one of my favorite design sites

Design Sponge, featured my Headboard as a "before and after"...uh, yeah, a little thrilled, to say the least!
and thank you everyone for all the kind comments on the site!

ahhhhh the headboard....

it's done! the headboard of LIFE (as I lovingly call it, is done!)
I am making it sound like it was some huge thing to make...it wasn't! but it sounds more interesting, non? (that's french, not a typo).
You got a quick lookie here,
and I know that you thought, "hmmmm, what's she going to do with that?"...
Voila :

 and here was more or less the process...(minus a few steps because I forgot to stop and snap a photo...I swear I am getting better at this documenting-each-step-of-way thing, but it is taking me longer than I thought to get used to doing it)



I started with a gorgeous frame...I am pretty sure there had been a mirror in it originally, as there was some left over silicone on the inside edge...Let me just take a moment here to tell you this...because I'll bet some of you are thinking "I really really REALLY want to make a cool headboard like Nadine, but I don't have the time or patience or budget to go looking for a fabulously ornate frame to use!" (I'm like a psychic right?)

Listen up, you do not NEED an ornate frame to make an amazing headboard!

Here are some ideas; use a simple rectangular frame, paint it in a high gloss fabulous color (like black or white or red or tiffany box turquoise-ish robins egg) and choose some great fabric...upholster the inside, as I did and presto, just as beautiful! Hate high gloss? no probs, choose matte, REALLY matte! it's stunning.
And, I see it like this, if the frame is plain-ish, go a little more over the top with the fabric colors/pattern or paint...if the frame is a statement piece in itself, you can go a little simpler in the paint or fabric because the shape is making a statement already...it's sort of like fashion, if you are going to wear statement shoes, you might opt for a simple black dress...if you are going for the statement dress, you might opt for a simpler shoe...you might also just freaking GO FOR IT...in which case I say AMEN, heck, we only live once right?...just make sure to take photos and share please! (Share...don't Scare!)
Another idea is to use a plainer frame and instead of painting it, why not upholster it too?! you can use a different fabric or the same fabric that you will use in the puffy headboard part...(I say use a different fabric...but what do I know?)...again, take photos and please share!
I chose to use the same paint color as my walls, A: because I love it, B: because I had leftover wall paint, C: because I have no budget.
I chose a fabric from...wait now...IKEA!!!!!! you are thinking, "oh NO you dint!!!!"
...yes I did!!!! Listen, I am going to tell you something here, for $6.00 how the heck can I possibly go wrong????...I actually blew the budget a little and bought 3 different fabrics before deciding to use the black and white. I chose a stripe first, because that was really what my original idea was. I even had a magazine photo, which I can't FOR THE LIFE of me find that I had seen and saved from years ago...oh well...something else will turn out stripey...I found it a little juvenile looking.

then I saw this little number and took pause...I wasn't nuts about the white background, however, I liked the drawing feel to it and the hints of pink and just the overall look of it...of course, when I got it home and held it up, (although I still really like it), I started getting all Feng Shui-ey about it and thought, "birdbrain, living in a bird house, up in a tree, tweet tweet, not much to say..." I don't know, I could free associate on this fabric till the cows come home, but I realized, NOPE...don't want birds watching my back, that's kind of for the birds...

and that is how I chose the black and white floral-ish/geyser-ish Wooshy type design...

As a last little Ikea fabric shopping point, may I also just say that many of the fabrics at Ikea have very large scale patterns...this might suck when making a skirt...but it ROCKS when making a headboard! I actually did not even go with the pattern, I chose a piece off the roll that was even in between the repeat and did not center it either...just adds something extra and super cool...dont you think?

From the collage photo above, you can see that this whole process only took a few steps...(minus the trips out to get all the supplies and schlepping La perfect baby with me to do all the schlepping...).

Once the frame has a few coats of paint on it, I place a large piece of gatorboard underneath it and traced the frame shape on it in chalk.

What's gatorboard? It's like plastic currogated cardboard

Why gatorboard? I did NOT want to start with heavy wood and saws and blah blah blah...so I decided to go with something light weight, easy to transport, relatively sturdy and most of all cuttable with a box cutter or xacto type blade.

Could you use hard cardboard? YES

Could you use wood or MDF? of course!

Was I being a little lazy? NO! I was being practical...leave me alone and stop judging...jeeeeeeze.

