cargo

as you saw in yesterday's post, portland oregon is a great place to eat, drink and be merry.

it's also a great place to browse, and spend some money (but generally not too much).

one of the most visually appealing places to while a away some time while a rain shower passes is cargo. almost TEN years ago, i lived in portland, and worked at a shoe store that was on the same street as cargo's TINY original store.

i could not believe what it's blossomed into. see for yourself:

yes, all of the above is one store. in its giant industrial space, cargo manages to pack in treats for all ages and all budgets.

GO!

happy land

it never occurred to me to think about what a japanese amusement park might be like...

(image courtesy of hello sandwich)

but, of course, it's the cutest thing ever.

check out hello sandwich's photos of hanayashiki on her post from today.

heartstrings

i almost cried while watching this video:

they've got me..... hook, line and sinker.





(i know i've been posting a lot of videos recently. i'm really only recently discovering videos on the internets that seem worth watching. so, indulge me.... particularly with this one.)

the results of my labor

quite a while ago, i wrote a couple of blogs about a trip that i took to china, for work.

here's one.

here's the other.

i mentioned at that point that it would be a long time until i could share with you the project that i was working on. but now i can!

below is the collection of sandals that i designed for the simply vera by vera wang* collection at kohl's:

although this line is not designed by what i would personally wear, i am very proud of them. i designed and executed these styles very very quickly, and they look exactly like what we expected.

i'm disappointed that i won't get to continue to work with the kohl's team on this project. i really enjoyed working with them, and i think the collaboration worked out nicely.

if you need a cheap little pair of sandals to wear to a summer wedding, or other event, and want a little bling, i think these guys fit the bills. you can click on the photos about to buy, if you're so inclined ;)

*oops. you didn't think ms. wang did all that design work by herself, did you? hope i didn't burst anyone's bubble!

day of silence

私はあなたについて考えている

coincidentally, i had planned to write about japan here today before i woke up, and heard about the terrible earthquake and tsunami.

yesterday, i had time to kill in manhattan, and found myself at hiroko's place in soho. i was so happy to find it, because it is such a good replica of a lot of the cute, tiny little restaurants and cafes in tokyo.

i feel very lucky to have been able to visit tokyo a couple of times in the year, and am very much looking forward to going back.

i haven't had the opportunity to visit any other parts of the country, but today, i am certainly thinking about those places and the folks affected by yesterday's events.

so, it is with reverence and condolences that i write this today, thinking about the incredible culture in japan. it truly is a lovely country.

if you've never been to tokyo, and want to check out a blog that captures much of what i love about the city, check out hello sandwich. it's a beautiful little blog.

fruits!

a had an appointment at f.i.t. today, and i wound up getting there a little bit early.

after spending a few minutes in the bookstore, realizing that this was a perfect time to stock up on some of those things that i need to mend and spruce up my wardrobe (like replacement hooks and eyes and.... for a fun activity.... fabric dye!), i realized that i was at f.i.t. which is where the "japan fashion now" exhibit is! which i've been meaning to go to for weeks!

so, i went there, and saw that. and i really enjoyed it.

unfortunately, the museum at f.i.t. doesn't have a whole lot of space, so their exhibits (while good) are usually small. this seems particularly unfortunate for this one, but what they did show was really great.

it was a really nice transition from the first part of the exhibit- which was focused on the much more craft-oriented looks, through to the completely crazy and manga-inspired (and inspiring, i'm sure) looks of the lolitas and gothic lolitas.

i wasn't supposed to take pictures, but... lucky for you, i did:

the blue cyber-schoolgirl-space look above was one of my favorites...

if you're in nyc, and have 30 minutes to spare, i highly recommend it.

junk

hi!

i wanted to show you the below photos of the junk ship that i got to check out in hong kong.

unfortunately, my cousin (who lives in hong kong and gets to look at the amazing aberdeen harbor any day he wants to) didn't really take any photos of the harbor or view from the ship...

but here are a couple of photos, just to prove that i was really there!

moonspoon saloon

the first award in my official end-of-2010 random award celebration of stuff:

moonspoon saloon.

