Friday, March 22, 2013

STONE....one of nature's most colorful displays!

I visited one of my favorite stone yards this week for a project I needed to source stone slabs for.  It is always such a treat and welcomed distraction to walk the yards at Fox Marble.  I needed a subtle white marble, not too much veining....soft.  But of course what always catches my eye are the bright and/or busy slabs, ones that are swirling with patterns and abstract shapes.  The closer and longer you look at them the more surprises surface.....some of my favorite slabs are the ones with so much color and depth to them....it's crazy to me that these are sliced from the earth and can then be installed and enjoyed in interiors for years to come.  The illusion of texture and movement is amazing.

Some beautiful slab details I saw the other day:

 photo IMG_7646_zps5c0784f5.jpg

 photo IMG_7642_zps8c699235.jpg

 photo IMG_7636_zpsecef1f93.jpg

 photo IMG_7643_zps70052c73.jpg

 photo IMG_7637_zpsb7f2ad7c.jpg

 photo IMG_7645_zps594331d7.jpg

 photo IMG_7632_zps1a1e1814.jpg

 photo IMG_7635_zpsa20a1953.jpg

 photo IMG_7640_zps048aefe6.jpg

 photo IMG_7650_zps7cc235f5.jpg

 photo IMG_7654_zpsbcbff547.jpg

 photo IMG_7662_zps7c49e47c.jpg

 photo IMG_7647_zpsacdb81e4.jpg

 photo IMG_7655_zps6f143ba2.jpg

 photo IMG_7661_zps308f25cd.jpg

 photo IMG_7668_zps486160a4.jpg

 photo IMG_7663_zps13a0c8ec.jpg

 photo IMG_7676_zps251935b5.jpg

 photo IMG_7666_zpse8aa0c2a.jpg

 photo IMG_7671_zps0d4c93bb.jpg

 photo IMG_7678_zps8180bb48.jpg

 photo IMG_7677_zps92bb75dc.jpg

 photo IMG_7679_zps1f7502d5.jpg


Kelly Wearstler and Stephen Gambrel are two of my favorite designers who use bolder full slabs in many of their projects.  The end result is like this jewel box of a room...bursting with character:

 photo KW1_zps10e65cef.jpg

 photo KW3_zps030b36e0.jpg

 photo SG1_zps2728284e.jpg

 photo SG3_zps453ed37c.jpg


 photo SG2_zps2b502839.jpg

 photo SG7_zps4d5d6994.jpg

 photo SG6_zpsa3682d3b.jpg

 photo SG5_zpsefa54243.jpg

 photo KW2_zps92088cd4.jpg

 photo SG4_zps7d4b5e0c.jpg

 photo JA_zpsbc63ca82.jpg
this little marble encased bar by Jonathan Adler at The Parker, Palm Springs is one of my fav places to sip a cocktail...so chic!

All stone images by janel holiday interior design - all interior images from each respective's designers website.....except the Parker Bar shot by moi.....xo janel !


Tuesday, March 19, 2013

...2TONE inspiration....!

The first time I can remember hearing "ska" and it having an impact on me wasn't from a sweet record playing at a club, or discovering it playing from the bedroom of my crush's older brother.....it was my older brother standing above me sleeping (on my waterbed....I kid you not) and blaring the starting trombone riff of The Specials "A Message To You Rudy"......and the boy could not play (yet. he would later go on to rule that 'bone). I was fuming...."I hate SKA....SKA sucks and so do you!! GET. OUT. OF. MY. ROOOOOM"!  Quite the outrage for my 13 year old self.  But as my brother continued to practice the trombone that day almost 25 years ago, I found myself loving the band he was trying to imitate.  Their jumpy, happy, funny and odd lyrics were intoxicating and I soon found myself sneaking into his room to play his tapes while he was out and about...The Specials catapulted me into the second wave, ska fueled fever that would end up shaping my musical tastes and creative outlets for the rest of my life.  This music would take me down paths filled with best friends to this day, my love of scooters and many, many concerts....

That year my brother went through this dramatic fashion transformation....shaved head, fur collar parka, Dr. Marten boots, pegged pants which my mom would help him sew on her machine, tennis shirts (Fred Perry's), what the heck I wondered?!  But then the friends started coming over.  Pulling up on their smoky scooters, my mom again pegging their pants....listening to all types of ska now, including the rock steady sounds of the 50's and 60's Jamaican originals...the Skatalites, Desmond Dekker, Toots and The Maytals, Stranger Cole early Bob Marley and The Wailers....and I. was. hooked.  His friends were cute, I liked their sharp looks, I loved their scooters, and I loved that they would actually dance to this music..."skanking"....swoon.

