its all just so GADGET-y.

over the past few months, i have been toying with the idea of purchasing the iPhone. yes, no one needs to tell me how awesome they are. i already know. i've used them. yes, one would streamline my life and keep me more organized. of course it would make me look cool. but do i really need that much convenience at my fingertips? i just don't know yet...but, i mean, are we just too gadgety now? can we survive as a culture without these "things"? absolutely not. we are beyond dependent. they live our lives for us. and who doesn't want that? they make living easier, so we have end up having less interaction, less conflict, and ironically, less time.

the iPad is the perfect example of how its gone too far. first: the name. really? Apple....come ON. this cannot be for real. and what does it gives us that numerous other Apple products don't already?....nothing.

yeah. just a huge iPod/iPhone....whats the big deal?

i only know of a few people who actually even want the thing. most designers think its silly, myself included. its just one more thing for people to have. how much unnecessary junk do people need?

oh wait. i spoke too soon.

yes. how much is too much? maybe when you start buying gadgets for your gadgets. you might want to reevaluate. and start the purging process. purging always makes me feel better. because i'd like to live with the bare minimum. but since i'm constantly accruing goods, i constantly have to purge down to just what i need. it's a process, but good for the head.

ronald might be mad when she gets back and sees this post because i usually vent to her about this kind of stuff, but, i mean, the iPad? gimme a break.

over and out,
larry

life cleanup and LVL shoutOUT.

now that ronald will be gone in ecuador for the next two weeks, i will have a little more time on my hands. some of that time will be spent missing her, of course, but i talked to her when she was on layover in HOTlanta, and she made me realize i needed to clean my life up, really bad. ronald gave me a two week deadline; mop it all up by the time she gets back to the states. i can totes handle that. after a night of organizing, i got my eight hours and started over my week this morning. things are looking up already. if i'm this productive in one day, just think of how cleaned up my life will be by the time she returns! i'm on my way.

i have also realized that i should use blogging as a form of stress relief, so after a hellacious week last week, im going to start turning to blogging, instead of other vices. on that note: i was doing my daily flickr check today, and noticed some very fun sketchbooks that our friend Leana made, by hand of course! this girl is talented. we have both known her since our second year, so about five years now. she is a potter as well as a designer. i have three of her pots. and they are gorg, dahling.

that blue is fantasiche.

i took the bookmaking class with her our fifth year, and she has just run with it. her etsy store has some of her handmade books and they are so cute! i think i will be getting one of the vintage map sketchbooks.

look at that spine. i love red thread!

the girl has an amazing attention to detail. while we were in school, we called ourselves LVL. which is funny because LVL is laminated veneer lumber, which we learned about in school. did we know that, or even care? no way. its our initials, in the order we sat in mario's studio second year, a LVL sandwich. so, check this grrrrl out. she got skillz. i'm sure if you contacted her, she'd do special orders. but, perhaps i shouldn't make that assumption or offer that. [but she's the sweetest ever, so i'm sure she'd do whatever she had time for.]

in other news: my roommate and i ran the Monument 10K this weekend, and it felt so amazing to cross that finish line. we're running the richmond marathon in november. that finish is going to feel spectacular. so get out there! start slow, but enjoy the sunshine and exercise for your health!


over and out,
larry

really? REALLY? i'm outta here.

don't get me wrong, i love me some rachel but...

when this is the cover of an architectural design magazine, you know the architecture field ain't doin' so great. tsk. the things people will do to sell a crappy magazine... vom.

but then again i guess we ARE living in a world where rapping over remixes of 80s classics are considered making new music, so why not feature an episode of cribs as the cover story of an architecture mag. WHY NOT.

oh well, life goes on. and life is short, and one must see the world!

i'm going to ecuador on sunday.. for two weeks. i'll be visiting quito, the galapagos islands, otavalo and cotocachi in that order. should be a good change of scenery. all thanks to unemployment! YAY! i've never been to south america before. the closest to south america was when i went to miami with my brothers for a football game, spent the night, and drove right back. i'm excited, but also terrified at the idea of having to speak spanish. i took one semester in high school, and for years thought the spanish word for car was "el carro." oh...public schools!

day view of quito [and that is a volcano ladies and gents]

night view of quito [photos by dilz]

a massive blog post will commence upon my return! till then....

toodles,

ronald.

no mo' games.

