Prints Charming....and Then Some: Society6

PRINTS CHARMING....AND THEN SOME: SOCIETY 6 -- Since you can't put that Damien Hirst piece you've been eyeing for some time on a layaway plan, there is something that is even better (hint, hint -- contemporary art that you can actually afford) and that something is called Society6, an online resource based in Redondo Beach, California started by three cool guys named Justin Cooper, Lucas Tirigall and Justin Wills who bring together the artwork of artists from all over the world and offer it in the form of art prints (framed or not), stretched canvases, iPhone cases, laptop and iPad skins, iPhone and iPod skins, hoodies, t-shirts and gift cards!  We at Studio of Style were absolutely amazed at the thousands of images of all types, styles and genres -- of which the artists control the rights and set their own pricing -- and of which you are the beneficiary when it comes to selecting how you want to have it in your life.  Society6 uses natural white 100% cotton rag and archival paper and an advanced dry ink method to produce the art prints -- all done with the latest generation of digital printers.  Go to the website, click on "art prints" and then click on "new" -- just to get a sense of the wide array of photography, illustrations, collage and other media that you can order as prints.  It really is a clever, clever way to collect works from artists are both well-established as well as up and coming.  For example, we just love the fantastical imagination of Muxxi (top left: "Let Me Show You a Nice Trick") -- a young lady living in Guatemala who has a way with color, shape and whimsy.  Her surreal and strange world is populated with both human and animal characters that we wish were somehow real!  Another vivid imagination belongs to Jordan Speer (top right: "Cape Cannibal") whose series of sinister military-industrial contraptions intrigue us with their detailed construction and rich colorations.  Then there's Chris "Powerpig" McVeigh (bottom right: "Glory Days" detail) who mixes Lego and Hasbro Star Wars figures to create his self-described "bizarre world" that looks rather normal to us (but then, everything does!).  Next up, Amsterdam resident Andreas Preis checks in with his own brand of surrealism (bottom left: "Bad Frank Lynn") that encompasses illustration, drawing and graphic design.  If you've got some bare walls (or  iPhone or laptop) that need a shot of color and something different, then head to Society6 to get your own creative juices flowing!

http://society6.com
http://muxxi.me/
http://chrismcveigh.com
http://www.designerpreis.com/
All artwork is copyrighted by each respective artist and is used courtesy of Society6

In a Jam.....from Maine to California!

IN A JAM.....FROM MAINE TO CALIFORNIA -- At Studio of Style, we believe that jam is among that handful of comfort foods (think chicken soup, mashed potatoes, apple pie) that has the ability to change one's molecular structure. You might think we've flipped our lid -- and you'd be right!  Because we're not talking about just any jam (and you'd never catch us in that aisle in the supermarket, kids!) -- but jam that is actually made with a kind of love that transcends pure commerciality (sounds corny -- but hang in there, okay?).  And just for you (our stylish reader) we've endured one taste test after another of this luscious preserve in search of something (not too) sweet but distinctively delicious worthy of serving your friends and loved ones -- in fact you'll be showing off the jars!  Talk about bi-coastal, let's start with the one we found from Maine.  Wild Blueberry Jam from the Bar Harbor Jam Company (that's pronounced bah-hah-bah!) uses only the (truly wild) native blueberry that grows on a two-year cycle (who knew that Maine grows 90% of the nation's wild blueberry crop?) on vast rolling plains that were formerly glacial barrens.  Every August, local families as well as Micmac Indians from next-door New Brunswick hand-rake the crops.  In 1989, wild blueberry jam was being made at the Cottage Street Bakery during the winter months and eventually out of this the Bar Harbor Jam Company was born -- going from 10,000 jars to 90,000 over the years.  Using low or no sugar, these jams are distinctive because of the tiny blueberry -- unlike the large, often watery, berries produced commercially. Beyond putting this jam on bread, clever recipes can be found on the company's website -- such as blueberry and horseradish cream cheese dip (!) and a blueberry breakfast burrito (!!).  Leaping across country to California, you'll find the kitchen of Sqirl in Los Angeles where Jessica Koslow creates jams, jellies and marmalades in small batches in copper pans handspun by copper artist David Burns.  The philosophy of Sqirl is using produce only from family-owned, sustainable organic farms located within a 350-mile radius of L.A. -- and she is proud to name names (our jar gives the names of the three farms sourced for this particular batch).  Some of the batches take up to three days to create, as Koslow uses no commercial pectin, instead allowing the naturally-occurring pectin to thicken the jams.  And the results are fabu-licious!  Raspberry and lavender!  Blackberry and meyer lemon!  Santa Rosa plums and flowering thyme!  Quince and rose water syrup!  Who knew and who thought that jam could be such an fruit and herbal experience from coast to coast?  Well now you know!  Start searching your particular area for handcrafted jams and treats, okay?  And don't forget to spread the love -- and lay it on thick!!!

