Artists You Should Know - Highwind Steamworx

It's a little-known fact that the Lad loves steampunk. Maybe it's the tiny hats. Maybe it's the monocles. Maybe it's just that he's a total drag queen and steampunk gives him an excuse. I digress. I met Dawn and Jeff of Highwind Steamworx at Clockwork Vaudeville's Gearbox Fantastique a few months back, and I fell in love with their work. They do steampunk in a totally wearable and effortless fashion, with immense attention to detail and outstanding craftsmanship. And their prices rock. If you're a dabbler, a closet lover of fantastical Victorian costuming, or a full-blown crazed zeppelin pilot, you owe it to yourself to check them out.


Come in! Make yourself comfortable. What can I get you to drink?


Hello! Dawn would love a traditionally prepared absinthe. I’ll stick with an iced tea. What a
lovely abode you have!

Keymaster Goggles

Tell us about yourself.


We have been married for about 9 years. We both went to Bradley University in Peoria. I’ve
been doing professional theater for 10 years in my day job, and am currently studying to be a
pharmacy technician, when we aren’t gallivanting about in our airship. Jeff has been teaching for the last 11 years, in a variety of subjects and grades. We both greatly enjoy the steampunk scene and all the aesthetics and personalities that go with it. We both sort of accidentally fell into this artist thing, after making a few items for ourselves. We started getting involved in the steampunk
scene and found we couldn’t afford a lot of what was available. After we started making our
own things, we decided to get into business for ourselves to offer more reasonable pricing on
steampunk jewelry and goods so that everyone could afford to have some!

Artists You Should Know - Annie Nygard

Scouring Etsy for the items I would include in my "30 Days of Play" blog project a few months ago, I searched "Star Wars" and stumbled delightfully upon Annie's shop, Spiffing Jewelry. You can imagine the shriek of pleasure I emitted. A geeky genius, a whiz with a bench block and hammer, and a balls-to-the-wall entrepreneur, it's very possible that Annie and I are fraternal twins separated at birth by the machinations of an evil galactic Emperor. Her work is smart and accessible, her energy positive, and her business sense savvy. I don't purchase jewelry from many designers, but I hit up Annie's shop if I need something unique and amazingly well-constructed. Read her cheeky interview then pop over to Spiffing Jewelry on Etsy and check out her shop!

Come in! Make yourself comfortable. What can I get you to drink?

I'd love me a long island...but it's not quite 10am. Mimosa? Easy on the OJ, please.

Tell us about yourself.

I'm a huge nerd. (Star Wars, Disney, Harry Potter, TrueBlood... and that's just to name a small few.) And I'm married to an even huge-r nerd. (a comic book reading, Star Wars figure collecting, sports-stat retaining viking, who's also an artist). We've been together since I was 15, we watched Star Wars on prom night.

What's your sign?

Oh, I'm a Virgo, of course. The personification of Type-A, I am forever making lists, thinking of things I need to do, and controlling situations. Everything I own has a very specific home, and my closet is organized by sleeve length, formality and then color. I stopped getting birthday parties when I was 9 after I made other little girls cry... I might be a little bossy.

Wherein the Lad gushes about sauce

And I'm not even talking about "the sauce" this time. Seriously - this weekend was a big gay bender in the sun, and now this week calls for detox. I need to conserve cash, cause bitch...cocktails are expensive. Today I decided to do an impromptu ONE DAY 10% OFF SALE at the Etsy shop, so that's keeping me busy. I will also be beginning my stint as Creative Director for a huge steampunk extravaganza at Navy Pier this week. This means the guy who works from home (me) has to find a way to get dinner prepared for the guy who works in the suburbs (him) with minimal trips to Whole Foods, because not only is it exhausting, but I inevitably buy stupid crap when I'm there, like bath salts or tins of tea. It must be something that can cook slowly today while I attend to the hundred tasks that demand my attention, something versatile that can be applied in many dishes, and I need it to freeze well. Enter: marinara sauce.

