A Clumsy Shy Girl's Dream Come True

12 years ago the one and only leisure activity I was interested in was going to rock shows. I went to a few a week. Ah, the good old days. All those places are gone now - Brownies, Coney Island High, Trammps, the Cooler. Coney Island High was pretty much my favorite place to see shows at that time, because I really enjoyed the pop punk. It was there that I fell for Weston. They embodied everything I loved: nerds, painful crushes, silly lyrics, rock-star posturing, fun. I could sing along with them at the top of my lungs and rock out and not feel stupid for once. It wasn't about being cool at a Weston show, it was about being yourself and having fun. Well, that's what it was about for me. I went to a lot of other indie rock shows at the time, ultra-cool bands like Blonde Redhead and Magnetic Fields, and that was all about fashion and standing there with your arms crossed.
I was the only person I knew who appreciated Weston's brilliance, and I usually had to go to their shows alone. Sometimes, I could bribe a friend to accompany me. I didn't mind going by myself though, because once they took the stage it was just me and them. I would stay safely on the edge of any mosh pit that happened to form, and jump up and down and bop my head back and forth. I can't believe I just typed the words "mosh pit". Do people even say that anymore? I was going to just say "the pit", but I thought there was a slight chance that a few people might not know what that meant.

Weston made me so happy. Then somewhere along the way I got it into my head that I needed to grow up, act my age, or something. I stopped going to shows, I stopped wearing my uniform of T-shirt, jeans and Converse, and I stopped having fun. I sort of forgot about Weston!
Luckily, 3 years ago I met an amazing, nerdy, shy guy named Matt. In the course of getting to know each other, we talked about music, of course. Turns out he loved Weston too! It was fate. We broke out our old CD's and I remembered every word. I remembered how awesome I felt after a Weston show. We dreamed of their reunion. Little did we know they had already reunited. Did they ever break up?
I reluctantly joined Myspace.com for the 2nd time partly so I could keep tabs on my all-time favorite bands and not miss their shows anymore. Being a part of the Leisure Society affords me much more time to listen to music, as well as obsessively search the internet. So even though I hated it at first, I have to thank Myspace for getting me back "in touch" with Weston. For it was there that I learned that they were playing at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ Friday night. Yeah. And they were going to be recording the show for a live album. It was gonna be a sing-along. And this time, I wouldn't have to go alone. I could go with my sweetheart!

I was super-nervous for them. I always got nervous before shows. I knew they would open with "Retarded" just as they used to. I was standing on the bleachers on the side of the room at Maxwell's, and as they played the intro I was overcome with the physical memory of just exploding on that first crash of the cymbals. I almost fell off the bleachers. It was like no time had passed. They played all the hits, Dave Weston did his famous strum-and-point move that I had forgotten about, and we all sang our hearts out. The silly jokes were flowing, my favorite being "Who's D to P?" as in the abbreviation of "Who's dying to party?" I think they had as much fun as we did.
We got home at 3am, which is the latest we've stayed out in years. We couldn't hear a thing for 2 days, and my neck was sore from rockin'. All true signs of a good rock show. Thanks Weston!!

Dreaming of the Beach

Today is a rainy day and it's making me daydream about the beach. A beach on the ocean is where I feel most like myself. That's it for today. I have to do my Italian homework.

Inspiration

For the past 10 years I said I hated art. But I guess that's not true. The truth is that I am so intimidated by art and artists that it's easier to write it all off. I never considered myself an artist. My high school art teacher told me I wasn't very good at it and I believed it.

But this year, I have rediscovered my own personal love of art, the love that led me to express my creativity through fashion. This love fell by the wayside in the rush of the corporate cycle of shop, draw, make, sell, repeat. When I worked in fashion, I only looked at fashion magazines or for inspiration. I didn't really have time or the brain space to look at much else.

Now that I have my own company, I try to look at lots of different things for creative inspiration: things that are important and interesting to me and only me. You know, I forgot what that was! It's amazing. Right now I have 2 inspirational loves. The first one is Olafur Eliasson. I went to see his show at MOMA 2 weeks ago, and it blew my mind. It sort of went along with a whole theme of mine lately: to really LOOK at things, situations, etc. The yellow light that washed all the color out of everything was my favorite. I had bright blue shorts and orange shoes on, so it was really fun to watch my colors change from room to room. Today, Matt and I are going to see his show at PS1.

The other inspirational love is this Sundance documentary on Marc Jacobs that I just watched this morning. Wow. The man really is a genius. I'm in this phase right now where artists and "real" fashion designers are so fascinating to me because they experiment, they tinker, they think, they play. I really want to do this too! It's their process and way of thinking that is so inspirational to me.

So this is what I am doing with Leisure Society. I want to dream, play, experiment. I am trying to approach it like an art project rather than a "business" at this point in time. It'll be ready when it's ready.

