Thoughts

Last year I discussed a certain store and tried to be diplomatic and not name them, but they keep on doing reprehensible things so I feel like I should out them.

Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters are owned by the same company (which also owns Free People, Terrain and Leifsdottir). Aside from giving large donations to Rick Santorum, a man I find reprehensible, Urban Outfitters is constantly ripping off indie artists and vintage furniture and selling the designs as their own. Anthropologie is no slouch in the copying department either...

There is example after example of this (and more here and here). There is even a blog devoted to their rampant thievery. Sadly they have done it yet again to an Etsy artist I admire. Her California necklace has been on my wish list for quite some time and now it's been outright copied by UO.

Take a look:

They even stole some of the write up on the necklace. I urge you to show your support to Truche and buy the original. Yes it's more money but it's original, real silver and handmade. You could also send a message to Urban Outfitters and boycott them as I have.

Update: Urban Outfitters just stopped selling the necklace on their site. After being a trending topic on Twitter and an article in the Huffington Post seems like they got the message. I hope they change their ways and not just in this one instance.

Marimekko Shops

I was excited when Crate & Barrel announced they would be opening up mini-Marimekko shops within some existing Crate & Barrel stores. I was even more excited when Los Angeles was on the short list of cities getting one. Ours opened last Friday so I went to take a look.

It was much bigger than I was expecting. They took out their entire bedding section and put the mini-store there. 

They had a lot of items. Kitchenware, bedding, fabric, bags etc. For Marimekko it was well priced. 

 I didn't want to spend to much so I limited myself to one plate (I was such a good girl!)

You can see all the goods on their site, which has much more than is in stores. Now if only LA can get a Crate & Barrel outlet where I can get the fabric squares for 25 cents again...

House Tour-Amy

Name: Amy Burkhart
Location: San Diego, CA
Square Footage: 820 sq ft.
Years Lived in: 1.5 Years
Rent or own: own
Describe your style: modern, retro, colorful
Blog/Website/Twitter: finderskeepers-designs.blogspot.com/

What's your favorite free/found item?
I found some old pieces of wood with interesting colors and graphics on them so I created an assemblage art piece with them. This piece hangs in our living room above the credenza and has been a big part of deciding the color choices throughout the entire house.


What's your favorite purchased item?
I would have to say either our mid-century dining room set or the wollypocket www.woollypocket.com/ I purchased and created a living wall with. I just love having an indoor vertical garden on our wall and my cats can't reach to eat the plants!

What has been your biggest obstacle in decorating/design?
Not enough time or money. Also, designing in a small space has its many challenges, particularly furniture placement and storage.


Is your design style organic or planned?
Mostly it's organic. I have so many ideas and those ideas constantly change or are built upon.

What is your favorite spot in the house?
The house is still not completed and is a work in progress, but so far I love our living room. You wouldn't think grey to be a warm color but it really is! Plus with all the natural light it's a very warm and relaxing room that I love to spend time in!


How has your style changed in the past 5 years?
These days I try to purchase a lot more used items rather than buying new. It takes a lot of time and patience but it's definetly rewarding when you find that unique item and you've saved something from going into the landfill! Plus I have saved a lot of money buying used items.

What is your favorite resource or store?
Craigslist, Ebay, swap meets and Etsy are where I have found my most prized treasures!

What is your biggest decorating/design pet peeve?
I don't like when rooms feel really disconnected from each other. This is often because room colors chosen just don't relate to each at all making each room feel like it belongs in a different house. I prefer rooms to flow nicely from one room to the next.

What has been your favorite design trend? 
Mixing old with new. Re-using/re-purposing items. I also really love this big interest in vertical gardening and getting rid of lawns in place of more water friendly plants (xeriscape) or edible gardens. I'm also pleased to see some people moving away from purchasing items from big name stores in place of buying handcrafted items from local artists or from places such as Etsy.


What is the biggest influence on your design/decorating style?
I read a lot of design blogs and I love Dwell and Modernism magazines.

What in your home dictates how you design/decorate?
Probably the size of the space, it's small, really small.

