setting up the new studio in bushwick

i finally did it, i signed a lease in bushwick and couldn't be happier about the space. it's quite a bit larger than what I had at my last residency and also than my last studio in Dumbo. its SOO nice to finally have space to spread out a bit.  I built a shelf to house all my inventory which is such a relief, such a nice and easy way to get orders out the door.  

setting up my studio has been a long process and though, I am still not finished. I still want to built a wall of hooks, build shelving for my drawings, get stools for my work table etc etc, but a gal only has so much time in the day!   I am falling in love with my little street and the mexican music that wafts through from the bodegas below me.  here are shots of what I have in the works so far.

 

Martha's Vineyard.

Its hard to describe just how much I love the Vineyard.  I have somehow managed to make it there almost every year since 2000, its like a gravitational pull or something.  This year I rented my pal John Robshaw's friend's house in Menemsha and it was a real treat. We cooked elaborate meals made from all the local produce, meat and fish on the island, we caught up on old new yorkers, watercolored, hiked, and re-charged.  We ate a lot of amazing food, but my favorite meal was cooked by my old pal chris, who runs beetlebung farm, he really knows how to cook a chicken like nobody's business. below are a round up of my fav pics.  I am already ready to go back.  maybe I should start production of my textiles in MV, is that totally impractical? 

 more pics after the jump....

late night apple pie baking on the Vineyard

I'll be spending a week in Menemsha for my most favorite time on the Vineyard.  The summer crew has left for the season and its just the islanders chilling and enjoying the Fall.  I'll be posting a bit more about how--yes, I am going to say it--magical this place is but for now I wanted to share my fav apple pie recipe that I made our first night here. Its made from apples picked from Tabor house farm. 

Pie crust Recipe: here

Apple Pie Recipe: here

more after the jump

ISA show

I have spent the Summer working as an artist in resident at ISA, an amazing restaurant in Williamsburg run by Taavo Somer who also owns Freeman's Alley, Freemans Sporting club, Peels and some other cool operations across this beautiful city of New York.  I was given the 3rd floor to work in and it was one of the coolest experiences.  creating art can be somewhat lonely and I have always sort of enjoyed the solitude of it but this experience made me more excited about being in a community of people in the creative industry. I loved hearing sounds from the kitchen and popping down to the bar mid day for an iced coffee and a kale salad and a chat with fellow artists and/or designers that always seemed to be in the restaurant.  I hope to bring this sort of community vibe to my new studio (which I just signed a lease for in bushwick).  The pictures below are from my final show that culminated my residency.  Thank you ISA for an amazing Summer.

ceramics

I am lucky enough to have a pal from art school who happens to be a ceramics wizard.  His name is Patrick Johnston and he lives in venice, CA (my old stomping grounds). PJ or Peej as I like to call him met when I was a sophmore at RISD. I walked into a grad level ceramics class having never touched clay in my life and somehow convinced the professor to let me in. Patrick immediately recognized that I was a novice and became my mentor through the duration of the class. He taught me how to hand build, make molds, and create this really weird final project idea I had--I wanted to make paper thin pieces of flat porcelain and hang it from the ceiling? so dumb.. Anyway, Peej is a great friend and when I told him about my ceramics idea he was so so helpful--let me use his studio, retaught me everything (again!) and finally helped me figure out how to wrap each piece that I made so that they would never ever break in transit.  so Peej is to thank for the ceramics you see below.   

here are some shots that describe the mold process...

leifshop

I hired some help a while back for my bigger orders which is such a relief knowing I am not the only one producing.  I have always loved team work, it makes anything seem do-able.  now I can spend more time on new designs and paintings which is such a treat.  several weeks ago I got a custom order from an online shop called leifshop.  I decided that because my small little factory is swamped with other orders it may be best for me to make these custom items (runners and tea towels) myself from start to finish just like I used to.  I have to tell you it was actually really nice to be hands on all week instead of doing all business-y things like invoicing, dealing with taxes, organizing paperwork, keeping materials in stock, making sure deliveries are running on time, etc. Its crazy that just under 2 years ago I was making pillows and blankets every now and then for friends and family.  things have grown in a way I never thought they would.  so today I wanted to say thank you leifshop for reminding me where this all started and why I love block printing so much.

Farewell Summer

This summer has been such a whirlwind! I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the concept that it's already September. The NY NOW gift show happened with the AmDC booth, I saw my two sweet sweet nieces all together with my family in Fenwick Connecticut, helped my best pal with her rad pop store LaOnda that opened in masapequa, taught a fun workshop at ISA, Celebrated several weddings including my very best friend who created one of the most memorable nights of all time. It's been a full and wonderful summer and even though I am not quite ready for it to end I must say I am excited for pumpkin pies and spending more weekends in the city. Below are a round up of pics.

more pics after the jump

design love fest

I am so thrilled and honored to be on Bri's amazing blog today. check her post out here:
http://www.designlovefest.com/?s=caroline+z+hurley

Some of my products in the lime light for a photo shoot

Can't disclose too much about these pics but I have some fun press coming out for the holidays. Below are some sneak peeks from the shoot. 

Workshop at ISA today

I had an awesome time teaching kiddies at BrunchCRAFT this morning at ISA. every Saturday isa invites kids to create  fun art projects lead by various neighborhood friends. They asked me to teach this weekends workshop and I had a blast. Check out some pics below:

Shelter island

Some pics from the weekend. Such a relaxing and enjoyable weekend in shelter island, my new favorite spot out east.