Archive for the ‘Guest Blogger’ Category
Thanks to all for your Insta-Inspiration – especially Katie Mclean!
We asked our friends through instagram (@elementeden), in partnership with No Subject LA (nosubjectLA) and Foam Mag (@FoamMag)… what gets your creative juices bubbling #CreateCultivate?!
Everyone posted some rad painting, photo, street art, and still life shots… But we had to pick just one of you little creatornators as the proud winner of a $500 shopping spree with Element Eden.
Proud to announce Katie Mclean, 21 year old graduate of Otis college of Art and Design, as our Create and Cultivate contest winner. She posted multiple masterpieces, featuring her eclectic,sensual, and naturally captivating vision through painting. We’re truly blown away and inspired by your beautiful style.
The extent of her work wanders much farther than paintings – scope her stuff on http://gypsyeye.com/ and @gypseye805
Can’t wait to see where your wanderings take you Katie and on behalf of the Element Eden family thanks for getting us inspire-wired!
DIY: Shoulder Cut-Out Sweatshirt by Guest Blogger Johnie of Dirtbag Darling!
There’s nothing better than the wind on your skin (we always sleep with the windows open and drive with the car windows cracked), which is why we love early fall camp-outs when we can still show a little skin. Snip out the shoulders of this Element sweatshirt and you’ll feel the breeze but still fend off the chill.
Materials:
-Sweatshirt
-Scissors
-Pen
Step 1
This has to the be the easiest DIY ever! Make a mark on your sweatshirt sleeve where the edge of your shoulder is (feel for the end of your collarbone), and another mark about halfway down your upper arm.
Step 2
Cut a straight line from the first dot to the second. Cut a half-oval on either side of your line and you’re done! Save the scraps for future projects.
Try your hand at it with the Joss fleece: AVAILABLE HERE
DIY: Neon Polka Dot Denim by Calypso Letters Guest Bloggers
We love denim. It’s our go-to fabric for just about everything because it’s comfortable, iconic and can handle a little dirt. It’s pretty historic, too—did you know Levi Strauss got his start designing sturdy pants for the gold rush miners back in the 1870s? Yep…denim pants have been coming in handy for years.
Still, every original needs an update now and again, which is why we got messy with a pair of Element Eden skinny jeans and some neon paint. Here’s how to create our fading polka dot pants:
Materials
-White and neon green fabric pant
-Pencil with an eraser
-Painter’s palette
-Pair of jeans
-Newspaper
Step 1
Mix two parts green paint with one part white paint in your palette. Dip the eraser end of your pencil into the paint, dabbing excess paint off on newspaper. Start stamping the hem of your jeans in an even, tightly spaced line.
Step 2
Add about five more lines of tightly spaced polka dots, heading up towards the waist. Gradually start spacing out your dots so they are fewer and farther apart. By the time you get to the waist there should only be about two dots!
That’s it! If you don’t like the messy look of ours (what can we say—we’re creative types), just follow the same uniform dot pattern you started with.
Try it with Element’s skinny stretch Ballet denim- AVAILABLE HERE
Guest Blogger Jess Cramp’s Photo Journal: Part 3
Our guest blogger Jess Cramp finishes off her photo journal with her adventures in Palmerston.
” I was lucky enough to spend the entire month of April on a remote outer atoll called Palmerston, studying sea turtles. We spent every afternoon snorkeling the lagoon looking for turtles (and sharks!).”
PHOTO CREDIT: Tina Weier
“We brought everything we could possibly need….except women that could cook! Haha. This is Matua, teaching Kelly and I how to make proper coconut bread.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Tina Weier
“Wondering what “turtle research” looks like? Find the egg chamber, dig until your fingernails bleed and count the number of egg shells. Every once in a while- you find a baby turtle, and that’s worth every scratch.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Tina Weier
” While I love research and policy work, I revel in the time with kids. Sometimes, your attention makes the difference.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Tina Weier
“Part of living so remotely, is total self-reliance and of course, team work. We spent the day replacing thatch at the school.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Tina Weier
“While on Palmerston, my friend Tina and I ran a shark survey alongside the team’s turtle research. This baby grey reef shark is paying me a visit. They aren’t the killing machines that Jaws portrayed. I promise.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Jason Green
” It’s business time! What I love about my job is the ability to transform fears through open discussion and fact sharing. This is Mayor Bob Marsters of Palmerston writing a letter to the Prime Minister, in support of shark protection. If I had my way, the entire campaign would be run by locals.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Tina Weier
Thanks for reading! Here’s a sunset to keep you dreaming. What’s life without adventure?
