creative stimulants

Saatchi & Saatchi in Bangkok by Supermachine Studio. 2011? Via The Coolhunter.

Saatchi & Saatchi.

Ogilvy & Mather in Guangzhou by M Moser Associates. 2008. Via The Coolhunter.

Ogilvy & Mather.

ANZ Breakout & Learning Centre in Melbourne by Hassel. 2007. Via The Coolhunter.

ANZ Breakout & Learning Centre.

Google in Zurich by Camenzind Evolution. 2008. Via The Coolhunter.

Google.

We were taught for so many years that the office was a serious space: a space where we should separate work and play, business and pleasure. But, why does it have to be a a dull space? I've read over the years that people who are more comfortable in the environment tend to bring in a greater quality of work. Companies such as Saatchi & Saatchi, Google, Ogilvy & Mather and ANZ have come to present to the world a different kind of office: a space where you CAN mix business and pleasure. At least the visual kind of pleasure, where the eyesight can rejoice in different colors, shapes, themes and all kinds of wonders.

A través de los años, se nos ha dicho que la oficina es un espacio serio: un espacio donde tenemos que separar el trabajo con el juego, el negocio y el placer. Pero, por qué tiene que ser un lugar aburrido? He leído a lo largo de los años que la gente que se encuentra cómoda en su lugar de trabajo tiende a desarrollarse mejor profesionalmente. Compañías como Saatchi & Saatchi, Google, Ogilvy & Mather y ANZ han venido a enseñarle al mundo una oficina diferente: un lugar donde SE PUEDE mezclar el negocio con el placer. Al menos el placer visual, donde se puede alegrar la vista con diferentes colores, formas, temas y todo tipo de maravillas.

dorothy draper

Dorothy Draper

The Greenbrier via Jane Hall Design

The Greenbrier via HGTV

The Greenbrier

Dorothy Draper exhibition at the Museum of New York City

"Never look back, except for an occasional glance, look ahead and plan for the future. Success is not built on past laurels, but rather on a continuous activity. Keep busy searching out new ideas and, experimentally, keep ahead of the times, or at least up with them." -DD

Every day I get more involved with decoration, and every day I bump into unexpected discoveries. Today's finding is that of Dorothy Draper, a pioneer woman and one of the first decorators known in the industry. She "professionalized" the industry when she established the first interior design company in 1923. She invented "Modern Baroque", a style described as many describe herself: vibrant, splashy, colorful...mostly used in large public spaces. To say the least, the restaurant from the Met is nicknamed after her as "The Dorotheum". A true legacy indeed, and a true mentor to follow!

"Nunca vuelvas a ver para atrás, excepto por la mirada ocasional, mira hacia adelante y planea el futuro. El éxito no está construido en el pasado, sino en la actividad continua. Mantente ocupado/a investigando nuevas ideas y, experimentalmente, mantente adelante del tiempo, o al menos no te quedes atrás." -DD

Todos los días me siento más involucrada en el mundo de la decoración, y todos los días tengo encuentros inesperados. La del día de hoy fue Dorothy Draper, una mujer trabajadora y una de las primeras decoradoras conocidas en la industria. Ella "profesionalizó" la industria al establecer la primera compañía de diseño interno en 1923. También, inventó el "Barroco Moderno", un estilo que muchos describen como la describen a ella: vibrante, llamativo, colorido...usado mayoritariamente en grandes espacios públicos. Queda corto decir que el restaurante del Met tiene de apodo "El Dorotheum". Un gran legenda y una gran mentora a seguir!

thirty truths

I can't say I'm in the best place in my life right now, but I can smile because I know it will get better! I just read this 30 amazing truths from Marc and Angel Hack Life, and they're worth every word!

No puedo decir que estoy en el mejor punto de mi vida en este momento, pero puedo sonreir porque sé que se va a poner mejor! Acabo de leer estas 30 verdades de Marc and Angel Hack Life, y cada palabra vale la pena! (Me disculpo, el artículo fue escrito en inglés).

