My current obsession with brown...

I have never been into wearing brown...which is odd as I have brown eyes, brown hair and a complexion made for it...perhaps it was the years of dying my hair blond or a variety of other colors that made me stay away, but that has now changed! I recently had to buy a new wardrobe for my day job...for those of you not in the know I manage the restaurant of a private club and have to be considerably more dressed up then I have to when I am in my studio. In the past few years I have not shopped all that much for clothes anyway, as I have been building Manic Trout and living lean to do so, so I found myself with a bunch of date clothes and studio gear...not helpful...well after I finished shopping I was surprised to see the amount of brown I gathered, and you know what, I really like it! It goes great with all of my brass jewelry too...I wonder how much this will affect my designing?

Photo from Vogue, October 1948

Exhausted...but getting back to normal

I know, I know I have been a naughty absent blogger, but I have never worked as hard in my life as I did in the past 5 weeks and being a major workaholic...that's a lot of working. I am really glad the holidays are over or I would have had a mental breakdown...seriously. Everything is pretty much getting back to normal as of today...although I still have to finish cleaning my studio...and I was in desperate need of some errand running, which I finally got to today...like grocery shopping and dropping off the dry cleaning.

I also have had a chance to do some image browsing online and tonight I may actually get to blog jump, which I have not been able to do for weeks! I just bought some prints from Etsy too, as I have such a weakness for photographs and as I have sold a few paintings on manictrout.com (gasp, I know!!!) I have some wall space open. Thought I would share one of them with you, as its just too pretty to keep all to myself.

I have also been finally able to set up the new computer...a 17" Mac Book Pro which I adore and got all the software on both machines upgraded and everything networked, which has been so much fun to do...so many new possibilities!

I also have new jewelry up my sleeve, and it will be up soon as Valentines Day is right around the corner and there has been oodles of new press, but I have yet to update the press page, so you'll have to wait for that!

OK, now back to work for me, as it never really does end, does it?

Black & White Dahlia by Creative Apples

Its no secret that I am tulle obsessed...

So the other day I received a case of the hot pink tulle that I use to both wrap orders and make jewelry with and was so delighted to find that he shipper used massive wads of tulle as packing material...I promptly wrapped myself up in it and jumped around in glee...which made my sister Thea who was helping me out, grab my camera...


So when I saw these from the November Latin america Vogue, I thought...oh look I am not the only one who enjoys holding wads of tulle...


...and she is jumping aroung in glee!



I think being so busy is making me nuttier than normal recently...eh...at least I'm having fun!

Milla is so cool...

I am in awe of Milla Jovovich...she succeeded as both an actress and a model and then developed her own awesome clothing line...and she looks so hot in this Paolo Roversi photo that its almost painful to look at her...ah...late night musings after hours and hours of working are always so random...

It's already Tuesday???

I swear I have new jewelry coming...its even photo's, priced, named, tagged and sitting in bowls on my desk in my way until I get to creating the pages for it...I even have a few tricks up my sleeve, although I admittedly do not have them ready yet, but I am really excited to tell you that I have new Sweetest Thing Earrings coming soon too! I am keeping this brief as I have piles of orders to get out to all of you lovely Manic Trout fans, but I wanted to give you a little taste of pretty today...




Karl Lagerfeld from the September 2008 Bazaar...I wish I had the nerve to wear eye makeup like that...

Real Simple December 2008 Gift Guide!!!

Alrighty Kiddos, here it is...now available on newsstands everywhere:
Real Simple December 2008 featuring Manic Trout Sweetest Thing Earrings!!!





and in case you missed it, here is the online version

Yay!

News, Coming Soon & Updates...

So where I have been recently you ask...well I've been in my studio trying as hard as I can to make your holiday shopping easy at Manic Trout...I'm working on a whole pile of new pieces which should be up on Monday, yay! I also have a wish list underway, a gift guide to help you make up your mind coming and even new line sheets on its way for you wholesale buyers out there. The Holiday shipping deadline list will be posted this week too...you still have about 5 weeks to shop your hearts out...

and the big news is...Manic Trout has three pairs of earrings in the December 2008 Real Simple Gift Guide!!!!! I'll show you more soon, but here is the online version!

Above is one of my favorite photo's as the day is grey here too...

The Other Side by SusannahTucker

So pretty, so girly...love it!

I have no idea where I found this image, but it looks like it could be right out of an anthropolgie shoot...which is my favorite store...girly with a bit of tousled charm...any way, just liked this one, thought I'd share...and ps I really love that mirror!

This is what happens to my brain when I create stuff...

