The Healing Magic of Arts & Colors

Anyone who knows me all knows how much I love colors & anything that looks, feels happy and cheeruful (like my favorite cartoon character - Rainbow Brite & Care bears haha) so when I saw the photo of this chair I was instantly charmed by this colorful & stylish design .... but after learning more about the story behind it, I was more than charmed... I was truly INSPIRED!

It all started out when an pediatrician name Sidney at Cook Children's hospital in Ft. Worth, TX. Who saw this Australian Vogue Living magazine's editorial, thought it would be a great idea to buy and old chair, have it re-done in plain canvas, then let children loose on it with sharpies to share their own ideas and inspirations. It was obvious from the beginning that this would be a wonderful way to raise money for children's charities. Sidney had initiated the idea that Cook Children's hospital was in need of a palliative care program, and now that this program is well underway, she is still involved in fundraising.

The chair certainly became more exciting and meaningful when some of the young patients helped to design it... loving the mix of children's artwork with the formal chair. Such a wonderful way to raise money for the children's charity - an important Palliative Care Program. The Palliative Care team helps the children with symptom and pain relief, and also provides much needed psychological and spiritual support for the children, their siblings, and parents during these difficult times.

The team consists of physicians, nurses, social workers, child life specialists, psychologists, and spiritual leaders...which unfortunately is not adequately funded by insurance companies. The chair is one of the items that will be auctioned off to raise money for the Palliative care program at the hospital.

The chair project started with Cook Children's hospital to let some of their patients design a chair. Here are photos of the kids at work.

Without any artistic traing ( of course not because they are all young kids haha) it's just amazing to see how they use their creatives minds and imaginations to mix unexpected color combinations to create this fabulous piece of art!

Even tho each kids are all with life threatening illness and going through intensive treatments, it's amazing to see the inner world of theirs is still this colorful, happy place, filled with rainbows, flowers and magic!

Here is the finished product!!! (4 coats of clear lacquer were applied to seal the chair and protect the artwork. It also gives the chair a rich deep shine) Bellissimo !

BIG Cheers to all the wonderful creative people involved in this charity project!

We often got lost in our busy lives and forgot to count our blessings! How fortuned we are to have good health, friends & family who loves & cherish us and just be able to wake up each morning to start a brand new beginnings is just amazing! So let this beautiful "Feel good chair" story inspire us to be thankful of what we have and to help others who is less fortuned than us! because after all, we can all be a "Channel for Grace" to share our love & shine some lights onto others!

Here are two of my favorite charities that I work with often, why not check out their website and see how a little donation of money, time or even shop at their online store can help those terminally ill children's wishes come true!

Click above photo to visit Make a wish foundation official website

Click above photo to visit Make a wish foundation official website

Until next time, think of something to be thankful in your life and pass on the love & light to others!

XOXO

Alan + Mei-Mei the pug :-)

Designer Guns & Chainsaw For Gaudy Campy Tramps

Ok ok! We all have weakness for those fabulous goodies from our favorite designer brands and love treating ourselves with something pretty from their collections. But normal fashionistas like the most of us usually get a latest " it " bag, cashmere sweaters, shoes or sunglasses from our favorite designers, but if those items no longer tickle your fancies, then why not pick up these "Gaudy-Fab" items from the artist Peter Gronquist for his art exhibit "The Revolution will be Fabulous" in Los Angeles! So you can be shooting caribou in style! haha.... each weapon looks god-awful. That said, I'm sure they'll sell like hot cakes. Oh wait, they have.

I think my favorite Gaudy Weapon will be the CHANEL bazooka! haha

xoxo

Alan + Mei-Mei the pug

Couture Craziness - Fab or Drab?

We all loves those Couture houses in Paris! The beautiful beadings, hand-finished seams and hems, houndreds of hours to finish one garment ..... but as the economy gone bad worldwide, it's hard to see those couture houses we loved are closing it's doors or licensing their names to try to make it.








In the 80s and 90s there was an explosion of licensing agreements whereby fashion houses lent their name to all manner of operations producing lower value goods from perfume and eyewear to pens, scarves and watches, as a means of drawing in more income than ready to wear and Haute Couture could generate. As time has progressed and fashion houses have restructured and rebranded themselves, many of these residual licenses cause image headaches for brands, as they sap away at a brand's exclusivity and often bear little or no resemblance to the creative direction the current head designer is trying to set.




We have to admit to deriving a small amount of pleasure from knowing that while Christophe Decarnin is producing astronomically priced, trendy clothes that have celebrities and fashion editors alike seemingly enthralled, a company somewhere else is (legitimately) producing 'executive gift' Balmain pens which retail for around €38 and, to make not too fine a point of it, fail to conjure up the trashy rock glamour that Balmain so feverishly pushes season after season at the moment. And if pens aren't random enough for your liking, there are always Balmain hair extensions, also made under license:


Recently the bad news of my idol, Christian Lacroix has also filed bankrupcy, I really hope he won't be selling his name to some cheap licensing deals and see a "Lacroix presson nails" or a "Lacroix wig collections" !!

xoxo

Alan + Mei-Mei the pug