Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
Hello, and Happy New Year! I hope you all had a lovely holiday and are getting the new decade off to a good start. It seems like it’s been a very long time since I posted here -for a minute I forgot how to upload images. I promised even though I ended U N journal I would be starting something new and it’s time to tell you about it.
I have a new site, mwmWORKBOOK, which is meant to be just that - a workbook of sorts. It’s essentially a space for me to put all of the U N collection galleries, inspiration photos, sketchbooks, photographs and any other projects I am working on. I will also be writing there and hope to post once a week. But you can read all about it over on the new site.
Thank you again for your words and friendship and taking the time to stop by here these past 3 years.
Note: I intend to leave U N journal up for a period of time but I’ll let you know if I move or remove it.
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway. I wish I had enough scarves for everyone. The random number generator picked #113 - Rebecca. Congratulations!
“Architecture is a social act and the material theater of human activity.” Spiro Kostof
Dear Friends,
It’s almost the end of the year again. That means I’ve been posting here for over 3 years. It truly doesn’t seem that long. Lately though, I have to admit this journal has felt a little stale and I’ve wondered if it has reached it’s end. I find a lot of value in writing about my process and going back over old posts to see how things evolved. I think in general there is a consistency to my work and my process is iterative. It is naturally how I work. But sometimes it’s good to do something different - to introduce a change. This is something I talk to my students about all the time.
In architecture you are never really done with a project. There just comes a point where you need to stop. For me, many ideas and ways of thinking from that project are then carried forward to the next context, with new constraints and forces acting upon it.
I have come to that point with this journal. I’m not done thinking or writing about process, but in this context it is time to stop. So this will be my last post for the year, and the last post here in this space.
To me this space has come to feel a little bit like an architectural space - a social act. I feel overwhelmed when I think of the people I’ve met, friends I’ve made, inspiration I’ve found, conversations I’ve had and opportunities that have arisen all from just writing here. Thank you isn’t really enough, but it’s all I have. So thank you.
I’m still thinking about what the next context will be, and wondering what new constraints and forces will arise. Although my process and thinking and ideas will continue just as they always do, I need to introduce a change. I will share that with you in January.
Wishing you all much happiness and peace in the new year,
Martha
Friday, October 16th, 2009
One of my favorite parts of design is the time when I test out ideas full scale, with real materials. I love playing with materials to see what will develop. I have boxes filled with little textural fabric swatches where I’ve tried out various techniques and dye processes. It’s fun to go back through them to see what I’ve forgotten.
The above image is a shot I took during the gleaning photoshoot of a parking lot I was especially enamored of. I’ve been experimenting with denim and wool, trying to recreate the texture.
My reading pile of design inspiration is getting quite tall, and I plan to spend some of my weekend going through it. My new issue of Uppercase magazine arrived yesterday and in this issue there is a nice little article written by Heather Smith Jones about me (pg. 14). You can preview the whole issue here.
I’m also still making my way through the NY Times Style magazine from a few Sundays ago. When I opened it I was surprised to see an article about Yestermorrow Design Build school, a school in Vermont that I attended for a summer when I was in Graduate school. That summer had a big impact on the way I thought and continue to think about sustainability. It was the late 90’s, and the whole “green” revolution had barely begun. For everyone practicing and teaching architecture out there, being eco conscious was just a way of life. Simple solutions for problems like solar gain (large overhangs, trees for shade) were the norm, rather than high tech, new fangled “green” products.
I was a little nervous when I arrived and realized I might not quite fit in to the crunchy granola aesthetic that seemed to be the norm. But everyone was friendly and welcoming (if not a little crazy) and didn’t laugh too much at my first lame attempts to swing a hammer. Making buildings at full scale was an amazing learning experience and something that has shaped my working process ever since.
The other thing I am going to do this weekend is of course go see “Where the Wild Things Are” with my sons. It feels like I’ve been waiting forever. I just bought the soundtrack a few days ago, and it’s been on constant repeat.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Tuesday, September 1st, 2009
Today I have a bunch of random tech things:
My new favorite web site is Minimal Mac.
I’ve been using We Heart It, an online inspiration album, for quite awhile, and it seems like the site has been down more than not. But recently they made changes to their site, and it seems like all is working now. I wish you could organize your images somehow, but maybe that will come in the future. My stream is here. Let me know if you are a member, I’ve just started adding people as contacts.
Do you use Google Reader? I’m late to this I know. I was on Bloglines, which is cumbersome but was familiar to me. Google Reader is so much easier to use and organize, I find I actually read more and read quicker, and don’t feel as overwhelmed. And with Helvetireader, it’s minimal and beautiful too. But maybe people don’t read blogs anymore….they seem quite ancient, in digital years.
