I am now the city girl swooning... so much has happened since the last post.  That trip to NYC was the catalyst to bring us to where we are now.  A little over two years later, I am sifting through the morsels of discovery to share from our past couple of years.  It will include a tale of two cities, zipping up our lives in one and moving to the next.  Carving out a new adventure with people and places we had no idea were waiting for us once we arrived.  One person, in particular whom we have yet to officially meet and should be arriving any day in the next two weeks.  We have been patiently awaiting his arrival for nine months now.  Stay tuned~

NYC by SKBG

NYC by SKBG, a photo by skbg studio on Flickr.

NYC by SKBG

NYC by SKBG, a photo by skbg studio on Flickr.

NYC by SKBG

NYC by SKBG, a photo by skbg studio on Flickr.

Poetry bombs at the thrift store...

Amazing. Artist Agustina Woodgate finds creative ways to share poetry.  Found via Hula Seventy.

Steph in The City

Just a few posts ago, I was reminiscing about my time in New York City.  Tomorrow, I am on a plane to Manhattan!  I am so thrilled and honored that Allison of Igloo Letterpress asked me help design her booth at The National Stationery Show!  I have always wanted to go and can't wait to see some familiar faces from ALT Design Summit.  Also, I get to spend some quality NYC time with the always effervescent Amy Turn Sharp and meet up with some dear friends Jill and Lulu.  Can't wait! 

Filling in the Cracks

Loving most things weathered, my heart has grown fond of our front porch; particularly the stairs.  The creases and cracks and layers of paint that have slowly chipped away reveal hints of a well-worn path to and from our front door.  I think of all the entrances and exits that occurred in the years before we arrived.  I wonder which owner chose what paint color and what inspired the change.  Our front stairs, along with a lot of Ohio streets and roadways took a beating this winter.  I had just sent this picture to the owner of our house letting her know the stairs needed some love when I found this clever solution to cracks and crevices.  Parisian installation and fiber artist Juliana Santacruz Herrera has found a beautiful fix for potholes in Paris.  C'est magnifique.

Make Some Noise

We were playing pool at our favorite dive when our friend asked when was the last time I listened to the Beastie Boys.  Striking question and hard to answer at the moment as the rolodex of memories associated with these guys flipped rapidly through my head.  My older brother introduced them to me.  I must have been nine years old.  One of my first memories was the fifth grade talent show where a few of us girls dressed up like boys and lip synced the song "Girls" only identifying our true selves at the end of the song.  In college,  during a weekend getaway with friends, I discovered the length of "Paul's Boutique" was roughly the amount of time to get me out of Columbus and ease me into the heart of Athens, Ohio.  Smoking cigarettes with all the windows down, I got to know Route 33 while paying close attention to how they dropped science like when Galileo dropped the orange.

So, the other night, our friend let us know about this amazing new video he saw on Comedy Central just before we met up to play pool.  The Beastie Boys have something new coming out and they aired a sneak peek video chock full of cameos.

Check it:

Beastie Boys - Make Some Noise - Free Music Videos - Top Songs

On Good Friday

This album was my soundtrack for at least two years following it's debut.  Most memorable listening was while riding the train from NYC back to Columbus via Cincinnati.  It was after 9/11.  We were all still
scared to fly. I drove with my friend to La Gaurdia to pick up her boyfriend who had been backpacking in Europe for several months. They drove home together in a love frenzy making love stops on the way back to Ohio.  I stayed in New York for several days to visit my friends Benny and Jill who were still together at that point.  It was three months after they moved to New York, I decided at the last minute not to join them on their journey.  I stayed in Columbus, got my first apartment without a boyfriend or roommate.  I chose the path of independence in a city I was getting to know well all over again.

Excerpt from my journal while riding on the train:
"7 October 2001

leaving new york city.  the train feel. smell, touch. air conditioned steel vessel surrounds delayed emotional reactions within the  rush to get wherever it is we are all going.

mad.

the horn blares in movie size while manhattan shrinks to paperback.  lights flicker against the blue turning pink sky.  we stop only moments outside of the realization that I am not on a rooftop in brooklyn.  nor am i in a train departing victoria station.  this is all new.  we depart for the second time."
-skbg, journal, October 2001

Morning Perfect

And just like that, my tendency for flight disappears.  In one moment I am ready to sell everything I own and move to the coast of Belize.  Then, I take a walk in my new neighborhood and I am rich with my surroundings.  I marvel at the bouquet of homes that boast the bulbs they planted last fall. Sprinkled in are homes with porches that would make a city girl swoon.  With each step, I am introduced to new architecture, landscaping and porch miscellany publicizing the habits of the resident.  In a two mile walk, I am transported to California, Oregon, even Germany or France.  These are homes where fairy tales are written, poppies are painted, symphonies composed.

