Tuesday, December 21, 2010

guest blogging

hi everyone!

i was a guest blogger on christine haynes' blog. i chatted about my most favorite scarf ever - check out the post here! go get yourself one :)

Thursday, December 16, 2010

SF renegade craft fair - this weekend!

hey my lovely bay area peeps,

come on out this weekend for some handmade fantasticness! sprout studio will be in booth 202 with my friend katrina rodabaugh & we'll be right next to the lovely lisa solomon & mati mcdonough. so fun - come see us!!! bring treats, buy treats, hang out & say hi!

hope to see you soon :)
xxx.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

ps... i'm here for you.

lots of shops are going on vacay & closing up till january or taking a much needed break, but guess what? not sprout studio or my etsy sprout studio shop *or* my vintage gleaner project shop!

shop away, shop for fun, shop for friends, shop all night, shop till you drop, shop on christmas day, shop all january long if you wish! i'll be around, i'll be here for you. & i'll ship some goodies whenever you wish :)

& there is still FREE shipping in both sprout shops & a coupon for my gleaner shop (new10) for 10% off.

go get some handmade goodness for all those fab people you know.
xxx.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

the hallway

i adore miranda july. adore. this is new work by her. i have a project i'm working on in 2011 & it's very much inspired by her.

The Hallway from The Hallway on Vimeo.

Monday, December 13, 2010

not that i'm advocating the getting of things...

...but just in case anyone needed to get me any pretty-pretty lovely items, i have a little list for santy & santy, you can find that list right here on pinterest -- so many items i don't need, and so many items that would make life funner, more beautiful, & sunshiney -- & sometimes, that's okay :)

most of the items are handmade by artists & craftspeople & we definitely need to be supporting those people!

happy meat free monday!
xxx.
*j

Friday, December 10, 2010

Friday, December 03, 2010

YOU are invited!

save the date:

sunday, december 12th
1-6pm
holiday hudson home cheer party
& sprout studio open house

come! drink! get treatified in every way (yummy foods, pretty things to adorn yourself with!)

@ our new hudson home/project!
located in bayview/butchertown
xxx.

hudson corner

hudson


new digs, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74 / jenifer lake.

Thursday, December 02, 2010

the selby

what made my bee/chicken thang go off the chart this morning? this girl & her plants & good green things... ohh my how i want bees & chickens in my backyard!

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

it's december!

& every december it seems i like to give FREE SHIPPING in my shops :) so people, free shipping has been enabled in my etsy sprout studio shop for all month long!

i don't believe in black friday (come on, it's BUY NOTHING day people!), or really, cyber monday (there have been some interesting points made on the blogosphere about discounting handmade items, as in, they are already a labor of love & priced accordingly, so when discounted do they become de-valued? interesting chatter going on...) but i do believe in giving a break on the shipping - so have at it awesome sprout fans!

& ps, for those of you paying attention, it's been FREE shipping in my regular ole sprout studio shop for quite some time now.

so get yourself something lovely!
xxx.
*jenifer

sprout studio lovelies!

sprout studio lovelies!

sprout studio lovelies!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

sprout studio in a pop up shop this saturday!

hi all!

come on out - i'm only doing 2 shows this holiday season, i know, what? oh she who normally books every weekend all december & some of november trying to hawk her wares & pimp her lovelies...only TWO! so if you wish to snatch some good sprout studio goodies in person, this saturday is one of your lucky days!

it will be smaller than the renegade craft fair i'll be doing here in the city the weekend before christmas, but, it will be mellower, more fun, more drinking, & better snacks!

come on out & say hi to me & my other awesome artist friends!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

being thankful

i've been thinking, obviously, about my mountain of things to be grateful for & people i am grateful are in my life. i came across these two videos today & mostly, i'm thankful for people who make the world better.

one - people who make a difference. skate parks in afghanistan? teaching girls to skate? oh my yes.



two - more people trying to make a difference. "it gets better" - gay & lesbian pixar employees making a video to share their stories on how things 'got better'. again. yes!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

porch sittin'


porch sittin', originally uploaded by sproutgirl74 / jenifer lake.

the haps as of late: i somehow chipped my front tooth & i don't even know how. i bruised my tail bone by thinking i could just get on a skateboard & roll around. my left eyeball suddenly feels like it can no longer accept a contact without stinging & burning.

more haps: plugging along in the house unpacking. renovations will be an ongoing part of my existence. the super mild weather in mid november has me feeling a little creepy.

