February 17, 2012

Friday Fieldtrip::Mary Jo’s Fabric

by heatherkp

This place is huge and has an amazing selection!  It’s a bit south of Charlotte and I went on my most recent trip while visiting a friend.  I’ve seen a lot of textile stores but this one impressed my by the sheer volume and selection!  There were your typical calico’s, suiting fabrics, upholstery, patterns, etc…but there were some jem’s hidden in those rolls!

They also had a wonderful selection of bridal and evening wear laces and silks at pretty reasonable prices.

We (a fellow textile design friend and I) totally loved one particular line of printed upholstery textiles by Spanish company Textiles Vilber.  They were whimsical, large in scale, funky, fun, bright and playful as well as well designed!  As we walked by the US textile upholstery manufactures designs we just wondered why we can’t design better, more original designs here domestically?

Circus

Mock Crewel

Grafiti

Tarot Cards

Frogs

Snakes

And Paper Dolls!

Oh My!

Trim

Buttons…

And a whole lot of NEON!

Mary Jo’s is worth a trip if you are in the area and I spotted the infamous lady in the store, her reputation precedes her!  She certainly knows how to run a fabric shop!

February 15, 2012

Wednesday Wellness::Granting yourself permission

by heatherkp

Do you really give yourself permission to do, be, feel who you are?  As I’ve been traversing the path of the Mondo Beyondo Big Dreams course I wrote myself the following permission slips…personal get out of jail free cards.  It’s liberating and maybe you would like to try it to?

I give myself permission to make mistakes.
I give myself permission to take it slow, take my time.
I give myself permission to be compassionate towards myself so I can do the same for others.
I give myself permission to accept my faults and be imperfect.
I give myself permission to be an explorer and try new things especially if I’m afraid.
I give myself permission to be sad and grieve.
I give myself permission to be self confident.
I give myself permission to be happy and silly and fun!
I give myself permission to love and be loved.
I give myself permission to listen to my intuition.
I give myself permission to follow my dreams even if they are not always clear.

“The gift of honor unwraps the gift of permission and together these two establish a place for you to stand in confidence in regards to the future unfolding before you.”- Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen (Mondo Beyondo)

February 14, 2012

Texture Tuesday~Filled with Love

by heatherkp

Happy Valentines Day! 

“Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.”– Anonymous

“Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.” — Zora Neale Hurston

I was very close to spending today with out my dear valentine but alas fate swept in at the last minute and changed our plans so we will be together.

“Whoso loves, believes the impossible.” — Elizabeth Barret Browning

“We need not think alike to love alike.” — Francis David

I hope each of you has someone you love to share this special day with.  If they are not with you in person, please always remember none of us are ever alone!

“Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it. Let’s do it, let’s fall in love.”– Cole Porter

Today isn’t so much about romantic love, dates, sharing greeting cards and the media filled attention that Valentines day gets as it is about really appreciating the love we receive from others and inviting love into our hearts and lives on a moment by moment basis.

Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit.  -Peter Ustinov

PS. Don’t you just love these tulips?  They came my way via a dear friend who works for a florist and she was thoughtful enough to share them with me.

February 13, 2012

Makeover Monday::Painting Studio Organizing

by heatherkp

Today is the first Monday I will feature before and after images of recent organizing projects.  I was excited to begin working with this artist and be able to help get this beautiful new home studio space set up!

The project encompassed mainly sorting items into categories for usage and designating spaces for each.  I also assisted with placing furniture and other items for use and Inspiration around the studio.  To give you an idea of time needed for this type of project, I worked mainly alone (due to this clients health condition) for about 6 hours to complete the space.

Studio Entrance Before (left) and After (right)

Sink Area Before (left) and After (right)

Studio Looking In Before (left) and After (right)

Studio Opposite View Before (left) and After (right)

This artist now has ample room, light and a well thought out space where each item is closely stored in zones created based upon their designated use.  For example the paints and paint brushes are near the palettes and easels, the drawing tools are near the drawing table, the frames are stored in an out of the way area and there are two comfortable chairs set up for reading (with books nearby for inspiration and research), placing models and sitting back to evaluate ongoing work.  I’ve suggested a couple small projects that will allow for better storage of certain items in the space (paper bins and an area for hanging extra frames).  As I always do with my clients, I will follow up several times to be sure that the space and placement of items is working well and if needed we will make adjustments so the client will be able to maintain a certain level of organization on their own.