When the shape of the frame was traced onto the gatorboard I cut it out with my xacto to fit into the back of the frame. I will state the obvious here, when you put the board behind the frame you do NOT want it to fall out the front, you (really) want it to stay in the back, as though you have framed the board...

Ok, I then played around for a few hours with the best possible way to use the foam padding I bought. Let me just say, not the cheapest stuff around! I did not go to town and get the super thick stuff, I did not even go to the little town and get the kind of thick stuff...I went to like, the suburbs and bought 2 packages of the thin stuff...(remember my non budget)...turns out, it's great!

What also worked best for my piece was to cut the foam to fit through the FRONT of the frame...when I cut it bigger to really stuff it in and make it super pouffy, it just didn't look right...so again, I cut to to fit the front of the frame perfectly and then figured out where I wanted my fabric/pattern to line up.

When all this was done, I flipped it over (front of the frame facing down on the table), followed by the fabric (pattern facing down on the table), followed by the 2 layers of my thin-ish foam padding, followed by the piece of gatorboard cut to fit into the back. I now had a headboard sandwich...all there was left to do was staple gun the gatorboard onto the backside (lip) of the frame. I shot in a few staples and then really made sure that the fabric was not puckering or doing funky stuff on the front side by flipping in over a few times and checking. I also pulled the fabric to make sure it was smooth before stapling. It worked!

There is a bit of POUF to the board, but not too too much and the fabric is nice and smooth.

I also decided to hang the headboard about 8 inches higher than the mattress top to give it a little more grandeur...(needless to say, I used some good picture mounting slide-in heavy duty brackets to attach the headboard to the wall...hello?????...I mean c'mon right?!...couldn't resist some headboard joke! ;-P)

ET VOILA!

the headboard of LIFE!

my total costs? about $45

for good measure...la petite kid!

comments? would LOVE you to post them right HERE!

bathroom Avec Art!

amazing how such a small bathroom can get so many posts...so to sum this all up...I needed to put some of "me", "my career" into my bathroom as my career area (in Feng Shui) of this loft happens to be situated right in the bathroom...yes, we went through some of the pros and cons of the situation...but I have been thinking and working on what to do here...Here it is:

I played with some of my patterns, drawings and designs and came up with a collage.
I sewed bits and pieces together and created something that I felt really represented my design work.

I have so many interests and I felt that I was able to represent a lot right here in this one piece.

It might even inspire a new little venture...you'll have to stay tuned.Below is a shot of the stitching that is throughout the piece and brings together all the different aspects into one large image. What do you think?

I had such a great time making it!



Bathroom (Part 2) kind of done.

So, it's done!
The bathroom is charcoal gray, (very very very matte) and very cavish and fabulous and en-suite-ish, like the Cave de Snooze.
I would show you a photo...but, I want to make some art to go on the wall, since it is my career area, according to Feng Shui and the fabulous Katie. So I feel like I should be a good blogger, documentor of my life and projects and get them totally done before I really present them to you...then again, fuck it...you want to see? here you go! (kind of done)

i had bought this little chrome fixture years ago at a flea market and never used it

...using it now!

Surprisingly, I had another little moment at Home Depot when I needed more paint...nope, wasn't La Cage (as it was his day off), it was Stuart this time. My mother asked me the other day how it is that I know all their names...their aprons have that little spot where they have to write it in...(She actually thought I was really close with all of them?)
So I grab my dark gray paint chip and tell Stuart that I need it in a matte finish...he starts in on me...
"what are you painting?"
me: "my bathroom"
stuart: "oh, well then, I will give you semi gloss..."
me: "I asked you for matte, I am not buying semi gloss"
stuart: "you can't paint your bathroom in matte"
me: "watch me"
stuart: "you won't be able to clean it" (in a more aggressive voice and with some added eye rolling and pacing)..."I will give you eggshell finish"
me: "MATTE"
Helene, his boss shows up... "Stuart, give her what she wants! all the paints are treated for anti mold and she wants what she wants, GIVE IT TO HER".
stuart: big shrug, big eye roll, big sigh...very perturbed.
At this point, for informational purposes only, as I am NOT a diagnostition, Stuart is what I would describe as definitely falling somewhere on the Autism spectrum...a teeny bit Rainman-ish but possibly without the savant part...I think you understand.
I got my paint, he was pissed, to say the least.
me: "well, thank you, and for what it's worth, thanks for your advice..."
stuart: under his breath walking away "yeah, sure, anytime".
phew, made it out of the Depot again...

the soon to be headboard of LIFE!

