Now back to Real Time...on a plane returning to NY (oh the joys of wi-fi in the sky) for some more inspiration including...

Ladies and Gentleman, the fine art of Chris Gentile...

And yesterday (5/12/11) was a day full of Chris Gentile, fine artist and proprietor behind Mollusk in Brooklyn.

5/12/11 A drive out to Rockaway was well worth the trek - sunshine, fun waves, warmish (no gloves) water, and the girls won some drinking money at a casino down the beach. We also got a tour of Brooklyn from Chris including the best fish tacos at Cafe Collete and Mollusk (of course!) We even got a personal tour through Chris' inspiring studio upstairs from the shop...

I know, it's way cooler to act like I don't care...

But some times, you just have to celebrate inspiring moments...Hey, at least I'm not jaded, right??? I still enjoy every minute of it. Anyway, a couple weeks ago, I took a couple of POP designers with me on an inspiration trip to NY for Quiksilver. One of them had never been to the city before (yeah, she failed to mention this during her interview), so we proceeded to play Jay-Z & Alicia Key's Empire State from iphone through the taxi's auxiliary cable crossing the Brooklyn Bridge on a very pleasant Monday evening. I know, pretty cheesy, but imagine Megan's first drive into the city with the windows down rocking out to this jam...pretty good entrance. We proceeded to have our inaugural dinner with journalist and a good friend of ours, Jamie Brisick, on our first evening to kick things off on the right foot. Here was the drill - NY for a week, no retail, just get immersed into the art and culture of the coastal-minded folks we know out there. (Many transplants, some locals) Here's some excerpts from my emails home on the three days that followed...

5/10/11 Greetings from NY! Yesterday was a mind numbing inspirational tear through the best vintage archives in NYC. Melet Mercantile and What Goes Around Comes Around to name a few. I normally expect to find a few things here and there, but yesterday's "bounty" was, at times, overwhelming. This morning, I was reviewing the images and I thought I would send some through so you can take the ride with us...

Images sometimes don't do the trick, so on top of the phenomenal vintage finds, I thought I would share a sentiment on yesterday's weather, this was relayed to us by a friend who is a California transplant to New York..."We have ten glorious days in NY every year, and yesterday was one of them...the three-day forecast calls for two more stunners!" OK, no one likes a bragger, but we're to Montauk this morning...

5/11/11 We had an amazing one day trek to Montauk with our very gracious host Paige Straughan. We spent some amazing time with Katherine Foley from Air & Speed, the shop to visit for anything surf related on your next trip to Montauk. (Which for us, is next month!)

(I know, weather doesn't look so good. It was pretty cool up in Montauk, while the city was about 20 degrees warmer, at least)

Now, off to catch the L Train to Brooklyn. Chris Gentile just sent me this text.."see you at the Bedford Station at 9:30 - I'll have boards on the roof so you can't miss me!" Apparently the winds are offshore, I might need to do some further research on this...

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!! And a fair warning to KEEP THE EVENING OF JUNE 10th FREE!

We're all in much need for a break - this week was a little too close for comfort...I survived, but just barely. Looking forward to three days of sunshine...KEEP THE EVENING OF JUNE 10th Free. We're having a closing party at POPgallery for Sunset Circles with Special guests to be announced next week!!! Right now, I am going to sit here and watch Katie Goldman Macdonald's terrarium grow.

We're doing what every self-respecting family does over the 4th of July...

We're packing up the family wagon (Virgin America, aisle 12), and flying east for a clam bake & surf jam with friends in Montauk. While we're there, we'll surely check out...

R/TURPAN | EAST HAMPTON
May 26 - September 5, 2011
Designers: Jeff Zimmerman, Klara Drabsch, Wendell Castle, Hun-Chung Lee, Serena Mitnik-Miller, Renate Müller, Verner Panton, Sergio Rodrigues, David Wiseman, Jorge Zalszupin

lost and found...indelible digital...and strange relations

A New stack of inspiration. Actually an old stack...bought and then lost and now found! So new inspiration from the past for today (or something like that). Also got me thinking about the idea of indelible digital. We think the web is easy, fast and everywhere which is true, but it's also there forever.

