Monday, February 25, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
C'est Moi is Moving to Vintage Pine
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Saturday, February 9, 2008
Nohea Interiors
Nohea is a Hawaiian word that means beautiful, handsome and/or lovely. It's also the name of our new friend, Calie Anderson's design firm, Nohea Interiors.
I often go out on the net looking for inspiration for our store displays. Searching for new trends and colors, and home ideas, so it's no surprize that I came across Nohea Interiors. Calie exudes a style that was/is immediately appealing to me. Turns out this San Franciscan woman and I have a common thread, we both have family ties to the Hawaiian Islands.
Now here's the thing about Hawaii. It's one of the most diverse states in the U.S. Several different ethnic groups have found their way to the islands for jobs with the plantations. Then you have the military base on Oahu that continues to bring in mainland folks and their families. Having been a sociology major, I've always thought it is the one place on earth where you can really, truly study anthropology and gain a better understanding of human nature and mixed cultures. It's the only place I've been in the world where complete strangers ask you "what are you?" and not "what do you do?" and there's no wierdness about it. I'm German and Swedish with a Tutu (Hawaiian for grandma) that's Pilipino and proud of it!
That said, my point here is that someone from Hawaii has a deep understanding of multiple cultures and a strong awareness of what that means. Then of course there is so much beauty in the paradise of the islands. All of this makes for a great design perspective and that's what you get when working with Calie Anderson.
Check out http://www.noheainteriors.com/ and Calie's blog at http://nohealookbook.blogspot.com/
Calie is working on wallpaper designs that are fabulous! I'll be posting about them as they evolve.
Tab
I often go out on the net looking for inspiration for our store displays. Searching for new trends and colors, and home ideas, so it's no surprize that I came across Nohea Interiors. Calie exudes a style that was/is immediately appealing to me. Turns out this San Franciscan woman and I have a common thread, we both have family ties to the Hawaiian Islands.
Now here's the thing about Hawaii. It's one of the most diverse states in the U.S. Several different ethnic groups have found their way to the islands for jobs with the plantations. Then you have the military base on Oahu that continues to bring in mainland folks and their families. Having been a sociology major, I've always thought it is the one place on earth where you can really, truly study anthropology and gain a better understanding of human nature and mixed cultures. It's the only place I've been in the world where complete strangers ask you "what are you?" and not "what do you do?" and there's no wierdness about it. I'm German and Swedish with a Tutu (Hawaiian for grandma) that's Pilipino and proud of it!
That said, my point here is that someone from Hawaii has a deep understanding of multiple cultures and a strong awareness of what that means. Then of course there is so much beauty in the paradise of the islands. All of this makes for a great design perspective and that's what you get when working with Calie Anderson.
Check out http://www.noheainteriors.com/ and Calie's blog at http://nohealookbook.blogspot.com/
Calie is working on wallpaper designs that are fabulous! I'll be posting about them as they evolve.
Tab
Friday, February 8, 2008
Fliptstudio Blog
So here I am all ready to tell you all about a new blog. I actually was first introduced via Curbly.com. I was looking for information on ideas for this hideous coffee table that I found when to my rescue came Shelly with step by step instructions for upholstering the table and making it into a bench. Anyway I was checking out her new blog fliptstudio.blogspot.com and she's got a really great post about us. (Thanks Shelly).
Not to be outdone, here are some of my personal favorites of her pieces. :)
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Newest Finds
Seems like I have been more off than on lately with my postings. Sorry about that. We have been quite busy rearranging things in the store and bringing in new inventory. Here is a little bit of what we have gotten in the last week or so. Enjoy.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Got Peanuts?
We're always trying to do our best to reduce materials in our landfils and curb consumption of non-biodegradable items.
Recently I was in Hawaii visiting family and doing some research on how they handle trash locally. It got me thinking about how we here at Island Girl Salvage can do a better job as well. One area of interest is packing materials. In Hawaii there are organizations that receive used packing materials from residents and then these materials such as boxes and peanuts are made available to businesses to use for shipping their products. It's a win, win for the environment because these items stay out of the landfils and the local businesses because packing materials are quite expensive. If everyone recycled their unwanted packing materials we could keep some of the handling costs down.
When I returned home to Chicago I started looking around here for the same kind of setup. Unfortunately, I can't find any. That's where all of you come in. We'd like to receive your unwanted packing boxes, peanuts and bubble wrap. In return we will eliminate packing and handling fees on any item that we are able to reuse the received packing materials.
You can rest easy knowing that we are all doing our part to save the environment.
Thanks,
Tab
Friday, January 18, 2008
Vintage Bark Cloth
Is that your grandmother’s pillow on the couch? Or is it a trendy new accessory featuring vintage fabric from the 1940s wartime period?
The thick textured fabric – a.k.a. bark cloth -- that seemed mod amidst the décor of homes in the 1940s – 1960s is now showing up in more than just garage sales. In fact, bark cloth fabric is making waves today with its tropical Hawaiian floral, Oriental prints and colorful patterns.
Although the origin of using the inner bark of trees, such as fig, breadfruit and paper mulberry, to make sturdy “tapa” cloth dates back to the 6th century B.C., it was around World War II that the fabric became more world renown. Many servicemen stationed in Hawaii saw first hand the brightly colored bark cloth curtains, home furnishings and even shirts and in turn brought them back to the mainland and abroad. In the late 1940s and through the 1960s, bark cloth became a staple fabric in the home interior textiles market. The most collectible of these are the atomic “Eames era” prints that made a name for themselves in the 1950s and 1960s.
The thick textured fabric – a.k.a. bark cloth -- that seemed mod amidst the décor of homes in the 1940s – 1960s is now showing up in more than just garage sales. In fact, bark cloth fabric is making waves today with its tropical Hawaiian floral, Oriental prints and colorful patterns.
Although the origin of using the inner bark of trees, such as fig, breadfruit and paper mulberry, to make sturdy “tapa” cloth dates back to the 6th century B.C., it was around World War II that the fabric became more world renown. Many servicemen stationed in Hawaii saw first hand the brightly colored bark cloth curtains, home furnishings and even shirts and in turn brought them back to the mainland and abroad. In the late 1940s and through the 1960s, bark cloth became a staple fabric in the home interior textiles market. The most collectible of these are the atomic “Eames era” prints that made a name for themselves in the 1950s and 1960s.
Here are just some of the samplings that we have had here at Island Girl.
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