vintage cars & food shark

FOOD SHARK

a MARFA phenomenon.

fabulous food, a fun scene and an added bene - seen here - adam's vintage car collection seen around town. 

and recently added: Future Shark

for an amazing collection of photos related to all of adam & kristas adventures & ventures, HERE and for another car-obsessed-part-time-marfa-residents' 

(and my husband) blog, HERE

m a r f a (shop)

M A R F A

"Here you will see a real cowboy and a major work of art in the same afternoon." 

( quote from elcosmico's website - so aptly put)

this post is about shops in this sweet little town that i hold near & dear. i rarely "go 

 shopping"  except for groceries when i am there but there is no lack of unique, locally made ( or from mexico or beyond) things to bring home with you. i am continuously struck by the spaces & displays & architecture & aesthetic of each shop or store or gallery - so marfa. so unexplainable. so magic.

      

     shopping in marfa is a bit hit or miss. not because there isn't plenty to buy or see but you may hit the town on a mon. or tues. or even an unusual holiday - and nothing is open. one place that seems to open when others may not be,  is the marfa book company. it has an incredible collection of hard-to-find art books, new fiction, lannan writers works and much more. there is a huge, open light filled art space in the back and usually a well regarded show. ( i once took yoga classes back there when all the walls were painted in a black & white modernist mural - amazing to look at but the antithesis of zen )

       mirth  - the newest project of maiya's ( owner of maiyas restaurant and the get go)  i stumbled upon on my most recent visit. it is a beautifully laid out, austere but with a specific, sophisticated curated feel. i feel in love with these abstract paintings ( above)  by anne marie nafziger. simple, large stunning. they have functional items ( i bought an array of glassware) as well as "objets" for the home.

    tienda m - now owned by the founder of dosa, christina kim. it is a stunning, space filled with locally made pieces ( ceramics,my friend gingers marfa brand soap, textiles) ,  the dosa line of clothing, housewares and mexican handmade crafts & goods...

   other  FABULOUS marfa shops - freda, cobra rock, wrong, and all the gift stores at the thunderbird hotel & el cosmico & paisano....and hopfully i haven't left any out. (galleries & food shark posts will be next)  

GO VISIT & shop locally & support the wonderfully creative community.

M A R F A. texas

M A R F A      our home away from home. a home to many an artist,  rancher, local doctor, mechanic, restauranteur, librarian...and  many many others..some who have lived here their whole lives and some who have just landed or those that just come here for chunks of time, like us. ( we have spent parts of 4 winters living here) a magical, "diamond in the rough" refuge in west texas.
     recently, a texan dinner guest chuckled and said this about marfa:   "over hyped and overly expensive" but on a marfa website i read this and smiled:  "MARFA: tough to get to . tough to explain. but once you get here, you get it." this blog also was quite funny & wry and seemed to get marfas appeal & peculiarity.
     personally, i have never been so inspired by a landscape. perhaps its the fact that is so unfamiliar, so unlike my east  coastal life & upbringing.  the quality of light, the wide open spaces, the dusty, dry cactus & grass filled open landscape.
     a few years ago, our first winter here, i began a photo shadow series. it just happened one evening in the backyard of our adobe rental. the sun was setting and created hard, beautiful outlines of our bodies. we turned it into a project and began involving props ( cowboy hats & bikes & skateboards)  & friends over for a visit. timing was everything.
     now, i venture out in the early morning & late afternoon whent he light is mysterious and seems to transform even the most mundane.  a bikeride  or drive ( or motorcycle) down pinto canyon road can be a spiritual experience if you time it right.  around town, tumbleweeds, cactus, gas tanks ( dixon ranch), buildings, signs , peacocks, the presidio county courthouse lit up with incredible christmas lights ( paid for by the citizens of marfa!) ..its all beautiful to me. a remakable, hard to explain kind of place. if you can get there - go - and i hope "you get it"

