Just a Little Nothing

But what a sweet little nothing. Lindsey wrapped the stem of this boutonniere with variegated lily grass and then let it spill out the top.

Another Marcia MacDonald Memory

Here's some things Marcia could do that I never, in a million years, could do. Like I could never wear these pants. Somehow though, they were just right for her. And another thing I was remembering today is how she would refer to our male customers as "big guy".....(believe me, I could never do this, at least with a straight face....)

It sounded something like this: To the UPS driver - "Hey Big Guy", to Judge Wayne Allen -"Thanks Big Guy", to the nervous man who just bought his wife a piece of jewelry -

"Good Job, Big Guy".....Marcia just knew how to make people feel good. And that my friends is a gift.

Marcia MacDonald - You Will be Sorely Missed

Marcia MacDonald, friend of many, passed away this last week. Many of you may remember that Marcia was our manager at Passionflower from August 2005 until December 2006. And what a time it was. Marcia was beautiful, brilliant, generous, funny (extremely), and fearless when it came to creativity. She was larger than life, a force of nature, the kind of person who lit up a room and made everyone at ease. Jeweler extra-ordinaire, teacher, excellent cookie maker and fabulous dresser. If most of us attempted to wear stripes, plaids, and polka dots together we would look like demented clowns. Marcia looked uber chic...She delighted in life and the delight was infectious. She died after a two year battle with ovarian cancer. It sounds cliched but the world is less bright without her. I will remember Marcia for so many things but the one I keep coming back to is a dark and rainy night when we were driving back from a gift show in Seattle and she said to me, "the heart is a muscle too and like all muscles it needs to be exercised.." I think she was gently telling me to get out of my head and into my heart a little more. And since that time I have often thought of Marcia and contemplated the ways of the heart. Like so many, Marcia touched me in ways she did not even know.

Peacock Feather Jewelry

We're seeing feathers everywhere.....earrings, hair extensions, bridal bouquets, and here a super simple necklace using the eye of the peacock feather....I love it when everything comes together just so......Fabulous (and I do not use the word lightly) necklace from Free People ,

And please note while this link will take you to the free people jewelry site, I was not able to find this piece on the site. Maybe it is sold out....nonetheless I am sure it came from here because they are using the same painted wood background for their jewelry and besides that's what my notes said....enjoy.

Keeping it Light for Summer

A few shots from the store this past spring and summer with commentary from yours truly.
Beautiful Swedish owl print on a white ground.......who says owls are just for fall and winter?

Ditto blankets - our favorites for summer are these Austrian made David Fussenegger fleece blankets because we love the prints.....picnic blankets? wrap yourself up in one on a cool morning in July (yup it's that kind of summer here in Oregon) ? baby blanket? bed for the pampered pooch?

Seems I'm all about cool colors these days.....


Lots of blues and greens.....and I want to back it all up with whites and creams.

Faux bois grain vase by Oly Studio - ceramics by Eigen Arts.......

And I'll drop in touches of teal and olive but still want to keep it cool.

(and as a complete aside - how come I have yet to sell this over the top baroque mirror in unfinished wood by Roost (seen on the wall above)?.....to me it is a really tongue in cheek comment about mixing the rustic and the refined....Hello, it is handcarved! That's a lot of craftsmanship.)

I think of all these cool colors as "the softer side of Passionflower".

Happy Summer Mornings from Passionflower.

Black Hollyhock.......

Camera as time lapsed magnifying glass.....

For your viewing pleasure - some enlarged photos of this member of the Mallow Family.

If you were a bee, this might be a feast.

not quite ready yet......

followed by some wonderful dancing.

These are my fireworks. Happy 4th! Happy Bastille Day! Happy Summer!!

Some Things that Make me Happy

As a disclaimer, I know it's not really "things" that make us happy, but here are some things that are related to things, that right now, bring me some small measure of happiness ......hope I have confused you just enough, but not too much.....forthwith - Things that Make Me Happy

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The congruence between a piece of wasp nest and a piece of coral.

The tiny paper pennant nametags that Becky has been making for weddings. I cannot say why these make me so happy but they do. Over and over. I think I shall never tire of them.

The way the binth folk put a dot on both sides of the letter "i" in their name. Now somehow seeing their letter "I" unleashed a whole torrent of alphabetic possibilities - something that makes me quite happy. (also this is a nod to Lindsey who says I should link to other
blogs more in my blog)......so click here if you'd like to link to the binth blog. These graphic designers from Chicago first came to my attention when I saw their great playing cards which I wish they would push this direction further. While I wait for this, they're doing a lot of fun baby and children's things .

And did I mention the big glass bottle and how happy it makes me? I think I did. This is all my way of saying that sometimes it's not people and relationships that make us happy. It's other "things".

Rethinking Carnations

Here it is ....the carnation curtain....in situ.....apparently people used it all day as a backdrop to have their pictures taken.....

I think of it as bling for the minimalist.

Cast Metal Woodpecker Skulls

Remember this beauty?...... cast vermeil woodpecker skull on pearl chain?

Then there were two - silver and gold.

And they had a whole bunch of little baby woodpecker skulls
who are now sporting silk ribbon cords and happily ensconced in one

of our jewelry drawers.

You know those Hallmark cards that play music when you open them?
Do you think I could find someone to figure out how we could do that so that when
you opened this drawer you would hear the sound of lots of hungry baby birds
chirping away? Part of our quest to provide you with an ever expanding sensory experience
at Passionflower. Life is full of surprises.

Ten Things I Can't Live Without

There's a column in Elle Decor. Designers list ten 10 things they can't live without. Sometimes they are pieces of music, or certain rooms in hotels, or a kind of perfume. I have all those, but this one too would be on the list - my big vintage glass bottle.

It passes the first test of a good vase. It looks as good empty as full. Here I have it filled with just only a little water and it amplifies the sea glass green color of the vase. The bottle is

a staple in my tablescape.