Canopy Collective Storefront
Earlier this week I moved The Disco Emporium into a studio space at Canopy Collective in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood and I couldn’t be more psyched to be here! In addition to selling a selection of my pieces in Canopy’s storefront, I’ll be able to refocus on photographing my clothes and developing my online store. My studio space is definitely in its initial stages but a sneak peak of is below. I can’t wait to show you more as it comes together!
Mari Agory & Mari Malek for Suited Magazine, Original photo by Paul Jung
BRAINSTORMING on ways to pre-make my Christmas gifts for my family before I arrive into the madness.
THINKING about what to wear to my friends pajama party Christmas/birthday party. So fun!
MISSING Suz a lot these days.
FEELING such a sense of freedom and order after applying the Kondo method to organize and de-clutter all my things.
ATTEMPTING to recreate the most delicious cocoa bean, date, cashew, sunflower seed and banana smoothie I had in Bali. So far I have not be successful!
ANTICIPATING the arrival of siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins all heading to Cleveland over the next week.
Wow, can you believe it’s already almost mid-December?! This month is flying by and heading full speed ahead into the holidays. We hope that you are enjoying the season. Here are a few bits and pieces of our weekends.
*
Lauren – Cleveland, OH
Friday lunch at the West Side Market
Santa outside our grandmother’s house
Packing up after my last flea of the year
*
Farrell, Los Angeles, CA
Watching O for the weekend
Reading the final draft of Albert’s screenplay, Caballo Blanco
Quick beach trip on Sunday morning
F: Tell me about how your re:COLLECTION event went last weekend?
L: It was wonderful! We organized the event in just a couple of weeks and it really came together well. It was fun to do and I’m excited about where things will go from here.
F: What was something fun you found when you were re-organizing?
L: I brought back a lot of things from my apartment in NYC when I came back a few weeks ago and finally spent a full day this week going through everything. I found the Save Water print above that I actually bought at the 78th Street Studios in Cleveland but took to New York.
F: Are you reading anything right now? Big Magic?!
L: I haven’t started Big Magic yet but am really looking forward to reading it. I’m still slowly making my way through Women Who Run With the Wolves but I think I may also start Big Magic before I finish that one.
F: On a scale of 1-10 how do you feel about your life right now?
L: Ha! This is a funny question to me for some reason. I feel really good about my life right now; it’s maybe at an 8.5 or dare I even say 9?! Don’t get me wrong, I have my days like anyone else does but overall there are very few things in my life lately with which I am unsatisfied. (Knock on wood).
F: What is your drink of choice at the moment?
L: I had a Manhattan the other night at Michaelangelos in Little Italy that was delicious.
Sonia Delaunay beachwear, 1927
DRINKING Bulletproof Hot Chocolate and it’s hitting the spot.
SPENDING quality time with my friends and realizing how rare that has been lately.
ANTICIPATING an awesome, fun and loving Cleveland Christmas.
SITTING under the picture window at my grandmother’s house while she sleeps in the other room.
WONDERING how it is almost Christmas?! Time to start focusing on my presents.
LISTENING to this playlist I made for the re: COLLECTION event last weekend.
Zora Neale Hurston, 1940
As I’ve been getting ready for my vintage event this coming weekend, I’ve been spending a lot of time perusing vintage photography on Pinterest. That’s where I first came across these photos by “Harlem Renaissance patron,” writer and photographer Carl Van Vechten. I was immediately taken with the rich tones and texture in his photographs and find these images to be incredibly moving.
Joyce Bryant, 1953
As I was lying in bed last night I remembered the poem Shake the Dust by black poet, Anis Mojgani, and pulled it up to listen on my phone. I’ve loved this poem and Mojgani’s performance of it since the first time I heard it, yet I’d never explored any of his other work. As I did, I was led to #BlackPoetsSpeakOut, “a poetic protest which began as a tumblr page hosting a couple dozens of videos of black poets reading poetry, prayers and mantras in response to Michael Brown after his murder in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014, and the grand jury’s decision on November 24 not to indict Darren Wilson, the police officer who fired the lethal bullets.” (via Poetry Society of America).
Billie Holiday, 1949
As I clicked play and listened to some of the #BlackPoetsSpeakOut poems, I thought about the immensely powerful role that art and creative expression can have in dealing with human suffering and healing. I thought about the way it offers insight into other’s experiences, and I thought about how important it is for all of us to turn to art as a mechanism to help us through times that leave us feeling helpless.
Thelma Carpenter
Below are just two of the poems posted on #BlackPoetsSpeakOut. I hope you will click thru to watch.
(photo via here)
SPENDING a short and unplanned trip in Cleveland to see family.
PLANNING to watch the Star Wars movies for the first time on the plane back to California.
LOVING my time home with all the babies here!
DOING final prep for the re: COLLECTION vintage shopping event happening this weekend in Cleveland.
WORKING my way thru my email inbox which I’ve let get a bit out of control the last few months.
GETTING ready to move The Disco Emporium operations into a studio space at Canopy Collective in Ohio City!
We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed the long weekend. Our family had a change of plans and everyone ended up in Cleveland which was a nice and unexpected way to spend the weekend. Here’s some of what we did:
*
Lauren – Cleveland, OH
Saturday night at the Cavs game
Taking a moment before dessert
Cleveland’s Terminal Tower in red and green
*
Farrell – Denver, CO & Cleveland, OH
Cook Thanksgiving in Boulder, CO
Driving through a winter wonderland
A Saturday trip to Lenscrafters.
It’s been a busy week finalizing the details of a vintage shopping event, re: COLLECTION, that I’m co-producing here in Cleveland the first weekend of December. We’re super excited to have an awesome group of vintage dealers and a beautiful space lined up in Little Italy.
For those of you in Cleveland (or with Cleveland connections), I’d be super grateful if you could help spread the word! You can find more information at all the usual locations. Thank you!
F: What is one thing you learned this week?
L: Ah, it’s been quite a week, hasn’t it?! For me, it started with my birthday and a of feeling so much love and friendship. Then all of the world events and responses to them, which I (along with so many others) felt deeply affected by. And yesterday I spent about six hours in the emergency room with my mom and grandmother (we were concerned she might have broken bones in her back, pelvis or hips but thankfully, she did not). Ultimately, I learned something I already knew to be true: life is better when shared with each other.
F: Where are you getting your coffee from these days?
L: Good ol’ Blackbird Bakery. I love their coffee but it’s nearly impossible to pass up their pastries, so it’s a slippery slope.
F: Have you been cooking more? If so, what’s your favorite dish these days?
L: Oh jeez, not in the slightest. I was cooking a little a couple of weeks ago and make this Fiery Kale with Garlic and Olive Oil. It was pretty good.
F: When do you head to Florida?
L: On Tuesday! We’re going to miss you and Albert but I’m looking forward to the trip.
F: What is your favorite new purchase for Disco Emporium?
L: I bought really pretty dress at this hole-in-the-wall thrift shop on Delancey Street when I was in NYC. Honestly, I pretty much forgot about it until this very moment. I’ll have to unearth it and get it photographed asap.
sisterdisco.com 