the sea x love

Author: brianna

  • deals how to get them

    I planned to share this post a few weeks ago but then I didn’t feel like writing it. Then I lost track of time sooooo here we go. I know a few people (myself included) are attempting no/(s)low buys this year. I said I would do that after an absurdly expensive fashion year, where I went a little overboard. I quickly failed at that mostly because I did not actually want to do it. Instead I have a new method that’s healthier than an all or nothing approach because even though I did overspend last year I do not have many clothes and I am still trying to rebuild my wardrobe after years of not buying anything. I also know that I am capable of doing a no buy because I did them before they were really a thing and went on a no-buy for years for environmental reasons. Finally, even though I did go overboard in comparison to my previous years I not spending, I got some absurdly good deals and this is how I did it. This will probably be one of my most unglamorous posts but no matter your budget these tips are helpful!

    1. look everywhere! you never know where you will find things. i am truthfully embarrassed to admit this but im like fifty buy/sell/trade groups for various brands on facebook. sometimes you luck on there and there are groups for nearly everything. it’s as simple as searching [brand/designer] bst/buy. Normally not a lot of trading happens in these groups and I would recommend using paypal business for any transactions to protect your purchase.
    2. second-hand sites (ebay/poshmark/vestiaire collective/thredup/ mercari/vinted/therealreal). i love buying secondhand for a lot of reasons. i enjoy saving money but also seeing first hand how much textile waste the West produces keeps me up at night, it’s so much and so sad. so i will always buy second hand and always try selling something before donating it for this very reason. is it a little more inconvenient? yeah but somethings gotta give and i’d it rather be me than the earth. i love all of these sites because you can really luck out either in terms of finding exactly what you’re looking for at a lower price or finding something you wouldn’t have noticed before. the big downside to searching on these sites is people can be lazy with listing things so you will have to hunt oooor you can use my final big tip which is the one i use the most now to save time.
    3. google (and bing) reverse image search (google calls this google lens). this is one of the best tools for second hand shopping or finding some long lost item. i was able to find the louboutins i wanted for less simply by using this lens. i found the dress i wanted for years with lens (granted it was on the realreal but it didn’t show up immediately in my saved search). i found some shoes i wanted for a while today with lens. i hate sharing this because I want to gatekeep but i also believe if it is meant for me it will be. i recommend clarifying the search a bit by adding a keyword like a brand to really weed out unnecessary images. occasionally i will use bing too because bing is actually better at finding the source of an image (i.e. you found something on pinterest and want to find the first place this image popped up, you might need to use bing).
    4. okay i lied my final tip is beni, which a chrome plugin that will essentially do the google search for you and automatically find second options of most of the thing you shop for clothing-wise. it’s great and honestly i forget about it a lot of the time until it pops up and then i remember to use it. highly recommend it because it will find you the things you’re looking for in your size and you can save pieces to. so say it’s not currently on a second-hand site it will let you know when one becomes available so you can purchase it.

    i will get into this more in the next post but i check every single day for certain things in order to find them because if there is one thing i’ve learned you can buy pretty much anything second hand but you might only get one chance to get it depending on the item.

  • birthday fantasy wishlist

    birthday fantasy wishlist

    Sooo I had actually meant to post this for Christmas/holiday season and I completely forgot, luckily my birthday is shortly after the holiday season. I am staunchly a believer that gifts should either be extremely over the top, something the receiver would not buy for themselves because it is too decadant to justify buying (you can tell I loved the fantasy lookbook from Neimans each year); oooor gifts should be very practical something that would improve the receiver’s life and make it easier. This could be something like a bill paid or money, a reusable lint roller (or anything in a fabric care kit if they’ve expressed they want to take better care of their clothes), or cookbook tailored to their interests. Essentially glamorous or extremely glamorous. The only time you should buy something random is if you don’t really know the person, that’s when the thought counts because if you buy something for someone you have a close relationship with and you’re unsure if they will like it or they’ve told explicity things they want and you stray from that list to get something you think they will like, it is no longer the thought that counts because you didn’t think. Gift giving is very easy, you just have to listen. I have more thoughts on gifts but this is the gist. Let’s get into my fantasy list, which is really an aliquot of a larger list.

    Now that I’m sitting here though I realize I really forgot one important item from this list sooo I’m just going drop a photo of it at the end.

