Fly

Music Friday: Inspired by Kanye's Runaway

After seeing Kanye West's mini-film, Runaway, I had to do an Inspired By post. Nearly every frame of the film is a picture of beauty. I love the costume design by Phillip Lim, the art direction by talented (and controversial) artist Vanessa Beecroft (I mean the consistent palette alone is delicious) and the cinematography makes me smile. I was definitely inspired by all that loveliness.

From birds and feathers to flecks of gold, seafoam blues to faded pinks, ballerina flats and tulled skirts here are some items that has a bit of Kanye's Runaway flavor:

  Rooster Feathers by Fleathers; Kate Spade Jane Street Wallet; Rare Opulence Corset Ballet Net Dress; Alice + Olivia Francesca Feather Skirt; Sara Chiat Rehab Plate; Love/Hate Convertible Dookie Chain; Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow Nail Color; Gigi Nightstand; Monochrome Mosaic Cup & Saucer; Marc by Marc Jacobs Nude Ornament Ballerinas; Chain Necklace by Elva Fields; Allison Schiller Kissing Birds Ring;  Small Wing by Magpie & Rye; BCBG Tiered Tulle Skirt.

Music Friday: Lola's Room Photography

Pretty photographs inspired by vinyl records and vintage radios from Lola's Room.

Three Deluxe

Great vintage brass jewelry from Three Deluxe.

Guatemalan FEED Bags

A little while ago my friend was rocking a beautiful bag with an amazing ikat design from FEED; an initiative to feed hungry children all over the world through the sales of each FEED bag. I was familiar with the basic canvas and burlap totes, but had never seen the colorful Guatemalan versions. After some research I learned that these particular bags and pouches were made in collaboration with UNICEF to provide nutritional supplements to the children of Guatemala.

The bags can purchased at Lord & Taylor. These would make an awesome holiday gift, they're stylish and benefit an important effort. Learn more here.

Link of the Day

I was watching some early Fly webisodes today thinking how much I miss doing them. Today's Link of the Day features one of my favorite webisodes. Survey: Do you have a favorite Fly webisode? If so which and why?

For those new to Fly definitely check them out, there are tons featuring Fly ladies doing fab things in fashion, art and design.

Prada's Made in India

Prada just launched a project, called Made In, enlisting skilled craftspeople from around the globe to create beautiful items for the famous fashion brand. I'm loving the items made in India. Those woven shoes and bags are fab. Other countries for the project include Scotland and Peru.

Pretty Penny

Printed scarves and leggings from Pretty Penny Designs.

Link of the Day

Nneka: Soulful Sounds from Lagos

FGOTW

Who? Eileen, 22

Where? I'm from the Sunshine State! More specifically, South Florida, the land of palm trees and tropical weather all year-round! I'm currently schooling in Gainesville at the University of Florida (GO GATORS!)

What do you do? I'm a student (Sociology Major) but I'm aspiring to be a medical doctor. I'm amazed by life, how God creates and how science tries to understand it all. If the opportunity presents itself, I would love to start my own home decor firm to help those who are stuck in a design rut. I'm simply a girl who loves pretty things and tries to be better than I was yesterday!

What inspires you? God inspires me to be a better person every single day. I could not imagine waking up and not leaning on His strength to get through the day. My mother inspires me too. She was born in a village in Nigeria and used education and become a successful mother and an awesome human-being. She always encourages me to be generous with life and because of that I have never lacked one good thing. It is through her beauty and strength that I can look for the light at the end of all the tunnels in life.

Why are you fly? I'm fly because I know my steps are ordered. I believe that everything happens for a reason and life is a giant classroom. I'm fly because I know that love starts with me, which means that I am in control of the love that accumulates in my life. If I want more love, I must be willing to exhibit it from the inside and be bold enough to share it with others come what may. I'm fly because I know that there is no one in the world who can take my place.

Advice: As cliche as this may sound, be you! God has a plan for all of us, but that plan has nothing to do with another person's purpose. Stop comparing yourself to other people and start planting seeds within to develop the absolute best for your life. Love God, love others, and love yourself. :-)

Lollia Candles

Lovely scented soy candles in pretty glasses from Lollia.

My Funky Twisted Soul

Colorful hair accessories and earrings from My Funky Twisted Soul (those hairstyles are super dope).

Link of the Day

Clutch Magazine lists their pick for Top 50 African-American Women Tastemakers Online and Fly made the list (yayy!)

Baltimore Farmers' Market & Bazaar

Although I live in Maryland I rarely ever go to Baltimore (I live a lot closer to D.C.), so most of my social activities happen in the nation's capital. But this weekend I wanted to try something different. On Sunday I ventured up to Baltimore for a little romp through the Farmers' Market & Bazaar, which happens every Sunday (between May and December) under the Jones Falls Expressway. Boy what a treat!


There were tons of vendors selling fresh fruits and veggies, baked goods, pickles, sweets, jewelry, bags, art — you name it. There was even a young woman selling her fun vintage finds on a cute white bus — loved that concept.

The market colors were beautiful, especially with the fruits of fall (apples and squash), but it was also nice to see pretty palettes happen in unexpected places like in these hula hoops.

It was a fab way to start a Sunday morning before heading off to the Baltimore Museum of Art for the Andy Warhol exhibit. Hope you had a lovely weekend, too.

To see some edited photos from the market check out Fly on Facebook here.

Illustrations by Lesley Barnes

Craig of Kiss My Black Ads sent over a link to the site of illustrator Lesley Barnes featuring whimsical characters with beautiful intricate details. Loving her work. Thanks, Craig!

Link of the Day

If my early college years had a top ten soundtrack this would be the number one song.

When I was a freshman my girlfriends and I would all pile into a cab (after begging the cab driver to allow such madness) and head over to UPenn in West Philly for the best college party in town. We looked forward to the "every-now-and-then" event thrown by the Q's at Houston Hall. The whole place would be jumping with energy; and every time this song came on the whole place went wild. The beat and bass at the beginning is awesome, you couldn't help but dance even if it meant sweating out your hair. Good times! You killed it on this one, Busta Rhymes.