I don't typically do stuff like this here on J&K but I feel guilty about not being around lately. I have been so busy that I haven't had much time to be inspired or to document my inspiration.
But I do have time to answer questions.
So I'm opening up this post to answering any questions you might have. Questions can be directed at Jeremy and/or I. It can be about anything. I will answer in the comments but questions may inspire an entire blog post.
What do you want to know?
31 comments:
I was just thinking about doing this! But only because I'm an asshole about writing back to comments, and I realize three months later that I never answered someone's question.
Okay I have three questions.
#1.) When are you getting a lab?
#2.) When are you realistically having babies?
#3.) Jeremy- Who is your favorite Secret of Nimh character besides the owl?
Aura - I think you just need to include the camera you use in your "about me" section and be done with it.
#1) I feel like I'm leaving a lab up to fate. If it happens it happens. Jeremy is completely opposed to getting a dog at the moment.
#2) My best friends have started taking out bets on when it's going to happen. I hear coworkers whispering about it. Clearly I am baby crazy. My ovaries are saying "OMGHAVEABABY!" - but I'm not ready yet. So realistically, it's going to be a few years. I want to do some serious traveling first. Eventually this will warrant a full post.
#3) Jeremy will be home any minute to answer this one.
1. We'll get a dog when there's someone home enough to take care of it, like when we have a 10-year-old kid. I refuse to get a dog while we spend so much time away from home. That's the great thing about cats.
3. Well, my next tattoo is going to be Nicodemus, but I've always been partial to JEREMY.
Kathleen, I'm an out of work television producer who has always fantasized about being in advertising. Do you have any tips for getting into the business? What kind of skills or basic knowledge do I need before I put myself out there. Is advertising more like Mad Men or the old Melrose Place?
Kathleen,
Could you speak to your clothes shopping process a little bit?
Do you mainly catalog shop? Favorite stores? How often do you buy things? How much inspiration do you draw from magazines vs street style? These sorts of questions.
Thanks!
Kathleen,
I'm Monica from Portugal, and I have this questions:
#1) How do you organize your paperwork?
#2) What makeup do you use?
#3) Do you subscribe any magazines?
Thanks!
Snail - what area of advertising are you interested in? Every TV producer I've worked with has been incredibly organized and typically good on the account service side of things - especially if you have a degree in a related area. I would recommend interning at an ad agency to get the feel for what the job would entail.
Haha! I love the MadMen/Melrose question. I never watched Melrose place but I am obsessed with MadMen. It is a lot like that but in my agency we don't each have our own secretary or offices with doors - which makes a huge difference. The design process, concepting, client pitches/presentations, and consumption of alcohol are very much similar.
Kathleen,
What is your preferred software for designing invites?
Thanks!
hmmm.. 0k I got one!
What is your strategy for grocery shopping.. do you plan your meals out ahead of time and bring a detailed list or do you use the "extend your arm and grab whatever you see" method?
I'm always intrigued with the things you make.. always looks delish!!
Kathleen,
Do you read gossip magazines or gossip websites?
Judith asked "Could you speak to your clothes shopping process a little bit?
Do you mainly catalog shop? Favorite stores? How often do you buy things? How much inspiration do you draw from magazines vs street style?"
My answer: First off - check out this post I did about designing an outfit:
http://jeremyandkathleen.blogspot.com/2009/10/designing-outfit.html
But to elaborate more on shopping - lately I've really only been trying to buy "special" pieces that will add something new to my wardrobe. But on the other hand - lately I've been really into layering basics and wearing holes into my favorite t-shirts.
My favorite stores are JCPenney (the old lady section), Forever 21 (but I try to buy pieces that don't seem cheap or ill constructed), American Apparel and Urban Outfitters.
I draw inspiration from street style more than that in magazines - though lately it seems as if the two are merging style philosophies. Street is becoming more stylized and magazine shoots are becoming more street.
From Monica:
#1) How do you organize your paperwork?
At work papers clutter my desk. At home Jeremy has filed all of our important papers in a file cabinet labelled with things like "Kathleen Personal; Jeremy Personal; Rental House; Our House; Tax Documents, etc."
Jeremy pays all of our bills online so we have very few bills that come in the mail.
#2) What makeup do you use?
I actually use really cheap makeup. First, I use an SPF face lotion every day. I use a very light foundation or bare minerals mineral veil. I use a little bit of blush. Then I like to have fun with eye shadow and when I'm feeling edgy I use MAC liquid eyeliner in black. I top it off with mascara. Oh and I like my eyebrows to be dark so I usually use a brow filler just for a little bit of color.
