Inge Morath

Somehow, I've never posted about Inge Morath here, so now I am!  Her career kinda has it all - her subjects ranged from the biggest stars Hollywood has ever known to regular folks and even llamas in cabs,  plus she made both documentary style and surreal photographs. Her images aren't where the story ends, either - Morath began her career as a translator & journalist and continued to study and write to give her photographs context.  I know she kept a diary and most of her writing (that is published at all) has been published posthumously, so I can't wait to get my hands on as much of it as I can.

Self portrait, Jerusalem 1958.

 Collaboration between Inge Morath & Saul Steinberg

Photo by Yul Brynner (1958)

Arthur Miller & Marilyn Monroe by Inge Morath (1960)

After these two crazy kids didn't work out (somehow!), Arthur Miller and Inge Morath got together and were married until her death in 2002.  I've always been curious about what Morath felt when capturing her future husband's intimate moments with Marilyn and kind of always assumed that she knew the relationship was doomed long before they did.  But that's only a story I've concocted in my head from looking at her photographs, the subject remains poorly researched on my part.  

spice up your life

My two very favorite, non human/feline things about going home for holidays:  the prettiest spice rack I've ever seen and my mom's ever expanding garden.  Cooking in this house is a dream!

Still, I'm anxious to get back to Austin and eat Sara's magical curry...we may, collectively, be a cheap bunch, but one thing we will not skimp on is spicy food.  True love can't be substituted. 

helen frankenthaler

Helen Frankenthaler passed away today.

festive

Banter Banner 

Mini tree with mini cats. 

Bear corner update!  Bears by Lizzy Stewart, Caroline, Leah Duncan, Leah Goren, and me.  

Second hand footwear in heavy rotation this December...mom's old Bass loafers + thrifted metallic and velvet slippies.  

Jason Wu Pre-Fall 2012

Jason Wu gets me.    I feel like he somehow eavesdropped on a conversation between Vivian and I and came out with this collection as if to say, "Ladies, I am here for you! You want leather collars, embroidered florals, and some gray-on-tan-on-black action? No problem. I have it covered."  Except I know that didn't happen because Vivian recognizes everybody worth recognizing, so we would definitely know if Jason Wu was in the same room as us. Plus, it would be super weird for him to just make a collection with us in mind considering our lack of funds or influence just because he likes making dreams come true.  Unless Jason Wu is the new Oprah?  Ohmygod, that would be awesome! I would watch that show.  

Conclusion of this entry: Jason Wu should totally be the new Oprah.

ATX Zine Fest, etc!

Hi, first off, thanks to everyone who has bought a copy of 40 Cats Drinking 40s!  I sent off the first few copies this afternoon, and I can't wait for them to reach your paws.  

More exciting news:  next weekend (December 10-11) we'll have a table at the ATX Zine Fest and (hopefully!) we'll have ANOTHER brand new zine available in addition to our previous releases and maybe some fun stickers and prints.

 The event will be held Saturday and Sunday December 10th and 11th from 12-6PM at Bernadette's Bar (2039 Airport Blvd). 

ALSO we'll be at Cheer Up Charlie's the two nights preceding the zine fest - on the 8th for The Vagina Zine Winter Issue Release Party & on the 9th for a zine event thrown by print Revival which we'll be tabling at.  

If you're in Austin, please come and say hi! We're nice people.

40 Cats Drinking 40s

We are pleased to announce that our latest zine, 40 Cats Drinking 40s, is finally available for purchase just in time for the holidays!

A zine featuring illustrations of forty drunk cats and one drunk human as well as rhyming tales of debauchery by Caroline Knowles and Tricia Gilbride.

40 Cats Drinking 40s is printed in color on cardstock and tied up with black twine, the preferred packing material of kitties.

Please order by December 19th to ensure Christmas delivery! Because this is totally the purrfect holiday present, right? Nothing says warm and fuzzy like a wasted feline!

renegade craft fair

Over the weekend, Carly, Joyce, and I stopped by the Renegade Holiday Craft Fair for some gift buying.  I couldn't purchase anything on Sunday, but I picked up some well-designed business cards for when my pockets are a little fuller and a few ideas for our upcoming craft/zine faire tables.

One of our favorite vendors was Son of A Sailor, who sells adorable painted jewelry & prints.  Carly bought a leather bracelet, and I was mighty tempted to purchase a necklace for myself.  

We also loved Yellow Grey, from Indiana based Kristina Kostur, who makes jewelry out of materials like sea urchin spines, stones, and various metals.