    1. Diptyque Sapins. This is my favorite candle from diptyque, it’s pine scented and I have a tiny baby one and I want a bigger one. I want the massive big boy $500 roses one and while these candles are quality, I feel guilty buying one because you are literally burning money. Fancy candles are generally a great gift because you are literally burning money and it’s always better to burn someone else’s rather than your own.
    2. Erede Billow Collar. I love the collar lenght for necklaces, might be my favorite lenght. I like long lariat length but I love collars. I don’t really have many necklaces and I would like to change that. There is a list of more economical necklaces, because this one comes in at $16k. It is 18k and has a few diamonds although I wish it had more.
    3. Chloé cape. If you check my tiktok you’ll know I’m a bit obsessed with Chloé and have a growing collection (mostly purchased from TRR). I love the style and that they’re a b-corp. I fell in love with this cape when I saw it on the runway and really hope I get it soon (although not sure how that’s going to happen when I’m on a (s)low buy).
    4. Chloé fur coat. This is vintage and I have my eye on a few of them. This full length one, that I’m not entirely sure I could pull off and some shorter ones. When I buy things for my wardrobe, I go through a few mental questions, which I will go through in another post. One of the big recurring questions: is how close am I from becoming a sterotype? I’m toeing a lot of lines with my wardrobe, it is not exactly one thing and that’s how personal style should be.
    5. Magda Butrym crochet lace dress. Absolutely in love with this dress, granted I love Magda Butrym especially after getting my white whale from her line. I have a few other pieces I want from her. I love how structured, feminine, and edgy the pieces are and really grateful to own my favorite dress of all time.
    6. Chloé bag. I’m entirely unsure the style name for this bag, I only remember is was 11k on Bergdorf’s site and I accidently stumbled upon it. It’s so excessive and fun, I love the constrast between leather and metal. I love that it’s a banana, it’s so cute!
    7. Loewe whale bag! This is one of the more affordable pieces on this list. I need it, like truthfully, it’s a sperm whale, it’s realistic, it’s fun and silly, it’s only $1,600. Moby Dick is one of my favorite books which is why this bag is so special to me.

    honorable mention that should have been included but I forgot, alemais lantern mini dress. Playful and fun, and similar to the magda butrym dress, I am not entirely sure where I would wear this but I really want to wear it. It is 3100USD including the shipping.

    I might make a list of practical items that are much more economical and things I need to buy but haven’t gotten around to it.

  • current obsessions

    current obsessions

    The past few weeks have been a lot but I’ve also seen some very fun and beautiful wearable objects. That I haven’t stopped thinking about so I just want to share them.

    1. this zimmermann ruffle mini in yellow, this specific color is exclusive to saks. I love this dress because of it’s simplicity and it’s linen. It’s perfect for summer. It’s simplicity makes me feel like I could make this but I also know now having made many objects that look simple that looks are deceiving. And to loosely quote a friend/mentor “making something simple requires a lot of skill”.
    2. alemais samaki mini dress. I’m absolutely obsessed with this dress. I have many pieces from Alemais (which is my favorite brand atm) and I would love to add this to my collection. I’ve been able to luck out as Alemais is a relatively new brand from Australia as such they have yet to develop a similar cult following as they do in their home country. Occasionally you can find their pieces on sale at retailers here in the US but I will say those opportunities are dwindling. I’m excited to see where they go and this might be my favorite collection so far.
    3. Selima opitque bella sunglasses. Is it kitsch to get sunglasses from a film? I’m not sure but I love having a little kitsch as a treat, these sunglasses are no exception. If you’ve seen poor things, you’ve seen these sunglasses, and if you haven’t seen poor things go see it.
    4. ulla johnson kasaia sweater. I love this green. The official brand name is pistachio. I don’t need another green sweater, as I have an unbelievable one from Elexiay which I will share later but I love the simplicity of this one.
    5. alemais samaki crop top. I love this print, it’s the same as the mini dress and the pareo but I am genuinely just in love with it. It’s so fun and cute. I didn’t mention this earlier but one of the big reasons I love alemais is their material choices. The dress and top are organic cotton. They use organic cotton, linen, wool, and other sustainable materials in their pieces. They also plant a tree for every purchase which is cool. Their pieces are also well-made.
    6. alemais samaki pareo. it’s silk and big so it’s versatile. It can be a skirt, dress, or top. The possibilities are endless.
    7. kimeze concept 3 sunglasses. I woke up one day enthralled with sunglasses. I think these are classic pair from a Black owned brand based in London.
    8. clyde leather bucket hat. This is truly my mom’s fault. She saw a leather bucket hat from Chloe and thought it would look good on me. I’m inclined to agree. As much as I love Chloe, I am trying very hard to support smaller brands and designers, as one myself. I love Clyde’s pieces and I think this hat would be a great fall/winter/spring piece.
  • Fickles? Figckles? Pickled figs????