I toyed with the idea of cooking through Barbara Lynch's Stir last winter, but I'm no Julie Powell. I'm not even Erin Vargo. That project died before it saw the light of the interwebs. Stir is my favorite cookbook, hands down, which is saying a lot as we have a few dozen piled up everywhere. Modern, intelligent, fresh Italian cooking - nom. Everything I've prepared from the pages of this slick (and spatter-covered) tome has been a knock-out. If you're a home chef and think you know about Italian cuisine - BUY THIS BOOK. You can start with Barbara's recipe for Odd Fellow Marinara, a tried and true basic. I slap it on fresh pasta, pour it over polenta, use it as a dipping sauce for fresh breadsticks, slather it on pizzas, stuff it in calzones, smear it over crostini, pile it into meatball sandwiches and sausage and pepper rolls...seriously, make a triple batch like I do and freeze it in 1-cup portions. 

Odd Fellow Marinara Sauce
Makes 4 cups

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
½ cup dry white wine (Hmm - I use a strong red wine here, like a Syrah or a Zinfandel, which is beautiful)
One 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes, preferably imported San Marzano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 basil leaves

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic
and crushed red pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is just tender but
not browned, about 8 minutes.

2. Add the wine, increase the heat to moderately high and cook for a few minutes longer,
until reduced by half. Add the tomatoes with their juice and ½ teaspoon salt. Simmer
for 5 minutes, stir in the basil and season with pepper and additional salt, if needed.
The sauce can be covered and refrigerated for up to 4 days.

Artists You Should Know: The Lad

The mad Lad himself. Er, myself.

"Artists you Should Know" profiles other artists populating the Lad's sphere. They're painters, writers, handmade artisans, fashionistas, craft show organizers, rock stars, even other jewelry designers - anyone out there being fierce and formidable could be put to the questions (compiled from fans the world over). Today, for the first time EVER, I profile...ME.   


Come in! Make yourself comfortable. What can I get you to drink?

Grey Goose martini, extra dirty, bleu cheese-stuffed olives, shaken til frosty...if it's not too much trouble.

Tell us about yourself.

I'm the worst kind of evil, your nightmare in a tailored suit, a supernatural knockout, endlessly resourceful, undeniably charming, the Brat Prince, post-Renaissance, post-20th century, trans-modern, insatiable, unforgivable, shameless, unrepentant, sly, magnificent. I am also a canonized saint, the chupacabra, a vampire, and a total smart ass.

A Flaccid Return

I'm getting lazy. Instead of rushing back to my loft, head full of ideas, and strapping into my jewelry studio to pump out genius works of wearable art created to the soundtrack of today's Top 40 hits - now I just go home and eat a dinner high in salt, fat, and bread and lay there digesting it until it's time for bed. Seriously. The other night I made tallegio-stuffed agnolotti with a butter and parmesan sauce (read: pillows of fresh pasta filled with high-fat cheese, served in fat, drenched in fat, with some fat mixed in so you get just the right amount of fat). I walk around feeling bloated, which is no mean feat for someone built like me - 5'11", 155lbs, metabolism like a chipmunk. In other words, the winter doldrums have settled their gross, paunchy asses down in the middle of my life and, like Jabba the Hut, just lay there drooling and laughing at me while they pluck another Klatooine paddy frog and shovel it down their flabby gullets.

Winter also provides a lot of time to look up severely clandestine Star Wars references with which I pepper everyday conversation; also, I don't get laid a lot in the winter.

In short: production has been slow. Fortunately, sales have been high. If you've been a reader since LNF's inception, you'll know I'm one of those artists who experiences serious high-and-low states, creatively-speaking. When I force myself to sit in my studio and start tinkering with jewelry, I end up with a lot of ruined components and a pile of tangled mess and heartburn. No one wants to see me when I have heartburn.

