Archive
Archive for February, 2010
photo by maczter
I could be home on the weekend, on vacation or just taking a break - it doesn’t mean that my daily demons or Seth’s are.
God forbid I should have a day that doesn’t begin with a daily litany of:
“Honey, where’s my wallet?”
“Wheremykeyswheremykeyswheremykeys?”
“Can you call my phone?”
“OK, now where did I put my glasses?”
“Where’s everything???!!”
The Law of Five Things is very clear.
You cannot hold more than five things in your hands without losing one of them.
And, you cannot misplace five things without losing your mind.
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit
Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
As dusk fell, my eyes followed the last boat from Ibiza disappearing into the distance with, at the time, all of my worldly possessions. Thankfully, that was the only inconvenience of the day. I considered my situation and the Cap Ferrar sent over from the mysterious gentleman at the bar.
Things could be worse.
Well, what do I need to survive, to live, really? Or, to really live? I wondered.
Being much more intrigued with living, I knew the answer immediately.
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My Whisper Wrap.
Inspired by an elegant lady from Shanghai who told me, “You were born to wear beautiful things, custom silk dresses. Revel in your destiny and find something fabulous to wrap around your shoulders.”
Something like a breathless summer stole, perfect for cool evenings in the casino, buying pomegranate tea in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, and sipping my second Cap Ferrar in a seaplane to the mainland.
This wrap was mean to be hand knit on large needles, preferably bamboo or some dark exotic wood, in a lace mohair using a simple open stitch that offers a glimpse of a tanned bare shoulder. Long enough to skim the hem of my silk cheongsam, it is pure romance, pure rapture to wear. Sensuous, and simply gorgeous.
Take your time and knit something that enchants the eye and caresses the skin like a lover’s eye – The Whisper Wrap.
Everything else, like my luggage, can wait.
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How to Knit the Whisper Wrap
What you need: 500 yards lace mohair in a startling color. One pair of size 15 bamboo/wood knitting needles
Pattern: Garter stitch Knit every row.
Directions: Cast on 70 stitches. Knit first row. Continue to knit all rows (garter stitch) until you have reached the desired length. Cast off loosely. Weave in loose ends. Fling magnificently around your shoulders. Follow with a smile.
Need help?
For those of you who are beginners, I have included a link to a video of basic knitting stitches.
Get more hooked
If you want more style notes for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit
Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
Earlier this month I went to Albany to lobby for money. One million dollars.
I stopped in Century Twenty One down in the financial district, my artspy source to get insolently styled T shirts, LaCoste sneakers, and winter white cashmere sweaters marked down to prices that can only be described as The Big Deal of the Day.
Not this time.
Nada Prada for me.
Nothing looked good on me today. (Note: I have decided to let go of being responsible for the world and not looking like Wow! in that horrible fitting room mirror, as if anyone could with all of that nakedly nonflattering flourescent lighting. What are you kidding?)
“Do you have anything less formal, more fundable looking in a medium?”
The sales associate sprinted along side of me, clearly impressed by my speed-racking skills. She pointed to a rack on the wall with marked down items.
“Oh, and I’m not interested if its not 70% off.” I smiled at my command of the situation.
But deep down, I knew I was not feeling good, doing good or looking good. Nowhere near Wow! as I needed to be.
Write
What do you do when you are not feeling Wow?
I find it helps me to write down what I am feeling as I am feeling it, as if I could coax all of that out of me through my moving pen.
First
To start writing, I start with:
a list
any list
just to start writing
and thinking.
Then
I start a story by:
writing a list of things that annoy me
things that can screw up my day
and faults, mine and everyone else’s, but mostly everyone else’s.
Then what?
Getting this far will make you feel better. It always works best when you end with:
a list of things you are thankful for. Especially if you are asking for a million dollars.
Get more Wow!
If you want more style notes for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit
Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
If there was a speakeasy that was worth speaking about, this is what I would be wearing dashing out of a checker cab on the arm of the band’s bass player.
Oh, but what shoes?
Trick question for all of you who know that I am furiously at work sketching shoes to be ready by April when I will be on my way to Mastering the Art of Shoemaking: Beginning Class by Llorraine Neithardt.
To create a look for a speakeasy moment that brings a second look and a whispered, “Wow!” as I slip inside the door is what I am going for. Great looks, just like great lives, are made up of singular moments.
How are you supposed to make a difference if you don’t make an impression?
Make no mistake, this is not one of those noli me tangerine occasions.
But then, when is it not the right time to look untouchably fabulous?
Get more Wow!
Here’s to changing the world, one moment at a time, with
Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
photo by Uncle Buddha
Today I read a post by Chad Dickerson, the CTO of Etsy on the newly launched blog Code as Craft. The engineers of Etsy consider their work a fusion of craftsmanship and engineering. They see themselves as part of a lineage linked in spirit from the stonemasons, glasscutters and woodcarvers whose individual contributions over decades resulted in the monumental cathedrals of the Middle Ages.
This blog allows them to share their experiences building and running Etsy in a public voice and their craft of engineering. This lovely passage from their front page embodies where the inspiration for how they think about their work as art:
The construction of software should be an engineering discipline. However, this doesn’t preclude individual craftsmanship. Think about the large cathedrals built in Europe during the Middle Ages. Each took thousands of person-years of effort, spread over many decades. Lessons learned were passed down to the next set of builders, who advanced the state of structural engineering with their accomplishments. But the carpenters, stonecutters, carvers, and glass workers were all craftspeople, interpreting the engineering requirements to produce a whole that transcended the purely mechanical side of the construction. It was their belief in their individual contributions that sustained the projects: We who cut mere stones must always be envisioning cathedrals. (Quarry worker’s creed).
Etsy is a handmade market place on the front end, the intersection of creativity and aspiration. How nice to see the equation balanced on the back end as the intersection of craftsmanship and engineering.
What I like is that they see themselves as craftspeople. What impresses me is that they think of their blog as signing their work as artists.
This is how good work is done, one cathedral at a time.
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit
Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
I write for love and money. It is my everyday passion. What's yours? 
