I ♥ BOCAGE.

There are no two ways around it. I love Bocage. This haven, this "movable feast of treasures for discerning designers," as Bocage proprietress Stephanie Bodine so perfectly nails it, has become my go-to showroom for THE most luscious findings for my hair adornments and jewelry. I think that this place actually revived my soul. My actual soul. I am not even kidding.

My friend, Jay, suggested I contact "this super cool girl" who owns a showroom of jewelry materials that he thought would suit me exactly right. His big sell- knowing my innate need to connect with East Coast peeps- was that she and her husband, owner of the kick ass Playback Recording Studio, have more recently moved to California from New York. They are an incredibly talented couple, insanely well versed in the world of design and music, and I took to them immediately. Also I want to kidnap their dog, Charm, and make her Mars' new BFF.

But I digress.

Bocage is a dynamic melding of vintage yumminess and edgy innovation... the unconventional meets traditional in an opium den of embellishments. It's seriously like that. I get light headed if I spend too much time in there. But giddy. Light-headed giddiness is the best thing ever. And that's Bocage in a nutshell.
Stephanie is unbelievably brilliant. She's got a knack for just about everything design related... and by "knack" I mean she's a genius for creating multi-layered beauty with any material you place in front of her. For someone who's been on Martha Stewart, Style TV, is designing charms for Waxing Poetic (like the Wish tonic bottle above), has been featured in Nylon, Flaunt, Time Out New York, and New York Magazine and...AND has contributed projects in both books, Material World and 50 Tease, you'd think she'd be an intimidating or condescending bitch. Nope. Neither. Not even close. She's a sweetheart.

Here she is with Martha. (I'm not jealous. Not one bit.)

For those of you not in the Santa Barbara area, you'll miss out on her fabulous mini-universe of a showroom. But, you can still purchase unique treasures from New York to Paris for your own designs at www.BocageNewYork.com .

A few of Bocage embellished designs below:
A stylin' key necklace...
LOVE this world of nature and deer bell jar...
And this amazing meticulously beaded floral bouquet... Stunning.
Now shut off the TV, quit your texting, hop on over to Bocage, and get crackin' on design awesomeness of your very own.

HUGE HUGE SUPER HUGE Clearance Sale!!!!

Everything on the Ciara Obscura website is 30-40% off.
Clearing out Spring/Summer 2009
Making room for the FALL/WINTER Collections...
Go nuts!
www.CiaraObscura.com

NEED this.

Can you STAND this?!!!! I have my friend, Jen, to thank for the discovery of this gypsy caravans collection. Anytime my mind goes to settle inside the dull and void, I sneak a quick fix off these photos and feel giddy in my belly. Instant happiness. I imagine myself kickin' back sipping some mint tea and honey in a mismatched tea cup and a few cookies on the saucer, spread out crap loads of canvas and paint and inks and old magazines and fabric and ModPodge and maybe buttons or something and listening to a mix of Devotchka, Nick Drake, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Built to Spill and, say, The Pixies. I'm also wearing my bare feet instead of my big clunker shoes and a little pink and ivory sundress with a fancified stick in my hair. Also chocolate... a dark chocolate and caramel stash in a few of the trinket boxes. Sebastian is out in the garden and Mars is passed out in the sunshine.
See? Instant happiness.
A series of jewelry and hair adornments that are inspired by this wave of gypsy bliss is soon be be launched in my Fall/Winter collection. Cannot freaking wait.

Intermission and Limbo

That's where I am... right in the middle of everything but having no idea where to place myself for the next step. Our studio is a mess, but I'm thinking that just means there's creative productivity in the works.

One, I'm preparing the final designs for the F/W accessories collection. This is my super exciting source of anticipation and life force until I get the final pieces off and running online. Lots of sketches, materials sorting, visual referencing, journal and post-it notes, and more ideas to sort through to design a completed product. I think they're going to be crazy fun bits of wearable goodness... but more on that in the next few weeks (Due to launch mid-late August).

Two, I was offered a great side project for consulting work on an illustrated children's book. This came out of nowhere (it always does) and am now trying to balance my already insanely booked time between my own business and this project. But, I have to admit, it's been a freaking thrill ride for me... parts of my brain that haven't been used in a while suddenly reactivated and it's feeling pretty damn empowering. I likie.

