Shelter Together

In another effort to bring awareness to the tragedy in Haiti, my first project in studio design is to build a make-shift shelter out of found materials. A group of four others and myself have come together to build this shelter. Each member of our group was told to write a short narrative about the shelter we're building (Solo Reflection), then we were asked to draw a space that has all of our ideas incorporated into it. Above is that illustration.

Relief for Haiti

"In the wake of the devastating earthquake that recently hit Haiti, we cannot help but think how fortunate we are to have shelter that offers protection from outside elements and, equally important, affords us with a sense of security." Above is a flier informing the UNCG student body of the fundraiser we are having to aid Haiti. Come support the cause!!

Solo Reflection

Books Books Books

"Sanctuary," a term which heres means refuge, a place of comfort and peace.

Juliet Sinclair, was a 10-year-old, vivid reader. She wanted to fill her head with as much information as she possibly could, and she achieved this through books. Books on philosophy, astronomy, architecture, design, and dolphin riding. Anyone that knew Juliet also knew that she was much too intelligent to play hide and seek with the rest of the neighborhood kids. The other ten-year-olds considered her to be a loser-loner-freak, and would often taunt her. Juliet however, ignored them. She was too busy escaping to magical worlds, where children knew how to fly, lions knew how to speak, and going 20,000 leagues under the sea was another adventure.

On one sunday afternoon, Juliet Sinclair had just finished reading a 538 page book on how to build and design make-shift shelters. She enjoyed it so much that she thought it would be a fantastical idea if she built her own shelter. She would build a place where she could read and enjoy her enormous collection of books. Juliet would design a space where she could find comfort and peace. So it was made. Juliet, created a structure out of plastic rods, plastic bags, cardboard, fabric, and glass. The plastic rods where assembled and created the skeleton of the little house. Cardboard was placed over the rods to create the walls. Large plastic bags where then placed over the cardboard to prevent water damage from the rain, and finally fabric was placed on the inside of the shelter for a warm and cozy feeling. Juliet left an opening on the ceiling to let in natural light during the day, and at night she would be able to look up at the stars she read about. She also created a hanging chandelier out of old beer bottles she found in the back seat of her father's Pathfinder. She placed the chandelier near the skylight to allow the reflection of the sun. Juliet Sinclair created a "sanctuary," a term which here means refuge. She created a peaceful place where she could leave the ugliness of her world and escape to the wonderful possibilities that a story can hold.

New Semester :: New Start

After a short and much needed break from the trials of school and studio, I'm back for yet another semester. I must say, I was definitely dreading coming back to school (as would anyone who just had a month of sleeping in, lazing around, and frolicking in the cold crisp air of december). To my surprise however, I walked into all of my classes with hopeful eyes and a ready eagerness to learn as much as I possibly can!! It's a new semester and a new start, and I can't wait to get back into the swing of things!!

Living in a Tree

Lately I've been feeling a little drained and I've been trying to find sources of new inspiration. I've realized that as time goes on, you lose a little bit of the innocent spirit that's inside of you. You begin to forget the simple things that use to make you uncontrollably happy, and unfortunately everything around you gets tangled up into a discombobulated mess.

I spent a few days searching for what really does inspire me. Then, out of the blue, I stumbled onto my admissions essay for the School of Interior Architecture and Design. We were told to write about a place that inspires us, a place that makes us want to be designers. I read through the 250 word essay and reached the last line..... "Not just one place, but the natural world around me inspires me to create beauty."

That sentence reminded me why I came to this program and why I'm going through this.

Soo... lets look to the natural world for inspiration !!

The Dancing Tree

The Cherry Blossom. Always an amazingly beautiful thing to see. Its flowers are nearly pure white, tinged with the palest pink, especially near the stem. They bloom and fall within a week, so catching sight of one is pretty spectacular.

Lets Design...

A stunning room! Done in simple light colors and patterns, set against a dramatic canvas of a cherry blossom imitation.

[Image taken from Material Girls blog site... more amazing tree paintings on walls found there.]

Lulu Painting

A child's play room, made to resemble a park. Never to young for imagination.

The Hydrangea.

I was stumbling through Anthropology's website (die for the store) the other day and I found this absolutely delightful knob. It's so cute I decided to put in my current studio design.

Fashion Designers also take inspiration from the natural environment. Lucy Liu in a Giambattista Valli Gown, paired with gold Christian Louboutin pumps.

There are many ways to be inspired, everyone is drawn to something new and different. These are a few examples of how the natural environment inspires design.

Don't forget what makes you imaginatively innovative! What inspires you?

Giving Back to God's Green Earth

In my Studio Design class, we're learning about the construction and development of kitchens. We are also further learning about sustainability and the amazing benefits the world will have from it. In studio we were all told to come up with a sustainability event, that would give back to the community around us. A group of friends and I decided to create a children's poem, titledGiving Back to God's Green Earth, and read it at a Sunday School and a local daycare.

Below is the poem and pictures drawn by Danielle Waye::

The children all loved the story and afterwards we helped them plant radishes so they could be apart of giving back to God's green earth...

Material Girls

So lately I've been looking through different blogs, for inspirational and imaginative ideas. Quite luckily, I stumbled upon a blog cite called Material Girls. The cite was designed by five self proclaimed material girls: Emily Johnston, Lauren Haskett, Julia Buckingham Edelmann, Jill Seidner, and Hilary White. Each woman covers a different city and blogs about amazing new treasures they find. This blog is absolutely inspirational and I encourage you to visit it!! Immediately.

An example of the Material Girls blog ::

Viva La Glam

by: Emily Dallas

Miss Dallas writes: I took a trip to the Neiman’s downtown today to get a last minute glimpse of the exquisite Jan Showers’ room that has been on display for the past few weeks. The “living room” vignette is on the second floor and the display ends November 5th! (yes, tomorrow!) So go check it out if you are in the area.

I normally don't go for the glam style, but when I read this article and visited Jan Showers website, I found an amazing appreciation for it. I love the modern feel of the furniture mixed with the natural elements such as the trees, branches, and flowers on the tables. The mix of geometric shapes on the throw pillows and the curvilinear chandelier also provide nice contrast. I've recently read that mirrored furniture is very in style right now and many designers are using it. When done in the right way I think that it can be quite fantastic. In Jan Showers design glass mirrored features are found on the frames of the chairs and on the end tables.

Here are a few mirrored pieces I found

on the Neiman Marcus website.

[completely out of my price range, but absolutely lovely to look at]

Antiqued Mirrored Chest

Handcrafted wood and eglomise chest has reverse painted floral designs on its top and the faces of its four drawers.

Priced at :: $2,199.00

Mirrored Vanity and Vanity Seat

Antiqued mirrored veneers cover the select hardwood frame of this stylish vanity with gold- and silver-leaf accents.

Priced at :: $699.90 (Vanity)

$459.00 (Bench)

"Equis" Mirrored Chest

Sophisticated and compact, this chest with beveled mirrored veneers make a handsome addition to the bedroom, living room, office, or foyer.

Priced at :: $699.00