My friend Lynn, the one who takes all the beautiful photos of Tess, is, well, how can I say this?...a bit of a collector. She recently moved in with her man and is in a bit of a purging phase right now. Being the great friend that I am...check out what I scored, helped her purge!

It's a big old frame with lots of detail and specialness and it is going to make the very best headboard EVER!
Katie told me that I should consider a headboard, that it is like "back up", "support", "got your back-ness" in Feng Shui...I was planning on drawing one on the wall, since the walls are like a giant chalkboard, but I still hadn't decided on what I wanted to draw. Then this beauty showed up!
I plan to paint it (probably the same color as the walls, that tone on tone thing, je Love), then, I would like to slightly pad the inside and upholster it in a fabulous fabric...I am thinking a stripe. I know that I have a photo in one of my magazines that I love (just have to find it!) that was similar to this...they used a striped fabric and it looked amazing...I will keep you posted on this project...I am VERY excited about it!
oh, and before I forget, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Feng Shui-ing my bathroom (Part 1)

So as you likely know, if you have been reading about this whole feng shui-ing process...seems my bathroom is where my career area is located...career down the toilet? well, a little...silver lining? Water is the element for this area and let's face it, there is no shortage of water in my bathroom!
My idea, after creating and totally loving our Cave de Snooze was to continue with the cave-ish, cozy, den-like feel of that area, since the bathroom is right there!
You know, just as an aside here, it's funny, I have never, in all my years of apartments, houses, places I have lived, North America, Europe, city, burbs (UGH YES, don't get me started) have I  EVER painted walls in a dark color...I have always gone for the airy, white, clean look of white! (NOT BEIGE, I did say WHITE! or close to it) but I am loving loving LOVING the charcoal gray of the bedroom alcove...you might want to give it a try...I am not trying to push you or influence you, but it's only paint right?...you might be pleasantly surprised!...which leads me right on back to the bathroom...

I had this high drama idea of very very high gloss navy blue...wouldn't it look great? the dark wood doors, the charcoal gray walls the navy blue curtains leading into the...TA DUH....high gloss drama bathroom...
Well, unfortunately the only drama was my kid, insisting on hanging out in the small bathroom with me, while I painted and basically placed herself in between my legs the whole time! (that includes when I was standing on the toilet seat to reach high places or on the edge of the bathtub)...yes, therein lay the drama!...the navy paint? not so much.
Let me also take you back one step...Home Depot.
My local Home Depot has this "fabulous" and I mean "FABULOUS" paint department guy...I call him "Cage aux Folles"(and up until this moment, only to myself) (need I say more? oh really?, ok, if you insist).
He's hilarious and flamboyant, skinny and fierce, black and wonderfully gay and a breath of fresh air in the very orange and big box Home Depot...I love that he's there, that he is oh so comfortable about being himself in a very power toolish kind of place...I love it!
Plus, no matter what I need there, I know that I will get a little wink/comment or maybe a finger snap as I give him my "hey you fierce guy, I get and appreciate you look".
So there I was with my deep dark navy paint color swatch and as I handed it to him he gave me one of those "oh jesUS, what is she up to NOW" looks...I grinned and simply and confidently announced
HIGH GLOSS!
He raised an eyebrow, gave me a little grin and then said, (a little under his breath)..."oh LOOK, I can see myself in my walls!!!!" then he snickered, ok...Cage Aux Folles, 1 point for you...damn, I hadn't thought about seeing my reflection in my walls, in the bathroom, OY...I was deeply ensconced in the whole drama thing, not the reflection thing.
Whatever.
I explained in my sarcastic and smart ass-ish way (which he APPRECIATES!) that this was pure and utter glamour, it was high drama, something HE should understand, and it is going to look fabulous...I told him that I was going to take some photos and that I could guarantee he would be running home to do the same thing in his bathroom. OK..."well, here's your can of drama darling" he muttered as he handed me the can of paint in his fabulous way...
I got home, cleared out the bathroom and got to work.
Hey, have you ever painted with high gloss?, Woah, kind of a drag (so to speak)...very liquidy!
That combined with putting navy over white?...Meh, not so enjoyable.
One and a half coats later, Tess knocking over the paint TWICE...Tess wanting desperately to be IN BETWEEN my legs the entire time (what's that about?)...I wasn't loving it...I REALLY wasn't loving it..the color I mean!

