Fly

Link of the Day

wanna be Fly Girl of the Week? here's how...

FGOTW

Who? I'm Rachel Stewart, 35
Where? I live In Raleigh North Carolina,  I was born in NC, but raised in Long Island and Queens...came back to NC as a child.
What do you do? I work as an Electronic Tech....AND i'm pursuing a career in art. I've been painting all my life and now I'm ready to go forward.
What inspires you? CANVAS. I stare at a blank canvas for days until it comes to me...
Why are you fly? I'm fly because I'm not a follower and being myself is the only way I can be happy.
Advice: Don't be afraid to be different...conforming kills the spirit.

Fruit Salad Trend from the NY Times

The NY Times featured a trend that's covering the Milanese runways, and they're calling it fruit salad. It's a funky mix of patterns and colors layered on one another to evoke fun and experimentation. I personally love it. Trend or no trend I want to dress like this everyday! Click here to see Duro Olowu's mixing style and here for another related topic on Fly.

Link of the Day

pretty jewelry

FLY BY: Bird Handbags

When I saw these brightly colored, richly patterned bags I had to meet the person behind the magic. Liz Carey shares with us the inspiration behind Bird Handbags.

Hi Liz, can you please tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am Liz Carey mother of Waylon and sometimes of my man Jake. We live in the most gorgeous place called Malibu I am a standup comedian that is currently masquerading as a handbag designer and it appears to be working.
What inspired you to create Bird Handbags?
I was making bags for myself and then for my friends, then my friends were becoming rather demanding, bossy really...this way that way they shouted I had to do something for these poor girls. The ONE NIGHT STAND sort of created itself, it was my first bag that I used to haul all my stuff out to my boyfriends house in Malibu and it looked chic yet you could carry quite alot of stuff!!!

What experiences prepared you to be the designer/owner of Bird Handbags?
I am still so ill prepared to run an actual company it amazes me! I work crazy hours trying to make things happen. I never in a million years would have guessed all the work that goes into something like this, I cant really begin to explain it in one sentence...we'd need to have coffee or wine.

Where do you look or go to for inspiration to create your line?
Well everywhere really. I can see a great old rug and want to cut it up into bag...or a great flowery vintage sundress. I just got back from Mexico and I bought a ton of new fabrics, the bright colors there are so crazy I love them! It's such a basic question but a hard one to answer because really I can get inspired anywhere, it doesnt have to be on some exotic trip...although clearly it helps.
What's Fly about owning a Bird Handbag?
You can get a bag no one else has...I mean seriously not just because its really expensive or on some waiting list but becasue our fabric bags are all one of a kind!
What are you currently working on for Bird Handbags?  I am  working on a weekend bag...it has a really good name but its a secret.
Name three things you keep in your Bird Handbag?
Hmmm my iPhone, 5 or 6 matchbox cars (my sons) delicious snack called bubmble  bar....WHAT!!! its a big bag!! yeah there's some lipglass and all that in there too!!(:
What advice can you give other young women looking to start their own handbag line?
Get ready to lose some sleep...it's a lot of work. But really worth it and it's really fun to see women wearing your bags (especially if you are not related to them).

Weekend fun

Despite the busy life I've been living lately I try to squeeze in a little fun. This rainy weekend I met up with Rakia to check out a Philly event called Canvas Clash, which was held in Love Park. Artists came together in this space to create art while people watched and browsed around listening to music. Then I visited The Loft Tradeshow which featured the wares of Philly fashion designers and boutique owners. Elena of Bus Stop Boutique showed off her wonderful boots which are made with leather and quilt swatches, dang I can't remember the name of the brand but I so wanted to take home a pair. And I loved the jewelry by Heebie Jewelry (bottom two pictures), the earrings are really cute. It was a good weekend and even great to be out and about even in the rain. (Oh and I've been really trying to do more with my hair so I wanted to share a picture of my new little hair-band I made with some fun animal print scrap fabric.)

Jess Hische

Jessica Hische is a super-talented graphic designer who graduated from my alma mater, Temple University's Tyler School of Art. She's doing some amazing design work like this hand-stitched lettering for a bookcover is a great example. I'm a huge fan of typography and hand-lettering so I totally dig her style. See more of Jess' work here.

Keegan McHargue

Cool paintings from Keegan McHargue.

Fly By

Check back on Monday for this month's Fly By Feature.

Link of the Day

speaking of African-American ideals of beauty...

My Jam Jam

Fun styling from My Jam Jam.

Ellen Gallagher's "DeLuxe"

I admire the work of artist Ellen Gallagher, especially this series of prints she did some years ago, which are based on the ideals of African-American beauty.

Link of the Day

What I Like Right Now

1. Mango-Get-Em Nail Polish from L'Oreal - I've been rocking this bright yummy color all summer and will do so through the fall and winter seasons as well.
2. Over and Over: A Catalog of Hand-Drawn Patterns - Really fun book of patterns for all you artists and designers.
3. Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams - Last I heard this album wasn't doing so well, but I love it. It's well written and it's a nice change from a lot of the music that's out there now. I totally recommend it.
4. Now & Later - I used to do a number on my braces when I ate these little treats as a pre-teen. This chewy taffy is a childhood favorite of mine and lately I've been really craving them. It's good to know that although the packaging has changed the taste and chewy texture is exactly as I remember.
5. Madonna's Hard Candy - There hasn't been too much buzz on this album, but I could be a little out of the loop. I think Pharrell did a lovely job, and it was really cute to hear Madonna sing 'see my booty get down' in Hearbeat.
6. Desert Essence Natural Facial Cleansing Pads with Tea Tree Oil - These have been great with my skin since it's been a little oily lately. It burns a little which may bother some, but I like it.

Ilana Kohn

Love these illustrations from Ilana Kohn.