The Bold Hatmakers in San Francisco

I want to go back to Goorin Bros. store in SF and photograph the window.This store has been around since 1895. I  love to peek into the hat store window and enjoy the view. The Hasselblad is the perfect medium format to capture this work of art. I am taken with the deep warm tones in the window. The photos have a timeless quality.

Comfort and Joy

My dear friend Lorie is an amazing artist. She has made me several gifts throughout the year that are my keepsakes. The finger less gloves have these beautiful old fashioned buttons with a flower design in the middle of them. The gloves have some of my favorite colors in the green and blue color family. The scarf  has a purple, blue, light blue, and brown color scheme. I treasure these gifts of comfort and joy.

Rose 31 Le Labo

Today I am wearing Rose 31. My first reaction heady. First dry down... I am involving myself in this scent. Pure joy. It smells like the good memories I have of the interesting scents I smelled in the Catholic Church during Sunday Mass. I am now two hours into it and I can really smell a woody rose. Pleasant.

Omar Schiliro

                                   


     

The work of Omar Schiliro is at the Malba in Buenos Aires. His work has plastic and acrylic objects, and electrical systems and lights.  It makes me happy.    
       



   

Dries Van Noten par Frederic Malle

Today I am wearing Dries Van Noten par Frederic Malle. It is a modern oriental scent that makes me feel so good. I love the initial pow and then the in between livability. It has sandalwood, vanilla, sacrasol, patchouli, saffron, musk, balsam, nutmeg, lemon, bergamot, tonka bean, and guaiac wood. Bruno Javanovic is the nose behind this miracle and it was launched in 2013.

Friday Night at Perfumania

Dan and I have a Friday night run away. We go to Perfumania.  Lori Howard is the store manager and she knows her stuff. Dan was on a Tsar venture since he vacationed at his brother Tim's house. Tim has actually gone through a bottle of Tsar (1989). I could not believe how many ingredients were in Tsar. It is intense. I cruised over to Brian Anderson's side of the store and chatted with him about my perfume picks.  He is the kind of perfume guy that actually listens and then pows you with his knowledge. I was drawn to that petite bottle of Prada Infusion D'Iris  and toying with the Marc Jacobs line of perfumes. Go to Perfumania on a Friday night. You will love the excellent customer service.

Fall Back

This is fall in the Ozarks. Now this is the way to Fall Back.

Foster's Spider

Todd's Creation 2012

I blogged on this last year. Todd knocks himself out to make Halloween special for the kids. Love his holiday spirit.

Best Halloween Craft

I saw this craft in Cambria 2012. I had to make one. Three water bottles. It is addicting.

Moms are Special

My friend Ruth made this amazing assemblage of cut up flower images from greeting cards her mother had  saved. She is experimenting with various compositions before framing her favorite one. They are exquisite. At the base of the vase, she placed a poem about  Life and Love to honor her mother. I was blown away by this creation. Thank-you Ruth for sharing your art. It is beautiful.

San Francisco Shops

The hasselblad has some amazing properties. I love to shoot store windows in SF. This time of year you can capture the deep browns and bright orange color ranges. This is a hat store and you can see the richness of the creation. Thank you Portra film.

Groundbreaking Mike and Doug Starn

           



Doug and Mike Starn are phenomenal artists. They are identical twins doing incredible conceptual art. Their photographs integrate nineteenth century romanticism with a modern conceptual twist. I  love their portrait, silver print, collage work. They built a towering sculpture over the MET with a crew of 12 rock climbers putting together 7,000 bamboo poles. You cannot stop these guys.

Inspirational Ping Pong

                 


8 ping pong players with 703 years between them compete in the World Over 80s Table Tennis Championships in Inner Mongolia. This documentary film is fantastic. I enjoyed sharing this with the Rehab AGCC Therapy team and watching them route for the contenders.  Dan and I  loved this film.

