Change is good.

My good friend always says "Change is good". So I am going to use that to introduce our new blog and let you know that this will be the last post here at Project Ecoart.

On to bigger and better things at our new home.

Click here to join the fun!

DIY Monday - Union Jack Pillow

My addiction to reverse applique seems to be shared by many and Trust Your Style is one of them. Check out her DIY Union Jack pillow here.

We'll be sharing our own DIY projects soon, so until then please enjoy the creativity of all the wonderful crafters out there ;)

Fab Felting

I just love this fabulous felted vest over at Atlantis Home.

What a chic way to recycle wool sweaters.

We have our own way of recycling wool sweaters at Revolution Malibu. 

Our beanie design is the most popular. We use all recycled, felted sweaters and recycled leather 

( crosses, skulls, fleur de lis etc... ) and vintage studs.

Everything we do at Revolution Malibu is based on recycling, handmade, eco friendly and local products. I love seeing what others are doing with recycled materials. The Alabama Stitch Book is my favorite source for ideas for recycling t-shirts. Below are some of the designs we have done based on the techniques from the book. Our efforts were even recognized by designer Natalie Chanin who included a picture of our work on her blog.

This is a completely redesigned ( we make our own patterns )recycled t-shirt with reverse applique and vintage studs.

One of my favorite projects is the skirt in the Alabama Stitch Book. I've done a few versions of it including circles, and now skulls...

This the Alabama Chanin version...

This is my version...

Being so close to the beach we have a recycled t-shirt bikini top that's perfect for strolling around town with a pair of cutt-off levi shorts.

Ready to cut it up?

DIY Monday - Ripped tights

I'm going to start off our first DIY by linking you to a blog I found via Garance Dore.

The directions for these ultra sexy looking tights are here.

Mine already have a great start from my Harley motorcycle boots so the rest should be easy ;)

Send me pics ladies...I would love to see how yours came out!

Smokin hot

The hot weather brings out the best of neighborhood and Malibu local Tommy Flanagan is no exception.

He's the actor you know from "Smokin' Ace's" and FX's "Son's Of Anarchy" and not to mention a friend of my partner Melissa - who you finally get to meet here in this picture we took today with Tommy. 

I wonder who else is going to make an appearance!

Cuff Love

Cuffs are our "statement" pieces at Revolution Malibu. These are from our new collection made with recycled leather, vintage studs and pieces of vintage jewelry, then topped off with a healthy serving of feathers.

We call them "Pretty N Punk".

Peacock...This was the first one I made. 

Purple feathers and "found" pieces ( a big filigree earring that lost it's mate and a small silver skull with similar circumstances ).

I call this "Can Can" because It reminds me of the Folies Bergeres for some reason.

Today I'm wearing mine ( the peacock one ) with my vintage re-designed Van Halen t-shirt, "boyfriend jeans", new Doc Marten lace-ups with roses ( a recent gift from my husband Dave - just because ;), a dainty skull necklace with black diamond eyes ( we had these special made for our store ) and a rockin' one of a kind celtic cross belt with hand distressed strap ( that will be the new DIY we'll be doing weekly ).

A self portrait with my t-shirt...I am short of extra hands this morning for the full size

Black diamond skull...

My new Docs....

and my celtic cross belt with distressed strap.

Stay tuned for our new weekly DIY!

Opening new doors...

I am never really surprised by the constant stream of fabulously tattooed and skull encrusted rock n roll types that flow our little community - but every once and a while I am given a little jolt of how many amazing artists I actually come in contact with, through our wonderful little piece of heaven called Revolution Malibu. Our little retail establishment that isn't even really open yet has opened quite a few doors already, including a real "Door" in the form of John Densmore the drummer for "The Doors" . We were graced with his presence last Friday night when he strolled in to see what we were all about and ended up leaving with one of our fabulous one of a king tuxedo jackets that he told us he will be wearing to the Grammy's!!!!!

John and his band members in the sixties.

Malibu local John Densmore today.

and voila...a tuxedo jacket very close to the one Mr. Densmore will be wearing on the Grammys.

The dude's got style ;)

Mini me...

My daughter Tatum never ceases to amaze me with how well she photographs. She has been the face of Revolution Malibu ( of which one of her photos was used on the Alabama Chanin blog ) since it's inception - and we are looking forward to using her on the new website we are currently working on.

Oh and did I mention how smart and talented she is too? You can read her rockin' band reviews here and here.

Meanwhile, thanks for being so patience with my spotty blogging... Our big grand opening is scheduled for Valentine's day and we will have a lot of fun and exciting things to share with you including lots of DIY!