Fast forward to present day and guess what?  I am FINALLY seeing The Specials LIVE....I couldn't be more excited..!  I am busting out my old flight jacket, riding to the show and am completely prepared to revert to nerdy 14 year old Janel who will probably cry with excitement when that first chord echos out over the crowd...

While the black and white (two toned) checkerboard is the official pattern of this musical genre, I put together a few other two tone items that are inspiring me this week as I cruise down memory lane and prepare to have my mind blown....enjoy (yourself)!

 photo Specials2_zpsaa077ee7.jpg
1. Vivienne Westwood's "Tartan" wallpaper for Cole and Son.
2. how chic and mod is this "x shaped" 1940's magazine holder?!
3. the Murano glass lamps from the 1970's are TOO HOT!
4. I'm a RUDE GIRL...how 'bout you?!
5. A cute little dress to skank the night away in....from Modcloth.
6. The Merced Pillow from favorite Trina Turk packs a two tone graphic punch!
7. Ben Sherman pays tribute to the evolution of British menswear and the music that influenced the fashions in this great new book - 50 Years of British Style Culture.
8. Confession.  I bought these.  I returned these.  I still think they are cute, but this girl needs to reign in the spending these days...checkered cuties from Aldo.

 photo Specials3_zps76a7e9bc.jpg
9. So my fav dude Jonathan Adler is now making accessories....and he starts off with this adorbs scooter wallet....oh, Jonathan, we love you!!
10. A fun, vintage chair that adds some graphic interest in any room!
11. Can also be used for flour...or dried....um, pasta?
12. I still have my steel-toed versions of these Dr. Martens.
13. circa 1955 beautiful silver and obsidian cufflinks by Antonio Pineda.
14. take it even ruder with these Sally Hansen nail polish strips...!
15. 1960's Stopsol checkered sunnies - love these!!
16. With their oversized knobs, these black and white nightstands are two-toned 80's centric...!

 photo Specials1_zps42050f51.jpg
17. black and white crystal ball stud earrings
18. I can't find this Givenchy bag anywhere online to link you to it.....which is maybe a good thing, because I am obsessed with it.  
19. this 1970's French black and white lacquered armoire could possibly be the most stylish piece of furniture to house all your vinyl!
20. Made in Italy from Verbano for Roberto Manzoni Ravenna.....this Hollywood Pork Pie Hat is rude boy delicious!
21. va-va-voooom!!  This little dress can also double as a game table after hours?!
22. a one of a kind John Keal for Brown Saltman coffee table...love it.
23. The sexy SX200 Lambretta....I love the folks at Jet 200 Performance/Casa Lambretta for all things Lambretta and Bar Italia Classics for Vespas......if you have never ridden a vintage Italian scooter, you're missing out. 

My flight jacket I have had since for over 25 years now.....it is one of my favorite treasures.

 photo IMG_7619_zps47967a78.jpg

 photo IMG_7624_zps29c551d0.jpg

 photo IMG_7625_zps9016a255.jpg

 photo IMG_7623_zps52170797.jpg

 photo IMG_7628_zps9b745c96.jpg


Lucky for checkerboard loving fans such as myself, fashion designers are using this jumpy pattern lately....like the Louis Vuitton Spring 2013 collection designed by Marc Jacobs and we are already seeing this collection inspire other designers and more affordable options are becoming available.

 photo the-checkered-trend--large-msg-13597039704_zpsb6805391.jpg

 photo the-checkered-trend--large-msg-13597039002_zps1f90c91b.jpg

 photo the-checkered-trend--large-msg-13597040321_zps8332d734.jpg

 photo the-checkered-trend--large-msg-135970392859_zps41640ee5.jpg

 photo the-checkered-trend--large-msg-135970393249_zps05cd1242.jpg

 photo the-checkered-trend--large-msg-135970398869_zpsa03038f3.jpg

 photo the-checkered-trend--large-msg-135970399455_zps2a311ad3.jpg

 photo the-checkered-trend--large-msg-135970400312_zps6fbbe8a2.jpg

 photo the-checkered-trend--large-msg-135970401295_zpse4807194.jpg

Soundtrack is my favorite rude boys from England - THE SPECIALS...and it's lead singer Terry Hall's birthday today!

 photo specials1_zps1aa45fdf.jpg