2 Antique dress form mannequin
Craigslist is so amazing. Before I search any retail stores I always search Craigslist first, and for antiques, forget it, it's the best! I picked up this gorgeous antique dress form mannequin from a little old French lady who sold it to me for $25. I gave her $40 just because I felt like I was stealing. Then she took a picture of me holding it in her doorway on the way out to say goodbye to it. She continued to call me for the next few days trying to sell me her Persian rugs too. Now you just can't get an experience and story like that from a regular store. Half the fun of Craigslist is meeting crazy strangers.
3 Old Frye boots
I've worn these boots almost every day for the past six years. They've been to the other side of the world with me, fallen in love with me, been to work with me and partied with me. They'll go with me to Auckland as well. They are sort of my uniform. They have holes in the soles that I've talked about fixing for two years but to this day I still have not fixed them and get soaked feet if I wear them in the rain.
4 Rick Owens jacket
This is also part of my uniform. It's the most expensive item of clothing I own, but I barely have any clothes whatsoever. I figure the price evens out when you get use out of it. I literally wear it every day of the year except in the blazing summer. If I could wear only one designer the rest of my life, it would be Rick Owens - I actually sent him an original portrait I had done of him to his Paris store. He sent me back a Fedex package filled only with a handwritten thank you note on the heaviest stock paper I have ever seen in my life. I think I'll have to put that note on the list too. I'm a super fan.
5 e. e. cummings 73 poems
This was given to me by my father. I think e. e. cummings was the only poet I really ever related to. While I enjoy poetry, I never considered myself very into it. But not e. e. He grabs me for some reason. I have "since feeling is first" tattooed on my wrists. It's the only tattoo I have that has meaning. It's a reminder to not be afraid of my feelings and to go with my intuition.
6 Antique jewellery box
This was a gift from my mother. She found it at an antique store in Richmond. I'm not much of a jewellery wearer and she knows it, but she thought that as an adult every woman should have one for sentimentality's sake. She also knows I'm not the most conventional, so it's actually an old wooden box for storing your silver and has little rivets inside to hold spoon sets. It's one of those gifts where you think "this person really knows me".
7 Lambskin
I've had an old lambskin since I was a baby. My mother bought one for me and my sister and we would sit on them as very young kids to play. They were always so soft and comforting. I've held on to mine all these years and it still feels like home to lie on. It has very old script inside of my full name that my mother wrote.
8 Small Thai owl figurines
I've always had something for owls. I have a couple of owl pieces of art in my apartment, but I think my favourite are these two small owl figurines that my boyfriend brought me back from Thailand. They are hand-carved and adorable. I have a nature and bird theme happening in my bedroom. I like to think they hang out and keep an eye on my cat while I'm gone to make sure he's not misbehaving too badly.
9 Drafting table
This was also a Craigslist pickup. I had been searching every day for about a month trying to find the perfect drafting table to fit in my tiny space. I've gotten really fed up with sitting while I work and made a resolution to get both a standing computer desk and drafting table at an angle so I don't have to hunch over. My boyfriend helped me on the spur of the moment. We ran to some guy's apartment in the East Village and carried it five avenues, nine blocks and up five flights of stairs in the blazing heat. Despite all the hard work and soreness the next day, it was a truly special night, and such a New York moment walking down a busy street with a 1.5m oak tabletop. I love that I'll always have that shared memory every time I draw.
10 Chris Conn Askew girl head tattoo flash art
This was a birthday gift from a friend of mine many years back. While I have many tattoos, I don't think I'd really want any tattoo art decorating my walls - except this one. It's an exception. Chris Conn Askew is a former tattooer made famous by his exquisite girl heads. He's one of those rare artists who really seems to be from another era and somehow just got zapped into the the present. I just think this set of flash art is so perfect.
