28.6.11

Noodle(Creative Sway Day)



There is a band called the Gorillaz.

In that band there is a girl called Noodle.

Noodle, quite frankly, is the shit.

I recall visiting Italy for the first time in 2001. At that time I was around 8 years old and there was a English band called the Gorillaz sweeping through Europe with their first CD. I spent hours in in vain trying to occupy my time in the hotel room when I wasn't off seeing Italy. Suddenly I heard a interesting beat. I found its source to be the television and there I saw the scrumptious artwork of Jamie Hewlett(who remains perhaps my favorite artist to this day) in the Clint Eastwood music video. There were so many elements in it that intrigued me. The music, the visuals, the story it seemed to be telling, but most of all was the little kid. That kid was Noodle and at the time I had no freaking idea whether she was a boy or girl. Regardless I found her to be like me: small, quiet, and spunky. She is additionally a karate master so that is always a plus. I would watch it everyday countless times. After all it was so popular you couldn't escape it and it didn't hurt that it was the only entertaining thing in English either.

However, after the trip my love affair with the Gorillaz was done. I was young and at that time had a stubborn disinterest in music so I wasn't inclined to seek it out when I got back to the States. Beside the Gorillaz really weren't a hit at all in the US so they wouldn't be bombarding me with all there lovely visuals everyday like in Italy.

But the music and especially Noodle always stuck with me.

Then, one day in 2005 when I was 13 I heard a particularly familiar song come on the radio. I heard the instantly recognizable rap parts of what I later came to know was De La Soul and when I checked the info it read: Feel Good Inc by Gorillaz.




It was a heavenly song off their new album Demon Days and to my delight I found Noodle had grown in the past 4 years. She was now declared to be 14 which was close enough to my age and I was rather delighted that a fictional character I had loved was growing with me. What I loved even more was her look, her dark purple hair, and all of her outfits. I watch the music videos for Feel Good Inc, Dare, and El Manana again and again because she was in them.

Of course my love goes on today and I had a hefty dose of the 18 year old Noodle in their most recent album Plastic Beach which came out in March of 2010. My favorite Noodle scene of this album or any for that matter is her shooting planes down in the On Melancholy Hill video. I loved that scene and her outfit so much I was going to go dressed as that for this years Anime Expo. But alas, I could not go. Oh well, next year.




27.6.11

53 Years Together and Still Not Married


Hey guys one of my dear friends who lives with her two lesbian aunts wants to share their story. It would much appreciated if we can share this with everyone so watch it in the link and give it a ol’ thumbs up will ya? AND SPREAD IT ALL THROUGHOUT TUMBLR!

http://testimony.couragecampaign.org/53-years-together-and-still-not-married

23.6.11

LETS PAINT THE TOWN FRANZ!(Creative Sway Day)













VIVA LA FRANZ!

Oh yes this Sway Day is all about the Franz.

I could tell you so, so, many things about why I love them and what they do creatively for me. I could tell you I adore their theme colors of black, orange, and beige. I could tell you that the imagery in their music videos could inspire a thousand different mens fashion items.

I COULD TELL YOU
That in a alternate universe Alex Kapranos would have been the perfect fashion model and would most certainly model for my brand, but then of course there would be no Franz Ferdinand and that's a trade off I could never desire.

I could tell you many things but I'll let the pictures fill you in for today.



19.6.11

Even as I left Florida~



So say hello to the new addition to the Alexander and Laika Collection. As you can see the exhaustingly bright sun of Florida has bleached my creative influences and caused me to design of beige purse that I am quite fond. Citrus, palm prints, and sun. That's the reason why I named this purse Florida.

And now for a song(not that it's at all related I just like it)


to understand what the hell he's saying heres the lyrics


"Florida"

Although we often wondered
It was no thing of wonder
The shit that flew from our minds
Grass stains and fresh fruit
Reminds our shoes of horse glue
On this ridiculous climb
With great tunnel vision
We built ourselves a mission
To ride out motives decide
Oh, with vague description
Of what we have been missing
So why would anyone try?