The sun plays with my face as I walk beneath the trees and listen to the birds sing each other their morning glories.  And in that moment, Ohio reminds what beauty this is.

Camera lesson

My good friend Joel and his wife Sara drove up from Cincinnati to check out the shop.  They brought their two boys Ari and Oliver.  Billy gave Ari a quick lesson in photo making.

Rocking the Leggings In Park City

Cute girl on the patio at No Name Bar.  Great sky and people watching.  I think she thought I was with E or People Magazine.  I told her I was just a girl from Ohio who liked her bag, her boots, and leggings.

Girl in Park City, Utah. Photo by skbg.

So much to say...

Salt Lake City.   Alt Design Summit.  Sundance.  Oh, My!  Still wrapping my head around it all and sorting though lovely business cards. Can't wait to share more soon!

Unil then, one little snippet from our walk up to Temple square.

Temple Square. Salt Lake City. Photo by skbg.

Pencils Down, She Says!

I've been feverishly redesigning my website to show what we've been working on.  I am stepping away from the computer and going out to interact with real people and *gasp* go have fun! Have a wonderful Sunday and beginning of the week!

Check it:

             SKBG PHOTOGRAPHY

Cold Play

Sweet Nothings- Call for Entries

For a few years, Brenda Lee has been singing her heart out to me through the speakers in our living room.  We came across the record in our usual fashion.  It's the Sunday game of pulling out a vinyl at random and playing it no matter what comes up. It was summer, the windows were open, the neighbors may have heard the thump of my heart as it dropped to the floor when the first note came out of her little mouth.  I won't mention the most well worn track on the album, although, I am sure the neighbors also know which one that may be.  The volume goes up a notch (Billy usually turns it down as I go too high) and I belt out the lyrics with Brenda Lee as she lets me know I am not the only one who has ever had a broken heart and encourages me to go on and cry.


As these songs have danced around in my head and heart, it seems only natural that this would be the catalyst to the Call for Entries below.


As individuals we usually seek a community and find solace in others that share similar experiences.  Over the past few years, this has heightened through online outlets such as Blogs, Facebook, websites, etc.  Billy usually calls "Shenanigans!" at such things as Facebook and often shuts the laptop {gently} on my fingers to reel me back into reality. I know I am personally guilty of getting sucked into these social media vices [Should I  be amazed that in one click, I find a woman in Sweden took the same photo of her boots in the snow just hours before I did the same thing?  Probably not, but sometimes equally comforting and disturbing.]  So, through this journey, I guess we are attempting to keep a healthy balance between our tangible experiences and those on the internet.  We encourage others join in and get up, shut off the computer, go outside, request a tete a tete with a friend you haven't seen in awhile, take a deep breathe, say hello to the world and maybe even the stranger that passes by.  Oh, and Billy's personal favorite, give a REAL LIFE thumbs up to your friends!  


With that said, a string of unexpected events happened last fall and Billy and I find ourselves with a tangible space to share our discoveries with others and vice versa.  We invite you to stop by and see us online and {for real} at THE GANGWAY.
  

And if you would like to share your story...you can start with this:

Facebook Invite

Fall...

As if moving our entire lives to a new house in a new neighborhood, starting a new job and opening  The Gangway wasn't enough activity for this fall,  I also decided to sign up for my friend Esther's pattern and drafting class at CCAD.  Tonight is the last class and I am hoping that I will have a complete skirt by the end.  I have enjoyed getting to know the ladies and GENT (!) in our class and can only hope I will remember how to apply everything I have learned over the past few weeks!  I found this wonderful vintage-y fabric to use for my final on sale at Sew to Speak a gem of a fabric store located in the new hood, Clintonville!

More more about The Gangway and pics of the new house soon! 

An Introduction to The Gangway

Prepping some swag for the bags at Holidayville this weekend.  Oh, and a little introduction to The Gangway!  Our new gallery/studio in Clintonville.

You've only got one...

Stephanie Bair-Garant - One Life Photos

From one of my favorites:
“We photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing, and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth can make them come back again. We cannot develop and print a memory.”
Henri Cartier-Bresson

the leaves are falling too soon...