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!

Simple Life

A friend recently asked me "what is the point of life"? I already drove myself crazy for a good portion of my early to mid twenties trying to answer that question with a deep, introspective, overly analytically, complex thought. It got me no where, and then I realized, life is a  math problem, and I was making it more complicated than it needed to be. In my eyes, the answer is actually quite simple, if I just pay attention...

*All photos snapped by Brehan Todd in Portland, except the ferris wheel, that was in Montana.

Karen Elson - Cruel Summer

            Karen Elson performing "Cruel Summer" (Live Acoustic) from Karen Elson on Vimeo.

Karen Elson is so talented and beautiful, I wish I could put her in my pocket and pull her out every once in awhile to have her sing me a song!  Her voice is sweet, girlish, and soft, with a tiny lisp. The way she plays the guitar, and sways timidly is delicate and charming. I find her style and artistic endeavors very inspiring, not to mention, her wardrobe. She wears a lot of feathers and nude tones, and has pretty, unearthly bright, red hair. Her clothes and shoes all look like they were made for dancing in the moonlight. She seems to glow from within and be part angel or forest nymph, mixed with clouds or cotton candy or something?  

This little video of her performing "The Ghost Who Walks", by a fire, in what looks like a castle or cozy cottage in Europe (?) is my favorite. The moody lyrics speak of loneliness and romance, and of the darkness that sometimes takes over our minds for a bit. Often, we feel this more during the final stages of winter, during these cold grey months as we wait for Spring.

The lyrics in this song, remind me a lot of how I felt as a child and a young girl, not always fitting in easily; "living" in my imagination of secret gardens, books and dolls and colored pencils.  I remember rushing home from school to see what had grown bigger or peeped out of the ground while I was away, in my garden bed.  I could hardly wait for the lilacs to bloom in the Spring, the pansies to pop up and the tulips to open! I loved to clip just enough flowers to make bouquets for the house and still leave my garden looking full and vivacious! I planted and tended my little menagerie of random plants so peacefully and happily at times. Some nights I would stay there digging, and playing with snails, until the sun started to go down. I think my parents began to think it was a bit strange when I decided to plant a single rose bush, strategically placed in the Southeast corner of the front yard, right in the middle of the lawn. "Why can't I dig a hole in the grass and plant my rose bush here, I asked my father?" I had it all planned out, in what I thought was a perfectly logical landscaping idea.  I planned to dig the hole deep enough for the roots to fit, remove the rocks and grasses and place the rocks around the circle to keep weeds from creeping in.  That way, the first thing people would see when they came up to our house, was this beautiful red and pink rosebush, something I felt was essential. There was no winning this argument with a determined twelve year old. Or, maybe my parents felt bad that I liked doing manual labor instead of normal child things? Anyhow, there I went, digging away and planting my roses, stretching the hose to it's limit to water it for the first time and feeling quite pleased with myself for my creativity and determination. 

I've since learned to garden in a more traditional sense and I still find it so peaceful and relaxing to feel the soil on my hands. As I'm working on getting the Spring collection out and into the boutiques, I will be starting some lettuce and tomato seeds in the basement. The sun is already out and Spring will be here before we know it. Maybe I'll plant a rose, next to the blackberries this year?  I think that would be lovely if that was the first thing I saw each morning when I woke up.....aaahhh, day dreaming of Spring time! For now, back to work I go!

Welcome 2011!

I'm so excited for the New Year and all of the new and exciting possibilities for the future. I hear so many amazing stories about one person or a small group of people making a huge difference by making a small difference in their own lives. Volunteer work and charity is increasing, despite the period of economic difficulty.  Of course, we are not close to being out of the woods with the environment or stability of our future yet and many countries economies around the world are literally collapsing. I hope this new year brings more peace, by encouraging and forcing people to evolve with the new state of life on Earth. 

One of my favorite things about these days is how many amazing, talented and real musicians are  Because of technology changing at a faster rate than ever before, emerging artists and designers are able to become know without the help of large corporate record deals or contracts. One of my favorite little known folk singers plays under the, The Tallest Man On Earth.  I happened upon this video one day on my favorite French music site, La Blogotheque.  Iv'e really enjoyed his albums classic approach to music that has always been great with a modern ideology mixed in.  Here are a couple of my favorite videos, performed live in various interesting locations.

Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.


Tallest man on earth - These Days (Nico Cover) - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Hello Friends,

I just wanted to thank everyone who has supported my Etsy shop during this last couple of weeks. I've raised almost $200.00 so far and I will continue to donate 20% until Valentine's Day!  I've posted tons of new items for Spring and will be updating all week!  Please stop by my shop at this link,

http://www.brehanclaire.etsy.com/

Here are a few of my favorite things from the line so far,

Holiday Trunk Shows at Flutter!

I'm so excited to be going back to Portland for these lovely events! Come and see all of this amazing work these artists have been making! Mark you calendars for my very first featured trunkshow on the 5th!

See you there! www.flutterclutter.com

Red Heart Cult Addict In the Spirit of Halloween season, I thought it would be the perfect time to introduce one of my favorite, fellow designers. Leila Marvel is a character in her own well directed movie of a sort of melancholy Alice and Wonderland, romantic tragedy. This lovely and talented designer has a way of making her pieces so feminine and unique, with a hint of Victorian cupcake goth. Here are some of my favorites available on etsy now, http://www.etsy.com/shop/redheart13 Here is the official bio for this interesting artist, "Hello, it is nice to meet you. In a world of masquerading romantic tragedy, holds places of splendid melancholy, a world filled with vampires and dark stories created through relics and one-of-a-kind jewelry. I introduce to you, the Red Heart Cult™; inspired by the Victorian way of life, classic romance, seduction and lastly the human soul. I find much inspiration for my jewelry from fairy tales, mourning, vampires, Andre Vesalius and my beloved grandmother's attic. I am an advocate collector of things, including holy water fonts, antique crucifixes, religious statues. I cherish the finer things in life like jumping on the bed and visiting cemeteries. Some more of my pics from the etsy shop, So inspiring! Don't forget to check out her amazing blog as well, where she holds contests, announces other inspiring happenings and shares her world! http://redheartcult.blogspot.com/ Cheers!

New Fall Line by Brehan Todd at Narcisse

I am so excited to announce my new line of fall designs at Narcisse in Portland, Oregon! Narcisse, is a relatively new shop that I've blogged about in the past and is recently gaining a lot of attention for it's unique art direction. It's the only shop to carry the label, Noa Noa from Denmark and recently began stocking beautiful handmade corsets by Paloma Soledad. I happen to have the privilege of working with the lovely owners, Dawn Bush and Heidi Goldsmith, who have a talent for making you feel like your crawling into an old novel with a cup of tea and some cakes, on a rainy afternoon. I just love that feeling, so I was drawn to the shop one day and now, we have ourselves a soul mate connection, folks! We just really see eye to eye on what's cute and pretty and makes us feel like we are the heroine in our own movie, our life! If you haven't gone to the shops on Southwest Washinton, this one alone is worth the stop, but luckily there are lots of other charming businesses nearby. In the meanwhile, here are some of the new collection for Narcisse,

New Fall Location Shoot

Fall 2009 By Brehan Todd Hello again my friends, How is everyone this week? Thank you so much for all of the excitement and enthusiasm about the hats! Several lovely articles and blogs mentioned my work for Flutter and I was thrilled. Jen Mcabe did a lovely article on Oregonlive.com, thank you so much! Here is the link, http://blog.oregonlive.com/shoporegon/2009/10/new_brehan_todd_hats_at_flutte.html I'm excited to announce a lovely shoot I had with Dave(my boyfriend and housemate) at our new house in California! I wanted to have some nice, interesting photos for a lookbook on my website, www.brehantodd.com (posted soon)! We shot this in my new and hardly set up yet, studio, which has amazing light and will be coming along quickly. Here is a little preview of some of the line. Hand made from vintage buttons, materials and castoffs Made from a vintage pocket watch, recycled wool, hand raised hen feather This fall collection is something I'm really excited about and I hope is well received. These designs are a complete reflection of my life and what influences and inspires me as a designer. I've never felt more in transition in a way, but at the same time completely inspired. We were moving during production stages, so it was designed and constructed sort of half in Oregon, half in Santa Rosa. We've been feeling a lot of roller coaster emotions this past year as a country, not to mention overcoming hurdles personally and professionally. Through this process, always I find solace and passion in the work that I'm doing, no matter what else is going on in the background. I think it's so important, and I've really learned the value of that, for everyone to have a true passion that can provide comfort or escape and keep us well rounded in intense times.