 (you should know that these photos make the navy look MUCH better than it actually looked!)

And you know what? All I could think of was La Cage! He would ridicule me! Sheeee-it!!!
I slept on it, I looked at it in the evening, in the morning, mid morning...I decided it wasn't horrible, but basically, the state of the walls was not smooth enough or good enough to really pull off high gloss...of course it was after the fact that my very BFF (who also happens to be an interior designer extraordinaire) messaged me that high gloss can look cheap if the walls are not absolutely perfect...great, a little late Kir!
Back to the ridicule of La Cage Aux Folles...
Then I had this genius idea...I still had leftover charcoal gray paint, how about if I went right over the navy with it? I flip flopped a little about painting the bathroom the same color as the bedroom, even though they ARE connected, but I wondered to myself whether it might look like I was just too lazy to pick another color or make another trip to the Depot, you know?
Screw it, I went for it...I kept thinking, "En suite" yeah, which really means nothing in the grand scheme of things, but whatever, "En suite" was my twisted rationale for painting it the same color.
I started, and yes, it looked lovely! (thank god!)
Unfortunately, I quickly ran out of paint...FUCK!
I mustered up my courage and went back to the paint department of my local Depot, after all, I could deal with Cage right? I am a grown woman, his ribbing is fine, he's hilarious actually...I can do this...
IT WAS HIS DAY OFF!!!!! 1 point for ME!

(and let me just say, he will NEVER know about this whole high gloss flop!)

stay tuned for the charcoal En Suite!

me and INStyle Mag...BFF's Forevs!

This adorable associate market editor from InStyle Magazine came into my booth at this past NY Gift Fair in August. I am always excited to see magazines that I LOVE in the booth, (same goes for stores I LOVE...of course, I love all the stores, but I just don't personally know all the stores, so when one comes in that I really know and love...it is SO exciting...even more so when they buy!) Anywhoo...
There she was, all sweet and nice and not even trying to be incognito, just a friendly nice gal!
She loved our CC boxes and our Be boxes and told me that she was scouting product for the InStyle December issue.
Now, it's not that I am blasé, apathetic or jaded, I AM SO NOT...you know that famous little sentence - You can't buy this kind of publicity!!! well, I really CAN'T!!!! so having a fabulous market editor from a fabulously favorite magazine like InStyle who wants to feature anything that is remotely connected to BlueDogz Design is A OK with me!!!
However, as with many style editors, one can never be sure that just because they came into your booth and loved your stuff, that alas, it will be featured on their glossy pages.
The next day, her assistant came in and asked for a whole boatload of samples...since we were packing up and closing about an hour later, I said SURE! take them NOW! She did.
Again, not any kind of a guarantee that the product would show up on the pages of the Mag.
After the show, they did what was expected and still totally exciting, they emailed for product info, pricing, inventory status etc, etc..I gave it all to them, gladly!
Yet again, a little while later, another email with more questions...may I also say, just because I really like polite, always polite! (not all mags are!) but...yadda yadda, still with no guarantees that BlueDogz Design products would be featured...hmmmmm
Low and behold, last week, earlier than expected, the phone rang...since it was pretty early, I ignored and stayed right where I was, in La Cave de Snooze. A while later, I got up and saw that my had been the early caller...(insert eye roll and UGH).
I didn't listen to her voicemail message (she tends towards to be a tad long winded...hmmm, now that I just typed that...oh nevermind...:-)) So, I just called her back.."yeah Mom, wassup?...kinda early no?"... "early?" she replied, "you are just lucky that I didn't call at 4am! because that was the exact time I was sitting on the lou (well, she said toilet) reading my new InStyle Mag and there on the glossy pages, WAY at the back (yes, she said WAY, just like that)...were your CC boxes!" and then, she said, they are $11, but if I want to buy them, how much would they be?..."$22 for you" I replied!
And that is how I found out that InStyle and me are BFF's forevs!...and...seems I am like only 1 degree of separation from CARRIE UNDERWOOD! (HA!)

before and after...the sleep cave...aka "La Cave de Snooze"

