narrative of life

Today we took down all of the pieces from the Narrative of Life show and it occurred to me that I never posted pics of that, so… here are some from the opening reception.

Here's my piece from the show (if you recall, I posted the blank panel board back in November). After much time of going back in forth on the title, I finally landed on “Places.”
Also, I did a couple photo sessions with friends that I wanted to post. The Risdon family:

And the adorably pregnant Tisa and her husband Kevin:

unique la footage

Unique LA - Holiday 2010 from Chris Laughter + The Video Mouse on Vimeo.

unique la recap

Oh man.. Unique LA was soooo much fun. Kinda wish it happened more than twice a year! Here's my booth set-up.
Totally lucked out and was placed next to two AMAZING vendors. Chime Designs makes jewelry out of DRUM CYMBALS. Such cool stuff. This is Leslie, the owner. Her husband's a drummer, so it kinda works out.And this is Eva, her business partner. Really great girls..Sheswai Lacquer is owned by the lovely Debbie. She makes nail polish that's less toxic (no formaldehyde).AND all the caps are made from wood instead of plastic.So yeah.. it was a great weekend! I think my clutches were my top sellers. Here's a little before/after of one I made from a dress:

time out

I’ve been doing an excessive amount of paper writing the last several days. Took a left-brain time-out this afternoon. Here are some of the images that I found most inspiring. Thank you internet.

william cordovabarry mcgeebarry mcgeesame piece, just closephoto credit steve rhodes

unique la holiday show

If you’re going to shop for Christmas presents, Unique LA is the place to do it… Why? So many reasons! Here are some that may be of interest to you…

a) You will have the selection of one-of-a-kind, handmade, artistic goods instead of the generic products you normally find in your average mall or chain store. There’s an entire section of eco-friendly products (that’s where VintageRemade will be, so come say hello!) You can meet the designers and hear their stories.b) AND you can feel good knowing that the goods you are buying are sweatshop free! There really is such a sad and dark underbelly to the mass-produced garment and retail industry. According to Behind the Label, companies like Gap, J Crew, Abercrombie, Ann Taylor are guilty of gross violations related to worker pay and safety conditions. Some Chinese factory workers for Ann Taylor make $0.14/hour and work 96 hours/week. Crazy.

c) Buying locally is better for the environment. In the past 30 years, there’s been an exponential increase in the global use of fossil fuel. A huge culprit of that rise is the increase in trucks used to transport goods. Just to paint that picture a little more clearly… in 1965 there were 787,000 combination trucks (meaning semis used to transport goods) registered in the United States, and these vehicles consumed 6.7 billion gallons of fuel. In 2008, there were 2,215,856 combination trucks registered consuming almost 27 billion gallons of fuel. That’s a lot of fuel. The burning of these (non-renewable!) fossil fuels, of course, releases gases (i.e. carbon dioxide) into the atmosphere. Not good. When you buy locally, you reduce excessive fuel use.

d) DJs spinning all day and free drinks.

e) It costs $10 to get in, but if you would like to get in free, comment below, and I can put you on VintageRemade’s guest list.

edit: **the guest list is full**

cardboard piano

My grandma plays the piano beautifully. When she was little, her parents didn’t have enough money to afford a piano, so she drew a full size keyboard on a piece of cardboard and that’s how she learned-- on drawn black and white keys. She spent hours with her cardboard piano memorizing the notes and chords.

I heard that story for the first time this weekend and kind of loved it.

This is her as a teenager... with a real piano.

All in all I had a pretty amazing time in Houston visiting friends and family for the holiday and did not one but THREE shoots while I was home.

First up was my gorgeous little sister.

Then, I did a shoot with my beautiful cousin, Robyn. I only get to see her a couple times a year, so it was SO great to spend time with her!

And last but not least, my dearest friend Nicole, her husband Matt and their dog, Piper. Nicole and I have been friends since elementary school. She is basically family.