I love finding companies via Instagram and IBB Design has beautiful pieces and amazing catalog lookbooks to browse. Here are some of my favs.
this is the beautiful home of barbara hvidt featured in Elle Decoration Denmark. barbara, a photographer, designer and co-owner of denmark's soft gallery, has such a great eye for design, and her styling is spot on - “The idea was to make the house so simple, so pure and as white as possible. White, clean surfaces - which we have since been able to put our personal stamp on.” i'm just loving this eclectic vibe, that while simple and a bit minimalist still feels well-balanced and really warm and inviting.
• photography by line klein for Elle Decoration Denmark.
one of my favorite things about owning a home is having my own garden and outside dining space. i've come to realize spending time outside, gardening and entertaining is one my greatest joys - i could spend all day out there puttering around and planting new flowers and now vegetables, too! i shared my container garden earlier this year, and now i'm planting a whole lot of fresh herbs. there's nothing quite like inviting your friends and family over and making them a meal from stuff you've grown yourself - my pride is obnoxiously overflowing! i now pick fresh herbs on a daily basis, and am growing zucchini, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, kale and onions. Target invited me to share some of my summer entertaining ideas, and outdoor dining with what's practically a fresh salad bar picked from the garden paired with BBQing is high on my list. gotta love eating al fresco with friends on warm summer nights!
to set the mood for entertaining i've hung these great globe lights around the patio and it's created the prettiest dining ambience for nighttime parties (i put them on a dimmer switch for setting the mood just right!). for my overflowing herb garden i chose these really cute galvanized planters and trays from Target - and how cute are these herb stakes? and there's also a matching watering can - and both match my container garden perfectly. i love this big wood tray for displaying fresh vegetables and herbs from the garden, or using it as a serving piece. growing your own herbs for summer entertaining is the coolest - add sprigs of mint and slices of cucumber to your water to make it taste great, and it looks so much prettier too. it's so nice to serve your friends your own spa-like water and feels like you've taken that extra special step to make them feel pampered. so to get your summer prep started right i highly recommend planting your own herbs and veggies - it's easy and so, so satisfying!
• photography by lily glass for sfgirlbybay.
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Today's guest is jewelry maker Alix Bluh and she is the proprietress behind this hidden little gem in San Francisco's Inner Richmond District. A standalone shop on one of the quietest streets in the city, Modern Relics is her studio and showroom filled with her handmade reliquary pieces and what she calls her “cabinet of curiosities”. It was a happy accident that I discovered her space a few years ago while on a stroll to nearby Golden Gate Park. It is oh so dreamy and fairytale-like. Similarly her home, also in the neighborhood, was recently featured in the design book, Maker Spaces. A long-time resident of the city, Alix has been designing jewelry for thirty years and is now celebrating the ten-year anniversary of her shop.
To begin, what are reliquary pieces?
These are lockets that I have carved in varying shapes and sizes that 'house' precious and symbolic elements, like a mother's locket with her new baby's first lock of hair wrapped in gold wire, both the baby and mama's birthstones, a gold initial of the baby's and maybe even a first tooth. The contents can really be anything meaningful that fits into the locket. These are all set under mineral glass. I am actually working on a couple right now with a deceased spouse of a wonderful lady. I have his favorite denim jean fabric, a diamond tie clip top, the birth stones of both of them all floating under crystal. These pieces bring a very intense feeling of comfort and sentimentality to the owners. It makes me feel so satisfied to provide this for folks.
What inspired your craft?
I was in art school trying to become a great painter, but in all my free time at home I was making jewelry out of fimo clay with bits and pieces of watch parts and tin types that I had been feverishly collecting since my late teens. That work was actually a lot more sophisticated than it sounds, and I started getting it into galleries by the age of 21. One of my biggest influences back then was Thomas Mann-that should give the idea of the aesthetic. At 28 after moving to San Francisco I finally started work in silver and gold, traditional metalsmithing and started creating a body of work based on similar yet far more refined themes, such as religious reliquaries, Georgian memento and mourning jewelry and the beauty found in nature.
Why reliquary pieces?
I am a very spiritual person, I feel that jewelry has the power to be so meaningful, talismanic and thus adding so much more value to one's life than merely objective beauty. I have been able to design pieces that are not only substantially beautiful but profoundly symbolic for the owner. These are heirlooms in the truest sense. It's one thing to pass down the family diamonds but it's another thing to pass along your grandfather's hair locket with his birthstones and his lucky penny floating in it.
Your shop is tucked away on one of the quietest streets in the city. Why did you choose this spot for Modern Relics?
