DO: The Art of Bulgari: La Dolce Vita & Beyond, 1950–1990 at the De Young

The Art of Bulgari -- featuring 147 pieces spanning 5 decades -- opens this weekend at the de Young Museum. Born in Greece, Sotirios Voulgaris (1857–1932) came from a line of Greek silversmiths, and in his twenties moved away from his hometown to Italy, changing his name to the more Italian-sounding 'Bulgari' - trademark written for the brand as 'BVLGARI', using the latin alphabet (V=U).

His first store was in his hometown of Paramythia, Greece. In 1884 he founded BVLGARI and opened a store on via Sistina in Rome. In 1905, his two sons Costantino and Giorgio helped him move the store to via Condotti where the current flagship still stands. 

Post World War II, during which Costantino Bulgari and his wife hid three Jewish women, Bulgari benefitted from the economic boom and became a leader in Italian jewelry design. They started using cabochon, shaped and polished gemstones, bold colors and heavy gold, releasing unique designs inspired by Greco-Roman classicism, a blend of old world style and new world creativity. By the 1970s, Bulgari pushed innovation even further and continued to create quirky, fun pieces that reflected the current trends and pop-culture.

With the death of Giorgio in 1966, his son Gianni led the company as CEO and grew it to international status by opening shops worldwide, focusing on product design and streamlining the watch business. By 1987 Gianni sold his stake in the company to his brothers Nicola and Paolo. In 2011, LVMH acquired Bulgari for $6.01 billion.

And so goes the story, hometown jeweler to worldwide brand name! I'd love to hear more about the family politics, inside inspiration and growth during the pivotal years. For now, I'll check out the exhibit on display at the de Young, feast with my eyes and dream about the drama behind the magic.

 “You can’t simply live on past glories; that’s foolish. To be a success, you have to combine the worlds of the past, present and the future. That is the challenge, and there are many horizons.” --Nicola Bulgari 1995

The Art of Bulgari: La Dolce Vita & Beyond, 1950–1990 September 21, 2013 - February 17, 2014 de Young Museum -- Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr 415-750-3600 Tuesday–Sunday, 9:30 am–5:15 pm until Admission: $20-$22 adults; $17-$19 seniors; $16-$18 college students with ID; $10-$12 youths 6–17. General admission is free the first Tuesday of every month and the first weekend of every month if you bank at Bank of America.

still inspiring...Lauren Bacall

Happy Birthday! 1942 - present. One of my favorite actresses turns 89 today. Still beautiful, still inspiring.

Inspiration + new storefront: Guest blog post by Katie of Katie Wood Jewelry

Local Noe Valley/San Francisco jewelry designer Katie of Katie Wood Jewelry shares where she gets her inspiration and opens shop at Guzel Jewelry Design at 1714 Union St at Gough...

My inspiration for the work that I do originally started with my mom. She has been making collages for years and they are quirky and sometimes a little odd, but they are a part of her experiences and symbolize and showcase what is significant to her, even if she is the only one who fully understands it.

One of the things that I love about art is that it can have so many different meanings and interpretations to different people. What stands out to me may be lost to someone else. I am drawn to collages and layering because every time I look there is something there I did not see before.

I often get inspiration from art. When I first saw a Hilary Williams print in a boutique on Polk St. many years ago, I fell in love. The colors, the layers, the juxtaposition of city and nature, the architecture and iconic San Francisco scenes drew me into a world I wanted to live in. Something about each of her pieces just makes me happy every time I look at them.She even has an Etsy shop where she sells necklaces made with prints of her artwork: https://www.etsy.com/shop/hilarywilliams

I’ve also been inspired by using vintage materials and styles in a modern way. A lovely store in my neighborhood continually inspires me as I walk past every day. When Modern Was, and just a few doors down, WMW II, is a mecca for vintage modern home furnishings, jewelry, and other various knick-knacks you didn’t know that you needed to have.

This is one of my first collages using a mixture of old and new along with some of my mom's collection of treasures (such as the old laxative tin lid). The sign on the door that says 'Clean and Serene' is absolutely reflective of my idea of heaven.

