Balanced Abode

Perfect balance of hard and soft in this beautiful Swedish home.  Love the layered rugs.  (via here)

Wrinkles of the City

Love the latest installments of JR's 'Wrinkles of the City'.  This time the french artist travelled to Havana working with Cuban American artist Jose Parla combining large scale, wheat pasted images of elderly Havana residents with Parla's scribbled paint strokes.  So beautiful...my absolute favorite street artist.  His "Women are Heroes" installation in the slums of Kenya a few years ago blew my mind! (images from here)

Instagram

I've been obsessing over Instagram lately. It's been such an amazing way to share my life/work and connect with other amazing people all over the world.  Hands down my favorite social media outlet.  I can be fairly shy (but at times shy wild as coined by joanna from keep feeling fascination) and reluctant to expose myself but I've been changing my tune a bit with Instagram and it feels really good, freeing.  So, I'm going to try and do that in other outlet's such as here.  A bit of me as of late...

Quotable/Happy Memorial Day

Let's begin again, shall we? Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend. I'm heading to the beach for a few days with the fam.  Yes!!! (quote from my new favorite, Aubrey Road)

Heidi's House

So much goodness I can't stand it. Heidi Middleton's house (Creative Director and Head Designer at Sass & Bide) is perfect in every way.  (via Tales of Endearment)

Piecework

 Love this new project by Lindsay Adelman (love, love, love her work).  "Piecework" is hand-stiched by a small group of women, creating the loose framework of the American Flag.

Clewis Reid

Happy Monday!  Hope everyone had a good weekend.  I've been celebrating my Birthday (which is today) all weekend so I'm a little exhausted :)  Not too exhausted though to share this new jewelry collection from Clewis Reid.  Designer, Ashley Reid is an old friend of mine from growing up in Charlotte and now we both line in Charleston.  Ashley has been designing clothes (and some jewelry) for years but is now expanding on her jewelry with an awesome new collection of subtle gold pieces and more chunky, tribal inspired necklaces.  I can't wait for her to launch her next clothing line but until then this will definitely suffice!

Quotable

Nurturing feelings of wanderlust today.  Happy Friday!  (quote and image from here)

G.I.F.L.

Doing a complete 180 from what I've been loving/posting on recently...I just discovered and totally fell for these cheeky skateboard designs from Greece is for Lovers.  The leather gladiator sandal model is pretty sweet!

Trials and Tribulations of the AGOA Certificate

As I've mentioned several times on this blog, Mali has undergone serious turmoil over the past few months with the coup d' etat and now absence of government.  I can finally say that our products are ready to ship. Yay Yay Yay!  It's been quite a long, anxiety stricken road but the boxes are packed and the scarves, bags, and pillows are ready to make their journey across the Atlantic, into my hands, and out to our retailers and customers!

Before the parcel gets on a plane for the U.S. all of the appropriate paper work must be stamped and processed.  Last week I was informed that the stamp for the AGOA certificate (the AGOA act is a trade agreement with certain African countries allowing us to import their textile products duty free) had gone missing and the paper work had to be stamped in order to gain entry into the U.S.  Is this a joke? Just use another stamp. No can do, there is only one stamp.  [Apparently the customs offices in Bamako were basically destroyed during the coup, missing were desks, files, computers, and a stamp].  So for the past 6 days there has been a massive stamp hunt.  Yesterday I was informed that the stamp had been found. Yay!! BUT, the man who needs to stamp the documents had gone missing (apparently he decided not to return after lunch).  Can't someone else stamp the documents? Apparently not.  So, today's status is that there is a stamp, a man to use the stamp, but no register (to see what the last AGOA number was that was issued).   2 out of 3.  Getting so close!!  So for the remainder of today there will be a hunt for the register or at least to find the company who last exported goods out of Mali to get the correct number to enter into new register.  Wish us luck!

Closet Visit

  

Adore the newest Closet Visit featuring Hansel from Basel owner, Hannah Byun. The woman has fantastic taste.  

Quotable

Image from here
First off, Happy Friday! I've neglected my blog reading lately as I have been completely enamored with Instagram. Obsessed really. I took a little trip over to my friend Nicole's blog this morning to see what kind of beautiful quotes and images she's posted this week and came across a really wonderful little blurb she wrote on hope. I love this so much...


I'm holding on to a massive amount of hope these days. Something that I felt was impossible, something I thought just wasn't going to be a part of my life, is suddenly becoming clear and easy and simple. I find myself listening to my heart rather than thinking too much. I'm finding myself running towards my desires without worrying about the effects. Because every ounce of me knows my heart is leading me to the right place. Running to a bright light, to love.

I spend a significant amount of time in my own head, always have. These days I'm sleeping better, I'm laughing even more, I'm letting my heart open up. I'm giving love without fear. And you know what? It feels really fucking good. Finally.

And so I'm beginning to hope that the past will stay in the past and the future will continue on this grand path.  (thoughts from a wonderful friend's blog)