    Fickles? Figckles? Pickled figs????

    Sometimes I just get an idea for something and it gets stuck in my head until I execute it. I’ve always been curious about the world, specifically the plants on the planet. I want to know them and their story, but I also want to know what they can do and if they’re edible. If so what do they taste like? I’m kinda on this fermentation kick right now. It’s a timeline you get to eat. It’s dynamic and ever evolving, and I think that’s beautiful. Enter figckles.

    There’s a fig tree at my great grandmother’s house. I pass a fig tree every week. I see its changes over time, from flower to fruit. Once you pick figs they stop ripening (if you pick them green) but they don’t all ripen by the end of the season. I got to wondering what happened if you lactofermented the semi ripe figs or even the baby ones? Would they soften? Would they be edible? Would they be tasty??? Lacto-fermenting is easy and low-effort (really low risk, high reward). I decided to try it, I didn’t have much to lose. The figs were free; I already had salt, a scale, and a jar. I could make a little weight to keep them pressed down. So one day I harvested some figs, just enough to fit to this small jar. I picked mostly those that were avocado ripe (firm with a little give), except one that was young and hard. I brought them back and did a quick rinse of them under cool water since these were an urban forage and I wanted to remove the latex. I weighed them to calculate how much salt I needed, only 3 grams but I accidentally added too much (5g). I was going to leave them whole but I was worried that they wouldn’t ferment as well and I was following the instructions in the noma guide to fermentation (I must admit my first attempt to lacto ferment DID NOT go well, but that was in the Boston days IYKYK). So I quartered all of the figs except the small rocky one, because again I was curious but also apprehensive.

    After I quarted them I put them back in the bowl, added the salt, and tossed/mixed them together to make sure they were well coated. Then I put them in the jar and added my diy weight. I didn’t have anything really that fit in this and last time I tried using the zip lock bag method in the noma guide my bag burst. Long story short, I was scarred. Instead I used an old spice jar, filled that with water, and placed that in a clean ziplock bag. I stuff it in the jar and pressed down my quarted figs, then made sure it was well sealed by screwing the lid back on. I set it on my new shelving unit (coming soon to the studio apotroes site), and let it sit for a week. I burped (opened it to let the gas escape) the jar every-ish day. I finally shared them with some friends at a pickle picnic! (This is simply a picnic that everyone needed to bring a pickled/fermented thing to share.) I hadn’t tasted these before I brought them but they were a hit! They’re like olives but floral and sweet? I imagine these would be a really interesting sub in a martini or anywhere you normally use olives. Honestly I might chop some up and make some salmon cakes.

    This was day one!
    This is how they looked in the end, but they were a little greener earlier in the day
  • i started a furniture company?

    i started a furniture company?

    a few of you are aware that I started a furniture company in 2021. it’s kind of funny, weird, and unexpected but I’ve always loved furniture and furniture design since a kid. I used to make these drawings and models of things I drew. It was a solid mix of furniture and spaces.

    When I moved into my first apartment post-undergrad I literally hated everything on the market. Everything was so boring or simply just not something I felt reflected me. It was also difficult to find furniture that was sustainable and didn’t look it. If you’ve known me for a long time you know I care deeply about the environment. You also know that even though I am extremely passionate about I subvert the aesthetics of sustainability. A friend has that I subvert a lot of aesthetics and they’re right, there are a lot of boxes across a variety of aesthetics and styles that I cross but some very key ones that I always end up vehemently opposing. Personally, I think this is where true style lies and it’s truly a fun (albeit weird) space to exist in. It’s a space of exploration and exists in multiple capacities. That’s what I wanted in furniture and I didn’t see it currently so I decided to design my own.

