Street Market Goodness

I have to preface this posting by stating that going to flea markets and antique shops might be my favorite Sunday outing. I love the feeling of getting something with some history behind it, not to mention I have a serious problem with collecting mid century lamps, furniture, and kitchen wares, you name it...if it came from the 50's or 60's, I am bound to probably love it. Also I have to say that Travis and I both really enjoy searching for all this stuff together, so it makes it even that much better...

I am almost weary of posting this...due to the fact that what makes this street market so wonderful is that there are not hundreds of hipster douche bags milling around trying to snatch up all the goodness. Then again, the vendors at this street fair are so friendly and wonderful; more business for them would be great. I have to say it is a bit of a catch-22.

The Downtown Torrance Antique Street Faire.

I know Torrance, office parks central...but if you decide to venture in to downtown Torrance on the 4th Sunday of every month, you will find a bevy of vendors, with anything and everything antique you want or need.

Another hidden gem that we found...Street Faire Antiques on 1317 Satori Ave (right in the thick of the street fair), also a place I have to say I would rather not mention, considering we found a great mid century Lane coffee table for a very good price, but they were so considerate and willing to negotiate prices that throwing them more business and more coverage on the web is a good thing. We will most definitely be back.

Now you don't have to take my word for it...

Although, I have to say that I go to my fair share of flea markets, street fairs, thrift stores, and antique shops leaving dirty, empty handed, and feeling harassed and haggled.

I left the Torrance Antique Street Fair in a great mood, hot and sticky, with a lot of great stuff.

Travis' new catalog and blog!

Please check out excerpts from Travis' new catalog at travislindquist.blogspot.com!

Travis Lindquist works with materials relating to the human condition such as newspaper clippings, historical reference books and propaganda, early film and television stills, and found materials, in an attempt to memorialize the anonymous or disappeared and explore the concepts of perception and latent memory. In this current body of work, he investigates the duality of the human spirit. He creates haunting, sophisticated portraits by reinvigorating obscure historical figures in to a contemporary context.

For the full catalog, please e-mail us at hurro@mockingbirdsandcaralarms.com.

Inception

Perhaps we should explain the inception of the name of the company.

Why do mockingbirds imitate the songs of other birds?
Scientists believe that mockingbirds imitate the calls and songs of other birds to discourage these birds from settling in the mockingbirds' territory by making it appear heavily populated. The mockingbird's vocal chords, called the syrinx, can produce a wide variety of sounds. A typical mockingbird has 250 to 350 songs in its repertoire. Most songs are direct repetitions of other birds' songs, but some are original improvisations. The male mockingbird uses its repertoire of songs to attract females, according to Dr. Kim Derrickson, a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institution. A female mockingbird will choose the male with the largest repertoire because he is most likely to have the most territory, Dr. Derrickson said.
-New York Times, published November 11, 1986


Living in Los Angeles and New York, we have become keenly aware of a city's impact on the natural surroundings.

Mockingbirds imitate other birds as to discourage other inhabitants, their imitation of car alarms is of course is not discouraging the habitation of humans and what we bring to their haunt. We have effected our environment so severely that a bird, who's naturally tendency is to imitate the song of other birds, is now imitating what I think might be one of the most irritating artificial sounds that litter neighborhoods, parking lots, and street corners.

Here is where the moral dilemma lies, how do we responsibly live, but also sustain our lifestyle?
Yes, one could try to live off the grid and choose to not participate in the creature comforts that modern society has to offer...but there has to be some kind of middle ground, where we can decide to live ethical sustainable lives and also enjoy the niceties that a city has to offer...

I think it is very much the idea of the company; bringing some kind of awareness to how we effect this world, and the options we have to make "good" decisions for life, love, happiness, with a sense of responsibility for the actions that we take.

Enough with the agenda...time to make the stuff for the people already!

Cheers...

How could you go to Switzerland and not try Absinthe? It originated in Switzerland, and was consumed by Charles Baudelaire, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, and Aleister Crowly...all devotes of the Green Fairy. Here's to the last day in Basel!

