Cooper Young Festival

Last weekend on a whim I headed out to Midtown with some friends for the Cooper Young Festival. I had no idea what to expect upon arriving but the masses of people on the gorgeous Saturday afternoon was a promising preminition that a stroll down to the intersection of where Cooper meets Young Ave wouldn't be like any other time before. Thank goodness I had my camera handy.

It was a mixture of the creative artsy type huddled under their booths, carnival food wafting in the air, the sound of aspiring artists strumming their guitars, and lots and lots of people. Some of the stuff was less than appealing (for example memorial stones for your hamster) but we were bound and determined to find the diamonds in the rough. If worse came to worse some of our favorite local pubs were not far if we needed to pop in and sip on a brew to cool the jets. 

Freshly squeezed lemonade for the pretty gal. Alex's staple. 

First purchase of the day from an antique booth. A beautiful gold mirror for Alex. Mirror mirror on the wall who's the fairest of them all...is probably what her husband will say ;)

I personally am not an NBA basketball fan, but I can appreciate some catchy marketing.

Serenades from Memphis Opera. Somebody was posing for the camera.

One of my favorite finds of the day was Mo's Bows. This was the cutest little guy known to man and an entrepreneur he was!  Moziah (aka Mo) has become quite the talk of the town in Memphis as he found himself gracing a spread in Oprah Winfrey's O Magazine and has been featured on Forbes. A brilliant idea and some help from his Granny is opening ole Mo up to a world of possibilities.

Here's the story behind Moziah Bridges... being the fashion forward Southern gentlemen in the making that he is, Mo wanted to show off his personality with some fun bow ties. He was less than pleased with the options around town and took it upon himself to use some of his Granny's scrap fabrics to create some to his liking. Needless to say the simple idea sold like gangbusters and he is one of the most talked about 11 year olds in Memphis. The best part about Mo is that the ties are part of his vision to make the world a fun and happier place. That should put a smile on your face.

In living and breathing person. This young man is a gentleman in the making...I mean seriously how cute is he? 

They even look good on Allison.

Mo's Bows are for sale on Etsy. A purchase free of guilt.

Another one of my favorite booths was a little business called ARCH'd. I'm a real sucker for good marketing and they had me enthralled with their chalkboards, calligraphy, typography and well the product spoke for itself.

These two gals are in the business of creating art on salvaged wood. They have a real knack for transferring fine art prints onto the recycled wood creating an incredibly cool rustic piece. There were also some impressive acrylic paintings and typography that I had my eye on. Almost all of their work is Memphis themed, but I am sure with a little convincing they would customize pieces to whatever your heart desires. Check these lovely ladies out on Etsy. They have two different pages. Here is Lindsey's and here is Kristen's.

Last but not least was our friend Holly's booth. She is an Ole Miss grad with a gift for painting watercolors. I mean she makes my peaches look like child's play. Oh and did I mention that she is the sweetest Southern gal you'll ever have the pleasure of meeting?

She has quite the collection of prints covering majority of the Southern schools and some of Memphis' best. She sells original prints, bookmarks, magnets and much more. My personal favorite are the notecards. Every card has a personal touch to it. I am a sucker for watercolor and let me tell ya Holly knows what she is doing. Check her out at Painted by Holly.

I know a few gals who would love this Tri Delta painting. Wink wink EB. And to all you other sorority gals Holly hasn't forgotten about you.

And so we reached the end seeing a little bit of everything. After lots and lots of walking on empty stomachs, we finally took a load off before we made our merry way to barbecue with the boys and watch football the rest of the afternoon.

It was a perfectly unplanned Saturday spent with friends. 

XOXO,

Bee

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Jewels

I’d like to think that I’m a pretty productive person, but one look at all the half drafted patterns, semi-constructed dresses, and piles of beads lying around my house proves otherwise. Like I’ve said before, I have a million design ideas going on in my head at any given time. If one of these projects makes it out of my imagination and to the final, physical object, you know it’s one I reeeally love. My jewelry-making project is one that I’ve given priority to this summer. I’ve been wanting to open an etsy store for quite some time now, and after sifting through a lot of different ideas for it I decided to start with jewelry. The first day I started to make a necklace left me sitting with a pile of beads wishing I had opted to take the accessories design class back in school. Oh well, after a lot of trial and error (and I mean a lot) I’ve finally made some pieces worth sharing and opened my very own Etsy store! Here’s a glimpse into my process.

My workspace leaves much to be desired. But hey I like to say "From chaos comes beauty"...... Actually, I just use that as an excuse for how messy it is.

Here's a peek at the necklace i'm working on right now. This charming little brooch found me at an antique store and I knew I needed it. I love the black, gold, and green color combo so much I might end up keeping it for myself. 

Some more of my necklaces.

Lately i've been super inspired by semiprecious stones. They are a perfect accessory for any summer outfit. I have some big plans for these statement necklaces. Being a stacker, I tried my hand at making some bangles with these little gems. I love these because you can wear one, two, or ten at a time.

These are my newest stones. Can't wait to create with them!

It's up and running! Check me out on Etsy.

XO,

Lo

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