As a non-facebook user, the article Facebook Exodus in the Sunday Times was quite interesting to me. Many of the reasons people are leaving facebook are reasons I never joined in the first place.
I use flickr a little like I might use facebook if I was on there, but it has the common denominator of photography linking everyone, which I like. I wonder if people are tiring of this as well though. It seems like online social networks have a time frame, just like real life social networks.
Maybe everyone has moved on to Twitter. I’ve been tempted to join this site but haven’t. I like the quick, off the cuff nature of posts. Seems more like a conversation. There is a club like aspect of it on some people’s feeds that I don’t like though. Like a secret language only the cool kids in high school understand. I also don’t have a cell phone, and it seems like this is set up for people to send and receive quick text messages. And do I really need another time suck?
I do think this twitter site is hilarious though. Seems perfect for this format.
so, what social networks do you use, and how?
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
I have dreamed of having a home studio/workspace since I was young. Really. Ever since I’ve been little I’ve drawn and painted and sewn and done crafts, all on the kitchen or dining room table. Or the floor of my room. I’d see pictures of studios in magazines and think about how great it would be to have a space to leave things in progress out and a place for all of my supplies so I wouldn’t have to search through numerous boxes and bins and cabinets to find stuff, usually not finding it and getting discouraged and giving up.
Now I have that space. It makes me so happy and it feels like a huge luxury. The last few days I’ve been going down and just standing in the space, turning around. I feel proud that I took what was a grim storage room in our basement and turned it into one of my favorite rooms in the house, basically by clearing out and throwing tons of paint at it. In January I wrote about turning our basement storage room into a studio space -painting and cleaning and clearing out and organizing. And now here it is August, and I’m almost done. Even though it has been 7 months, the actual time that I worked on this was probably a week. Life just got in the way between days 3 and 7:)
basement studio plan (formerly storage space) aprox. 13′ x 16′
So many people have told me that they have the same dream too, and it’s really so doable, I thought I would tell you about the process of setting up my space. And if you think you don’t have a place for a studio, look again. Our basement was seriously nasty (and the rest of it still is) but with a lot of cleaning and a lot of paint you can work wonders.
So, here are a few tips about setting up a workspace quickly in less than desirable conditions, without a lot of money:
Do one high impact thing right away
Choose something that will look like you’ve made progress, make you happy and get you motivated to continue. For me that was painting one of the dirty tan concrete block walls white. Once that wall was clean and white, the space was brighter and I could envision what it would all be like. Then I taped up some photographs so I’d have something inspirational to look at every time I entered the room.
Get everything out of the space that doesn’t have to go there
Put everything else into bins, boxes or bags. This was really important for me. It was overwhelming to think about organizing all of my fabric, supplies, books, etc. plus all of the basement items not related to my studio that needed to stay in the room. I just threw everything into plastic bins and baskets and stacked them in the middle of the room. Once the visual clutter was organized I could breathe easier. Each bin might have random stuff inside that still needed to be sorted and put away but that could happen later after the major parts of the room were organized.
Paint is transformative and white is magic.
Paint is relatively cheap and painting a space with a fresh coat will really make it feel clean, bright and new. I’m a big proponent of painting walls, woodwork, shelving, doors, ceilings and floors all the same color, preferably white. Painting over everything, especially in a basement space, will make it feel cohesive, especially when you have a bunch of disparate and not exactly great materials. I painted the concrete block walls, old wood storage shelving, existing peg board walls and dry, cracked window trim. Having it all the same color makes the space seem bigger. Now my eye doesn’t catch on all the nooks and crannies and stains and it feels fresh. Making it all white allows everything you put into the space take a front seat. I want to focus on the work I’m making and bits of art I put in the space, not the old cracked walls. Colorful art and fabric doesn’t have to compete with the background. And white bounces what little light there is around, making it brighter. To this end the tables, desks and cabinets I added are all white as well, and become part of the room.
I draped some fabric on the wall to hide ugly exposed conduit and outlet
make do and make peace with settling for less.
You might remember my masterplan for our basement studio and playspace. Well as I mentioned in January, if I waited for exactly what I wanted I’d still be waiting. So I started thinking about what I really needed, and how I could make that happen with what I could do myself, using things I had or could buy inexpensively. One of the most important things for me is light. I need the space to be bright to work and since it is in the basement that requires electric lighting. Hiring an electrician would be out of my budget but I didn’t want to take the time to learn how to wire up track lighting myself. I started poking around the hardware store and discovered that you can get an adaptor to make track lighting plug in. It took about an hour to screw 3 strips of track to the underside of the joists, attach the plug to the end and snap in the light heads. Then I just stapled the cords to the joists and ran them all to one power strip. Almost instant halogen light that is adjustable to any corner of the room.