after my less than serious last post, i realized i needed to get more serious and really start getting into this blogging thing. its a little tough with my limping along computer, but, i'll make it work.

ronald and i are on a mission. for the best ice cube tray ever. one that makes gigantic cube ice cubes. and no, i don't want to make a mold. i just want to have one, and fill it up with ease when i want to make a drink and have it look decedent, so i can enjoy a drink in the comfort of my home. i have been mercilessly perusing blogs, websites, eBay, and they are not for sale anywhere! the frustration is killing me. ikea had them a few years ago, but i cannot find them for sale at all. probably because they are so incredible that no one wants to sell theirs.

i mean...you only need one cube! i hafta hafta HAVE this!

so, please, if anyone finds one of these please let me know where. because i am buying one for me and ronald.

and another thing. there is a great little thrift antique store here in rva called class and trash. i went there a few weeks ago with a friend and walked away w/ an original george nelson set with table and six chairs for a steal! its in decent shape and will take a little cash to get back into great shape, but very worth it to me. the place is unbelievable. tucked away in glen allen of all places! it is one of those stores that you want no one else to ever find so only you can find the great deals. but, secrets out. they claim to have "shabby chic to true antique", and they really do. shabby chic is kind of an insider among our friends, so when i saw this on the door i immediately texted my friend, matthew. it was just too good. so, go there. [but really don't go there, so i can continue to find excellent pieces.]

a place i've been meaning to check out since before i moved here: metro modern. yes, i do love modern furniture. yes, it is usually expensive. but very much worth it. metro modern gets new pieces in a lot, so i really need to get over there and check them out. i emailed them about my set being refurbished and they were kind enough to direct me to a guy who could reupholster my chairs!

who wouldn't LOVE this calder mobile? i mean COME ON!

this place of course reminds me of our friend marc because he is a designer of modern furniture and an admirer like me. someday, hopefully [fingers crossed], i will be able to afford pieces that i want. who knows, maybe one day, metro modern will have the arco lamp i want, and i won't have to pay full price for it? heres to hoping.

yes. it is gorgeous, isn't it?

ciao,
larry

silly doggies.

as a self-proclaimed [not] animal lover, i have been thinking a lot lately about getting a dog. i never would do this, #1. b/c ronald doesn't like dogs because one bit her in the face one time....and #2. because i think its cruel to keep a dog cooped up in a house all day while i would be working. but, still, to have a constant companion, a running buddy, a cuddler! that would be nice, but, the maintenance is the deal breaker. i have enough trouble as it is taking care of myself, paying my own bills, etc. etc. i can't imagine, right now, taking care of someone else. one day i'll get there. that is in awhile i think. BUT, i digress. i have been thinking about dogs and how it is so silly, but most dogs totally resemble their owners. it makes me laugh when i see pairs on the street and how unusually similar dogs and owners can be and are.

i saw dogs as typefaces and it made me chuckle a bit. why are doggies so silly? maybe i'll just never know...

puppies!

ciao,
larry

totes ma-goats.

so last weekend larry and i were googling certain images for our calendar design. one of our searches were for goats. because august is national goat cheese month. and goat cheese comes from goats. anyway, in this particular journey through googleland we stumble upon this lil guy:

and we're like ZOMG WHUT?! not exactly what we were looking for but isn't this just so darn CUTE? eventually i came to this website by catherine hnatov. not only does she make the most adorable goats ever, but also sheep and bird heads, and she paints as well. what a delight. check her out!

i need to get back on my crafts and sewing, i've been neglecting it for too long. oi.

toodles,

ronald.

we still got it.

this weekend was a ronald and larry reunion!!! the deadline for the calendar project is near, and we really needed to get this done, being three hours apart and all. so friday evening larry drove down to the haus of ronald [terrible drive in the rain i might add]. that night consisted of drinking wine, watching a recorded episode of the new ANTM cycle and eating homemade tapas. in other words, no work got done. but its ok, because we caught up on some seriously needed QT and worked on finding our inner peace.

saturday was full of distractions also. but, when we get together, this tends to happen. woken up with lips purple from the night before and a severe hankering for cinnamon rolls, we headed over to the nearest grocery store and got some. that and a couple of cappuccinos later, we were finally on it. after some surious googlage and photoshop lassoing it was time for another diversion: dumplings a la ronald. ronald def. gets her skillz from her mama. larry inhaled as usual and ronald tried to stop her, but that never works and didn't this time either.

