Andria Crescioni is the designer behind Bandelier, a southern California based jewellery label that takes inspiration from traditional craft and culture, with each piece made by hand by Andria herself. she graduated from Parsons School of Design and that’s where she became hooked on working with leather as a medium and started experimenting with jewellery making. so she decided to start her own line that was “modern and minimal, but rooted in traditional craft.”
When I’m developing new Bandelier pieces I usually start at the LA central library and get lost. I’m inspired by industrial design and modern sculpture- right now I’m obsessed with Martin Puryear and Carl Aubock. Then it’s a fluid combination of sampling and sketching until I’m satisfied with the piece. I’m inspired by my surroundings as well- I like to take a drive out to the desert or the mountains near my home when I need to clear my head and re-connect with nature.
growing up my older brothers had motorbikes, and i thought it was soooooo cool. sometimes they would pick me up from school on one of these tanks and i would feel like like such a bad ass. granted i was not the one steering the motorbike, and i never have had the guts to actually ride one. so whenever i see a woman on a motorbike i think damn, girl. that’s what i thought when i saw these pics of women motorcyclists from 1949, taken by Loomis Dean for Life Magazine. and in an age when it might have been strange to see woman in pants – let alone riding motorbikes – they are pretty bad ass in my book.
i have had some exciting news to share for a while now, but because this past month was so busy i kinda kept it on the back burner. after working from home for too long i finally found a studio space in the centre of Cape Town – and we move in next month! we being my friend Pauli and i. even though working from home has its obvious perks, it can also be kinda depressing. you have to make an effort to get out of the house, but sometimes it’s not that easy when you’re tied to your computer all day long. i have, of all things, been craving the routine of getting up, getting dressed, and just going to work. walking to the office and grabbing a coffee on the way – these are the weird little rituals i have been missing since working from home.
needless to say i have been hoping to find an affordable studio for a LONG time! i don’t have any pictures of the space to share just yet, but we’re talking wooden floors and white walls and big windows that let a lot of light in. squueeeeeeee.
now there’s the matter of furnishing the place. i know it’s going to be a work in progress for a while, and i probably can only afford a trestle table at this stage… but the dream is always nice! and if there’s one place i can dream, it’s here.
all images c/o of their respective owners. please click on the links for sources.
you can see more inspiration on my office space pinterest board.
above: love these glossy white table tops and yellow chairs. c/o Homestyle Magazine photo by Duncan Innes.
i went for a little window shopping jaunt during my lunch hour and realised that suddenly it is straight up winter in our local shops. which is quite ridiculous because it’s still the middle of February and it’s HOT outside. it will be for a while still. yet, the colours have suddenly gone from bright summer hues to dour winter shades and – for the first time in my life – i actually lamented the onset of winter. why does winter = blacks and dark reds and navy and all that other stuff that is so readily associated with the cold? i want to wear bright things all year long (well, theoretically, since i usually just wear jeans and tops – but you know what i’m saying)
and this is something that i have of course noticed online as well. since most of the sites i browse are in the northern hemisphere, where you guys are obviously DYING for spring, the mood has completely changed as if people are almost saying, “it’s coming! summer is coming!!”. probably one of my favourite online shops to browse is & Other Stories * – and they have embraced this wholeheartedly as is evidenced on their front page. flowers and pastels and bright pops of colour so damn cheerful i can almost hear birds singing.
it’s awesome.
* i can’t attest to their overall quality because i have never been to any of their shops in person, but my husband actually bought me a dress from there when he was overseas recently (after i helpfully sent him screenshots of “things i like”) and it is lovely. akin to Zara or any other big retailer.
today i went down the superb rabbit hole that is Korean online shop Eat Me! Bread and Butter. or is it just Bread and Butter? or possibly just Eat Me… i’m not entirely sure. you see, most of the site is in Korean of course. but this much i can gather: they make beautiful clothing, and they are SO damn cool. there seems to be a mix of vintage, custom made and collaborative pieces for sale – and they are popular, judging by the “sold out” signs on many of the pieces.
Building Block just released their SS14 bag collection and it is, as expected, just wonderful. i would have loved to see some brown leather options (like some of their previous collections) but there is something so slick about these simple black leather pieces against the stark architectural backdrops, and that fashionable model. sigh, can’t wait to wear boots again.
last night i was lucky enough to see an advanced screening of Wes Anderson’s new film The Grand Budapest Hotel as part of the Design Indaba Film Festival. now, i must admit that i was pretty disappointed by his last film Moonrise Kingdom, so i didn’t get too psyched about this one. in fact, the trailer made me doubt the film just a little bit (another reason not to watch trailers, ever!) so i went in pretty excited – because it IS Wes Anderson after all – but wasn’t about to get my hopes up.
and now i can tell you: this is his BEST movie since The Royal Tenenbaums (one of my favourite films ever). in my humble opinion, of course. it is absolutely beautiful to watch, i don’t think that any of his films has impressed me as much on a visual scale. the setting is unique. the story is just wonderful, and i was actually on the edge of my seat at many moments as it unfolded (what’s going to happen!) the actors are brilliantly cast: Ralph Fiennes made me forget that he was ever Voldemort. Tony Revelori is a delight, Willem Dafoe is menacing, Tilda Swinton is unrecognisable, Jeff Golblum is Jeff Golblum. but above all, it’s dark in parts – so dark in fact that i was quite surprised. some moments elicited audible gasps from the audience.
i walked out grinning from ear to ear, and i wanted to watch it again. again, again! that hasn’t happened in a while. so, go see it when it comes out near you. it is releasing in the US on 7 March and in SA on 20 March.