& the last of the haps: am contemplating my ONE show set up for sprout studio i'm actually doing (the renegade craft fair here in town). have to do a major update on my sprout studio collaborations with the necklace of the month ladies. i may have a sprout studio open house at my *actual* home sometime in december. stay tuned.

in the mean time, i'm porch sittin' :)

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

portland, a little winter, lady friends...

we had an amazing time in portland for the little winter market. we shopped, we met awesome other lady artists & bloggers, we ate delicious amounts of food, and drank many amazingly yummy cocktails, wandered about in the beautiful portland fall & basically just had a ton of fun! we stayed in the ace hotel, took our photos in the photo booth, meandered into stumptown coffee on the left & clyde common on the right & didn't let the rain faze us. & we watched 3/4 of one horrible film (do NOT go see due date no matter what anyone says! - you will need copious amounts of alcohol to get that one out of your system!)

if little winter happens next year, i am so down with going!

you can see the rest of my photos from the weekend on my flickr here

a little winter/pdx weekend snippet

& we had an amazing time shopping the market; i still think i need to get this egg print for my kitchen...

a little winter/pdx weekend snippet

we ran into jenny & her sister!

a little winter/pdx weekend snippet

it was super fall in portland!

a little winter/pdx weekend snippet

street wander abouts

a little winter/pdx weekend snippet

street wanderings

a little winter/pdx weekend snippet

a little winter/pdx weekend snippet

my amazing secret pocket woven scarf i bought & really haven't taken off since i got it!

a little winter/pdx weekend snippet

grids & stripes

a little winter/pdx weekend snippet

dancing magical leaf attached to a charlotte web :)

a little winter/pdx weekend snippet

Monday, November 08, 2010

a little winter video

this is where i shopped to my handmade heart's content this weekend in portland, more of a wrap up to come, but i just saw someone post this lovely video & wanted to share:

Little Winter from anja verdugo on Vimeo.

Thursday, November 04, 2010

pdx & pinterest

first off, i'm going to portland for the weekend for a much needed rest up with two lady friends - & the best part? i haven't had to plan one single thing - tickets were bought for me, flight figured out, hotels figured out, & i'm sure most outings will be figured out too! i love it!! we are going up for the little winter market. i beyond thrilled to meet up with so many great lady artists & to shop amazing art & products! i'm going to have to restrain myself or my wallet will be emptied lickety split like.

two, pinterest. i am in LOVE with this new visual bookmarking site. i've already squandered hours pinning & making my boards - but the organization by visualization is way too good. i've started lots of boards just for me but also for my art lesson plans & such at work. an excellent tool! check out my boards & follow along if you like, &/or create your own!

happy weekending to you all!

Friday, October 29, 2010

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

oh antony. i do think the world of you.

i am super smitten with antony. SUPER smitten. seeing him live is one of top live performances i've seen...he is amazing, true, powerful & moving.

we are officially in the hudson home. sunday night was first sleepover in the new home. lots of differing emotions. (& funny smells & noises!) more on that later.

for now, enjoy some new antony.

Friday, October 15, 2010

photostrip hudson home - it's moving weekend!

we move this weekend - it's been ridiculous. the amount of packing & demo-ing & rehab & painting & stripping & pulling & boxing & taping & pitching & passing along & trying to get rid of & sanding & dumping & late nights & & & & ...has me very overwhelmed.

but what makes me happy is standing on my tiptoes in the very far left corner of MY backyard & seeing the tip of the golden gate bridge twinkle at night far in the distance...it will be worth it (in maybe 10 years!)

can't wait for the huge move-in push to be done this weekend!

Saturday, October 09, 2010

shine on.

john lennon would have been 70 today. i love that yoko keeps the fire going. & what i love most about this video, is that yoko is crocheting blindfolded, and they've miked her crocheting!

i wish he was still here, but i'm so glad that yoko still is...

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

impossible not?


, originally uploaded by emilie79*.

so, it's totally official - we finally got our keys to our new home - even after that last post when i thought we were good to go, even up to the very last minute it was still touch n go on whether or not this crazy falling down home would be ours to bring back to life with some love!!

i love this photo by emilie79 on flickr - new polaroid film they are testing out. this whole house mission this entire last year plus felt impossible, but now, i can truly say, it was impossible 'not' :) at last!

we've already begun pulling up the disgusting carpet & revealing the hardwood floors - our before & after's will hopefully knock your socks off because yesterday as i wandered around our *home*, i laughed & laughed at the impossible-ness of the work needed for this home. but i'm going to try to keep that "not" in my mind regarding the work for her too - impossible not. i like it.

happy tuesday!

