Monthly Archives: February 2016

Easy Monday 

It can be hard to get back in the swing of things when Monday rolls around so to help myself, I chose a super simple ootd. 

My completely comfortable knit gray dress has long sleeves for the morning chill and is fashioned with POCKETS! Yes, I said POCKETS!! Who doesn’t love a dress  with a place to put your phone. Lol Of course I paired the dress with my trusty white converse sneakers. Keeping my Monday morning simple helps me get off to a great start! Happy Monday, enjoy! 
    
    
    
 

Dress- Target

Shoes- Finish Line

Purse- Charming Charlie 

February’s Kaleidoscope Mixer

Kaleidoscope Houston hosted its first creatives mixer at The Flat this past Thurdsday. I hadn’t been around so many creatives since the Kaleidoscope Houston 3-day extravaganza in January! I can’t lie, it felt like going home to be in the midst of some many positive vibes and cool people.

DJ FXBOX kept the jams coming back to back while host Chris Thomas kept the laughs coming. We even got to see a bilingual spoken word performance by Kaleidoscope Houston performer Christopher Polanco. If you missed out this time be sure to make it out in March. Creatives will meet at The Flat on the last Thursday of every month. Put it your calendar for March and come connect with other creatives. Enjoy!

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Advice From An Artist• Joonbug!

Lenworth McIntosh. His mom calls him Junior, his friends call him Joonbug, his fans call him anything from Mr. McIntosh to Mr.Kaufee. He is the CEO and founder of a unique clothing company called Fresh Kaufee and is the head graphic designer at Bugs87 Art and Design.  When you order a Fresh Kaufee shirt you get a complete experience. It comes fashioned in a coffee bag with the robust aroma of freshly ground coffee. His unique packing and style completely sets him apart from other brands. I would describe his style as perfected imperfection. An obvious appreciation for culture, history, and old world quality is written all over the Fresh Kaufee brand.

  
  
Joonbug’s Jamaican roots tie together his top 5 sources of inspiration seamlessly. Generations of artists in his family, music, nature, books, and social media feeds his artistic spirit.

Joonbug and I first met in college at McMurry University in Abilene, Tx. From the moment I met him, his passion for art was very apparent. Towards the end of his undergrad career, he nearly fell into “cubicle life” as a graphic designer for a larger firm. Life’s pressures have a way of making you feel like you have to follow a certain path because we naturally fear the unknown. Joonbug didn’t like the idea of eventually being burned and at the same time, uncertainty didn’t sound so bad if it meant being his own boss and always having creative freedom.


Joonbug still frequents Dallas, Texas for family,friends and business but has moved to Oakland, California to be among other artists and avoid being boxed in artistically. Junior’s feelings are that “When it comes to careers, most people aren’t doing what comes naturally to them. We are all born with gifts and and we often ignore them and pay more attention to the rules society has set for us.” Joonbug being a full time artist was much  more than a career choice. It is a life choice! He chose his continued happiness and daily satisfaction over everything.

What used to be most difficult for this artist was time management. When you’re your own boss you work when you want to. Joonbug took what used to be procrastination and turned it into time to truly conceptualize his plans, then he takes the pressure and produces amazing  results.

I asked Joonbug what advice he would give to new and emerging artist and he said, “Respect yourself and your art. You can’t look to the outside world for confidence in what you do. Prove all you need to prove to yourself, validate yourself,then share things with the world that you are already confident in. Meditate, organize your thoughts, and keep your goals in front of you.”

See more of Joonbug on social media @thebugs87 and @freshkaufee

Check back in March for a new creative mind, Enjoy!

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Bouncing into Spring ?

It’s time to talk about spring trends! It was wonderful being behind the scenes and seeing the Neiman Marcus preview. This spring be on the look out for wide leg pants, bare shoulders, lots of lace, confident reds, high-impact earrings,shoes that wrap &tie, embellished bags, vivid matte lips, and redefined blazers.

Another treat for the evening was fashion illustrator Rongrong Devoe creating live sketches as the models took the runway. It was amazing to see how quickly she could capture the essence and spirit of a look after only seeing it for about 30 seconds.

Let me know if you plan on giving any of these spring trends a try. Enjoy!

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Inspired by Crowns?& Flowers?

I spent the better part of this past Saturday feeling like a Goddess while shooting for Houston designer Emelia Natalicchio’s clothing line Of Myth and Muse. (Maybe that’s what Beyonce feels like everyday! Lol!!) Something magical automatically happens when you put on a floral crown that has been hand made by Elyse Herman. What’s even better is that I got to spend time with creatives including bloggers, makeup artist,designers, models, stylists, photographers, event producers, and even architects.

I didn’t realize it before arriving but I was feeling slightly uninspired. Wearing awesome designs and shooting photos with William Wood and Josh Bates really fed my creative soul. Most times if I feel like I’m lacking in the inspo department, being with other creatives or doing things outside of the normal scope of what I create gets me going again. There is something so inspiring about  wearing the creations of a designer you know personally. The 2016 Spring/Summer collection for Of Myth and Muse is modern, romantic, and soooo whimsical. Emelia debuted her line at Kaleidoscope Houston Imaginarium in January. It was a real treat to see her designs go from sketches to the runway.

If you’re bored with  your mundane day to day happenings go seek inspiration in other places so that you can be an inspiration to others. Always remember, YOU can do it! Enjoy these iPhone picture until the look book is available!

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photo by Emelia Natalicchio

    
  

photo by Heather Petrey

  

photo by Heather Petrey