photo by Kristin Beadle
A big thank you to everyone who attended our first art show – it was a great success. Our office was filled with good art, good company, and good conversation.
photo by Kristin Beadle
Artists Anderson Bailey and Jessie Bean Goodman choreographed the display, mixing glass pieces with ceramic, and some softer felted pieces in between. The result was a visual field of colors, textures, and reflections that led the patrons through the space. At the end of our long space, the lounge area offered a $5 bargain bin, with bowls and ornaments that everyone thought was clearly worth more than the price. These items disappeared quickly!
Kids' Lounge - photo by Kristin Beadle
There were a fair number of children (including my own rambunctious 2-year old son) in the crowd, and they were all extremely well behaved. It seems we always underestimate how well our children understand their environment. This event proved (to me, the most skeptical) that we can have perfectly sensible parties with kids in our midst. I think we’d like to host more shows in the future – so stay tuned.
Matt Roman - photo by Kristin Beadle
I feel so lucky to have the most fun and flexible office mates in the world – architectural designer Matt Roman and graphic designer Kristin Beadle. They let me open our doors to the public, and invited their friends to join in the fun. They are a source of energy and inspiration for me, and the office’s collaborative atmosphere is all thanks to them.
And last but not least: special thanks to Anderson and Jessie, who created a beautiful display and helped organize the event. Have a wonderful road trip to Tennessee, and best wishes – we will miss you!
The Monterey Bay Aquarium regularly updates their Seafood Watch, which is a guide to sustainable seafood consumption. I used to get several copies of the handy little pocket guide from my husband David, who was part of a team that designed a recent remodel and addition to the aquarium. After the project ended and he stopped having regular access to the newest pocket guides, I started downloading a pdf of it from their website, which wasn’t as small or as colorful (well, I guess it would be if I had the patience to print it out in color and cut along the dotted line), but still did the trick.
But now they’ve come up with an iPhone app. It’s colorful, up-to-date, and best of all, you can SEARCH.
I love it. You will love it. Spread the word.
Urchins seen on recent beach visit, probably not edible.
June and July are the rainy months in Japan. The heavy humidity and stagnant heat are downright oppressive. Combine that with sweaty people in crowded places and you have Tokyo.
I just got back from spending three weeks there, seeing family and drinking cold beverages. That’s one thing that really made an impression during this trip: the cultural desire for food and drinks to be cold, or just to seem colder, than the weather outside. During the rainy season, and all throughout summer, Japanese cuisine is focused on cooling. Cold noodles, ice cold beer. Fragrant herbs, spices, and vinegars are used in abundance, because it’s believed that it clears your senses and makes you feel cooler.
- udon lunch set with ice cold beer
Ice cream is sold absolutely everywhere, with a large, 3D soft-service ice cream sign outside the stores. Nico (our two year old) fully took advantage of this visual reminder to consume as many ice cream cones as possible.
- mmm ice cream
- mmm more ice cream
Lynn Fisher in our San Francisco office has been on maternity leave, and is returning to work on 5/4/09. We wanted to share photos of little Sam since he’s part of the hoa family!
Samuel Paul Bogart was born January 29, 2009 at 9:33pm. 7lb 14oz. 20 3/4″ long.
Here is Sam with Tess, who turned 2 in March. Can you believe how big and mobile they get in just 2 years?
The whole family in Sea Ranch. How they managed to get a smiling toddler to sit still, and a gurgling baby to look toward the camera, is beyond me.
We’ve missed Lynn at work and look forward to having her back. Congratulations, Lynn!
Herzog and De Meuron make a por… I mean a movie. It’s playing on 3/8/09 at the Whitsell Auditorium in Portland. For more information, you can find it here.
Instead of emailing everyone and their brothers about what I think is nifty, I decided I would post it on our blog instead. So here goes Nifty #1:
Lutron eco-dim. It is the same attractive series of dimmers that Lutron provides, except that it lets the bulbs last 3x longer, and provides at least 15% in energy savings. I looked online and the price for each fixture seems to be the same as the regular Lutron dimmer, so there’s nothing to lose in going eco!
I don’t have any photos of lush forests on hand, so here’s a photo of my son Nico and Grandma on the Oregon coast, walking on sand for the first time. Let’s do whatever we can to save moments in nature like this, right?
