Here's the deal-eo

So my design sensibility is all over the place but I prefer to call it "eclectic." I have a cheeky, sarcastic sense of humor that tends to flow into anything I put my fingers on so there will always be a bit of whimsy.

I mentioned that I have an Interior Design background, right? Well I do but it was YEARS ago while living in Chicago (downtown, NOT the suburbs!), rocking a bohemian meets uptown vibe. I worked for a pair of gay male designers (is that redundant?) named Augustin Fernandez and Robert George and our firm name was "Fernandez & George Design." Now this was a swanky place we were running - we didn't take clients with design budgets under 100k and most were in the millions. Our clients were bluebloods, northshore types, with a couple of nuveau riche in the mix as well. I was the "Gal Friday" for the firm. I did everything from make the coffee in the morning to cleaning the bathrooms to ordering eight thousand dollar chairs, approving design samples, supervising installations and serving cocktails to drunk rich people. I loved it. And I learned A LOT - I was like a sponge, soaking it all in. I went on to work for another famous designer in Chicago named Hilda Solomon and learned more and different things. Still, at the time, I lived in a shoebox studio with a mattress on the floor and a poster of Keith Partrige on the wall. No shit. I used to have a picture of him on my wall at home and when I was about eight or nine, I drew this conversation bubble coming out of his mouth and wrote "Love is you.." Well I kept it and one of my friends saw it ('nother gay man) and bought me this ginormous poster and drew the bubble and the words on it. I had it hanging for years. So my style was really developing. I have really come full circle now - I don't have a "style" really so much as I have a philosophy about my environment that goes like this: I want to surround myself with things that make me smile, are comfortable, smell good, and aren't trendy or from WalMart. I'm addicted to this Tone Liquid soap that smells like brulee and burnt sugar and I always have a Bath & Body "Kitchen Spice" plug in-in. Smell is a very powerful sense and can really transport me. As for clothes, I used to have one of the most extensive closets on the planet - my friends loved that I had Yves St. Laurent shoes but no furniture. Now, I'm the opposite. I wish we could wear uniforms as that is pretty much what I do anyway. Simple, comfortable, neutral - black, white, cream, heather gray, brown) all cotton or linen, tees and pants and in the summer, I love long , flowy linen skirts, tanks and flip flops. Basic.

I think style should be about what YOU like, what feels good to YOU. Not what you think other people might like or be impressed by (which is what I used to think.) I love mixing styles, eras, colors, textures and prints to make my own little palatte. I am hopelessly drawn to cute, ruffles, pink, ruby red, kitsch. Right now I'm hot on little miniature deer. Soooo sweet! Next month I'll be on to something else. Here are a few of my favorite things at the moment:

Crust

So, this is going to be my professional "journal" which, undoubtedly will have some personal spin. I have a background in high end interior design which lends itself nicely to my vintage site. It was one of the designers that I started out with who gave me the best design advice I have ever received. He said "You always need "crust" in the room." Meaning, no matter how polished, contemporary, minimalist, futuristic your design, you should always balance it out with an unexpected piece of "crust" which could be a vintage wire basket in a pristine black and white kitchen; or a shabby chic pillow on a very contemporary bed. Crust. I heart crust. And crust is what I collect and sell. My home is a mixture of crusty vintage and sleek and modern with a leaning toward vintage. The things I purchase for UglySanta are used and loved until they are sold and occasionally I get very attached to them, making it hard to say goodbye. I can't keep everything but let me say this - everything I buy, I love. I don't really go out looking for what's "in" or trendy or "of the moment." I follow my heart and feel good about that.
Tomorrow I will get more into design philosophy and the issues I have with Etsy as a marketplace for vintage.

In the beginning

I have so many things that I want to say but I think first of all, I will tell you how the name "UglySanta" came about.

I started collecting "misfit" christmas ornaments a few years ago because I knew that someone used to love these objects. When that person passed or was relegated to a nursing home, their cherished, lifetime collection of ornaments ended up in thrift stores with "bottom of the barrel" price tags. So I set out to rescue as many as I could. I've always been what my dad calls a "bleeding heart" (he says it like its a bad thing) and was constantly bringing home stray kittens, birds with broken wings, and other things in need of TLC. Same with the ornaments - the more homely and unlovable they seemed, the more I loved them.

One day I was at the Goodwill with my daughter, who was five at the time, and it must have been around Christmas time because she came running over to me and said "Mommy look at this ugly Santa...can I please have him??" I was so very proud of her at that moment because I knew that she had fortunately inherited my "bleeding heart" gene.

When I started overflowing with ornaments and decided to sell some, I thought what better name than "UglySanta." I like the literal contradiction - Santa is certainly not someone you traditionally think of as "ugly" but many kids - my daughter and I included - were terrified of Santa. I was forced to sit on his lap and endure his hot, stale breath but there is no way I would do that to my child. UglySanta very simply means that even "ugly" things are lovable and should not be cast offs. I think if everyone in the whole world had the "bleeding heart" gene, it might be a nicer and more tolerant world.

And so goes the story of UglySanta...