Self portraits & a new tattoo.

I had a lot of crazy dreams last night that triggered something in me to wake up & play photo shoot. I brushed on my makeup skills and did nothing to my hair, only sleeping on it slightly damp last night. I made the dress a few months ago and I'm really pleased to how it came out. You can't really see all the fun details in the photos, but there's leather shoulder trim, vintage buttons, and a cool seam in the front. I should wear it way more often than I do.

You can sort of see the new cicada tattoo on my shoulder in some of these. I'm so, so, so stoked to have another new tattoo artist in Chicago. Allie Fischer from Tattoo Candy has a really great traditional (a mixture of old & new) style with the cutest add-on of her own decorations. I swear each of her illustrations were meant for me.

I'm spending the rest of my evening finishing up a batch of wallets & then prepping my brain to go back to work at the salon tomorrow. I've had three days off in a row - not to mention the holiday week before hand - and I need to get my weekday-game-face on.

xo
Alexz

From new the Bird Trouble studio.

My studio is coming together quicker than ever.

This past weekend, James put shelving up in there. It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulder to have those shelving. I've become fond of working in a space that feels inspiring, and it's been a struggle achieving the organized comfort, but I think it's finally 85% there! I just need to repaint the walls.

I was snickering at the fact of becoming the type of person who cares about what their space looks like. Only because I used to work on my bed, or on the messiest living room floor, or the most cramped of rooms. I'm not too picky. I moved out at 19 and have only collected items from alley ways or thrift stores - and though some of the items aren't the best of condition, I love it this way. I remember having my fabric stored in milk crates, stolen from the back of restaurants.

The shelving has even added to feeling like I'm "growing up" to a young women who's establishing her style. I have a real studio!!! All I'm saying is that this shelving makes me feel really, really legit, guys. It feels really good to walk into this Bird Trouble studio. We can thank my recent promotion at the salon for this redecorating (yay full-time + PR/marketing work!)!

Here's a glimpse of some photos that I took today. I'm having a studio-feature soon (more on that later!) and I'm holding off on posting full room photos. If you follow me on Instagram, you may catch more glimpses!

xo

Studio Tour Part 2

Here are more pictures taken inside of my studio. My room is pretty tiny but I make the best of it & what I have. I love my room because of all the natural light I get. It makes up for the lack of space. I could use a credenza in there but the one I have is being stowed at my parents house in the suburbs and I still have yet found the time to rent a Uhaul to get it... but now that James has his van, I can see it being included soon! Ahh! I just got excited about it.

Studio Tour Part 1.

Compulsive re-organizational skills.

Compulsive moving around furniture skills.

These should be on my resume.

My work space has changed once again. This time around, I am the most happy with the arrangement of tables and desks. I feel that it seems like it's a bigger space now and makes me less cluttered. The only thing that I'm missing is a good shelving unit that doesn't take up much space, and I want my red Ikea metal credenza that has sitting in my parents garage 40 miles out side of the city since October. I really don't like the fact that most of my textiles are covered. Having them out in the open and exposed leaves me inspired.

Anyway, I'm here today to show you some photos of my space and how it looks now. This post will be too lengthy if I post all of the photos I took, so we'll show you these for now. 

Stay tuned for Part 2!

Decorating with X-rays.

I´ve been decorating. I put up the x-rays I found with my friends in the abandoned evacuated town of Gilman, Colorado. Some random squirrel tails are sticking around. A colorful sugar skull - gifted by my parents. I put this colorful door down as my desk, making my craft room seem huge. Pictures of that later. I´ve been using my post-it notes to organize my blog posts // as seen in The Dainty Squid & inspired by. I thrifted a new-to-me 2lb postage scale a few weeks ago next to a little clay molded head of a dog I made in behalf of my late Bowie. I have three random human teeth next to bullet shells, a really sharp ring, & a pin with two of my best friends on it. The seashell jewelry box was at my parents house growing up. The photo of San Francisco makes my bones all happy for possibilities of the future.

I´m just so excited about my x-rays being up. They´re from the 1950s; with the date & name of the patient. I have a few more but I´m going to put those somewhere else in the apartment. Can´t hog all the coolness in my room! Plus, I really need to work on the rest of the apartment.

Hello, Summer.

The start to a new season. The refreshing familiar feeling you get every year when the smell of fresh air hits your face when you walk outside, the heat that lingers on your shoulders from the sun that leaves tan lines on your feet, the sounds of cluttered chit-chatter from every direction. The late night commutes to the neighborhoods where your friends nest, the late night invites and hang outs on your porch, a sleepy 2 year old pup because he, is even wiped from being super stoked on summer. A new beginning. A release to the past, and an acceptance to what's in front of you. Changes to make it the best summer ever. 

