In Between

I can honestly say I've never before appreciated the beauty of smoke bombs.

Silence/Shapes: "Juxtaposing violence and beauty as a political statement. The need, in the age of information and communication technology, of going back to silence being aware of its presence."

See more of Minelli's work on societal contradictions here.

Photographs by Peter McCollough

My hands, 29 years worn, after changing the brakes on my car, as seen by my Mother who always said I had piano hands.

Makers Gonna Make, by Jude Landry. (via Swissmiss)

Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. – H. Thurman

From the website of creative studio Designing Monsters, whose work you should definitely check out.

I'm itching to visit New York again, for reasons like Modern Anthology.

Owners Becka Citron and John Marsala run this half creative studio, half retail store located in DUMBO NY. The POV is incredible. Subway white text on black canvas, vintage lighting and leather, aged patina galore across tabletops and trophies. People say it's a store for men and man caves and masculine but all I see is heritage.

Their creative services range from interiors and graphic design to film and event design. They say they're in the business of storytelling, and that lil nugget is a great starting point to remember for any concept. "We know our first job as designers is to listen. Whether we're knocking out brilliant designs, initiating memorable branding concepts, or promoting the work of the talented artists we collaborate with, we like to think that everything we do takes its roots in our ability to tell really, really great stories."

One of Jason's childhood friends invited us to his wedding in Chicago so we made a mini-vacation out of it, padding the weekend with an extra day on either side. The first day we were out there happened to fall on my birthday, so I am lucky. I get to say that I spent my 27th birthday wandering the Art Insitute of Chicago's vast collection with the love of my life. Afterwards, his brother flew in just a few hours behind us so, we met up and he treated us for dinner and got the party started.

Overall, Chicago is an absolutely gorgeous city. I am so glad we had a chance to take the train outside of downtown too, where the city-of-neighborhoods reputation really shows... The alleyways come alive and fire escapes rise tall, brick everywhere and ivy all over it, architecture in general just beautifully thought out. I didn't photograph too much, I'm trying not to when I'm really enjoying a "first". Next time. Here are my instagram shots from the weekend.