It was always worth it
That's the part I seem to hide
And the busy ant empire
Put all your clothes inside

I wasn't always cargo
I was once kind of my own

I guess I'll pack up my mind
It took so much effort
Not to make an effort
Oh, what a flawless design

It was always worth it
That's the part I seem to hide
And the busy ant empire
Put all your clothes inside

Even as I left Florida
(yee-ha)

It was always worth it
That's the part I seem to hide
And the busy ant empire
Put all your clothes inside

Even as I left Florida
Far enough, far enough
Wasn't far enough

Couldn't quite seem to escape myself
Far enough, far enough
Far from Florida
We were all drowsing in cruise control
Far enough, far enough
Wasn't far enough

I stood on my heart supports thinkin'
"Oh my God, I'll probably have to carry this whole load."
I couldn't remember if I tried
I couldn't remember if I took my brain out, threw it so directly a the goal
I couldn't remember if I...
I could have my mind erased
And still not know exactly what I don't already know

Even as I left Florida

15.6.11

Silliness(Creative Sway Day)

Well hello all, it's been too long.

Today my dears I shall talk to you about something that not too long ago a Vlogbrother said was a under appreciated value: silliness.

Unfortunately most dictionaries would define the word as such;

silliness

noun
1
lack of good sense or judgment
However silliness is much much more. True, a silly word or action is something that can have nothing to do with what is currently being said or done but its a very necessary human expression (and one that a practice quite often). While being serious has its uses being silly is just as important. If you take life too seriously, no matter for what reason, you almost certainly wont be enjoying it. Silliness is a healing state of mind. It frees you and relives stress. Bold absurdity in the face of a world trying to hide the fact that it makes no sense is just honesty. I say this because no matter who you are, be you a brilliant scientist or the most ignorant man in the world, you still have those moments where you stop what your doing and think "The universe is just really weird."
As a example and a expression of this I give you this:

9.6.11

Etsy Shop

Well kiddies after moving I finally got myself together and started some hard sewing once more. This means I have finally made for Jacqueline dresses and that they are for sale for $25 on my Etsy shop. which you can find here




Now now, wouldn't you like to help a budding designer who's scrapping her way to design school? I'm practically a starving artist here! Thats why you should check out my shop and pick up a thing or two while your there, after all if you take a look you'll find my shop aint too hard on your wallet.

25.5.11

Speech(Creative Sway Day)

The other day out of a pure expression of joy I said something. I said a single sentence with three separate languages in it. Almost immediately a brush of significance rushed past me. It took a bit for it all to unfold but I came to understand it.

Perhaps because I am only fluent in English I take for granted that fact that all these varying languages of the world are one of the most beautiful human expressions of meaning. The fact that an object or feeling of any kind has thousands of names is overwhelmingly spectacular. In this I do not just see the differing perspectives of countless cultures but I see the never ending complexity of beauty in this world that we try our best to describe and understand. Our ability to have long ago extrapolated meaning from so many things and came to a common understanding and an agreed way of speaking for those meanings is beyond full comprehension for one living mind.

It seems to me that anything humanity creates, even if it’s ugly or terrible, is a work of art. Architecture, mathematics, literature, music, language, war, peace, love, hate, morality, and religion are all humanities works of art created out of the desperation of being confined to existence in a world where we are doomed to eventually die.

18.5.11

Fibonacci(Creative Sway Day)

Im a bit in the mood for math today which I am sure disappoints the majority of you, my readers, on this day.

The thing is at my current state I'm quite average at math which leaves me feeling rather unfulfilled, and due to the large number of my mathematically inclined friends I additionally feel quite inadequate as well.

This is especially distressing for me since I love math. I see numbers as things that are alive. Something I came to understand as a 10 year old girl just starting to learn algebra in the 5th grade is that beauty is that all the beauty in the world is math. It mimics the actions and thought processes of humans because math IS the abstract incarnation of our human thought processes. So everyday all I see are the ways of the universe pushing and pulling as they always do in the form of math.

