pizca
I think I've never uploaded any photos of myself as an accessories designer- more specifically as a leather handbag designer. It all started about three years ago, mostly in thought. I was in a class on weaving on an artisan's loom to create different textiles, and as I was learning I was thinking how great they would look on a nicely designed leather purse. So about a year after that is when the dream started to take form in reality, and my first collection emerged. I thought I wanted something different every time I created, so that a) every piece would be unique, and b) I wanted to experiment. Around a bit over half-a-year afterwards my second collection came into place, using Pre-Colombine pieces washed in gold in replacement of the textiles of the first collection. My third collection, which hasn't been out yet, is an introduction to the mixture between leather, silk and embroidery. The collection has been delayed, but I hope that sometime in the near future I can make it a reality as well :) Here's to hoping!
honey, lately...
I could blab out right now how much of a sucker I am for attempting to keep a regular updating-my-blog habit -I was actually writing about it-, but I think it's posts come out much better when they're written inside a place of want rather than a place of need. Anyways, not to bore you with details, here's a quick photo update on my life lately:
1. I baked my first loaf of bread. The look of it was amazing, but the taste was just OK. I'll won't give up though, as per usual!
2. I turned TWENTY-FOUR (yes, written and all-caps makes it more dramatic)! I spent the weekend with a cold, but was lucky enough to celebrate it in advance with my family so I managed to pull in a bit of a celebration.
3 (and my favorite so far). I went to New York City!!! My mum, grandma and I decided to take a 5-day vacation to the Big Apple. We had an amazing, amazing, AMAZING time. I think it's funny how you can never see the city twice, because every time you visit you see it differently. This has been my favorite view so far...probably because of the company!
Podría cansarlos con excusas del por qué no escribo más a menudo, pero personalmente creo que los posts salen más bonitos cuando vienen de un lugar del 'querer' y no de la necesidad. Así que, para no aburrirlos con detalles, voy a hacer una foto-actualización de mi vida últimamente:
1. Cociné mi primer pan! Se veía delicioso, pero el sabor estaba nada más 'bien'. Como es usual, no voy a conformarme con 'bien' y seguiré tratando.
2. Cumplí VEINTICUATRO años (¡Sí! En letras y en mayúsculas lo hace más dramático). Estuvo enferma el día de mi cumpleaños, pero por suerte había hecho una pequeña cena de antemano entonces pude celebrarlo!
3 (y mi favorito). ¡Me fui de viaje a NUEVA YORK!!! Mi abuela, mi mamá y yo nos decidimos tomar unas vacaciones de cinco días a la Gran Manzana, y la pasamos INCREIBLE. Me parece curioso como una nunca ve la misma ciudad dos veces, ya que cada vez que se ve, se ve diferente. Para mí, esta ha sido la mejor visita que he tenido hasta el momento, ¡probablemente por la compañía!
spanglish
There are two topics I want to quickly mention today. I can’t decide which one is more important, so I’ll start with whatever comes to mind.
When I started writing this blog I was finishing college in Boston, about to graduate with a degree in Graphic Design. I was taking a web design class and we were asked to keep a blog. I thought at the time it was a great idea to also develop my own personal blog and take advantage of it to make it some sort of portfolio/designer showcase. It didn’t end up being a showcase, but more of a vault of me and my inspirations…and lately some happenings in my life. I feel like I’ve, in a way, come to discover my biggest passions in the design world through this blog. However, something that’s been bothering me for a while is that I’ve only written it in English, and I’m a native Spanish speaker. I love my culture, my country, my language and my people, and somehow have missed to show that to the world. One of my greatest characteristics and definition as a person, and I’ve been hiding it all this time. So today is the official day when my blog becomes written in Spanglish!
The second topic, is that I want to take back what I wrote in the last post. As I finished writing it (I was obviously upset with my mother because she didn’t return in time for me to go to the exhibition), she came through the door, put everything aside and offered to take me to it because she knew how much it meant to me. So I want to say, officially, that she is the greatest. Ever. In addition, we went afterwards to one of my favorite restaurants to grab a bite of veggie pizza and a glass of Sangria. It couldn’t have been any better!
Hay dos temas que me gustaría tocar. No puedo decidir cuál es más importante, entonces voy a empezar con lo primero que se me venga a la mente.
Cuando empezé a escribir este blog estaba terminando la universidad en Boston, con un diploma en diseño gráfico. Estaba llevando una clase de diseño de páginas web y nos habían pedido crear un blog semanal. A mi me pareció una excelente idea crear al mismo tiempo un blog donde podía enseñar mi portafolio y a mi persona como profesional y diseñadora. Al final se convirtió más en un tesoro de mis inspiraciones y de mi vida personal, y últimamente de acontecimientos en mi vida. Incluso siento que he llegado a encontrar cuáles son mis pasiones a través de él. Sin embargo, tengo tiempo de estar pensando cómo me molesta que siendo latina, nunca lo he escrito en español. Yo amo mi cultura, mi país, mi idioma y mi gente, y de alguna manera he fallado en enseñarlo eso al mundo. Uno de mis atributos y de cómo yo me defino como persona, y había escogido esconderlo. Así que hoy es el día oficial en que mi blog se empieza a escribir en spanglish!
El segundo tema es que me arrepiento de lo que escribí la última vez. Claramente estaba resentida con mi mamá al escribirlo ya que había llegado tarde y yo no había podido asistir a la exhibición que quería ir. Al terminar de escribir la nota de ese día, ella abrió la puerta de la oficina y no sólo se ofreció a llevarme, sino también a acompañarme, porque ella sabía lo mucho que significaba para mi. Así que quiero decir que verdaderamente es la mejor mamá del mundo. Jamás habida! Y por encima, al terminar la exhibición nos fuimos a comer a uno de mis restaurantes favoritos por un pedazo de pizza vegetariana y una copa de sangría. No pudo haber quedado mejor!
celebration of re-birth
Most of us know what day it is today...it's three days before my birthday! haha! Nah, I'm just kidding...it's El Día de Los Muertos or The Day of the Dead. Although it does sound a bit dreadful, it actually is a very spiritual celebration. It's mostly acknowledged to be Mexican because it started with the Aztec and Mayan tribes, as a day that would celebrate the memory of their ancestors by paying tribute to the goddess of death. Now-a-days, people gather on this day to celebrate a loved one who has passed away, in a colorful and joyous manner. The prevalent symbolisms we see this day are in the bright colors, flowers, candy, music and food used to decorate altars or worn around in the streets.
I first intended to go to the Mexican Cultural House here in Costa Rica and take some pictures and then upload them, mostly because it sounded like a fun thing to do AND there would be food to taste which would have been awesome. However, because of -mostly- my mother, I couldn't attend and now I'm left wondering.
So I decided to give this post a bit of a twist. What has really caught my eye in this beautiful celebration, is not really the celebration of a loved one (one should celebrate this everyday- just like Valentine's: everyday should be written in the name of love) but the use of imagery and color. A few weeks ago I had seen this article on a Volkswagen Beetle commisioned by the Association of Friends of Museo of Arte Popular in Mexico City to promote the work of artisans both national and internationally.
Just like El Día de los Muertos, the purpose of "El Vochol" -how the Beetle was nicknamed- was to tell the world that the indigenous work should not be forgotten, but in fact it should be celebrated.