I have had a wonderfully productive evening in my studio and did an our of aggressive exercise and now I feel like this:



Instead of the roaring Lion going on earlier today...much better state of mind now...

Oh Yes, it's Ellen Von UnWerth

I spend so much time oohing and ahhing over new photog finds that I sometimes feel the need to give a shout out to those that made my obsession with photography...especially of the fashion variety begin... Ellen Von Unwerth is by far one of the first fashion photogs that made me go ga ga with those Claudia Schiffer Guess adds back in the day...I thought they were the coolest fashion ads I had seen in a while when those came out! So I thought I would share a few of my current favs from the great Ms. Unwerth...

This may get me painting again

I have mentioned from time to time that pure laziness about preparing canvases is the main factor in my not painting more often...and well, I think that's kind of lame...so I have been trying to break that nasty habit and get a brush in my hand. I think though that the painting in this photo may just be the kick in the pants that I have needed...



The colors, the way the painting is used...even the circles...it all makes me want to get a fresh canvas on that monster sized ease taking up precious space in my studio...

Because its pretty...

I love this photo, I wish I could crawl into it...


Yelena Yemchuk for Vogue Nippon, October 2008

Might as well just go back in time...

As I have been obsessed for so long with clothing and photography that nods to the 50's why not just show some of my favs from that actual time: Norman Parkinson...Oh Swoon!





Interesting how all of the images I love the most feature ladies with coy poses...

A day of tasks...

There is so much to do today, but all enjoyable...orders have to made and sent out, the daily computer and internet work has to be done, I have to Vote and get my hair cut. I am hoping that Shanley and I can go for a long walk through the leaves with Faye. I need to do cardio and weights today. There is someone coming to my studio to shop later...oh and new jewelry HAS TO GET MADE today! So as I do all of that, you can enjoy some stunning photography...




I have no idea why, but I have become smitten with soft girly clothes...I think I actually always have been, but they are being created a great deal right now...which would make me happier if I ever could stop working and go shopping...I love the bottom photo the most...

A dose of color for a grey day...

Its really dreary outside today...and cold...and the sky keeps spitting out snow/hail/rain type weather...icky. I thought it was the perfect time to share one of my new favorite photogs and give you a dose of brilliant color...meet Mrs. French, the talented lady behind Bliss and the taker of some fantastic photographs! My three current favs...




1. Tiny Moon
2. Tips of Light
3. Ginkgo

There is also a delightful blog full of wonderful colors and images...it's already on my blog roll and its worth perusing often!

Getting all my eggs in a row...

I am really enjoying fall this year, I cleaned my home from top to bottom, including defrosting my freezer and flipping my mattress and therefore I am enjoying being in it when I get the chance. I am loving my new "day" job and although its the busy season there as well as with Manic Trout, I am so into both of them that I am pretty excited to be overwhelmed with work right now. The leaves are falling everywhere and as I live in New Yorks Hudson Valley, its gorgeous outside! I am even getting used to my new schedule and therefore able to exercise again...and one more thing...for the first time in YEARS I am cooking meals for myself again...crazy I know, but so good at the same time...tonight I had grilled chicken (the George Forman is the single gals best friend) with a Cajun rub, couscous and a tomato salad with balsamic...so yummy! Hmmm, I think I dare say that I am really happy right now.

Photo Courtesy of Mark Roper and shows some of my favorite simple pleasures right now...a clean house with a pristine white bed full of lots of layers and wellies to leaf kick in...

Halloween is so close and no costume ideas yet...

I will be working on Halloween this year, and I will be dressing up...I do every year anyway...I do love Halloween...however I have no idea what so ever I should be...

I did at one point go to a school dance in a green thing similar to the one above, with my face and hands pained green and antenna in my hair...I was an alien of coarse, albeit with out the Louboutin heels...and in the 8th grade with an amazing amount of courage when I think back on it...I'll need to be a bit more conservative this year...any ideas?

This is today...

These photos sum up today...beautiful, grey, dreary, cold and stunning all at once...



Photos by DavidVasiljevic

Loving the Shapes in these...

I fell instantly head over heels for these photos from the November UK Vogue by Tom Craig...especially the usage of shapes...




...and how much do you wish you could jump on that princess and the pea pile of cushions????

If I could jump into a photo...

I would leap right into this one...


I am suddenly incredibly busy on a daily basis, and I love it...being busy also makes me cherish the snippets of down time and moments spent with my near and dears...and makes me want to hang out in this room with a good book for an hour to reward myself...and as it has been so long since I've tossed out a random fact...Reading (non work related) during the day is my guilty pleasure...and its basically what a good vacation consists of as well....