1. There comes a point in life when you get tired of chasing everyone and trying to fix everything, but it’s not giving up. It’s realizing you don’t need certain people and things and the drama they bring.
2. If a person wants to be a part of your life they will make an obvious effort to do so. Don’t bother reserving a space in your heart for people who do not make an effort to stay.
3. If you want to fly, you have to give up the things that weigh you down – which is not always as obvious and easy as it sounds.
4. Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing.
5. Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success. You don’t fail by falling down. You fail by never getting back up. Sometimes you just have to forget how you feel, remember what you deserve, and keep pushing forward.
6. When you get to know people with different ethnic backgrounds, from different cities and countries, who live at various socioeconomic levels, you begin to realize that everyone basically wants the same things. They want validation, love, happiness, fulfillment and hopes for a better future. The way they pursue these desires is where things branch off, but the fundamentals are the same. You can relate to almost everyone everywhere if you look past the superficial facades that divide us.
7. The more things you own, the more your things own you. Less truly gives you more freedom. Read The Joy of Less.
8. While you’re busy looking for the perfect person, you’ll probably miss the imperfect person who could make you perfectly happy. This is as true for friendships as it is for intimate relationships. Finding a companion or a friend isn’t about trying to transform yourself into the perfect image of what you think they want. It’s about being exactly who you are and then finding someone who appreciates that.
9. Relationships must be chosen wisely. It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company. There’s no need to rush. If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason.
10. Making a thousand friends is not a miracle. A miracle is making one friend who will stand by your side when thousands are against you.
11. Someone will always be better looking. Someone will always be smarter. Someone will always be more charismatic. But they will never be you – with your exact ideas, knowledge and skills.
12. Making progress involves risk. Period. You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.
13. Every morning you are faced with two choices: You can aimlessly stumble through the day not knowing what’s going to happen and simply react to events at a moment’s notice, or you can go through the day directing your own life and making your own decisions and destiny. Read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
14. Everyone makes mistakes. If you can’t forgive others, don’t expect others to forgive you. To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you.
15. It’s okay to fall apart for a little while. You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well. You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either – cry if you need to – it’s healthy to shed your tears. The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again.
16. We sometimes do things that are permanently foolish just because we are temporarily upset. A lot of heartache can be avoided if you learn to control your emotions.
17. Someone else doesn’t have to be wrong for you to be right. There are many roads to what’s right. You cannot judge others by your own past. They are living a different life than you. What might be good for one person may not be good for another. What might be bad for one person might change another person’s life for the better. You have to allow people to make their own mistakes and their own decisions.
18. Nobody is perfect, and nobody deserves to be perfect. Nobody has it easy. You never know what people are going through. Every one of us has issues. So don’t belittle yourself or anyone else. Everybody is fighting their own unique war.
19. A smile doesn’t always mean a person is happy. Sometimes it simply means they are strong enough to face their problems.
20. The happiest people I know keep an open mind to new ideas and ventures, use their leisure time as a means of mental development, and love good music, good books, good pictures, good company and good conversation. And oftentimes they are also the cause of happiness in others – me in particular.
21. You can’t take things too personally. Rarely do people do things because of you. They do things because of them.
22. Feelings change, people change, and time keeps rolling. You can hold on to past mistakes or you can create your own happiness. A smile is a choice, not a miracle. True happiness comes from within. Don’t make the mistake of waiting on someone or something to come along and make you happy.
23. It’s much harder to change the length of your life than it is to change the depth of it.
24. You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did.
25. When you stop chasing the wrong things you give the right things a chance to catch you.
26. One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else.
27. Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things. Read The Book of Awesome.
28. Anyone can make a difference. Making one person smile can change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world.
29. Everything is a life lesson. Everyone you meet, everything you encounter, etc. They’re all part of the learning experience we call ‘life.’ Never forget to acknowledge the lesson, especially when things don’t go your way. If you don’t get a job that you wanted or a relationship doesn’t work, it only means something better is out there waiting. And the lesson you just learned is the first step towards it.
30. Regardless of how filthy your past has been, your future is still spotless. Don’t start your day with the broken pieces of yesterday. Every day is a fresh start. Each day is a new beginning. Every morning we wake up is the first day of the rest of our life.

a little goes a long way

Can't remember where I got it from. Sorry! Btw, how lovely
does the polka-dots looked combined with the zebra-print?
No me acuerdo de donde la saqué. ¡Perdón! Por cierto, ¿qué tan
lindos se ven los puntitos combinados con el patrón de zebra?

