months!  No.  But these, yes, Doss is wearing them with so many things these days, everything really.  From overalls, to play rompers they are just fun.  I had someone treat them like a stylized bow for a little girls bag the other day which was so cute too!  They are fun, a little whimsical, and different, but still little for little kids. These are Hypstamatic pics taken of Doss and his tee shirt and bow-tie - just being a kid.

Boardwalk Empire and Baba

Melba Foy, my darling (and daring) Grandmother, in the late 1920s

Melba West Foy was my grandmother.  We called her Baba. To most she was Mrs. Foy, during my lifetime - but like most, she had a whole life before she was a mother or grandmother as depicted in these pictures.  She was, well, hugely influential to me.  A dynamic, educated, progressive woman born in 1907, died in 1995. . . Sept 29th 1995.  We are coming up on the anniversary of her death and she has really been on my mind lately.  She is always near to my thoughts, but as I watched the premiere of the genius new HBO series Boardwalk Empire, I couldn't help but think of her.  She would have been a teenager in the midst of the timing of the series. . . the roaring 20s.  Though she was far away from New Jersey and the birth of the mafia, she always played the piano with a bit of ragtime rhythm and edge - she could tear it up!  And she added the spice of that period's music, change (women's rights) and even fashion to all her endeavors from children's programs, poetry, music, education and art, and I can't help but wonder what she must have thought and experienced as a young woman in 1920s West Texas.

I never thought she was old though she was already 70 when I was born.  SHE never thought she was old, and I'm so lucky to have been exposed to such a positive outlook on women and age,  And, oh, how she would love that I'm still inspired by, and writing about, her influence, fashion, art, music, zest for life - she was a spit fire, quick-witted and independent.  I miss her dearly. . .  Check out Boardwalk Empire and be inspired by the 1920s, by the amazing period costumes, and a compelling story and Scorsese's direction. . . or just check out Baba right here for the real deal in 20's fashions, hope and zeal.

Baba and a high school friend in Merkel TX, circa 1924

My Grandmother, Melba West Foy, breaking all the rules in the lat 20s

Friday Tune: Good Old War

LOVE this song, and so many other by Good Old War - perfect little Friday tune, and great art direction on the video.  So stinkin' cool.

Exciting posts coming next week including a super cute 2yr old and her b-day party!

Happy weekend and happy autumn!

Love. Love. Love. Relics Home

Everyone who knows me knows I love funky little retail shops. Who doesn't? Particularly those with fabulous displays and daring assortments.  It all comes down to having a vision and adding a little personality.  One loverly shop that has all of this in spades is Abilene's own Relics Home.  Some of you might also know I'm from a small town near Abilene (Baird, TX) - so I'm always very excited to go home and see what shop owner extraordinaire and designer Rebecca Allen is up to at Relics.

When I was home during the summer her displays were so bright and colorful and lively!  But oh!  These brown leather chairs in the style of the Barcelona Chair are on my "obsession list". 











 Beautiful linens through the window!  The shop is in a restored building in downtown Abilene and is so charming.

Still dying over the owl rug you see hanging on the wall. . . The picture doesn't do it justice.  Rebecca does design out of her shop and has a super cool work space in the back where she'll consult with you while you are surrounded by fabulous fabrics and sit on a calfskin stool.  SO my kind of place.

Candles on an old door hang above a dining room table - LOVE it!  And if anything - that they serve free margaritas on Saturdays - well, it will put the experience through the roof!  It's so fun, and it is retail done well, which I admire and enjoy.  Kudos to Relics Home - See you soon!

Where we will be. . .

This weekend.  That's right.  It's only Tuesday - BUT I'm already dreaming of Friday and Saturday - a lovely late September weekend in Texas - Love it.  Mainly because we have such fun plans. 

Friday at UTA to hear Ken Burns speak.  So thrilled. . .

 

Then Saturday to see the great stuff going on at Red's Pop Shop on Greenville!

And maybe, just maybe swing by the Texas State Fair. . . ?  I don't know.  That is a weekend in and of itself. . . but we will see!  Happy Fall in Tejas!

Cyber obsession: Alabama Chanin & Refueled Mag

I follow Chris Brown of Refueled Magazine on twitter - and through his blog/twitter/online mag I came across fashion genius Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin - and am completely obsessed with, and inspired by, her approach and the so-called "slow clothing" movement.  She utilizes local and regional, as well as sustainable suppliers and was drawn home to her roots in Alabama after school/work/travel around the world.  She takes time.  Yet another thing I'm obsessing over these days.  She seems to genuinely love the beauty in the "mundane" (quoters, because I hate to even use that word, if that is even the word for it).  I think it's beauty in living for real.  And I just love the story and her vibe.  The below video is from Refueled's "automatic buzz".  Check out more there - and have a fabulous weekend!

ABC in NYC

South African Beaded Animal - Doss would love!

