J. Morgan Puett, Part One

Ever since I read this post on AT last year, I've been meaning to find out what's been going on with J. Morgan Puett. D, do you remember her shop in SoHo?

It was on Wooster. The shop was another world - filled with her memories of a childhood in the South and her clothing that struck a balance between beauty and practicality. Her pieces were always imbued with a sense of history and place, and very wearable. And for me, the memory of her shop is always inextricably tied to Kelly & Ping's pad thai, which was a few doors down. Sorry, JMP! I guess this is where my strong attachment to the South and my Asian roots intersected.

With a move to rural Pennsylvania with her family, she has been working on a variety of art projects. One project in particular caught my attention -- Cottage Industry:

In Charleston, SC, I have created a small business in a vernacular structure, in response to issues of commerce, history, and labor in the city. A new clothing collection is at the core of the project!

One of my favorite designers, in one of my favorite towns, doing what she does best. Isn't everything just beautiful? This particular project is from 2002. I wonder whether the collection is still available, and where?

UPDATE: Mildred's Lane.

Amagasaka: Nagoya Shop

I know it's been a little heavy on Japanese design discoveries, but there's so much to discover! While searching for more information on Michiko Tachimoto's new work, Janetta World, I came across the website for Amagasaka, a Japanese lifestyle store in the city of Nagoya. Below are some images from the book launch of Janetta World posted on their blog.

The shop's blog is where they keep folks informed of events that they host in their space (related to art, design, cooking, music) and new products offered at their shop. There's also a tea salon! Some beautiful finds from them:

Bird prints from Atsushi Toyama:

A book of brass animal bookmarks from Minoru Takeuti:

And finally, the Netherlands via Japan, Cloissone "Shippo" plates commissioned by Cibone Tokyo, and made by former Droog member, Dutch designer Hella Jongerius. More on her work later.

All photos are from Amagasaka.

Michiko Tachimoto

Check out Michiko Tachimoto's new work, Janetta World, which is a book of paperdolls wearing the native costumes of the world. And don't miss her firm website, Colobockle, which is a treasure trove of her beautiful illustrations and other work. For a sample, below are her drawings for Hans Christian Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes:

Ao Daikanyama: Tokyo Shop

Ao Daikanyama. Beautiful fabric pieces - clothing, accessories, home goods. To keep up with their shop news, google translate might induce a headache, but the images will soothe.

Jens Laugesen F08

This is making my frontal lobe twitch with these varied images, which is to say that I don't dislike the look. These, however, I love (although I do worry about the first model):

Different Like Coco

I leafed though Different Like Coco at a bookstore around the holidays, and was really charmed by it. Elizabeth Matthews has written and illustrated the fairy tale story of Coco Chanel, an underprivileged orphan who liberated women's fashion from corsets and later gave us the little black dress.

For a sobering look at her life and her influence, there is a short chapter on Chanel here. The gist of which is captured here (sixth paragraph down). Oy, winter makes me morose sometimes. Okay, enough of that.

Here's some Chanel fun with Kaiser Karl:

Muslin

I promised I would post more projects here. So here is a project I am doing with a friend. Just playing around right now, and we'll be ready to show the finished pieces in a few weeks - still waiting for our fabric vendor to come through for us. Hmmm, looking at muslin this closely makes me think of buttercream. I must be hungry.