Working with artists is a particular passion of mine.  I am so excited for this artist to begin to work in this new space and allow the creative process to flow unhindered by clutter!

February 12, 2012

Silent Sunday::Living Conch Shell

by heatherkp

Living Conch Shell from Heather Powers on Vimeo.

I found this beautiful live conch shell on the beach at Pawleys Island recently. It moves so gracefully.

January 31, 2012

Making room for Dreams!

by heatherkp

Wow, January went by fast!   Instead of setting a bunch of goals and resolutions for myself I decided to take a different approach to preparing myself for the year to come.  A big reason for our move to SC is to live the life we have DREAMED of living!  So, I’ve spent the better part of the month digging deeper, visioning, exploring the possibilities and really allowing myself to dream of what my life can be if I get out of my own way!

I love what Kahlil Gibran writes about dreams in The Garden of the Prophet; “You grow in sleep, and live your fuller life in your dreaming.”

I am exercising my ability to open to my dreams is by taking the online Mondo Beyondo Dream Big in the New Year course.  So far we are about half way through and the daily exercises have invited me to explore my hidden dreams.  What I’ve come to realize is that sometime after graduation from college I kind of forgot how to dream!   This may sound crazy but when I left school I had dreams of becoming a well known designer, designing my own line of products (or license designs) and traveling to exciting and inspiring locations.  Part of this dream came true but I also let insecurity creep in and listened to the naysayers until I eventually buried my own dreams in the daily grind.  It’s taken some coaxing but I’m slowly un burying those dreams, bringing them back to the surface, inviting the possibility of new dreams into my life and casting off the ones that I’ve decided I no longer need to hold onto.

Creating a vision board is one powerful way I’m expressing what I dream for my life.  In the past I’ve done vision boards with images but this time I decided to stick with words, which were easier to find and I added my own where I could not find them in magazines etc.  Words are very powerful and now I’ve got this vision board in a place where I can be reminded every day what I’m attracting into my life.

I am learning that allowing myself to dream involves faith and casting aside my worries.  I took this literally and wrote each worry on a shell and cast them into the ocean.  Now, each time a worry automatically creeps in and threatens those tender sprout’s of my dreams I remember that I’m no longer going to feed my worries, they are gone, out of my hands and cast to the sea.

As I’ve been exploring the possibilities of my dreams I’ve met some fantastic people including Business Coach, Mary Anna Lewis.  During a Dreams and Visions strategy session with her I wrote out “my perfect day” which was a truly powerful exercise!  I invite you go give it a try.  You can use any format you like, I used a letter as if I was writing to a dear friend who I hadn’t spoken to in awhile, telling them all about my life in general and explaining in more detail about how I spend a typical day.  I was asked to share this letter with the other participants that day and voicing it out loud gave it even more power Eveyone in that room said they could see me living it! 

Texture Tuesday-Kim Klassen "Confidence" texture (one of several layers)

Allowing yourself to really dream can be a scary proposition for some people.  If you haven’t actively allowed yourself to dream for awhile it might take some practice to get back into that place where you can let go of your own limitations, worries and rules.  When was the last time you sat down and wrote down some dreams?  Isn’t it time you do so?  Don’t let your life go by without really living the life you’ve dreamed of!

January 29, 2012

Silent Sunday::Sewing for Spring

by heatherkp

Finishing of a handwoven scarf.

January 20, 2012

Friday Field Trip::Ocean~River~Mountain~Marsh

by heatherkp

Since the new year we have had amazing times exploring different areas of our new state.  South Carolina is truly beautiful with a vast variety of landscapes to explore.  We started the new year at Caesars Head mountain where we had this incredible sunset view from the back porch and we spent the days hiking and exploring the many, many local waterfalls.

After the new year we returned to our own little ocean retreat at Pawleys where I am in the habit of taking daily walks when the weather permits.  Several times a week we also try to catch the sunset over at a boat ramp on the Waccamaw River, it’s quite a spectacular spot don’t you think?