What is the simplest thing you have done that has made the biggest impact?
It would have to be paint (although I wouldn't call it easy). It's amazing how different our house looks just by giving it a new paint job!

Sunday Shopping

Yesterday Morgan of The Brick House had a Pop-Up Sale here in Los Angeles. I, of course, went...I mean, have you seen her house?

I got there about ten minutes early, I had to park a block away and there were about twenty people in line ahead of me, then about fifteen behind me. The general consensus was that it wasn't as big as most thought it was going to be.

They opened about fifteen minutes late which whipped everyone into a frenzy, people wanted IN.

There was a bum rush going in, people were crazy! I knew exactly what I wanted. I knew I wanted it when Morgan blogged about it back in February. I had scoped out where it was while I was in line and made a bee line for it. As soon as I picked it up a woman asked if I was sure I was buying it.  I imagine this is what those crazy wedding dress sales are like but with lamps.

I thought I would get a lot more but I didn't, I was conservative.

Print, pillow and a vase. The print is HUGE, I'm not sure I have a place for it just yet. Some shuffling might need to take place.

DIY Sun Jar

A few months ago I found some old lidded jars behind the house. I asked my landlady if I could have them for a project she said sure. I didn't know what I would do with them but I knew if all else failed I could store food or craft supplies in them. They've been sitting on my sewing desk for about two months now and then on Friday it hit me; Sun Jars!

In case you missed it Sun Jars were all the rage about five years ago (I'm always late to the party). A Google search will reveal loads of instructions on how to DIY these. They are crazy easy and pretty inexpensive. 

Instead of buying frosted glass spray paint for the jars I used Ikea's Amorf Frost  window film that I had used in the bathroom. I was going to stick it to the sides but it proved to be a difficult task. So instead I just rested it in there like a tube. It looks much better that way and kind of gives it modern look.

Before removing the backing

Once I cut and wrangled all the pieces of film in the jars I glued the solar lights to the lids. (I used some $3 ones from Target). The tops just pop right off and are the perfect size.

After each light fell off a couple of times I finally super glued the hell out of each lid, let is rest for 24 hours then closed the jar. This did the trick.

It's important not to frost the lid because if the solar panel can't charge then it won't work.

Sorry for the crappy picture. It's not dark out yet. The neat thing about this is that you can change the color of the light by taping colored plastic (like a Gatorade label) over the LED. If you were so inclined you could change the colors for any given holiday. The project cost me $15 total for six Solar Sun Jars.

So here's what I used:
6 Jars (free)
Amorf Frost Window Film (free but usually $4.99)
6 Solar Garden Lights $15

The Heat is On

Ugh the heat is here. Despite the fact I was born in Florida I have, and never will get used to the heat. I turn into a cranky child very quickly if it gets above 74 degrees. My poor husband, pity him.


This weekend we bought a a/c unit on Craigslist ($25!) knowing the heat would be here soon. It's a shame because when we left NY we left behind a really awesome window unit but since we were moving to a studio that didn't allow them we had no where to put it. Oh well, if hindsight were 20/20 right?

The trouble with a/c window units is that they're are fugly. All of them. Not as bad as wall mounted ones, I shudder to think of having to decorate around one of those.

So now that the 80+ temps are here and forcing me indoors I can cope a little better.

Ahhhh remote controlled luxury. To get around all the ugliness I had to get creative. The lady who I bought the unit from no longer had the mounting kit, so I had to buy the window panels separately. Another problem presented itself; I couldn't have the a/c on while I was changing unless I wanted the neighbors to get a free show.

So here's how I tackled that prob. I fashioned a white curtain by cutting out the corner of a white sheet I use for lining my bags and a tension rod. This thing hides all sorts of ugly. It covers the duct tape that I used in place of the panel frame, prevents the neighbors from seeing my naughty bits and makes it slightly less bright when the sun rises.

I was all set to sew and hem it but the husband convinced me not to. Once the blue curtains are drawn up to the unit you can't see the raw edges, pins or a/c panes and duct tape. That's a win to me, I see no reason to create extra work for myself.