Monday, September 27, 2010

while we wait on news of the house...

...& if it will be ours, enjoy a fantastic video by the avett brothers. brooklyn has been growing more in my heart each time i visit there (we were there this summer again). i wish to visit much more in the future.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

1453, aka HOME!


new digs, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74 / jenifer lake.

where have i been? well...slogging through morasses (is that a word even?) (asses is the appropriate word regardless...) of paperwork & phone calls & requests & emails & every. crazy. day. the mortgage company asking for MORE information, more explanation, MORE papers, MORE documentation - a total, seemingly never ending, frustrating nightmare so we can finally, FINALLY perhaps this week even, get the keys to our soon to be

****HOUSE!!!!!!****

the process has been a ridiculous one but, holy moly, we will have a piece of san francisco to call our very own people. the mister & i have rented for an obscene amount of time in our life. we've given way too much of our hard earned money to poopy realty companies. at one point, i had resigned myself to renting for the rest of it. it's a weird feeling & there are conflicting emotions about why we are able to buy this house now. not because of a windfall of our own (far from it, our poor little piggie bank is broke broke broke now) but because of the financial woes of our country & the terrible mismanagement of bankers & such toppling the housing market to make a home affordable & realistic for us. it's a strange feeling to move into a foreclosed home...it's akin to the feeling i get when i go to estate sales, but that's another story. (& i don't go to those if i can avoid it, thrift stores are much more my thing).

we will burn a little sagebrush over our 1911 built home & air out the stale, acrid, negative air living in there. she will now be taken care of properly. she is a TOTAL project house. needing sooooooo much TLC. we are up for the task, & through our super handy awesome friends & our favorite building resource center, will be able to polish her up gleaner style with lots of second hand & resourced materials.

this will be my energy & my heart for the next several decades! we have huge dreams of amazing gardens, bees, chickens, lofty kitchens that open to our little yard & a studio/visitors cottage out back... we have dreams of moving our project sprout gallery to butchertown/bayview and continuing what we started in our live/work in dogpatch. we have dreams of bbq's on an upper roof deck that overlooks downtown SF, and we have dreams of so many far flung friends coming to visit our home & sharing in those dreams (& maybe even painting & doing some demo work as well!)

hopefully i'll be back to posting more regularly now. i have lots of stuff to share with sprout studio, with rad new goodies in my gleaner project shop & inspiration & fun things in general!

it's good to be back in this space & i hope your days have been happy & awesome!

xxx.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

me & loo dog; ohhhh summer vacay...


me & loo dog, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74 / jenifer lake.

back at work, back in the school groove, back, back, back. wow, did i really just have a 2 month break? so swiftly it flew by. i'm dreaming of this spot today -- in the passenger seat of our vw bus, the grey ghost, with ms loo loo in my lap, feeling the wind in my face...

maybe i'll get to have another little road trip soon to soothe the wanting for a get away right now!

lots of news to share, lots going on - my head is a little too full! more photos coming, more visits to chat about, more exciting things to divulge :)

happy thursday!

Friday, August 20, 2010

best corner street dance vid

yowza, some super talent -- crazy beautiful dance moves on a corner in oakland, in the rain!

check it out!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

tuesday, august 24th gleaner project party!

come on out bay area folks! 900 tennessee st @ 20th!

you are invited to come to an exclusive preview pick & purchase party of allllll the amazing gleaned goods i've collected from my summer state wide travels! there is some killer women's & men's vintage clothing & vintage homewares, mid century modern goods, & just plain rad things your home might need that i'd like to let you get first shopping dibs on before i stock the gleaner project etsy shop! please invite your friends & come out -- there will be bevvies & treats available while you take a gander. some photo shots from our travels will be on slide show too! we'd love to see you regardless if you need any amazing vintage items or not, so stop on by & say hi to us!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

vintage, vintage, vintage!






this summer i went a little crazy gleaning amazing goodies across the states for my new vintage etsy shop, the gleaner project"!! i'm going to have a sneak preview party & let my local SF friends have some first picks, but never fear, there is lots more than shown here! so much gleaned goodness; unpacking it all last night felt a little like the most amazing christmas ever :)

details of preview party to come!

Monday, August 02, 2010

it's been a while, here's a perfect little youtube vid...

i pretty much love this a lot, a lot, a lot. maybe you will too. how to be alone...



i'll be back in this space soon, my summer travels are almost over (oh, woe is me!)

