2012, what a year. The Holidays are always a great time to look back, in the present, and into the future. I am so thankful for everything that's happened, so glad that the adventures occurred when they did and so excited about what is to come! For the people that I've met, for the conversations that we've had and the experiences that we've shared- I can only assure you, more good times ahead, hang tight :)

100 hand written cards, 100 Pantone colours, 100 awesome people in my life. I definitely feel that I got more enjoyment out of realizing this project then those receiving the individual cards. The photo shoot was done in Alamo Square, in front of the Painted Ladies. Awesome sunshine, crazy tourists taking photos of me taking photos of this, a win on all fronts.

It's been a year of travels, creative thinking, unexplainable content, infinite personal growth, unstoppable courage, and new equally profound discoveries. Things are pretty amazing to say the least. I learned how to be a better sister, a solid friend, an independent individual, and most importantly, how to truly care for others in ways I didn't think was possible. 

Last year around this time, I don't think that I could have said the same. I was in a position where I was thinking and deciding about multiple layers, career paths, personal happiness, and growth. I left an industry and started a new one. I made some clear distinctions about what personal happiness meant to me and was concerned about what those implications would mean. This was a solo pursuit and at the time, seemed very scary. In between then and now, I decided to take total ownership, not some, but all. I met an incredible team, got a chance to work on outstanding projects and found opportunities loaded with potential. The volume of development pushed out over the past 12 months has been nothing short of sheer willpower. I discovered a city that I completely fell in love with, not because of what it looked like (well, partially) but because of its soul (quirks & all), San Francisco became a great outlet for inspiration. 

I love the impressionist feel in the montage above, I pulled this off shooting with a 50MM F1.4 lens. The result, beautiful.

I lived a travelling life these past few months, interviewing the city for its beautiful sense of place and more importantly for its eclectic collection of people. I’d often find myself returning to a community of people who are doing great things-regardless of where I was geographically. The back and forth of travel was an iterative example of editing, both my thoughts and my belongings. As with most amazing discoveries, I learned that there wasn’t much required in the way of objects to live a very rich life. Opportunities and people are in abundance if you’re looking, there is never a short supply.

Why is this bird on the back of each photo? Because it reminds me of the Eames' and I love the Eames'. 

I rediscovered a new facet and love for design; it was pretty nostalgic. The iterative ‘want’ to know ones craft really hit home- the ability to see and execute with micro and macro eyes is an art. Mies was right, the Devil is in the details, when things are seen this way, good just isn't enough & raising the wow just becomes addictive.

Packaging is really when the project came together, there were so many ways to pull of an installation. Ordinary things made for really extraordinary ideas.

Thanks for being a part of this year's zeitgeist, for providing some great insight and for choosing to stick around :) Capturing the spirit of this year has been nothing short of near impossible because it has been a constant flow of energy. However, I hope this personal attempt gives you a sense of qualitative scale.

And...100 cards sent! I hope my message got to you safely :) Thanks for being a part of 2012. #ftw. Special thanks to the Googler that helped with this project in the making, your efforts are hardly forgotten.

New opportunities, infinite projects, and a curious eye are all catalysts for some of the creativity that's been experienced this past year. Creativity, like energy, is never lost only displaced in new and different ways.

Hello 2013 :)

When I opened my inbox a few days ago I saw an email requesting a petition in favour of carsharing. I was about to delete it thinking it was spam until I saw that it was coming from SideCar. In the email SideCar reached out to its community, explaining that carsharing services in the Bay Area including themselves, Lyft, and Uber are currently experiencing friction against carsharing. I’m an avid SideCar user and have used it pretty faithfully during my travels to San Francisco, I hope my experience with SideCar can shed some light about the value it has brought to me during my travels to the Bay Area.

My friend Mike bought Betsy when he & his team headed West this past summer to go to YC. At the time, this made a whole lot of sense because renting a car would be more costly then owning one. He went looking for a car, instead he got Betsy. She was born in 1985, a 300D. D for diesel. She’s a Benz and she knows it. 

Design for the masses. Make the best for the most for the least.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit the home of Charles & Ray Eames, also known as Case Study House No. 8, this house is a living & breathing machine of design! It’s the perfect compliment of work and play. It’s humbly set on the site, proportionally sized for its needs, honestly detailed, and innovatively responsive to the cultural changes of its time. When you walk onto the site, the building takes you by surprise; you don’t even know its there until the single panel of Eames red pops out from the landscape. A few walks around the site and you can literally feel why it’s amazing. The experience taps into all your senses, you can smell the line of eucalyptus trees, feel the salt water air, experience the subtle breeze, and grasp the scale of this building in relation to you. There is clearly a narrative to this building and the elements on site really do all the speaking, you’re simply the participant.

I got a lot of questions about my costume this year, so I thought I’d write a post explaining how I made it.

Every year, if I decide to dress up, the costume comes together the day of Halloween. From the moment I’ve thought about the idea to the moment I put the costume on, it happens in a 24 hour span and it is a wave of crazy.

My two most epic costumes to date: the house from the movie Up (sorry I have little documentation of that one) and this one with my friend Jason (we chose to be tin can telephones!).

Omakase is a Japanese phrase that means “I’ll leave it to you,” people order this in sushi restaurants with the understanding that chefs will present a series of carefully curated dishes ranging from light through to heavy that she/he thinks is the best arrangement for the day. I learned about this when I had the chance to eat at one of the best Japanese restaurants ever, the idea was so profound that it stuck with me. The spirit of trusting the chef to serve what is considered the best is really intriguing, especially when you don’t know what you’re going to get and if you're like me, you’ve barely eaten much Japanese food throughout your life.

Say hello to a journey full of interesting homes, lots of travel, and likely some lessons learned.

This past week a lot of killer awesome things happened. I turned 26! The one thing I wanted for my birthday, I got: living in San Francisco et al for the next few months. It was that, a ridiculous car, or a building. Hands down, California won. I'm here now and B-Sides is a place to jot my think thoughts as they happen in real time.

3 Days Before my Birthday...