The Spoken Soul Festival, held annually was hosted by the Design District in Miami in conjunction with the Women Arts and the international celebration of women artists called SWAN Day (Support Women Artists Now). Spoken Soul Productions and six entertainment industry leaders of South Florida annually host and produce Spoken Soul Festival.
The festival features three events: Swan Community Program-Healing Through The Arts, SWAN Spoken Soul Showcase Vol 3, and the Vanessa Baez Women’s Brunch Memorial.
The festival brought workshops to their spoken word club led by published poet Amy Baez and to their film students led by filmmaker and activist Somy Ali.
I had the opportunity to attend the festival and meet women from all walks of life: poets, designers, photographers, painters, singers, sisters, mothers, daughters, wives, cancer survivors and divorcees. All women sharing their stories and their love for women and the arts.
I sat down with Deborah Magdalene, founder of Spoken Soul Festival about how she managed to gather together and encourage the local female artists to celebrate SWAN Day.
Organic Glam: the beauty and dichotomy of Haute Nature + Organic Couture. And yes, free-form slabs of unfinished wood is ~ sexy. This nature inspired Urban Lifestyle of Modern Decor offers the ultimate in Eco-Luxury by combining the strength of rustic design with the beauty of feminine form. Deep earthy tones and heavy scale are balanced beautifully with metallic legs + plexi-glass bases. Everyone needs to covet at least one showpiece of Organic Art: a perfect addition to any urban dweller, or art lover’s ~ open space.
The sexy side of organic comes with metallic legs + glossy finishes. The Cast Slab Dining Table from blankblank exemplifies the Organic Couture Lifestyle. Designed by Rob Zinn, the solid cast bronze legs, combined with a salvaged wood slab top, offers a fabulous balance of Eco-Luxury. What makes it green? “The wood is selected from sources of diseased or storm-felled trees and the fabrication is closely overseen to capture a unique spirit in each piece which comes Signed and dated.” Make sure to visit this design + build company: they have one of the most eclectic product assortments on the market.
Fans of food and fashion will be intrigued by these outrageous edible clothes, accessories, and shoes! CHECK THEM OUT…..
Elegant Artichoke Heart Gown. In the name of art, this model stood for six hours as the designers sewed together each individual artichoke leaf covering her body. Designed bydesigners Daniel Feld and Wesley Nault of Project Runway fame
Keep your toes toasty with these fully edible — and wearable — bread slippers. European designers R&E Praspaliauskas
As part of his fall 2006 collection, cleverly titled “Food Fight,” Scott, known for his wacky themes, playfully paired a spaghetti dress with — what else? — a meatball necklace. It’s certainly a conversation piece! Creator:American fashion designer Jeremy Scott.
Air Jordan's got nothing on this these babies. As part of an exhibition, Hemmendorf designed the classic Nike Air Max sneakers using a sturdy sesame baguette, beef patties, pickles, tomatoes, and cheese for the iconic swoosh. Why did Hemmendorf choose the hamburger? He wanted to use "the most powerful, most durable, and most delicious material known to man." Creator: Swedish Designer Olle Hemmendorff
Made of 100% beef jerky, this take on the classic Chanel bag was created by hand-sewing sheets of the air-dried meat. It's definitely as durable as any Italian leather, but we're betting Coco would not approve. Designed by Nancy Wu Artist and Designer: Nancy Wu
Living in London ~ home decor fashion takes on the grunge goodness of chic design and avant-garde textiles. Let your inner bohemian free to re-cover existing frames with artist canvas and express and eclectic nature of decor by painting your own designs, or purchase custom hand-painted chairs & settees. Either way, you bring new life to any city dweller’s loft or London pad.
Don’t be afraid ~ spice things up with fabulous color splashes of bold M&M greens to silk-glam-pinks, or express the darker side of bohemian life, with Gothic birds and black-&-white graffiti designs. {lifestyle photo: via coco+kelly at flickr}.
For the Love of Vintage ~ what a dream find: a French cane-back settee’ in a bohemian grunge muslin with worn antique white finish. When in NYC, make sure to visit the “Vintage & Antique Collections” of ABC Carpet + Home. From French Farm Tables to Chinese Altar Tables and scores of vintage lighting & linens. Trust me, you won’t leave this glamorous place without your inner bohemian. Photos from Decorno.com. Top Photo: courtesy of Zara Home.
Mystery + Beauty surround the Bohemian Chic Lifestyle. Don’t be afraid to express your soft romantic side and create beauty in home decor. Whether it be a city loft by the river or a downtown brownstone, we all need a little { pretty } in our hectic urban lives. So, if you love culture + fashion + design, come embrace a little bit of the sweet “Vanity Fair Vintage” lifestyle.
"Little Uma" {picture directly above} is a carved french 19th century Rococo-style settee with it's original turquoise patina. What makes her special and why I love the design house of Chair Couture, is their philosophy & passion to recycle French antiques and reupholster in bold modern or vintage flavored fabrics. What you get is a fabulous reinterpretation of bohemian whimsy + high fashion urban glam
So you think only kids can play with Lego?Check out these 5 amazing and most creative and realistic Lego designs made by individuals (some are artists themselves) from different countries.
Typical New York buildings and views duplicated using Lego bricks. The low perspectives in which the photographs are taken in skyscrapers looks like very realistic.
