Short and Sweet

Motherhood is everything you hear it is – too beautiful to put into words and at times harder than you could possibly imagine.  As you can guess, being a new parent keeps my hands full, so this will be a short & sweet update.

What I’ve been up to lately:

• Read some of my thoughts on motherhood, work & living in my interview with Mother Mag

• There seems to be a trend in my work of designing apparel/accessories.  I’ll provide more thorough updates, but for now, see my collaboration with:
  • San Francisco based children’s clothing company, LEiTMOTiF (tee design can be seen here and here)
  • SE Portland’s newest shop, Field Trip (tee design can be seen here)
  • Putting the MADE BY SOHN touch on a pair of Converse Chuck Taylors for West Coast Craft (shoe design can be seen here)

• Other than that, there is a whole lot of monotonous daily-grind-kind-of-thing going on in my world.  On a typical day, my glamorous moments are in taking a shower and getting out of the house to take walks with the new Stokke Scoot stroller (which somehow makes me feel luxurious with its smooth drive, triple position setting, city-friendly size and clean design).   Side note: I didn’t realize how rare it is in the world of babies & motherhood to find good design, both in aesthetic and functionality.  I’m incredibly grateful for companies like Stokke that don’t compromise on either aspect of what I believe to be important in where I put my money.

• To end, here are some favorite photos of my new family of 3 in the last 10 months!  God bless.

Until next time.

Photos by James Fitzgerald III and Parker Fitzgerald of Ransom Ltd.

Hackwith Design House – Makers Alongside

It has always been a MADE BY SOHN goal to eventually create a letterpressed print for sale.  I am happy to announce that goal has finally come to fruition.  This “Remember Your True North” print was designed and made exclusively for the Makers Alongside project with Hackwith Design House and is now available for sale here.  When Lisa and her team at HDH approached me to collaborate with them on making this print, it was an obvious “yes.”  Not only am I honored to see my work alongside their beautifully crafted pieces, but I’ve genuinely enjoyed working with them at every step.

Staying in step with their business model of only creating 25 of each piece, there are also only 25 of these posters in existence, each personally numbered and signed by yours truly.  Both the original lettering and brush stroke pattern were done with sumi ink, which was then brought to life with letterpress by the lovely Chelsey Nichol of Type A Press.  I admittedly have a soft spot for texture on cardstock and Chelsey was able to perfectly incorporate both.

Hackwith Design House also wrote a sweet little bio on MADE BY SOHN on their blog, which can be found here. Thanks so much again to everyone involved who made this project possible!

P.S. For good measure in case you missed it, you can purchase the print for $70 on Hackwith Design House’s shop and find more details about it here.

Photos by James Fitzgerald III

 

The Kinfolk Table

As most of you know, Kinfolk released their first cookbook entitled, The Kinfolk Table last year.  My very gifted brother-in-law, Parker Fitzgerald was the photographer for the majority of the shoots, including the cover.  The pages are filled with beautiful photos of people and families in their homes, sharing recipes and stories about their personal table.

My husband, James Fitzgerald III (Jay) and I were one of the stories featured in the Portland section.  Naturally, Parker was the photographer and his photos did not disappoint.  Below are some images that didn’t make it to the book, but nonetheless are cherished.

The Kinfolk Table has been released worldwide including my country of origin, Korea!  They are selling it in two soft-cover books sold separately, as seen here.  One of Parker’s photos of Jay and I happens to be the cover of Book Two (see below) – kinda fun, no?  Now I’ll just need to somehow find a way to fly myself over to Korea to re-visit the homeland & see the book in person.  Hopefully something to be accomplished in the new year.

I also cannot go without saying that I was incredibly impressed by the way Rebecca Parker Payne took our interviews and wielded together such a lovely story that captured ‘us’ so well.  Thank you so much for all your care & thoughtfulness, Rebecca!   There are so many truly wonderful features in this book that are well worth checking out, including dear friends of ours.

To end, a very happy & blessed New Year to you!  I can easily say that 2013 was the best year of my life.  I said that about 2012 as well, but somehow each year keeps getting better by the grace of Jesus.  Why the Lord would bless me with what I don’t deserve is beyond me!  I don’t think His grace is comprehensible, so I’ll instead spend my energy praising Him for His goodness.  There is so much hope within me for what’s to come in 2014.  Looking forward to sharing it with you all.

Erba Floral Studio

May your days be merry & bright!  I’m excited to present the Erba 2014 Calendar available for purchase at http://www.erbafloralstudio.bigcartel.com.  This is my first piece in color and print, exclusively sold at the Erba online store.

This one page calendar measures 10×16.5″ and is sure to brighten your walls for only $25.  Based on Riley Messina’s floral mastery, this unique piece is completely hand-drawn and blooming with color.  Materials used include watercolor, acrylic, and charcoal.

It was such a pleasure & challenge to push beyond my comfort zone and experiment with new materials and technique.  It was probably the most joy I’ve had in creating this year.  I hope this joy will extend into your home!

Many thanks to Riley Messina for the encouragement to try something new and for managing this project!  Special thanks to my brother-in-law, Parker Fitzgerald for your time & graphic design skills to make the layout perfect.   For any questions regarding the purchase/shipping of this product, please direct your questions here.  Thanks so much, all!

2014 Erba Calendar available for purchase at http://www.erbafloralstudio.bigcartel.com

Artwork by Joy Sunyoung Fitzgerald of MADE BY SOHN

nest Robe for Kinfolk Japan

My husband (James Fitzgerald III) and I had the pleasure of working together on a shoot for nest Robe on behalf of Kinfolk Japan.   The project requirements included incorporating the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest, finding models that exemplified the simple & quiet brand of nest Robe, and capturing the soft textures of their fabrics.

