Hey Loves! Happy Hump day.

Just wanted to share a little inspiration for a fun little project that I’m working on. It’s sassy and cheeky and has something to do with food. I have been researching all things vintage and stumbled upon these Rene Gruau Advertisements for Christian Dior. I’m obsessed.

See what i  mean? Obsessed!

I almost forgot to show you my final film about my muse… Crafting Love.

crafting love: a crochet story from Jessica Caldwell on Vimeo.

I already have plans in the works for another video muse project and I have signed up for another skillshare class about animating title sequences. And by the way, Skillshare is awesome and I highly recommend it if you are looking for affordable creative classes. It’s all about what you put into it, but the rewards are great and you have access for a lifetime.

Since we are talking muses and video, I thought I would share with you an artist that I had an opportunity to work with as an intern for an art gallery in DC, Kazakhstan-born and Berlin-based Almagul Menlibayeva. Over the years, I never forgot her energy and the words she said to me about creativity, being an artist, and going to Paris. I took all of her words to heart. That’s what makes stumbling upon this video even more special to me.

LOUIS VUITTON – ALMAGUL MENLIBAYEVA from lawrence blankenbyl on Vimeo.

Hopeful as I am, I’m sure she would never remember me, but as an artist she continues to inspire. I couldn’t ask for a better Muse.

I’ve been a bit quiet lately. Partially it’s because things have been a bit crazy with a capital CRA and also because I taking a few classes to build new creative skills.

Right now, I’m taking a Skillshare course called Muse: A Video Portrait Workshop. My Muse is about the beautiful way I learned the craft of crochet. While I working on my project which is a little more sentimental in tone, I thought it would be fun to share a few silly bits with you.

Crochet: The Remix from Jessica Caldwell on Vimeo.

I figure having fun is the best way to learn. Don’t you agree?

I know it’s a random post title and Beyonce doesn’t need any affirmation from me, but bear with me for a moment. Beyonce as a public figure stirs up a lot of thoughts in my mind. I literally see news about something in her life everyday on the Brooklyn news which for me makes her fame and persona inescapable and slightly annoying. And as much as I love her music, once it catches on I hear it everywhere, which is why I’m usually about 2 years late downloading her albums though somehow I still know all the words. Go Figure. I’ve even had to semi retire my Freek’um Dress(es).

Because of that same bit of overexposure, I was a little reluctant to watch her documentary, “Life is But a Dream.” I don’t EVER deny her as being a musical talent. I, mean I have seen her in concert. That, folks is a SHOW. But the Promos for the doc, left me a bit underwhelmed. However, after reading several posts and articles about how she didn’t reveal anything and people saying she was weird but at least she curses, I decided to look at the movie for myself. I found both the posts, the people and I as someone prejudiced against her, wrong. While there was minimal gossip exposed (this was not an E True Hollywood Story or VH1′s Behind the Music), when it came to Beyonce the artist and business-woman she laid everything bare (without being weird).

Watching her documentary was enlightening, not because she is a world-class entertainer, but because at the end of the day she is both an artist and business-woman. Though the Dynastic wealth of the Roc may currently elude me, creativity and the struggle it brings with it do not.  Do you know how hard it is to be both artist and business woman? Not to mention that she is a wife, sister, aunt and daughter. Those titles all come with different responsibilities. Like many people, she’s made professional sacrifices sometimes at the cost of her personal relationships, but always in an effort to find her own independence and truth as an artist. I find that willingness to be so true to oneself to be admirable even though you see a bit of her questioning its worth in her eyes.

In viewing, “Life”, I saw the dichotomy between her work; as she writes and sings in the studio,where she artistically feels most at home, versus the business side as manages herself, declaring how things should be for a performance. Though this space is where she seems less comfortable this is where I saw the most growth. At one point during the doc, she says, “Why do I feel like no one is listening?” I uttered those same words on Friday at work. And guess what? In both cases, no one was listening to me or Beyonce. It was good to see that she too, struggles with being both shot caller and artist, as she lets go of being nice in an effort to be clear and direct when it comes to saying what she wants. She talks about the valuable lessons she learned about work ethic, drive and artistry from those most important in her life, including her father and Jay-Z just as easily as she speaks about needing the support of women, trusting her instincts and the injustice about being a woman in a male-dominated evironment. Yeah, she’s Beyonce and all, but I am sure someone has tried to talk down to her a time or two. And don’t the best lessons in life and business often come from those we look up to?

