Today was a great day. Not only did I finally get to try my first sandwich, a delicious cured ham, home-made pickle, and country mustard sandwich from Olympic Provisions, but I hit the mother load of a good deal on David Rowland's 40/4 chairs for our Hawaiian Cultural Center than I'm decorating.
Sometimes it's amazing what's out there when you go searching. And while I wasn't looking for these in particular, I couldn't have picked a better find. It was one of those heart pounding Finder moments when you spot them from afar, you go over to make sure it's what you think it is, and then you walk slowly away looking at them every so often to make sure they weren't a mirage.
80 chairs for $75. Including the dollies. A very good day, indeed.
Oh, and here's the sandwich in case you were wondering....
Sorry folks for the delay in writing. We here at Amy Antonio Designs are deep in our annual sideline of 3 Days of Aloha planning. It's a great event filled with a ton of hula and other Hawaiian related activities and I recommend that you check it out as the end of this month.
Meanwhile, we've been enjoying the hot days of sunshine and summer with the joining of "Hike Club" whose purpose is to get outdoors to exercise in the beautiful region of ours, commune with fellow friends, all with the reward of swimmng (and when available, root beer floats). Last week Hike Club ventured into the ancient forests and abandoned mining camp near Opal Creek, Oregon. This seven mile loop hike took us to an amazing oasis of turquoise (and freezing cold) water and passed old rusted out mining carts and cars. It was a 97 degree day, and yet the water was still a chilly 60, which felt like negative 60.
The always stylish Layla appeared in an adorable polka doted one peice ensemble from Popina which reminded me that I really needed to update the black, oppresive Cold War era suit I'd been donning for the last few years.
Popina Swimwear is one of the hidden Portland gems that you'd drive by everyday without ever stopping. Except for the fancy sign out front, this unassuming shop which shares it's front with a Foot Clinic and Dentist, I tell you - is a woman's best friend when it comes to bathing suits. They offer a huge selection of quality vintage inspired suits from Jantzen and Tommy Bahama but more importlantly, their own line of custom designs for the rest of us who are tired of squeezing our womanly shapes into teenage cuts. They still have string bikinis should you be graced with such a figure to warrent one, but the majority of the suits seem to be tankinis, hipster bottoms, and a variety of stylish top styles to fit every body shape. You can mix and match patterns and sizes since Popina's custom line follow the same fabric patterns: polka dots, solid, Hawaiian postcard, and a few 70s prints.
(I went with the flirty polka dotted skirt/boy shorts two peice suit)
Their tops generally range from $25-$40 dollars and bottoms from $25-$50. One pieces are from $60 -$100 and are open six days a week. For those not in the area, they offer their suits online as well. A size chart is listed should you be wary of ordering the right size online.
Kanu Hawaii is a fantastic non profit organization with some pretty amazing virtues and goals. They're kicking off Live Aloha Day for June 19th with some very simple yet effective campaigns on doing your part in your community. Everything from buying local to volunteering. If you live in Hawaii, you can find and join projects here. If you live elsewhere check out these easy commitments to better our world.
L stands for LOKAHI, meaning bring unity.
O stands for OLU'OLU, meaning politeness.
H stands for HA'AHA'A, meaning humbled.
A stands for AHONUI, meaning enduring.
Respect all elders and children.
Leave places better than you find them.
Hold the door. Hold the elevator.
Plant something.
Drive with courtesy. Never drive impaired.
Attend an event of another culture.
Return your shopping cart.
Get out and enjoy nature.
Pick up litter.
Share with your neighbors.
Create smiles.
Create a list and share it.
You don't have to be a politician, or the president of a company, or a famous doctor, to make everyone's life better. Sometimes the smallest things make the biggest difference.
Wow. It's almost as bad as googling your own name - but for, ahem - "marketing reasons" checking out Google Analytics and just who and where amyantonio.com readers are is crazy fascinating. It's also a little bit horrifying to know that readers in Argentina are just as aware of my inappropriate use of commas and hyphens as much as those in Indonesia. Welcome!
Freshly camped, or "yurted" thanks to the amazing Oregon yurts available at state parks, my friends and I recently succumbed to that fantastic combination of crunchy graham, melty chocolate and seductive marshmallow singed to perfection on the campfire. While there's nothing as fun as tossing a new fat bag of store bought "Stay Puffs" into your shopping cart, there is the lesser known glorious older cousin, the homemade marshmallow. It's a thing of beauty really - all fancy and square-like. Most useful in warm spirited drinks like coffee, kahlua and brandy.
To celebrate the passage into summer (come on, Portland! Stop teasing.) and it's traditions of swimming holes, canoe trips, and campfires - I'm sharing with you my (um, thanks to Gourmet Magazine) Homemade Marshmallow Recipe. Just like Grandma used to make - had my grandma actually made them. Enjoy!
Fluffy Homemade Marshmallows
These homemade marshmallows are not only easy to make, they set as perfectly as promised: puffed and lightweight, bouncing off one another as I tossed them in the container. Even better, they toasted like a campfire charm speared on the end of a skewer, and s’mooshed between two graham crackers with a square of chocolate.
Makes about 96 1-inch cubed marshmallows
About 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold water, divided
2 cups granulated sugar (cane sugar worked just fine)
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites or reconstituted powdered egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla (alternately: 1/2 of a scraped vanilla bean, 2 teaspoons almond or mint extract or maybe even some food coloring for tinting)
Oil bottom and sides of a 13- by 9- by 2-inch rectangular metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with some confectioners’ sugar.
In bowl of a standing electric mixer or in a large bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold cold water, and let stand to soften.
In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, second 1/2 cup of cold water, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240°F, about 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.
With standing or a hand-held electric mixer beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about six minutes if using standing mixer or about 10 minutes if using hand-held mixer.