And most recently we went last weekend to the middle of the state (well not quite but we were west of the coast) to Givhans Ferry State park.  We took a couple nights and stayed in the cabins right along the Edisto River and had some great campfires, hiking and a canoe ride.  Luckily we didn’t spy any Aligators!

It’s been a fantastic beginning of 2012 and I can’t wait to explore more of our new state!

 

January 18, 2012

Wednesday Wellness::Unplug will you?

by heatherkp

This post was inspired by an interview I heard yesterday on NPR.  I can’t find a link to it but there’s been plenty of research about the science and befit of unplugging.  Certain college professors are challenging their students to hand in their cell phones and not check email or social media for a week and even some news broadcasters have taken the challenge (for news assignments or while on vacation).  All these devices are meant to make our lives easier, not to make us slaves to them.  I just don’t get it!  Here are a few of the benefits of trying to unplug a little on a daily, weekly or monthly (just do it sometime!) basis:

  • Giving your brain a rest.
  • Giving your eyes a rest.
  • Extra time, and who couldn’t use a bit of that!
  • More productivity (less continuous distractions).
  • More relaxed (De-stress).
  • Better focus.
  • My personal favorite~MORE CREATIVITY~ideas begin to flow more freely!

I do not personally have a smart phone.  I joke with friends and family that I have a stupid phone but secretly I’m glad to be able to have an excuse not to check social media even more frequently.  It’s bad enough that society has now made it acceptable for individuals to expect to be able to reach one another instantly.  I have a pet peve; when I’m hanging out with friends or family and they instantly stop having a conversation with the people they are with to respond to some text or call from someone elsewhere!  How RUDE!  How about relating with the people you are with first, then the one’s who are not physically present at a more appropriate time.  If you really need to answer or respond, politely excuse yourself and return to the conversation after you are done. This goes for business situations as well as personal ones and frankly if your company doesn’t have a policy of turning your ringers off in meetings maybe you should make it your personal policy.  And I’m not even going to mention laws about talking on the phone or texting while driving…Just. Don’t!  Okay, rant’s over…sorry!

I sometimes forget to even carry my phone with me and there have been a few times that this mistake caused others quite a bit of worry which I am truly sorry for but just 10 years ago if someone left to run errands and it took longer than expected people didn’t rush to the worst case scenario just because they couldn’t reach them instantly.  We need to learn to trust one an-others boundaries again and give people space!

Here are some of the ways I personally practice being unplugged for my own wellness.

I go without news/media at least 3 (up to 5) days a week, that goes for radio, TV and internet.

I try to go without my computer (checking email and social media) at least one day a week.

I don’t use my phone every day for texts or calls.  Some-days it can just wait!  Just ask my friends who might have tried to reach me:)

My cell phone is not in my bedroom at night, I have a separate battery powered (to minimize EMF’s) alarm clock.

No texting while driving and because I lived in a state that talking on the phone was illegal without a hands free device, I’ve adopted that habit to.

Do you unplug?  If so to what extreme, daily, weekly, part or totally unplugged?  If not, maybe you should give it a try and for goodness sakes have a little courtesy towards others when using all those devices okay?

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January 18, 2012

Texture Tuesday::A Beetle Story

by heatherkp

Last weekend we went on a camping and canoeing trip to Givhans Ferry, SC State park.  We stayed in one of the cabins right along the Edisto river.  This river is one of the longest Blackwater rivers in the country and is lined on both shores with beautiful cypress trees and limestone bluffs.

This big black scarab beetle was found by my husband in an oak log as he collected wood for a campfire last weekend.  The guys picked it up wearing gloves and brought it into the bathroom where we gave it a bath, we wanted him/her to be photo-op ready!  I got this shot of it while he hung out in the sink not having much to grip onto.  I applied a couple texture layers to the background to enhance the “story” behind this rhinoceros beetle (Phileurus truncatus Phileurini).  Pretty good looking (especially those back wings) don’t you think?   I would never want to bring it with me (unless it was dead) so it was returned to the woods along the river where it was found.  And that’s the short story that we know about finding this rhino beetle.

I love macro photography!

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