So here's a list of awesome things I'm considering doing while in my "low" state:

Blink wildly and then close my eyes really tight for an amazing light show
Practice my karaoke standards
Invent a weird twitch to use in awkward coversation
Make a low buzzing noise to confuse my cat
Try not to think about penguins
Develop my telekinesis
Rate strangers' appearances near the train station with large poker cards
Send spooky emails to spammers
Deliver pizza with a Welsh accent
Learn an entire episode of "The Office" in Italian
See how long it takes to gargle water until it all gets swallowed (extra awesome if it's rum)
Pick up my cat so she can see the world from my point of view
Continue not shooting up heroin (28 years and goin' strong!)
Experiment with homemade fireworks
Eat food I bought on Etsy and time my food poisoning
Learn Elvish
Drop a marble in a public bathroom and say, "OH NO MY GLASS EYE"
Get a manicure somewhere new (maybe even have a white person do it...!)
Create new form of street art with mustard
Eat Spam while reading spam
Read the oldest possible computer magazine I can find
Take a hamster to the beach for some "quality time"

Or I could just go to London next week.

Yeah, I'm gonna do that.

30 DoP #23 - "It Gets Better"

Same Sex Wedding Cake Toppers

A week ago, I received this message on Facebook from my very first boyfriend (the only ex that I still consider alive):

"A friend of mine has a 14 year old son who just came out. He's going through a really rough time right now at school with bullies. His mother has mentioned that all the bullying and name calling is starting to take a toll on his health and well being.
The cast I am currently working with is putting together an "It Gets Better" care package filled with encouragement, and our own personal stories to help him though this tough time. If you'd like to share your story or provide words of encouragement, please email them to me or send them in a Facebook message. I will print out your story and send it with our package. We are going to get everything ready to be mailed by this Wednesday Feb. 9th! I would love to send as much as I can to help him out.

His name is Kurtie."

Dan Savage's "It Gets Better" campaign is something the world has needed for a long time. I've always been an advocate of the "old" teaching the "young". Experience, being unique, is always the best teacher, wouldn't you agree? Shared experience is equally strong, and "It Gets Better" fosters that shared experience. It brings together the people of the LGBT community, and not just in an effort to stop bullying. When we share our stories, we're tapping into something primal to the human experience, and there's beauty and strength in that. So I woke up early this morning and sat to pen my contribution to Kurtie's care package, and found some catharsis. I found myself wishing this kind of global community existed for me when I was going through hell as a kid. I'd like to share my entry, even if it's a bit of an overshare. Perhaps in posting it here, someone like Kurtie will see it and find hope.

With Love, to Kurtie:

I had big glasses. My hair was always a mess – curls on the sides and straight as a pin down the middle. I played with the girls. Theatre, drama club, main tenor in chorus, an artist to my core. Something was different about me from my first memories, and because it was encoded into my genes, it exhibited its fabulous tendencies in my body, my movement, my pattern of speech. I was gay, and I was mocked.

It was scary growing up in rural Illinois. The town I was raised in was surrounded by corn and emptiness – no bright city lights for this one. It was all stock car races, county fairs, and football. Machismo was the name of the game, and because I was more interested in pretending to be a wizard, playing with Barbies, painting, and reading fantasy novels, I was picked on relentlessly. I remember the name of every person who called me a “fag” in school. I can recall their sneers and barking laughter in locker rooms and on gymnasium floors when I was asked over and over again, “Pike – are you gay?!” It was an exercise in torture and humiliation for me to attend classes every day, and though I had my strong contingent of family and freaks and geeks to bolster me, protection from the mental and emotional abuse a dorky gay kid in rural America was limited at best. I grew up feeling “less than”. I grew up being “other” I grew up under a magnifying glass.

Bully is the wrong word for what I went through. I was abused by my peers in every sense of the word – emotional, physical, mental, and verbal. They were abusers. They didn’t let me love me.

But it got better.

I grew into my big ears and long limbs. My muscles toned to fit my body, I got contact lenses, and by senior year – the year when people in my graduating class seemed to really realize the end of something was imminent – I had decided enough was enough. I wouldn’t hide any longer. People seemed to leave me to my devices more as I stood up for myself and my friends, and though the abuse didn’t cease, I ceased allowing it to define my existence. It wasn’t easy, nor was it sudden. Perhaps my confidence developed as my body finally developed; maybe the threshold had been reached. If anything, a switch had been flipped. I came out reluctantly, though it was more for my own understanding than to tell people some hidden fact that were unaware of. Small town politics and small-mindedness were still all around me, but I tried to carve out a niche in which I was able to at least survive quietly.