Here is Basel, Switzerland

Art Fairs have historically been a integral part of the art world. And Art Basel is arguably "the" art fair of the year. Not to mention the many auxiliary fairs that surround Art Basel..it is a good chance to see the gamete of the art market, the good, but mostly bad work all around the world. I thought the failing economy was suppose to weed out a lot of the garbage in the art world that people were shockingly making money off of; this is obviously not so. This picture astutely exemplifies my experiences with art fairs past and present. I suppose I am a bit jaded...any body would be, after sitting in a 25 square meter booth talking to people about the same art over and over again. I do have to say though, the art fairs are a good opportunity to actually physically see what is going on in the art world...no art review is going to fully explain and describe the physicality and tenor of a piece or a gallery for that matter, and art absolutely needs to be viewed though all the senses. I could do without the pretension, elitism and the total B.S., that inevitably plagues the art fairs (well the art world for that matter).

But I do have a suggestion of what not to miss the next time you find yourself in Basel, Switzerland...The Beyeler Foundation. The collection is so extensive and the curating of the works is really quite thoughtful. The current exhibitions : Giacometti, Visual Encounters, Africa, Oceania, and Modern Art and Franz West are really spectacular exhibitions. And if you are not in to the art, the building (a Renzo Piano building) and grounds are amazing.
There is even a tram stop that takes you right to the front entrance (Tram 6 towards Rhein Grenze: Foundation Beyeler stop). VERY well worth the 3 CHF (to take the tram from the city center) and 25 CHF for admission. Although here's a tip, order your tickets on line, you'll save around 8 swiss franc per ticket.

the first "eat in"

We started this blog with the intention of sharing the philosophy of "living well", sustainability, etc, etc...

Hey, when you're trying to start a company you need to eat too!

Here is a delicious meal made from veggies from the Farmer's Market, herbs we grow on our kitchen table, and yummy organic whole wheat pasta, and organic mozzarella cheese (and parmesan cheese, just so it's extra delicious)

This meal is super simple for the days you just do not want to cook after working (which is the truth!) not to mention it's a meal that's easy on the wallet.

Our recipes are not an exact science, (that's the great thing about cooking) you can adjust it to your tastes and the amounts to your desire. So we'll provide the ingredients and how we cooked it, but no measurements...

What you will need:

zucchini
tomato
shallot
cloves of garlic
fresh thyme
fresh basil
fresh oregano
olive oil
whole wheat pasta
kosher sea salt
fresh ground pepper
crushed red pepper
mozzarella cheese
parmesan cheese


-Shred the zucchini in a food processor, believe me it's super good when the zucchini is shredded and mixes with all the cheeses.
-Chop all the rest of your veggies and herbs
(you can of course boil the water and make the pasta while this whole chopping ordeal is happening)
-Cook the shallot in olive oil and crushed red pepper, then add the the garlic and saute
-Add the veggies and thyme and oregano (but not the basil!)
- When the pasta is cooked add into the pan with the herbs
-Toss in cheese, basil, salt, and pepper
-Eat it up yum!


More about the company...

We are starting the work on the logo, here are the beginning stages

We also registered our domain name mockingbirdsandcaralarms.com (website to come!)

And so it begins...

Let's start at the beginning, a very good place to start...

So, we've been in LA for a full year after living the Brooklyn, and now it's time to start the company.
Something we've been talking about for a long time, but never any time to do it. (Not that there is really any time to do it now, but no better time than the present.)

Here we are at the very very beginning stages of trying to start a company.

mockingbirds and car alarms.

It's a philosophy about living well, about art and commerce, sustainability not only of the environment, but the sustainability of humanity, how we effect the world, and in turn, how the world effects us, the disconnect we have from reality and the reconnection in to society and responsibility we have to ourselves and others....

Documenting the whole process of starting the company, the stuff that inspires us, the rad people that motivate us, and the way we live and hope to live, prompted the making of this blog.

We are learning as we go and hoping for the best.

In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life. It goes on.
Robert Frost