http://barharborjam.com/maine-gifts/product.php?productid=2&cat=12&page=1

http://sqirlla.com/

Photo by Greg Firlotte / special thanks to Steve, Kelly and Jared
Styled on a Wolfgang Puck cutting board / potato bread from Trader Joe's

Unforgettable: Oliver M. Furth

UNFORGETTABLE: OLIVER M. FURTH -- Leave it to one of our favorite L.A. designers Oliver M. Furth to create a vignette that has lingered in our craw for almost two years!  Yes, kids, that's a long time to be doting on a space that no longer exists -- but you know how we at Studio of Style love to be fixated on something fabulous!  You see, it was May of 2010 and we were strolling the streets of L.A. during the annual "Legends of La Cienega" design event and one of the dozens of temporary window displays caught our eye and we just had to know more.  When we learned it was Furth's interpretation of the classic film "The Fountainhead" by the incredible author Ayn Rand, we were duly impressed.  Rand's book chronicles the plight of young, idealist architect Howard Roark who would rather struggle in obscurity than compromise his individualistic vision -- luckily for us, Furth has to do neither! (Remember our report on his recent Maison de Luxe showcase house room we posted on December 3, 2011?)  Furth's individualistic vision of Roark's office is a visual treasure trove of clever ideas -- we love the shredded paper "shag" rug, the Jetson-like angled desk, the uber-artsy mobile fashioned from photos, magazine pages, odds and ends and what have you, and what really put us over the moon was the blueprint wallpaper made from the real deal.  The funky ceramics, mod chair, vintage black and white photos and stacks of books complete this super scene that we wish was our workspace.  So now you know why we've hung on to this photo for as long as we did -- because this vignette is so fabulous with its array of objets in a delicious creative clutter that only Furth seems to pull off time and again.  Next time, we promise  not to wait so long, okay?

http://www.olivermfurth.com/
Photo by Greg Firlotte

Metaphysical Decorating Tip #1

Your Ticket to Hollywood: Andre Miripolsky & Red Line Tours!

YOUR TICKET TO HOLLYWOOD: Andre Miripolsky & Red Line Tours! -- Confetti was flying all over the entrance to the famed Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Boulevard yesterday in celebration of a new series of collectible souvenir tickets created by renowned Los Angeles artist Andre Miripolsky for Red Line Tours Hollywood Behind the Scenes walking tour of historic Hollywood!  Legendary comedian Rip Taylor (above right) is shown here with Miripolsky (looking snappy in his orange jacket!) who showered the glamorous, star-filled crowd (see more postings below!) with his trademark confetti and hilarious one-liners!!!  Red Line Tours asked the artist to create three different tickets that depict such showbiz icons as the Capitol Records building, Grauman's Chinese Theater, the Hollywood Bowl and the famed gates of Paramount Studios.  Behind the Scenes is a 75-minute walking tour founded by Tony Hoover that dispels myths, shows hidden hideaways (gotta see those!) and takes patrons inside venues generally restricted to the public (we love that insider touch!!).  And did you know that they use a live, state-of-the-art adjustable audio system that allows patrons to hear the tour guide up to 300 feet -- regardless of the surrounding traffic noise?  No better artist than Miripolsky could have been chosen!  He is the quintessential L.A. artist who brought to the art world his now-famous "Fear No Art" button (shown here) and created the phrase "Viva L.A.!" which has become unofficial official mantra for the City of Angels. His bright colors and energetic paintings and drawings reflect the light-filled, non-stop pace that is distinctly L.A. -- and he's one of the nicest people we've ever met too! The two postings below show some of the wonderful celebrities that joined Miripolsky and Red Line Tours in saying "Hooray for Hollywood!" and sharing their passion for this crazy place called Tinseltown that we all love so much!