    There were a few other factors and influences that spurred me to start this company when I did in 2021. I was finishing up my stint at a VC firm and supporting numerous entrepreneurs; the lamp I helped design and develop the fabrications for was nearly done, and I couldn’t find a job in furniture design. All of these factors deciding to start studio apotroes (which went through a few name changes) at the time I did. Looking back for marketing reason I definitely wished I had the gall to start this company in 2020 at the start of the pandemic when people were deep into redecorating but c’est la vie. I knew from the start I wanted to the brand to focus on sustainability but in a very different way that’s currently approached in the market. We would be holistically sustainable, similar to the sustainability we practiced in the co-op I lived in during undergrad (hi scoopies!). This sustainability factored in finance and culture in addition to the environment. It is the definition that has impacted me the most but also the one I think is the best, the most sustainable, and the one I use daily (+ in all my writing).

    We all know what sustainability is…or at least think we know. Sustainability is often marketed as this expensive complete overhaul of one’s life to be full of natural colors, unpainted wood, glass, bamboo, and sleek metals; or has some high barrier to entry. The marketing perfect aesthetic is highly uniform and similar to the goals of the international style in architecture, intentionally devoid of place, culture, and heritage. While there is technically very little wrong with this aesthetic it is harmful and counterproductive to make it the defacto aesthetic associated with something as vital and common as sustainability. At it’s core sustainability is about reducing, reusing, rethinking, and recycling. You’ve probably already practiced it and didn’t realize it or think about it too deeply. From deciding you don’t actually need another garment or pan or lamp to reusing the glass jar your pasta sauce came in. These ubiquitous ways of practicing sustainability are vital because they are normal and second nature. They highlight the way that sustainability at its core is a practice and set of decisions, not a virtue-signaling aesthetic that can be conveyed through a uniform look. Sustainability truly has no uniform aesthetic and can fit into any style. Currently, we don’t see this, so people are turned off by the practice of sustainability because they feel like they have to lose part of their personal style to fit this marketed idea of sustainability. This is detrimental to actually achieving global sustainability which given our climate crisis is needed but also what many people want to support. (quick aside: That’s actually why I settled on the name apotroes, which is a play on the word apotropaic, the type of magic behind phrases like “knock on wood”. It means to turn away or ward off malintent, because we really need to turn away from the various unsustainable habits and practices in our society that have led us to this climate crisis. It also expresses hope that our efforts will impactful (especially with our experimental efforts). In order for sustainability to really become commonplace it needs to meet people aesthetically where they are currently. The aesthetics at studio apotroes are silly and refined (like our exaggerated pieces like the honeycomb coffee table), they’re culturally inspired (we have chairs inspired by African combs and picks), some are simply just fun (i.e. the bobbi shelf or the chairs we did for cafe mars), and others are just refined in the style of mid-century and Scandinavian design (our luna tabouret and some of our upcoming lamps).

    Okay I’ve spent a little too much time on the aesthetics (cultural/heritage) and environmental facets of sustainability. I just get riled up! Financial sustainability happens a few ways. It needs to be financially accessible, which I’ll acknowledge is really difficult to do when you have to pay yourself/employees livable wages and while providing a quality of product that isn’t as common as it once was. We do offer financing to be more accessible and inclusive because we understand that people are really underpaid. We use thick solid wood because everything is built to last multiple generations. We design and build everything to last because that is also part of financial sustainability. We hope that the pieces are able to maintain value based on design and craftsmanship alone but personally, I hope you keep the pieces in your home for generations to come.

    So that’s why I started studio apotroes and a little about it. I wanted furniture that was fun, refined, wacky, and culturally inspired. I wanted furniture made out of solid wood or some really funky materials like oysters that diverted waste in the process. Furniture designed to last and be passed down generations. There are some really cool projects coming up that I can’t wait to share so stayed tuned and follow studio apotroes on instagram if you don’t already (oh and sign up the newsletter I put a lot of work into it).

    okay so actually the company started as just an instagram account to force me to be comfortable sharing my work and the first thing i design was the honeycomb coffee table which is a few homes and was published almost immediately after i released it which was really nice considering i this whole thing really started with me trying to get comfortable sharing my work.