There are several spots in the room that have exposed conduit and outlets featured prominently on the middle of walls. I draped some fabric over them and call them art:)
Prioritize and phase things
I painted all the walls but left the floor and ceiling for later. The ceiling (exposed joists, ductwork and conduit) and floor (exposed concrete) will take much longer and be more expensive. I decided that having everything that is at eye level clean and fresh would make the biggest difference.
Use what you have
A few nice items will make all the IKEA/Target/hardware store stuff look better. I shopped our storage and found a mid century chair and dresser that we weren’t using and put them in the space, and now my eye notices the beautiful danish teak first rather than the white coated particle board.
floor to ceiling curtains hide existing built-in storage shelves full of tools and paint
Be flexible and think creatively
There are some existing built in shelves in the space that we have filled with paint cans, tools and various other house things that we really don’t have room for anywhere else. The shelves are ugly and the stuff on them is always jumbled and random. I put up a long floor to ceiling curtain over the front and now I don’t have to see the stuff inside but it’s still easily accessible. It was cheap and easy to put up and I like the added softness and texture of the curtain in the space.
rolls of fabric are stored on high deep wire shelves
You can never have too much storage
Keeping materials off of your work surface keeps the space feeling big and open which will inspire you to want to be in it.
high worktable made out of painted doors on adjustable IKEA legs
The BIG table.
For me the key to having the most efficient and easy to use workspace is a big center work table. If you put a large work surface in the center of a room, you have a large area to lay things out on and you can easily move around it on all sides. The wall surface can become pin up space, or if you have room can accommodate a desk, shelving or other work surface and you can easily move between the two by just turning. Visually the large surface in the center actually makes the space feel bigger. Underneath the table I can store all of those bins full of stuff that I mentioned previously, and it will be there out of sight until I can get to organizing it.
To make a large, inexpensive worktable I took two hollow core doors and added inexpensive IKEA legs. The ones I got are adjustable in height, if you don’t need that option they are even cheaper. Solid doors are more sturdy and would have been preferable, but they were triple the price. On the entrance side of the table I put an IKEA bookcase, to store books and hide all the bins behind. When I walk in I see a pretty shelf full of books, not all the junk under the table.
Some IKEA shopping tips
Of course I wish I could have all of my furniture and cabinets made by my furniture maker friends but this isn’t possible right now. So I turned to IKEA, which is a good option for simple background pieces, as long as you are careful in your selections.
Do a lot of research on their website and look at all of the categories, not just workspace or storage. I originally wanted the EFFEKTIV workspace storage cabinets, but my space was 1 inch too narrow for them to go wall to wall. I really wanted the cabinets to be wall to wall for a sleeker, more built in look. I searched through all of their furniture, and finally came up with a configuration of BESTA media cabinets that fit exactly. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the BESTA cabinets. They seem quite sturdy and went together quickly and seamlessly.
Take advantage of IKEA’s shopping list feature. Once I found the cabinets I wanted, I just added all of the components, accessories and inserts to my shopping list and printed it out. The list tells you the price and which aisle and bin number the item is located in. It only took me an hour to go purchase everything and get back home again.
Thursday, June 4th, 2009
Last summer I talked about my thoughts on landscape, in particular how I’ve been approaching the design of my own yard. Plant shape and color are things I’ve been focusing on as well as pruning to control the structure and encourage new growth.
As we move into summer this year, I’m noticing that the plants we’ve been slowing accumulating over the years are starting to thrive and fill in. We’ve added a few new ones as well and while it would have been nice to have been able to afford to do it all at once years ago, I appreciate being able to see how each plant takes shape and respond to that with what we add.
I’ve been browsing the internet for outdoor inspiration and thought I’d share a few links.
Flora Grubb is a San Francisco based garden design company and store. I love their clean, modern style and am especially enamored of their vertical succulent gardens. I wish I could make one of those work here in the midwest.
I found out about Modular Garden from Anna at Door sixteen. Modular Garden is a garden design company from England specializing in modern gardens that are modular. Each space is layed out on a grid and uses paving or other hard surfaces to define the space. Using a minimal amount of material and plant types this type of design really lends itself to small spaces. Check out their gallery and flickr stream for a wealth of inspiration. And speaking of Anna, she’s been working on her yard as well. You can see some of the photos here.
Lately I’ve been obsessing about planters. I can’t believe how hard it is to find affordable, outdoor, large modern planters. IKEA had some in March, but they immediately sold out. It was still snowing here in March, and planters were the last things on my mind. CB2 had some tall galvanized ones (you can see them on the cover of their catalog here) that look like culvert pipes. Those are sold out as well. I’m thinking maybe I can just make some from a culvert pipe.
