I would love to hang out here.  In addition to being a stationery/gift store, the Regional Assembly of Text has a monthly letter writing club.  !!!  How brilliant.  I love hand-written letters (who doesn’t), but other than thank-you notes, it’s rare that I actually take the time to sit down and write a letter.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have a monthly time set aside to write a few letters and gather with friends? 

And, they have a reading room of rare magazines and self-published books!  I love that they not only sell them, but that they call it a reading room– implying that they won’t be annoyed if you want to spend an hour or two just browsing and hanging out.

Considering the Regional Assembly of Text is located in Vancouver, meaning not available to me (or most of the readers of this blog) (although there are some in Vancouver!  Hi!), I’m inspired to start my own letter-writing club with friends.  Wouldn’t that be fun?

[Regional Assembly of Text website]

Four great things: the classic gospel song “Wade in the Water,” the voice of Patty Griffin, a cool video, and a Southern selvage denim company.  This video was made by John Moessner for Imogene + Willie Jeans.

Imogene + Willie is a denim (and more) store housed in a cool old gas station in Nashville and i run by Matt and Carrie Eddmenson, a couple with experience at other industry standbys like RRL and Levi’s.  But not only is it a store selling new and vintage denim, they actually make their in-house brand of selvage jeans on the premisis and they’ll customize your pair for you the same day you buy them.

My favorite interiors aren’t generally overly feminine, but the new J. Crew Bridal Boutique is just. so. elegant.  

And actually, it’s not overly feminine.  It’s a perfect dose of feminine.  I muse a lot about how I feel like menswear and masculine interiors are so on it right now, but that not many people are nailing a classic, yet interesting, feminine look (see: J. Crew Men’s Store vs J. Crew Women’s Store), but this just does it for me.  

The balance of delicate brass with soft greys, curved lines (in the seating) with straight lines (tables), the strong contrast of the black frames on the white walls, oh la la.  Going on the lustlist are that desk and the nail-head trimmed screen.

And think about it, if you said the main colors of a room were going to be brass, grey, black, and white, you could imagine something quite masculine.  But instead the use of brass is light and elegant, the greys are in soft velvets and wools, and the stark black and white is balanced with plush textures (rug, dresses everywhere), flowers, and a chandelier.  It feels very feminine, and yet, it’s not filled with girly colors and there are no floral patterns, or even patterns at all, in sight.

Ok and allow me to just draw your attention to the floors for a moment: I love the herringbone floors, obviously, that’s one of my favorite kinds of flooring ev-er, but are they completely unstained?  Or is it just a super light stain?  I wish they were a little darker, do you?  Also, thoughts on the marble baseboards?!?  Now I love marble, and the idea of marble baseboards sounds oh-so-luxe, but next to the unfinished-looking floors, it seems a little off to me.  Too picky?

Also, this is just too weird– the image below is a compass rose my sister and I painted on the floor of her summer house a couple of weeks ago, that she’d been dying to do forever, and check out the image at top!  Apparently J. Crew was feeling floor-stars as well.

 Chance, a new line by Julia Leach, former creative director of Kate Spade, is all centered around the striped French fisherman’s/navy t-shirt.  And, not surprisingly, that makes for a collection of perfect summer essentials.  I’ll take one of everything, please. 

They also have a great timeline of the history of the striped shirt, including Matisse’s self-portrait wearing one!

Of course I would find this right after purchasing a child-sized St. James tee because I couldn’t find an adult-sized one I thought was as legit (and the St. James is def legit).  And let me tell you, a child’s size 14 has a pretty strange overall shape when worn by a non-kid.  Clearly, I was desparate.  I also bought that exact tank on the right from Target, which also has a weird fit, obviously, because it’s from Target.  If only I had held out.

My super-cool niece Mini (age 14) last week, after spending a week straight together was like, “you wear a lot of stripes.”  So, I guess I can’t justify another stripe purchase after a comment like that.  

However, one of my other super-cool nieces, Sadie (15), (yes I’m obsessed with my neices/nephews) told me that she had been considering buying the exact same kids’ St. James tee!!  Without knowing I had it!  So that made me feel a little better.  And now I feel like I have good karma for directing her to this Chance one instead.  

And now I’ve directed you there too.  Enjoy!

The inaugural exhibition is called I Love LA and is by Cat Jimenez.  I dug this one–

It’s by an LA artist named Miles Regis– isn’t it like de Kooning’s “women” meets Basquiat meets de la Vega??  How could you possibly go wrong with such a mix of influences…

de Kooning

Basquiat

de la Vega

As I mentioned, I’m in Atlanta right now, and I just learned that the wife of Sid Mashburn, who owns the men’s shop by the same name, is opening a storefront of her own!  Named, fittingly, eponomously, Ann Mashburn.

Sid Mashburn has quickly become an Atlanta staple, but for those of y’all who are further afield, a quick introduction…

After putting in time at brands such as Ralph Lauren and J. Crew, Mr. Mashburn brought his wife and their five daughters to Atlanta and opened his self-titled shop.

With a focus on, and championing of, crisp tailoring and quality craftsmanship, the store stocks a well-edited stable of brands such as APC, Persol, Filson, Levi’s, Jack Spade, Globe Trotter, his own house line, and more.

But the selection is only half the draw– Mr. Mashburn and his irresistibly charming crew are not only welcoming, but also offer up easygoing guidance to their clients on everything from fit to cuff lengths.  And, lest I forget, they also have tailors on site, working right there in the store to alter customize whatever your heart desires.  Could this store get any cooler?

Images from:

and this article by Stylite

I think I should tell you from the start, this guy doesn’t find big surf in NYC… I watched with anticipation thinking he was going to go tear it up at the end, but not so.  But, totally worth watching for the film itself!  It’s nicely shot, the colors are great, and it feels very evocative, watching this guy head out of the city for some solo time in the water.

By the cool new surf shop Saturdays Surf NYC.

Um, I really want that guy’s sweatshirt… wonder if they make any women’s sizes??

PS- if you were wondering about the lack of posts so far this week- my sister had a baby on Monday so I’ve been all consumed with baby William in my free time!

This unassuming cafe in Paris, called Sweat Shop, has become the cool new hangout for hipsters with a penchant for sewing their own clothes/accessories/crafts/etc.

With ten Singer sewing machines, customers can use the cafe like a sewing version of a cybercafe– paying to use the machines either by the hour or for a full day, in which case coffee, tea, and snacks are included.

Above, owners Martena Duss, a makeup artist, and Sissi Holleis, who had her own clothing line before opening the cafe.  In addition to cafe fare and use of the sewing machines, the ladies offer classes on various sewing techniques as well as kits that include all the patterns and materials necessary to make different things…

The whole world is going Handmade Nation… and I love it.