It got better.

I met my first boyfriend while waiting tables at a Cracker Barrel (an establishment famous for their “no gays” policies, if you enjoy irony as much as I do). I got bold and left my number on his table one afternoon. Call it another step in throwing a wrench in the mean gearwork of the region I lived in. I was nothing if not bold. By some odd and hilarious twist of fate, he also worked at that Cracker Barrel in off-times from college, and we started dating. It was butterflies in the stomach, it was exciting, it was…well, bold. I fell into the best kind of love with him. He taught me a lot of extremely important things about myself – that I was beautiful; I was interesting; I deserved love like everyone else. I remember taking lots of long naps that summer with him, meeting his family (though I’m sure we were both terrified), and kissing him. Kissing him, for as cliche and ridiculous as it might sound, solidified my knowledge of myself as a gay person, and it turned out it wasn’t as scary as I once thought. I wasn't the only one out there. My love for him turned a fresh page and began a new chapter in my life. It let me love myself, FINALLY.

That boyfriend was our mutual friend, Shain. I’m not surprised he’s put this all together for you, Kurtie. He’s the best kind of person.

He holds a place in my heart that's unalienable. He was a link in a long chain of love in my life - not just romantic love, but a respectful love that we all need in our lives, especially as gay people. Shain and I allowed our lives to take their respective directions, and before I knew it I had left that town for college. Those four years allowed me to reinvent myself as a more genuine version of me. I studied Theatre, met people who had no knowledge of the abuse I suffered as a dorky kid in the cornfields of Illinois, and crystallized into a more honest person, both in regards to myself and my emotions, but to the world at large as well. Doors opened. I was an artist, and it was a GOOD thing there. Encouraged by a professor whose love was only matched by the size of his personality, my life blossomed further. He’s still an extremely close friend, and growing through our lives, both gay men, has been the pinnacle of education. I know you’ll find people like that, too. Look forward to it!

It got still better.

Left college. Began a short-lived career as a Costume Designer. Traveled. Loved, with all its requisite ups and downs. Learned. Made art. Eventually found myself in Chicago, a National Makeup Artist for Sephora, the first of my kind. I spent a few years all over the map nurturing a new art and a new facet of myself. I met my current partner, whose patience and care has proved that all my frustration in love and life was worth every single second. I have huge legions of friends who are all examples of the good things the world can produce out of adversity. My family loves me (you and I share that). As a twenty-something, I’m as fantastic as I’ve ever been. I made another bold move, leaving a horrible job and beginning my own jewelry line which thrives today and is a constant reminder that I was right all along – I’m a hundred times more artistic and creative, interesting, beautiful, intelligent, successful, and bold than those abusers in school ever allowed me to believe. They were wrong.

It got better.

It keeps getting better.

You have that to look forward to. Keep your eyes on the horizon. Love your friends. Be thankful for your family. Make bold strides. Don’t be scared to be scared, but move through it and take notes. You’ll need them later when your life coalesces into a unique and gorgeous thing that only YOU can take credit for. It’ll happen, trust me. Self-confidence and self-love are vital survival tools. You’re a perfect version of yourself, and you owe it to yourself and the people you love to perfect that perfection. Above all things, love yourself as openly and beautifully as you can possible stand it. Love yourself so much it hurts.

We love you, Kurtie. We’re all in this together!

What's 30 Days of Play?

30 DoP #22 - "Sweet Salvation"

Organic Vetiver and Black Pepper Vegan Soap

Dear readers, I'm a mess. It's been days since I've shaved, the prickly stubble that only a few days ago subtly defined my square jaw and looked a bit sexy now just itches. The skin beneath it it slightly windburned, since I live on the ice planet, so I feel flaky on top of the itching. Walking to and from my office through dunes of greasy, sooty snow requires I wear a thick and warm coat, yet when I arrive I'm coated in a film of snow sweat - that insidious dampness that immediately freezes when you remove your coat. Can't tell you when my last real manicure took place. Elbows dry, feet scuffed. We won't even talk about my poor lips. I have an overall feeling of grime that comes hand-in-hand with this nasty winter. And that's not where it ends.