With love and sunshine,
Jess
Learn more about Jess through her Matador Ambassador profile
Check out more of Jess’s experiences on Destination Global Good
Guest Blogger Jess Cramp’s Photo Journal: Part 2
Guest Blogger Jess Cramp shares more of her adventures in the Cook Islands and her volunteer work throughout the world through her photo journal.
“Last year, I was part of the 5 Gyres crew, which sailed from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) to Tahiti, trawling for trash and taking water samples every 50nm. We’re already well aware of our impacts onshore…”
PHOTO CREDIT: Kitt Doucette
“We were aboard Sea Dragon for 3 incredible weeks, reveling at the many faces of the open ocean.”
” This is a nurdle. These petroleum-based pellets are used to manufacture plastics. We found this nurdle on Henderson Atoll. It is uninhabited, in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, but still a victim of the industrialized World.”
“Next stop: Cook Islands. Almost a year ago, I committed to volunteering in marine conservation for PICI…and I don’t regret it. Lucky for me, looking for hawksbill sea turtles, like this little guy, is part of my job!”
PHOTO CREDIT: Stephen Lyon
“But life in paradise isn’t always sunny skies! With an important meeting on the horizon and nothing but a scooter, what’s a girl to do?”
“One of my very favorite things about my new “career” is getting into local communities. Here are some local Cook Islands kids showing me their shark fins in support of our shark sanctuary efforts.”
“Surfing in the Cooks is not for the faint of heart. Here’s me, wondering if I made the right choice in paddling out.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Justin Bastien: www.justinbastien.com
With love and sunshine,
Jess
Learn more about Jess through her Matador Ambassador profile
Check out more of Jess’s experiences on Destination Global Good
Guest Blogger Jess Cramp’s Photo Journal: Part 1
Our Guest Blogger, Jess Cramp, shares with us some of her most incredible experiences, bits of wisdom, and beautiful photography in this photo journal.
“I’ve wanted to fly for as long as I can remember. So when I decided to take the leap and follow my dreams, this was first on the list!”
“First stop: Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. I volunteered in a field hospital as a pharmacist and learned fairly quickly that I was not tough enough for disaster relief. Haiti was heartbreaking and humbling.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Cody Doucette
“I remember being completely amazed at the smiley, relaxed faces on many of the kids, even with a panorama of unsightly tragedies.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Cody Doucette
“Next stop: Panama. I spent about six months volunteering in Bocas del Toro, Panama-mostly in water quality and marine science education. But my real passion was found in trying to help the local indigenous tribe, the Ngobe-Bugle, to start a sea turtle monitoring program.”
“Bocas is a Caribbean jewel with gorgeous beaches and amazing waves, but there’s so much litter along the roads, in the drains and along the back beach that it hurts my soul.”
“I felt so lucky to be a part of the Water for People team in Santa Cruz del Quiche, Guatemala. They work with communities on clean water, hygiene and sanitation. And my favorite part is that they stick around to ensure the systems work.”
“Hand-washing can save lives in developing countries. These little ones are on the right track thanks to W4P’s commitment. Kid sized washing stations at a cistern full of water!”
“Guatemala. Imagine someone coming to your home unannounced and asking when and how often you wash your hands? When you travel, spend time with locals. Drink the water they offer, even if it has six teaspoons of sugar in it. Sit in their home. Listen. You will have no choice but to adapt your views of the world.”
With love and sunshine,
Jess
Learn more about Jess through her Matador Ambassador profile
Check out more of Jess’s experiences on Destination Global Good
Guest Blogger Jess Cramp!!!
Currently residing in the Cook Islands, our new guest blogger, Jess Cramp, is a force to be reckoned with. She is a scientist, pilot, diver, surfer, and conservationist traveling the world and making a difference. Her current mission; create one of the largest Shark Sanctuaries in the world.