Via Trendy Room Decorations

Via Homes Interior

Via Elle Decor

Via Decor Pad

I've been helping my aunt decorate her new bachelorette apartment, and I wanted to create spaces with true personality. The apartment as a whole is not that big, but each space is clearly marked...reason why I figured it would give me lots of room (mind the pun) to play with. I've got three main spaces that I want to focus on: the living room, the staircase and her bedroom; I can then use them as center marks to give the other spaces splashes here and there. For the bedroom we chose a black-lace wallpaper, and I have some ideas I might share a bit later when I have them clearer in my mind. Now, for the living room (which is the first space you run into when you open the door) I wanted something big...and I found it! It's an animal print wallpaper...most specifically a zebra-print! Now, it's not the typical zebra-like patterns we see everywhere: it's got big thick lines and a mixture of black, champagne and silver colors (no white). All in all, it's not that overwhelming. In fact, I might dare to say it's classy and somehow calming. So I went into a bit of research for inspiration on decor using zebra-prints, and came up with the conclusion that a little goes a long way when it comes to using animal prints. Now, I might not be following that word-to-word since I'm using it on a whole wall, but the wall is quite tiny so I think it will work just fine. To highlight it it, I'm thinking of putting a red couch (of course!), but then soften the rest with ivory-like colors. Any thoughts? How about some golden accesories?

He estado ayudando a mi tía decorar su nuevo apartamento de soltera, y quería crear espacios con gran personalidad. El apartamento como tal no es muy grande, pero cada lugar está muy bien definido...razón por la cuál pienso que tengo suficiente espacio para jugar. Tengo tres lugares claves en los cuales me quiero enfocar: la sala, la escalera y el cuarto, y con ellos puedo partir para darle vida al resto de los espacios. Para el cuarto escogimos un papel tapiz negro de encaje, y tengo algunas ideas que tal vez puedo compartir luego, cuando las tenga un poco más claras en mi mente. Ahora, para la sala (lo primero que se ve cuando se entra al apartamento) quería algo grande...y lo encontré! Es un papel tapiz que asimila el patrón de la zebra! No es el típico patrón de zebra que vemos en todo lado, sino más bien tiene líneas gruesas y una mezcla de negro, champaña y plateados (no tiene blanco). Definitivamente no es abrumador. De hecho, me atrevo a decir que es elegante y de alguna manera tiene un efecto calmante. Así que hice un poco de investigación para encontrar inspiración en decoración que use patrones de zebra y llegué a la conclusión que al usarlos, un poco llega muy lejos. Ahora, tal vez no siga esa conclusión al pie de la letra, pero la pared es bastante pequeña así que pienso que debería funcionar bien. Para resaltarlo, pienso poner un sillón rojo capitoneado (¡por supuesto!) y bajarle el tono a lo demás pienso usar tonos color hueso. ¡Oigo opiniones! ¿Qué tal si uso accesorios dorados?

artistic block = artistic gain

Every artist knows what a pain it can be to have an artistic block. Sometimes they take weeks, others just a day...but in general they're my worst nightmare! Well, I've been in one for probably the past three weeks :( I know many factors have to be considered, such as situations happening in my personal life, nutrition, exercise, etc....all in which I know I've been on the downside.
A couple of weeks ago a few dear Australian friends of mine came to visit, and I spent a week with them at Santa Teresa beach, here in Costa Rica. One of our greatest discoveries, not only food-wise but artistic-wise as well, was Zwart Art Café, or Zwart's as we liked to call it.
This beautiful café/art gallery/hang-out spot was founded by Canadian-born Margriet Zwart (or Margarita, as she introduced herself). Her paintings are a reflection or her personality: collage-like illustrations made from memories, dashes of peacefulness mixed with the chaotic world. Neon and pastels. Surf, sun, birds, dogs,...a bit of everything. Even her café: an all-white space resembling calmness and freshness, gets mixed in the hustling of her illustrations and the noises from the street right at the doorstep. A balance of all things good, and just the right amount of peace vs. chaos to enjoy a very good meal indeed!