#3) Do you subscribe any magazines?
Currently I am subscribing to Real Simple and I get Glamour as a replacement for Domino. I used to subscribe to HOW, Communication Art, Atomic Ranch and Dwell to name a few. But now with all the online resources I've found magazines unecessary.
From Shedding the Walrus:
What is your preferred software for designing invites?
Pencil and paper. I sketch and make lists and that is where the design takes place.
But I know what you're really asking about software - I use Adobe Creative Suite 4: Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator.
DOM asks: What is your strategy for grocery shopping.. do you plan your meals out ahead of time and bring a detailed list or do you use the "extend your arm and grab whatever you see" method?
Every Wednesday night we have about 4-6 of our closest friends over and I always cook the veggie lasagna or something of the sort.
Groceries for the rest of the week include a basket full of fruits and veggies - these I don't plan - I just buy according to what looks good and what is available. Then from there we get soy milk, kashi cereal, crackers, eggs, goat cheese, mozzerella, fish, and maybe a loaf of bread. Sometimes I'll have a craving for something (like soup or a portobello mushroom sandwich) and I'll make sure to fit that in - but otherwise we just go with the flow.
Mostly we just try and buy fresh, whole ingredients and organic when we can.
In the Kitchen asks: Do you read gossip magazines or gossip websites?
YES. I read Oh No They Didn't! and I really like Jezebel.com because they balance the gossip with some real content too. I also subscribe to celebrity tweets.
However, gossip sites are the first thing to go when I'm too busy. I'd rather catch up on my blog friends.
In the Kitchen asks: Do you read gossip magazines or gossip websites?
YES. I read Oh No They Didn't! and I really like Jezebel.com because they balance the gossip with some real content too. I also subscribe to celebrity tweets.
However, gossip sites are the first thing to go when I'm too busy. I'd rather catch up on my blog friends.
If you and Jeremy had to pick new careers, what would you do?
I'm a California native, but often wonder what it would be like to move to the middle of the country.
How do you like living in Oklahoma City?
If money were no object, would you move and where?
Oh! And random, but what music are you listening to right now?
Hey Kathleen and Jeremy,
My sister got me hooked on your blog, and I am having withdrawals from visiting it so frequently, so here I am, once again! I am in category A) Super Stalker, as you are to those Olsen girls.
I have another [wedding] invite question. I just can't seem to find any inspiration out there. I love your style, and what I am trying to find is some embossed, textured, organic designs. I am lacking creative flair/juice at the moment! Can you point me in the direction of some images, designers, (I hate to use the word, but also more) "cutting edge" designs?
I am a graphic designer, I mean it should be in my blood, I should be on a roll but all I have seen is A. Bad websites with poor images of 'invites', B. Horrific type and image execution and C. Lack of design ability. Obviously, I am looking in all the wrong places. There ARE good designers out there. Help, pweeasse;0
I just adore your blog! When I watched Julie and Julia, I couldn't stop smiling, as all I was thinking about was how parallel to the true Kathleen & Jeremy (minus the dingy apartment and the hollywoodisation factor).
Thank you for taking the time to answer back.
Sorry it is long winded. You must have some chronic multitasking maneuver downpacked to answer back to all there q's.
P.S. When will you be coming to Australia? Have you been? I think you would like it!
Who's your real Daddy?
Now this question is probably theoretical, as my husband is afraid of your hallway (which I think is awesome and Tim Burton-ish). But supposing you had an opportunity to help do design for someone else's house for a nominal fee like a small amount of money and some cookies or something. Would that be an interesting proposition? :-D
I know everyone is so busy nowadays and has their own life, but we are nearing the end of fix-cause-we-need-to and heading towards make-pretty-cause-I-want-to, and there are a few things that I feel a little bit lost and paranoid about. So I guess the second half of this question is please suggest 2-3 favorite interior/exterior home design blogs.
Ripe Design - Your comment made my day (I did JUST wake up - but I have a huge smile from that comment!)
Are you designing your own invites or invites for somebody else? I was SO scared to design my own invites so I decided to NOT design them and just see what happened. They wound up being just right because I really focused on capturing Jeremy and I in them.