winner of.... best name of a brand, in fashion.

btw. it seems like a lot of you like to read this blog after i post the links on twitter. well, i really like that too. however, twitter does not seem to know who i am right now (possibly owing to the fact that i have been in china proper, and hong kong. and maybe due to the fact that someone in the ukraine has tried to log into my facebook. maybe they successfully are tweeting as me, and keeping you updated on "the most beautiful and melodious language in the world after italian". considering that it's know to be a country of "beautiful women, great history, survivals and traditions", perhaps i should be happy to be aligned with it, if only in this small way.

anyhow, if you do like reading my blog posts after i post the links on twitter, why not take this opportunity to add me to your google reader/ rss feed/ daily meanderings/ whathaveyou? that way, the ukrainians won't get in your way, when they take over the internet, and anything else.

or, just wait till i get back to nyc, and let me do all the work.

g'night!

shockingly delicious

holy hong kong!

greetings from china!

today i had the most amazing experience.

although i'm staying in mainland china this week, i had a day off from work, and decided to go into hong kong for a half day. it's a long trip to make back and forth for only a few hours, but i figured it was better than sitting around the hotel all day.

i was so right.

i met a canadian guy today who had lived in hong kong for nine years. he and his brother bought a traditional chinese junk two years ago, and have been renovating it. they're about 3/4 finished, and, this afternoon i got a chance to see it.

it's being worked on in a dry dock in the middle of the harbor in south hong kong. it's surrounded on three sides by highrise apartments and rolling hills, and on the forth side by the harbor, which looks out on the surrounding islands.

obviously, the boat is gorgeous. and standing on the deck, and overlooking the city and the harbor was a totally amazing and unique experience.

the bad news is.... i forgot to bring my camera.

the good news is, my cousin was with me, and took photos on his blackberry. as soon as he sends them to me, i'll post a couple.

i wish i could have recorded it, but i hope to show you a glimpse soon of how fantastic it was!

double jeopardy

greeting from hong kong- i am jetlagged and sick.

a fabulous combo.

i just did a google image search for "runny nose in hong kong"

so there you go.

i'm going to dong guan, china tomorrow morning to oversee the making of samples for our new line of shoes.

hopefully i'll feel better enough in a day or so to post some interesting photos, or stories, or something.

hugs and (germy) kisses!

last night

last night was my last in tokyo.... i met up with some old friends, and we had so much fun we forgot to take photos. but i documented my walk home for you:

the new math

i really really wanted to buy this t-shirt that i saw in harajuku today. it was cheap, and i came really close to getting it, because i thought it was so funny...

and then i realized that i won't ever wear it.

and since i'm on this kick where, instead of buying everything that i happen to appreciate, i just... appreciate it. or, take a photo if i feel like i kinda need to "own" it.

so here's the shirt i didn't buy. i hope that wasn't too big a build up. i really think it's funny:

おはようございます

good morning from tokyo:

arrived last night, but am not feeling so well...

trying to rally, since this town is so awesome, and apparently the exchange favors the us dollar much more than usual....

hoping the green tea vibes will kick in soon!

in the meantime...

i have been trying to find the time to post my europe photos for y'all. 

in the meantime, please find the below example of how boring it seems (to me) to be a model. i would literally rather be *anyone* on this shoot besides the model.

i took the video from anna dello russo's blog. 

she's amazing....

hk

today was my first day (of this trip) in asia.

we're in hong kong, and we came here in order to buy a shitload of materials and trims for the project we'll be working on for the next few days in the sample rooms of fuzhou, china.

it was about 93 fahrenheit, or more, with like, one bazillion percent humidity. so, that was hot.

i won't be able to show you photos of any of the shoes that we actually make for a super long time...

but here's a photo of a bunch of trims that i didn't buy, but that kinda made me homesick:

the problem with hong kong is that (at least in the trims market) they really really really like things to be blingy! and shiny! and sparkly!

but we happened to be looking for things that were very very matte. or at least multi-textured. we actually did pretty well, but my eyes are literally exhausted by the combo of exhaust fumes & light reflections from cheap metallic plated gigantic sequins.