In separate medium bowl with cleaned beaters beat egg whites (or reconstituted powdered whites) until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and vanilla (or your choice of flavoring) into sugar mixture until just combined. Pour mixture into baking pan and don’t fret if you don’t get it all out. Sift 1/4 cup confectioners sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow, uncovered, until firm, at least three hours, and up to one day.
Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up one corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and ease onto cutting board. With a large knife trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallow into roughly one-inch cubes. (An oiled pizza cutter works well here too.) Sift remaining confectioners’ sugar back into your now-empty baking pan, and roll the marshmallows through it, on all six sides, before shaking off the excess and packing them away.
The last piece of furniture worked on by Sarah, Furniture Saver Extraordinaire, has been my grandfather's chair. It used to sit in the corner of the living room in the house he'd built on Ada Ave. in Muskegon, Michigan. My grandparent's style was French Provincial, which I will never quite fully embrace, however, I associate this chair with him - my amazingly talented and dear grandfather. And I can imagine him sitting there with his newspaper in the sunshine - so it is so very worth the saving. In the photo above he's a little cut off, but you can see him proudly playing his Lowrey organ while a friend helps the lower peddles and my mother accompanies him on guitar. And who is that fat little sprat you ask? Ahem, it's the current owner of the chair, of course.
I had the hardest time picking out fabric - again. While I tend to go for more modern fabrics, I wanted this chair to be timeless, but something still cool, and honor the style of the chair. In the end, I went with a color that I will always love (greens and brown), had a Hawaiian significance (it looks like the seaweed limu!), will hopefully not go out of style - and is a patterm and color which my grandfather might approve.
My rabbit, Mr. Owen Fluoride's nesting habit had taken a toll on the already ailing chair - but I knew that it would be returned to its glory when I met the right upholsterer. So, while it's true that you can never truly go home again - you can get the chair in the corner reupholstered. To see the final, go here....Grandpa's wingback!
It's true, she is. And to prove it - look at my couch she just saved from the depths of sadness. It took me forever to find a fabric I felt worked with the style of the sofa, wouldn't go out of style too soon, and was durable for all animals. There is one more chair to be saved, but I'm a little nervous on picking the final fabric since it was a chair that my Grandpa used to sit in. I want him to approve, but I want it to be fun as well. We'll see where we get with it.
Below is Sarah's final business card - and what a fun project it's been to work on! She's a delight and super talented with a needle and hammer. Last month I posted some of the sketches I'd done in coming up with this final. In filling out her identity questionnaire, Sarah had described her style as "Fresh, imaginative but functional. Polished Eclecticism, Friendly and Curious". She also loved the image of a phoenix, rising up out of the ashes and being reborn - much like her craft of saving furniture. I knew that I didn't want her phoenix to be too masculine and searched for something a little more folksy. After meeting her and hearing what colors she was attracted to, I opted to go away from her dark green and gold pallate, into something more youthful and fun - but still strong. Her clientele is almost all women so ruby and chocolate was a good choice. Pair it with a french gray and viola! Sophisticated yet playful.
If you are in Idaho - look for Sarah's work and let her work her magic on your heirlooms. You won't be disappointed.
THE NAUGHTY: Once upon a time when I was small, my grandfather owned a little wind up toy that had a curvacious rubber genie lady sitting on a pillow holding her hands up behind her head. The whole thing was attached to a little wooden platform and under this platform was a crank. When you turned the crank, the rubber lady would wiggle back and forth at the waist. My sister and I would take turns winding the crank and humming "All the Girls in France" that we'd learned from Bugs Bunny cartoons.
It could have been that little device that got me fascinated - or it could have been Nancy Drew which first sparked my fascination with Automata.
There was a Scholastic book called, The Mystery of the Silent Friends by Robin Gottlieb though which probably sealed the deal. The story starts with a girl whose father works in an antique store (okay - how fun would that be?) One day, the shop acquires three mechanical dolls all from the same estate. Each doll performs a specific task when it is wound up: one doll writes, one doll draws, and the third doll plays a small piano or harpsichord. The girl somehow discovers that the previous owner hid his vast fortune and left the three dolls as clues. The drawing doll draws a picture of a monkey, the writing doll writes the word "cage" and the musical doll adds four notes---C, A, G, and E---to the end of the piece she plays. The girl and her friend solve the mystery, of course - and my interest in these "toys for princes" was solidified.
THE GOOD: The world of automatans, whirligigs, kinetic sculpture and wind ups have been around for a very long time. Made by tinkering men who like to make inanimate creatures move through the process of parts, springs and cranks. Some of the more ornate ones were built in the 1700s and included automatans able to draw a small gallery, write poems in more than one language, or play a collection songs on their tiny harpsichord. Absolutely charming and intricately impressive.
THE UGLY: Last time I was in Hart, Michigan, my family stumbled upon the Hart Historic District's Animated Doll museum. I'm not sure if it's still there, but it was filled with the most bizarre and creepy figures I'd ever seen. Some rescued from window displays and others just put together out of odd parts to create a story. The whole thing was housed in an old factory and it was a set worthy of a horror flik or Tim Burton film. I highly recommend you go there.
Hello there. I've being having a fun time of late with Sarah Ann Mayer, who prefers to go by "Furniture Saver Extraordinaire", a fitting title for a talented, self taught upholsteress. She's leaving Portland to go back to Idaho for a much needed soul check, but before she leaves, I'm sending her off with a fun, classic business identity.
Below is just a sneak peak into the design process of my thumbnails and sketches for her logo. I have to say, this has been a fantastic project to work on, one - because Sarah's has a keen eye for cool aesthetic and two - because I get to go pick out fabric for the sofa she is upholstering. Win - win!
More soon on all that...