http://www.miripolsky.com/
http://www.redlinetours.com/
http://www.riptaylor.com
Photo by Greg Firlotte

Your Ticket to Hollywood: Part II

YOUR TICKET TO HOLLYWOOD: PART II -- At the Red Line Tours Hollywood Behind the Scenes gala launch event for artist Andre Miripolsky's new series of collectible souvenir tickets (clockwise from top left): actor George Chakiris who played "Bernardo" in the immortal 1961 movie West Side Story; friend to the stars Sherye Woodley; everyone's favorite veteran comedienne Rose Marie who played "Sally Rogers" on the hit television series The Dick Van Dyke Show; Rip Taylor; founder of Red Line Tours Tony Hoover welcomes the crowd; and the vivacious and sensational actress, civic leader, charity organizer, animal lover and just downright adorable Ruta Lee! (She's got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater where she once worked as an usher and candy girl!!! -- so, kids, you can do it too!!!)

http://www.georgechakiris.com/
http://www.redlinetours.com/
http://riptaylor.com/
http://www.rutalee.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_Marie
All photos by Greg Firlotte

Your Ticket to Hollywood: Part III

YOUR TICKET TO HOLLYWOOD: PART III --At the Red Line Tours Hollywood Behind the Scenes gala launch event for artist Andre Miripolsky's new series of collectible souvenir tickets (clockwise from top left): actress, singer, writer Ilene Graff who played "Marsha Owens" in the 1980s television show Mr. Belvedere; actress Romi Dames who played "Tracy van Horn" on the hit television series Hannah Montana; next to her is The Young and the Restless soap star actress Kate Linder who plays Esther Valentine -- since 1982!!; center photo -- actress Dee Wallace from The Office, Law & Order, My Name is Earl, Ally McBeal and the movie E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial; standing next to her is actor and author Barry Livingston who played the lovable (and our favorite son!) "Ernie" on the hit 1960s TV show My Three Sons; in the photo below is his real-life brother Stanley Livingston who played "Chip" on My Three Sons; and in the lower right photo is the absolutely lovely Erin Murphy who forever will be our little "Tabitha" on the classic TV show Bewitched.  What a fabulous gathering it was and we at Studio of Style are forever thankful to Andre Miripolsky and Red Line Tours!!!

http://www.katelinder.com/

http://www.starwebsites.com/erinmurphy/

http://www.redlinetours.com/
http://www.ilenegraff.com/
Romi Dames:  http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1689615/
Dee Wallace:  http://iamdeewallace.com/
http://stanleylivingston.com/
Barry Livingston:  http://www.theimportanceofbeingernie.com/
All photos by Greg Firlotte

