Introducing: Andrew Skipper

Andrew Skipper is a legitimately good-hearted person. He has a graceful presence, elegant demeanor, and is stylish to the core. His equally elegant parties are legendary. Perhaps those factors add to his growing success as "a person of note" in the greater Chicago area. Skipper has been decorating and re-designing the homes of wealthy socialites for several years now. He can commonly be found in his natural habitat- entertaining guests at someone else's poolside cocktail hour.

In the coming weeks Andrew Skipper will be commenting on his personal style as well as sharing his expertise and talking about thrifting. So stay tuned.

In the meantime check out "Andrew Skipper Everyday"

Thrifting Confession

"Thrifting" might be a new term for some of you- esp. those who are not from the states. It does not exactly refer to "being thrifty" but rather to the practice of exploring charity, antique, and second-hand shoppes. Most people don't go thrifting- but for an increasing number of us in the states it has become the (ironically) chic thing to do. This spring Culture Keeper is discussing the world of thrifting...

"When I have money I go thrifting at least once a week. I'll spend an entire afternoon and hit four or five charity shoppes. I bring along a snack. I'm generally looking for a few specific things- but I always pick out good quality vintage along the way that I know I can re-sell. I like Thrift stores because I know I can experiment cheaply. There are styles I would never try, but because they are only going to cost a few dollars I will take the risk. Some days I don't actually purchase anything- but most days I will spend around fifty dollars. I end up making more than I spend. I buy a lot of old canvases to paint over. Clothes from thrift shoppes make up about fifty percent of my wardrobe. I have also been able to find a lot of really great art pieces- both sculpture and paintings- those are my favorite finds." - Jonathan Grant

Send your thrifting experience/style/stories to grant.of.mishawaka@gmail.com

The Soil and The Sun

There is something special about this band. The Soil And The Sun are the kind of band that gathers an entire community of positive energy. You can sense it at their shows. They have developed their own form of tribal-folk-rock, and work it with their mind-blowing live performances. I'm hooked. With a new album due out this spring, they are poised to take the country by storm. Check out their previous album and the Audiotree performance below.

Reading List #2


Alber Elbaz is one of my style heroes. I should do a post on him soon. He has a book coming out this spring about his creative process. As the director of fashion house- Lanvin- it would be easy for him to feature celebrities- but this book is more about collaboration and the people who actually make the clothes he designs. I can't wait. Read more about his book Here.

This video by Xack Gibson makes me want to go on a road trip.

I also adore this video by the Tuneyards. New music by Van De Aarde. and The Song "Brandy Alexander" by Feist.

I enjoyed this article in the New York Times about Men's Fashion Blogging. It takes an interestingly historical perspective, and provides excellent background on the origins of the styles we now enjoy.

I liked this GQ Shoot for the French clothier AMI. Subtle colors, subtle styles. (pictured above)

Give Matisse a Chance



My first exposure to Matisse was in 2006 at the Musee d'Art Moderne De La Ville De Paris. His work did not make that much of an impact on me then. But this autumn I stumbled across a book of his paper cuttings at an antique store in Missouri. Perhaps the timing has to be right to be impacted by art. I am kind of obsessed with his work right now. Great use of color and pattern and shape. Not hampered by ultra-realism. Expressive. Give Matisse a chance.

Dragoman


Another Poetry Collage By Katherine Coogan

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In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth.

~patti smith

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i used to feel safe here

i would sleep and dream

this space had a peace

a type of refuge

now i enter

i dont recognize my surroundings

i feel i have been gone for too long

things are familar yet changed

i feel vunerable

i feel defensive

you come into view

i feel my body

building an invisible

forcefeild

if i am just courageous enough

maybe my heart can

survive

the tiny arrows

your mouth creates

as you speak my name

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wandered the halls at nighttime

my body burned, my legs ached

but you never came to bed

you just left me there awake

you kept me wanting wanting wanting

like the wanting in the movies and the hymns

i want the pharaohs, but theres only men

i want the pharaohs, but theres only men

you said i was your blue, blue baby

and you were right

~neko case

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sometimes have a queer feeling with regard to you—especially when you are near me, as now: it is as if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in the corresponding quarter of your little frame..................

