It's all good.

Hi there friends - it has indeed been a little while, and it's so nice to be back.

Let me catch you up a bit - it will explain why you haven't seen much Magpie Fields action. About a month ago, my body said no more.  It all started with a little numbness in my face that I noticed for a couple of weeks, and I decided to ignore it because besides that, I was feeling fine. When my body had had enough, it about knocked me out - literally. All of a sudden I was experiencing numbness, tingling, faintness, confusion, and dizziness and I wasn't really sure what was going on . After all,  I had recently changed my diet to a healthier option of becoming vegan and was pretty active - but I was missing one important thing...vitamins. Changing my diet from eating pretty much anything in moderation (well some things moderately) to a strict vegan diet without supplements or vitamins, my body was missing the nutrients it needed and depended on. My body held strong for a little over a month on a vegan diet without b12 and D vitamins - when my blood work came back with deficiency, I hopped back on the dairy and meat train and started taking vitamins to get my body back on track. My symptoms were pretty much all over the place so multiple tests were taken to make sure nothing more serious was going on - tests to detect all types of diseases ranging from lupus to epilepsy to MS. I'm beyond grateful to say all the tests have come back normal and I'm feeling stronger everyday. Having your nervous system out of whack is something I had never experienced - you can't control it. I would look at a paragraph and wouldn't know how to process it or even how to start to read it. It was frustrating at times but to know some people deal with things like that daily really puts things into perspective...and fast.  It's humbling to be given your health back - something so easy to take for granted. I'm happy to say with a couple of  more doctor visits and building back up my strength, I'm pretty much in the clear! We must remember what our mama's have been telling us for a long time "take your vitamins" - they aren't kidding.

Going through this has taught me so much. It's stretched me spiritually more than ever and I'm grateful for that. Experiencing anxiety for the first time was scary but learning to live in the spirit and not of ourselves is so freeing - I have to thank my brother for that bit of advice...its so true! It's easy to get wrapped up in our world of dreams, goals, and everyday life and quickly forget that we aren't in control - but not being is control is really the beauty of it all. It's nice to remember to let go, it's the only way to live in peace. I can't be reminded of that enough.

A huge thanks to you all for understanding and my friends and family for their encouraging words - especially to my husband who has been unbelievably supportive and my mom who has been absolutely amazing for coming out to stay with us for a while. You are all awesome.

So things should start livening up around here - I'm excited and a little terrified (in a good way) to get back into the swing of things! Oh, and summer is almost here...yes! lots of love, em

photography + graphics by magpiefields

UPCYLCED: VINTAGE CHROME CHAIRS

After much trial and error, we have the finished product of the vintage metal chairs and I couldn't be happier to reveal them to you. The reveal is of 4 vintage Milo Baughman style chairs , and they are absolutely stunning; seriously gorgeous. To really appreciate and soak up the goodness of these chrome beauties - I must uncover them when I found them...yeah, the before. 

Scary! Scary how these were probably sitting amongst a flea market for years in the corner, and they were just waiting to be given a little TLC. I did just that, a lot of that. Let me share with you the process ...

First I pulled inspiration for the chairs. What drew me to these chairs in the first place? The frame. I loved the curved shape of these chairs like the ones above. I sourced inspiration from various spots and was drawn to mostly dark textiles against shiny metal. So all there was to do, was put it all together.

So I set out to strip these chairs down to their original metal, which I thought was brass but quickly found out was not. To be honest, I really wasn't sure what it was, but I knew that simply stripping the layer of cream paint wasn't doing the trick. For the next attempt, I thought to paint them in a nice metallic paint. It seemed like a great idea, so I primed them and painted them a shiny gold metallic - no bueno. They looked bad, real bad. I knew these chairs were special so I wasn't trying to get them done to simply, get them done. 

So back I went to multiple hardware stores and scoured the web for helpful info and found the solution. I just needed a more aggressive way of stripping off the paint! There were multiple, and I mean multiple layers of paint on these chairs.  The gold that was initially under the cream paint was actually paint as well - like a gold plated film. So I went to town, and scrubbed like no other - you might have seen the vine video here or here earlier. 

And the outcome was gorgeous chrome!!

I remember thinking, whew! And wow, all at the same time. 

Next, the cushions had to be reupholstered. I was going to use this vintage deep blue velvet that I had in stock, but after finding out the frames were chrome I thought the best way to go would be a dark textile to really showcase the metal sheen.  

I set out to find a nice textured textile in black. I found this gold speckled fabric but there wasn't enough of it to cover all of the cushions. Good thing that didn't work out because after a little more scouting - I found the perfect ikat. Black - silver - gold - modern...the perfect fabric to compliment these vintage yet modern frames. 

Aren't they stunning?! Wouldn't they be great around a dining room table mixed with other chairs. It was so exciting to be able to debut them at our pop-up shop last week at Mockingbird Domestics, and paired with Stone Textile pillows - it was a match made in heaven.

