I decided to share a little more of my "vie privée" here at Little-Pumpkins and I thought that my "office" space would be a good place to start. It's not an actual office, as I do not work from there, but it's where I keep my desk, my laptop, my books and all my inspirational thingies. It's also my den/TV/guest room, where I lounge in the evenings couch-potatoing in front of the telly. This is also my fun room, with collectable toys and very colorful high-low art. The rest of my home has a bit more conventional - though eclectic - decor, more muted and sedate.
I like things that have faces. In front of my Toshiba I keep several mugs and cups that serve as pencil holders. This is also where I have my morning coffee, read the news, answer e-mails and research posts for the blog. The red snowman mug actually has coffee inside and I bought it at Target for U$1.99 on their after-Christmas 60-70% off sale. The bunny face is also from Target and I bought it around Easter in 2005. It's meant to be a kid's plate but I use it as decor supported by a clear acrylic book stand. The pink Cheshire cat and the green Mike Wazowski (Monster's Inc) were purchased at Disney World earlier this month. The red Keith Haring-looking toothy monster I bought in Paris in 1994-95 and it's from a local artist. The skull cup is one-of-kind and I bought it in Portland, Oregon around 2004. The pair of lovely Japanese dolls were a gift from a very dear person in my life. At last, the clear Ultraman glass was gift from my sister when she was in Hong Kong or Japan, not sure now.
On top of my TV I keep a photo of Booboo, my beloved pug, along a couple of pug figurines. The smaller one I got in Provincetown, MA and the larger one is a piggy-bank that I bought in Amsterdam in 2004, I think. The bee antenna is from Booboo's first Halloween costume ever. The gnome is from Urban Outfitters and the Big Boy bobble-head is from Cape Cod also. In the background you can see a glimpse of a signed Murakami print I own.
Did I ever mention I collect pigs? Please, don't send me any as I have a box full of them that will make it to Ebay sometime soon. I will just keep the most charming ones like the selection above this book shelf. The palm tree is from Home Depot and lights up like a Christmas tree and I still have it on display as I liked it how it looked, even if the holidays are long gone. The ornaments are a mix of flocked animals that I've had since the early 90's. The velvet tiger is from a flea market in Providence, RI and didn't cost me more than US$3.00.
On top of the vitrine I keep a bunch of different figurines, very high-low once again. The Nara "Little Wanderer" is probably the most expensive thing there and the rest is a mix of Ebay finds, flea markets and gifts. The three small porcelain figurines were a gift and came from an artist out of Sao Paulo and are limited-edition. Below you see my devil figurine collection and if you look carefully you see my own picture in there inside a round frame.
On these two shelves I keep another mish-mash of odds and ends. I have lots and lots of boxes filled with toys, figurines and what-nots. It's hard to decide what to display so every so often I move it around so other things can see the light of day. I am starting to unload stuff on Ebay again so I can make room in my life again for more important things. Here you will see a group of resin female figurines I bought in Paris through the years. They are French comics characters and there is this little shop in Marais that has a great selection of such. The largest blond one is
Miel, a character by Milo Manara, and she's made of porcelain. Her polka-dotted dress is flowing in the wind revealing her pulled down panties... How risque! The tallest one is a black African sorceress called
Karaba and she is fierce! There are also faux food displays like cakes, pastries an ice cream sundae in the back row. The bottom shelve is a group of toy dinosaurs that I love and three Murakami stuffed dolls.
A larger view of my vitrine with my goose lamp on top.
This book shelve is next to my desk and it's just a mix of art, decor and collectable books. The gnome stool is Philippe Stark for Kartell. The side table is from a flea market, along with the lamp and the Thonet chair, that only cost me US$50.00 for the pair. You also catch a glimpse of my brown and yellow sofa and a bit of my TV dinner table.
This is my "office" full-view. The desk looks Art-Deco and was also from a yard sale in Cape Cod. The La Marie clear chair is also Stark from
Kartell. The large picture is a signed limited-edition by Paul Frank and the frame is all carved by hand. The smaller pictures above are paint-by-number from Ebay and the picture shelf is from Target.
So this is where the magic all happens! Hope you liked the tour!!