Todos los artistas sabemos el dolor que provoca un bloque artístico. A veces toman semanas, y otras sólo un día...pero en general son mi peor pesadilla! Bueno, he estado con un bloque desde hace ya tres semanas :( Yo sé que hay muchos factores que considerar, tales como situaciones en la vida personal, nutrición, ejercicio, etc...todos en los cuáles sé que estoy del lado negativo. Hace un par de semanas, unos amigos Australianos muy estimados míos vinieron a visitar, y pasé con ellos una semana en la playa de Santa Teresa, aquí en Costa Rica. Uno de nuestros grandes descubrimientos, no sólo en temas de comida sino en temas artísticos, fue Zwart Art Café, o Zwart's como le decíamos cariñosamente. Esta bello café/galería/lugar-para-pasar-el-tiempo fue fundado por la Canadiense Margriet Zwart (o Margarita, tal y como ella se introdujo). Sus pinturas son un reflejo de su personalidad: ilustraciones tipo collage hechas de memorias, pinceladas de paz mezcladas con el mundo caótico. Neón y pasteles. Surf, sol, pájaros, perros,...de todo un poco. Incluso su café, un espacio completamente blanco asimilando la calma y la frescura, se mezcla con el movimiento de sus ilustraciones y los ruidos de la calle que está justo a la salida de la puerta. Es un balance de todas las cosas buenas, y justo la porción necesaria de paz vrs. caos para disfrutar de una muy buena comida!

how bad do you want to be succesful?

How Bad Do You Want It from Greyskale Multimedia LLC on Vimeo.

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

Photos taken from core77

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.

Bogotá Days 3 & 4

Beautiful graphic design found at Puertas del Cielo design market.

Lovely exhibition found at Puertas del Cielo design market.

Juli and I at Puertas del Cielo design market.

Me goofing around with a plastic mustache at Puertas del Cielo design market.

Beautiful colors in the streets of Usaquén.

Juli and Cata outside a Mexican restaurant at Usaquén.

An amazing façade of a store on a side street at Usaquén.

What's not to <3 about it?

These were probably the best two days I had in Bogotá. On Saturday we headed to a small town called Usaquén , best known for its many stands and markets for antiques and crafts. It has many bars and restaurants that have retained the colonial architecture of its time, and it's widely known as the "land of the sun" -a bit ironic though, because it rained the whole day!-. If you're in the lookout for souvenirs and local artisans, you can't miss Usaquén. I bought a beautiful pair of pre-Colombine gold earrings that are to die for, and I bargained a good price for them. One thing I've learned while travelling: you can always bargain! (If you're ever going to Egypt, this is an absolute must!) We had lunch at a local restaurant called Balsámico, where I had the typical Paisa which is a plate consisting of rice, beans, plantains, meat, egg and salad. I could only eat like a third of the dish, but it was quite tasty indeed.
At night we went out to a couple of places, first to Wings (a pub-like bar/restaurant where we saw a soccer match), then to a cute lounge/bar called El Árbol, and finally and most awaited-for: Andrés Carne de Res D.C.
Now Sunday, I have a fond memory of. We went to a local design market that's done every month or so, called Las Puertas del Cielo. Here you can find a great deal of AMAZING stuff ranging from jewelry, to clothes, to bikes, food, etc. Everything is very artisan, a great deal is hand-made and if not, they're small business owners looking for an audience. If you're looking for a young bohemian crowd to hang out with, this is certainly the place!
And to finish off our weekend, we went to a BBQ held by a group of French, that fell in love with Bogotá and decided to buy a Hostel in La Candelaria street. They've recently finished with their remodelling, and wanted to launch a small get-together to get in tune with the locals and make a bond with other internationals roaming the streets of Bogotá. It's important to remember that not until the recent years (I dare to say months) that Colombia has started seeing tourists more often than usual. Given their political status and lack of safety because of their guerrillas, tourist have over-looked Colombia in the past. However, after my experience, I can surely say it's absolutely safe to travel. Although, as in many countries worldwide (especially ones in Latin America), you have to be careful with the obvious: never leave your things unattended, travel in groups, research which are the sketchy neighborhoods and/or streets, always know the emergency number (not all countries dial 911), try to always have a phone nearby and, in Colombia's case, don't take taxis on the street, rather call for one to pick you up.