And then another thought that came up in a conversation yesterday..."Success will solve it, and failure will put an end to it"...not sure what it means, but it came out of my mouth and strangely it feels like it applies to everything at the moment.

Dwight Twilley Looking for the Magic...

Just one of the many inspiring gifts from my last trip to NY. This one is via Chris by way of Chad. I'm told you should begin each day with this jam, so I will start this routine promptly this morning...Pay special attention to some heartbreakers you might recognize (Hannah's always loved her some Petty) and the salutations at the end is epic - Twilley Logo glowing in animated splendor...

INPUT : OUTPUT

Go see Philip Sumner at the Analog Workshop in Hollywood. Only open for 45 days, maybe more??? But you'll see Philip (groovy cat by the way) tinkering in his workshop with mechanical instruments from a bygone era made for playing music. And they're moving everything in site (even the furniture) and bringing some organic soul to vintage rock 'n roll...

Philip said they just hope to get enough feedback and interaction with the listener that they evolve this analog equipment in a cool direction. Everything they do is a one-off or extremely limited edition, so by "evolve" it doesn't necessarily mean modernize. Rather, it could mean taking a few steps comfortably backwards...just the way we like it!

This Crazy Girls name is Cozette...

She has her own blog, designs her own collection in the UK, writes for other blogs and has the first ever iphone mixed-tape cassette camera (see pic below)...she also wears swimsuits in seedy hotel bathrooms...

Facial Awareness

hairy new blog, check it. Thanks Mieke.

Currently working through a Q&A on Style and Miki was top of mind...a tank, a tux or a 'ten'...Dora Lives.

Intellectual Reefer...

Quite often, the cultured kids at Cinefamily drop another gem into my inbox. WHAT IS THE CINEFAMILY? "The Cinefamily is an organization of movie lovers devoted to finding and presenting interesting and unusual programs of exceptional, distinctive, weird and wonderful films. The Cinefamily's goal is to foster a spirit of community and a sense of discovery, while reinvigorating the movie-going experience. Like campfires, sporting events and church services, we believe that movies work best as social experiences. They are more meaningful, funnier and scarier when shared with others." This email blast yesterday particularly caught my eye (good posters), and I'll be picking up the book for sure...

Here's the text that accompanied the Cinefamily email...Back to the Land. Urban homesteads. Sustainable cooperatives. The movement that swept the nation in the '70s is back with a passion. Economic, permaculture, and social concerns have drawn thousands across the country to rediscover the benefits of collective living. The new Process Media book "The Modern Utopian" is the definitive examination of the alternative communities in the ‘60s and ‘70s, documented by those who knew it and lived it—from the fabled Drop City to Morningstar Ranch, Timothy Leary at Millbrook to Detroit’s Translove Energies and the still-thriving Stephen Gaskin’s Farm. Join Process’s Jodi Wille as she leads a conversation with members of a new generation (mostly in their 20s and 30s) of intentional communities in LA and New Mexico.

Afterwards, Process presents a rare screening of the 1972 documentary/concert film Rainbow Bridge. This gem of occult/commune '70s cinema features Warhol stars Pat Hartley and Chuck Wein, Dr. Bronner, cosmic surfers, black power soul sisters, clairvoyant shamans, Jesus freaks, and the actual inhabitants of a chic mansion commune in Maui called the “Rainbow Bridge Occult Research Meditation Center.” Then, Jimi Hendrix drops in, and on the slopes of the Haleakala volcano, he performs for his penultimate live concert in the U.S. before his departure from the planet only two months later!
Here's the trailer for Rainbow Bridge...

Yesterday morning, 5500 miles south...

your backyard looks fun Jess. Thanks for the pic...

26 Miles Across the Sea (and the other side)...

A coveted snap...thanks Tevis. Bueno Suerte.