Paragon of Style: Bobby Trendy

PARAGON OF STYLE: BOBBY TRENDY -- Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you the one and only, the world renowned Bobby Trendy.  But wait, kids -- it's not the Bobby Trendy you think you know -- it's the real one!  Before you start writing us letters, just keep reading!  As most of you stylish things already know, he came to fame on television by way of The Anna Nicole Show in 2002 -- and over the course of the show we got to witness the shenanigans between Bobby and the late buxom model Anna Nicole Smith -- the most talked about episode (#12, October 27, 2002) being the one in which Smith (with scissors in hand)  shreds the pink silk headboard of the bed designed by Bobby for Smith's all-pink bedroom.  In true, restrained Trendy style, he retorted, "I thought that Anna was classier than that. That kind of behavior is normally viewed at the Los Angeles zoo!"  And class is what Bobby is and has always been about -- and we at Studio of Style should know -- we've been friends with this truly fashionable original for many, many years and have been up close and personal with him on many an occasion.  In fact, it was only two days ago that we got the opportunity to watch him in action -- in front of the cameras once again -- when a film crew from the German television network RTL came to the West Hollywood showroom of Phyllis Morris to do an interior design segment for its popular entertainment show Punkt 12. Bobby was aglitter in sequins and tulle and proceeded to give the cameras what they always want from him: style, style and more style as only he can deliver it.  And did you know that Bobby is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to design styles, historic periods, materials, finishes and always with an eye for design detail?  At the showroom, he pointed out certain use of materials (lucite, Swarovski crystals and patent leather for example) and explained how they all work together to create a distinctive look for sofas and chairs (the film crew was surprised to hear the extent of Bobby's design expertise flow so eloquently during the two-hour shoot -- they were expecting just a colorful mannequin perhaps?).  Studio of Style asked him -- what is glamour? And what advice do you have for our audience? "Glamour is about you and what you think is glamorous -- not what others tell you it is," says Bobby.  "And my message to all the readers of Studio of Style is to be you and everything after that will fall into place!"  So, kids, the next time you see Bobby out nightclubbing, design shopping or sipping cool cocktails at some super lunch spot around Hollywood, be sure to blow a stylish kiss from us to him, okay?

Bobby Trendy photographed January 18, 2012 at Phyllis Morris showroom by Greg Firlotte

The Original McQueen: Elizabeth I

THE ORIGINAL McQUEEN: ELIZABETH I -- The older she got, the more outrageous she dressed (sounds like a great idea to us!) --and the laws she set into motion about who could wear what were just as outrageous  (more about that later!) -- and the things that people (i.e. royalty, nobility and stylish folks like us!) did in the name of fashion were, well, just plain crazy -- but then, the Elizabethan Era (1558 to 1603) named for the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, symbolized the height of English Renaissance poetry, music, fashion and literature (think Shakespeare and traveling minstrels) which has curiously never left us in one way or another (think renaissance faires!). She was a tough old bird, for sure, but she certainly loved her clothes, jewelry, wigs and makeup (sounds like us!) and she used all of these to great effect in projecting her image as the greatest ruler of the Western world -- and sitting for portraits was one of her favorite pastimes (other than defeating the Spanish navy) it seemed -- as there were so many portraits of her during her 45-year rule. At age 65, the Queen granted an audience to French ambassador Andre Hurault-Sieur de Maisse Andre (and you thought you had a clever name!) who left us with this most wonderful firsthand look at the real Queen -- not simply a portrait (as we have above painted by George Gower).  Says the ambassador: "She was strangely attired (oh really?) in a dress of silver cloth, white and crimson, or silver 'gauze' as they call it. She kept the front of her dress open and one could see the whole of her bosom (good for you, girl!) and she would often open the front of this robe with her hands as if she was too hot (you would be too with all that velvet and pearls!). The collar of the robe was very high and the lining of the inner part adorned with little pendants of rubies and pearls and she had a chain of rubies and pearls about her neck. On her head, she wore a garland of the same material (she really did love those rubies and pearls, didn't she?) and beneath it a great reddish coloured wig. Her bosom is somewhat wrinkled as well (hey, she was 65!), but lower down her flesh is exceedingly white and delicate (well, that's a relief!). Her figure is tall and graceful in whatever she does, yet humbly and graciously withal."  In other words, she was one stylish lady!  Now as for that dress code -- the "Sumptuary Laws" which Elizabeth enacted in June of 1574 dictated that if you were poor (ouch!) that you could only wear items of wool, linen and sheepskin (however silk, taffeta and velvet trimmings were allowed, but only in certain colors!).  If you were noble or of the upper class, you could wear velvet, silk, lace, furs and taffeta -- but only in certain colors and you could only spend so much for them.  Breaking these rules among the rich meant loss of property, your title and even harsher punishment!  But in the words of the Queen herself, these laws were basically to protect against "the wasting and undoing of a great number of young gentlemen and others...allured by the vain show of things...which only consume themselves, their goods and lands which their parents left unto them."  Such was the power of fashion in Merry Ol' England!  Could we, today, ever be allured by vanity?  Spend all our money on clothes and jewelry?  Expose our bosoms to French men?  Yes, yes and double yes!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_I