~ jane eyre c. bronte

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that is why we need to travel. if we don't offer ourselves to the unknown, our senses dull. our world becomes small and we lose our sense of wonder. our eyes don't list to the horizon; our ears don't hear the sounds around us. the edge is off our experience, and we pass our days in a routine that is both comfortable and limiting. we wake up one day and find that we have lost our dreams in order to protect our days. don't let yourselves become one of these people. the fear of the uknown and the lure of the comfortable will conspire to keep you from taking the chances the traveler has to make. but if you take them you will never regret your choice.

~ kent nerburn

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is that i noticed a woman reading

in a chair not far from mine.

silver-haired, calm, she stirred a hunger

hard for me to define.

perhaps because she doesn't seem lonely.

and what i loved was this:

the way, when dusk had darkened her pages,

as if expecting a kiss,

she closed her eyes and threw her head back,

book open in her lap.

perhaps she was thinking about her story,

or the fall air, or a nap.

bryant park at dusk

~ geoffery brock

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The Photography of Bonnie Tsang


Bonnie Tsang is adorable. Her photography tends to be adorable too. Perhaps you have seen her work already- she has done shoots for Rue Magazine as well as Matchbook Mag. Her Recent coverage of friend Bri Emery's loft for the holiday issue of Rue was stunning. Miss Tsang keeps things light and fun and always lets bright color lead the way. More on Bonnie in the future... for now check out her Blog and her Beautiful Website.

The Thing About Shorts


Everyone can wear shorts. You may perhaps be thinking that you are too short or too tall or too rotund. Not so. The keys to remember here are fit and proportion. For best results "think tailored". If your shorts are too baggy or too long- you are going to look ridiculous.

Shorts should hit above the knee- one to eight inches. One inch if you are extremely modest and eight if you are extremely brave. If they fall below the knee you are going to look shorter than you actually are.

When shorts are too wide on the leg they create a swinging, bell-like effect. So make sure that they follow the width of your thigh- with a leg opening just wide enough to be comfortable. I would also posit that cargo pockets are not the most flattering style in the world- so use sparingly. Perhaps one or two pockets are okay- but let's not get crazy.

Obviously styles come and go. I can recall a pair of cargo shorts I once wore constantly. They were huge, extremely khaki, and possessed an unspeakable number of pockets. Of course that was 1998 and I had to have something to go with my Airwalks.

Truth is those shorts were fun. I don't really regret wearing them as a child. But now that I am an adult I realize that there is something connecting the way we dress and the way we feel and our ideas about ourselves. You see, people spend more time trying to cover up the way they feel about their own body than they actually do dressing it. Even children will dress in frumpy, baggy, layers thinking that will hide their insecurities. Foolishness. Let's all grow up a bit and take responsibility for the way we look and the way we dress. This is the perfect time to be honest with yourself.

Chances are you have a pair of shorts in your wardrobe that do not flatter you. This might be a good time to take them out, say your good-byes and donate them. Don't keep clothing that makes you look ridiculous- that just makes my job all the more difficult.

The Style of Megan Gilger

To say that Megan Gilger knows her own style would be a huge understatement. In fact, Megan curates her personal style with strategic enthusiasm. She has this semi-preppy, clean aesthetic that channels the best of JCrew, Kate Spade, and classic americana. Megan is also brave enough to try new styles, colors, and shapes. She somehow manages to push her own boundaries while maintaining a recognizable style. I am constantly seeing magazine spreads or lookbooks to new collections and thinking- "that is so Megan Gilger". And its a great thing that she knows what she likes. As both the brains and brawn behind Hitch Design Studio and The Fresh Exchange blog Megan daily transfers her tastes into solid advice and beautiful designs. Her husband Mike also has fantastic style. His beardly, lumberjack-meets-Soho-designer, style is always spot-on. Their design creations are fantastic- but so are their outfits. Always perfectly put together. Always curated and understated. Always classic.

