a day with dad . . . shopping style.

it's fairly safe to say that my father and i have different takes on life.

that's ok.  we have always loved each other and figured it out.

like, sure, he could wear more color.  so i get him a purple sweater.  and he wears it.

and there's that whole "republican" thing,
but i've learned tolerance.

see?  it's like the WHOLE NATION is learning from us.

so when he came to town this past week,
tim and i took him on a roundabout tour of los angeles.

retail style.

some orchids at trader joe's

meeting the monkeys at maxfield's

doing some screening at blackman cruz

he mainly wanted to know where you would put a twelve foot tall amber safety glass and iron screen,
to which i said
"WHO CARES? it's GORGEOUS!"

see, rational discourse.

he did think the crane embroidery was nice

but then we found it.

the one item that could unite father and son,
north and south,
black and . . . bald.

i think he'll get a LOT of use out of it.

don't you?

a quick visual review of BLACKMAN CRUZ, the finest store in los angeles :

little story first.  when i was just out of college, on my first shoot ever, i wandered into the blackman cruz showroom on la cienega.  adam blackman, one of the founders, let me look at, sit in, and touch everything i wanted to, never hassled me, told me stories about everything.  when i picked out a table, and realized i couldn't afford the shipping back to chicago, he smiled, and told me i shouldn't worry about it.  i was meant to have the table, i would have the table.

perhaps this bit of random kindness lingers with me to this day, perhaps i just like free shipping, but blackman cruz remains a place of wonder for me, a place of imagination, a place where i feel comfortable even as i feel elated.  adam still walks the floor, still smiles and tells me stories, and i still imagine a life where my home is filled with their vision.

filled with:

stone sphinxes

samurai marionettes

antique optical lenses

worn limestone busts

hanging leather pod chairs beside cast glass tables.  mastadon skull on back wall.

cast bronze lamps and studded leather books.

forties lamps on biedermeir tables.

cast bronze bases under travertine dining tables

maybe if i just sit here long enough,
adam will wrap it ALL up and send it my way . . .