One of my favorite things about Fashion Week is when a designers inspiration for their collection parallels an inspiration of my own, and every tiny detail becomes a secret signifier of a favorite element of a favorite thing. Karen Walker has always been one of those designers, which explains why I spent all afternoon scouring the internets for the first sign of her 'The Village' collection, inspired by the 60s British television series 'The Prisoner', which I spent many an hour on the clock obsessing over during a youthful stint as a cult video store employee. The sets and costume design are 100 percent amazing and super over the top, and coincidentally something I had also obsessed over turning into a clothing collection once upon time, so of course I had visions dancing in my head of a carnivalesque production of canopied penny farthings, pointy parasols and patchwork capes, an imaginary army of awning stripes, schoolboy suits and rugby striped shirtdresses: The real collection, while super cute and starring the requisite piped blazer, is actually not at all like any of that (which is probably for the best) but does still perfectly capture that 60s seaside meets Edwardian holiday camp look that I so adore, and also features one of my favorite Karen Walker prints since the lollipop trees and puppies of yore... Nautical flags!!!
I think it's pretty obvious to anyone who knows my work or reads my blog that I love, love LOVE historical kitsch (though I am kind of loathe to use the term kitsch in all but the most academic of senses) so it will probably come as no surprise that I'm totally obsessed with the work of artist/designer/architect/genius Richard Woods:
His signature pop faux bois MDF panels have turned up on on many a design blog and graced many a gallery floor, but you kind of have to see the rest of his work too! Called "architectural interventions" by Frieze Magazine, his installations are one part tongue-in-cheek tribute to/pastiche of English vernacular architecture and one part pure unadulterated whimsy.
My favorite is probably the candy colored Stone Clad Cottages at Fermynwoods Contemporary Art, though I do have a soft spot for half-timbering and love that he once transformed Deitch Projects (along with a handful of collectors homes) into a Mock Tudor:
It's practically sweater weather now in Portland, and though I'll be super excited to access the 99.9% of my wardrobe that is made up of tweeds and heavy wool and sweater vests, I will be sad to see our weekly outdoor expeditions fall by the wayside until next year. I was kind of just getting the hang of this nature thing again! Last weekend we went on an epic stroll in the Columbia River Gorge that should have led to a super secret swimming hole which we never quite found. Along the way we were menaced by a tiny hissy silver snake, and, at one point, I could be found quite comically clinging to a mossy rock for dear life in knee deep rapids... But, the trail through old growth redwoods was insanely beautiful and dotted with a couple of cute little campsites tucked into the foliage that we swore to pay another visit to before the rains start for a couple of nights around a fire with toasted marshmallows and owl calls...
But first, the task of figuring out how and where to acquire the makings of a cute camp! As someone who is both secretly mortified of modern day sporting gear and not so secretly a fan of historic re-enactments, I'm kind of hooked on the idea of strictly vintage camping gear, and actually have a folder full of reference photos and ebay searches but absolutely no idea where to start! Wandervogel lutes and a cute 60s campstove, anyone?
I do know exaaactly where I would acquire my very first tent if I could so afford it, however!
For as long as I've had the internet, I've been obsessed with Past Tents, home of ridiculously adorable historically accurate vintage reproduction stripey tents; medieval, napoleonic, civil war, tudor and yes, even teepees, if you so desire!
My imaginary shopping cart is forever full of the pavilion tent in all sizes, in every combination of every sherbet-y shade in the book:
This is basically the campsite of my dreams: By Etrusia UK via Flickr.
Oh hello camping dreamland! It really doesn't get much more picturesque than candy colored tents set up inside crumbling castle walls, which is what I imagine it would have looked like if I had made it to Tapestry Goes West last year, which fell on both my birthday and the super cosmic date of 08/08/08, was going to be held in the deer park of a castle in Wales, with Circulus headlining, but was sadly semi-cancelled at the last minute! Not that I had cobbled together quite enough pocket change to get there anyway... maybe next time?
On a slightly different note, with a slightly more modern day stripey tent, how cute are these pictures of 60s car camping in Germany, avec perfectly put together outfits, comfy chairs and lots of reading materials? Both from one of many amazing sets of family vacation photos taken all over Europe by photographer Harald Haeusler, also by way of Flickr.
I'm cleaning out my "archives" and set up a little temporary online shoppe for all of the goods here!
Duplicates, triplicates, long lost production samples, alternate colorways and all sorts of sometimes one of a kind odds and ends are up for grabs, through the month of September only!
The address again? http://fawn.bigcartel.com
Also, new ebay listings ending tomorrow! Farewell cute 60s floral corduroy suits, hello off the grid treehouse (Maybe? Unless my beloved Portland would like to produce some exciting projects for me to toil away at? Soonish?)
Fawn Gehweiler's signature character based paintings, installations and works on paper have exhibited in galleries around the world and appear in a number of prominent private collections. Originally from Hawaii and currently based in the Pacific Northwest, her work combines the influence of a bohemian upbringing, sartorial escapism, and her own family tree.
Once described by The Face magazine as "the visual equivalent of candyfloss peppered with broken glass, delicious yet dangerous" and widely considered
a major influence in the recent explosion of young feminine art in the United States, her work hinges on a delicate balance of past and present, building obsessive narratives through personal artifacts that reflect the imaginary worlds of little girls, treading the fine line between wide eyed innocence and dark fairy tales.
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