body of work

table (which I'm actually currently using as a desk)

So, a long time ago (2009, woaaahh) I made this post. My tastes have changed a little since then (that rug! I'm cringing), and now that I'm back to working from home I figured it was time to do a little update. It hasn't even been a year since I went freelance, so I'm still working on what sort of furniture I need.. but that doesn't mean a girl can't dream!

wall mounted shelves / chair /  rug

• Things I'd like ideally:  a new chair that rolls, a rug to keep my tootsies happy, a wall mounted shelf for tchotchkes and the like, a flat file for paper and art, multiple filing cabinets for supplies

• Things I have room and the money for: a latte

Our apartment is small, so I don't have a ton of room for studio space. That's really okay since I do most all of my work from my desk. But it would be nice to have more room for storage, and the money for a fancy new chair! Gisèle d’Ailly van Waterschoot van der Gracht's (how's that for a name?) home is ideally what I'd love for my studio space to look like: classic, full of life but not cluttered.

table lamp / ceramic ghost / planter

I also wouldn't mind adding some new decorations to my workspace. Obviously I can never get enough plants, and maybe I could start a collection of Ahroj's Ghosts project. They are just so darling!

What does your ideal desk space look like?

home run

Working from home is bringing me so much closer to our darling little apartment. It may only be two rooms, but gosh darnit those are our two rooms. And everyone knows that bigger isn't always better. Here are a few little tidbits from my space, since I always seem to focus on these little things.

The boy and I are headed to Michigan tomorrow. My other home, my beloved mitten state. It's going to be a weekend full of tailgating, food, exploring and everything that I adore about Michigan in the fall.

 

Speaking of homes, my portfolio also has a new home. Check it out: www.emmatrithart.com !!!

flagged

Here are how things generally go in the Emma/Bryan apartment household: One of us will e-mail the other one with some sort of link to a photo of another person's apartment that looks cool. We both freak out (via e-mail, which looks like this: YES OMG YES LETS DO THAT PLZZZZ). I then start online window shopping for whatever it is that we need to recreate the photo, and Bryan sets off to measure things and figure out how to lay things out and all the practical stuff that I am no good at.

This is essentially what happened when Bryan decided that he wanted an American flag for our living room, which I agreed was an awesome idea. After a quick etsy search I found the perfect specimen at sit and sing vintage. Each stripe is a different piece of fabric, and it's got the right amount of wear and tear.

cold season (#1)

I'm bringing in some fashionable ladies I know every once in awhile for the next couple months to talk about what's keeping them going now that fall/winter is upon us. They'll be accompanied by an illustration, because I need to make sure I keep drawing now that fall/winter is upon me! First up is Allison Vallant of dotluv. Not only does Alli blog about fashion and photography and a lot of other cool stuff BUT she is also one of my bestest ladies! We are pretty much the most perfect shopping companions for each other, which is a true sign of friendship greatness. Here are Alli's top choices for fall:

"I want a nice black wedge boot that I can wear with both jeans and dresses, but is also in some way Minnesota-winter appropriate. Both fashionable and sensible. It would be great if I could find one with tread! But when am I not thinking about shoes? Never."

"I also cannot stop thinking about rearranging the living room in our apartment. I've been thinking lately that our apartment is a little bit more on the feminine/whimsical side than I would like it, and especially now that winter is upon us, I've been wanting to make it a little more masculine looking. A new rug, and maybe rearranging the art and plants that we have will help for now! There are a few things that I will have to just dream about for now (two Eames shell chairs to replace my yellow upholstered chair, anyone?) but something I can do, is invest in a clean white cow skin rug."

 THANKS ALLI!! Stay tuned, folks. I've got more ladies on the docket for you!

After months and months of scouring etsy for the perfect garland and coming up with NOTHING (I'm sure it's out there, I'm just not always the best etsy searcher), I finally bit the bullet and decided to make my own. A quick google search turned up this handy diy, of course. We've got a dark grey wall in our living area (where we sit/sleep), and I figured gold was the perfect color to offset it! A quick trip to wet paint for gold paper (as usual, they had the perfect thing) and I was off! It was so simple, I don't know why I didn't do it before!

