The Gift Edit Part 3: Ana Lisa Hedstrom + Sculpture Space New York

We're delighted to present our latest holiday gift guide for some last minute shopping. Given our love of textiles and all things ceramics, we're proud to the present the gift picks from amazing artists working in these areas: Ana Lisa Hedstrom, Andrew Kennedy and Magda Dejose of Sculpture Space NYC. 

We love to showcase beautiful textiles from international as well as local artisans in Vuela Boutique, so we couldn't be more excited to feature the renowned textile artist and educator, Ana Lisa Hedstrom. Based in Northern Cal, she has made amazing contributions to the field of contemporary shibori textiles. Featuring her innovative use of colors and patterns, Ana Lisa’s signature shibori textiles are included in the collections of the Cooper Hewitt, The Museum of Art and Design, the De Young Museum, the Oakland Museum, and the Racine Museum. 

Her work has been exhibited and published inter-nationally along with receiving two NES grants and is a fellow of The American Craft Council. She has completed public art commissions for the Emeryville Ca. city hall and the American Embassy in Brunei.  She is committed to education in her craft, as she has taught and lectured at SF State University , CCA , and numerous international conferences and summer art programs.  Ana Lisa's picks feature her love of fabric and graphic patterns as well as her background in ceramics.

Ana Lisa Hedstrom / "Lexicon" Resist Dyed Silk

Osei Duro Aburi Dress and Arca Jacket / Micaela Greg Spectrum Scarf / Tina Marie Ceramics

"I have been a textile dyer for over 30 years…and I love color and pattern! Before I became a “textilian” I studied ceramics and still can’t resist collecting pottery everywhere I travel. It is so easy to travel to Vuela Boutique! I love Tina Marie’s matte blue/green glaze on her bowl and pitcher. So simple and satisfying. Of course, I perused all the textiles on the site and was struck with the strong geometric patterns on Micaela Grey’s Spectrum Scarf. I can’t wait to see what arrives for Spring!"-Ana Lisa Hedstrom

Ana Lisa's Work via

I had the pleasure of visiting Romy's studio located in Sculpture Space NYC this fall. We have such a weakness for ceramics and thrilled to feature the founders of this wonderful space in New York. 

Since 2011 Andrew Kennedy and Magda Dejose have worked collaboratively on a variety of projects and founded Sculpture Space NYC in 2014.  The facility is a ceramics and sculpture center designed to foster creativity, concept and collaboration for artists and designers.  Sculpture Space NYC was designed and built by Andrew Kennedy. He studied painting at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, worked as an assistant at Richard Artschwager Studio and has been showing his work in New York and abroad. Magda Dejose is an American artist (born in Brazil) living and working in New York City. She has shown her artwork in Japan, Brazil, USA, Canada, Mexico, Portugal, and China. Andrew and Magda's have curated gift ideas highlighting the range of home wares we offer from ceramics to wooden objects.

 

Yoko Ozawa tea pot I Silvia Song wooden bowl I Tina Marie pourer I Romy Northover cups

Scuplture Space NYC provides space, equipment, advanced education, and opportunities for studio members to expand and develop their work. SSNYC's aesthetic is based on the principle that any element in the studio, as furniture, objects, and room’s layout, should be primarily based upon its intended function or purpose.

Sculpture Space NYC

And for other gift ideas, please check out our Holiday Gift Guide Series: Part 1 and Part 2

Photos of textiles and studio space courtesy of artists. 

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Thank you so much Ana Lisa, Andrew and Magda for participating in our holiday gift guide! We're happy and humbled to share your stories of passion and contribution to your craft and the community. And of course, we really appreciate your help in curating gifts from our shop this holiday season! 

The Gift Edit Part 2: Artist Misato Suzuki and Chef Kuniko Yagi

Our part 2 of our holiday gift guide series continues as we present wonderful individuals in the community as they share their top the top picks from Vuela. 

Cold Picnic Hanging Planter / Cluse Watch / Forma Earrings / Tina Marie Vases

I've long admired the work of  Misato Suzuki and featured her work on our blog earlier on. And through our serendipitous connections, I've had the pleasure of meeting this talented sweet artist who produces some of my fave artwork. She was born in Aomori, Japan, acquired her MFA in Claremont University and currently resides in our old city of San Diego, California. Featuring pretty colors, beautiful patterns, and textures that communicate playful whimsical themes, her work has been featured in galleries worldwide and available in One Kings Lane and Artfully Walls. Misato's top picks include treasured finds from around the globe showcasing her love of travel.

