DECO AURORA

Friday, July 13, 2012

Long Beach In the Summertime

One summer day my sister and I were getting along quite nicely which happens once in a month, So I decided it would be best to take advantage of the situation and dragged her with me for some quality "sister time" in Long Beach. Did we have a blast? Read on to find out.

My sister is not one for an itinerary, she likes to live in the moment and leave when she pleases. I tried to accommodate her special needs for our outing by limiting myself to only a select few venues, otherwise she might have left me there! 1st on our list was the uber cool hipsterama book store OPEN BOOKS! Wanna know something funny? OPEN BOOKS was CLOSED when we got there! Ok not that funny, but to me it was kinda ironic as you can see in the pic above. But luckily they were open when we walked back and we loved it there!

So now that I have your attention lets venture into our little adventure with a walking tour of our day.

Don't we look so happy to be together ;)

I believe some of you would die if this happened!

Really awesome bars over the window. Wonder if its for style and less for the stealing?

Is it just a coincidence that they match the foliage? I'd like to think not.

You need a key to follow that yellow brick road.

Enjoying our Mimosas & duct tape wallets at Open Sesame! Ask for Alex when you go btw.

Visiting my friend Jorge at LB Exotics! They recently got broken into, soo sad :( They have the cutest animals and reptiles, so go visit them soon!

Enter the world of CRAFTED!

We managed to make a pit stop at Crafted before we left the world of Long beach/L.A. counties to make our way back towards the orange curtain. Here are some of our fav vendors/crafters!

Our friends Its me Mary and Kelso Doesn't Dance.

Peace out Long Beach, its been real!

Hope you enjoyed the day trip to Long Beach!

Have you ever been here before?

Do you recommend any cool shops or restaurants/cafes to vist?

I wanna know!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Inside look: Anthro South Coast

Those reeds must have cost a fortune to buy, but knowing anthro they made them.

Come on now, you know you go all goo goo gaga over the displays at Anthro, right? The newest O.C. store recently opened in South Coast Plaza and I decided to take a stroll (drive) on over. While the store layout was a bit strange, and the "newness" of it was a bit odd I do have to say they had some awesome displays. I took out my camera and pretended to be a press photographer at their party that night :) Enjoy the shots that I took below.

WHat do you think this is? A bone marrow? No its a geode!

The lighting in this picture along with those plush blankets and pillows...heaven.

Oh you know, just some lovely merchandising to make you want it ALL!

Wish I would have bought one of those white sundresses, so cute.

I failed at taking a photo of this ladies cardigan. It was so wonderful it had a vintage seaside city painting.

Have you been to Anthro South Coast? What did you think?

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Everyday Neon

I make it look easy :)

I would have to say that one of my favorite things to do is design window displays! It is a great mix of fashion and interior merchandising. So how could I not love this? This past summer at Road Less Traveled we featured two of my displays that I made from recycled materials, plastic cups and cardboard boxes.

My vision was bright neon, graphic, everyday items in unusual forms. I absolutely love how it all came together in the end. Take a look below, and as always Im available for consultations for window display services. Let me know.

The cups were painted to resemble the blanket.

A view from outside.

Ladders and Neon Cardboard sparked interest in onlookers.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Patchwork Point Of View

About a month ago I volunteered at my 5th Patchwork for Delilah's Backyard In a Jar and it was the most insanely busy show yet! With Road Less Traveled re-locating back in Feb we brought along Patchwork to the new Downtown Santa Ana location. The show brought a couple thousand people that memorial day weekend! I was running around from the jam van to the shop and along the way tried to take some pics to show you my perspective. So take a look below, and thanks to my friends who came by that day to support local crafters, artists, designers, musicians and restaurants. Sorry if I was busy and couldn't talk for long.

Loved this DJ set up. Are those not the most crazy speakers!

The music coming out of them was just as insanely good. Dub, hip hop etc.

The crowds were already forming at 11am.

Everyone would walk by Yogaworks and stop and stare at the crazy moves their instructors were doing.

BTW we have a free Yogaworks workshop each Sunday in the month of July at Road Less Traveled

Chef Raya Belna's pop-up cupcake shop inside Road Less Traveled was a big hit.