Trudging through this wasteland of forgotten bikes, half-ensconced in dirty snow, and gray puddles that resemble so much the solid sidewalks beneath them until you step through, and crags of ice between which is a narrow walkway only large enough for one foot in front of the other (a tenuous balance to strike in chunky duck boots)...it makes the joints grind. I fall asleep each night feeling odd pains in places of which I was previously unaware. While I'm stoked that my ass is getting a workout even when I'm not consciously aware, winter in Chicago just makes you HURT.

I need a spa trip. I want some Eastern European woman with one eyebrow and a bad attitude to pummel my entire body against a padded table while the sweet and slightly annoying sounds of Enya waver on the air. A soak in a tub full of chocolate and mud. Steam my pores so open I could serve dip out of them. Scrape this film of winter from my limbs and replace it with deliciously scented oils and salves. Balm me. Peel me. Polish me. Save me.

What's 30 Days of Play?

30 DoP #21 - "Precise"

DeathGlam Mini Fox Skull Fascinator

Navigating this snow planet sans tauntaun has caused many delays in my normal day to day activities, 30 Days of Play included. I'll admit it: cowering under blankets with a maybe-too-full glass of sherry has been preferable of late to ascending to my loft studio and freezing while squeezing out a blog entry. I'll finish this project, I promise.

Today: onto a new entry. Cara at Death Glam's work is sensational in its intricacy and composition. This is an artist who seriously understands feathers (a medium known for its fussiness and lack of precision). Her sprays of avian plumage are both delicate and aggressive - a quality I clearly appreciate. Perhaps the most striking features of her work are the technicolor animal skulls that perch, sinister, on her collection of hats and fascinators. Don't call PETA yet, and not just because PETA is a bunch of maniacal and seriously deluded radicals. Her skulls are sourced ethically, from farmers and taxidermists who collect these precious components from animals that have dies quite naturally (read: animals are not killed purposely to harvest their bones). Clients can rest assured that these pieces, though sometimes shocking, are always created with utmost care and ethics in place.

Cara is also a prolific stylist who does what can only be described as provocative, inspired, and gorgeous work. In the near future, you'll be delighted to see some Lad Named Felix originals gracing the necks of her models. I crave collaboration with artists of Cara's caliber, as combining our work will surely heighten and magnify both our creations. In short: she rocks, and you should be aware of her work.

What's 30 Days of Play?

30 DoP #20 - "Shiver"

Blue Neck Warmer

The birds are all gone, the sky low and slate grey. The skyline of Chicago even matches with its concrete and glass edifices staring blankly over a frozen lake, little gasps of steam sighing out while we anxiously await the end to the ennui of winter. Even the daytime hookers in Boystown are nowhere to be found. And now we hear that the "snowmageddon" has turned its chapped face toward us. Two feet of new snow in the next 48 hours, and it's not powdery Aspen snow - it's Chicago snow. It's wet, huge flakes mixed with sharp needles of ice assaulting the face, loamy frost accumulating against every urban surface, angry precipitation. No amount of deep dish pizza or kielbasa can warm those of us who have chosen to live half our lives shrouded in armor against the cold - bulky pea coats, boots like hooves, cashmere scarves, those freaky little Hannibal Lector face masks hipster bike messengers love. Everyone looks like an overcooked baked potato. Fashion dies in this season, and I mourn it.

What's 30 Days of Play?

30 DoP #19 - "C'mon Get Happy"

Happy Molecule Embroidered Wall Art

Things That Made Me Happy This Week:

1. Seeing the delicate butterfly wearing her Pajama Jeans at Starbuck's this morning. At first I thought it was two pigs struggling inside a denim bag, but no. Pajama Jeans.

2. Cinnamon toast.

3. Mixing Dayquil, Benadryl, ibuprofen, Vick's nasal spray, beer, and a multivitamin. I felt like this lady.

4. My cat sitting on the ledge of the bathtub, dipping as much of her tail into the water as possible, then spending 45 minutes chasing it loudly around the loft.