Jess is also a regular contributor to Women’s Adventure Magazine, and a driven and inspirational philanthropist. Learn a little more about her from our Q&A and look out for her upcoming posts!
Some fun Q&A:
Us: Hometown:
JC: I grew up in the Poconos in PA, climbing trees and playing baseball. I consider San Diego, CA my home now—at least, that’s where my storage unit lives. I moved there in 2001 and love it, but I haven’t been back in over a year!
Us: What you wanted to do when you grew up?
JC: I wanted to be a fighter pilot. No joke. I had posters of fighter jets all over my walls….even in college!
Us: Your present goal and where it has led you?
JC: My present goal is to inspire people to live their dreams and to take action for things that matter to you. DON’T be a fly on the wall. I’d love to look back and know that my life has had a positive impact on others.
Us: Best advice shared with you?
JC: I feel like this will be a collection of clichéd one-liners from my parents. In fact recently, I’ve found myself reiterating many of them to my younger friends. But in truth the best advice has been simply to listen to my gut. I’m the only one living this life and I have to trust that I will make the best decision for me.
Us: Best advice you hope to share with others?
JC: Not to let your fear of failure become the insurmountable barrier between you and your potential. You know where you want to be—or at least you know that there’s a direction you’d like to go. There will be plenty of people telling you that you shouldn’t or can’t. Life will put up more obstacles than you could have imagined. But somehow, you get through them, or you find a way around. And you get stronger. Just don’t allow your fears to stop you from starting.
Us: Funniest experience since your new venture?
JC: Oh boy, I have a list of “laughed until I cried” moments in a notebook. But I’ll just go with the first one that pops in my mind. We were in the middle of our sailing trip and on dinner detail. I thought it would be fun to make a limited ingredients version of tuna fish casserole because we had an international crew and somehow it came up (of all meals…I know!). Anyway, my friend Stiv and I improvised to the max and made the most disgusting meal on the planet, by accident of course. We had to sub canned tuna with canned corned beef. I broke apart lasagne noodles because there were no egg noodles. Stiv thought it was dry, so he added a soup mix—and lots of milk. We then proceeded to pour corn flakes all over the top and bake it, with hopes of evaporating some of the milk. It was so wretched a meal that we laughed our way through it. With a side of boiled hot dogs, we called our creation “white trash casserole” and served it in similar fashion. Of course, you had to be there, but all 16 of us on the boat were laughing so hard that sound ceased to come out. Every once in a while I watch that footage—and it still kills me.
Read more about Jess on her Matador Ambassador Webpage
Check out some her incredible adventures on Destination Global Good
Summertime Clothes
Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes (Dam-Funk Remix) (you can dance around to this in your summertime clothes)
Still working on the painting for my friend Durek and too shy to share details yet, soon soon promise!
But here’s something you can lay your eyes on now, either here in this post or in real life, on your body all summer long!
Element Eden’s Summer collection is currently available and there’s four pieces I created in this line. I wanted to share the details on how these things travel from my imagination into your hands.
I also think it’s a little serendipitous that the designers traveled to India last year and said a lot of the inspiration for the summer collection came from the textiles, colors and prints they saw on their trip. Almost simultaneously, I was in Indonesia for a few months where I was inspired by the colors and textiles there. I drew all of these drawings during my stay and even painted one on the side of a friend’s cafe. Now they are available for you to wear on super soft oversized organic tees.
First I take my imagination to paper. I use tracing paper so I can redraw parts a million times over and over until it’s super perfect just like us virgo’s like it. I use colored pencils to keep track of updated sketches.
Finally I re draw everything one more time and then finish them in ink so the lines are clean and clear. Then I scan these drawings and either color them digitally or send them over for Esther (the graphics wizard) at Element Eden to color up and place on Tee’s.
Seriously did I say wizard? Esther Kim is my favorite graphic designer that I’ve ever worked with! This is my favorite part when she sends me back this magical stuff! She works closely with me doing revisions on color and layout to help my imagination + mixed with her awesome visions = come ALIVE. Aren’t these collaborations the best? I think so! XOXOXOXOXOXO I LOVE YOU ESTHER KIM YOU ARE SOoooooo SUPER AMAZING!!!!! XOXOXOXOXO Even just doing this post I get so excited at this point in the process, more than the actual tee’s.