 

This collage pendant I made recently also speaks to my "meticulousness."

I love the simplicity of this white vintage heart from 1950's Germany that I placed against a black background into a modern styled necklace.

As I go through my own journey of discovery, I've realized that I have a harder time letting go of my perfectionism and desire for order. This comes through in my art, as I end up putting things together in a bit more of an organized way, not really overlapping lines and images, but keeping them in slightly neat and orderly fashions. Though, I definitely have a good deal of a little quirky and odd (things that probably only makes sense to me) like my mom!

I met Katie in the Women’s Initiative’s Simple Steps Course, which is finishing up this week! Katie Wood Marston is the owner and lead designer of Katie Wood Jewelry. She is opening shop at Guzel Jewelry Design at 1714 Union St at Gough! You can find her there starting this Sunday from 11am - 7pm. Shop online here and read her blog!

Kickstarter Love to four women with four amazing projects

Some of my favorite things (by my favorite people) from Kickstarter. The shiny hoodie you'll want to wear everywhere...Beastwares releases it's  INCANDESCENT ARMOR: The Cutting Edge in Hoodies. Phoenix and I met in design class at CCSF, where I would stare at her shiny leggings for hours. So glad to see she's doing a hoodie that is space age and form fitting. Yes, you will spot Beastwares at burning man (if they are are skinny and sleek it is beastwares, if they are bagging they are Betabrand's Disco pants).

If you are more of the subtle type, check out Scout's Honor, clothing for the modern tomboy. I love the plaids Clare handpicked and the innovative ways she's using darts. We met in illustration class at CCSF. She just reached her goal yesterday!

And for the man in your life. Or the yogi in you. InYo ended it's kickstarter campaign last week to rave reviews and they also released a men's version! Ladies, you have a million prints to choose from, too. Rachel and I met when I worked at Betabrand, and we've been friends ever since.

Having a baby? Nesting Days also ended its Kickstarter last week and already orders are coming in on their online store. I keep hearing 'That's the baby carrier I want'! from new moms. And they are right -- it's the baby carrier I want and I don't even have a baby. I met Julie through Rachel and full disclosure, I help her out on the internet.

And there you go. Four super amazing Kickstarter campaigns by four super amazing women in the Bay Area, all manufacturing locally and making their ideas come to life the good old fashion way. No venture capital needed, just a little love from a lot of people around the world. Magic happens when we all come together to support each other.

behind the scenes: Meet Gary, cutting your fabric since before I was born.

Have you ever wondered how garments are actually made? Well, one of the first steps is that the pattern pieces have to be cut out of the fabric. When making a sample, this can be done piece by piece, but if you are making more than one garment with the same pattern pieces, you have to do it differently or you will go nuts.

The way to do this is to put all the pattern pieces for all the different sizes and pieces of a particular garment on one long piece of paper, this is called a 'marker'. Markers are like little puzzles, as you have to make sure you have the correct pieces, going the correct direction, for the correct number of sizes, colors and units ordered. (we'll talk to a marker maker in a future post!) A marker maker makes this magic marker and then you take it to the fabric cutter and they lay out all the fabric in stacks and put the marker on top and then cut out many pieces at a time. This can be done with a blade manually or electrically.

Sew shops often have a fabric cutting service in house, meaning all you have to do is drop off the marker and the fabric and they will cut it all out then push it through to sewing. But, due to many factors, especially the expense of having fabric cutters on staff, many sew shops do not have their own service in house and you have to find your own.

Meet Gary. Gary owns and operates a cutting service in San Francisco. He's been doing it for decades, and here's his story:

Gary was born in Chinatown in 1937. He went to Sacred Heart High School and then did one semester at SF State, but wasn't a fan and instead took night school at USF and studied accounting. He started out working delivery in a department store and then got into jewelry and engraving at a trophy store. He quickly learned how to engrave and five years or so later decided his to start his own business. What was it? A trophy store, naturally.

