I've been quiet lately.

Spring has been so warm and beautiful, I wouldn't dare sully it with words.

Been busy making, focusing, exploring and laughing my pants off...

Thrifted a pair of amazing woven raffia mules and a soft, striped pashmina.

This Summer's color scheme.

Craving Vietnamese papaya salad sans green papaya. Golden beets, radishes and the crunchiest market carrots made great stand-ins.

New slash old technology as vintage brass bookend. Remember when computers took up entire rooms?

Been trying to work out my drawing muscles again. Facets and gold for a friend.

My sometime office view aka freelancing has its perks.

True story...

Guess who? Best fan art ever... #rupaulsdragrace

Vintage adornments for your collar, waist and wrist. New in the shop.


Vintage brass metal buckle looking like some kind of artifact. Imperfectly perfect.


Totally tubular. Brass tubes & leather necklace.


Rounded wood, Eames meets India, brass inlay, wrist architecture.


A big, fat wooden bangle and bone bracelet making the foundation of your wrist collection.

The gorgeous 80's Wilma Spagli snakeskin & steel chain choker round Dannie's lovely neck. Available in the shop.

First project of the year completed! It knitted up surprisingly fast.

I'm on such a knitter's high that I may tackle another hat soon.

Colors are wonky, but that's Instagram for you. First color is closest to actual shade.

Anyways, YAY!

Wovens, beads, bone and stone. Some lovely things in the shop.

Woven, leather, pattern & fringe. New things in the shop!

Metal and straw

A bunch of bracelets I found thrifting. Woven fibers, neon, periwinkle, copper & brass. This is my Summer 2012 feeling.

Italian blue

The blue Italian sandals in my shop were recently featured in this lovely Etsy treasury.




Additional photos via sellers included in this Etsy treasury

First cherries

First cherries of the season. Making fabric stick together. Lightening my life load. Reassurance in my own damned self. My people make beautiful art & music. Summer dancing wait for me --I'll make it worth your while.




Nicolas Jaar

Denim print tote

Finally finished the handles on my denim tote. I've been meaning to make a proper, everyday bag to lug my "bag lady" variables, along with room for a laptop. Printed denim was thrifted, and leather was a gift from a friend. Next up, backpack!




I like how the collapsed sides look when carrying less stuff.

Reworking horn

My sister gave me a very pretty horn bracelet shaped simply in a round. I loved it, but found the sizing too loose for bundling up with other bracelets --my motto for wrist-wear is "More is more." I decided to do some research on reworking horn, and thought I might turn the bracelet into a cuff instead. During the process, I took another road and reworked it into this design. I'm in love with the end result!

Reworked horn bracelet with rubbed gold-leaf, wrapped in cobalt cotton thread.

Wrapper's Delight

These bouts of insomnia = wire-wrapped rings. I'm thinking of adding these to my shop.


(left-right): Red dyed bamboo coral stone, vintage brass-wrapped quartz (this was previously a pendant), and two rings of hematite beads. All stones & beads are either found, or deconstructed from thrifted/vintage jewelry.

Burmese charm

I recently caught up with my good friend, Tim, for belated birthday celebrations over catch-up conversation and amazing food at Burmese Kitchen in the Tenderloin. If there's a Burmese restaurant in your area, and you've been curious to try the cuisine, I'd strongly advise to get thee bum there toute suite! I've experienced a myriad of flavors in my lifetime, but Burmese food -- in particular the fermented tea leaf salad -- is a whole new flavor profile for me, and has my tastebuds doing proverbial back flips... in a good way!

I also had the chance to give Tim a birthday charm necklace I made for him, of found objects, vintage jewelry findings, and some beautiful materials I've collected. He asked me to create something for him, and his birthday was a good excuse to get myself back into the materials & trinket bin. I thoughtfully contemplated the pairing of these items, in order to create something along a more masculine aesthetic. This was different from my usual design direction, and I enjoyed stepping out of my usual creative boundaries.


Ironically, Tim was sporting a lovely leather & metal bracelet from H&M, and a gorgeous, heavy silver-linked bracelet. They matched perfectly with the charm bracelet.


Stainless steel ball chain, with charms of antiqued silver ring, metal bullet, mother-of-pearl disc, carved shell leaf, puka shell, and silver articulated alligator (not shown). Found objects and vintage jewelry pieces.