So I'm in NYC on an overnight  for work - had a good night at the US Weekly 25 Most Stylish New Yorkers event.  It was fun!  Lots of fun sitings from Adrien Grenier to Mary J Blige to. . . wait for it, Wendy Williams.  That's right.  BUT my most exciting moment of this trip might be my [tentative] visit to ABC Carpet & Home - I hope to stop by tomorrow before my meetings, and can't be held responsible for my actions once there. . . which might include the purchase of the products showcased in this post. Don't you love, too?

local artisan wood bark vases - LOVE

Vintage Fu Dogs believed to be property protectors

Type on-Trend

I mentioned that we have had some very creative, supportive friends involved with Momofandango and the work toward launching at The Dallas Flea - one in particular creative, Peter Henry (the graphic designer of the hilarious, uber hip J-Dig Cards - more on them in the near future!), helped me develop the new Smmidge logo (debuting right here very soon).  Don't you love that super retro, refrigerator from the fifties feel?  So cool.  We then needed to integrate it into the darling Momofandango logo that some friends at MoHouse Design developed over two years ago.  Who knew how super on-trend we were - because today, a crazy thing happened. A print magazine launched!  That's right.  I said PRINT.  You know how I adore anything paper. . .even if it isn't the greenest approach (but it's only 4 issues per year!), I still love it.  AND - the creative geniuses at Anthology Magazine look like they might be using the same font as our own Momofandango.  See the comparison with the gorgeous cover below.  I'm taking it as a very good sign.  I feel like Momo deserves a spread in the new mag on the coincidence alone!  Don't you agree?!  Hey, a girl can always dream!  Check out more of the wonderful Anthology here but you'll have to get the print version to get the full scoop!  

Recap - The Flea

WTF!  Whoo - the flea!  We did it!  And learned, and made friends, made contacts, and even sold a few pieces here and there!

Thanks especially to the Henry's without whom we would not have had signs or cards and packaging - plus onsite support - keeping me grounded and teaching me some invaluable sales tips!  And thanks to ALL our friends who came out to support and see the booth - it was so wonderful to see familiar faces! 

the booth

a fan!

The blankets - and our cardboard/chalkboard info signs

Band Pants/Bow ties/flowers & our enter-to-win sweeps!

Fabric flags and an old velour bedspread covered the table.

More recaps to come - some action shots of Ben working (and totally managing!) the booth, some shots of our wonderful friends, and more importantly more info and detail shots of our merch, as we embark on blog-selling!  Oh!  and an updated logo for Smmidge (previewed at top) coming very soon!  So much going on!  Have a great week!

Flora for Fall

I absolutely die die die over Emersonmade.  I've been hand making little flower pins for girls all week in prep for the Momofandango booth at The Dallas Flea this week - and though mine are made of crazy vintage fabrics and felt, I can't help but be inspired by the classic beauty of Emersonmade flower pins- among other things in her collection.  And how fabulous are they for fall?  Love.  And she, Emerson herself, is just adorable.  More to come on the exciting weekend ahead!

The fab Factory 20

I was scoping out WeAre1976 the other day, because frankly I too am 1976, and they are awesome.  And they covered the most amazing shop - Factory 20 - over which I have since been obsessing.  Factory 20 is an art and design collective specializing, as far as I can tell, in 20th century industrial design pieces they sell in a shop in Virginia and online.  Think old work benches from a garment district factory. . . and it is (they are) genius.  The pieces are so rich with history and still so. . . usable.  Amazing what some thought and good material can do.  Here are a few faves.  Enjoy!

Nothing quite like the man-bag

Ok - so it's been a crazy week.  We are preparing for The Dallas Flea, coming up next weekend where we are [re]launching a baby line I have dabbled with for the last 2.5 years called Momofandango.  More to come on this and on the Smmidge mobile shop and studio we are working on for next spring. . . so many exciting things!  It's only taken me 34.5 years to have this much clarity about what I want to do with my life. . . ah, well.  It's ok.  We are just working like crazy to get this first show off the ground and we'll figure it out from there. . . anyway.  In the midst of cutting felt and fabric with Ben these days (poor  guy!  but great and supportive husband!), we circle back to the ever-present discussion of man-style that I have touched on here several times.

Recently, I had the chance to work on a great little shoot with a crew from Cambio.com - and their exec producer was a super cool guy that I enjoyed meeting very much.  You know when you just meet someone that is cool and that you just get immediately?  Well, that was the case with Kelly G.  And, because I liked him so much, I was immediately interested in his style - that laid-back, yet totally groovy LA-esque vibe (they crew all hail from the land of the Angels, of course.  they are a TV crew!).  Anyway, I asked to snap a shot of him with his man-bag.  That's right.  He carried this cool, canvas bag and it totally worked, and I thought "Ben has to see this!".  Ben could totally do a man-bag - ride his bike to school - teach his undergrad class. . .etc.  You know.  He could just do it. . .

So anyway - here is the super cool Kelly Garner and his satchel.  And other (cool but edgy) options from the ever-current Urban Outfitters.  Ben is so sporting one this fall.  Decision. Made.

What the world needs now

. . .is a little 2-D. This, according to my husband, Ben, after viewing some of Owen Gildersleeve's works.  I tend to agree.  I've expressed my love of all things paper, and my talented mother's ability to cut and create. . . well, Mr. Glidersleeve's works are nothing short of magical in my book.  And yes, much needed. Texture, and ability to intake and understand the process, if still in awe of it, does not happen enough. Nothing compares to handworks.

Here is a beautiful and apropos piece he did called The Recession for the now defunct pub ID Magazine.  Genius.