back from the dead - i wasn't chillin at the beach, down at club med

so, i've lost the plot, slightly, on this here blog.

things have changed significantly in my life since i've had a regular schedule, and the time to plan out 3-4 blogs per week.

however, it looks like, somehow, folks are still reading. without my having typed up one darned thing in over two months, my stats here show that some folks, somewhere out there, are actually reading some of this stuff i've written.



that, combined with a tiny word of encouragement for a heavy-hitting local cultural phenom/celebrity and the follow up (much more verbose) encouragement from terrific friends....



... and the fact that, well.... i actually really miss having a forum to explore things that are cool, interesting and frankly kind of annoying in both words & images...


has convinced me to revive this blog.









there's been a lot that's happened since i moved to los angeles over a year ago. pretty soon, i'll catch you up on all the excitement, both good & seemingly-not-so-good.



in the meantime, here are some out takes from my 2012 instagram feed:

oh, that's a lot!
(and i just realized that a lot of them might make you doubt the title of this blogpost!)



hope your 2012 was equally visually stimulating, delicious, enjoyable, but maybe a little less injury-ridden....



talk soon,


xoxo,

jess

blast from the past

the other day, i was going through some photos from my very first trip to berlin (2005).

i was completely obsessed & in love with all the street art that i found there..... and although this example isn't a very good one of how very beautiful and inspiring a lot of it was, i do remember really being struck by this image...

i have a very different feeling & reaction to the message now, than i did seven years ago, when i first saw it. i hadn't even begun the career that i currently have and love....

i'm not famous, or a rock start, but i'm not exactly stuck on the payroll either.

thanks, marilyn, for the reminder.

some shoes

so, many of you may know that i am a freelance shoe designer.

you may remember this project, or maybe this one?

well, here's a design project that i did for someone not named wang!

about a year or so ago, i started working with the brand marais usa. it's run by two great girls, catherine & haley, and i really enjoyed working with them.... so much that we worked together for both the spring 12 line, as well as their fall 12 line.

well, a few weeks ago, the spring line hit their website, and i've spent that amount of time, trying to figure out which styles i want to order.....

you see, most of my career has been spent designing shoes that i either loved but couldn't afford, or were too cheap for me to consider wearing. working with marais usa was one of the first times that i got to design some shoes i both wanted, and could order a couple of pair of.....

so, here's what i'm getting:

i looooooove these mary janes. and i'm not a huge fan of shoes with strap, usually. but i've been waiting months for these to join the army in my closet....

and a pair of neutral wedge sandals....

here's what i wish i was adding to my order:

the same mary janes in a sweeter, springier, girlier version....

and the sandal in much more exciting colors. i love the red color (called "clay"), but have decided that since i finally get to answer the question "oh, did you design the shoes that you're wearing?" in the affirmative, that i'll wear the neutral color a bit more often..... and get to be a big show off much more often!

check out the rest of the marais usa shoes on their website. there are a couple styles that i didn't design, so if you're not into the ones above, maybe you'll find something else more your speed..... ;)