Bootays

New boots in my shop, Hello My Friend. Sexy, suede and high! Click here, or the pics to view listing.

Margiela x African wax print

I've had a love-hate relationship with these Margiela heels I purchased many moons ago. I've been a fan of Martin Margiela, since I first laid eyes on his cloven-toed boots in the late 80's. These shoes unfortunately are not cloven, however they feature the chunky, round heel most of his shoes are known for. These shoes were originally designed with a black, nylon mesh sock that covered the outer part of the shoe, with a hole for the heel to come through. I tired of the "sockiness" of the original shoe, but couldn't figure out what to do with them -- apart from trying to sell them off (apparently this is difficult to do in San Francisco, as I had hard luck finding a buyer to appreciate them).

In a late night fit of wanting a new pair of heels, but with no financial resources, I eyed my little bundle of African wax print fabric from Ghana, and devised a long bias-cut sash to wrap around the naked part of the shoe (san mesh sock). I'm back in love with these shoes again, and dare I say they look a little like Margiela meets Dries Van Noten?




Repurposed Margiela black leather sandals, with self-made sash made of African wax print cotton fabric from Ghana. It's difficult to see, but there are tires printed on this fabric! I love graphics that make me smile. (p.s. please ignore my Flintstone toes!)

charmed

When I last visited my mother, she gave me a pair of cross/dagger-like earrings, from Palau. They were made of real tortoiseshell. She assured me the turtle was in fact eaten, and the shell was used thereafter. It is illegal, in the US, to bring in tortoiseshell, so I suppose I'm a lawbreaker having these in my possession. For many Pacific cultures (my own included), eating turtle is a traditional food. Although I've never tried it, and not sure if my Western upbringing can go there. As a child, I once saw turtle soup made for a wedding, and I suffered mild culture shock, but have since been over it.....

These tortoiseshell pieces felt very special, and seemed to emit their own power. I combined one of the tortoiseshell pieces with mineral bits, I've collected, and strung it on simple hardware ball chain. I sometimes wear this charm necklace when I crave protection.

// Metal ball chain, tortoiseshell charm, vintage wire wrapped quartz crystal, vintage jasper-like stone with gold edging. Necklace made of mostly found, reused materials. The wood bowl, carved from one piece, was a find on a thrifting jaunt.

shell toes

I found these shoes for under $10. I tucked them away, and rediscovered them again rooting through my pile of.... The leather sole is sumptuous, but I'm unsure if the straps will hold up to city streets. It's funny how my nails are painted the same color as the shell. I recently noticed my pseudo-Fred Flintstone toes, on my left foot, do a weird grip/curl thing. I'm not sure if I like that....

August Sale

Still thinning out my collection to make room for life changes. Just marked down a slew of lovely accessories in my Hello My Friend shop. Click below to check out.

Cuties of note

Saying hello and goodbye to a few cuties today....

Goodbye to the apple and panda beaded coin purse necklaces I posted in my shop. I'm elated they're moving onto a lucky buyer, but am a bit nostalgic of this style period in my life. We've had some good times you two!


And hello to musician James Yuill. I've got KCRW full blast, and listening to his set. I declare this song Monday's jam!

James Yuill - Over The Hills

A bit of Spring wardrobe inspiration

Some past hits giving me new found inspiration. I've been neutral and monotone this past Fall/Winter. I'm loving color again, especially mixed prints with lots of gold jewelry and textures piled on top. Although I rarely wear pink, a hot version of this color has been catching my eye.


Mwar head garlands of bougainvillea and ylang ylang.


Shells, beads, silk, cotton, crepe, wood... a lovely mess.


A lovely pleated cotton tube with South American belt. I sometimes display this as soft sculpture, but I think I may make this into a dress this year.



Some jewelry and a top I did 3yrs ago. I'm kind of loving pearls and cotton lace again.



A leather hatlet I made. I like the shot of pink with the gilt ribbon, contrasted against dark, black leather. I need to get my hands back into the leather stash.



A gorgeous Korean hanbok found thrifting. I love this piece.


A dewy morning at my mother's house in Saipan.


A few pieces of my growing bangle/cuff collection.


Sometimes kitsch is beautiful.


This shimmers in the barest breeze.

// photos: caramimi