Stash Studios

Get bLeu

caroLina bLeu
the first stop on our virtual Texas road trip

photos courtesy of carolina bleu

Texas jewelry designer and entrepreneur extraordinaire, Chris Parker serves up beautiful one-of-a-kind jewelry and vintage-inspired clothing via her etsy shops. Based in the Texas hill country, Chris AKA caroLina bLeu and old school vintage has a well-established reputation as a high quality retailer. She spent seven + years owning her own shop and art space - MoonShine - in the Austin area. There she offered high quality goods from an eclectic group of Texas artisans.

Right now Chris is focused on her booming jewelry business which sells in austin.brooklyn.los angeles.san francisco.london and etsy. However, she has a diverse set of interests and will introduce herself as an artist, designer, collector, and walking contradiction. She works in many mediums but finds that but jewelry and fashion design are her bread and butter.

Chris puts thought into the jewelry she designs by using stones and metals that she feels confident were procured via fair trade practices. Thus her pieces are not only beautiful, they each have an innate conscientiousness which embraces the spirit of creation. You will also find a sprinkling of vintage materials in her collection. 

Chris has what she considers to be a healthy obsession with all things vintage. To provide an outlet for good finds, she opened an etsy venue called old school vintage which serves as a resource for unique vintage must-haves from the 20th century.  Since she shares Stash Studios' love of good junk, I see a junking adventure through the Texas hill country in our near future. Can hardly wait.

Nightswimming

Summer has officially begun for the Stash Studios family. Most of our activities seem to have a soundtrack. The song that keeps surfacing for me right now is Nightswimming by R.E.M.

I'm going to take a few days to enjoy the start of summer. In my absence, check out Nightswimming and see what one of my favorite fellow bloggers - Blue Yonder - has to say about summers in Texas. Quite amusing.

I'll be back very shortly with several new artist features, some Texas-style refreshments, and some new ideas for some great old junk.

Rock-N-Roll Roadtrip

School is nearly out for summer and I feel a Rock-N-Roll Roadtrip coming on.
Yes, this is the Amy Butler Weekender bag yet again with another Stash Studios twist. For more photos, visit Stash Studios at Flickr.

The bag is enhanced with a zipper pull that sports a hand-blown glass calaveras from the talented pyromaniac - Amy of Torch by Night. Belts have been recycled into handles for the bag and I couldn't resist the urge to color in one of the roses with a bit of embroidery floss. Next round I think I might embroidery a larger rose and possibly a vine of my own design cutting across the front of the bag.

What's inside your Weekender?

Mine has zebra stripe lining and I ripped strips of script fabric giving me rough raw edges then whip-stitched with red embroidery floss over inside seam to give it that been-there done-that look.

Thus ends my series on calaveras and creative skulls. Since we're ready for a road trip, watch for me to share some of my favorite Texas finds. Coming soon.

Not so guilty pleasure

In a previous life, I was an lit major. That means my shelves are stacked with Neruda and Cisneros and Waters and O'Connor and Morrison and Marquez but if there is one author that I will make a point to get my hands on the day of release, David Sedaris is it my friends. When You Are Engulfed in Flames is due to hit bookstores June 2008

David and I are tight. He whispers his stories in my ears on seemingly endless flights. He makes family seem more bearable and life more interesting when observed with his characteristic acerbic wit.

A whirlwind book-tour is scheduled to begin upon release and the fall will bring David to larger stages across America. For full tour and public appearance information, click here.

Eat Pes

Have an excess stash of vintage broaches and bullet casings? Well here's a new idea for you. I've been wanting to feature Adam Pesapane of EatPes.com since I saw this Self Portrait #2 in the most recent issue of Paste Magazine. I'm always a fan of looking at the world from a different angle and this guy certainly achieves that through his short animation clips and assemblages.

His humor might not suit everyone - so don't say I didn't warn you - but his creations are ultimately clever.

Vintage Ride

Nothing beats a weekend that includes a good vintage ride. Especially one like this 1969 Mercury Cougar Convertible that we scored for a photo shoot.

Special thanks to Jon F - the king of all things automotive - for granting us the privilege of taking this baby for a spin. For more on what we were doing, just keep it tuned to Stash Studios.

Clothing design and styling by Stash Studios 2008.

Santos for Bread

Here is the last outtake I promised you.
Inspired by a shared story on collecting religious artifacts in Mexico
from a dealer friend at Warrenton....

 

Outtakes

I hope you have had time to sit down and discover the first issue of Refueled magazine - the FREE online magazine with an alternative view of country design. If not, check it out. You can download a PDF version here or utilize a wicked cool iPhone-ish smart browser through the online host here.

On one hand, you can skim through and enjoy the eye candy but on the other hand, I think there are layers that reveal themselves with each new look.

I was honored to work with Urban Prairie capturing Chris's unique vibe and vision with my photography and writing. Don't miss my religious experience and check out my in-depth review of the new Jim White album.

As with any project, there are always pieces to the puzzle that don't quite fit. In film and music, these are called outtakes. There were literally thousands of photos taken for the first issue of Refueled.  There was also a piece inspired by a story shared by one of my vendor friends (watch for this to run in a few days right here at Stash Studios).

I could regale you with tales behind-the-scenes of how I spent several weeks chasing thunderheads trying to capture the perfect photo of the hymn board against a high contrast sky. And the number of times I found the perfect sky only to be without a camera or the hymn board only added to the drama and adventure.

I had many wonderful photo assistants who slogged through open prairies and quickly realized that the hymn board is heavier than it looks and it catches the wind like a sail. Thus enduring a shoot proved to be quite a workout. Well, when you are working with Stash Studios, you can always expect an adventure, always.

Get Refueled

Click above to view the magazine.
OR
Visit Urban Prairie to download the PDF version.
Enjoy!

Playthings Past

When I sat down to recall playthings past, I first remembered the abandoned oven in my great grandmother's garden and the many many hours spent there making mudpies and meals from all the garden goodies she allowed me to use. The chickens scratching at my feet.

I thought I had hit heaven when we ascended the attic stairs and went through boxes of old records and turned the handle on the Victrola, me in a vintage dress that I had rummaged from a dilapidated trunk and she in her calico cotton smelling of coffee and cookies and soap and earth.

Oh sure, I had a few Barbie dolls. But the thing I remember most was not hours imagining Barbie's life with Ken, but rather the hours spent sewing scraps for Barbie's new wardrobe and then cutting her hair only to find my agility with the scissors led to the original punk Barbie.

Retreating to the pine grove with a book and a blanket.
Lying there listening to the wind rustle the needles as I immersed myself in imaginary worlds.
Roller skating.
From those rusty adjustable skates to the boot skates we scored at a garage sale when my foot finally slowed growing.

These are the things that come to mind when I consider my nostalgia for vintage toys.

I have vague memories of Big Wheel and Betsy Wetsy and Inch Worm and Merlin but I don't recall that these were the playthings that molded me. 

Don't get me wrong, I dog-eared  the Sears Wish Book like crazy. However, in retrospect it seems now that it was as much about what we didn't have as what we had.

Back then we didn't have playrooms stuffed to the gills with the latest whatnot.
Back then it was more than receiving all that we wanted.

It was about the hoping and wishing and experiencing some disappointment. 
Then ultimately calling on creativity to fill the long summer days.
Those were the things that informed our hard work of play.

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Thanks to Jessi at Scrappy Jessi for hosting the Vintage Toys post today.