Coincidentally, before my whole Feng Shui overhaul began...I was really spending an unhealthy amount of time thinking about wall painting...Jenna Lyon's home (yes, her fabulousness, of J Crew-ness) , featured in every fabulous magazine imagineable was etched in my brain and frankly, driving me a little curazy! (specifically her bedroom, since mine was driving me nuts)
Here's a peek at my inspiration: (via http://habituallychic.blogspot.com/ )

Interestingly, I learned on http://habituallychic.blogspot.com/ that in fact her bedroom is NOT this gorgeous deep charcoal gray, but rather, this:

Black chalkboard paint...now, I happen to LOVE black chalkboard paint, but I prefer the charcoal gray version! (plus, if you use matte finish paint, guess what?  you can chalk it up all you want!)
Now, getting back to my place...as you likely know by now, it's a loft (just about 1000 sq feet), it has brick walls on both the east and west walls, windows on the north wall and the only actual wall walls are in the alcove/(slash)bedroom and leads to the small wall that is the front side of the open kitchen.
The alcove, is not anything other than a bedroom...it is the bedroom, and up until now, other than brick walls, the few walls we have were white...I kept feeling like I needed more color here, more warmth, honestly? (and this hopefully won't come back to bite me in the ass but), a little more interior drama!
Here is the before:

let's face it, do we EVER really make an effort in our BEFORE photos...nope!
(laundry basket, baby on bed, stool as bedside table...oy!)

and now...(drum roll please...) here is the AFTER!

...but you didn't think I was going to stop there did you?

heck no...

(notice that my lovely friends chalked a "happy birthday"

message onto my newly painted charcoal walls above the pillows...)

now it's becoming a true Cave de Snooze!

ok, so I didn't just paint...because once I had painted, I thought, hmmm how to go even further????

I had been thinking about separating La Cave de Snooze from the rest of the loft somehow and it all came to me, at once, in a moment of dramatic navy blue Ikea curtained brilliance (if I must say so myself)...

Ta Da! the curtains of LIFE! (as I lovingly refer to them) I am loving them!

(and you can imagine that napping is great for Tess in this plush, dark and cozy Cave de Snooze!)

I also switched out the old circa. 1993 big puffy pillow/santa fe-ish style covers for some simple gray velvet ones (yep, it's all about the velvet this week!) (perhaps my many years in the theatre?...hmmm will delve deeper when I have a minute...)

Anyhoo, gotta say, Snoozing in La Cave has been bliss...(and yes, maybe one day the crib won't be part of La Cave's decor, but for now, sorry Elle Decor, it's my reality!

So, what do you think?

Je L O V E it!

mi casa es Chi's casa...

Next on the list in my Feng Shui- ing overhaul was my front door...yeah, as you can probably guess, the post-it-note with the door number sharpie-d on was likely NOT going to cut it...it didn't!
Katie and I had a nice chuckle about that one!

yeah, pretty bad!

So, I decided, after searching high and low for the very cute modern plastic 3-d sticky white numbers that most of the other lofts had (and that my loft door did NOT have) and that I could not find anywhere!? and that the owner's couldn't seem to get their hands on either...I would use some clean white sticker numbers in the same place that the other doors on the floor had their numbers stuck...

Ok, so my numbers are not 3 dimensional, or plastic, but they are darn sticky, white, the same size, very

pretty and utilitarian to boot! (ahh door numbers are so useful!).

While I was at it, I tightened all the door screws (which miraculously stopped the horrid squeaking...who knew?!) and gave the whole thing a quick wipe down with a damp cloth and some sweet smelling soap...Listen, this all might sound a little wacky, but I want CHi to make MY Casa Her Casa...to feel free to flow in with all her gifts and surprises and goodness!

better...(and no more squeaking!)

Shui-status update:

front door- Check

red ribbons- Check

crystals- Check

Old unnecessary stuff OUT- Check

upside down ladies gone- Check

suddenly....Money is starting to flow in....

listen, I am just as surprised as you are!!!

hello Chinatown...hello crystals!

Along with the red ribbons as a quick getting-started place for my Feng Shui makeover/overhaul, Katie talked to me about a couple of places in the loft that could use some crystals...this worried me slightly...
I mean, as much as I want change, I DO NOT want my place to look like some crunchy granola person's macrame- ish looking, holistic-ish feeling, Chinatown decored lounge....am I being too superficial?...
So off I trecked to Chinatown! (about 2 blocks from where we live!)

