s o u l i z b l o g

This is Samchongdong, the residential area. No tall apartment buildings here. The houses look traditional, but the insides of these homes have been renovated to have all the modern amenities. Or not, I guess it depends on the owners. But these homes are not all residential- i saw a few turned into design studios and hidden cafes.

Interesting art on the walls of people’s houses.

This is Korea’s version of graffiti, i guess. Creative, appealing to look at, yet defiant in its own way simply because it is defacing property. It’s cool how they keep it this way, though, and no one thinks about tagging over it.

A short walk down from the residential area are cute shops and cafes.

and studios.

What, they named a whole room after me!

Traditional neighborhood with starbucks spelled out in Korean.

Complete with a museum+cinema house where they show art and foreign films. The Godfather was playing.

Visited the aA Design Museum. Not the original one in Hongdae, but the one near Gyeongbookgoong palace. Their current exhibition was of the works of Finn Juhl, one of the most important Danish furniture designers. Chairs. and more chairs. I loved it.

This wasn’t a part of the exhibit, but a large, private room just filled with beautiful chairs. Like overload from the exhibit or something.

Cafe downstairs. with more chairs.

There were all these private nooks where chairs were set up. Not exhibits, you can sit on them, but no one was there. This is the top floor of the Museum, in a little green house that over looks the city.

Again, random nooks where people can hang out but no one was there. Why is there a 50″ TV with its plastic still on it there? No clue.

Rooftop, outside of the little greenhouse area. More sitting areas. Love the plant through the table.

View of the palace. I’d kick it here randomly if i had more time.

from Ji Lee:

Suggu (“Mix” in Korean) is a new alphabet mixing Hangul(Korean Alphabet) and Roman Alphabet. Because they are both Phonetic Alphabets—a writing system based on a set of symbols representing different sounds—mixing the two is possible and easy. Combine Roman Alphabet’s consonants (B, C, D, F, G…) with Hangul’s vowels (ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ…). That’s Suggu.

Project by Ji Lee, Sue Park / Font Design by Yi Kyung A

What a cool video! I love cool hunting. and chairs. and Brazilian architects who wear red socks.

discovered here.

I pride myself in being reasonably frugal and and practical when it comes to spending money. I do thorough price comparisons on the internet before I purchase anything over $30, and I budget for everrrrything. Not only for monthly food and gas expenses, but even for netflix, beer, clothes, manicures, etc. But I question the credibility behind that pride in situations like this. I am straight up drooling over this chair, and there is no doubt that I would buy it if i had the money/connects to have it in my home. And you know how much I love me my chairs, but does it really justify attempting to get this? OK fine, I don’t have to have it, but I’d be happy to just sit in one of these…

I just love me some good quality leather. This summer tote by Clare Vivier is so chic! Love the design of the bag and the color of the perfectly tanned cowskin, haha =/. She made it with leather from an Italian tannery that used ‘eco friendly dye processes’. Looks sooo soft.

Carrying leather is always a touchy subject in the summer. The material could easily be too heavy for the season with the wrong design. Nylon, patent leather, or even plastic (gasp) can be nice substitutes, but one must admit that it doesnt have the same presence and sense of permanent beauty as leather does. Vivier understands that concept and her beautiful craftsmanship reflects it by keeping it her design simple and light. Yay for leather in the summer!

The chair is my favorite type of furniture. Armchairs, office chairs, dining chairs, or whatever type of chairs, i love them all! They are versatile in function; an armchair can be used at a desk, or a stool can be used at a dining table, etc. Also, chairs are the most inviting piece of furniture one could have in his/her home. When a guest walks in the door, the first thing you do is offer them a place to sit and a drink, yes? And doesn’t the comfort level of a chair play a big part on how long you can sit in one? For example, I wouldn’t be able to study too long when I’m sitting in an uncomfortable chair in the library. On the other hand, I went to a cafe last week where the armchair I was in was so cushiony, the four hours spent talking with my friend flew by very quickly.

Offering a clean, comfortable place to rest as a of refuge from the hectic world is the main purpose of a home, and chairs totally reflect that in such a beautiful way through its function and design. My dream is to one day have a home where many people can find a seat to relax in. When a person is relaxed is when their talents/thoughts are at their best, right? How exciting would it be to provide a place where everyone’s uniqueness is celebrated? Comfortable chairs are key, my friend.

Wooden chairs arranged in a circle inviting friends to lounge and enjoy the shaded outdoors.

A chair can transform an empty space into a private nook.

It can also be a reminder of the man-made amongst nature. Love the simple lines and the crimson red!

Stools can also be multi-functional!

The classic brown leather chair, a must have.

Mixmatched chairs surrounding a work table can promote creative new ideas.

Laboratory chairs. Keepin’ it simple.

love that bentwood chair, so classic.

Vintage Harry Bertoia “Baby” chair with yellow seat.

Charles and Ray Eames, Child’s Chair, 1945 @LACMA

Tunis Chair from Anthropologie

Danish Chair and Ottoman from Surfing Cowboys

Charlotte Perriand Stool from ebay

Mid Century Eames Danish Modern Lounge Rocking Chair

Library Chairs by Misawa Naoya

What a great name for a chair!

Woke up this morning to these beautiful pictures of hand blown decanters by Elizabeth Lyons. As a sculptor who is interested in the relationships between material, the human touch that processes it, and the natural environment that houses the finished product, she has created a beautiful series that explores glass+light. She calls it “Big Jars”. Something about the light playing with the different hues of each jar and its iridescent quality…i love it!

I’m really glad that I dont have the $350-675 laying around to spend on per piece. I would have the hardest time trying to pick between the endless combinations of color/size/shape to choose from. Each grouping makes such a different statement, it would most definitely be a painstaking process.

I love the hues of green complemented by the blue and orange. The underlining presence of green allows the bright colors become subtle players in the group.

Different colors and shapes sharing a common height: In my home, this colorful grouping would be a piece that promotes uniqueness amongst equality.

Seriously, how the heck would I choose from all of these hues?

I’d probably wipe the slate clean and just make a bold statement with a single decanter. Perhaps I’ll just make a bigger statement right now by not purchasing even ONE. It’ll be a symbol of how enjoying art shouldn’t involve such a difficult process, no matter how beautiful it is. Or… the more beautiful a piece, the more it takes out of me to fully comprehend it, therefore I’ll save myself the trouble by enjoying the beauty of simplicity instead? Whatever the reason, I just saved myself thousands of dollars.