I've recently been molding together what was once a very important friendship to me, with a very important person to me. I've placed myself in very difficult and pretty uncomfortable situations recently so I could follow my heart, and for the best. I've recently wrote a week schedule on the chalk paint on my wall to keep myself focused this season with work. I know that fun is a weakness of mine. So I want to make sure I still have my fun, but still work hard. I've decided that I'm going to plant some herbs to use while I cook after seeing Elsie's post. I rarely ever go out to eat to save money, so I cook a lot for myself at home. I've grown herbs before, a little over 3 years ago, so I don't know why I haven't! It's so easy.

Summer in Chicago is the best time of year here, in my opinion. It'll be my first summer living  independently this close to the lake. I mean, I'm right next to it so it's going to feel totally different than my used-to-be residence's further west and south in the city. Plus, life is totally awesome right now. Can't complain. Not one bit.

Have a great Memorial weekend! Don't forget to use the coupon code BOBD71 at the Bird Trouble Shop to receive 25% off until tomorrow - Sunday!

xoxo, Alexz

Photos from the Studio

My studio looks different since the last time I show you guys. Again, of course. I'm excited it's starting to feel like a comfortable studio now. There are two desks, one for my laptop and one for my sewing table, and my cutting table to the side. I love the getting up and moving to different to the table, and back to the desk. 

I still need to get some real paint in there, some shelves, and some last minute finishing touches. There are windows at my front window facing the street, it's really great, but I've recently thought about getting some planters. I'm confident it'll get there really soon. I took some photos a few weeks ago, before the Jade and Blossom bags were finished, so naturally, it looks a little messier. I think I did move my chest shelving to the other side of the desk.... haha. There is just something I have with re-arranging furniture. It's a hobby of mine, I swear.

Here are some pictures of where it was at about 2 weeks ago. I need to mess around with this camera because my photos are lookin' all kinds of grainy. But until then, here they are.

 

Want to see how it looked like before?... or maybe see what goes on in the studio?

I'm not sure why I'm still awake. It's 12:30am and I have to wake up to open the salon by 8am. So... I need to wake up at 6am and wash my dirty head of hair that is currently piled on the top of my head. Into a giant messy ball. It's really tangly... guh.

Thanks for reading! Have a great Memorial Day / aka party-time-long-weekend.
Alexz

Sunday in Pink

Today, I woke up with a slight feeling that I might be getting sick but proceeded with the plans that Nein and I had made. We went to Huck Finn's in Bridgeport to eat a donut and a breakfast meal. Nein let me borrow her camera (hence my lack of posts - my digital camera broke and I borrow friend's cameras until I can save up for a nice one), so I was able to take pictures of some bags that have been waiting for a proper and successful photo shoot. Not to mention, it was beautiful outside today (basically California winter weather in Chicago IN JANUARY) and I didn't realize that the brick work on my back deck is kind of nice to look at. 

So, now I plan on trying to decide if I should eat my leftover curry noodles, or if I should make a good home cooked meal. I'll then fill my water with more echinacea because I really, really do not want to get sick. 
Tomorrow I'm going to make a trip to the fabric warehouse again! I'm excited to do a little supply shopping.


Also, if you're curious about the last blanket bag collection, I've been trying to finish it but I've been lacking some essential materials. I'm 99% sure that I'm going to be going to Milwaukee this weekend to visit a friend, so realistically I probably wont finish it for 2 weeks. The color combination on these ones are amazing though, so the wait will be worth it. 
(The last photo shows one all the way to the left.)


I hope everyone had a great weekend!
Alexz

Studio Tour :: Part 1

So, as promised, I am returning with a slew of pictures of how my studio is currently standing. I'm kind of a freak when it comes to redecorating though. I always need to rearrange, or clear out, or paint. It's fun! 

Okay, so, a few things: Ignore the tilted cork wall panel. I didn't catch that until after I uploaded photos, haha. Also, I found that cork board at a thrift store! I love it. I hope I can find more on ebay or something. My favorite item is my vintage magician's box! All the way to the right on the first photo. It's lovely.

Isn't Ty adorable?! Also, what do you guys think of the floor?! I love it. My roommate hates it, he said he'd put a rug. I dont know, maybe I can get a small rug, but it feel nice. 

Until part two!

Alexz