Today I work

It has come to that time in the development of Leisure Society, LLC (the company as opposed to the blog) that I am going to have to get off my butt and do some good old-fashioned designer work. Update for those of you I don't talk to on a daily basis: I got 2 yards of each fabric I designed so I can get samples made up. This fabric is kind of pricey though. I've been struggling with costs lately, not wanting my finished products to be too expensive. The fabric has been printed digitally, and this technology is still new and therefore, more money. These people make life really easy for me though. They supply the fabric, print it, and ship it to my doorstep.

In an attempt to see if I can get costs lower, I have gotten in touch with a screen printer here in Brooklyn. I am going to go visit his work room today. If I go with a screen printer such as this, I have to provide the base fabric. That means that I get to play designer today and hit the fabric stores in Manhattan. In an ode to Project Runway, I will visit Mood first. I have to admit that I don't think I have ever been there! Ssshh, don't tell my other designer friends. I have a short list of other places to see as well. Then, last but not least, I must get zippers for the pillows I plan to make.

As some of you may or may not know, I am designing a little collection of Home Accessories, including but not limited to: pillows, aprons, napkins, placemats, oven mitts, pot holders, and book totes. The first collection is going to be about hosting a fabulous outdoor dinner party or BBQ or what-have-you. Who knows what's gonna happen? I have to try this though. I have to try to make a job for myself so I never have to go back to "work" again. Know what I mean?

All my anti-work talk boils down to wanting to be in charge of my own time. With Leisure Society, if I want to work I do and if not, I go to the beach. I'm figuring it all out as I go along here. That's fine with me. I'm free.

The Parthenon Slide Show

Greece, part I

I am going to need to think about how to tell everything about our trip to Greece. We saw and did so much! It may require its own website. I saw this new project in Budget Travel magazine where you can make your own travel journal online. So I might do that, and you will have to visit another website to read about it if you are interested. Supposedly you can put a lot more photos in that travel journal. On this, you can only put one photo per post. This, by the way, is the Parthenon.

In terms of Leisure Society, the effect Greece had on me was profound. Travel is still my #1 leisure activity, especially when it involves spending time on the beaches of the world which comes in at a very close 2nd. The art I saw inspired me tremendously, from the architecture to the statues to the frescoes to the pattern-work. I walked around in awe most of the time. I learned a few Greek phrases before I went and used them a lot. So now I want to continue my study of Greek, in addition to Italian. Studying/learning is another "leisure" activity that is very important to me. I call it leisure only because it doesn't involve going to a job and working.

Almost all of the other trips I have taken to Europe have been for work, and all I did was shop, except for once when I was in Florence on a Sunday and all the shops were closed. I know, poor me, right!? Also, we could only spend about 1-3 days in each place, so I never got to really see anything. It was really heart-breaking for me at the time. But this time, I got to see whatever I wanted. I saw ancient temples, bathhouses, marketplaces, cities, mountains, islands, tiny villages, beaches, lots of stray dogs and kitties, tavernas, churches, and blue, blue water.

I can't stress how important I think it is that we experience other cities/states, countries, cultures, languages. And not on TV! I think it makes us smarter, more interesting people to see these things firsthand, and not take someone else's word for it. Leisure Society is not about sitting around on your butt watching TV. It's about owning your life, being independent, and using your brain to learn about the world and make decisions. This is why I never want to work full-time for a corporate company again, because these things are not encouraged in that world.

Phew! Sorry to get all heavy on you there. Time to get back to work! I am on the verge of getting the first prototype samples made of my home accessories collection. I am having the fabric printed in PA right now, and I am going to use a sample-room in NYC to get the items sewn. How exciting!! The first collection is going to be for an outdoor dinner party, and may include placemats, napkins, aprons, outdoor pillows, and a picnic blanket.

I am a Greek Goddess

I am the Ancient Greek God:

Hestia

Greek Gods Quiz

You are the god: Hestia

Hestia is the Goddess of hearth (more widely as cooking), and family. A hearth is a fireplace used in cooking and/or heating and symbolizes how a family centers around for food and warmth. Furthermore, public hearths broadened Hestia�s importance with extended families that were not directly of the same blood. Hestia is one of the three Great Goddesses, but gave up her seat to maintain the sacred fire on Mount Olympus. She was considered as the first and last born by Rhea and Chronus. This is because after the initially birth, Hestia (as with other primary Gods) were swallowed-up again by Chronus, only to reborn later. Although she is known to be passive and non-confrontational, she was important due to her association to the home and the hearth, which are both essential to man.

Hestia is known for the health and the home.

So I took this Greek God quiz at the website www.hitgreece.com and it turns out I am the goddess Hestia. Who knew? This is a great website if you want to learn Greek. I downloaded a bunch of their podcasts before I went to Greece and I could speak pretty well when I got there! People were happy and impressed that I knew a little bit of their language. Most people spoke English, but I think it's important to show some respect when you go to another country and learn a bit about the language and culture before you go. Stay tuned for more about my amazing, life-changing trip!!