A Trip Back In Time


I’m a bit captivated by all things vintage, so when I came across this video of a trip on a Berkeley trolley from, get this, 1906, I knew I had to share! It was filmed just a month after the notorious San Francisco Earthquake, at the beginning of a mass migration out of the city to escape the quake’s aftermath. If you look closely at the image below, you can see a man walking right in the middle of the train tracks. The drama that ensues from this event shows that, even back then, Berkeley was a place where people weren’t afraid to do things a little bit differently. We’ll miss you Berkeley. Only three more days until we move!

 

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Mr. Selfridge


Oh, I am counting the days until this new British import hits the states {on March 31st}.  The show is called Mr. Selfridge and Jeremy Piven plays the title character, Gordon “Harry” Selfridge, who revolutionized the shopping experience through his creation of the famous British department store, Selfridges.  Credited with the sayings “Only XX shopping days until Christmas” and “The customer is always right!”, and the first to introduce a ‘beauty hall’ and soda fountain within a store, he was a true retail pioneer.

If you’re like me, and you love learning about the history of retailing, do a little reading up here…and learn about his loves and tragic end.  Other suggested reading: this book, this book, this book and this book that inspired the series.

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{Selfridges window display from the twenties from here}

Crown-Nine


Have you been to First Friday {the Oakland Art Murmur} in downtown Oakland? Every first Friday of the month from 6-9 pm, twenty-one Oakland art galleries host a free art walk with a curated selection of local artists.

At the last one, I stopped by jewelry and art gallery, Crown-Nine in the Popuphood of Old Oakland. Kate Ellen teaches weekend jewelry making classes where she teaches students to make molds, hammer and stamp jewelry- right up my alley!  And how cute is this video of Kate working on her line?  It makes me miss my design school days…

{Images from here}

Oh Land


Did you know Oh Land is coming to San Francisco? She’ll be at the Independent on April 9th and I cannot wait to see her. Poppy, electro and super theatrical…love her!  Oh, and did you know that she’s from Copenhagen {those Scandinavian good looks!} and was a former student of the Royal Danish Ballet and the Royal Swedish Ballet?

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Ryan Gosling On Demand


In celebration of Valentine’s Day, Time Warner Cable will be offering Ryan Gosling On Demand! {That’s right! His own channel, ladies!!} Eight of Ryan’s finest films will be available {with “Blue Valentine” not included- we don’t need dashed dreams this holiday, now do we?}.

Everyone here at Ruby Press will be tuning in- we are huge Ryan fans!

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Dana Tanamachi


How cool are these chalk illustrations?! I stumbled into Dana Tanamachi’s site after I saw the amazing cover she did for O’s February issue, and then realized I’d already seen her work in the West Elm holiday catalog and Garden & Gun. I could look at her lettering all day – check out her time lapse videos to see her in action!

{images from here}