I fell hard in love with the space and it is so close to the Golden Gate park which is where my dog and I spend much of our time. I also love that I am only a couple blocks from the De Young Museum and Academy of Science. Luckily I also have a wholesale business and enough followers from my jewelry being out in the world that people have made their way to find me. Especially local people from all over the Bay Area. It's very much a destination shop. But I'm finding that this is a huge factor in its charm.
Who keeps you company in the studio?
I have the most neurotic rescue dog, a Boston Terrier named Jack who barks at the window and polices people as the walk by. It's not the best disposition to have in a shop dog, yet he is the love of my life. To drown out his nonstop noise making I listen to Pandora and my favorite current line up are: Seabear, Band of Horses, Spoon, Andrew Bird, Horse Feathers, Radical Face, Sea Wolf, Alt-J, Guster and Ray LaMontagne to name a handful.
How did you go from living in Massachusetts to SF?
My brother had moved out a year before me and kept telling me about the city and he knew it was going to be perfect for me. I had lived in Boston in the late 80's, though architecturally stunning and historically rich I felt very stifled there. There is a very different energy on the East Coast and I knew the minute I came out to SF I could achieve my dreams. It's hard to really explain that feeling but it was like the “bell jar was lifted”, to quote from Sylvia Plath. So in 1992, with a duffel bag filled with clothes and my sister by my side, we came out here and started a new and magical life.
What are some places in the city you like to frequent for inspiration?
I get a lot of my inspiration from nature, Golden Gate Park, the ocean, Mt. Tam and Point Reyes. Also, I love to visit Flora Grubb, Heath Ceramics and the Boiler Room, Paxton Gate, The Legion of Honor and other museums. I also love visiting the studios of some of the artists whose work I carry, like Kim Austin of Austin Press, Diana Fayt and Paul Morin to name a few.
What about some favorite spots to grab a bite or drink? What do you crave?
My favorite restaurant is Hillside Supper Club, it's so good, really a great neighborhood restaurant at Precita Park. I also crave lots of flavor so one of my favorites is Dosa. My boyfriend and I love Vietnamese and our favorite is OTD (Out The Door). I never miss the Clement Street farmers market where I get my pasture raised eggs and produce for the week ahead. When the craving for ice-cream strikes I will head to Smitten in Hayes Valley. I will admit to a weakness for the Blue Bottle + TCHO hot chocolate or the euro drinking chocolate from Dandelion. I am a huge chocolate addict and TCHO is my all time favorite. I buy it in bulk at Rainbow and it comes in perfect bite sized tablets.
Who are some local artists, designers and makers you're currently admiring?
I'm loving the work of Marnie Spencer of Bolinas-her imagery is so up my alley. Also I love Linda Fahey-her ceramics and illustrations are fabulous and she has a great shop in Pacifica. Paul Morin is a painter who did an amazing collection 'daguerreo type' portraits in oil paint for my shop. He is kinda exploding right now. And I love Beka Brayer-she does assemblage pieces that are near and dear to my heart.
Do you have any other secret talents we should know about?
I don't want to toot my own horn here but I think I could have been a great interior designer if I had gone that route. I think I have a knack for it. I have created my own beautiful interiors, made my own bedding, designed lighting fixtures and wall treatments, etc. I guess I am an all-around 'maker' as I tend to make lots of things. I have tried my hand at so many creative/studio arts and been pretty successful in those efforts.
Besides the shop, where else can we find your pieces?
I have an online shop and also sell at several great shops and galleries, including Besame Mucho in Key West, Gallery 360 in Minneapolis and Imagine in Santa Barbara. I have been getting lots of direct sales from Instagram, too, which was a lovely surprise.
What's next for Modern Relics?
I'll continue having shows for local artists and designers, as well as wonderful chocolate tastings and pop-up events. I don't have anything planned for the next couple of months but I welcome submissions from artists.
• all photography by leslie santarina.
i've been wanting to see cuba up close and personal for ages, and now, thanks to new travel regulations, i'm excited to tell you my friend joni and i have just booked a trip for thanksgiving week! we booked the trip through a tour company called coast to costa based out of los angeles, and our itinerary looks so great. We'll be peeking behind the curtain of the long since prohibited island exploring the magical culture of Cuba, and will be spending our time between the capitol of Havana, the well-preserved colorful colonial town of Trinidad and the lush tobacco and farm region of Viñales - we even have a lesson in rolling cuban cigars. i'm so thrilled to be seeing what we have been forbidden to see for the last 60 years, so if you've ever been to cuba i'd love to hear your suggestions - the tour has a lot for us to see and do, but offers us free time, too so i'm so excited to capture the faded colors and beauty of cuba with my camera. do tell what I shouldn't miss!
• photos by alessandro giraldi; erich mcvey; photographer Tom Blachford for my modern met.