Crystals, ok...ALRIGHT...crystals...whatever....
Katie told me I needed 2, OK...2 multi faceted crystals coming right up....She told me they needed some weight to them when I held them in my hand and needed to be hung on red ribbons/strings (again, in 9" increments and with intention!!!!). She told me I needed one on the heavy beam that runs right across the loft to cure the heavy beam and to disperse and balance energy...ok....I also needed a second crystal to hang up in the window that is directly down the hall and see-able from the front door into the loft, to keep the Chi within the space and not let it even be tempted to leave!
Katie told me that they wouldn't cost a fortune but to not expect them to be "like $5.00"...she was so right, I found them for $6.00 and frankly that was about all I could afford that day, $12 worth of crystals, done!
I took some time to look at all kinds of other cool stuff in Chinatown and was oh so thankful that Katie had not (yet) mentioned that I get one of those little flowing water statue- thingies!
oh please, NO NO NO! (plus the sound of flowing water inside makes me want to pee, like, pretty much all the time!)

I got home and hung up my crystals...here's what happened...

Within about 30 minutes of hanging them up, I had this urge to clean out what I didn't really need around anymore...(namely baby daddy's stuff)...Now let me say that I LOVE my baby daddy, however, right now, and with what he/we are going through, the old stuff does not need to be hanging out at my re-energized and newly fung shui-ed space...It was not hard, not sad, not even emotional, it was liberating and good, it was cleansing and happy, there was no anger, sadness or weirdness, it was just time to clean it up and move it, plus, alot of it was stuff he very likely needed, so in fact, it was good all around or win/win, if you prefer.

The ease with which this whole process took place was absolutely astounding.

then we moved onto ribbons...my career...upside down ladies

It was time for my Feng Shui phone consultation! YAY!
Katie had all the info she had requested and I was ready to go.
I put baby down for a nap, I put the air conditioner on "sans" the cold part (it makes white noise, essential for phone conversations in a loft with a napping baby) I sat myself in my entrance hallway (it's the furthest spot in the loft from La baby) and I called Katie.
About an hour later I got off the phone with goose bumps, what an amazing call that had been...I was so excited to get things going.
Here are a few of the first big things I learned.
My bathroom/kitchen sink area (all parts of the loft that DRAIN OUT) was smack dab in the center of my Career Area (yikes!)
My office was in my Love Area and my living room was in my Wealth Area...(hmmmm).

This is where we started...It was agreed that I would do the biggest rehaul remedy, I would move the office area of my loft to the living room side and vice versa...

There were a few obvious little things to get around, but being creative and liking a challenge, I was going to make this work! (I'll get back to this part later)
Then, how could I fix the fact that my career was stuck in the toilet/sink?
Well, Katie explained that we could make this work, (since I couldn't move the bathroom)...The good thing is that water is the main element for Career...considering that there is a bathroom in my Career, there is a lot of water (YAY #1)...also, mirrors symbolize water, and POW, there is a huge mirror in the bathroom (YAY #2)...ok, this was looking up.

First thing was to "intentionally" stop my money from draining out...Katie told me to take red ribbon in 9" increments (either 9, 18, 27...etc) and tie them around all the drains in the loft, as I tie the ribbons I fuel it with my intentions to hold my money IN, to not let it drain out, to keep it with me, safe and protected, NO leaking!
I had 3 places to do this (kitchen sink, bathroom sink and toilet). She also mentioned keeping drain stoppers in the tub/sinks to further keep finances from "leaking out".
Next was to really pump up this career area, which was still, well, my bathroom...How does one do that?...
I had this cool framed print of these 1940's ladies doing handstands on the beach hanging over the toilet, Katie asked if I would consider changing the artwork. She explained that what this image was actually doing was adding even more downward momentum to the downwardness of the already downward flushing toilet...YIKES!
I told her that it was interesting, because I previously had a vintage map of NYC in that same place, but one day got a little freaked out that perhaps NYC would go down the toilet for me and since it is an important place for my business, I had moved it...
Katie asked what has happened in business since I moved the NYC print out of the bathroom and I realized that now, this coming January, I won't even be exhibiting at the Gift Fair ...UH OH...Upside down ladies, OUT!