5. Scoring some free promo cards from Moo.com. Sure, they're branded with the Etsy logo which makes my teeth grind at the back of my head, but hell....they were free.

6. An evening of vice with the illustrious Bridgette Potter (nee Stephanie Howell), followed by a double-dose of My Strange Addiction ("I Eat Toilet Paper") and Toddlers and Tiaras, buffalo chicken pizza, cupcakes, and wine.

7. Finding this:


8. Seeing my art made into art. It was so meta, so postmodern.

9. Learning that Flava Flav is opening a chicken shack next to the KFC in the very (remote, tiny, rural) Iowa town where I worked as Head Costume Designer aboard the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre.

10. Pistachios.

What's 30 Days of Play?

30 DoP #18 - "I Love..."

Card Wallet - The Mondo

In the Time Before, I never had my insurance card; in the Time Before, my cash and business cards were hopelessly forgotten at home when I rushed out in a hurry. Each credit and debit card had a sensuous curve that matched perfectly the contour of my ass. I had nowhere to stash important fortune cookie slips. It all changed at Handmade Market (and I ascended into the Time After).

My table had the fortune of being placed next to Beth at Besu's table, and after a few hours of bloody marys with PBR chasers eyeballing her stock, I couldn't control myself anymore, and I purchased the very wallet pictured above.

Let's talk about me and wallets. I don't want my ass to look as if there's a tumor in the right cheek of which I am not yet aware. This rules out traditional leather wallets. Also, they're heavy and smelly and I lose stuff in the little pockets. I always knew I could do better, and my frustrated waiting (the Time Before) paid off.

First of all, it was a S-T-E-A-L at $6 (c'mon kids - handstitching complicated, folded pieces of fabric like this is not an easy or even fun task), and, hello, I'm a sucker for houndstooth. I carry this lovely everyday in the right rear pocket of my pants. It's thin, but fits all my credit cards/Lego VIP card (muy importante), unsolicited twink phone numbers cash, business cards, debit card, insurance cards, ID, and whatever else I want to shove into it and forget about. Like bar receipts. I don't really need to see how much a round of drinks costs me, because I'm ugly when I cry. When my Besu gets dirty, I handwash it, allow it to airdry and it bounces right back into perfect shape. The cotton is uber-flexible, which is important, cause you know my jeans need to be tight across 'dat ass.

I love Besu's work, and I know you will too. I've included a few more choice items below for your perusal. Happy shopping, hoors!

What's 30 Days of Play?

30 DoP #17 - "Extravagantly Extravagant"

Black Diamond Ring - Tension Setting

Scintillating and uber-modern. I love this ring. Black diamonds are so enormously striking, and finding them with the least amount of noticeable flaws is a task. Black diamonds are often pitted and marred with deposits that cause them to appear striated in some manner, which adds to their rareness. Should I ever get married (and though I believe very strongly that, politically, all human beings should have equal marriage rights, I just don't consider marriage a necessity in the modern world), this style of ring is what I'd want. I mean, seriously. Look at it. It's flawless. Don't I deserve that? God, I'm drooling. CLOSING THE WINDOW.

What's 30 Days of Play?

30 DoP #16 - "LOLwhat?"

Neon Pink Wangwear

...aaaaand we're back. My sincerest apologies for this. It's Monday and I'm hungover and it's -5 degrees outside and, well...it's a pink weiner on a pair of tighty-whities.

What's 30 Days of Play?

30 DoP #14 - "Epic"

Midichlorian Count Stamped Necklace

Indulge me in telling you a secret.

I'm a geek.

No, really. It's true. I leveled a Blood Elf Warlock to 80 with Tier 9 gear. I owned everyone in my high school class at Magic: The Gathering (Black/Blue deck). I've read Tolkien, and dissertations on Tolkien, and adaptations of Tolkien. I've read The Silmarillion. Three times. At one point in my life, I did not need a handbook to play an epic game of Dungeons and Dragons. Name an MMORPG - I've played them all. My Christmas tree this year featured Legos as decorations. Seen every episode of Xena: Warrior Princess. I didn't feel sorry for that wimp Ender. Do you know who Mace Windu is? I do. In fact, I've successfully pirated totally legally obtained all the episodes of The Clone Wars: Animated Series. In fact, my geekdom might be best described through my love of all things Star Wars. Even The Phantom Menace, for fuck's sake. I went as a Sith for Halloween last year, with full metal armor and a homemade lightsaber constructed from plumbing components. It's bad folks.

