MONOCHROMATICA by VOGTSMITH!!

WHAT:

MONOCHROMATICA celebration!

WHEN:

Friday, December 7th, 6-9pm

WHERE:

The Curiosity Shoppe (855 Valencia Street, San Francisco)

WHY:

What happens when two of the Bay Area's best artists combine forces and make stuff? You get

VOGTSMITH

, the amazing collaboration between

Andy Vogt

and

Sarah Smith

that is the source of some of the most beautiful and unforgettable objects we've seen in years. We've been so thrilled to carry

their work

in the Shoppe, and now we we are beside ourselves with excitement that they have taken over our gallery space for the next few weeks. Andy and Sarah have created a selection of fantastic and original and

affordable

items that are on sale now through the Holidays. Each piece is absolutely gorgeous and unique, so head down to the Shoppe and check out the show, and join us on Friday to celebrate with Andy and Sarah in person!!

ALSO: 15% OFF all Shoppe merchandise from 6-9pm!!!

Michael Zapruder's Pink Thunder!!!

Eariler this summer we received a curious email from the outrageously talented singer-songwriter Michael Zapruder. He wondered if we might be interested in an insanely ambitious project he was working on called Pink Thunder that somehow involved poetry, music, photography, and a collection of handmade, one-of-a-kind portmanteaus. Our first reaction was "Poor-Man-whats!?!" Our second was "Whatever...this sounds crazy-awesome. Let's do something!"

So please join us next Thursday, October 18th to celebrate the release of Michael's new album Pink Thunder!! In addition to the actual album, Michael will also be releasing a companion book + cd (featuring photographs of the recording sessions, as well as hand-lettered renditions of the poems he used as lyrics), and IN ADDITION TO THAT (and this is where it gets really nuts), for each song on the album, Michael has built a beautiful and unique portmanteau (pictured below), which is part sculpture, part music player. Just plug in your headphones, press the button, and enjoy the song!

You can read more about this remarkable project here, and here, and be sure to check out the first video from the album for the song "Florida" below. So please clear your calendar and join us on Thursday the 18th to congratulate Michael and experience the Pink Thunder album + book + portmanteau awesomeness in person.

WHAT: Michael Zapruder's Pink Thunder Release Party!

WHEN: Thursday, October 18th, 6-8pm

WHERE: The Curiosity Shoppe, 855 Valencia Street, San Francisco 

SoEx Auction this Saturday!!!

This Saturday, March 31st is the Southern Exposure Annual Auction, and we can't wait!! We've been obsessing over some of the artwork posted at their site and have created a little slideshow of a few of the pieces we've got our eyes on! (The crops on these images in the slideshow are funky, so please check out the online preview at SoEx's site). This auction is one of the most fun and fascinating evenings of the year with such fantastic art and fantastic people. We really hope all of you will join us this Saturday and help support the most ambitious and generous art organziation around!

WHAT: Southern Exposure's Annual Auction
WHEN: Saturday, March 31st, 7:30-11pm (VIP reception starts at 6)
WHERE: 3030 20th Street (at Alabama), San Francisco
WHY: To support SoEx and all the amazing artists they support!

Friends & Trees & Ritlab, Oh My!!

We're so thrilled for our friends Lisa Congdon, Grace Hawthorne, and the boys over at Woodshop (Jeff, Danny, Josh, Luke), who have all created amazing pieces for the new exhibit "Do Not Destory: Trees, Art, and Jewish Thought" that just opened at the Contemporary Jewish Museum. (Oh, there are also pieces by a couple of other artists: Yoko Ono, Joseph Beuys...) The show is up through May 28th, and we recommend you go see it over and over and over again. Not just because the work is great and the museum is a fantastic place to see fantastic art, but because the wonderful people at CJM have invited us to invite you to get in with a special 2-fo-1 ticket offer. Just mention The Curiosity Shoppe and the Friends and Family Offer when purchasing your tickets to get in on the sweet deal.

And we're very excited to tell you that we will be hosting an interactive workshop at the museum's RitLab on March 22nd. We'll be guiding folks along as they create their own portable placemats (perfect for picnics, dinner parties, or sophisticated snackin' on the couch). If you've been to a RitLab event before, you know how fun they are, if you've never been, pliease join us on the 22nd. The event is free with museum admission and there will be food and music and good people and good times!

Markers of Time

We feel lucky to know so many smart and talented artists who are working on incredible projects, and Christina Seely is no exception. Christina is an amazing photographer who is spending the summer up in Alaska creating new work for a project called Markers of Time, which looks at how climate change is effecting natural cycles in the ecosystems of Arctic. She has been out in the field photographing snowy owls and arctic foxes, and has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the rest of her trip. For more information about the project, please read this awesome interview over on the FluffyCo website, and check for updates on Kickstarter as well as Christina's blog, Metro Nature.

The arctic fox is a coat changing species whose cycles are no longer in sync with those of Mother Nature...

She is also looking at the intersection of man-made vs natural time, as in the full moon vs.  airplane cargo flights & the Northern Lights vs. trucking schedules.

 Just for fun... a postcard we received from Christina yesterday!!