here's a photo of my favorite building in the area where we were shopping, sham shui po:

i really love the multi green color and lots of textures, especially compared to the really pink buildings on either side.

maybe i just really dug it because it didn't have a shiny, sparkly finish?

tomorrow will be my first full day off since august 1. the whole time will be spent with my boss, more or less, but i am so so so looking forward to just sitting by the pool...

please, god, let this forecast of rain not be correct...

fly away...

dear readers,

are you still there?

i would like to extend my most sincere apologies for neglecting this blog over the past week or so. my "day job" has absolutely taken over my life, with an emergency design project, and now, the subsequent trip to china.

i've designed a bunch of sandals for a big american retailer, and now i'll fly to china to oversee the sample making. i'll be gone for about a week, and it'll be very busy, with lots of work. 

i'll post some photos if i can.

the upshot is that i fly directly back to los angeles for four days after this grueling asia trip. it'll be really nice to be able to recover from jetlag in the california sun, visit some good friends & continue the study of my favorite subject- la vs nyc fashion.

you can count on some photos or impressions from that leg of the trip, without a doubt.

ciao!

no shoes

wow, i'm getting acclimated at my new job, and there is a lot to take in!

i have no time to digest and process most of the fashion info (or otherwise interesting info) that i am exposed to during the day at the moment, since i'm just trying to figure out all of what is going on in this new company.

sooooooo...

i want to share with you the site of an old friend who is literally one of the best, most talented shoe designers i've ever run across.

he's had his own (small) line for a while now, and the site is gorgeous!

i'm hoping i might run into him, or at least his awesome shoes when i'm in tokyo in a week or two...

may i present....

no shoes.

enjoy!

asia asia

so, the big news in my life is that i'm starting a new job on monday.

i design shoes for a living, and as a lot of your probably know, most shoes are made in china these days.

so, a couple of weeks after i start my new job, we're doing an asia trip. normally, in the trips that i've done in the past, i've flown to hong kong, slept the night there, and then taken a car or train to the nearest province on the mainland- guangdong. that's where most of the manufacturing happens. that's where cities like shenzhen, guangzhou & dongguan are.

we usually work for a week or so there, and then go back to hong kong, have one kinda big night out, and then fly home.

i love hong kong. guangdong province... not so much.

but this trip in a couple of weeks is so much more exciting!

we'll fly directly to tokyo:

and stay in shibuya for three nights. i've always want to go to japan, and to tokyo specifically. i would be lying if i didn't say that i'm having fantasies of a 'lost in translation' experience. i suppose i'd better pack a lot of apc.

then we'll fly to hong kong:

and stay there for two more nights. i adore hong kong. it's such a cosmopolitan city, and so international. it reminds me of a combo of two of my favorite american cities- nyc & san francisco. the setting of the city is so amazing too. it's surrounded by soaring hills, and pretty little islands. even though it's quite industrialized, and there's even disney is there... it still seems like this amazing bustling city in the midst of misty pacific islands.

the more time i spend in hk, the more i do see the issues and problems of the city. but as a visitor who spends a couple of days there at a time.... i really enjoy it.

then we take the train to guangzhou, just like usual.

guangzhou looks like this:

(hmmmm... this photo seems to paint a slightly nicer picture of the city than i've seen...)

we'll meet with the factories that we work with, and then go to the canton fair.

my boss will go back to hong kong to fly home, but i get to fly on my own to shanghai:

i've never been anywhere on the chinese mainland other than guangdong province, and i am so stoked to get to see another chinese city.

unfortunately, i'll only be there overnight, so i won't get to see much. but i fully intend to go out and check out shanghai nightlife. solo. will that be a little weird? maybe...

but who cares! i'll have a 13 hour flight on the way back home the next day, so staying up as late as possible is the trick to avoiding jetlag here in the us.

ugh... the only problem with this trip? i'm flying coach. which i've never done, flying to asia. i'm a little bit terrified. (deep vein thrombosis, anyone?)

ambien, it is.