Featured here are some of my personal favorites from the shoot.  The published photos can be found in the “BOOK in BOOK” of Kinfolk Japan Edition / Volume Three.

A heartfelt thanks to our models, Holly Darling Smith and James Hayes.  Jay and I were so blessed by your grace and beauty (inside and out).  Special thanks to Kota Enjaku, Editor in Chief of Kinfolk Japan.  Thank you, Lord for giving us the joy of spending a working day in your creation, with your people and with each other.

All photos by James Fitzgerald III / Styling by Joy Sunyoung Fitzgerald of MADE BY SOHN

Umpqua Bank

Last month I was approached by Umpqua Bank to create a promotional piece for their 60th anniversary celebration.  This full page ad was published in 12 different newspapers throughout the Pacific Northwest including the Oregonian, Willamette Weekly, and Seattle Times.

The creative concept for this piece was taken from a line from their tribute video, telling the story of how Umpqua Bank was born and raised out of a small town called Canyonville.  The project was a way for Umpqua to give thanks to clients and everyone that contributed to their growth and success over the years.  I’d highly recommend you watch the video – it’s quite endearing.

Many thanks to Umpqua’s creative team (specifically Mark Jacobs and Kate Zimmerman) for this opportunity and for all your feedback to help capture the mightiness of the oak tree!  It was truly an honor to work with such a genuine & caring company.

Photo 1 by James Fitzgerald III / Artwork by Joy Sunyoung Fitzgerald of MADE BY SOHN / Creative by Umpqua Bank

Nike Accelerator

When one thinks of art mediums, dry erase marker rarely comes to mind.  You can imagine that I was a bit thrown off when I was asked to draw an entire mural with dry erase marker as my sole tool.   But when you are presented with a challenge such as this & an opportunity to work with clients like Juliet Zulu and Nike, you say ‘yes’.

17 hours of drawing, filming, erasing, pacing, body bending, and inhaling marker fumes does funny things to your body.   But the final product was incredibly rewarding.   For more details on this project, check out Juliet Zulu’s post about this project on their great new website here.  You can also find my work on Nike Accelerator’s website here.

Special thanks to Juliet Zulu (Zak, Jayson, Leah, & Ivan for the design) and the participants of Nike Accelerator for letting me draw on your walls for 17 hours!

All images from Juliet Zulu

Kasutera

Sometimes you need to take time to create something that is purely for play.  I’m beginning to find that ‘playing’ is a discipline that needs to be scheduled into your day.  It refreshes, revitalizes, and makes you more efficient in work.  I’ll admit that I’m not very good at playing.   Actually, I’m horrible at it.  But I’m trying to get better at it.

This little Kasutera / 카스테라 / カステラ is one of the happiest things I’ve created in a long time.  It wasn’t for anyone nor anything in particular.  And it felt great.  I am really liking the little guy.

Freshen Up

A Kinfolk Workshop       

I have an odd obsession with the way my household products smell.  I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t sometimes clean just so I could smell the scents of ‘fresh.’  When I found out that the Kinfolk workshop, “Freshen Up” was going to consist of making natural household products, I was in.

Scents of jasmine, rosemary, lemongrass, peppermint, and lavender filled the Kinfolk space, and it was scent heaven.  So fresh and so clean, clean.

While my main medium is a pen nib and a bottle of ink, I often find myself experimenting with paintbrushes.  It has recently become an imperative part of my business when projects require working on larger canvases.   This was one of those times.  The tools for my contribution: butcher paper, paintbrush, & a small bottle of acrylic paint mixed with water.  Simple, easy, and good lookin’.

The workshop was a great success.  Julie Pointer (Kinfolk Features Editor + Gatherings) and Jen Vitale hosted and styled the event.  To no one’s surprise, they delivered above and beyond.   It was a pleasure spending the morning chatting, working, and preparing with them both.

And oh yes, how can I forget?  The fruits of my labor – my cleaning supplies!  All of which are still being happily used.

P.S.  If you’d like to take part in the next Kinfolk workshop in your area, click here.

All photos by James Fitzgerald III

The Ace Hotel & Joshua Tree

In my humble opinion, the Ace Hotel is able to take an old motel and turn it into a destination spot because of their extreme attention to detail, especially in their design and amenities.  The Palm Springs location did not disappoint in this regard.   If you’re wondering, I did, indeed live in that Moroccan striped robe our entire stay and enjoyed every minute of it.

Their poolside was surprisingly low key (which we were very happy about) and pretty genius.  I never had to struggle with the sun/shade ratio due to the design of their chairs and umbrellas.  And when I wanted to seriously lounge, I plopped myself on one of their massive green canvas pillows and had some solid nap time.  When it was too hot, I napped in a yellow donut.

Joshua Tree is about an hour from the Ace Hotel and completely worth visiting.  I was unfortunately quite ill when we went and could barely muster the energy to leave the car.  Thus, the number of photos is few.  It’s hard to describe Joshua Tree in words, but it is definitely other-worldly.  There may have been references to Star Wars at some point and an imitation of the yelling Sand People.  Perhaps we got carried away?   Most likely.

Admitting to the fact that Jay and I both know what “sand people” are and what they sound like is probably an indication that it’s time to wrap up this post.  On that note, I’ll end here. ‘Til next time.

Photo 1,2,3,4,6 by James Fitzgerald III

Photo 5 by Joy Sunyoung Fitzgerald of MADE BY SOHN