And then elves in a workshop mix up some potions and VOILA! Super soft organic Tee’s for you to live and dance in all summer long!
Click here to go get some now!
Planted like angelic seeds in my life I love watching them grow by Brooke Reidt
Element Eden asked me who I surround myself with and what draws me to those people. I thought I would introduce you to some of my friends who inspire me. Somewhere along the way they were planted like angelic seeds in my life and I love watching them grow! So many of my close friends are artists, constantly creating their own art and living out their dreams. There’s too many people like this in my life that I simply adore and are hugely inspiring to name here, so consider this a sliver. (A big sliver since I didn’t post yesterday.)
Meet Ixchel, such a small girl filled with so much magic! Ixchel is named after a Mayan goddess and she seems like she’s from another universe or perhaps a whole universe exists within her. She creates photographic images that you want to climb inside of and make a new life for yourself without boundaries. Just looking at her photographs takes you on a trip to places you can’t find on any atlas. All shot with film and no photoshopping! Look!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ixchelara/
This is Niki. I met her on a porch of a house called “The Legion of Doom” in Ohio when I was hitchhiking across the country at 17. She very much seems a part of me. Living on opposite coasts I still feel like I grew up right beside her. She’s a genius the way she moves color around on canvas, wood or paper. You know that story about the boy who turned everything he touched to chocolate? Well this is the girl who turns everything she touches to beguiling beauties. Niki and her art are a spellbinding sea yours eyes need to swim around in. http://planticandwingishscenery.blogspot.com/
Mariqueen is a mermaid. No seriously, you’ve heard the lore of singing sirens that make ships wreck? This is her! Her voice gives you shivers and it does kind of kill you in a way. She’s a mother, lover and singer of the supernatural descent. Currently hypnotising, mesmerising and making waves in her band How to Destroy Angels drown your ears. http://howtodestroyangels.com/
Steve is cosmic. If Picasso came back to life as a hunter of life his name would be Steve. Steve is a magician of the arts, he dances to the beat of his dreams. From sculpture, mosaics & installations, to abstract paintings erupting in color he manifests a world of love you can live inside of. His art is not only a life of dedication but a life celebration. http://stevefawley.com/
This is Chris. I think you can see just from this picture that the energy of this being is extraterrestrial. Yep this picture was taken from one of his performances somewhere on a moon orbiting in the outerest parts of outer space. I know I wish was there too! The energy this alien invests into the music he makes can take you there! Listen to his project Free the Robots it will take you on that universal voyage you’ve been dreaming of. Chris is also one of the owners of a really impressive restaurant here on earth who is celebrating their 4th anniversary this weekend, The Crosby go! http://www.myspace.com/freetherobots
June June she’s sucha swoon you just want to spoon her forever! Aside from being sweet like a pile of puppies, she’s made of crystal prisms that cast rainbows of light on everything in her path. You know that Rolling Stone’s song “She’s a Rainbow”, that’s June. June is an artist, designer, blogger, film maker and snowboarder. She’s kind of a mystic sometimes she disappears and then resurfaces with some new zesty project or film that captivates your heart. http://blog.boatpeopleboutique.com/ http://www.peepshowfilms.com/
Finally there’s Paul who is one of my oldest friends. He divides his time between New York and traveling to the edge of earth. Right when he’s teetering so close to the edge you wonder if he’s fallen off and disappeared forever, he propels himself back to the present dimension sharing stories of people through photographic artifacts. His photographs transport you into intimate introductions with people and places that are so alternative to the nature you know, you wonder if it’s a dream. Paul has dedicated his life to exposing these hidden treasures through portraits you can see here.
http://www.paulnemirahcollins.com/
Get a Glimpse by Brooke Reidt
While I’m beginning the painting to auction for my friend Durek, let me share a glimpse of some other things going on in my studio right now….
I wish I was sharing travel photos of amazing adventures but this week looks more like uncombed hair, coffee stains on my desk, dishes in the sink and stacks of stuff around the studio.
MORE ON DUREK’S STORY HERE AND HOW TO HELP
http://www.indiegogo.com/Operation-Get-Shaman-Durek-A-Kidney