New year, new tattoo and...

My idea of a fun new Years day was..

Getting a little ink of the Valentine kind...

and a little boyfriend action... 

Our Revolution Malibu "boyfriend" jeans - $68

Don't forget the custom boyfriend tags - removable of course if you have a change of heart ;)



shredded to perfection... ( add some Harley Davidson motorcycle boots and you can't be anymore comfortable than this - I assure you ).

more where that came from...

a few more pics for the patient ( after all this has been a three month process )...

I heart our pink christmas trees...

I finished this dress yesterday...the crows are so romantic



A few leather cuffs in the window...

A new era begins...

I can now safely say that my life has changed ( for he better ) with the opening of Revolution Malibu. While our official grand opening will be in January ( what a great way to start the New Year ), we have had customers practically beating down our door - even with the colossal mess. Throw in a few sewage issues ( Malibu is mostly septic believe it or not ), other plumbing and city issues and you can pretty much understand why we have to bypass most of Christmas.

Here are some pics to enjoy...

Our beautiful peacock feather hair accessories and cashmere scarves...

Beautiful crystal and gold jewelry...

A signature Collage Couture and Thirsty 4 Souls skull dress. Hand screened with eco friendly inks right in our in house studio. Love the black mohair cardigan with it...

Close up of the skulls studded with 30 cm Swarovski crystals. Fab style for new Year's don't you think?

Part of our window display we will be finishing today...

One of our first customers, Bella, who is wearing a Thirsty 4 Souls recycled wool hat with recycled leather cross accent.

Tom wearing a CRIME one of a kind suit jacket.

More pics to come

Shame...

I was reluctant to use my 200th post to shame my neighbors...but after doing some holiday shopping at their shop CLOUT , I was leaning over their counter and was shocked to see MY PICTURE, ( duplicated what looked like a thousand times ) as their "wallpaper"on their 24 inch computer monitor....

So now I am their personal bullseye and they don't even respond to my tag?????

I think not boys - at least not without some cyber retaliation ;)

Let's start with the one who has dug the biggest hole ( in my opinion ).



Jeff - This kid is sooooo brilliant and creative but has some serious writer's block. He's the one in charge of the blog - what little bit of blog there is. However, we are grateful to him for enlightening us on the "tao of silk screening". At least he's good for something...



Ahhhhh, this is the boss, the guy in charge.This is Craig. I know I need to shame him for something...just not sure what yet.
The consequences for shaming the boss? I will most likely end up in the card aisle at CVS ( or Ralph's if it's before 7 a.m. ) and stick a Starbucks card inside that card. Usually it's an "I'm sorry" , or a "thank you". Nothing scandalous... - I do have to be very careful not to piss him off though because, the last time I did that I lost 6 lbs. and did not sleep for a week ( true story ).



Jonny is just a pretty boy - and that's plenty to be ashamed of - especially since he's about to be in a layout in Vogue magazine. I don't think I'll ever talk to him again after that comes out ;)

I'm finished for now. Tomorrow I may have to add a couple of others to this wall of shame.

Keep in mind, this is really all in good, naughty, unedited fun...

BTW - boys next door - please replace the wallpaper photo on your monitor with the unedited version.

A million thanks...

As if I don't already have enough to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Day, the universe, god ( and whatever higher power is out there ) blessed me with an email from another blogger that my work was posted on the Alabama Chanin blog and website.

For those of you who don't know Alabama Chanin, this company was founded by Natalie Chanin who is the pioneer of the process we use in our recycled couture pieces at Revolution Malibu.

Natalie has won many awards for her designing and was a 2005 CFDA Vogue Fashion Award finalist.

To have our work reviewed and actually posted on her blog is a huge honor.

Check out her post here. 

  

We're Agitated

Revolution Malibu recently received accolades from the trend forecasting blog Trend Agitator.

We have been so overwhelmed with construction and production it has been hard to see through our mess! Apparently our peers had tunnel vision and saw through the mayhem :) 

Just Asking...

Learning life lessons is hard sometimes. Especially when you are right smack in the middle of being "schooled".

Earlier this week I was having a conversation with some friends and we were discussing relationships and how people handle their respective partners/spouses.  

One of my friends asked me this question: "Do you give everything ( your spouse/partner needs ) in your relationship?"

Since I am a 110% girl with everything I do, I confidently responded " yes " without any reservation.

Then he asked me " Do you get everything ( you need ) in your relationship?"