Like many women artists, balance feels hard to maintain. We want to be true to ourselves and art yet composed and respected in a room full of business people. Many of us struggle to say or ask for what we really want, whether it be money, the corner office, or a promotion, but somehow we find the guts to do it it anyway. In life we aim to not let the art consume us though it is an extension of our inner selves. In work , we as women want to channel our personal power, be respected for our talents and strategize our next steps by using our best business minds. And as we witness with in Beyonce’s “Life,” that work space can be equally lonely as we sometimes find ourselves competing with one another for no reason well as deeply fulfilling as we build and lead fantastic teams and inspire other women to follow our lead. While I don’t want to be Bey any more than when I started watching the doc, it’s nice to know, in art and business, creatively speaking, we share some common ground.

Now, I’m off to download her album. You know the one from 2 years ago.

Since I’ve taken up crochet with a newly-minted verve,  everything for me is about texture and exploring the complexities of yarn. Oodles and oodles of yarn.

{images via nancy flowers, the lane & dustjacket, items by designbird}

I am finding that my explorations in craft and yarn are beginning to inform and inspire what and who I am drawn to in design. That, my friends, is an fun turn of events, for my never-ending design adventures.

Post Blizzard NYC, reminded me of Paris. Evidently is is a rare occurrence for it to snow in Paris. Lucky for me, while I was there it snowed for about 3 days. It was lovely even if a bit treacherous as I slid around the city trying to get from point a A to Point B.

I’ll take Paris in the snow any day.

I have to say, this year I’m actually pretty excited about Valentine’s Day. In case you are wondering, I’m still a single girl, but this year I feel like I need to celebrate.

So does my friend Tina, known around these parts as our resident Petal Pusher. Well, she just launched an Etsy shop, Tina Hu Designs,  to sell her handmade cards. Here’s a sneak peak:

The launch is just in time for Valentine’s Day, but the cards can be given out anytime you want to send a loved one a note. Check out Tina’s inspirations on her Tumblr, Twigs & T.

Hi Everyone! I hope you are doing well. I thought I’d pop in to say hello to my faithful readers. I haven’t written in a long while because frankly I needed a bit of a blogging vacay. Things have been amazing at work, but I found that I needed to put a lot more energy there.  Plus, as usual I have a few tricks up my sleeve, including planning a blog redesign and a secret project.

Anyhoo, I just got back from Paris and Lyon, where I did some amazing studio and workshop visits to more than a few French artisans and attended Paris Deco-Off and Maison et Objet. It was the best trip I had ever taken to France. And would you believe all I did was work?!  OK, I participated  a lot of good gastronomy too, but even that was work related.

I will  show and tell you more about the trip later, but for now I wanted to share a few pins that have been inspiring me lately. I’m in a print and pattern type of mood, but it’s something more relaxed, a little lazy, if you will, a whole lot of bohemian and maybe a touch of French.

Something about being dip-dyed in organic patterns or drenched in sexy florals has my heart aflutter. Doesn’t it seem like a good way to live?

See these pins and their sources here and follow me on pinterest @jesswonderland.

Over the last couple of days, I have been fighting a cold which has left  me either with a voice a la Kermit the Frog Lauren Bacall or completely without a voice at all. Not fun. Especially when we said blogger is actually rather chatty and would rather be outside.

This is how I felt, only much less glamorous and no cat.

On the bright side this has given me the opportunity to drown myself in tea, which, provided that I have a enough lemon, is not a problem.  In addition, had the opportunity to crochet to my heart’s content. Really a girl has to do something, right?

Recently, I picked up my crochet hooks  and yarn, after putting them down for a long time. I found that I needed something for my hands to do in an effort to spend less of my free time on the computer  and be creative still.  With the encouragement of DWJ, I’ve been having a lot of fun. Above, is the Flirty Ruffled Scarf.  I also finished a Turban Headwrap which I needed because I sometimes wear a bun so high that it  makes it impossible for me to wear a hat. The pattern was the first I made via the newly published book Crochet Boutique, by blogger Rachael Oglesby and it was super easy and fun.  In fact,I made it laying in bed while watching Godsford Park.

That’s it for me. Hopefully as you read this I’m on my way to work. As lovely as my weekend indoors has been, It’s time to join the real world again. Sans coughing fit of course!

I know I haven’t bee posting much lately. Over the last few weeks, I  have found that I needed a bit of a blogging break. I want Design Wonderland to be more than just pretty photos and I have been trying to reconnect with my core creativity. Outside of the office, I felt very much disconnected from what makes me, well me. Coupled with the fact, I have to talk so much about design at work, that when I come home, I don’t feeling like talking about it more. I recently tweeted about a wallpaper conference call and I’ve had another since. These are good problems to have by the way. However, I feel sometimes that I let you, my readers, down, but at the end of the day I am human and I have to treat myself with kindness. And sometimes that means taking break.

I saw this over the weekend and this stirred some good feelings and inspiration:

This is what I’m be working on as I decide on how to evolve my little home on the interwebs.