A huge thanks to my husband, Josh, who was a really big help with finishing these pieces to be able to have them at the pop-up! 

I look forward to expanding Magpie Fields to showcase more furniture in the future. If you are interested in these chairs or would like us to scout out that perfect piece for your space, give us a shout at hello@magpiefields.com - we would be happy to help you! Happy weekend everyone! xo, e

inspiration:

lonny magazine july/august 2011

here 

POP-UP: MOCKINGBIRD DOMESTICS

You've seen a lot of feed about our pop-up shop last week through wall posts, tweets, and snap shots and now its time to show you what all the hype was about. We popped up our shop at Mockingbird Domestics last week and mixed our vintage and upcycled goods with the modern designs of Stone Textile. 

Some of Stone Textile's pillows with our handmade African mudcloth - what a mix, eh?! 

Both, Elizabeth of Stone Textile, and myself built brands centered around the idea of mixing modern and vintage - so needless to say, it was refreshing to see our products mixed together. The Diamond Print Napkins were stacked high and goodies were for the taking; tape measures, tips + tricks, postcards, notebooks, and cute little bags of popcorn - goodies galore. We premiered so many of our latest finds - like our white and black letter "I" lights, Danish leather bound books, apothecary jars, a Swedish black and white storage bin, and a cute little retro clock that already found a new home. It was really exciting to see Stone Textile launch their stationery line the same day as the pop-up, check out those cards!

I really enjoyed branding the event. It's fun whipping something up for different events and happenings. 

Above was a cozy nook with some of our latest finds - one of the Rattan side tables (it's a pair) and a rattan magazine rack stacked with Stone Textile pillows and blanket along with our vintage Kilim pillow. Did you see the gorgeous chrome vintage Milo Baughman style chairs all freshly updated and gorgeous!? With the Tuxedo pillow it's a definite match - I know, I'm kind of in love. I'll be posting about the upcycling process of the set of 4 this week so stay tuned.

We had a ball + there was such a wonderful turnout for the event! Thank you all for coming out! A huge thanks to Tribeza + The Ruby Collaborative for promoting the event, Mockingbird Domestics for hosting us, and Stone Textile for working with us. We look forward to popping up more often! It's so nice to meet you all and present our latest finds. 

See something you love? Email us at hello@magpiefields.com for details. Who knows, it might still be available or we would be happy to scout out something similar for you! 

POP-UP SHOP WITH MAGPIE FIELDS + STONE TEXTILE STUDIO

We are so excited about this collaboration with Stone Textile Studio + Mockingbird Domestics, and to present our latest goods to you!

That's right, we're popping up just in time for SXSW! Here are the details...

What: POP-UP SHOP featuring Magpie Fields + Stone Textile Studio
Where: Mockingbird Domestics
When: Tuesday, March 12th, 12 pm - 3 pm
Why: To say hello, to present our latest collections, suggest solutions to your design dilemmas, and present a beautiful blend of modern textiles with vintage wares!

Mockingbird Domestics has the most unique collection of goods - you might remember a little snippet from this post. Jeff and Laura Daly, are the founders and the husband and wife duo behind Mockingbird Domestics and it's unique concept. They house 75+ different Texas-based artist's and designer's goods in their store. The collection is beautifully curated and displayed so well throughout the store - it's a feast for your eyes. The support from Mockingbird Domestics is incredible and the  Mockingbird Guild that they have created is truly something special.

And you guys, you should also take a look at some of Stone Textile Studio's exquisite designs - my friend Elizabeth, the founder and designer, is so talented. You might remember me posting about their latest pillow collection here. They will be launching a brand new stationery collection on Tuesday to coincide with the pop-up shop!

I sure would love to see you stop by if you're in the Austin area - can't wait to see ya there! xo, e

graphic design// magpie fields
photography// mockingbird domestics + stone textile studio

SAN DIEGO SAND

You might have seen images or heard me talking about my trip earlier this month to San Diego.  It was a short trip to the West Coast to visit one of my dear friends for her birthday. San Diego is such an awesome city - I think the most inspiring + surprising part was the landscape.

I learned that the famous Dr. Suess lived in La Jolla, one of the many areas of San Diego, and you can definitely see where he drew his inspiration from... right outside his front door. The trees are amazing - long and lean, and the ocean side is nothing less than magical.

One morning we were feeling adventurous and decided to trek the trails of Torrey Pines.  Up, around and finally down the hill to the ocean where the sand and water had made beautiful patterns together.  They reminded me of a few of the latest items, like this Danish set of leather books and teapot of swirls, in the shop.

It was a refreshing trip indeed. You really can pull inspiration from anywhere....even the sand.

photography//magpiefields

books and teapot

DAY-O-LOVE

 

Happy Valentine's Day friends! Sending love out to you today, and everyday. 

Our birthday celebration continues all week long, so hop on over and use code CELEBRATE at checkout to receive 10% off your order. 

xo,

e

framed image

BON ANNIVERSAIRE