I like 'em Short & Fat...

...and maybe a little crazy. So when Mason showed up at the studio a couple weeks with this freak of nature, I was instantly intrigued.

So much so, that I offered to babysit, and take care of his new ride while he headed down to Mexico for the week. Honestly, it seemed like the right thing to do.

I obsessed about the way this board would ride on my frontside, even though I was destined to surf it at first point with 100 of my friends, or closed-out Venice. The surf happened to be good the week I was "on duty", but the work was also overflowing. I elected to ride other boards at Malibu 'cause I didn't want to bruise Mason's new sculpture, although Jesse Faen was destroying Malibu on this very board the day before Mason left it with me (see it below). Anyway, I finally ended up riding this in a flood-tide in very small Venice, but I did get to my toes (after a few fun waves prone...this sled is a few inches longer than your first boogie board). That said, I did feel the glide and it was everything I had hoped for. All I need now is about "three more inches" (go ahead, make your jokes), and a custom order from the man himself. We had the pleasure of having Manny (Manuel C. Caro), drop by for the opening of Sunset Circles and he spoke about fine tuning the different elements of this board for my pending order. I could see the sparkle in his eyes as well...he's created a very beautiful thing here. Thanks Mason for the spark, and Manny for the hand-crafted inspiration!

Jesse Faen doing this board some justice at First Point.

To Japan with Love...You are my Sun, Shine.

A few weeks ago, Yusuke Tsukamoto's lovely wife Niki Livingston put on a benefit art show at space 15 Twenty in Hollywood to raise money for Japan. The last I heard, the tally was already upwards of eight thousand bucks...pretty amazing! Niki also happens to spin records at most POPgallery openings, so we are always down to support "the cause", and a bunch of talented hands from the studio donated their works...

Being a surfer, we naturally analyze every millimeter of a wave. After the first images of the destruction in Japan came over the wires, I saw this unbelievable aerial footage of the Tsunami in the open ocean headed for the coast. Already knowing what lied ahead, this footage hit me in a very powerful way. These forces of nature were immeasurable, just like the tole they eventually took. As creatives, we have always pulled great inspiration from the people and culture of Japan…now it is time to give back.

Katsuo Design (aka Yusuke Tsukamoto)

I was lucky enough to be the highest bidder on two of Nat Russel's pieces!!!

Chris Johanson (I'm pretty sure this piece took in the most money in the silent auction).

Amazing night for an incredible cause. Very inspiring Niki...thank you.

'Just' three of my sailboats...

Wall Flag...four states, two windows, multiple textures...tonal and graphic (all at the same time)

Happy Hannah Day!

My Mom.

Happy Mothers Day Mom. (Note the corrective shoes in this last image...forced to wear those things for a few years. Maybe that's why I turned to fashion for a career - to redeem my earliest days. Although Mom looks great in every image - dig that afro in the late 70's. That's surely where my "Jew-fro" was born...

????? STILLS ?????

Not sure what this is? Anyone? Just like the design and colors...it's the simple things.

Feeling kind of...

It must be the weather. A rad collaboration between Len, Costa and me...

A New Day!

And thus...the real beginning of change. Can you feel it??? The "royal-love" on Friday and the "grand-PEACE-OUT" last night. It's been a tough decade and this is a pivotal point in getting us back on track...let's all get realigned on the correct priorities. For all you haters (read: super right-wingers, tea-bagers and the Fox network of sensational journalism), consider this a big do-over on Obama. You can pretend that you actual like the man (who you voted for anyway and secretly admire), and get behind this great leader 'cause he's doing a damn good job! We all need a great big bowl of love to serve to eachother!!! One great nation aligned...imagine that? Support your Prez! He needs the groundswell of positive emotion to ignite thus country... We all do! And support your troops who swooped in and took out the biggest loose canon the world has ever know, while you were enjoying mimosa's on a gorgeous Spring Sunday. Hopefully, they can start packing their bags now. And to Osama, Aloha...Adios! You're DEAD dude!