new york new york

my class has been in nyc since wednesday morning touring studios, interviewing for internships, and wreaking havoc on unsuspecting couture stores like prada (sometimes it's embarrassing being in a group). but it has been so amazing! our professor has had an incredible design career and has some great connections out here. so far the tour has included:

robert comstock - lds fashion designer. brilliant. genius. the nicest guy with the most amazingly luscious feathered locks you will ever see. he sat us around in a circle on his studio floor and we chatted for two hours about design, life, and indian sun dances. i will probably share more of those notes later because he was so inspiring.

the moderns - a smaller design studio with a sweet new space. they have been around for about 20 years and love byu interns. definitely check out berry plus, the laundry detergent they've been working on branding, it's a cool concept and very innovative.

thomas phifer - gah! so beautiful! this is the fountainhead in real, breathing life. an architecture firm all about modernism. they are actually building the new courthouse in downtown salt lake. favorite projects are the taghkanic house and fisher's island house.

mac - super interesting. they are creatively driven (almost unheard of) and roll out 60 collections a year. we talked about the latest wonder woman inspired products, got free make-up, and saw their pop-up store in soho.

louise fili - swoon. she is my design idol. her work is sooooooooo great. her type collection is out of control. we met in her tiny studio and maybe i fought my classmates off to sit right next to her. she exceeded all my expectations. totally nice, funny, and seeing her work in person made me love it even more. i want her promo books so badly!

studioCase - the partners are byu alum who did their own thing for a bit and then started this studio. they have some pretty amazing clients. my favorite was probably the fragrance book they did for bloomingdale's last christmas. really unique and incredibly executed. after we talked with them for a few hours we had a pizza party with all the byu design alum that are still working in nyc. there were a lot! plus, the pizza was incredible. there was one with apple slices that was heavenly.

yesterday i got to spend a very relaxing day with klane and ang. we ate at jane (delicious vanilla bean french toast), shopped around soho and stroked $5,000 carpets, cheered on the cougars, and strolled through the farmer's market. i only wish mike had been there. that would have been perfect. also, i actually made a purchase at abc home that i was genuinely excited for. behold, the mini dolmen radio:

we have two more days of tours before flying home wednesday night. hooray for new york!

the bfa diet

when you live in a classroom/lab for days on end it's really easy to forget to eat. our class decided last year to take turns bringing food so no one would pass out from hunger during a critique... or turn to cannibalism. between classes, work, and sweating over deadlines, sometimes it's the only food you eat all day.

yesterday we had bananas, the most amazing cinnamon yogurt covered pretzels, pringles, and mr. keebler's elves. nutritional, filling, and delightful.

i think i will sing some mighty big hallelujahs! if all 16 of us manage to survive until next april.

viking pride

the past few months our friday nights have been spent cheering on jeff in his last season playing basketball at pg. they've had a really up and down season, with some terribly close losses that left everybody a little broken hearted. last night was senior night, so it only seemed fitting that the game ended like this:

with a three point shot thrown up at the last second. goooooooo vikings! if only our soccer team could have pulled some wins like this back in the day... now that would have been miraculous.

and one shot of my lovely mother and jeffy, for good measure.

a jolly good fellow

24! jack bauer. and, after last week, mike's official age. i was waiting to post until after we finished the birthday extravaganza, which included seeing the way back, but who knows when that will happen so up goes the post anyways. we celebrated his birthday with lots of cake and ice cream, lots of family, and lots of time at nordstroms buying new shoes. very shiny new shoes.

i sure love mike. he makes excellent brownies, is insanely funny/has amazing dance moves, and he's the most genuine person i have ever met. i'm so lucky i get to tag along with him forever.

ok friends, what did we learn today.

1 - do not post things when you are feeling anything other than neutral. ie, sad, frustrated, annoyed. you will regret it.

2 - the internet is so. insanely. fast. and connected.

3 - i have wonderful and overprotective friends and family.

4 - lillie is wonderful and nice and talented and i think we should all visit her blog and leave her a nice comment :)

5 - alexandre desplat is an amazing composer. totally unrelated to this post, but very true and you should google him.

maybe it's better not to blog when i am a little bit annoyed.

hello.

this morning i found this link.

what an adorable nursery, right? and the good morning sunshine print looks awfully familiar too...

but she didn't buy it from me. it was ripped off. this has happened a few times in the last couple months and it's a little bothersome. i'm flattered that people like the prints, but creative thievery is the worst kind of insult in an "i like what you did but it's not worth it to pay you for your work" kind of way. sigh.

(can i add that she is a photographer? another creative professional. she should know better. but i would rather not have anyone comment on her blog. i'm not calling out the pitchforks ;)

not sure there's anything i can do (should i send her an email? nothing nasty, just a little head's up sort of thing?), but after an invitation job gone wrong last week where there is still a balance that is probably coming out of my pocket i am feeling a little on edge.

on the bright side, i am about to eat a cake bite. so all is not lost :)

*edit: so... some of you went and commented on her blog anyways, and she added a link to the site*

i thought i was clever, and then i walked outside.

yesterday i faced a dilemma of epic proportions. no jeans. in a stroke of (supposed) genius, i pulled out a pair of capris. thought process: capris + boots = 1 new pair of jeans for the girl who does not do laundry enough. no one would ever know... except the three inches of bare skin between my sock and capri. the minute i stepped outside the wind whipped straight through my boot and frosted that exposed skin. it was like wearing ice packs around my ankles all day. utterly foolish.