Samantha Hahn

Interview with blogger/fashion designer: Mary Jo Matsumoto (Trust Your Style blog)

Trust Your Style blog by Mary Jo Matsumoto, designer of fashionable bags. Interview for Maquette blog.

I had the privilege of interviewing one of my favorite bloggers, Mary Jo Matsumoto of Trust your Style. Beyond blogging she’s a fashion designer/ fashion/beauty editor/non-profit founder whose stunning bags were snapped up by the lux Fred Segal, one of L.A.’s hippest boutiques, in the first week of designing! Bergdorf Goodman is another one of the exclusive boutiques worldwide that carry Mary Jo’s designs. They’ve been carried by the likes of Robin Wright Penn, and have appeared on Oprah, Extra, and the Oscars. Not bad!

Here’s the interview, some photos from her blog of the bags and some little illustrations I did for the fun of showing off her beautiful and delectably colorful bags. (more…)

Pedro Reyes’s Capula Sculptures: Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle.

Capula Sculptures by Pedro Reyes at Seattle's Olympic Sculpture Park.

us inside Capula Sculpture by Pedro Reyes at Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle

On Labor Day we attended a wedding in Seattle at the Olympic Sculpture Park. The reception was held inside a huge room with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the art and natural scenery.

Suspended from the high ceiling were two amazing and interactive sculptures entitled Capula XVI and Capula XVII by Mexican artist Pedro Reyes. Woven strings of vinyl stretch taut over angular and round white metal, creating the look of a bird cage mixed with a 1970’s hanging basket chair. The vinyl makes the piece pliable and inviting.

Initially guests eyed the sculptures inquisitively as they entered the room, circling them and gently poking at them as though they were alien ships, watching other guests gingerly slip inside their round opening and settle into the anti-gravity center. Once inside it felt pleasant to be floating and gently swaying, the weight of your body pressing into the vinyl like a reclining beach chair. (more…)

Kunz and Chauvennes

Chavannes-and-Kunz.jpg

I wonder if Anita Kunz (one of my favorite modern illustrators) was inspired by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes? I just discovered his work at Musée d’Orsay in Paris. I was struck by his boldness, the way he contrasted colors, and by his use of narrative. He’s called a Symbolist. Anita is called an Illustrator.

Illustration sometimes gets a bad rap for being ‘commercial’ but I think Anita’s work is very symbolic and her painting chops as refined as Pierre’s regardless of her commercial clientele.

Interview with Journal Maker: Tyler Bender

TYLER BENDER INTERVIEW IMAGE
I was so thrilled about Tyler Bender’s recycled book journals that I posted about him and about my recycled sketchbook. Tyler was kind enough to let me do a follow up with a wonderful interview. I was a big fan his journals before but after finding out more about him am even more obsessed with his work. Here’s the interview:

What gave you the idea to make these splendid journals?
As a teenager I found a 1920’s book entitled “a dictionary for boys and girls”. I was so mesmerized by its design I wanted an excuse to hold it and use it everyday, so I found a way to incorporate it into my life. It was like being in touch with another time.

Where do you get the old books?
Schools, libraries, thrift stores, friends. Customers also have the option of providing their own book for re-purposing.

Where do you get the paper that fills them?
Everywhere: Craigslist, friends, sometimes office supply stores, and as much as I can use from the books themselves. (more…)

“When fortune calls, offer her a chairâ€? – Yiddish proverb

Design public desk chairs.jpg

These are some sexy desk chairs. I’m not usually thrilled about chairs with wheels, but the one in the middle is edgy and modern … or retro and sci-fi, depending on your perspective. The best part is that they’re all from Design Public, a store with too many good ones to choose from so I just chose a tiny sampling.

I thought my pin-up babe drawing might like to sit on one of them at her home office. (Yes, she has a home office.)

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