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Thursday, June 03, 2010

renegade craft fair; brooklyn - this weekend!!!

come out, come out, invite your friends! sprout studio & christine haynes will be sharing a booth - #84, on the corner of bayard & lorimer :) please come say hi to us, we'll have loads of goodies to ogle at & for you to take home with you!

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

take it easy

i've been missing my daily favorites post - lady participants - i think we should do another one yeah?! :)

here's my mantra for today, reggae style. i've been running around like a crazy person lately trying to get ready to get outta town. this came on the radio this morning when i was seriously aggravated with a wayward pedestrian in the crosswalk when they should not have been trying to rush to work (universe = 1, jenifer = 0)

Monday, May 31, 2010

favorite things (31) summer vw trips on the back roads


we're back!, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74 / jenifer lake.

& i'm getting ready to take a long one in 3 days! i fly to brooklyn thursday for the renegade craft fair & meet my mister who's been making his way east. we spend a few days in nyc with friends & celebrating his birthday. then onto philly - we have tidewater, outerbanks/hatteras, eastern virginia, st louis, madison, milwaukee, ft collins, l.a., portland - on the tentative travel through list for the summer. we have 2 glorious months of camping, thrifting, back roading & hanging out with friends & letting the mind wander. i am SO ready.

i am SOOOOOOOOO ready to be in this van & breathing deep, relaxing, vacation breaths :)

Sunday, May 30, 2010

favorite things (30) vintage childrens books & illustrations

i love collecting these vintage books. i always think i'll use for them collage & then i rarely do, because i don't want to cut them up (i cut up plenty of other old books for work!) the art work is always amazing & beautiful!

vintage kid book discard

fave #30/ vintage kid books & illustrations

fave #30/ vintage kid books & illustrations

le mariage du papon/ fave #30/ vintage kid books & illustrations

fave #30/ vintage kid books & illustrations

le mariage du papon/ fave #30

Saturday, May 29, 2010

favorite things (29) stripes


new shoes, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74 / jenifer lake.

i am a fan of stripes. a major fan. show me pretty much anything striped, & i love it. i would venture to say 75% of my socks are striped. stripes make the world go around.

i like striped socks too...a lot (fave things 29)

forever & always in love with stripes (fave things 29)

lost in germany...but i've got my stripes on (fave things 29)

another pair o' stripeys... (fave things 29)

yes, stripes - of course (fave things 29)

stripes are very good (fave things 29)

Friday, May 28, 2010

make me smile again (fave things 12 redux/flash mobs)

i just got really sad/bad news & this helped to make me smile & laugh & feel better. i love me some flash mob therapy.

favorite things (28) anne sexton

i fell head over heels in love with anne sexton my first year of college in poetry workshops. most of my classmates had the sylvia plath heart throb thing going on, not me, i was all about anne from the get go. in high school i had taken a female poetry class & considered myself a burgeoning writer/poet.

the spoken/written word lost some traction when i found myself walking down the visual arts path & really knew that's where i wanted to head. text/word/ramblings/snippets/the essence that is caught up in poetry i still love. when something is written just so. just so & it touches some little tremor inside that makes sense. i love that. anne sexton does that for me. i know there must be a host of other women writers that are passing me by as i immerse myself further into the visual art world...but damn, sometimes life is just too short - when do i get to sink my teeth back into the writing world while pursuing an art world dream?! never enough time! i still try to marry the two worlds, i still make work that has lots of text in it.

a former student of mine, & a super friend now is studying the written word in ny - it's very exciting to be on the periphery of her dream & i feel honored to be privvy to some of her inner thoughts & poems. my friend katrina is an amazing writer. i wish to hold a bound collection of hers in my hand and call it mine. someday i will. i love poets/writers, they are fantastically amazing & brilliant to me.

back to anne, & to the first poem i ever loved by her. it might seem a strange choice for a college freshman to attach herself too. i had no lover, nor did i have a love that was returning to his wife. but something in this piece moves me, and it still does. it's ferocious & quiet, dreamy & violent, sexy, bittersweet, angry & lovely. i have since read everything by her & her biographies. fascinating, amazing woman.

& stephanie am i remebering correctly that you were very fond of the poem her kind?


"for my lover, returning to his wife"
by anne sexton

She is all there.
She was melted carefully down for you
and cast up from your childhood,
cast up from your one hundred favorite aggies.

