New Handsome Furs Video for Serve the People!

This is my favorite song off of the new Handsome Furs album, Sound Kapital. They just put out a video for Serve the People and it is awesome. Def one of the best music videos I've seen lately.  Thanks for being so inspiring!

Back to Childhood

Street Style

Flea Market Style

So many people ask me where I find all of the strange old things that I use to create with. The real answer is, it's a secret and constant treasure hunt that is done anywhere, and everywhere I go, pretty much all the time.  I've been fortunate enough to travel around the US and look for treasures over the years. I'm focused on finding jewelry and little bits of things to make jewelry with, but I love to look at all the cool old stuff that is around still, it's so hard not to take it all home with me.  Montana is one of my favorite places to hunt for treasures. Here is a little peek at some of the coolest things I found at a flea market in the Flathead Valley a few summers ago.  I can't wait to go back, it's always so inspiring!

One of the coolest chairs I've ever seen.

Refashioned chandelier made of antlers and vintage figures and crystals. 

Beautiful taxidermy

I love Jade glass!

Defiantly one of the coolest bed frames ever found.

This particular market had a lovely live show as a soundtrack, so cute. 

I'm Back....

After a long and lovely summer, I am finally back in the mood to blog. So much to say, where to begin?

Finally free. Now it all begins...

My friend Anna Pryka and her Moms on an elephant.

How it All Began...

     People ask me how I started being a designer, or got into this strange world of fashion and design, how the jewelry thing started etc. The answer is, it's a long story... it began with my family, before I even existed and it's an adventure from that point on. 

     The first time I thought I really had something in terms of a style and mood, I decided to attempt to actually create what was in my mind, and start to make it into something tangible. I think it was around summer of 2008ish? I was just starting to sell my first pieces of jewelry. I got some props, a studio, a photographer and a model to bring things to life and maybe have some photos to use, if I was lucky. 

    My friend Cielle The Supermodel, agreed to work with me that day and let me play out some ideas I had been imagining.  CTS and I go way back to Montana days, we went to high school together and became good friends. CTS, was perfectly imperfect, just as I knew  her to be. It was awesome that she also had some amazing art direction ideas (huge bonus when you are shooting, styling, designing and art directing all at once). I realized, as much as I love working with "agency models", sometimes it's cool to mix it up. The thing is, photo shoots are exhausting and it was more fun to hang out with someone who was really smart and would eat snacks with me, instead of just watching me eat all the snacks by myself, and staring at me vacantly, while I  ramble about "my ideas". She even helped me track down the black and baby blue balloons I had been dreaming of. I'll never forget how awesome she looked carrying them through the streets of Portland, and how excited we were about the shoot and  just the whole thing in general. It was an awesome day. 

   The shoot lasted hours and by the end I threw myself and another friend into the mix and there were circus masks everywhere, feathers, jewelry, props, everywhere. It's kind of a flurry in my mind, but there was a lot of creative energy flow and it was kind of magical.  I was using a tiny tourist camera that I bought mainly because it was a shade of pink that I liked, to shoot behind the real photographer,, just because. It makes for some interesting quality. I think it's kind of charming, but that's just me? Here are my two favorite shots from that day. Hopefully, I can book her again and do a new shoot soon, this time with a slightly better camera and some more time for planning, probably outside?  

Model-Cielle Taaffe, Jacket designed and constructed by Brehan Todd, Shoes by Miss L Fire for Anthropologie, Fabric Anna Sui, Suitcase, vintage, Knickers (model's) Styling and and photo by Brehan Todd. Soundtrack-Animal Collective, Strawberry Jam.
 *No sweatshops, inflated salaries, high performance budgets, annoying permits, animal cruelty,  human starvation, or terrible dance music soundtracks,  were used in this shoot . 

Brehan Todd Jewelry Television Debut on 90210

I've been so busy this season, I've hardly had a moment to blink! I almost missed the episode of 90210 that recently featured some of my designs for EcoFirstArt.com. I grew up watching the original 90210 television series with my best girlfriend. We were actually kind of obsessed. We would call eachother during the commercial breaks to discuss what had just happened, then do a recap at the end. Pretty funny. I didn't know that the series had been relaunched until recently. I am fortunate enough to have a friend in the styling department on the show who was looking for designers to submit some work. Designer, artist and friend 'o mine, Kime Buzzelli, hooked me up with the chance to send my jewelry in and it was selected to be worn by two actresses. So exciting! Check out Kime's website and awesome fashion illustrations, while you are at it. Here is the link to the show episode. The scene featuring my work is the prom scene about twenty minutes into the show. Click the link and go to the site. They wouldn't let me imbed it directly.  I'll try to post some screen shots soon as well.

http://www.cwtv.com/cw-video/90210/the-prom-before-the-storm/?play=007a5c4c-f34f-4f7d-b9db-cd2642e8a479

Look for these two pieces available for order at EcoFirstArt.com



Anna Pavlova Earrings by Brehan Todd



Ocean Twilight Necklace by Brehan Todd