From One Superstar to Another: Edie & Phyllis

FROM ONE SUPERSTAR TO ANOTHER: EDIE & PHYLLIS -- The year was 1964 and Pop Art was in full swing: New York was exploding with the new, colorful works of Claes Oldenburg, Jim Dine, Tom Wesselmann, James Rosenquist, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol and many more -- and their works began to infiltrate further into American pop culture in music, fashion and the bohemian lifestyle that accompanied it. (On the West Coast in 1962, Warhol had his first show of the famed 32 Campbell Soup Cans at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles -- provoking local artists and other galleries in the process.) The now-legendary Edie Sedgwick (originally from Santa Barbara, California) moved to New York in 1964 with her friend and would-be promoter Chuck Wein who introduced Sedgwick to Warhol and the rest...well, you know, kids! Meanwhile on the West Coast in 1964, High Priestess of everything hip, cool, bizarre and baroque in the world of interior and furniture design -- Phyllis Morris -- was already creating scenes of her own with over-scaled, over the top furniture and decor that rivaled her legendary parties both at her Beverly Boulevard showroom and her hilltop house in Beverly Hills. That year, Morris commissioned a local artist to create a painting of an enigmatic face that would grace walls throughout the '60s and '70s in the form of large-scaled posters. When Pop Art morphed into other art movements, the "face" artwork faded into obscurity -- that is, until Morris' daughter Jamie Adler rediscovered the image in 2004 and reintroduced this face to the world as "Superstar" wallcovering -- where it has remained the company's #1 selling wallcovering since (shown here in black & white, white & pearlescent, and gold & black). Almost everyone who visits the Phyllis Morris West Hollywood showroom asks the same question -- "is that Edie Sedgwick?" -- and the answer is always the same -- "no one knows for sure."  But it certainly leaves the door open for speculation -- seeing as how all the right aspects seemed to have converged in 1964 when Edie, Phyllis, Warhol and Pop Art mixed and mingled into an art-filled brew that intoxicated everyone at the time.  And what times those where too!  So the mystery remains...and everyone loves a good mystery, eh?

http://phyllismorris.com/trw_browse.php?type=Wallcovering
Room photography by Lee Clower

She jumped from the H -- and into Hollywood History

SHE JUMPED FROM THE H -- AND INTO HOLLYWOOD HISTORY:  Listen up, kids -- if you think Hollywood is a strange (but fabulous!) place, wait 'til you read this one, okay? On the morning of Monday, September 17, 1932, an anonymous woman called the station of the Central Los Angeles Police Department and said "I was hiking near the Hollywoodland sign (now just "Hollywood") today and near the bottom I found a woman's shoe and jacket. A little further on I noticed a purse. In it was a suicide note. I looked down the mountain and saw a body. I don't want any publicity in this matter (that's a first in this town!), so I wrapped up the jacket, shoes and purse in a bundle and laid them on the steps of the Hollywood Police Station." Then the mysterious caller hung up. Blonde, blue-eyed Lillian Millicent "Peg" Entwistle, aged 24, lay dead in a ravine below Mount Lee in the Hollywood hills, 140 feet beneath the legendary sign.  As it turned out, a workman's ladder had been left behind the letter "H" -- and it was ultimately the highest that poor Peg would ever climb in Tinseltown.  And everything started out so good too (hang in there -- the strange parts are still to come!).  Only a year earlier, Peg had been already been in eight consecutive Broadway shows -- all flops! Fed up with the not-so-Great White Way, she and her uncle Harold made the move to Hollywood -- living at 2428 Beachwood Drive, practically in the shadow of that iconic Hollywoodland sign. At first, things were looking up when she appeared in the play The Mad Hopes opposite Billie Burke and Humphrey Bogart. RKO Studio liked what they saw and offered her a contract for which she did The 13 Women -- her first film -- but she found that most of her parts lay on that famous cutting room floor.  After that came nothing but audition after audition (sound familiar?) and waiting for that infamous phone to ring at her uncle's house (sound even more familiar?). By now, her heart was broken.  But it had been broken before -- you see, in 1927 Peg was married to Robert Keith for two years and Robert at the time already had a six-year-old son by the name of Brian Keith (yes! Uncle Bill from TV's 1960s Family Affair show!).  In 1997, Brian Keith would also commit suicide by shooting himself (!!) only two months after his own daughter Daisy committed suicide as well (!!).  The note in Peg Entwistle's pocket read, "I am afraid I am a coward. I am sorry for everything. If I had done this a long time ago, it would have saved a lot of pain."  Wow--how incredibly sad. She had told her uncle that she was walking to the nearby drugstore and then to visit friends, but in truth she was headed for a place in the grim files of Hollywood history.  The coroner's report established that Peg died from multiple fractures of the pelvis as a result of a suicide attempt.  If only that workman hadn't left his ladder on the backside of the letter "H" -- who knows what kind of ending this Hollywood story would have had.