I would love to have some planters from Obleeek Objects. I could fill my yard with those although I would go broke, and I also try not to have too many plants in pots since they are not perrineal.
We don’t have many flowers in our yard. I tend to gravitate to varying hues of green, grey and black foliage, and interesting plant structure. Lately though I’ve been thinking it would be nice to have some cutting flowers, in particular ranunculus, because their dense, tightly packed petals are so interesting and textural. We don’t really have the room for them however, so I think I will have to be content with a few ranunculus prints from my friend Sarah’s shop. Go take a look, it’s a stunning collection.
Monday, May 11th, 2009
click on the image for photo credits
more color inspiration:
some recent flickr favorites. I’m always drawn to small bits of color paired with neutrals.
Monday, March 30th, 2009
Thank you for all of your thoughts, both in the comments and emails, about the issue of copying in design fields. It’s such a sticky subject, and one that will never really be resolved I’m afraid.
I do want to say though that personally I don’t worry that much about it. I will keep working the way I do, pushing my ideas in new directions and exploring issues I’m interested in.
I think the Jim Jarmusch quote that I posted here weeks ago, is very relevant when considering this issue and bears repeating:
Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic.
Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent.
And don’t bother concealing you thievery-celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from-it’s where you take them to.” - Jim Jarmusch
“Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent” -I think that is really the key. It’s what you do with your inspriation that is important. I have mentioned before that I rarely look at fashion. I should clarify that I rarely look at fashion for inspiration. I find that other things around me, texture and color, landscape, a piece of vintage furniture, art, are much more inspiring. In those things I can focus on certain phenomenal aspects that are beautiful to me, and then consider how these things translate into another medium.
The dress above is another piece I’ve been working on recently. This started from similar ideas I was exploring with the cocoon poncho and also with a desire to work more directly with fabric and construction as a way of developing a design, rather than starting with a drafted pattern. I am quite excited about this one not only because the process feels so natural to me, but also because the finished piece is very simple and that’s something that I always strive for but rarely acheive.
I can’t wait to show you the finished dress.
Thursday, March 19th, 2009
The shop is now open and I made many cayenne scarves this time, so hopefully no one will be disappointed. And if you’re looking for inspiration on how to wear an orange scarf, a friend just sent me a link to this image (scroll down) on Garance Dore. So cute.
Unfortunately the transition wraps are already sold out, but I will take special orders today at the sale price if you didn’t get one in time. I can’t take any more orders right now -thank you!
I hope you have a wonderful Thursday, and thank you so much for all of the nice comments about the new collection!
update: The cayenne scarves are all gone. I will make some more next week. Thank you for your support!
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
U N I F O R M Studio vapor t-shirt + transition wrap
states of matter COLLECTION, spring 2009
I plan on having a small shop update, tomorrow -Thursday, 3.19.09, in the morning. I have restocked the gossamer scarves in cayenne! and grey. There are some of the t-shirts and wraps you see above, along with some ink blot t-shirts and a few other surprises from my spring collection. Since Gallery 360 offered 20% off this weekend in honor of the show, I wanted to extend the discount to all of you as well so all of the new spring pieces will be on sale at 20% off Thursday only.
For the fashion show I only showed part of the spring collection. The second part will be available after the Gallery 360 spring trunk show, which is May 7th.
The fashion show brought an issue I’m constantly thinking and grappling with to the front of my mind this weekend. The pace that fashion designers have to work to produce 2 or more collections a year is crazy. When I think how long it takes me to conceive of one design, develop it, draft the pattern, test it out and make changes, and then do that again and again for a whole collection I get dizzy. I really don’t know how they do it.
My process is so much slower. I work on something, and need to leave it alone for awhile and then come back to it. And I’m often working on similar ideas and designs from season to season. I like the idea of a collection that continues to grow and evolve over time, rather than something completely new each season. It seems more sustainable as well.
There must be designers out there that work this way. I don’t follow fashion all that much* but I think some research is in order. If you know of any interesting designers not following the normal industry conventions please send me a note. I’d like to compile a list and I’ll post it here.
*the exception to this is Tracy’s blog. She does an excellent job of curating the collections and each piece she posts about I find interesting.
This weekend I watched the documentary Rivers and Tides again with my two sons. Thanks to Amanda for reminding me what a great film this is for kids. I really love Andy Goldsworthy’s work, but more than that I find I connect with his working process. He comes back to the same issues again and again, and works very slowly and carefully. Each time he has a failure he learns a bit more, and then goes back and works the piece again. I really appreciate his slow and iterative process. It was the perfect inspiration for me at this moment, after the fashion show which had me feeling quite confused about where exactly I fit in.