mama asia would be proud. well, she would still be critical, who am i kidding.

then we chatted it up with a couple of our fabulous friends in foreign countries. first, lovely stephen who lives in hong kong. we bored him with our dorky calendar talk and he showed off his shoe collection. later we talked to erik, who lives in amsterdam. we discussed the new madame gaga video[especially the beyoncé factor: conclusion was that she is always always ferocious, but honey b was a little out of place] and had a mini dance sesh. then we judged each other.

fab fab fab she is! makes erik excited.

by that time it was crunch time. ames, our second year "little" from studio last year was coming over for dinner, then we were to go out for some drinks. we laid out our calendar, made some pages to print [aka shit sandwiches, according to larry], prepared dinner, AND made a sonic run for some sweet bevs and even strolled around our local tjmaxx.

work larry! look at her go!

strawberries and wine followed our dinner with ames, and us three wild girls headed out for a quiet night out on the town, being that no one we knew would be out. or at least we hoped...but, to our pleasant surprise we ended up having quite a bit of fun and a good amount to drink. needless to say the night ended with the fattiest pigout you could imagine and some drunk messaging on facebook and the telly. it was like freshman year in college all over again. minus the puking.

this is us and our little ames.

the next morning we were in a panic. we had a goal of paying a visit to an indian buffet which closed at 3pm, and we woke up at 11[daylight savings was also in effect starting that morning] with a blank piece of 11 x 17 paper to fill. the next three hours consisted of wrestling the printer, feverishly xyloling, inhaling fumes and getting loopy, shivering in the cold air to air out the fumes, and watercoloring, with multiple high fives in between.

a lil sneak peak if we may.

the end of the buffet was nearing, but we made it work after a feverish scramble and near bottom out into the parking lot. after stuffing our faces extremely too fast, making friends with the cutest twins in the world, and a random catchup with an old studio buddy, we dragged our bodies, sluggish with goat meat, back to the haus of ronald and finished our masterpiece. we are proud to say that we lurvh eit. apparently the calendar committee requests that our finished products remain a secret till the great unveiling. so it shall remain a surprise. and everyone should be waiting anxiously for the amazingness.

all in all this weekend was solid and much needed for both parties involved. and we TOTES still got it. we ate like we were teenagers, partied like we were in college, and still cranked out our creative juices and met a deadline. whut whut. this must happen again. and soon. and a lot more often.

we're officially exhausted and spent,

ronald + larry

yo people.

we have a really kewl friend. his name is rhaaaaaaain [translation: ryan patterson]. and you should vote for his super sweet bottle design for earth day! check him out!

it looks like thies. vote for thies.

and it will look like thies if it is chosen! how gorg!

shortest post ever.

larry + ronald

rest in peace, B.I.G.

as a fan, i am ashamed to say i didn't know, but today, i heard on the radio that it was the 13th anniversary of the Notorious B.I.G.'s passing. its kinda crazy, but i remember it happening, even though i was just a little kid. and though i didn't listen to his music back then, you could just feel the sadness. the world lost a really talented individual that day. the flashbacks at the end of the movie last year gave me goosebumps, because i remembered watching New York grieving.

i just had a tribute to him at my house as any good fan would. and one of my faves came on, Dead Wrong. Diddy is having a huge party up there today to celebrate his life. Biggie was "a lyrical genius". he knew he was one of the greatest. it's too bad he left too soon. i wonder how things would be different if he hadn't been killed. would rap be what it is today? auto-tune and all? the creativity is waning, though there are some trying to make it, apart from the whole commercialized mess that it has become.

soldier on. soldier on.

rest in peace, Biggie Smalls.


ciao,
larry

100 abandoned houses

hey all you ruin lovers/enthusiasts out there! check out this guy. kevin bauman's 100 abandoned houses is a documentation of detroit's dereliction. direct and depressing. [too much alliteration?] with what started as an exploration of his hometown, he has now turned it into an effort to revitalize this dying city; with the money he makes from selling prints of his photos he donates to charitable organizations such as habitat for humanity and the greening of detroit. for more info & eeeerie pics check out his website!

not to quote frou frou and be cheesy but there really is beauty in the breakdown.

in all seriousness though, it really makes you wonder. what happened to detroit?

toodles,

ronald.

i have a love affair with bows.

[oh, hello, boring ol' frumpy cardigan.]