A couple of big tasks to be accomplished and I'm not real sure how or when I will have the wherewithal to straighten out which item on the to do list to tackle next. Two very different projects, one short circuiting brain. I find myself just staring at the wall until the misfiring stops so I can get back to completing the task at hand. Should be interesting.

Coming soon... a couple of featured artists to wow you and make you want to chuck your television and make something awesome with that scrap box of randomness you promised to get to but instead have nestled it into the far reaches of your garage or bedroom closet.

Michele's Wedding... Yaffo, Israel

Stunning.
Michele is a customer who found my hair adornments, I think, through the Etsy shop. She wanted a little blue, a little purple and a little sparkle. Obviously, it's her very self that ends up sparkling her wedded bliss... the hair pretties were just along for the ride. Thank you, Michele, for sending me these gorgeous photos of your lovely wedding day in Israel.

Sweet... Endearing...
Congratulations to Michele and her new husband. Onward to a great and wonderful life together♥

Tara and Alena's Wedding

I met Tara and Alena (middle two lovelies in photo above) when Tara was getting a sweet blossoming Cherry tree tattooed on her back by Sebastian several months ago. She was steady and calm during the process and managed to put up with my incessant talk about her work as a special education teacher for students with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities. Her passion, devotion and holistic knowledge of the incredible children and young adults that she works with was inspiring and matched beautifully with the socially just and progressive work of Alena. As the Program Manager for Just Communities , she institutes training for educators and other partnerships with local schools, aiming to close the achievement gap and promote racial justice, equity and inclusion. Their partnership in community activism, progression and awareness is a fine testament to our humanitarian roles in society; their dedication seems boundless.

Both share a love for creating the good stuff... Alena knits, cooks and gardens; Tara writes, crafts zines and stencils. But both love to dance ~ something that was brought to my attention right off the bat as they tried on the hair clips and jewelry with a bust a move test run. A highly entertaining and endearing sight.

It was an honor to have had the lucky break of creating custom hair adornments and jewelry for their wedding this past Spring. Both Tara and Alena, with Tara's lovely sister, Kristen, and their adorable friend, Raquel, wore the most vibrant and playful (and totally dance worthy) dresses. All four of these gals were a super treat to work with and I had a blast creating the pretties (feathers and felt and buttons and a bangle and flowers and birdcage veil... soooo much fun).

I will refrain from hopping on my soap box here as best I can and bypass my ranting about social and political justice, but I will have to share that Alena and Tara are a beautiful couple who will live a long and blissful life together. Prop.8 can kiss my fanny. *Off soap box*

Read a bit more about them in their Q&A below:
♥ What's your most treasured possession?
alena: My wedding ring and an antique vanity case that Tara gave me.
tara: that is really hard. i try not to treasure posessions too much, but maybe pictures, my computer, my file of letters and things people (and alena) have made me?

♥ The one band that you can listen to in any mood, any time of day, any place?
alena: Mirah or Mystic.
tara: um, same actually. Mirah or Mystic.

♥ Imagine a single room all to yourself, all for you. What's inside?
alena: Lots of potted plants, especially herbs and orchids.
tara: a device music comes out of and separate desks with immaculate organization for: sewing, writing/zine-writing, and other crafts/creation.

♥ Share a quote.

alena: “If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.” - Audre Lorde

tara: "If you are coming to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you are coming because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." -- Australian Aboriginal Woman

♥ If not the profession that you are currently in, then what?
alena: Hmm, I would teach healthy sexuality or make cupcakes for a living.
tara: another form of social justice organizing, non-profit or otherwise. Something directly dismantling oppression.

♥ If you could spend a day with anyone, past or present, who would it be? Why?
alena: My grandmother (who passed away 15 years ago) when she was my age. I'd love to get her honest perspective on our family and who we've all become.
tara: honestly, my chosen family. really doesn't get better.

♥ Favorite hero/heroine in fiction?
alena: Hmmm I'm not sure, but my favorite book is The God of Small Things. I love books written from the perspective of children.
tara: i don't typically read that kind of fiction, though i love fiction. these kinds of questions are too hard for me! i cant pick a favorite book even.

♥ What piece of jewelry or hair adornment do you own by Ciara Obscura?
alena: My wedding adornment with a white orchid and birdcage veil, a big flower with a pink center, and three small flower clips. I love them!
tara: a flower/feather broach and bangle bracelet with matching feathers. I love them.