Shop Spotlight: Iron & Resin

Right now, I'm a gypsy. A couch surfer, an inflatable mattress connossiour, a free (stressed out) spirit. Some nights I'm in LA, but my main place of residence, my temporary official address is in Ventura, CA. My aunt has been incredibly kind and is letting me stay in her extra bedroom as I job hunt/go to school/look for a place/get on my feet. Which, means, I am a stones throw away from Main Street. It's a quaint little downtown street full of antique shops, artisian shops, thrift stores, and some deeelicious restaurants.

I went into Iron & Resin, a hip biker store full with pretty much everything, and anything. It's completely hipster, the word hipster tends to induce major eye rolls but hey, if hipster means its hand crafted, hand drawn, and authentic. Well then, I can get down with 'hipster' stuff.

I took a silly amount of photos on my super fancy DSLR Iphone. I just felt really inspired, and now that I'm studying Graphic Design, I'm being more cognizant of capturing all things design that inspire me.

 

If ever you are in the area, this shop is definitely worth checking out. 

Iron & Resin

524 E. Main St

Ventura, CA 93001

(805) 643-0737

Bye, Bye Bay Area

I want to leave this place while we are still on good terms. While I still feel love in my heart for this space, this place, that has encapsulated so many of my successes, my errors, and my growth. I transformed here.

Leaving my hometown of Tucson, AZ in January of 2008 was one of the best decisions I ever made. There's something incredibly empowering about thrusting yourself out of your element of comfort and branching out into the unknown. The trials and tribulations, the hurt, the happiness. It's been one helluva journey. I feel like everyone should leave their hometown at some point, it doesn't have to be forever. It's equal parts of oh-shit scary and exciting, but in the end, you'll be incredibly proud of yourself for navigating through it.

The Bay Area has been a beautiful playground to me for the last 5&1/2 years. The diversity of people, the greenery, the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, the vast infinite ocean and the beauty of the bay, the rolling hills, the steep San Francisco slopes, were blissful. But yet every moment savored in this little world of mine has come tagged with a feeling of a void in my heart. It's been bittersweet. I can't say that northern California ever truly felt like home. The question, "When and how will I leave?" has always loomed over me pretty much since I got here. My only regret is that I never actually lived in the city of San Francisco, that had the potential to be a fun experience and a part of me feels that maybe I would have found a sense of home in that beautiful city. But I digress.

The past five years have been transformative. I sometimes lost the best parts of myself only to later regain them back. I've grown by leaps and bounds. I've made friends that became family, and I was fortunate to work in an environment that helped cultivate and mold me into the person I am today. I teetered with the idea of going back to live in Tucson, but I'm a city girl at heart. I like the forward thinking attitude of big cities, the busy hustle and bustle, and the creative energy.

My new journey starts on Saturday, August 24. (I'm here already! This post was written far too early.) I packed up my embarassing amount of crap and trekked to the City of Angeles, that's right, Los Angeles. I've always felt a pull and gravitation towards LA. Since I was 16, it's felt like a friend, calling me, waving it's hand trying to usher me in. I've decided to finally take the invitation and stay awhile. I want to see if this gravitation, is going to lead to a place that finally feels like home. Bye, bye Bay Area. Good tidings to you, we had a good run, but it was time to part.

The last couple weeks have been very intense and hectic. It's been go-go-go but I'm excited. I'll be posting more often once I'm better situated.

I turned 27.

(My dad & I)

I've officially entered my late twenties! I turned the beloved 27 on August 1st and I don't really care that I'm almost 30, bring it. Though, I do feel this nonsensical panic to do carefree spontaneous things all of a sudden. Because according to Buzzfeed thats what our twenties are for. I keep hearing all these pros and cons about the twenties bracket and its interesting. My two cents, our early and late twenties are vastly different feeling. With each year that passes, I feel more confident and secure with who I am. My early twenties and late teens consisted of the constant questioning of everything and feeling so stupid and insecure. I can't claim I have it all figured out, but I see growth. Growth is comforting.