This is why I chose today's 30 Days of Play item. It's specific. It's epic. It makes me feel like Alderaan was never destroyed.

What's 30 Days of Play?

30 DoP #13 - "Hello"

Screenprinted Robot Apron

Everyone likes friendly robots. You know, the kind with springs for arms, all whizzes and beeps, that serve us drinks and cleans our apartments. No threat of massive machine apocalypse with a Roomba. This adorable guy falls into that category. Until Skynet takes over. Then it's genocide and nuclear frenzy. It's scary, guys. Buy this apron and use it to make the fatty dishes and strong drinks that will calm you as the world devolves into iinevitable, terrible chaos. From here to 2012, it's all whiskey, orgies and fried macaroni and cheese for me. Won't you join me? Aprons required. We're not animals, after all.

What's 30 Days of Play?

30 DoP #12 - "Liquid"

Blown Glass Bowl, Macchia Brown

I realized this morning that I missed a day in 30 Days of Play. SCANDAL. I guess I was too busy yesterday laying on my couch fearing the impending work week that blogging totes escaped my attention. My apologies to anyone who sat at their screen, fervently striking F5 over and over again and being rewarded with nothing but my stony e-silence.

Anyway, back to the festivities! Today's word is "liquid", defined as "neither gaseous nor solid" as well as "graceful, smooth, unconstricted". I humbly apply these criteria to this gorgeous vase/bowl. Yeah, yeah, I know - this is the second vase-like object I've featured in a consecutive post. I couldn't help it. My striving to seek out Etsy items that exists outside the box insists a little originality, and I found it here. Glass always enamors me - it's a material that totally confuses and scares me. The idea of me finding enough bravery to shape something so elegant and mysterious out of FUCKING MOLTEN HOT ROCK makes me giggle. I don't even like working with resin. Liquidity is too...unpredictable. I can't maintain an iron grip of control over it like I can with the materials I traditionally use in my work. I suppose that contributes to my fascination. This piece is so organic and hauntingly beautiful - I can't get enough of the lip of the thing...liquid dripping skyward. The colors and pattern just increase my childish fixation. Absolutely unique.

What's 30 Days of Play?

OBLIGATORY GOLDEN GLOBES POST

Last night, I made an enormous batch of oven fries a’la Root, popped on my furry boots, and settled in between the boyfriend and the cat to join the millions of voyeurs in America in watching the Golden Globes. Its widely known that the Hollywood Foreign Press – the entity in full charge – has a nasty habit of nominating certain celebrities, television shows, and films in a transparent attempt to coerce A-listers to attend the ceremony (hellooooo The Tourist), so I, like so many people, ignore the awards and focus on the fashion. In a transparent attempt to find something to write about on this ugly, cold Chicago Monday morning, I’m sharing my Top 5 favorites. Without further ado, and before my coffee gets cold:

#5 – Robert Downey Jr. in a suit that would look better crumpled on my floor

Men in well-fitting suits are the fastest way to turn me into a total mind-skank. Triple that whorishness when it’s Robert Downey Jr. Love the shade of grey and the modern-meets-vintage cut; love the blazing red silk tie. This could only be hotter if he wore one of his costumes from Sherlock Holmes (that’s elementary, you dirty slut).

#4 – Claire Danes in Calvin Klein Collection

I love that Claire Danes seems to be giving a big “whatevs” to the whole shindig. She looks stunning in hot pink (ever so close to Pantone’s 2011 Color of the Year , Honeysuckle, I might add…), but this is clearly a woman with better things to think about than another awards show. Leave the poofy, crusty trash to the professionals – like Jennifer Love Hewitt (who resembled nothing more than a holy water basin in some drag queen church).

