machinemachine lab: vintage bark branches

i happened across machinemachine's vintage bark branches when shannon posted a wrap-up of her trunk show on kaua'i. instant crush! there are so many possibilities . . . from a whimsical coat rack to a charming and unexpected xmas card display. since so many readers also share my love for diy design, shannon kindly agreed to whip up a tutorial so you can make one or two of your very own.

just like small kid time, let's all give a friendly, happy aloha to shannon for stopping by!

{how to make vintage bark branches}

i dreamt up these vintage bark branches for a koke'e themed machinemachine trunk show at halele'a gallery in september. prior to the event, some friends and i booked a cabin in koke'e, located in the magical uplands of kaua'i, for a couple days. when we weren't eating, hiking, or cooking, we spent our time spread out on the lawn getting crafty.

we completed about thirty branches for the event, scattering them in clusters, along walls, under tables, and strapped to clothing racks. in the end, the vintage branches are not just a lovely visual symbol of the uplands, they also represent the act of binding and nurturing nature, like wrapping an ace bandage around an ankle.

{supplies}

• sturdy branches
• 1-inch wide strips of assorted fabric 15"-30" long (i use knit polyester, it's slightly stretchy with great geometric prints)
• thread
• scissors
• glue

{basic branch}

start at the base of the branch. lay about 2-inches of the end of one fabric strip on the branch and wrap the strip around itself and the branch, hiding the start of your fabric tail. keep wrapping your way up the branch, making sure to completely cover the bark by slightly overlapping the strip upon itself as you wrap upwards.

if you want to change colors or need to add another fabric strip make sure to begin wrapping with a new strip well over where your old one left off. if you reach a point where the branch splits into a y-shape, fret not! all you have to do is wrap about 1.5-inches up both arms of the y, then resume wrapping just one arm of the y.

to finish the tip of the branch, wrap the fabric all the way up, leaving about a 50-inch tail then tightly twist thread around the tail, cinching it into a nub. put a dab of glue on the thread, it should dry clear.

{advanced :: doily bark branch}

for this version, you will need a few doilies cut into strips wide enough to wrap around the branch (like a hot dog bun). you will need a needle and thread to stitch up the back side of the doilies, taking pains to allow for a .5-inch seam allowance, since doilies tend to unravel when cut.

{uses}

make a few and put them in a big vase in the corner of the room; hang some from the ceiling; hang a few on the wall; bind 3 to 4 together with left over fabric strips and set them on a table; hang ornaments off them during the holidays; give them away as gifts!

me again! it really is a simple project . . . especially if you have lots of scrap fabric tucked away.

many mahalos to shannon for sharing a little craft love with us! and, do click over to the machinemachine etsy shop to peek all the fresh new styles. you can also locate your neighborhood stockist over on the official website.

will you be gathering up fallen branches and vintage fabric to decorate your nest?

{photo credit: top/blenda montoro, tutorial/shannon hiramoto}

photo.phile: jyoti mau

the drizzly skies hovering over my neighborhood today seemed to brighten while gathering up images for today's photo.phile. i recently became reacquainted with the work of jyoti mau, and found myself blissfully intrigued by the most magical peeks underwater. (fyi: a mu'umu'u heaven invite deserves credit for the introduction.) the oahu photographer also captures the most evocative settings from her travels, and her hollywood series is resonating with me at the moment with its cotton candy skies combined with the twinkle of lights spread far across the city.

i hope you enjoy these glimpses of jyoti's work . . . after all, they were filed away for a rainy day!

{photo.phile notes}

what inspired you to pick up a camera and start clicking?
i can't remember, although i do recall being quite young and feeling something glorious every time i went to longs to pick up my prints. the anticipation was great because i adored looking at these tiny rectangles of wonder. they always gave me more to think about and the surprise of what i was about to behold was purely fun. i loved seeing people and things in photographs, and i appreciated how i could be taken back into specific experiences and moments in a finer way.

with time i developed a sensitivity towards the act of framing a photo and i also found myself becoming more critical of composition. photography seems to have always been a natural extension of innate desires and i continue to be grateful for the satisfaction that i'm given from this simple act.

photography muses that spark your imagination?
years ago i worked for a kind photographer named paul chesley. he has taken hundreds of thousands of images in his career - all prior to our digital era. he worked extensively for national geographic for the past four decades and his images of the pacific and asia in particular are so beautiful. i am very thankful for the time we spent together where i was able to learn, merely through looking at his hundreds of thousands of slides, what can make an image last in one's mind.

also i am always impressed by the work of mario testino. i find his work truly compelling, and it has brought new ideas into my life that i am very thankful for.

kelly [condor]'s work is so carefully thought out and so unique. i have always been inspired by her since the first moment we met several years ago. she's a dear friend and an honest artist. she creates beauty all around her and im always moved to think higher when i see what she's up to.