There was a non stop line in front of the ice pop cart!

After most of the vendors were gone for the day this is what the promenade looked like. Oh and I have to mention this photo has not been instagramed! Im just that good :)

Hope you enjoyed my POV of Patchwork!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Capturing Your Unique Story Through Her Photography

Still looking for a wedding photographer? Look no further!

Name: Janet Wheeland

Occupation: O.C. Based Wedding and Portrait Photographer

Company: Wheeland Photography

How did you get started?

I stepped into Photography a little backwards than most. I studied Graphic Design at Cal State Fullerton and started a job as an image editor for a high end photography studio, LaNeve Photography. The two photographers at the studio bought me my first "real" camera right before I left to study in Italy for a summer. I learned a lot working at the studio and started taking Photography classes at CSUF. The classes and the studio drove my passion into a career. I then sough out Wedding Photographers that I could second shoot for and learned all I could. I also began shooting at the OC ShootOuts, and any workshop I could find, growing my network of Photographers and meeting a lot of great people.

How do you describe your artistic style as a photographer and has it changed?

I love bright, vibrant images and love to capture laughter. I like to have a balanced mix of Portraiture and Photojournalism. I shoot wide and tight to express the fullness of each couple's story. I will give direction but always want the shots to be natural and full of their unique personalities and real moments.

Weddings are great to photograph because there is always something happening so you don't always have to give a lot of direction. That's when I get to be a "ninja photographer" and just capture the moments as they happen.

What training or schooling did you go through to become a photographer?

Learning the technical side of Photography was one of my biggest hurdles to get around. I learned the basics at CSUF, researched on my own, and learned from having great mentors and life experience. I am very grateful to Matthew Saville and Scott Robert Lim for all their instruction and inspiration.

Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years as a photographer?

I am very excited to see my Photography business grow and over just even the past year I have almost tripled the amount of Weddings I have photographed. In 5 years I'd like to focus on shooting more exclusively Weddings and take on a third photographer to my team so I can be sure to give my clients the best coverage.

Any advice for those interested in pursuing photography as a career?

Camera equipment can be expensive so it's good to know where to invest. The thing that really makes your images look crisp and professional is having a good lens, so bite the bullet and invest in a quality lens. My 50mm 1.2/f is my rock. I named my lens "Rafael" - both a fighter and an artist.

Second, practice, practice, practice! Take your friends and family out and do Photo shoots. Constantly be shooting and it will help you learn and find your own style. Three key ingredients that I use to capture unique and creative photos are: interesting angles, unique focal points, good lighting.

Janet Wheeland is very highly recommended and trusted as a wedding and portrait photographer.

You can find her at the following:

Facebook

Wheelandphotography.net

Her blog

Thank you Janet for taking time out of your busiest season of the year to do an interview with Deco Aurora.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Le Genou De Claire

Sexy

Seductive

Smart

Sensual

Exactly what I hope for in this film.

Just when I thought life was getting boring, things have suddenly turned into something worth thinking about. I have new dreams and I have also found a film to live vicariously through this Summer.

LA Genou De Claire

I have yet to watch, but the trailer has done enough justice as far as luring me into its French seaside setting.

Turns out this is film is part of the series "the six moral tales".

This means I will be busy watching these fantasy filled French films all summer long.

Oh yes, I cannot wait.

Will someone watch them with me so we can compare notes on what seems like a scandalous set of films?

Friday, June 8, 2012

Button Making 101

Back in April al of us ladies had a meeting at road less traveled and had a special button making tutorial as well! Tracy Gayer, Associate Director of GCAC stopped by to show us a few tips and tricks on button making. We snapped a few photos to show you how we made our super cool buttons for the shop/patchwork/craftcation. Its alot easier than it looks, especially if you have the right tools for the job. Thank you Tracy for showing us how to make buttons!

Stop by the store to pick up a button and show some love!

* I will be adding a video soon of this DIY tutorial stay tuned for updates*

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Sea you at the shore

Its been too long since I made a set...so here goes nothing :) Since buying a similar jean jacket I just want to wear it with everything now! That is what inspired this set...then it just went Nautical...