Home, home on the studio range

The last 20 months have been a wild ride for me, in all positive ways.  I frequently feel awash in gratitude for everything that's come my way--marriage, baby, a growing list of fantastic partners and clients.  

The most recent addition to this whirlwind is the house my husband and I bought!  We waited 7 months for our deal to go through--a short sale, that wasn't--but now we're in and I've moved the studio once again to come live with us. It was a tough decision to leave my current and relatively new studio, but it became clear that it would be redundant to stay.  Close ties still remain to Manifold and Merkled nevertheless!

The new challenge is creating BB | Studio's new home in our attic. Here's how it looks today (while my 'office' remains at the kitchen table :). The only thing we've touched so far is tearing out the carpet.
I'm so excited to see it evolve and grow. 

Accessibles at Manifold - Opening December 8, 3pm-8pm

In honor of the holiday season, Manifold is hosting a show and sale of locally designed and produced accessories. The title of the show, ACCESSIBLES, refers to a simple premise: to design, create, and present items for sale at $150 and under. 

This is a special opportunity to purchase work from gallery artists and designers who, in many cases, do not focus their professional practice on designing inexpensive items. Featuring work by local furniture makers, product designers, sculptors, and artists, this sale’s unique collection includes vessels, audible wall art, candleholders, letterpress prints, hand-turned ornaments, bags, dining table décor, steel bookends, and more.

December 8 - December 21, 2012
Opening Reception: Saturday, December 8, 3 – 8pm

Manifold
4426 N. Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60640 
www.manifoldchicago.com

 

New Products!

I've been busy working on some new items that will debut at a holiday sale starting tomorrow (more info on that to follow).  Using scrap fabric and leather, I've developed a coaster set, and a leather 'tray'.  Both products offer a bit of protection for your fine furniture.  

The coasters are leather on one side and wool on the other which you can flip depending on what surface you use them on: fabric goes down for wood; leather goes down for metal, glass or stone. 

The leather tray isn't for carrying, but for resting.  It's a place to throw your keys, put your sunglasses, wallet or coffee, without worrying about damaging the table surface.  It's reversible and available in one or two-tone.

More wine bags

'Tis the season for gatherings and gift giving, so naturally I'm making more wine bags.  They are all limited run, made of remnant fabric and leather, and really make the perfect host/ hostess gift--with a bottle of wine in it of course!  

Below are some process shots, an image of some new colors I'm offering, and how a bottle looks all dressed up in one of these.  

They are available here:
Haymaker and SMALL

 

Building a canopy

Over this past Labor Day weekend some very dear friends of mine got married, and I had the honor and privilege of creating the chuppah to be used during the wedding ceremony.  This special element covers the couple as they exchange their nuptial vows, and is a symbol of the home they will share together.  

Using a tone-on-tone linen combination, I created a pattern inspired by the Linden tree, which I repeated and sewed on as an applique.  I consider the Linden tree to symbolize strength, resilience and plenitude--all things I wish for the newlyweds in their future together!  I also wanted the piece to come alive when the light came through and since their wedding was on the beach, it provided a great opportunity.  The piece not only created a fabric canopy (the home), but a tree-like canopy (nature) as well, connecting the indoors with outdoors.

We will be working together to transform it into an item they can use everyday in their home.  

Mazel Tov to the newlyweds!  Wishing them many years of health and happiness.

Test piece using cutouts.

Linen gets really wrinkly when you work with it.

  

Wedding photos by Shauneen Weininger

Thornberry, R&D at MANIFOLD

This past March I was in a group show, R&D at MANIFOLD curated by Britton Bertran (full disclosure: he's also this guy).  It was the first exhibition of the work of Thornberry, a collective founded in 2009 which includes Philip von Zweck, Kevin Jennings and myself, dedicated to producing the world’s finest doorstops.  We showed our inaugural doorstop, Model A, in carrara marble, porcelain and wenge.   