I won't share the answer to that, but I will tell you that those two questions affected me profoundly.

Ask yourself the same question.

If the answer is yes - then you are truly blessed.

If the answer is no - then is that fair?

Six ( unimportant ) Things That Make Me Happy

Yesterday pretty.little.world. gave me the honor of being tagged. For those of you who don't know, tagging is a good thing. 

I was asked to do a post on "Six Unimportant Things That Make Me Happy". As I stated in my previous post, if it makes me happy, it must be important. 

So hang on, cause here I go...

1. Ma famille ( "My Family"  in french - which I am - full blooded ). I'm sure you saw that coming ;)

2. Malibu.  I have been a Zuma Beach rat since childhood, only taking a break here and there to be a mom and wife. I became a full time Malibu resident Sept. 6, 2006. I wouldn't live anywhere else in the world. I don't even like to leave here to run errands in the city - seriously.

3. Revolution Malibu. My baby, my shop - and my logo - beautifully designed by a brilliant kid named Craig who left this world too early. Everytime I walk into my store and look at that logo I think of him. It makes me happy and I know he'd be happy too. 

4. Making Stuff. I'm all D.I.Y., all the time. I don't care what it is, if it can be made, I will be making it. Especially if I want it - bad.

5. Mornings. I am a morning girl. When I drive down the hill in the morning, I see the sun rise over the Pacific Ocean. It's breathtaking everytime. It really makes you happy to be alive and around so much beauty.

6. Music. Food for the soul. Especially Incubus, Lifehouse, and John Mayer...throw in a little Audioslave and I am all yours!  ;)

Rules are rules - and in the blogging world "tagging" is serious business.

I am tagging my fave blogs to name their six unimportant things that make them happy.

CLOUT RIDESHOP ( my hot little neighbor boys and girls next door at Zuma Beach Plaza. If you want to see some surf and skate action check out their videos )
I*Heart*You  ( Funnier than s%#t! I love her! )

Design Nomad ( Great design blog - we are now friends outside blogging too. )

Ruby Press ( These guys are insanely creative - one of my all time fave blogs )

Brooke Ahana Daily ( us artists have to stick together !)

I will be tagging more blogs, but I want to find something really juicy to make them tag about first - throw in a little shame too maybe :0

Stay tuned!

Blush. Blush.

Update: 7:41 a.m.

My Mac at the shop is by far more capable than the one I have at home... Here are the links to the blogs I mentioned below... ENJOY!!!

Pretty.Little.World.

CLOUT RIDESHOP

Design Nomad

Pretty.Little.World. (http://prettylittlefashionworld.blogspot.com - I just converted to MAC and there is no hyperlink - WTF? )  just voted me one of her fave blogs...she was tagged and tagged me along with her asking me to post " six unimportant thing that make me happy "...
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

That's alot to think about...

If something makes me happy, doesn't that mean it's important?

Nevertheless, this makes me feel especially good since I have been exhausted getting the shop together for the grand opening in time for Christmas, and haven't had the time to post.
I am definitely motivated to post more now - especially by this very sweet jesture -  even though I may have to start posting at 4 a.m. !

Also - another shout out to Elisa over at Design Nomad ( http://designnomad.blogspot.com ) - she was worried about me since I hadn't posted since election day.
xoxoxoxoxox

Don't worry about me my little pretties - I am surrounded by beauty - check out the neighbor boys at www.cloutmalibu.com ( click on the blog link and go through all of the pages - there are only four but you don't want to miss anyone of these guys ;) - muy caliente - and will most certainly make my top six list!

it's on

Election day is here...so excited. I have my "Ba Rock it" t-shirt on ( spied it on A Cup Of Jo ) and I am voting this morning as soon as the doors open.

You best believe I will have my trusty camera with me in case of an inpromptu sightings.

Getting there...

Even with the minor hiccup ( permits that weren't filed by the landlord ), there is progress. I finally finished the logo on the wall and the cash desk. The cash desk was actually a bar made out of wood from an old fishing boat. I painted it light blue and stained it with a moss green color to give it the look of being taken out of the ocean. I called around looking for a fishnet but they are sooooo expensive ( $80 for the size I was looking for! ) I bought a bunch of cheesecloth to drape from the ceiling and so I used some of it ( dyed it with leftover coffee ) and used the "Stiffy" fabric stiffener to keep the "draping" in place. Then I glued a few sea shells and rhinestones to give it the full effect.












So glad I trusted my husband's instincts when he called me and described this bar he found because it is now the focal point in the store.