My dad came to visit for three very brief (though very fun) days. I can't even remember the last time I spent a birthday with my dad, he couldn't either and he deemed that unacceptable and so a flight was booked and the rest is history.

Those three days were a whirlwind because our itinerary was silly full. We went to San Francisco for my birthday dinner, Fairfield to visit my aunt, hit up Napa very briefly, then went to Cupertino to visit a few of my dad's friend who were in town. It was a memorable visit, one that must be repeated again soon.

Inspiration 01

Give me a..."ENTER LETTER HERE AND SHOUT IT VERY LOUDLY!" And then do a cheer and dance if you feel so inclined. Which I just did, at my desk, at work.

I like the "make it big" vibe the two photos above have. The fun and playfulness of making one letter big, and intertwining it with a person makes for a very engaging portrait.

Photo Credits:
Showroom Magazine 
The Brand Audit by Nubby Twiglet

Change is Brewing.

I'm sitting here at my desk, engulfed in a mixture of anxiety, panic, and excitement. Mostly, excitement, but the panic. It's there. Oh it's there. I'm in "charge forward" mode. I've been reflecting a lot this past year, on where I want my career and personal life to go. My current situation isn't letting me maximize my skills, growth, and potential for a few reasons that I would like to chum up to business politics. But business politics aside, I've been wanting to make this change for a long time. And because of one reason or other, I back out. Get nervous, cave to the advice of others and get back to this place. This internal standstill with myself where I know where I want to go, but I feel like the influence of other factors prevents me from breaking through.

I have to keep mum for a little, on what this big change is but, it's coming. I'm ready for it though I got some grown up thangs to handle first. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Breaaaaathe.

The Name Game

After creating, and abandoning an embarassing amount of blogs and domain names, I think I've finally quit being a floozy, and I've settled. Design Life Hub! Designlifehub! Desiiiiiiiign. Liiiiiiife. Huuuuuuuuub. Yes. I like the sound of it. I think it encompasses much of what I wish to capture here on my little free space of the internet,  and it rolls off the tongue nicely. Finally, I'm in a committed domain name relationship. Heavens, sing.

I don't even know where to begin quite yet on developing a logo for this blog. So for now, lets just file DLH under TBD. I'm exploring ideas and catching vibes. So, someday. Let's hope sooner than later. Right now I'm in the discovery and development process. Which means, I'm avoiding it like the plague.

Thrift Finds

I'm not sure when I became an old lady who trolls antique stores in search of golden animal treasures and other such things, but some where, some how, it happened. I've fully embraced it. Living across an Eco Thrift, one of northern California's largest thrift stores for antiques, isn't helping the cause either.

After work, I have this internal battle where I ask myself; should I pull into Eco Thrift or not? And who am I kidding, 99% of the time before I even answer the question I've already got my left turn blinker on waiting to turn in through the little back street. Sometimes I walk out feeling like I just won a raffle prize, other times I'm like what a load of crap.

Anyways, below is some of my favorite loot. The prices at which I've gotten everything are dirty cheap.

I got my cousin this cute little bolero cowboy necklace, because she a country girl!

On the left, is a one of a set of brass elephants I found. The trunk duals as a functional and convenient ring holder. On the right, a very serious soldier. 

I used to keep my chunky jewelry stuffed in an oversized zipblock bag (hey it did the job) but now, thanks to my newfound obsession with brass, I found these nice sturdy bowls and things around here look a little more glamorous.

The round brass tray served as the perfect resting spot to make my perfumes look all organized and fancy. Though I must embarrassingly admit, during the morning rush of getting ready I slam or pull out my drawers too fast and I knock them over constantly. My mornings are filled with expletives.

 And lastly, a nice little brass dish for pocket change. 

I'm a total brass junkie, and if its dirty, unpolished, and lackluster, well even better. Because polishing brass is strangely gratifying.