winter white. blanc. witte

   winter white.
white has always been a favorite color of mine, both for personal fashion ( fav. jcrew white tissue tees of which i have many) and for the home. my house is decorated and painted in many shades of white and i am known for wearing white head to toe in the spring/summer/fall.
    the other day i stumbled upon the yoko ono WISH TREE at the jim kemner gallery . i had exited the high line and was heading north for an appt.   the light was pouring down and thru all the small paper tags that make up her thoughtful, ingenious but simple sculpture - it was luminescent & quite magical and invited participation. i, of course, wrote out a wish and hung it on the tree.
   before that serendipitous find, while charging thru the  masses at the   chelsea market - i was struck by the beauty of the holiday lighting in the central hall and the way the lights surrounded the clock. i was not alone, lots of iphones were out and i'm sure instagram is innundated with similiar images!)
   the geometric shaped, lit from behind sculpture is jason rogenes   it is comprised of reclaimed styrofoam pieces assembled together forming a wall and can be seen at portland museam of art. it is intriguing and gorgeous and made from discarded packing pieces. he also has a family room that invites children & families to build & assemble cast pieces.
winter has certainly arrived in the northeast - its time to embrace the beauty of this white dominant season. happy holidays.

R O C K . P A P E R . S C I S S O R S.

Rock, Paper, Scissors  - almost says it all.
Erica Soule's brainchild is this most inspiring shop in downtown Wiscassett. Its a quasi Housewares - Stationery - Gift Shop but with a quirky, sophisticated, curated feel. She carries exquisite jewelry, letterpressed EVERYthing ( cards, books, ect..) artwork, pillows & blankets, glassware,  ribbons, decorative tapes & papers, childrens toys & unusual gifts. Stopping at this shop en route north - i always get excited and leave with a little something special. Not to sound snotty but this is not your typical Maine shop.....
a few of our favorites & standouts:
washi tape - i first discovered it in the shop years ago  & use it all of the time
Coral & Tusks embroidered pieces; cards, pillows, wall art....
Jen Burrall - a local maine jeweler
Nightingale Projects  & Ladyfingers Letterpress  stationery ( among many others!)
Fog Linens beautiful japanese textiles
    If you can, stop by, located right on rt. 1 in historic Wiscassett. If you can't, call her up and she will ship to you. There is talk of a limited online shop/ website coming soon.
For more photos & info

heather chontos

milk farm road- heather chontos's art studio.  
i stumbled upon an opening there a few weeks ago. 
literally.  the lights were on, doors open, there was a hive of activity so naturally i walked in. there were colorful, arranged intriguing things to look at EVERYWHERE. (not to mention fabulous wine & appetizers set out on her friend michelle michael's gorgeous, modern ceramics) 
large & small abstract paintings, painted books, glassware, spoons, beautiful pillows, draped and folded fabrics and still lives of "objets" filled the space
as i explored & talked to folks, it became apparent that heather and her 2 daughters were a fairly new and exciting addition to portland. she hails from nyc-london-barcelona-montana. i found a table with "press" and business cards and there was a full spread on her this july/aug. martha stewart. wow. and when you dig further - one can find lots of coverage of heather; a prolific artist, set-designer/stylist, illustrator and textile designer. 
keep your eyes open as heather has some exciting textile & houseware projects coming up soon with anthropologie, land of nod and K colette.  or just walk into her studio and you can see her working away on a latest art piece or textile design in her large lightfilled space.
as an artist-jeweler-art director-stylist myself, it was hard to select which photos to use to show you her inspiring, creative lair...i hope you enjoy and can visit as well.

basha's bijoux {jewelry}

as i gear up for holiday & jewelry trunk shows - i always get excited to look thru images of my work to use in promos and invitations.
luckily - i can still use gorgeous shots that photographer friends ( seen here are 2 from shoshanna white)  have made over the years and combine them with my own more recent " point & shoot" images.
we have always used available light & simple, mostly natural materials for backgrounds.
i think its time to get a little dramatic. use lights. contrast. dark surfaces. i'll keep you posted....