Photo of Misato Suzuki's Paintings from One Kings Lane via

The Things We Keep Necklace / Cluse Watch / Romy Northover Cups / Bookhou Tote / First Rite Tank Top

Kuniko Yagi forged a unique path to a bright culinary career, growing up in Maebashi and then embarking on a route to finance. An untrained cook with a natural artistic drive and nurtured affinity for gastronomy, Kuniko trained and worked with Chef Myers of the Michelin starred Sona. Kuniko later served as Executive Chef of Myers’ brasserie, Comme Ça in West Hollywood and Las Vegas before heading up the kitchen of the award winning Hinoki & the Bird in Century City. She appeared as a contestant on Bravo TV’s “Top Chef,” and has earned a number of critical accolades for her work with Hinoki & the Bird including StarChef.com’s Rising Star in 2010. When not at the stove, Kuniko spends her time surfing, knitting and walking her German Shepherd in Venice Beach. Kuniko has chosen beautiful and versatile essentials that we hope will become well-loved pieces for many seasons. 

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Thank you so much for participating in our holiday gift guide Misato and Kuniko! We really appreciate this opportunity to share your story as well as your lovely picks from our shop.

The Gifting Edit: Jen Szeto and Amanda Jane Jones

The holiday season is upon us and we're thrilled to share our gift edit! And for this season, we've reached out to some of our favorite inspiring individuals we admire to curate some holiday gift ideas.

San Fransciso-based Jen Szeto is a force to be reckoned with, not just for her stunning imagery through her Instagram account, Window of Imagination, but for her warmth and beautiful adventurous spirit.  Combining her passion for fashion, climbing, architecture and travel, she pushes the boundaries of styling and photography to create images with such visual eloquence. We're delighted to present Jen's top picks for this holiday season- pieces that feature her love of modern distinctive design yet versatile and hardworking.

We've long admired the work of graphic designer and art director, Amanda Jane Jones. As a founding Kinfolk designer and currently the founder of the beautiful new quarterly Define magazine, she is truly an inspiring lady in how she balances work, love and family. She has curated a collection of gifts from Vuela that embody her love for timeless pieces and beautiful simplicity.
 

SHOP THE GIFT EDIT:

 Jen's Picks: Lotfi tote / Oji Masonori bottle opener / Studio Joo vessel / Slow Studio mug

Amanda's Picks: Bohemia Design hammam towel / Slow Studio mug / Sayaka Davis Necklace / The Things We Keep Ring / Ellen Truijen Wallet 

Please contact us at info@vuelaboutique.com for custom gift boxes! And stay tune for more gift picks soon!

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Thank you so much Jen and Amanda for participating in our holiday gift guide! We're so grateful and blessed to know you and really appreciate your help and support of our small business always!

New Collaborations: Love Lynsey and Katrin Reifeiss

We're delighted to present two beautiful collaborations with amazing local designers and makers featuring the use of textiles and wood. They're beautiful designs a wonderful as a treat for yourself or holiday gift giving. We're  happy to showcase the hand-dyed textiles by Brooklyn-based Katrin Reifeiss.

Given our love for neutrals, she used a grey tone to form a lovely pattern for the versatile Moyen pouch she created exclusively for our shop. With a love for travel and colors, Katrin hand-dyes and crafts her textiles goods specializing in Japanese Shibori. She is also a painter and an instructor at the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn.

We love the modern vessel using the natural material of wood crafted by Utah-based woodworker Lynsey Schlegel of Love Lynsey. Featuring a simple shape and the beautiful detail of copper, our special collaboration maple bowl is an instant favorite!

Originally from Arizona, Lynsey attended Arizona State University and has a BS in Industrial Design. Lynsey developed her passion for building, manipulating materials and creating dimensional spaces while working as a display artist. She has taken her collective experience in design and display to form her own unique style and point of view to craft homewares and furniture in Salt Lake City. Lynsey's aesthetic is inspired by contrasts and the manipulation of honest materials to create a refined and modern result with a touch of the unexpected. 

New Ceramics: Romy Northover and Shino Takeda

We're delighted to restock the beautiful ceramics this fall from two of our favorite New-York based ceramicist: Romy Northover and Shino Takeda. I had a chance to visit their studios this fall and picked up these beautiful pieces for Vuela. The ceramic bowls, cups, plate or pots are beautifully crafted with pretty colors just in time for all the festivities and gift giving this holiday season.

Shop Romy Northover and Shino Takeda Ceramics

New Arrivals: The Things We Keep Jewelry

I'm always in awe of The Things We Keep designer Kay Wang for her talent and versatility. Whether it's working with wood, textiles, or metal, she designs beautiful home goods and jewelry that you'd want to use and "keep" for many seasons. We adore her jewelry collection this season, as she has created simple subtle pieces that you'd want to wear everyday and work with any ensemble.

Shop The Things We Keep collection

Model photos from The Things We Keep

New Label We Love: Lotfi Bags

We adore this modern and simple yet statement making bags by San Francisco-based Lotfi by designer Sharareh Lotfi. We love the unexpected details like the tassels and geometric forms while being functional at heart. Check out these new additions in our bag collection!

Summer Edit: Vuela Goods with Photography by Lydia & Emlie

We're so thrilled to present these amazing images of our fave pieces from our shop this season. These amazing photos are taken by the talented Minneapolis-based sisters Lydia and Emilie. They love to capture beauty, emotion and life through the lenses. And yes indeed! They've beautifully captured our essential goods for use in life whether at home or out and about.

