Initial experiments with natural dyes derived from plants and spices.  Some of the colors are surprisingly vivid!

Top row:  blueberries on silk
2nd row:  yellow onion skins on silk
3rd row:  yellow onion skins on wool, turmeric on wool
Bottom row:  turmeric on silk

I love this bag.  It's a vintage piece by British interior designer Nicholas Haslam.  I stumbled across it on ebay and, after several days of anxious lurking, it was mine.  Quite a bargain too!  While it's not exactly the most practical bag for everyday use (it's rather giant and likely meant as a travel bag) sometimes I can't resist.  (Dear fellow rush hour subway commuters, my apologies for encroaching upon your already limited personal space.)  Oh, and my favorite bag feature is that it's made from an old kilim.  Bohemian luxury!

[ also featured: my current uniform, the denim shirt. ]

[ Thanks, Baker. ]

At this moment, my body might be huddled next to the small fan that blows coolish evening air (and a perceptible quantity of city grime) in through my bedroom window, but I assure you, my mind is taking a vicarious vacation to the Welsh countryside.  Blodwen, a site which sells and celebrates all manner of traditional Welsh handicrafts, provides the necessary visual stimuli.

Doesn't that final wooly duo just kill you?  Also loveable: Blodwen's manifesto.

[ those shoes! ]

[ those stripes! favorite! ]

[ that composition! ]

[ Images from the Library of Congress ]

[ Martha Stewart Weddings, Summer 2010 ]

Temperatures in excess of 90 degrees are a good excuse for an updo, I think.  Find the how-to here.

Sweet, anthropomorphic spoons at Fine Little Day.

[ Photos by Elisabeth Dunker ]

[ click images to enlarge ]

A.  go camping.
B.  acquire one of these bathing suits.
C.  be a redhead.

[ Photography by Tom Hines. ]

More intimates and swimwear by The Lake & Stars here.

PS:  Speaking of camping/fashion/redheads, the title of this post is a nod to the original wilderness girl.

[ click images to enlarge ]

I love it when contemporary artists employ old world techniques.  Alison Elizabeth Taylor's wood veneer "paintings" are exquisite examples of marquetry, a traditional craft similar to inlay, historically used in the decorative arts.  You can see a few of these pieces (including my favorite, The Breeder, above) at James Cohan Gallery until Saturday (hurry!) and I highly recommend doing so.  One needs to see Taylor's work up close to appreciate her thoughtful, painterly manipulation of grain and the gorgeous palette provided by hundreds of varieties of exotic wood.

All work by Alison Elizabeth Taylor.  Images via James Cohan Gallery. 

1:  The Breeder, 2009-10.  Wood veneer, shellac.  56 X 45 inches.

2:  The Good War, 2006.  Wood inlay, shellac.  60 X 46 inches.

3:  The Pyrographist, 2009.  Wood veneer, pyrography, shellac.  46 X 40 inches.

4:  Room, 2007-08.  Wood veneer, pyrography, shellac.  96 X 120 X 96 inches.

5:  [ see above. ]

6:  [ see above. ]

7:  Security House, 2008-10.  Wood veneer, shellac.  93 X 122 inches.

8:  Security House, 2008-10.  (Detail)