Goes Together

“Our individuality is all, all, that we have. There are those who barter it for security, those who repress it for what they believe is the betterment of the whole society, but blessed in the twinkle of the morning star is the one who nurtures it and rides it in, in grace and love and wit, from peculiar station to peculiar station along life's bittersweet route.” 
― Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume

"Do these things go together?" is a question I'm constantly asking myself, from getting dressed in the morning, to making lunch, to picking out prints for the next collection. The majority of the time, the answer is "well not really, but i dont give a damn." Growing up in a pretty conservative town in Southern Florida made for a lifetime of me hearing that things didn't go together. From my obnoxiously loud fashion choices to my colorful heritage, people didn't understand what the hell was going on with me. On one occasion, I was even told by some poor thing (who had clearly been brainwashed by his parents) that "chocolate and vanilla don't mix" and if you've ever had an ice cream sandwich, an oreo, or a banana split, its quite clear they mix VERY well.

I feel like I spent years trying to figure it out, and sometime between high school and college it became clear: I was into many different styles, and I much prefer them mixed together and not isolated into this style and that style. This mixture is something that gives people their individual styles and makes us not all look like carbon copies.

That all said, not sure if anything in the below images really "go together" but frankly, I don't give a damn. The colors make me feel good, the textures speak to me, and thats all that really matters.

 from top: Confetti system, apartmenttherapy.com, lonny mag, tumblr (does it get more vague?), tumblr, apartmenttherapy.com, tumblr, lonny mag, apartmenttherapy.com, growingindigo.blogspot.com, lonny mag, tumblr, tumblr, apartmenttherapy.com.

World of Interiors

Joanna over at Keep Feeling Fascination just keeps providing me inspiration. She did a little post on this magazine, World of Interiors, which lead me on a google image search of beauty. I'll be decorating my house all weekend if you need me.

Appleby Fair Caravans

here.

here.

I recently acquired a huge stack of National Geographics from the 60's and 70's, and I'm not regretting the space they take up in my house. What a plethora of knowledge and inspiration, including a whale sounds vinyl record insert and a full size fold-out map of Africa. One of my favorite articles so far is about the Appleby Fair, where the British Romani people all gather each year. The elaborate caravans they travelled in are just as interesting as the culture itself.

While I'm sure things have change drastically in the past 30 years since this article came out, the Vardo wagons seems to still be a prominent part of the culture (although I've read modern caravans are used because the reality is, horse drawn wagons don't hold much). So who wants to help me build one?? 

all images above from National Geographic 1972 issue.