Stuff We Love

Warby Parker: A Company With Vision.

While the style of the glasses they sell may be vintage, online boutique Warby Parker does business in a thoroughly modern manner. In classic Internet fashion, they cut out the middle man and sell their wares only online. This keeps their prices low – $95 for a pair of prescription glasses.  Their well-designed site lets you upload your picture to try on whatever suits you.  If you are still not sure, you can order up to five sets of frames to try on at home. And they pick up the tab for the round-trip shipping!  Think Netflix for eye ware.  Plus, and this is a big plus, for every pair of glasses they sell, they donate a pair to the world’s less fortunate and visually – impaired through non-profit organizations like RestoringVision.org.  Pretty cool … we admire Warby Parker’s vision and their heart.

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Steffan Dam: Specimen Panels

gr.dano inspirations rarely come from fashion. One art form we have always been fascinated by is glass, so we are easily drawn towards Steffan Dam’s remarkable work. What appears to be dazzlingly, finely honed scientific observations are in fact, works of art, created by an artist with a passion for precision craftsmanship and a love of natural history. The former tool and die maker’s work can be viewed at the Heller Gallery in New York through April, 2011.

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Edward Gorey: ‘Dark’ Illustrator/Writer

Edward Gorey

 

 

 

 

We love the dark textures and style of American Writer/ Illustrator Edward Gorey. We even used his work as inspiration for our Fall/ Winter 2008 collection. Click here to see his work. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hotels: The Farmer’s Daughter

When we have to stay a night or two in Los Angeles, there are three to four hotels we usually stay at. The Farmer’s Daughter is one of them. It’s a really charming yet hip boutique hotel in the Fairfax area of West Hollywood. It’s location is directly across from CBS studios and LA Farmer’s Market-  hence its name. We’ve been staying here for years and it’s charm has yet to fade on us. This is one of those hidden gems we’ve told many friends about and hope you get a chance to experience it yourself. Here are the details for the next time you’re in the LA area: The Farmer’s Daughter 115 S Fairfax Ave Los Angeles, CA 90036 http://www.farmersdaughterhotel.com ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

TED Lectures

We are huge fans of TED Lectures. The speakers are the best thinkers with brilliant minds. Every lecture we watch, we learn something and apply it in our lives. Here is one of our favorite talks by designer Isaac Mizrahi.

More of our favorites:

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Café Gratitude: Favorite Raw Food/ Vegan Restaurant

 

 

Being a vegetarian, Café Gratitude is the one restaurant where I can pick anything off of the menu…which makes deciding so hard. Everything is amazing and healthy. Afterwards, you feel energized for the rest of the day. For locations and hours, click here. Photo: Courtesy of Café Gratitude

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Christo: Spring/ Summer 2010 Inspiration

Christo, Bulgarian- American Artist

 

 

We used Sculptor and Environmental Artist, Christo as inspiration for our Spring/Summer 2010 collection. We incorporated the idea of “wrapping” as he did with buildings. Check Out Christo Works.

Photo: Google Images
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Marin Farmers Market: Sunday Ritual

Photo Courtesy of: Marin Farmers Market

Our Sunday morning ritual is going to the San Rafael Farmers market. All of the produce is straight from the farmer and locally grown. You really get to know each vendor while staying on top of whats in season and fresh.

Sunday hours are 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.

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Mirage: The Muse

Mirage by Sergey Smirnov

Sergey Smirnov is one of our favorite artists.  We walked by a gallery in our town for two years admiring his work. Upon learning about his untimely death, we purchased Mirage. This painting hangs in our living room serving as a muse for our collections.

Photo: Google Images

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