Overall, I'd describe it as a sometimes vanilla, real-life Etsy since the cost of tabling ($300) keeps a lot of the scrappier, more eccentric vendors from participating whereas selling online requires little overhead.   However, I definitely enjoyed discovering shops I wasn't familiar with (such as the two I mentioned here) and meeting people I had previously only corresponded with online. Arts & crafts talk forever, please.

superfog

Whenever I drive between cities in Texas, I'm tempted to pull over and take pictures...even if it is just farmland as far as the eye can see.  Leaving Austin on Friday, I noticed that it was a particularly gray day, and about twenty minutes out of the city the casual grayness turned into some sort of SUPERFOG and I totally went into X-Files mode, which is an entertaining but perhaps not terribly healthy way to make a three hour drive solo.  

When I could finally pull over safely (and by that I mean from passing vehicles, not aliens), I ended up  at a vacant high school, which did wonders for the spookiness of the situation - teens eaten by superfog!  There were also some train tracks and about a million empty firework stands (totally normal in Texas) to investigate for supernatural activity. 

Eventually, it got too cold and damp for me to wander around comfortably, so I got back in my car, blasted the Zombies, and made it through the superfog safely to family, friends, and delicious sandwiches in Houston. I'm definitely gonna need some more time being Scully in the near future, though! 

minnie casavet

As neither me or Tricia are especially fond of horror movies, we decided to opt for Rosemary's Baby and Carrie for our "scary" movie marathon this past Halloween. It's generally acknowledged that Mia Farrow's wardrobe and haircut in Rosemary's Baby has reached "cult" status, especially for us internet people but we quickly realized who really had it going on - the antagonist (aside from Satan), Minnie Casavet: Fun colored hair - check, avant-garde make-up - big check, tons of fun animal print - check. Basically all the things we loved encompassed in one misunderstood, eccentric character. 

Items from bottom left - Laura Urbinati Mesh Hi-Waist Undi in Leopard, Amika Zebra Tourmaline Curler, Faux fur wrap, L'Wren Scott Embroidered Cardigan, Vanessa Bruno Black Printed Silk Dress, Topshop Leopard Print Tights, Lanvin Wooden Wedge Patent Sandals, Enamel Evil Eye Ring, Pamela Love Bronze Talon Cuff, Kevin Murphy Color.Bug Hair Color, Chanel Powder Blush, NARS Lipstick in Catfight

When in doubt while channeling your inner-Minnie, always add more blush, more curl and more leopard print. Embellished cardigans, silk loungewear, and mysterious items of jewelry are a must. More is more. 

crowns clothing illustrated

Morgan from Crowns Clothing teamed up with a bunch of talented young illustrators (including our own Caroline!) to create a set of prints inspired by her latest collection, available now on Etsy. I love how the project turned out - each piece is the perfect combination of the artist's individual style while being recognizably Crowns Clothing.  Way to pander to my fondness for illustrations of fashionable girls! 

Naomi Elliot

Caitlin Shearer

The Disaster Life

Caroline Knowles

marion bataillard & ivan rogov — freunde von freunden

Though I can't understand much of the text on the site (Google Translate isn't helping me out much with it this morning), the images on Freunde von Freunden are an absolute delight. The site is a compilation of interviews with mostly Berlin-based creative types with tours of the interiors of their studios and homes -  the Selby with more of a European flair. 

all images via freunde von freunden

no. 6 fall 2011

Dreamy, dark, tall shoes and lots of silk - my perfect fall lookbook. all images from no6store.com. 

thoroughly digging right now: rose edition

1) THIS GUY - Okay, so loving kitties probably not something that I need to mention ever to anyone, but this lil' one snapped by Elo Vazquez might just be the most perfect feline in the history of all time. Besides my Pumpkin, of course!  

Via dreamcats 

1) COLLAR JEWELRY - on the average day, I'm sporting at least one collar, so I'm pretty into the idea of snazzing 'em up with a little metallic.

 via Wish Wish Wish

via Thank You, OK

3) KAYE X LEAH  - It's no secret that we're super into the work of Kaye Blegvad and Leah Goren over here, and this collaboration (available at Leah's Etsy) is no exception!  Totally the perfect example of the darker florals I wouldn't shut up about last week.  

4) 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE - This is a movie, I admit,  I found out about way later than I should have.  If you're into Joy Division, New Order, and the Happy Mondays and your sense of humor is a little twisted, this is a must see.  If you hate that whole music scene (who are you????)  and just like ridiculous and great fashion, you will probably also enjoy this movie.  

5) GRACE MICELI - I've been familiar with Grace Miceli's work for a while now and it has never failed to put a smile on my face.  Thanks to Carly, my car is now sporting a Pawnee Goddess sticker, so I drive around Austin feeling like a glorious female warrior.