Things That Please Me: Honeyspy

There are few things as satisfying as getting a treasure in the mail that you've longed for for some time... and today I had the joy of opening a beautifully packaged treat that traveled all the way to me from Hamburg, Germany.

I'd had lust in my heart for this steam-punkish dragonfly necklace for ages, but missed the boat the last time it was listed in Honeyspy's Etsy shop, Naif Jewelry. Oxidized brass, vintage glass from the 30's... sigh. And when it finally came, packaged in the tiniest nubuck tote-bag I'd ever seen, with tiny Honeyspy stickers, elegant Moo cards, and an even tinier stripey envelope filled with little extra parts, I was beside myself. We've already established that stripey things make me happy - did I also mention that very tiny things make me happy?


Such beauty... I wore it out last night and someone told me it was exquisite. Indeed! And something of a stylistic and thematic match for my Miele series. Here's a detail of the Miele cuff.


See more of Honeyspy's work at what appears to be the European version of Etsy - DaWanda.

Tears For Phoebe

A little disconcerting that I was writing about matters of mortality last night, as this morning I received the devastating news that Phoebe Washer, the stunningly talented 20-year-old artist daughter of our friends Jack and Drew, had fallen from a cliff yesterday while hiking.

Phoebe was a luminous soul and she will be missed. I'm astonished and tearful that such a bright light could be extinguished so suddenly. She had her first solo art show at barely 18, and nearly sold it out. Her art was whimsical and haunting, and always moving.

Phoebe's painting From Above and a self-portrait.


Jack and Drew and everyone who loved Phoebe, my heart is with you.

Sleeps With The Fishes

Tonight I'm reminded that life can be so simple, so fragile. I'm traveling for work, writing from a hotel in Boston right now. When I reserved my hotel room, the agent asked if I'd like a goldfish in my room. Excuse me? A what?

"A goldfish, ma'am, it's just a little something special we offer our guests. You won't have to take care of it, just... enjoy it."

Call me sheltered, but I'd never heard of goldfish as a feature. It seemed like a good, if odd, idea. Soothing, perhaps. Colorful, certainly. So I couldn't help myself, I got excited. And when I arrived at the hotel last night, after nearly an hour of driving in circles lost, the desk clerk seemed excited, too. "Welcome, welcome, you made it! Lilly is waiting in your room for you!"


And she was. Lilly seemed well enough at 1:30 in the morning when I finally made it to my room, if a little placid. I settled in and slept.

But in the morning, things had gone horribly awry. Lilly was upside-down. Not floating at the top, mind you, and still opening and closing her mouth mournfully, but being upside-down is never a good sign for a fish. This was definitely not soothing. I told the front desk as I left for the day, "I'm worried about Lilly. She's not well."

And upon my return, the spectacularly orange Lilly was gone, replaced by a large, pale white, heartier finned creature. The notepad next to the bowl said "Hi, my name is Lilly!" But it clearly wasn't Lilly.

I'm listening to the Radiohead song"Weird Fishes" in honor. Sleep well in the big aquarium in the sky, little hotel fish. Oh, what you must have seen in your short life. But dead fish don't tell tales.

It's Love: A Band of Bees

I haven't had an album on rotation this heavy since Belle and Sebastian's The Life Pursuit, which made me feel like sunshine and popsicles for months, until I overdid it and had to temporarily retire the album. Some of the songs on that album flashed me back to After School Specials from the mid-70's - breezy, poppy, nostalgic, and impossibly catchy.

And now this: you must discover A Band of Bees, known simply in the UK as The Bees. Their 2007 release, Octopus, is one of those rare albums where every single song on the album is a winner. Hip-shaking tunes with a perfectly blended post-modern hybrid of styles, from psychedelic sixties to Motown to indie-rock to ska to funk. Hammond organ, soaring harmonies, sassy horns, animal noises. It's the kind of album that makes you feel like you could be on a summer road trip, heading for bliss in, say, a magic plasticine bus.


Check out the YouTube video for their single "Who Cares What the Question Is?" for a toe-tappingly infectious taste of the Bees, exploring on the aforementioned bus. They seem to have gone under the U.S. radar, for the most part, but I can't imagine why. I'm completely in love.

Go, listen, now!

Tiny Delicate Things

Stache and I learned first-hand this weekend how challenging it can be to take beautiful pictures of tiny delicate things like drop earrings.

Despite the wind that made the earrings shiver and having to navigate the rough waters of macro focus, we eventually triumphed. Pictured are the Miele Earrings ~ antiqued copper, honey jade, deep bronze-colored freshwater pearls, and golden jasper.


And did I mention how phenomenally lucky I am to have a husband who is a patient and talented photographer? So, so lucky.

Raw Emotion ~ The Imagery of Lilya Corneli

Stache and I have been brewing big plans for an arty photo shoot with some of my gorgeous girlfriends for the adornments, and yesterday we finally made it happen. I'm beyond thrilled with the images he captured, but it will take a bit of time to edit them, so we must all be patient...

For some lovely diversion until the new imagery is unveiled, you must see the work of an incredibly talented photographer who has been inspiring me as of late.

I happened upon Lilya Corneli after going down one of those Internet rabbit-holes - you know the kind, where by following a series of links you somehow end up in a totally different and magical new place. I was completely captivated and found myself wandering Lilya's online galleries for hours.

These breathtaking images are used with Lilya's kind permission.

Her photos are hauntingly beautiful, evocative and sometimes a little disturbing. Everything about them makes me shiver with delight.

And soon, soon... an abundance of beautiful imagery of my own.

Spring Has Sprung!

The vernal equinox was on Thursday, and it felt like everything around me was blossoming and opening up. Admittedly, since this is Northern California, it's been feeling spring-y for a few weeks already. But on Friday morning, the swallows that nest in the eaves of the building I work in had returned, and all the fruit trees were exploding with blossoms.

Celebration was in order. Fortunately, the ever-lovely Brooke had an extravagant Equinox party on Friday night, complete with fire-spinners, live music, and belly-dancers. Stache felt a Spring Pixie outfit was appropriate, and he spent a good part of the early evening gluing leaves to himself to elegant effect:


And I gussied up in a vaguely spring nymph-ish fashion to match him, sporting the Roux cuffs and choker.


We even found a Disgruntled Bunny to round out our merry band.


And proceeded to cause a ruckus at the party, in the usual manner - staying up far too late, having far too much tequila, and enjoying the warm spring evening and splendid company...

Happy Spring!

A Study in Black and White

What is it about black and white that we're drawn to? Is it the starkness, the simplicity? The instant feeling of old-timey-ness that's invoked?

Introducing Cirque. Dripping with elegance and mystery, but with a hint of playfulness. The ethereal trapeze artist, mesmerizing, swinging from her perch high above the crowds, and the silent trickster mime, black beret and painted white cheeks, a blank palette, with just a hint of the sauciness of stripes.

The Cirque choker... coming very soon to Atelier Choklit.


And here's Fudo, proving that men in cuffs are very, very hot.


Devastating. Seen onstage at Baby Seal Club's last gig.