 



I think if I ever completely give up on being an artist (god forbid), I want to be a party planner! Doing garland research really made me wish I had time to do art/go to work/plan five million fabulous parties all at once.

fill 'er up

A quick "rest of the summer" recap to tide my "I don't post enough on this thing"-guilt over while I work on something a little more long form for this here bloggie. Hopefully it will be interesting to others!!

over all

I can't tell if the summer is ending, or if it's got a few more kicks left.....

earth day

Hen and chicks "is a common name for a group of small succulents belonging to the flowering plant family Crassulaceae, native to Europe and northern Africa. They grow close to the ground with leaves formed around each other in a rosette, and propagating by offsets."

I'm growing my collection of low maintenance plants. The large succulent (no idea what it is specifically) I got at Trader Joe's, and the little "Crassulaceae" came from a flea market. Finding plants in weird places is apparently a talent I posses. My goal is to have a collection rivaling the one in this great photo, which I originally found on Kate Miss' pinterest and then hunted the original down like a mad woman.

Any good hardy plant recommendations?

camera obscura

Well, it finally happened. After pining after my friends iphones and blackberries endlessly, dreaming checking my e-mail surreptitiously without having to bring out the computer, checking into four square, actually being able to DO something with the pictures I take on my phone.... I GOT A SMARTPHONE. And it is lovely. (a droid incredible, for those curious. I highly recommend it so far.)

My current obsession is the toy camera/polaroid application. LOVE LOVE LOVE.



p.s. yes, we got a set of mounted antlers for the wall. I found them at a giant sprawling flea market during my yearly pilgrimage there (three years in a row!), and they happened to be exactly what I was looking for at the right price point (i.e. cheaptown). However, there are many to be found on etsy... that last one is my fave.

thanksgiving

I decided to draw my lovely aunt & uncle a digital thank you note, since I've been so set on experimenting in photoshop. I can't tell you how many times I started, stopped, erased everything and started again. Does this happen to you? One of the great evils of the digital "canvas" (blerg, that sounds really lame) is the ease in which you can just start all over again. But I ended up figuring a lot of cool techniques out, and I'm SO happy with the end results. At the beginning of this year I told myself I'd stop drawing so many cute girls, but one more can't hurt... right?

The apartment decorating kick is still going strong as well. I've been scouring etsy for vintage glass display cases like this one from two art director's amazingly well curated shop. Other thoughts have involved hanging small plates above the stove and making some art for above the bed. Who knows if any of this will actually get done.

apple of my eye

Yes we're still looking for a new rug. Anyone wanna buy me one of these über expensive babies from Ruby Lane? Because I can't afford that business.

I have also been gathering a list of places I'd like to go in New York, and it's getting real long for four short days..

+Shake Shack for burger and fries, and pomme frites just for fries.
+All the big art museums and P.S.1, if time permits.
+The Hell's Kitchen Flea Market.. only open on the day we get it, so if we're not completely dead maybe we'll try to make it over there before scurrying back to our hotel room for THE LAST EPISODE OF LOST.
+If we're in the neighborhood, Carrie Bradshaw's apartment. Sigh.
+Topshop? beacon's closet? I'm trying to not buy TOO many clothings. The first goal was to not buy any clothing, but my good friends made me realize that this was going to be impossible.

clothing line

2009 summed up in the changes on the dining room wall via my wardrobe remix pictures..



blank, two different paintings by bryan's grandma



a type poster, blank again (although we did get a table), and new for 2010: blue gift wrap!

table settings

we finally got a table and chairs to eat at! My heart sings with joyyyyy. (table: ikea, chairs: craigslist)

before & after

it's almost embarrassing to see how bad I get when I don't like a piece of furniture. that old desk was just ugg-o. Hopefully my new, pretty ($15!) desk will inspire me to stay clean. i'd like a new desk lamp, though... please.

trash to treasure

wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles! Look what was sitting by the dumpsters when the boy and I came back from picking up a new tv stand (to be seen soon) and breakfast at Mickey's! It's a little beat up here and there - but this might not be a problem, as I'm now considering painting the table tops another color. Something like this, but without the yellow legs.

OH SAINT PAUL. Thank you for your glorious dumpster finds.

Also, I realize there has been a terrible lot of apartment-related photo posts... so here is my most recent blog of choice, pony and pink! A cute girl and a cute boy, posting their cute clothin'.