However no textbook told me this in school, this was just my own realization. I watched as others only saw the cold and drab side of math that the textbook offered and thusly acquired a permanent distaste for it. The textbooks were never much use to me and my teachers only recited their lesson plans in the same soulless tone as the book.

So I sit here a disappointingly average math student. However, I have graduated high school and am currently taking a break from college as I apply for Savannah College of Art and Design. This ironically means I actually have the time to learn math! There are books out there that speak math to me in the language it was intended to be spoken in. A book of this very breed that I am currently reading is Mathematics for the Nonmathematician by Morris Klein which was so kindly given to me as a going away present by my good friend David.

Now, to show you an example of the way I see math.





The Fibonacci Sequence.

It manifests itself in nature quite often.

You should go check it out.



11.5.11

A List of Muses(Creative Sway Day)

There are certain people that inspire me a ridiculous amount. The following are my two primary muses. There are more, oh so many more, but this post would go on for 3 or 4 pages and we both know your not going to read that far.

1.
Alex Kapranos (UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS OUT)  Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand performs at Day 2 of Radio 1's Big Weekend held at Lydiard Country Park on May 10, 2009 in Swindon, England.  (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Alex Kapranos

Oh quirky people, how you are so delightfully fun. This energetic lanky guy here is Alex Kapranos, the lead singer of Franz Ferdinand. This man knows his style: aviators, button down shirts, and oxfords. Oh yes, oxfords. He has a wonderful silhouette which looks even better when hes showing off his slick dance moves on stage.

2.

Let me start out by saying that the thing about Zooey Dechannel is......SHES PERFECT. If I could fill this entire blog post with pictures of her I would. Forget Alex Kapranos this is the most delightfully quirky person I know of. Any of her movies(well maybe with the exception of The Happening) she plays the most adorable, amazing, and awesome woman anyone can ever possibly hope for. Don't get me started on her cute vintage fashion. Don't get me started on her cute, round, blue eyes that have the longest curviest eyelashes you've ever seen. Now, one thing you should especially not get me started on is her 1:1 bang to face ratio. No one owns the straight bang look like Zooey Deschannel. No one owns ANYTHING like Zooey Deschannel. She even has a legitimately good band named She and Him. Her voice is the most beautiful voice I have ever heard. As if all of this wasn't enough, she married Benjamen Gibbard, the lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie a couple of years ago and if that isn't a perfect coupling I don't know what is.

Im sure you can tell by the length of my gushing proclamation of love for Zooey Deschannel that I am quite passionate about the whole ordeal.

Zooey Deschannel, you should let me make you clothing.

8.5.11

The Jacqueline Dress



This is perhaps my most favorite dress so far. It was inspired by the very girl whos wearing it. Ive just always really liked her look and if I could sum that up with her personality it would be this dress. Her name is not Jacqueline however, I named the dress Jacqueline because the Franz Ferdinand song of the same name inspired a sort of romanticism of the name. The dress seemed best suited for the name so thats what I used.

It should be obvious by now that everything I do is inspired by music at least a little bit. I swear its not intentional. I don't name anything until after its done. I have to see it in its final form to decipher what best sums up it in a name.

As usual I put up a post on my fan page so go check it out and click the like button to become my fan! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rock-the-House-Clothing/125433577530068

4.5.11

Way Too Much (Creative Sway Day)




Oh how Ive felt too much joy and inspiration to contain myself.
I'm this short of insane. I'm finding myself completely consumed with the images and sounds in Arcade Fire music videos. Scenes From the Suburbs is a short movie about to come out in the coming months. It's based on Arcade Fires most recent(and most brilliant) album The Suburbs. If it wasn't enough for the album itself to knock the life out of me with the spirit it captures and its rapturous sound now there is a movie embodying the albums very soul.

To check out clips from Scenes from the Suburbs while subsequently watching the music video for The Suburbs by Arcade Fire click here.

Now to explain what the presence of that strange doodle above means. That is my doodle, one I'm quite fond of. This lovely(and some might say creepy) little thing is the sum of the inspiration that radiates from my intrigue in folk art, the forest, and the memories of my younger years in Pennsylvania.