Dreaming of Oriens

                 

I almost fainted when Stacy showed me her Van Cleef Arpels Oriens Perfume bottle. I was intrigued by the beautiful bottle designed by designer Joel Desgripps who modeled Orien's flacon after a Van Cleef Arpel's ring with the surlyn cap mimicking the pink orange green spectrum of the tourmaline gem set within the ring from the series "Tree of Dreams". The Van Cleefs Ring is an enormous tourmaline set in white gold and diamond studded leaves. The bottle was made by Luigi Bormioli. Bernard Elena is the nose that made this creation in 2010.  The top notes are raspberry, black currant, and mandarine. The mid notes are jasmine and lily flowers and the base notes are blond wood, sandalwood, vanilla, and amber and prailine.   Thumbs up for this whole package.

Coco Mademoiselle

Today I tried a sample of Coco Mademoiselle roll on perfume. It was beautiful. It was the creative idea of Jacques Polge. The top notes are orange, bergamot, and grapefruit. The mid notes are litchi, rose, and Italian jasmine. The base notes are patchouli, vetiver, vanilla, and white musk. It is a beautiful fragrance that has been available since 2001.

Lys Mediterranee

                  


Today I decided to wear Lys Mediterranee. Edouard Flechier is the nose behind the fragrance. It is pure floral. It was launched in 2000 and it has sea water, ginger, angelica, orange blossom, lotus, lily, vanilla and musk. It is unisex. The minute I sprayed it I was overwhelmed with the floral scent. As I endure the am wear of this perfume, I hesitate to take it off. The am floral is pleasant and proper.

Why I Love Portra Film

Kodak Portra 400 S film is the bomb. I love it. My friend Shawn turned me on to this film. Love the fine grain, contrast, and saturation. I am a lifelong fan.

Jacqueline Perfumery

My husband is in deep in perfumes. It is his new hobby and he is full throttle into the whole process of perfumery. He did some research on places to buy perfume in the downtown SF area and located Jacqueline Perfumery on Geary St. I highly recommend the adventure. The owner is very knowledgeable. He knows so much about perfumes. It is worth your one hour to spare in the city. I had fun shooting images with my Hassey.  The large perfume bottles are amazing. 

The Shrine

Walk several blocks down Dragon's Gate, the entrance to Chinatown, and you will feel as if you are in the heart of Chinatown. My friend Lisa used to take her kids when they were small and stroll through this great place. I could understand why she made this an outing for her children. The place has a feeling of connection. The locals come to town to buy their produce and visit and chat about their lives. The place is alive.

Fill In

This graffiti is called a throw up or "fill in." The throw up  has an outline of color with a fill in.  These art vehicles were in Chinatown and I could not pass up the chance to photograph them.

The Writer's Signature

Tags are interesting. Tagging is a type of graffiti consisting of the writer's signature done with marker or paint. The letters of graffiti have a connection to the past. There is mystery in the tags. I like the lettering and the improvisation of the tags.

Chinatown Scene

I love Chinatown SF. I took two walking photography trips through Chinatown with my Hassey. The street art is exciting. I saw amazing building art, car art, and tags throughout Chinatown. This place is alive. The shop keepers and shoppers beginning to mingle and browse downtown. The Chinese came to SF as traders long before gold was discovered in California. This is one of the oldest SF neighborhoods. 

Blue Jasmine

Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine is a good film. Cate Blanchett plays a Park Avenue matron living through hard times. The cast is great and Woody's creation is worth seeing on the big screen. Don't miss this film. Two thumbs up for this one. I really enjoyed the SF moments.

Richard Diebenkorn

Richard Diebenkorn: The Berkeley Years is currently at the de Young Museum in SF. The show is on view until Sept 29. There are over 130 of the artist's paintings and drawings assembled from collections across the country. It is a fabulous show that is worth the trip to SF.
                                   

                                                                                                 

             

Art's Exotic Wood Treasures

Art has found his niche. He makes these incredible woodworking treasures.  He uses exotic woods that cry out to you to pick them up and hold them. He has a wonderful presentation and one can choose from regular pen and pencil sets, cigar pens, key chains, flashlight key chains, letter openers, and beautiful darts. I kept handling these treasures to see the gorgeous wood blends he put together. If interested please email Art at  scoyni@sbcglobal.net . I wish he would open a local shop for us to frequent.