R&D, 2012, installation view
photo (c) MANIFOLD 2012

Thornberry, Model A, carrara marble, 2012
photo (c) MANIFOLD 2012

Thornberry, Model A, porcelain, 2012
photo (c) MANIFOLD 2012

Thornberry, Model A, wenge, 2012
photo (c) MANIFOLD 2012

Bridgette Buckley Studio at MANIFOLD

In the Fall of 2011 I moved my office and workshop into MANIFOLD (formerly metal+works) run by Elizabeth and Ross Fiersten.  Kari Merkl of Merkled also has her studio in the space.  It's been a fantastic experience sharing space, resources and ideas. 

Come by to check out the storefront gallery or just to say hi! 
4426 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60640

Pillow Talk at Peregrine Program

Last November I was a part of a fantastic group show at a really wonderful gallery in Garfield Park in Chicago, Peregrine Program.  I created two new pieces for the show, which illustrate a direction I'd like to explore further in my work.  It was great to work with Edmund Chia who runs the space, and Stevie and Natalie, the organizers.  Details below.

Pillow Talk
curated by Stevie Greco and Natalie Schuh 

Essay and catalog here.

PEREGRINEPROGRAM

Nov 12, 2011 - Dec 10, 2011
Bridgette Buckley, Joe Cassan, Todd Mattei, Danielle Paz

Pillow Talk, 2011, installation view
photo (c) Edmund Chia/ Peregrine Program, 2011

Pillow Talk, 2011, installation view
photo (c) Edmund Chia/ Peregrine Program, 2011

Bridgette Buckley, Negotiating Blanket, 2011
remnant luxury upholstery fabric, birch plywood, twill tape, 48" x 48"
photo (c) Edmund Chia/ Peregrine Program, 2011

Bridgette Buckley, Strings Attached, 2011
remnant luxury upholstery fabric, pine wood, parachute cord,
aluminum, electrical components, 36" x 17" x 17"
photo (c) Edmund Chia/ Peregrine Program, 2011

ETERNITY at The Storefront

An eternity ago (or one year ago, today), I was part of an exhibition at The Storefront in Logan Square in Chicago. I was excited to work with Brandon Alvendia again, who runs the space, and Marc Fisher of Temporary Services and Public Collectors who organized the show.  Marc invited me to show my rave flyer collection that hadn't see the light of day in over a decade.

Below is the flyer I made for the exhibition using a photo I took while flying over the Baltic Sea from Helsinki, Finland to Copenhagen, Denmark in 2006.  My short essay appeared on the back.  You can also see a lot of my scanned flyers here.

Public Collectors' awesome documentation of the show here.

ETERNITY

Saturday, August 13, 2011

at The Storefront
2606 N California
Chicago, IL 60647

Logan Square's The Storefront presents a show tonight Saturday featuring a collection of rave and club flyers from the collection of Bridgette Buckley.  She began collecting flyers in Boulder, Colorado in the early 90's when she attended her first rave.  The collection on display spans the years 1992 to 2001.  Bridgette will also be spinning music from that period for tonight's reception.

This show was facilitated by Public Collectors, a group founded by artist Marc Fisher dedicated to sharing people's collections of books, records, and ephemera with broader audiences.

Catching up...

This past year has been a whirlwind.  First this happened:

 then this happened:

and now I'm catching my breath and catching up.

I'll dedicate the next few posts to trying to cover all the other things I've missed in the past 14 months, which have been plenty!

Happy Leap End of the World Year!

It is in fact a Leap Year (a correction to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year, aka the time it takes for the Earth to move around the Sun), but the World is not actually going to end.  We're simply moving from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius. 

Good night Monument 2. Good night, again, Camp Gay.

Good memories die hard. This is a model I made, of the stage and curtain I made back in the day at Camp Gay. The show, Friends Forever was the last at Monument 2,  and a lovely memorial. Brandon Alvendia was a gracious and sincere curator/ artist to work with.

Oh architecture school, Oh Camp Gay

I am happy to be a part of the upcoming show at Monument 2, about the long defunct Camp Gay in Chicago; organized by Brandon Alvendia. 

I'm making a scale model of the stage, which I had a hand in building, that's allowing me to fondly remember both architecture school, and the oughts.

Our abode on Apartment Therapy

I'm proud of this Apartment Therapy bit on our home.  We've put a lot of care into it, and (dare I say) I think it shows.  @smithschwartz did a fantasic job.