But seriously Mansuer Gavriel‘s Fall Lookbook is so dreamy. It’s what keeps my energy going, my blood pumping and brings me so much excitement and joy. Though I’m so excited for fall, I can’t help but miss my summer bright colors. No need to be sad, because New York-based accessory designers Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel are bringing back that brightness.The award-winning handbag brand continues to supply us with drool-worthy style inspiration. Their bags are so in demand that their bags have waiting lists.Continue Reading
You probably don’t know her. But you’ve probably have her pinned in one of your pinboards.
A Russian style icon, part designer (Tzipporah), part stylist, part consultant and full-time mom! PHEW! You go girl! Natasha Goldenberg is a daring and playful dresser. She doesn’t take herself too seriously. Mixing loud colors and patterns, wearing extravagant headpieces, wearing oversized anything, this girl takes risks and I like it!
I wouldn’t mind going shopping in her closet. So much color, texture, pattern! I barely can contain myself.
She gives me a reason to get up the morning and put on the most wild thing I own!
I need to follow her lead and embrace the silly, the eccentric, the collective, the colorful Caitlin.
Have you noticed the cute Yoplait commercials recently? The ones with the french girl? I absolutely love her and those vibes coming from these commercials! Absolutely charming!
Don’t remember? Let me refresh your memory…
I was so into them that I wanted to find out more behind the commercials; who created them, what was their inspiration, etc…
All in the name:
I probably should have already realized by the name but Yoplait but they have French roots, founded by two French farmers in the 60’s. Can you see the ’60’s shining through?
Charming Commercial Creators:
The creators behind the commercials Wieden + Kennedy, an ad agency in Portland, Oregon. They are also the ones behind the new KFC commercials (Love those ones too). Anyway, their usage of bright colors tie into Yoplait’s yogurt flavors; blue and green for blueberry and red and pink for strawberry.
What’s behind that adorable French accent?
Bringing in their French heritage, W+K wanted a true authentic French voice for their narrator but even with casting agencies they were struggling to find the perfect voice. Hearing a rough cut, their ECD (Executive Creative Director) Joe Staples, realized just the perfect person! A french woman that sold socks up the street. BOOM! Magic!
The face of Yoplait:
The second-to-last person to see while casting was Phoebe Neidhardt. Her charm, likability, and endless amount of energy made her the perfect match!
Let’s talk direction:
“Eating Yoplait is a fun and enjoyable experience, and we just wanted to make spots that elicited those same feelings,” Karl Lieberman, the creative director for W+K expressed.
Bringing on the director Autumn De Wilde, known for her eclectic mix of fashion, beauty and humor to her work, W+K’s plan was to not take themselves too seriously and instead keep those fun and enjoyable experiences.
That’s what I am feeling when I see these commercials!
With a twist of her pen, my dear talented friend Jaryn Bunney did this fun portrait of me! Love the quickness of her marks and the color fields that make up the larger drawing.
Another talent that Jaryn possess (out of a whole lot more of course) is she was Tanner and my videographer for our wedding. She captured the day so beautifully and all my nervousness and excitement of the day! Thank you Jaryn all your talents!
I’ll be posting more about my wedding later but enjoy this video to keep you intrigued.
Referred to as Mexico’s most influential designer of the 20th century, Luis Barragán is remember for abundance of vibrant color as well light and space. He reinvented the International Style, bringing color to Mexican Modernism.Luis’ heavy influences were gained by his trips to Paris to see the 1925 Exposition des Arts-Décoratifs, an event which popularized Art Deco and introduced the public to the industrially-produced International Style designs of Le Corbusier among others. He also gained inspiration with meeting Mexican muralist, José Clemente Orozco, and the landscape architect, Ferdinand Bac.Because of his mastery of space and light, Luis brought back his own version of Modernism by imbuing it with warmth and vibrance of his native Mexico. It combined Mexican visual heritage with modernist forms of abstraction. He accentuated his colorful buildings’ in a natural environment. He decided a house should not be a “machine for living.” Rather his goal was “emotional architecture.”Barragán called himself a landscape architect:
“I believe that architects should design gardens to be used, as much as the houses they build, to develop a sense of beauty and the taste and inclination toward the fine arts and other spiritual values. Any work of architecture which does not express serenity is a mistake.”
From: Contemporary Architects by Muriel Emanuel; published by St. Martins Press, 1980
Luis’ favorite themes were light and water and soon became skilled at manipulating them both in buildings like the 1966 Folke Egerstrom House and Stables built around a brightly colored, sculptural sequence of horse pools and the 1975-77 Francisco Gilardi House framing an indoor pool.
“My earliest childhood memories are related to a ranch my family owned near the village of Mazamitla. It was a pueblo with hills, formed by houses with tile roofs and immense eaves to shield the passersby from the heavy rains which fall in that area. Even the earth’s color was interesting because, it was red earth. In this village, the water distribution system consisted of great gutted logs, in the form of troughs, which ran on a support structure of tree forks, 5 meters high, above the roofs. This aqueduct crossed over the town, reaching the patios, where there were stone fountains to receive the water. The patios housed the stables, with cows and chickens all together. Outside, in the street, there were iron rings to tie the horses. The channeled logs, covered with moss, dripped water all over town, of course, it gave this village an ambience of a fairytale. No. There are no photographs. I have only its memory”.
From: Kenneth Frampton. Modern Architecture: A critical history. London: Thames and Hudson. 1985. 2nd Edition
But for most of his life, Luis wasn’t praised for his colorful building. At times he was living off selling his collection of books and other collections to get by. At age 73, Luis wasn’t a well known architect. In fact, he had never built anything outside his native Mexico and was virtually forgotten. But the beauty and originality of Barragán’s buildings made him a legend among his fellow architects which lobbied hard for a show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Within a couple years, Luis was awarded the Pritzker Prize, the architecture’s answer to the Nobel.Sources: Barragán Foundation | Design Museum | Sketch42 | The Pritzker Prize | NY Times | Mocphale | Endless Tours | Architizer