Cozy Cabin

All of the recent adventures at The Hytte have reminded me how much I want a little place in a forest somewhere. Now and then I get the urge to wander through the forest. to plant a little garden and get really dirty. I am a city boy- but give me a week of climbing trees, swimming in ponds and running full-tilt down meadows trails- and you will have me seriously doubting that cities even exist. Since I've been dreaming I decided to put together an inspiration board with Pinterest pics. There is something cathartic about expressing dreams. Now I can go back to the city in peace.

Reading List #1


Here are a few suggested reads:

Recently a group of my creative friends got together to plot ideas at The Hytte. Michael Newsted photographed the gathering and the images are stunning. (including the image above)

The Business of Fashion has great links every day to fashion related news. Also great interviews- like this one with Scott Schuman.

The Sartorialist Blog has images of street fashion around the world. This is a good place to go for daily inspiration.

The poem "Ozymandias" by Percy Blythe Shelley is currently rocking my mind. love it.

Here is a fun look at the recent collaboration between Hermes and Vans.

Bright Bazzar - This gorgeous blog has wonderful photography and suggestions for transforming your home with color and style. I particularly loved this studio visit. More on this blog to come.

Culture Keeper just re-discovered this vintage Guide to Buying Art.

As always- stay updated on the beautiful Fresh Exchange Blog.

Asbury College Photo Shoot


A few years ago I had the opportunity to direct a shoot for Asbury College in Wilmore Kentucky. I worked with three fantastic photographers and selected models from the student body. We basically just played with paint for a few hours and photographed it. It really was a lot of fun.

Art Direction- Jonathan Grant
Photography- Daniel Donaldson, Mike Gilger, Colin Reed

Court and Spark

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The first in a series of poetry collages by Katie Coogan. (Unlabeled poems are Coogan's own) Enjoy.__________________________________
" i want to know you, i want to be with you." ~ george harrison
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"if one looks long enough at almost anything, looks with absoulte attention at a flower, a stone, the bark of a tree, grass, snow , a cloud, something like revelation takes place. Something is "given" and perhaps that something is always a reality outside the self. We are aware of God only when we cease to be aware of ourselves, not in the negative sense of denying the self, but in the sense of losing self to admiration and joy. "
~ may sarton
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you decieve us with the crinkle green,
of juvenile stars, and you beguile us with
a bland vanilla moon of maple cream:
again you tame us with your april myth.
~syliva plath
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so silent that I could hear
the slow rythum of my own eyelids
blinking
then my slow breath
had a melody
not quite out of tune
with the light thunder
in my chest
almost as light as
raindrops against
glass panes.
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Still I sent up my prayer
Wondering who was there to hear
I said "Send me somebody Who's strong, and somewhat sincere"
With the millions of the lost and lonely ones
I called out to be released
Caught in my struggle for higher achievements
And my search for love
That don't seem to cease
~joni mitchell
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" where is privacy, if not in the mind? It is your temples I kiss, where they dip. They should bulge, from all your mind holds. Their hollows are entries; they allow me near your brain. Forever and aye, my jubilee. "
~ annie dillard
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you said nothing
i said it all
i said too much
enough to end things
enough to start a crack
in the space time of us
once connected
we are movnig backwards
at a rapid pace
im not good at running backwards
soon you won't remember
the color of my eyes
i wont remember that story about your sister
you wont know my voice
i wont remember how it felt to have
your large hands cup my face
change change change
somethings will have to die
others might become dormate
until a spring breeze can renew
awaken
i wont ask why
not again
i said it all
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just when i seemed about to learn !
where is the thread now ? off again !
the old trick ! only i discern---
infinite passion, and the pain
of finite hearts that yearn.
~ robert browning
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let us look for secret things somewhere in the world,
on the blue shore of silence
or where the storm has passed,
rampaging like a train.
~pablo nerdua