Shop Vuela goods: Trollhagen & Co Creamer / Studio Joo Bowl / The Things We Keep Kitchen Towel / Bohemia Design Hammam Towel / First Rite Dani Tank

Styling and photography: Lydia & Emilie

Richmond: Travel Tips from Christine Young of Young Frankk

I'm delighted to present part 2 of our interview with Richmond-based jewelry designer Christine Young of Young Frankk. As one of America's oldest cities, Richmond boasts a wonderful combination of history, creative energy and natural beauty. From her favorite food places, local haunts and beloved design community, Christine gives us a peek of this beautiful historic town she now calls home.

Young Frankk's Richmond Studio

Vuela X Young Frankk Necklace

You are currently based in Richmond, Virginia. What is your favorite thing about living in Richmond? How has your city influence your designs?

Richmond is such a cool city to live in. There's always something to do, the cost of living is cheap, the people are so friendly and fun and it has a great art and design community. I have so many talented friends here who also have their own businesses and seeing their work is definitely inspiring and motivating. 

What are "must see" things or "must do" for those visiting your hometown?

Probably the first place people will say to check out is Belle Isle or the James River. You can hike along it, swim or there's even a natural rock climbing wall to climb. Carytown is a cute little shopping area with boutiques, restaurants and bars that is all very walkable. The Byrd Theatre is also in Carytown and I like to go there because they play $2 movies every night in a very historical grand theatre. VMFA is a great art museum in the Fan district with great special exhibitions that come thru with fun wine nights on Thursday and Friday nights. And I would also recommend driving down Monument Avenue to see beautiful and historic homes and statues. 

 

Virgina Museum of Fine Arts image via

What are off the beaten path local hangouts? Favorite neighborhoods, parks, etc.? 

Maymont Park is a huge beautiful park to check out with a wildlife rehabilitation center, a children's farm and different themed gardens. But my personal favorite park is Libby Hill Park in the Church Hill neighborhood, its not expansive but you can get a really great view overlooking Richmond and the James River so it's really serene to sit and enjoy the view. Richmond also has a huge music scene, so theres shows happening all the time either at local venues or house shows. 

Favorite places to shop: boutiques or outdoor markets:

I love to check out what my friend Kate has in store at her shop Na Nin, she carries the most beautiful handmade clothing, objects and apothecary made by independent designers. And of course there is Need Supply, which has a huge following and a constant flow of great selections. I am so grateful to have both awesome shops in Richmond carry Young Frankk! Another great boutique is Verdalina, which has a great curation of my favorite designers. Other than clothing, I also love checking out the vintage and thrift stores around town for home stuff, my favorite one is probably Verve which is a huge warehouse filled with awesome vintage home furnishings. Once in a while there'll be the Well Worn Markets which showcases local makers and designers plus vintage finds so it's fun to go and see what everyone is creating and doing around town.

Na Nin

 

Need Supply Co.

Favorite places to eat or type of food: 

There's so many great new restaurant and bars constantly popping up in Richmond, some of my recent favorites are: Dog and Pig Show, Saison, Proper Pie, Sabai, Sub Rosa Bakery and Pasture. Then there are old favorites such as 8 1/2, Helen's, Mamma Zu, Lamplighter, The Magpie and Can Can and so many more!

 

 

Metzger / Stella's / Sub Rosa Bakery / VMFA Cafe / The Dog and Pig Show

Best mode of transportation to get around the city:

Richmond is definitely known for its bike community, people love to bike here. But other than that, driving is great because you can pretty much get anywhere you need to go within 10 minutes.

Easy day trips from Richmond-cool places to see right outside the city: 

Skyline Drive is a great scenic route to take to see beautiful views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, I like to go there to do some hiking and joyriding. Charlottesville is the next city over where I like to go for some good food and a change of scenery, its a really cute and beautiful town surrounded by historical buildings and vineyards. Then only 2 hours away is DC, where of course is great food, shopping, museums and shows. 

Thomas Jeffereson's home: Monticello in Charlottesville image via

Favorite local designers or makers: 

Favorite local designers and makers in Richmond are Na Nin, GiantLION, Emimade Ceramics, Colo Palo and Campfire & Co. 

Lookbook Photo from Giant Lion Jewelry

Lookbook Photo from Calo Palo

For the wanderlust in all of us, what are some of your favorite places to visit? Where would you like to travel next?

I love to visit Korea and on my bucket list to travel to is: Greece, India, Africa and Iceland! 

Shop Young Frankk Jewelry Collection
Personal photos courtesy of Young Frankk

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Thanks so much Christine for giving us a glimpse of the wonderful city of Richmond! I'm so happy to share this travel guide to one of our historic cities in the US. I really appreciate you taking the time to share your favorite places and these lovely images. Thank you!