#3 – Angelina Jolie in Versace Atelier

Love the color. Love the shoulder pads. Love the subtle- nod to an 80’s Halston silhouette. She’s an understated siren in sparkly seafoam green, and still kind of looks like one of Charlie’s Angels. Can’t hate it.

#2 – Anne Hathaway in Armani Privé

Holy shoulder pads! They’re forgiveable because you can almoooooost see her buttcrack, and the iridescent embellishment on her tight-fitting full-length gown make it look like armor (you know, that sleazy girl-armor that all fantasy role-playing nerds insist female characters wear). Needs tramp stamp.

#1 – Helena Bonham Carter in Vivienne Westwood

Bellatrix LeStrange captivates me in a Frankenstein-esque frock inspired by a fabric shower curtain in your spinster aunt’s house, frosted with black tulle for that extra glam, and MISMATCHED SHOES. Srsly. I love those bridesmaid dye-to-match pumps with the delicate wrap-around tie. Take a look around the interwebs today – you’d think those mismatched shoes are on some government watch list. We won’t talk about her hair, because, well, we don’t need to. It’s glorious in its silence. Helena Bonham Carter is the grown-up uber-wealthy version of all the Dungeons and Dragons geeks I hung out with in high school – the difference being I actually BELIEVE her. When she sees a dragon in the corner, I’m getting my fucking axe.

30 DoP #11 - "Green"

Devil Woman Stiletto Cactus Planter

It's an upcycled patent leather platform stiletto in which an evil cactus is planted. It's so fierce my fucking face hurts. Where has this been all my life? I could totally keep a cactus alive. Ladies and gentlemen, this is game changer. This item proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that upcycled crafts don't have to be sad, clunky pieces of trash. Nothing about it says, "I used to have an identity, but now I'm a stay at home mom". There's no stenciled swirly letters; no raffia. It doesn't have some ridiculous inspirational quote or your "family name" embroidered anywhere. From this point forward, I hereby decree that all "upcycled", "green", and "recycled" crafts be this dangerously amazing, or they will be required to include the words HIDEOUS CRAP in the listing tags.

God I love this.

What's 30 Days of Play?

30 DoP #10 - "All A-Flutter"

Necklush

Today's choice for the day of play is ruled by my loins. This model (and the little peekaboo nip) makes them go "a-flutter".

Get it? Okay MOVING ON.

It's not all awkward boners here, though. I own two Necklushes, and they're...amazing, numbering among my favorite accessories (of which there is no lack). Troy and Stephano not only conceptualized this necklace/scarf hybrid, but along with their team, design and print the unique patterns to each piece and create them in-house in their Brooklyn, NY studio. There's something distinctly sexy about a Necklush. It's androgynous, supple, stretchy, and the wearer has the pleasure of deciding how to wear one (there are myriad ways to knot, tie, loop, drape, and cinch). If that's not enough, Necklush is being touted as a revolution in design. Currently, Necklush is representing Etsy in the National Design Triennial at the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, in addition to the laurels they already proudly display for being sold at the Santa Monica Museum of Art, The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, The Institute of Contemporary Art Boston and the Weisman Art Museum Minneapolis. These gorgeous accessories have been featured in LA Times Magazine, TimeOut NY, Lucky, Us Weekly, Refinery29, Kingdom of Style, and that's just the tip of the iceberg of hundreds of other print and online publications.

They're not just all handmade stretch cotton loops, smoking hot models, and androgyny. When you buy a Necklush you are also contributing to alternative, non-toxic treatment of disease. Necklush donates portions of our profit to The Gerson Institute - "Healing and preventing disease the natural way."

So you can be sexy AND humanitarian at the same time. Give these a serious look.

What's 30 Days of Play?

30 DoP #9 - "Pretty Pretty Princess"

War of the Roses

I'm a total sucker for crisp, saturated color and haunting imagery. The two meet in the gorgeous and dark print. It's hard to not supply your own story to an image like this. Love scorned? Twisted sisters? You decide. Love the bear, too - the last time I saw a bear in a saddle was at IML. Come to think of it - the person riding him was also dressed as a pretty princess. Hmm. WORLDS COLLIDE.

What's 30 Days of Play?