designer's library

Post-Modern Economy

Just some quick Modern Economy-related updates:

-Congratulations to Hae Min Cho of SF for winning the $150 prize package raffle!

-Thank you to Jane Maynard for posting about the sale on her blog and for taking great pictures of the sale. We brought our camera but forgot the all-essential battery so we didn't have any images from the event.

- And with all the busy-ness preparing for the sale, I didn't realize that tickets went on sale for the Flight of the Conchords concert in SF. And now, the all the tickets are sold out. Not cool.

(Image above: ©2008 jane maynard design)

Modern Economy 3rd Annual SF Sale

Hey, we're having another Modern Economy sample sale this Saturday! New to the SF sales will be goods from designers like Virginia Johnson, Dermond Peterson, Fleurville, Petunia Pickle Bottom, J. Mendicino, Offi, Petit Collage, Ses Petites Mains, Xenia Taler, and Agnes and Hoss. Most everything will be marked down from 25%-75% (sometimes more) off retail. Come to get stuff to jazz up your house, get clothing and accessories for the summer, and get gorgeous goods for your baby! Here are the details:

Modern Economy Sample Sale
Saturday, April 12, 2008
10:30am to 3:00pm

Fort Mason Center
Bldg. A Conference Center
San Francisco, CA

Admission is free.
And credit card only, people!

For more info, visit: http://www.modeconomy.com

Modern Economy & The Ace Hotel

It's for sure. I'll be bringing the Modern Economy sale to Portland, OR in July 2008 {oops, i put '09 there by accident!!}. I'm still finalizing the date and all, but the venue's all set: the Ace Hotel's event space called "The Cleaners" (which I'm guessing used to be cleaners at some point). I'm super excited about bringing the sale there! It'll be the first ME sale outside of California. If that goes well, there's even the possibility of bringing the sale even further away to Philadelphia in 2009. We'll see...

Anh-Minh stayed in this deluxe room of the Ace Hotel (below). I swear we were total asian tourists snapping a million pictures of that room and of the hotel, too. And, I'm so going to model my bedroom after it. I'm loving the industrial-military feeling of it.

So we had a great time in Portland last weekend. Dude, there is practically no difference between the weather there and here in the Bay Area (at least for the moment). And, we got to visit Canoe--which is my kind of store--simple, well-edited, and full of great design. We went kind of nutty in there buying cast iron rabbits and bamboo card cases.

What a month.

Ok, this month has been nuts. I can't believe how quickly it all went by. Seriously, it's been one thing after the other. It started off with my daughter's birthday on the 1st, followed by the book launch party on the 2nd, then a slew of parties (kids and adults), store openings, meetings and lunches, the Modern Economy sale in Los Angeles on the 20th, the Biz Ladies meeting on the 23rd, and a quick stop on the 26th at the Western Interiors home show. And oh, did I also mention that I started taking a Japanese language class this month, too? See, I am crazy. Now the end of the month greets me with Halloween for the kids and a deadline for my quarterly sales tax return. I swear, I get no breaks.

One of the best things about this month is that I got to meet some really cool ladies (whose work I was already familiar with) like Abbie and Annie (to name a few). And also by chance, I met a really fantastic PR consultant from NYC, Susan Harkavy, who is just a wealth of information. (By the way, I look forward to getting to know you ALL better--the regulars I see at all the openings/parties--with every event I attend. It's nice to know how supportive the Bay Area art/design/craft community really is.) The second best thing is hanging out with friends both old and new. I had non-stop chatty fun on the road trip to LA with Carolina, Jacinta, and Robie (my friend since the 7th grade). I was reminiscing pretty hard with my ex-UCLA arch school friends like Louise and Yun Yun at Modern Economy as well as an undergrad friend (Allison of Splendora) at the Rare Device opening. And it was rare treat to drive around and talk one-on-one with out-of-town friends like Grace and Lauren last week.

With so much going on, here are 2 things I forgot to mention this month:

1. My walnut notecards were featured in Better Homes and Gardens. And 2.) If you haven't bought Craft, Inc. yet: in honor of Chronicle Books' 40th anniversary, they have teamed up with Amazon.com to offer exclusive anniversary specials, including a 32% discount on Craft, Inc..

Yes, it's been a month like no other. So, now I must go back to settling the Modern Economy sale, filing my sales tax return, and answering my emails (sorry for the slow response guys). And frick, I need to update my website too. *sigh* I really need a vacation.

2nd Annual SF Modern Economy Sale

THANK YOU to everyone that came out in droves to the Modern Economy sale last Saturday. Seriously, I was blown away by the turnout and the line to get in. Amazing!

Thank you as well to the SF Chronicle, DailyCandy, Design*Sponge, Oh Joy!, SFgirlbythebay, SF Apartment Therapy, SFist, and all the other blogs out there for pre-show press that made the sale a big ole success!

Just so you know, I'm trying to squeeze in the 2nd Annual Los Angeles Modern Economy sale before 2007 ends. I'll be in LA scouting locations in a couple weeks. I plan on bringing much more merchandise and adding a whole new set of coveted designers to the line up. I will start posting the new designers as soon as I get confirmation from them. So sit tight for details to come!

Modern Economy Sneak Peek!

I've been busy preparing for the Modern Economy sale on Saturday. If you live in the Bay Area or will happen to be here, come to the sale! Here are the details:

Modern Economy Sample Sale
Saturday, July 28, 2007
10:30am to 3pm
Fort Mason Center
Landmark Bldg. A - Conference Center
San Francisco, CA

*No admission fee
*Large parking lot
*Credit card only

And I just added Sharon Spain to the list of designers. We'll have some of these pillows.

We'll also have goods like totes, oven mitts, placemats, and more in uber cool patterns from Brooklyn-based Deadly Squire. Here's a very small selection of what we'll be carrying.

As Kelly will be reconfiguring her Berkeley boutique, Relish at Home, she'll be bringing variety of products like Owl Mobiles by Helene Ige and limited edition melamine plates by Poketo and so much more.

Ok, that's it for this sneak peek. You'll have to go to the sale to see the rest. See you at the sale!

Modern Economy Sale in July -- Want to Join?

I'm hosting another Modern Economy sale in San Francisco in July. If you don't know what Modern Economy is...it's a home and lifestyle sample sale that I have twice a year. I get brand new overstock, samples, and seconds from talented independent designers like Dwell, thomaspaul, and Sara Paloma and sell them to you at really great prices. At the heart of it, it's sale to support indie design to help them clear their shelves/stockrooms.

If you are interested in attending the sale in San Francisco, please go to the website and sign up on the mailing list to be first to be notified of the exact sale date and venue. And if you are an independent designer/artist that would like to sell your products at the sale, email me at info@modeconomy.com. Designers from all across the nation participate in this sale. You don't need to be present (unless you want to shop)!

To see the current list of participating designers for the July sale, click here. And here are some that haven't been posted to the site yet--the most recent designers contributing products to the sale:

Boodalee's strikingly gorgeous Alexander Girard-esque children's bedding. They'll be contributing sheet sets and duvet sets. Get one for your child's room!

I've been a long-time fan of Rae Dunn's textural, wabi-sabi pottery. She'll have some wonderful pieces that will look great in your home.

Tikoli will have a beautiful selection of tea towels for your kitchen.

If you need some art for your walls, Three Sheets 2 the Wind will be offering screen-printed stretched canvas wall art in a variety of sizes.

Stay tuned...I'll be posting more new designers for the Modern Economy on this blog.