The first day his new trophy store was open, his wife went into labor. When his second child was born, it snowed in San Francisco. Gary says you could see the snow from the tops of the trees in Golden Gate Park. Crazy. Gary has three children, though the third one's birth wasn't as eventful as the first two.

Gary's sister-in-law used to have a sewing factory. One day Gary walked into the shop and asked the fabric cutter if he would show him how he cut the fabric. The fabric cutter said why, of course. It wasn't until several years later that Gary went back and actually learned how to spread and cut fabric from that friendly fabric cutter.

Gary went on to work for many different companies and was then asked to assist in a cutting room with 30 fabric cutters. I can only imagine how many long tables with lots of fabric cutters working out the shapes of hundreds and hundreds of yards of fabric were in that space, this was when local manufacturing was much more common. After a while, the sewing factory decided they'd rather just contract work to a fabric cutter (most likely to save money) and so they offered to sell the equipment to Gary. He took the opportunity and has been in business ever since.

All his work and employees come from personal referrals, as they have from day one. When you support local manufacturing, you are supporting people like Gary.

Gary is third generation Chinese-American from China and he lives in the Richmond district. He speaks English, Cantonese, and claims he can understand Spanish ;). His grandparents were here during the 1906 earthquake. Now that is history.

Gary's advice for manufacturers:

"If they are going into the garment industry, I would talk them out of it. It's a dinosaur."

Gary's advice for designers:

"Come up with an idea and pursue it. If you have an idea, go for it, but it is very tough. Money is not the problem, it's who you know, how to do it, and who can help you."

We interviewed Gary in his shop on Mission and S. Van ness. Gary has no computer and no email and writes out everything by hand. Thanks Gary for letting us interview you!

NYC to the Mission, guest blog post by Lirany -- local jewelry designer

Lirany of Pretty Little Thing shares where she hangs out around her new studio! I've recently relocated the studio for my jewelry line, Pretty Little Thing from New York City to San Francisco and it's been really exciting settling into a new city and a vibrant neighborhood like the Mission.

The studio is right in the heart of the Mission on 17th Street, at a space called Studio 17, which is home to other designers, artists, tech start-ups and young entrepreneurs. I love the eclectic and creative energy of the space and of the neighborhood itself. After lots of exploring, here are some of my favorite spots to eat, drink, shop and have a good time in the Mission in San Francisco!!

Food: Delfina Pizzeria for good pizza and a cold beer. I love having lunch at an outside table--perfect people watching spot. ( 3621 18th St.)

 

Drinks: The Elbo Room is perfect for Happy Hour. They have great live music on the second floor at night and the retro arcade games are a fun bonus. (647 Valencia St.)

Snacks: Bi-Rite Creamery is a go-to for their legendary ice cream and sweets. The only downside is the crazy line outside--velvet rope and all--but worth the wait! (3692 18th St.)

 

Shopping: I love vintage and one of my favorite vintage shops, Clothes Contact is in the neighborhood. You have to hunt and dig sometimes, but I've found lots of great dresses and accessories here. You can buy clothes by the pound too! (473 Valencia St.)

Dolores Park and the Dolores neighborhood is my favorite spot in all of San Francisco because it's the sunniest spot in a city that feels like its windy and chilly 80% of the year! The park is huge and beautiful, and is the perfect spot to sprawl out on a blanket and hang out with friends or alone with a good book and an iced Coffee from Dolores Park Cafe. The neighborhood that surrounds the park has a little bit of everything: shopping, food, and bars so there is always something to do after a day at the park.

Lirany made this for my birthday, it is the absolute best gift ever! I have literally been wearing it everyday. Get your own or find your own favorite on her online store.

About our guest blogger: I met Lirany Vasquez out and about in the city and we love her bi-coastal style and reading her Monday Muse posts. Lirany is the owner and designer of Pretty Little Thing Jewelry, you can see her designs on her online store and find out when she has pop-up shops by following her on twitter and instagram. She blogs about fashion, style and jewelry here!