Anahata Katkin

Lucite Love!

For a couple of years I have been stalking this beautiful lucite chandelier in a local antique haunt.  I wasn't sure if I could pull it off (and didn't own a home to do so).  We already joke around the store about my love of 80's brass cases and Dynasty-esque accents. Yes we even call one diamond shaped case, "Joan".  

But after seeing this amazing office redo Nate Berkus did for House Beautiful I had gotten the confirmation I needed and spied my identical chandelier in the shoot.  I marched in there today haggled it way down and voila!  Soon-to-be first home will be adorned with this same lovely find in just a few short weeks!  Score!  Dining area or living room?

Bunny Painting

By nature I like to work fast and sure.  Impulse-to-impulse is generally my motto.  But I've been pretty rusty trying to pull this painting out of my hat.  But not every painting has to be one of my favorite and for now I'm pleased that I think I'm finished.  Onto more warm-ups and back to faces for me...xoxox...

Back from Los Angeles

Had a quick whirlwind week in Los Angeles.  Of course a dash into Hotel Figueroa is always a must after rummaging Los angeles for burried treasure.  The Fig's poolside lounge is dripping in all Moroccan details and overgrown cacti & bougenvilla.  It's the perfect mix of luxe and grit.  My favorite combo. When we started PAPAYA! nearly ten years ago we would (and still do) show our goodies at the CA show down the st.  Back then the industry was booming and the promoters would throw a fabulous party at the Fig.  Being that the "world style" division is a mix of vendors from all over the world it made for one heck of a mix of people and some very memorable parties.  So even though those days are long gone I still like to get my fix of the courtyard.  We shopped for PAPAYA! LIVING in our usual spots but dugg deep into the trenches too!  Coming home with Mexican gold-bling jewelry, giant ceramic buddhas dripping in pink, dragon puppets, vintage inspired dresses, and one photo strip!  Woohoo.  A good four days. Zoe our fearless manager along for the fun and hard work of Los Angeles.  Zoe's local friend took us for the mind blowing brussel sprouts (roasted w brown sugar & butter!)  at Mohawk Bend.  She even had her first ride in the back of a pick up truck! An Alaskan pastime of mine, I made her.  Viva Los Angeles!
(Not the greatest pics because lets face it people shouldn't photobooth alone.  But don't you have an unstoppable impulse to jump in photobooths when you see them?  Me too!  And real black and white one these days is so rare.)

(new) Home Sweet Home: A love affair

These pics are from an inspiration folder on my desktop.  (bad blogger-didn't save links)  And I am extra obsessed with rummaging said folders right now because I am waiting for my very first home purchase to close!
The daydreaming is an ongoing collection of fantasies and realities that have been inspiring me endlessly! For those of you who know my appetite for magazines you can only imagine how the stacks have grown.There's not an inch of new-home-space that hasn't been combed over in my mind a thousand times.  I cannot wait to live in the all white space, full of sunlight and promise.  It's not an all-modernist Dwell home, or a slick redo ranch, it's not the gingerbread house Ashland is famous for.  It's the 1995 combo of elements that will house our life just perfectly!  My first professional art studio awaits a remodel and the garden has built itself one hundred times in my mind!
For a natural daydreamer like me turning these ideas into reality will be the thrill of a lifetime!  I'm counting down the days!

Grief & Hard Times

I've always kind of avoided designing cards for the subject of grief.  I've always felt that each experience and circumstance is so different and the ways in which people are effected vary so much, it was a huge subject to conquer and express in a card and PAPAYA! isn't really the "With Sympathy" type of company.But having PAPAYA! LIVING boutique has given me some meaningful direct experiences with people in various stages of grief and supporting those who are faced with challenges.  These customers arrive to our beautiful card wall only to be greeted by uplifting quotes,  cheery rainbows and humor. So I've begun the task of adding special pieces for the harder moments in life.  And I am proud that I will be building on this category over the next months.  xoxox... (PAPAYA! cards: 1.Presence of Love, 2.Silver Lining, 3.Light Tomorrow)

Oregon/Cali Coast

Had a wonderful time on the coast this weekend. A lovely group of family and friends.