+

[and you too, old scarf i have turned into a bow]

=

[oh hey hey girl.]

in the past couple of days i've been keeping busy with little project here. doesn't seem like much, but in the process my sewing machine broke down at least 3 times. frustrating, but i finally taught myself how to unjam my baby whenever it acts up. so there's an accomplishment, go me. also turns out satin[the scarf] is a betch to work with. bye bye satin. see you again when i am better at sewing. i know we will find our ways back together again. or when i become a tacky prom dress designer. ick.

all in all i am satisfied with the result, a little more anthropologie-esque than i anticipated but... i mean it's a cardigan. whatever. i love rocking the sexcretary look in my fem cardigans.

toodles,

ronald.

ps. for nick:

dog + cat

AND birdz. [from cuteoverload.com]

sweet calendars

a bunch of our friends are participating in a calendar project! we are each assigned a month, each month is sent to our friend james, james gets them printed and distributes them to each participant. fun fun fun. larry and i are collaborating per usual. we've been throwing ideas back and forth for a little bit, but nothing has yet to stick. in a desperate move to be inspired, i started googling "creative and unique calendar designs" [or something along the lines of that] and stumbled upon some wacky calendars. these a few of my faves:

chrono-shredder by susanna hertrich

hilarious! just great. i wonder how loud it is.

ink calendar by oscar diaz

so gorgeous. so genius. from a strategically placed inkwell, ink bleeds through the embossed numbers each day, eventually completing itself. [still can't get over it]

napkin calendar by stas aki

i wish i had the willpower to use one napkin and just one. i tend to destroy napkins and paper towels, maybe this will force me to conserve.

oh well, too bad we're limited to 11x17 printables. i'm sure we will come up with something crazy kool next weekend, when larry will grace me with her presence! muahaha.

toodles,

ronald.

i want thies! right meow.

yes. i am officially stuck in a rut. i have been stewing over what to post for days now. fooling myself that it would just hit me. but no. it did not happen. so, not that i'm settling, but, this is going to be a small post. my apologies. i was hoping for a long, elaborate divulgence of *kewl thangs*, but no. just this one:

while perusing my usuals, i stumbled across this fantastic print. i must admit, i do have a thing for silkscreen prints. i have a couple, and i love them all very much. but this one may take the cake. mark weaver's self-portrait is just phenom. i want one of my own. but for me. is that selfish? but if i did get my own, what would be in it? i do not know...

though i do love his self-portrait, his other prints are great as well. czech mark out!

i mean. wowz. love this!




this very much reminds me of our friend, nick doermann.

and a friend sent me this today. makes me want to camp. even though i dont like to camp. excellent!

ciao,
larry

like it's 1999

this shirt right here just screams 90s. the colors. the pattern. the ultra super bagginess. i've had this baby since about, i guess fifth grade. that's a loooong time ago. my mom honestly thought i would grow into it, but as i recall i have not grown a single centimeter since. sadness. it has now become my ultimate veg-out suit.

but just because i'm bumming around doesn't mean i have to look like a bum. since i won't ever be fitting in to the shirt, i thought i would fit the shirt to my size. i've been having these visions lately of what this oversized plaid shirt could become... and then i thought, shoulder pads.

it seems like shoulder pads have made a comeback. never thought i'd see the day, but i gotta admit, i do love the structured, sculpted, defined shoulders. like power suits but fierce. work!

balmain.

louis vuitton.

and of course madame gaga is no exception to this trend. and of course she is, as always, over the top. literally.

luckily i've been saving shoulder pads taken off of my mom/grandmother's old clothes and items bought from thrift stores. i always thought i would make something out of them, not reuse them, but whatever. the shirt needed it.

the full on 80s shoulder pads = too big.

it worked out perfectly, as the wide shoulders were the main problem in the fit. a little cinching here and there and with the support of the shoulder pads. the result:

tadaaaaa!

with the right pair of old glasses and torn leggings you can also complete a hipster look. perfect for the farmer's market!

a lot more subtle but the shoulders still have definition. i also sewed in the sleeves a tad to decrease the baggy factor. what was i thinking back then? oh well. i am happy to be able to wear this out again.

except for today. because it is snowing. again. i hate you snow. IT'S MARCH! come on.

toodles,

ronald.

ps. i apologize for y'all having to see my feet. socks would have been better. [asians don't wear shoes in their houses duh!]