She has always been there, my darling.
She is, in fact, exquisite.
Fireworks in the dull middle of February
and as real as a cast-iron pot.

Let's face it, I have been momentary.
A luxury. A bright red sloop in the harbor.
My hair rising like smoke from the car window.
Littleneck clams out of season.

She is more than that. She is your have to have,
has grown you your practical your tropical growth.
This is not an experiment. She is all harmony.
She sees to oars and oarlocks for the dinghy,

has placed wild flowers at the window at breakfast,
sat by the potter's wheel at midday,
set forth three children under the moon,
three cherubs drawn by Michelangelo,

done this with her legs spread out
in the terrible months in the chapel.
If you glance up, the children are there
like delicate balloons resting on the ceiling.

She has also carried each one down the hall
after supper, their heads privately bent,
two legs protesting, person to person,
her face flushed with a song and their little sleep.

I give you back your heart.
I give you permission --

for the fuse inside her, throbbing
angrily in the dirt, for the bitch in her
and the burying of her wound --
for the burying of her small red wound alive --

for the pale flickering flare under her ribs,
for the drunken sailor who waits in her left pulse,
for the mother's knee, for the stocking,
for the garter belt, for the call --

the curious call
when you will burrow in arms and breasts
and tug at the orange ribbon in her hair
and answer the call, the curious call.

She is so naked and singular
She is the sum of yourself and your dream.
Climb her like a monument, step after step.
She is solid.

As for me, I am a watercolor.
I wash off.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

favorite things (27) my iphone's shakeit app

seriously, i cannot get enough of the shakeit application - everything looks better when shooken ;) i tried to resist the siren lure of the iphone, i did until my phone finally died this past summer & then i had to give up trusty ole verizon (which, in reality, i was going to switch to credo when that time came because they are an awesome company - drat apple for having an exclusive contract with crappy at&t) & make the switch.

but i am truly in love with my iphone, aka 'my precious' ;)

& the shakeit app? the deal. the only app i've paid for so far!

bayshore evening stop - fave 27

that pretty bay bridge - fave 27

you - fave 27


you, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74 / jenifer lake.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

favorite things (26) being moved visually

when art or film move me (which, quite honestly, is not hard to do - my sappy self is stirred easily) it makes my heart expand into that space & fill up :) this piece is one of those times:

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

favorite things (25) massages

i hardly ever get massages. i always tell myself to treat myself to them - i love having them, but in reality, i can never justify the money to pay someone. i wish i did. i wish i could. i've always said, if i had a never ending supply of $$ i would pay for weekly massages & someone to clean my place :)

Monday, May 24, 2010

favorite things (24) dance

i have never been one to dance in a communal setting - on my own, in my home, i can shake my bootie for sure. or at a concert, i love to get down - but never think i actually *can* if you know what i mean. i never have considered myself adept at co-ordination or movement like what is required in dance. *however* in the past 2 years i have started to take dance lessons (not like, formal dance or the box step - no, no) i have been taking these fusion classes of hip hop, brazilian, african, haitian & a tiny bit of modern -- and i L.O.V.E. it! i've always wanted to move my body like that & even though i'm still quite UN-adept, i love it. it makes me happy. so, like lykke li says, "dance dance dance -- i was a dancer all along" i like to think i was a dancer all along, & in my 30's actually discovered that :)




ps - lyrics to 'dance, dance, dance' so appropriate :)

Having troubles telling how I feel
But I can dance, dance and dance
Couldn't possibly tell you how I mean
But I can dance, dance, dance
So when I trip on my feet
Look at the beat
The words are, written in the sand
When I'm shaking my hips
Look for the swing
The words are, written in the air
Dance
I was a dancer all along
Dance, dance, dance
Words can never make up for what you do
Easy conversations, there's no such thing
No I'm shy, shy, shy
My hips they lie 'cause in reality I'm shy, shy, shy
But when I trip on my feet
Look at the ground
The words are, written in the dust
When I'm shaking my hips
Look for the swing
The words are written in the air
Dance
I was a dancer all along
Dance, dance, dance
Words can never make up for what you do
Dance, dance, dance

Sunday, May 23, 2010

favorite things (23) blogging art ladies

i met these three diana, mati & shash (& a few other dear lady friends) through blogging. i would not necessarily have met them & been included in this amazing bay area art community of women had it not been for our blogs. i count myself lucky to have made an effort to seek them out & force them to by my friend - hee hee!

i will miss them this summer while i am out traipsing the country!