Traveling Hands Timepiece necklace by Brehan Todd hand made from vintage floating hands, pocket watch and vintage beads and charm

I have things in my life that influence me and my design constantly, like politics, what's going on in the world, art, music, architecture, things that are constantly evolving. Some of these things I latch onto are classic, images of swooping swallows, timepieces, Alice and Wonderland, vintage hardware, anything to do with an old carnival or circus vibe. I launched my spring 2009 line with a heavy circus theme and I still love that look but I think it's evolving into something more modern. When times seems to stand still, as it did during the Bush administration, I found myself, holding my breath, thinking, "please do not blow up the world, please do not get elected again". I think now it's just starting to sink in that that part of history is over and there is potential now for change. I think this plays a role in why I find myself excited about design and art and music right now, more than last year. It's as if things were asleep for awhile, while we were waiting to feel ok again, and now there are some really interesting, innovative and exciting things happening in the art world as a whole. I'm thrilled to be whatever part of that I can be and to maintain a commitment to new ideas in sustainable design and supporting other designers with this as a mission, globally. Show Pony Necklace www.brehanclaire.etsy.com Acorn Choker by Brehan Todd brehanclaire.etsy.com I do find myself to be an emotional person and moreso than my first collection, this shows that very personal side of me. The focus is still on color but more emphasized in the variations in color of the metal and working with what can be done with that, or combining as many different colored metals as I can, with other organic elements, such as the acorn. This is my representation of the beauty and density in organic and animal matter in the forests of Oregon and Northern California. What kind of colors come from that, or the way I feel excited every time I see a deer, even if I've seen a hundred already, the vast bird varieties, all around this region, even all the crazy fungus that piles up on a stump . Again, I've carried over an emphasis on birds and feathers, as a constant element, as well as a use of bold, saturated color, with varied texture. Some of the lines are harder, more architectural and organic, combined with feminine detail, as well as some elements of a Rock and Roll influence, mixed with traditional Equestrian culture. I don't know exactly where I got these ideas right now, except to say that I've met more horses in the last year (and boarded two) than ever before in my life? I find them fascinating and so beautiful, mysterious and simple. I suppose, it's fair to say I have always been influenced by the fashion associated with that culture as well?. The other great source of influence, now and always, is music. To me the real music right now that's coming out, that really means something after a sea of pop nonsense for so long, is very easily translated into a combination of old school tradition, with an almost dreamy and preppy idealism, mixed with old fashioned rock elements. I couldn't know less about or be more influenced by this other art of music that I can' seem to participate in, except to listen and know what I like. To me this combination of horses and studs, leather and lace have always complimented each other. Birds of a Feather Cuff Links by Brehan Todd Handmade from vintage materials available on etsy.com Horse Meadow Choker handmade by Brehan Todd available on etsy.com and soon at Flutter Mad Hatter Rings by Brehan Todd Made from vintage, pewter monopoly game pieces -

Fini Photographs by Brehan Todd

Ultra PDX Photoshoot

Hello readers! I was so excited when one of my favorite Portland Stylists, Elianna Barel recently swung by Narcisse to borrow one of my statement necklaces and some lovely garments. As always she did an amazing job styling this eerily romantic photos shoot with Seattle photographer Howard Petrella. Photos for Ultrapdx.

Vintage Chandelier Statement Necklace by Brehan Todd-

available at Narcisse, Portland OR , Retail $284.00

This is my personal favorite photo of the shoot. Lovely belt, by Noa Noa, also available at Narcisse Jacket by Noa Noa, available at Narcisse

Vintage Headdress avialable at Flutter, Portland OR

All photos by Howard Petrella

http://www.petrellastudio.com/

Styling by Elianna Barel

http://eliannabarel.com/splash.html

Thanks come back soon!