Dear Emily’s Readers,
The other day Emily and I sat in the office ALL day, billing clients, designing new spaces, setting up meetings with vendors and design clients, and staring at Bearcat as she sat on our keyboards trying to get us to stop working. It was so hard. We are not office creatures. We are creatures of the wild that need to be free. Free to shop and drink coffee and laugh. Free to talk about our fears (Mel Gibson) and our dreams (Kelly Wearstler). We need to be free to shop because that is when we see the world and all the beautiful (and disgusting) things it has to offer.
We’ve come across some pretty cool art recently, and we are loving these hanging sculptures ($800) by Eric Johnson at Shelter Half:
Shelter Half is a beautiful store on La Brea, the kind that fills you with frienzy and fear because you want everything but can afford nothing. For instance, I want all of these paintings:
Especially this one ($2950):
Painting 12, Shelter Half, $2950
After our Shelter shopping experience, I went home and trolled around on Craigslist until I found this awesome Japanese screen for $100.
The colors are beautiful and it’s printed on silk so lovely and golden it looks like it’s spun from Emily’s straw-colored hair.
Japanese Folding Screen, Craigslist, $100
My screen is exciting, but not quite as exciting as this screen:
Alas, someday … For now I’ll have to be satisfied with this little hand-colored photo I found at Rose Bowl for $15. It’s tiny. But you know what’s not tiny? The joy that fills my heart each and every time I look at it.
Hand-Colored Photograph, Rose Bowl, $15
Anyone who’s met me knows I’m obsessed with waves and Japanese art, so this piece at HD Buttercup ($1395) really got me going.
I can see this stone sidetable in my place, nestled between my lady chairs. Found it at a junk sale for $90 … Kinda want it.
Stone Sidetable from a secret junk sale, $90.
I bought these for a client to use as sofa sidetables. The brass accents are quite exciting, as are the double-ring integrated pulls. Glamour.
Side tables from Wertz Brother’s Antique Market. $275.
This rattan chair was also at that junk sale. $150. I can imagine sitting in it in my fantasy loft, drinking a cup of fantasy tea whilst reading a fantasy “book.”
Rattan Chair, Junk Store, $150.
Speaking of rattan … EXCUSE ME? This guy needs a little bit of a makeover (join the club, Buddy!) but has great potential:
Rattan Chair, Danish Modern NoHo.
You know how sometimes you get excited about something and then you see something else that’s even more exciting and then you forget about the first thing? And then you feel guilty for betraying the first thing even though the second thing is clearly better? Well, that’s exactly what Emily and I did with these chairs. First we were all about those rattan chairs, then we saw these and got excited. It feels like we cheated on the rattan chairs with these lucite beauties. Which made us feel gross, but also excited.
Lucite Office Chairs, Danish Modern NoHo.
And what about this guy? Can’t you just see him in a minimalist Swedish country home owned by a couple named Sven and Ericsson? I can.
Bent Wood Chair, Danish Modern NoHo.
This. Reupholstered. In bright new velvet. That’s what I want for Valentines Day.
Modern Club Chair, Danish Modern NoHo.
This leather lounger wants you to snuggle with it and tell it stories late into the night.
70s Leather Lounger, Danish Modern NoHo.
While searching for lampshades, we found this awesome sconce at Practical Props.
Axis Sconce, Practical Props, $199
Empiric, one of our favorite stores, is another place you go in and want everything, but feel like if you started buying stuff you might not stop until you were broke and homeless on the street. But would it be worth it? We found this delightful arc desk lamp there. I want to give it a hug.
Arc Table Lamp, Empiric, $595
Reminds me of this glamour lamp we used in Emily’s old office:
Finally, sometimes you see stuff and you don’t really know what it is but you know you want it. That’s how we felt about this ball thing. I’m still not sure what it is but I want to put it on my dresser and stare at it every day.
Ball Accessory, Inheritance, $95.
Inheritance sells mostly one-of-a-kind smalls, but they also have so editions worth gawking at:
Peace Soldiers, Inheritance, $300.
What? You don’t have a golden bulldog sculpture? You’re in luck:
Reichenbach Gold Bulldog, Inheritance, $200.
I really want these cross-arrow candle sconces.
Arrow Candle Sconces, Inheritance, $95/Pair.
Finally, do you ever long for something for so long that you don’t know how much longer you can long for it without dying? That’s how I feel about this globe. It’s huge, and pretty, and old. It’s also $950. Which is kind of a ridiculous amount to pay for a globe. But I want it. Like, so much.
Globe, Wertz Brothers Antique Market, $950
As you can see, Emily and I have done a good job of trapsing around staring at things to buy. Many of these things we hoarded. Many we left for you to go out and find. Half the fun of shopping is looking. So go out there and use your googley eyes to stare at stuff. It really is what makes life worth living!
Love,
Orlando
View more posts about shopping with Emily & Orlando here, here, and here