This particular one is me and my cousin. We were very close as young children and I drew us as the animals that I most picture us as; a brown wolf (me) and a crow (my cousin). There is a creepy element to this and I could go on for ages why that is and why were are the animals I drew us as but its a tad personal. Sadly too much for a blog I'm afraid.


This one of a white rabbit is not directly inspired by me or any one of my cousins. It too is a child but I think its more embodying that cute shyness that little children have. I feel it has a deeper meaning but I haven't quite yet pinpointed what that is. If it looks like its praying its not, its in no way meant to me religious.

These drawings will no doubt be a series and every now and then you will see more. They come from deep down however so I cant just pop one out at will.


27.4.11

Questing for Inspiration (Creative Sway Day)



Every now and then the magical tap of inspiration dries out and your left frustrated and without the ability to express yourself through whatever medium it is you use.

Today was not one of those days for me but for my friend who in the process of designing a look for her good friend wound up stuck and robbed of creativity. Nothing she tried worked.

I suggested we take a walk into town and let the sights wash over us in hopes of new inspiration. She agreed and so we went off on out quest.


This first lead us to Starbucks because my friend is quite the coffee fiend. I am the complete opposite; A tea fiend. However I never really enjoyed the tea there with the exception of their passion fruit tea.

One thing I do like about Starbucks are the store layouts. I'm a sucker for a well designed room no matter where or what it is. One thing I really love is the industrial look and this Starbucks(like many) had it.




Ah Urban Outfitters. I single step inside that store could knock a hundred new ideas into my head. I love everything single thing in that store. Their displays are MARVELOUS. The fact that they create new beautiful displays in the store drives me insane. I devour everything with my eyes and I cant get enough which is why I often come back(sometimes three times a week).

I particularly loved this jumble of old rusty boats and such that looked like they were just gathered from the side of a river. The picture is above. Below them were several beachy worn blankets that matched up only by a single yellow stripe.



Eventually we made our way to a curious little gallery like store. I don't know for sure but it seemed to me local artists or people who just had art on them they didn't want sell it there. It was called Loft a Go Go. There was a delightful mix of colors and images from photographs of Banksys, copies of Mucha posters, and even Keep Calm and Carry On posters and their deviations on canvas.

All of these things pleased me and renewed my inspiration even though it wasn't even completed. My friend was quite satisfied with our quest and became confident to make whatever garments came to mind. On the way home we found a bit of sticker graffiti.


I thought it was cute. Its seems to be a local artist, I don't know what they call themselves. It was about the size of your hand and was slapped on a clothing donation bin. I love finding good graffiti, its always a pleasant surprise.

Overall it was a quaint walk. We both felt very content with the world on our way back. Colors and patterns were abuzz in our heads and we couldn't wait to extract new designs from them.








24.4.11

NEW DRESS!


I just made a new dress that I have named The Xavia Dress. Its a slightly more edgy style than the others you have seen so far. The name was inspired by yet another song, Xavia by the Submarines.

I really do adore the model for this dress. Her name is Dyana and she is a spunky wonderful woman who just happened to have the perfect look for this dress as I am sure you can tell by how wonderful she looks in these pictures. Dyana if your reading this thanks a bunch!

13.4.11

FAN PAGE LAUNCHED!


Hello guys I just launched my snazzy new Facebook FanPage for Rock the House! I am quite excited to drum up some fans. Here is the link

My new Spring/Summer line The Alexander and Laika Collection is underway and here are a few looks from it.

It's a very whimsical line and one of my secret inspirations for it is the album Funeral by Arcade Fire and more specifically their song Neighborhood #2(Laika) where I borrowed both the names in the line from. What I love about that song and the album is the beautiful combination of adventure and whimsy that I feel when listening to it. It's a strong inspiration in my work for this line.


4.4.11

SHOP!

I have gotten around to putting a few things up on Etsy. Theres only one of each with the exception of one item so you better not wait!

23.1.11

Not Dead.

Just moving, and the moving is almost complete. Between finals, Christmas, and moving I really haven't had the time to make good use of this site but I will, eventually. Just hold tight.