Still Groovy After All These Years: Part II

STILL GROOVY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS: PART II -- To borrow a line from one our our favorite bands the Grateful Dead -- "what a long strange trip it's been" -- can also be used to describe that strange, often trippy art world where so many stars, styles and movements have come and gone since the 1960s when the "straight" world was introduced to the mind-blowing psychedelic art produced by a handful of visionary artists living primarily in San Francisco who were able to portray a new kind of music through amazing colors, shapes and, particularly, the use of typography and fonts -- creating a singular youth-fueled art movement that has never been equaled in its ability to influence generations of artists since. We could name a gaggle of artists practicing today who emulate and are inspired by this fabulous hippie art -- but why should we -- when you (our loyal and stylish reader!) should know about the pioneers who brought us this super-groovy art in the first place? These poster superstars include: Wes Wilson; Alton Kelley; Gary Grimshaw; Rick Griffin, Stanley Mouse; Victor Moscoso; Lee Conklin; and Bonnie MacLean who have become more or less household names in the world of psychedelic poster art.  When you stop to think about it -- before the arrival of psychedelic music itself, there was no poster (or graphic) art in this vein -- it was, in fact, a creation of the music scene itself (however, elements of Art Nouveau with its flowery, flowing aspects did have an overwhelming influence in many posters -- but these were incorporated into a larger scheme in which colors and, again, a bold usage of typography and fonts meshed with images borrowed from the "Old West," the silent film era and other vintage sources to make a new visual language).  Hey -- that sounded pretty smart, didn't it? After all, here at Studio of Style, we actually own some original psychedelic posters (complete with staple holes when they were once tacked to telephone poles up and down San Francisco's streets). These posters are still great collectibles -- and a good place to start to see and learn more about the marketplace for them is at Wolfgang's Vault website, or you can pick up the very big, hardbound copy of The Art of Rock (which is practically a bible for us here at Studio of Style). While you're doing this, you might as well put on the Grateful Dead's Anthem of the Sun album, get a little mellow (uh huh) and see exactly what these poster artists were saying! You can check in later with us when you come back to Earth....

http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/poster-art/
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Rock-Posters-Presley-Punk/dp/0896595846
Poster collage by Greg Firlotte

Hot Strings & Heart Strings: Charlie Siem

HOT STRINGS & HEART STRINGS: CHARLIE SIEM -- There's no getting around this one, kids.  He's just plain fabulous, that Charlie Siem!  We can't be any more clever than that -- after all, when you start playing the violin at age three (yes!), and after having been loaned a 1735 Guarneri del Gesu d'Egville violin to play on by none other than the late, great Yehudi Menuhin himself (double yes!), and after being tutored by the legendary Shlomo Mintz (triple yes!) and now being a model (four yes's!!) for Alfred Dunhill men's clothing (woo hoo!) -- and being a hunk and a half (what more can we say, kids?) -- it's easy to fall in love with the 25-year-old musical virtuoso.  This UK lad just appeared this past October 2011 at the Royal Albert Hall (how many of us can say that??) and has released a new album where he is accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra!  Okay, so where do we go from here (other than keep swooning??).  This past June, he appeared with Lady Gaga at her Fashion Icon Award party in New York (how about that one, huh?) Well, his official website hasn't posted any 2012 gigs yet -- but you'd better keep looking every now and then, 'cos you never know when he might be in your vicinity.  Check out some of his YouTube videos and then you'll understand how the entire package comes together (don't ya just love a guy who plays in a white t-shirt??? You know what we mean too if you're a regular reader of Studio of Style!).  So, all we can say to Charlie is...rock on!!