my sweet mother has an amazing eye. she is naturally gifted in effortlessly seeing things in nature that seem to appear to only her. i truly adore her photographs of our islands. her work makes me appreciate hawaii even more.

favorite island moment caught on "film"?
there are many, but all seem to be of my godchildren at different beaches. probably because for 9 years they have been my most fanciful of subjects here in the islands. a particular image that stands out is from an afternoon where my twin god daughters couldn't stop running their happy little bodies around the vast beach of polihale. their dark skin and hair against the golds of the sand and the whites of the 'ehukai made some beautiful moments.

which camera stays close by for everyday shooting?
my well loved and well used yashica. the one i have now is so magical. thank you keith.

pay it forward with the best photography advice shared with you:
keep taking pictures.

local delights that are a must in your beach picnic basket?
a govinda's guava juice and some apple bananas.

mahalo jyoti!

edwin ushiro: preceeding sunday

to counter imponderability

hello all! edwin ushiro recently sent a preview of his new show in the great northwest so if you call seattle home definitely make your way to belltown and the roq la rue gallery to check it out. for those who just discovered h|h this year (welcome welcome!), edwin is a mixed media artist from maui who now calls los angeles home. his muse still reaches back to childhood when chilling obake stories of creepy specters who haunt the islands from the land to the sea and all points in between were traded at sleepovers and over campfires.

a casual glance may only see carefree, innocent scenes of small kid time, but i like to think that the many layers worked into each piece act as an unspoken reminder that all is not as it seems. even though i spook easily, i always find edwin's depiction of childhood in hawaii comforting despite the whispers of grisly circumstances lurking beneath the surface. for the preceeding sunday show, kaena point's gateway to the spirit world (shown above) and a temptress apparition luring unsuspecting paniolos to their demise are among edwin's latest collection of local legends.

that said, the idea of passing by the most spine-tingling depiction on a daily basis is too much for my faint constitution to even consider (much to the chagrin of my mister who always seems to covet the scariest obake tale come to life), however more wistful remembrances of days gone by along with sweeter hawaiian myths do pop up every so often.

all signals configuring to a position . . .

tingling sensation of adorable reminiscentia . . .

the 1921 wall

a muffled concept of what we considered ubiquitous

isn't edwin's contribution to the lost underground art project fabulous? (lauren gregg's charlie is also quite delightful, btw.) the piece was already sold by the time it crossed my radar, but happy to see a local artist get some love from one of the islands' all-time favorite tv series filmed in hawaii!

a few pieces from edwin's seattle show (co-starring yoskay yamamoto) already have a red dot, however purchasing inquiries by phone or email are welcome.

• show dates: now to sun, oct 10th
• where: roq la rue gallery, 2312 2nd avenue, seattle
• gallery hours: wed to sat, 1p to 6p & by appointment

go with the flow

 

we have a last minute visitor tomorrow so i am in a tizzy tidying up our nest to make everything pretty as can be when our landlord's appraiser walks through our door. while i slip on my best martha stewart impression, enjoy a peek of a fun print designed by california illustrator mark giglio who took inspiration from architect craig steely's lava flow 2 house built on the big island.

the print is one from an artist series to commemorate dwell's tenth anniversary.

limited edition. 100 available. price tag $125. find them in the dwell shop while they last!

joie studio x shop toast

honey bunny

tina from joie studio recently sent along peeks of her recent collaboration with shop toast! the charming honey bunny first popped up at uniquela's xmas fair as a springtime preview, but just took up residence in the online shop a few weeks ago. we first met another shop toast creation splashed across their cheerful gift crates earlier in the year, and now the letterpressed emoticons double as sweetly designed shorthand to note your happy news or apologies if you have done someone wrong.

joie's antique presses, a golding pearl & vandercook, have been in constant production over the summer with many of the new designs requiring multiple passes through the machinery to print the two to four color illustrations. in addition to the shop toast cards, hawaiian style greetings inspired by tina's island home have arrived online along with a cheeky robot design destined to be pinned on the cubicle wall of your favorite geek.

cheeky cheery faces

hawaiian style

you can scoop up all of the featured designs in joie studio's etsy shop, and the shop toast note cards should be ready for your purchase at the kaimuki storefront this week.

also, cali readers up and down the coast have a few chances to meet tina over the next two weekends. (hint: word is a toast surprise is in the works for sf.):

{bizaar bizarre j-pop summit}

• when: sat, sep 18th - 11a to 6p
• where: japantown, sf
• tix: free admission to one & all!

{second annual l.a. printmakers fair}

• when: sat, sep 25th - 9a to 5p
• where: international printing museum, 315 w. torrance blvd, carson
• tix: $5 general admission / $4 students