I finally got a war rug! Well technically it's a balisht, a bag that I've put a pillow in and am now using as a cushion. But it's still very cool (although war is not). I just find it so fascinating how conflict has become so routine, that such violent imagery is reflected in their crafts. Although I have also read that the war rug tradition started as a secret way for the people to defy their Soviet Invaders. Newer rugs are said to use war imagery to sneak a few jabs at the Taliban (who, as we know, are not fans of representational art.

I am not expert enough to know the real story. Nor have I figured out what all the images are meant to represent, but I can make out helicopters and airplanes.

The people I bought it from said it took them two years to get their war rugs out of Afghanistan.

There was one more titan of Canadian Modernist design that I didn't write about in the last go-round and that's Gilles Vidal. For some, Vidal is the biggest name in 70s-era Canadian jewellery design. The only reason I didn't write about him was because I didn't have an example of his work -- until today!



Ther seem to be too signatures on Vidal's work, the one pictured above (which is a later mark) and a stylized "gv".

I wasn't able to find much biographical info about Vidal -- maybe I'll have to go to the library. The lady who sold the pendant to me said that he designed the doors for the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal. I must fact check this. Also, if you check out the completed auctions for Vidal on the eBay, you'll see that his work commands a higher price from collectors.



I also found this de Passillé-Sylvestre brooch with an early signature. Its nice to see an early piece if only because you can see the handcrafted quality of it. I feel as if I have a more immediate connection with the artists because I know they touched this little bijoux.

I'm in New York City. It's been a year since I was last here. Have seen some distinctly NYC things, such as two indigent men, slumped on the sidewalk, arguing whether the Christ spoke Greek or Aramaic. Spent the last two days walking everywhere having conversations with shopkeepers and trying not to spend money (because I only brought enough clothes for three days I did buy some items at Uniqlo).

Some bargains: I had my rings cleaned for free at an estate jewelry store! While folks are definitely less showy about it bags and status sunglasses, New Yorkers are still quick to recognize signifiers of status. When I walked into the estate jewelry shop wearing my turn-of-the-20th-century baubles, they must've figured I was a big-spending connoisseur of estate jewelry shops and not a habitué of Value Villages.

I'm beat from walking around, so no nightlife tonight. But I did discover a new Video that combines three of my favourite things: Werewolves, Richard Ayoade, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Take it away, Señor Beaverotti!

I've been so sick for the last three days with the world's most debilitating cold. Why me?

To cheer myself up, I like to go to my friend Lynda's blog and look at the pretty things.

Also, I watched all of season 3 of How I Met Your Mother.

Okay, here's my new invention:

(Hold onto your pants because it's a genius level idea).

You know how Brunch is a marriage between Breakfast and Lunch? Well what if you combined Brunch with Binge Drinking? You would get Brunk!

Just think of it... Tang and Vodka to wash down the kind of stuff you eat when you're hungover. It's the perfect combination for our fast-paced world.

Because I'm too lazy to open up a restaurant myself, if you're interested in cornering the market on Brunk, you can give me $5,000 and you can have the rights. Yes, you pay me. That's the money making part of the scheme.

P.S. I call rights on Brunk!

I like to be prepared for anything. That's why I've been getting ready for the overthrow of the military-industrial complex since I was a pup. I've chosen which house I'm taking over when society collapses (Casa Loma, duh... it's on a hill which is good strategially and it has an indoor swimming pool). And AK and I have amassed an enviable collection of hand cranked radios and solar-powered and dynamo flashlights.

I've also assembled a playlist songs for my post apocalyptic party. They better invent a solar-powered iPod first.
1. Smiths. Panic

2. Ultra Vivid Scene. Mercy Seat.
Ultra Vivid Scene -- Mercy Seat

3. Doves. There Goes the Fear.

4. Arcade Fire. No Cars Go.

5. Singing Fools. Apocalypso</a>

I am trying to nuture my gift for sleeping so I can make some money to buy a war rug.



War rugs or aski first appeared after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. There has been no end of trouble in the region since, and hence a genre was born.

Recurring motifs in war rugs are the Kalishnikov Russian assault rifle, as well as AK-74s, hand grenades, armored fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers (very seldom tanks) and officers' sidearms.


They are super cool. Beautifully made, practical and yet a powerful comment on the effects of war. Ritchies held an auction of war rugs last November. I should've bought one then as the prices have only gone up. And the Canadian Textile Museum had an exhibition of them which ended last January.

So yes, give me money so I can buy a war rug.

Lately I've been evaluating my strengths and limitations. I mean, I'm reasonably competent at a lot of things, but what is my true vocation, you know? What is my superpower? So I made a list of 5 things I'm better at than anybody else I know.
1. Sleeping
2. Loving Andrew
3. Thrift Shopping For Jewellery and Watches
4. Telling Morbid Stories That to Me Are Amusing
5. Being 5 Years Ahead of the Curve

Now, to make one's mark in the world, one has to exploit and sell one's talents. That would be my limitation. Plus being 5 years ahead of the curve is a useless talent. I remember Andrew once remarking that our friend Judy was rocking some look two years before everybody else. And I was like, but I was wearing that 5 years ago! And Andrew said, but nobody remembers five years ago. Or something like that. And when you get right down to it, Andrew loving is sort of a niche market and also something I would do for free.

So here's my plan. I'll start a service called "Sleep On It." You tell me your troubles, I'll have a little sleepy/thinky and then I'll get back to you and tell you about the crazy dream I had whilst reflecting upon your troubles.

the last piece in last week's Modernist trifecta is this brooch by Québecois enamellists Micheline and Yves De Passillé-Sylvestre.

The art of enamelling or painting with glass on metal, is not a lost art, but De Passillé-Sylvestre excelled because their work possessed great technique, bold design and rich, deep colour. What I'm trying to say is, your mom's jewellery box is probably loaded with amoeba-shaped brooches that looks like someone threw up a jawbreaker on them.

De Passillé-Sylvestre set up shop in St. Adele, PQ in 1960. Their early work (jewellery and tableware) is all hand made and enamelled on both sides. It is also signed by hand. As the pieces became more popular, they automated production and their name was stamped on the unenamelled back (see photo below). I once also had a pair of earrings that were simply stamped De P-S.

. At this time, the design element of their jewellery became bolder and more assured. Abstracted figures embellished pieces with all kinds of flowing shapes (see picture below, the bottom piece is not De P-S). The colourwork also remained rich and vibrant



De Passillé-Sylvestre had a good run and the company stayed in production into the 1980s. Near the end, they started producing more stylized, less abstract images. The brooch I picked up last week is probably from this period. I've been unable to ascertain when exactly they closed shop (Google is a fickle mistress). If ya know, please tell me.

Today's theme is nostalgia. It started with Andrew sending me a link to an article in The Guardian about Danielle Dax. Danielle Dax is the first and only album we've ever used the Vinyl Killer on.

It was enough to send me down a wormhole of memories. I took pictures of pictures from the 80s and 90s and put them up on Facebook. I messaged the only person I still know from my grade in high school. I found out the a guy I worked with at the Imprint directed the movie Bolt.

Despite my love of old watches, vintage jewellery and obscure 80s videos, I consider myself someone who lives in the present. Maybe I will have to rethink that. Or maybe I was so far ahead of my time in the 80s, that I am still in the future, man.

Like Danielle Dax...