LAX TO YVR HAS MOVED!

Hi there! This blog is now at www.laxtoyvr.com. Come check it out for new updates!

BLOG REDESIGN IN THE WORKS

I’m currently working on a redesign for this blog. Hopefully, it’ll be done in April sometime, but realistically it probably won’t be ready until May. I’m working on it sporadically while doing other design projects; that’s why it’s taking forever. I’m my own worst client. Once I’m done with the redesign I will blog more often (let's hope).

In other news, the clearance sale in the LAX TO YVR shop is still going on. Not much left!

Follow me on Instagram if you want to keep in touch!

WHY I'M CLOSING MY ETSY SHOP

I decided to shut down the LAX TO YVR shop on Etsy. I became disenchanted with being an Etsy seller when I discovered at the beginning of 2012 that someone had copied my designs and was underselling me. Throughout 2012, a few more copycat sellers cropped up. It was very disheartening, and it eventually sucked all my motivation to build up my shop.

Selling on Etsy has been both a positive and negative experience. I wouldn't write it off completely. I learned some good lessons. Etsy is a great way to explore being an entrepreneur, but I wouldn't count on it as a means to make a living.

It's become apparent that having your designs ripped off by others is typical for designers. It sucks, but it's just the way it is, so I better get used to it.

I'm currently focusing on kickstarting my web design career. I will still maintain this blog, and it will continue to evolve according to my interests.

I'm currently clearing out inventory in the shop. You can get 50% off everything in the LAX TO YVR shop - just use coupon code FIFTY at check out.

TGIF

This week's highlights:

• We finally got a sofa!! We lived without one for almost a year, and I'd been agonizing over which one to get ever since we got rid of our previous sofa. Finally decided on Kivik from IKEA. The Dude and I are pretty happy with it. It's so nice to just plop on it to read and relax. 

• Saw a movie at the Vancouver Jewish Film Festival. It was my first time ever attending. We saw a documentary called Iraq 'n' Roll, which was about an Israeli musician who reconnects with the music of his grandfather who had a successful music career in Iraq. 

• Went to Lucky's Doughnuts for the first time (photo above). Being the doughnut connoisseur that I am, I had to try it. I got a glazed doughnut, which is my favourite. It was okay. My friend got the Apple Bacon Fritter, which I tried a bite of, and it was decadently good even though I'm not a bacon fan. 

Happy weekend!

TGIF

It's been insanely busy for me lately as I am juggling three big projects. That's why I didn't blog last Friday. It's been all work with little time for play.

A few highlights since the last time I blogged:

• My hammam towels arrived from Turkey at last! They look great (see photo above). Because they are made of thin cotton fabric, they dry very fast and take less water to wash. However, I do miss using fluffy towels.

• The US elections were this past Tuesday. This is the third presidential election in which I was in Canada as an American expat. It's interesting to observe the elections from another country. 

• After years of sporting the same hair style, I finally changed it. It's now super short. 

Happy weekend!

2ND EDITION OF MY WEEKLY SURVEY

NYC Story Matchbook by Tobias Wong

It has been a rather quiet week since my last blog post. Just busy with the usual. Because I'm taking a class on Sundays it really hampers my ability to do fun or interesting activities during the weekend. But these are a few highlights:

• Started going to a yoga studio again. I'd been doing yoga videos at home, and doing it with other people in a studio is just different. I get into it more. And I like the variety.

• Had some friends over and got to play my favourite party game ever: Things. I love this game because it makes me laugh so much. 

• Saw the Tobias Wong exhibit at the Museum of Vancouver for the second time. It's a fantastic retrospective on his career. Wong was notorious for blurring the line between art and design. His work is irreverent and humorous, but also provocative. If you live in or near Vancouver, do not fail to check out this show! 

Happy weekend!

BLOG REVIVAL

Source: themarionhousebook.com

I've been a very delinquent blogger, which makes me sad because I really enjoy blogging. Simply, there's a lot on my plate these days, and I'm struggling to fulfill all my responsibilities and obligations. But I want to make an honest effort to blog more regularly in spite of my hectic schedule.

Life is moving really fast I realize and the days are a blur. Hence, I want to take a moment each week to pause and reflect on the highlights of the past week so that life doesn't just pass me by into oblivion. Every Friday I will attempt to blog about interesting tidbits from my week as a kind of diary so that I can come back to this in the future to remember what was going in my life. I don't have a pithy title for this weekly blog post yet, but whatevers. Let's just begin!

• For the Dude's birthday we went to Suika for dinner. It's a Japanese tapas restaurant and it did not disappoint. Will definitely go again, especially since it's walking distance from our place!

• I have fallen for the hammam towel trend (see photo above). After humming and hawing for months, I finally ordered a couple towels from Turkey. Cannot wait to get them!

• Discovered the awesomeness that is Moqups. Great tool for web developers and designers who want to create a quick website mockup for their clients.

Happy weekend!

VISITING THE ZIMMERMAN HOUSE

It's hard to believe that just last week I was in New England! The Dude and I made a quick visit to his family that lives near Boston. While we were there, my in-laws took us to view the Zimmerman House in New Hampshire. This house was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1950's. It now belongs to the Currier Museum which conducts public tours of the house.

It was such a treat to be able to see a house by the great Frank Lloyd Wright. I was in design heaven. Unfortunately, I was only able to take photos of the exterior as photography inside the house was not allowed. I don't think pictures would do it justice anyway. This is a house that should be experienced.

The shot above is the back of the house. A pair of french doors was being repaired, hence the plywood. The house has only one floor, which I love. My ideal house would only have one floor as I abhor stairs. The Zimmerman House is pretty small (it only has two bedrooms), but because of its smart design it seems pretty spacious. Another thing I love about the house is that it sits on a diagonal relative to the lot so it doesn't face the street directly.

Every aspect of the house was intentionally and thoughtfully designed, and I was truly blown away by the beauty of it all. After seeing the house I now understand why Frank Lloyd Wright is so highly regarded. The man was a genius.

You can view photos of the interior here.

NEW! MORE LOWERCASE LETTERS

I've added new lowercase letters to the LAX TO YVR shop.

They're fun to make. I often find lowercase alphabet letters typographically more interesting than their uppercase counterparts. As all the others, these monograms are painted by hand on salvaged burlap rice bags. The edges have been reinforced with thread to prevent fraying.

I'll be off to Boston this Friday to visit the in-laws. The shop will remain open but orders will ship out next Thursday, October 4, when I'll be back in Vancouver.

Happy autumn to those in the northern hemisphere! And to the lucky ones in the southern half of the earth, happy spring!

NEW LAX TO YVR WEBSITE!

LAX TO YVR has its own website! Please check it out and let me know what you think.

Earlier this summer I took a web design class where I learned how to build websites from scratch. The first official website I built was for my business. Creating websites is fun. It's like decorating! I hope to transition into a career in web design gradually. But in order to make that happen I still have a lot more to learn.

In other news, I went in for another round of laser eye surgery last month. Hence, the long silence in my blog. I'm still recovering so I'm not on the computer as much.

And in other other news, I got a new part-time job! A while ago I realized I didn't really enjoy working at home all by my lonesome all day. It was making me quite unhappy, so I started looking for a job that would give me much needed social stimulation. After months of job hunting, I finally landed a half-time position working at a small Jewish private high school for girls as the school secretary. I'm gradually adjusting to my new job and new schedule. It's nice to have have co-workers again and to interact with the students. And because it's part-time, it allows me to continue running my Etsy shop.

Coming down the pipe on the blog: photos of decor projects I've worked on for our apartment and new products for the LAX TO YVR shop. Stay tuned!