Katie and I had a long conversation about how I could get my career/what I do/where I want to go with it and where I want my future, business- wise, creatively into my bathroom area.
The main colors for the career area are black/blue/deep colors...She liked the idea of me printing some of my patterns/artwork and framing and hanging them in the bathroom, or even painting the bathroom, or even painting one of MY patterns right onto the walls like a sort of wallpaper...such cool ideas! (stay tuned)
Katie also asked me to write down my career/business goals and dreams and place them in a special box in the bathroom somewhere, of course, like with all the cures, with intention!...
I started with the simplest, the red ribbons, within 20 minutes of getting off the phone, the ribbons were tightly tied around all outgoing pipes, oh, and the upside down ladies were off the wall and the nail holes in the wall were patched up with filler...
Next up would be a little trip to Chinatown, packing up what no longer served me, and furniture moving...

It all started with a box!

As some of you know, things have been, well, eventful in my life lately...in a rather uneventful kind of way...
Personally, well, things could be better, baby daddy has had a rough go of life lately and has felt that working on his stuff without Tess and me would be better...ok then.
Business has been, as I like to put it challenging! And ya'll know that by challenging, I mean...it sucks!
Change has been coming painfully slowly...I have been getting some really fun and some REALLY THE OPPOSITE OF FUN free lance design jobs and that is good, but I still need alot more to be ok with this...
Raising this perfect baby is a blessing, and sometimes doing it all by myself feels like I might need to throw myself off a bridge for a second, (but I have to say, quite remarkably, those moments are few and far between).
My very favorite hobby in the world, Roller Derby, which at moments felt a lot more like a way of life than a hobby, has taken a back seat for a plethora of reasons; physical (a tear in my right shoulder), logistical (how to get to several, multi hour long practices with a baby?),  and just basically getting grumpy about stuff that I know I can't change...which makes me grumpier...did I ever mention that I don't really like or get Organizational thinking? (and by Organizational, i mean the thinking of Organizations)
...maybe not? well I just did.
Anyhoo, it was time for some cleaning, cleansing, changing, moving, energizing...
This story is pretty amazing and part of what's even more exciting is that that it is JUST starting...

About a year ago I received the coolest email from a woman named Katie in Los Angeles.
She wrote one of those emails that as a business owner, you just love love love to get.
She had purchased one of my Mini Ribbon Boxes from a super cool store in Venise, CA and she absolutely loved it...Furthermore, she was a Feng Shui specialist and wanted to talk to me about maybe doing something together...creating a product together, a Wish Box.
She too had a new baby girl and she just sounded like one of those people you know you like instantly, When I told my BFF Kirsten about her, I said, "you know?! she's like us!"

As exciting as this sounded, I was swamped with life, a new baby, not too sure that I ever wanted to manufacture anything ever again in my entire life and not convinced that I would ever be capable of selling anything ever again in my entire life (apparently I was feeling a little bit gloomy that day).

We bounced a few emails back and forth again and then lost touch for several months.
I then touched base and suggested some friends of mine who manufacture beautiful silk boxes, that I could make the introduction for her...but she wasn't convinced...we again lost touch.

Then a few weeks ago, Katie got in touch again.
She emailed and told me that she was back in Alabama, (where she's originally from) and that she wants to make the Wish Box with the BlueDogz Design Paris Red CC box and that she would buy them from me and would I give her a bulk price? She was 100% clear about what she wanted! She had thought this through.

She also gave a little mention in her email that she was giving feng shui consults over the phone...

Well, that got me thinking! We set up a phone date.

A few days later (well, it could have been more than a week realistically, as we are both on baby schedules) we spoke on the phone. I was so right, I knew I would like her and that she was "like us".

It came to me in an instant, "Hey Katie, I only have 28 of the boxes you want left in inventory, how about we make a deal?, I send you all the boxes and you give me a Feng Shui consult?"...She loved the idea and we were off and running!

I made her a horrible video walkthrough of the loft we live and I work in (and by horrible I mean that for some cacamamie  reason I thought that I should turn the camera horizontally or vertically at different times...WTF?) She later explained that it was fine, she watched it on her laptop and actually laughed out loud when she had to physically turn her laptop to stay with the program!

I also drew out a floorplan of our space and some still photos of our front doors (the loft door and the actual building entrance) and gave her some number info, street address and unit numbers.

Lastly, she asked me to focus on 3 objectives, areas that I wanted to change, boost, improve in my life.

I sent her everything via email and we set  up a consultation date for the following week.