http://www.charliesiem.com/
Caprice in A Minor:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sidWLQY8IxM
Vivaldi's Four Seasons:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjBtd7Im95c&feature=relmfu
A visit to Cuba:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EUXIBM1KWY
An overview of this virtuoso  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0koofkUZ5w&feature=related

Art Beat: Moore is Better

ART BEAT: MOORE IS BETTER -- When Studio of Style paid a recent visit to the Hollywood digs of graphic designer Graham Moore, we were overwhelmed in the best possible way!  Going on a tip given to us by our longtime friend and fellow graphic designer Donna Eble of Teamwork Design, we found ourselves head over heels in love with everything we saw by this most prolific of artists -- textiles, typography, collages, packaging design, illustrations, logos and art, art, art!! (His handmade holiday cards were absolutely the best we'd seen in a long time!) Hailing from London -- then New York, then Dallas, and eventually to Los Angeles -- Moore has long been entrenched in the world of graphic and commercial design since his very first job working in a small print shop in London's Covent Garden -- and since then he has honed his graphics skills through teaching at the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena; Woodbury University in Burbank; The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in downtown L.A.; and at the UCLA Extension Program as well. If you were to describe Moore's artistic output as moderne, ultra cool, hip, savvy and downright fabulous, you'd be right on every front!  A recent exhibit of his at Art Center titled "Remix" featured vintage vinyl record album covers cut up, collaged and reconfigured in such a masterful way that one felt as though a new type of artwork had been born through Moore's clever, seamless and timeless technical craftsmanship.  And he's certainly in the right town for the style of graphics he creates too -- for Los Angeles is the forever hip capital of cool and Moore's work exudes an L.A. vibe without a doubt.  With such clients under his belt as Neiman Marcus, JC Penney, Pier 1 Imports, Teleflora and many more, Moore has received several design awards as well as participating in several study-abroad programs.  All you regular Studio of Style readers will recall a recent posting we did about television screen test cards -- well, guess what?  Moore showed us an original one that he found and now keeps in his collection of unique art ephemera!  How's that for style, huh?

http://www.gmoorecreative.com
Portrait of Moore by Greg Firlotte

Cristina Ferrare Tells Studio of Style....

CRISTINA FERRARE TELLS STUDIO OF STYLE....Studio of Style was able to catch up with the ever-busy actress/model/author/television personality Cristina Ferrare over the holidays long enough to ask about what favorite herbs she loves to cook with -- and she promptly told us: "basil and parsley!" -- and we certainly understand why! Long known as the "king of herbs," basil (from the Greek word basileus meaning "king") is native to India and other parts of Asia where it has been cultivated for more than 5,000 years -- and has more than 160 varieties.  But more importantly, it is a main staple in Italian cooking (can you imagine all that fabulous Italian food in the Ferrare household while growing up??? Yum!) -- and its refreshing, cooling aspect finds it in an array of recipes in Cristina Ferrare's Big Bowl of Love (a labor of love three years in the making with 150 recipes created, cooked, prepared and styled by Ferrare herself!).  Did you know that Ferrare is a four-time book author with one on the New York Times best-selling list? Yes! And then there's parsley -- the other essential herb in Italian cookery that has great nutritional and dietary properties which Ferrare just loves to use throughout her recipes.  A main ingredient in Middle Eastern cuisine as you know, parsley is often used in a bouquet garni, or chopped fresh in a majority of Southern and Central European dishes.  So, ladies and gentlemen, pick your herb -- and pick up a copy of Ferrare's book and start making your own bowls of love!

To get signed copies of Ferrare's book: 
http://marquettehome.com/products-page/gift-ideas/a-big-bowl-of-love-by-cristina-ferrare
Main photos by Todd Porter and Diane Cu from Cristina Ferrare's Big Bowl of Love