So if you're (custom) designing for someone else I suggest you really try and ask questions until you get an idea of what they're wedding is all about - what they like - etc. I've found it easier to design for couples that have a blog so I can see what they're all about. Sorry - that's a tangent.
Specifically, I really like Oh So Beautiful Paper (on my blog roll). You should also check out OnceWed.com for wedding inspiration as well. My favorite designer of the moment is Nicholas Felton (not wedding related AT ALL). I scour Flickr for inspiration images. Sometimes I create organic textures and flourishes from scratch (by even deconstructing a script font and reconstructing it into a flourish) - and I have this really rad vintage (from the 30s) clip art book that includes a TON of textures and images.
Also, try pulling inspiration from things not design-related. Like interior design, fashion, movies, old medical books, and so on...
I hope this answered your question!
Australia is on the list! Realistically it will be a few years (we have Europe and Nepal on the list before Australia and we only have so much vacation time). If we visit will you grab a beer with us? xoxo!
Scott asks: Who's your real Daddy?
YOU ARE! Or maybe Walter Matthau. Inconclusive.
Alien Mind Girl / Heather asks:
"...supposing you had an opportunity to help do design for someone else's house for a nominal fee like a small amount of money and some cookies or something. Would that be an interesting proposition? :-D"
I'm willing to work for trade - cookies or massage therapy are both things that would work. ;)
Feel free to shoot me some photos at Jeremyandkathleen@gmail.com with your questions/problems/etc and I'd be happy to help you out with a design board. I'd also be happy to help you out in person - but with life being so busy the fastest way to get ahold of me is via email.
My favorite interior design inspiration sites are Desire to Inspire (love, love, love this resource), Apartment Therapy and Design Sponge.
Vilija asks:
How do you like living in Oklahoma City?
I love it. Honestly, I love that it's small enough to feel comfortable and familiar but big enough to have a city vibe going on. We have arts districts, good food, and good company here. HOWEVER, I do wish the atmosphere was a little more beautiful. I could handle some more trees, an ocean and mountains.
If money were no object, would you move and where?
NYC/Brooklyn - hands down. I definitely feel like an East Coast girl and my brother resides in Brooklyn - and I miss him like crazy. I also think picking up and moving to Paris or Sweden could be a fun adventure - though I've never been to either so it's hard to say.
Oh! And random, but what music are you listening to right now?
Right this second I am listening to the new Islands album, Vapours. In general I'm really digging Santigold, MIA, MGMT, She & Him, Basia Bulat, Patrick Wolf - I also like my fair share of Top 40 stuff like Justin Timberlake, Lady GaGa, Black Eyed Peas, Madonna - they usually make it on my work-out mix.
Allison asks:
If you and Jeremy had to pick new careers, what would you do?
Jeremy - Rockstar with a #1 Record (that's said in a British accent) OR Highschool Math Teacher (and not to be a coach too - he really likes math and is really patient)
Kathleen - I feel like I kind of nailed it on living out my dream job - but I would love to be a set designer on movies - or to design sets for touring musicians.
How long did you do roller derby for and how did you pick your name?! I'm having the hardest time coming up with a winner.
Bobbi - I played roller derby for almost 2 years. Katatomic was chosen because I love all things atomic and kitschy - and my number was 3000 - for the future. I think coming up with a name is really really hard. You should definitely make a play off of bobbi somehow - like Bobbi Sox Her. Heh.
Bobbi, also check the Master Roster. No duplicates allowed!
Kathleen-
I was wondering if your parents encouraged creativity when you were growing up? You and your brother (and sister?) seem to have chosen creative/off the main path types of lives. Did your parents do something that helped nurture this or did it just happen naturally?
Heidi - great question! Sorry it took me a couple of days to respond.
My parents absolutely encouraged creativity. Really, they encouraged anything we wanted to do - sports, art, music, theater, etc.
Both of my parents work for the state (my dad in Environmental Quality, my mom at the Health Department for Maternal/Child Health) but they are both incredibly creative. My dad has his masters in science but he is HILARIOUS. He would always play jokes and had just a real dry sense of humor. My mom is the kindest mom ever and she always made our Halloween costumes from scratch and would help us make our rooms a creative get-away.
But otherwise, I give my parents full credit for ALLOWING us to be creative - but the paths we chose were our own to take.
When my brother chose to try NYC and being a sideshow performer there they fully supported him. They gave him a nice chunk of change (what it would cost to go to college for a year) but made him promise that he'd dive in head first to establishing a sideshow career out there - and he has.
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