The Seebergers Captured Elegance

We've posted some of the Seebergers' images before but have never really given them much of an introduction. I'm sure some of you know and admire their work, but if you have not taken a look at their book "Elegance: The Seeberger Brothers and the Birth of Fashion Photography" it is time! Taken from the book's description, "Modern fashion photography was born when three brothers, Parisian postcard photographers, shifted their lenses to the upper echelon of French society in the early twentieth century. As impromptu portraits of beautiful women in inimitable finery at racecourses, resorts, and cafes began to appear in magazines, courant designers such as Chanel, Hermes, and Madeleine Vionnet rushed to send their models to posh watering holes to be photographed with the beau monde."

Here are some pantsuits and images we adore. With summer coming to an end, this seems like the perfect transition....

Spiderwebs: Nina Katchadourian and Emil "Rocky" Fiore

Nina Katchadourian: The Mended Spiderweb Series

excerpt from Nina Katchadourian's site:

The Mended Spiderweb series came about during a six-week period in June and July in 1998 which I spent on Pörtö. In the forest and around the house where I was living, I searched for broken spiderwebs which I repaired using red sewing thread. All of the patches were made by inserting segments one at a time directly into the web. The short threads were held in place by the stickiness of the spider web itself; longer threads were reinforced by dipping the tips into white glue. I fixed the holes in the web until it was fully repaired, or until it could no longer bear the weight of the thread. In the process, I often caused further damage when the tweezers got tangled in the web or when my hands brushed up against it by accident.
The morning after the first patch job, I discovered a pile of red threads lying on the ground below the web. On closer inspection it became clear that the spider had repaired the web to perfect condition using its own methods, throwing the threads out in the process. My repairs were always rejected by the spider and discarded, usually during the course of the night, even in webs which looked abandoned. Each "Rejected Patch" is shown next to the photograph showing the web with the patch as it looked on site. http://www.ninakatchadourian.com/uninvitedcollaborations/spiderwebs.php

Special thanks to http://thebesttimeoftheday.blogspot.com/ for exposing me to Nina's work.

Emil "Rocky" Fiore: Real spiderwebs mounted on glass

The other week Sara and I bought one of these spiderweb plates for a friend. They are sold at Catbird in Williamsburg. The creator, Emil "Rocky" Fiore carefully seeks out each web, never harming the spider, then mounts them in a special way he devised after years of trial and error. Details about the species of spider are on the back of the plates. Check out Coolhuntings video of his process. It's amazing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97X7WiAOtMM and his website here http://www.whirledwidewebs.com/.

Palms+Birds+COLOR

Designer Eve Donon's Apartment

I love textile/knit designer Eve Donon's apartment. Check out some of her work here http://www.eve-donon.fr/. She's worked with Lacroix, Gaultier, Kenzo, Rykiel and more. I couldn't take any images from her site-so checking it is a MUST!!

images Marie Claire Maison May 2008

Napa Valley Part II

Thank you Molly and Jim for also making our time in Napa so special.

Images below from their beautiful home.

their landscaping was the perfect combination of california desert meets southern country.

the wrap-around porch with natural wood ceiling fans and white overstuffed furniture created a feeling of ultimate serenity.

love the multi colored hydrangea against the agave plants.

the water tower which overlooked the vineyard.
M and I decided to climb up for the view. Getting down was one of the scariest things I've had to do (imagine backwards + steep!)...I'd like to say it was worth the fright.
delicious concord grapes growing up the tower. they tasted like jelly!

swings hanging from old maple tree.

Love for Link

rip Josh Link xxx

Women and Their Elegance

The book "Of Women and Their Elegance" by Norman Mailer has quite an interesting mix of images. Here are some of my favorites. Unfortunately it is hard to figure out who's pictured in some of the images, so please excuse me--or help me out! (the pages aren't numbered so names in the back are hard to match up). Photographs: Milton H. Greene

Napa Valley Part 1

When I recieved the news that M and I were invited to spend the weekend in the town of St. Helena, Napa Valley with friends of his, I was ecstatic. The drive from San Francisco was breathtaking...watching the landscape slowly change and temperature rapidly rise as we entered wine country. Olive trees lined the streets, setting a foreground for the miles of vineyards set between two large mountain peaks. Pulling down Silverado lane, we reached our final destination; an old barn / winery estate from 1880. Surrounded by rows of lavender and rosemary, grape vines, and "welcome home" decorations made by the amazingly creative Bea- I knew a great weekend was to come.

Thanks again to those who made my time in Napa so great- Andy, Kate, Bea, Marybeth & Mordechai.