{field trip} Yayoi Kusama exhibit...

I first heard about Yayoi Kusama's work from a recent show she had in New York of an all white room that would change over time as each person who entered would place a colorful circular sticker wherever they wanted. "How cool is that?" I thought. Art that changes over time. Art that isn't always only created by the artist but the viewers, too. I became intrigued and needed to know more.

I learned that Kusama has played with concept of infinity over many decades and through a range of media. The traveling exhibition marks the North American debut of numerous new works by the 88-year-old artist, who is still actively creating in her Tokyo studio. When I found out that the exhibit was traveling to LA, it was a must for an Oh Joy team Field Trip to The Broad museum to see the Yayoi Kusama exhibition...

from painting to room...

Because you can be inspired by anything (including a dress and a skirt), today, we're showing you how we channeled this beautiful painting by Lulie Wallace and let it inspire an entire living room! Take a look...

happy friday + a san francisco field trip...

To celebrate Oh Joy’s 12th Anniversary, we took a day trip earlier this week to San Francisco to visit two spots that make us very happy...Color Factory and the Museum of Ice Cream! We had a blast spending a work day having some extra fun, and I loved getting to celebrate with my amazing, hard-working, loyal, and talented team. Here's a look at our day...

field trip: color factory!

Last week, I took a quick trip to San Francisco to visit my friend, Jordan's, newest project—Color Factory. This amazing space is an experience in color as you walk through rooms, hallways, installations, and tactile and sensory stories that will leave you smiling. Here's a peek...

the ikea museum in sweden...

A few weeks ago, I went on a special trip to Sweden with the Ikea US team for a press trip and tour of the Ikea Headquarters. I saw all of the new collaborations they are working on, meet with designers (many who have been there for over 15 years!), visit the studio where the Ikea catalog is shot, and visit the Ikea Museum! The museum had such an amazing collection of items from the very beginning of Ikea history in Älmhult, Sweden in 1943. Here's a peek at some of my favorite things from the Ikea Museum...

Of course, the textiles were my favorite part. Decades of patterns and fabrics lined the first floor...I could have just stayed in that room all day long!

There was an entire timeline of Ikea's evolution—from the beginning to today. It was fun to see how style has changed but also come full circle. Some of the spotlights were fun to see where they highlighted some of their iconic pieces—like the Poang chair...and of course, the Swedish meatball!

If you grew up with Ikea like I did or even if you just love the store, it's a really fun place to go and get a look at the history, nostalgia, and legend of this iconic brand!

{Photos by Joy Cho}

details, details...

I'm so inspired by textures, surprising details, and things that make my eyes look again...whether full of a million colors or only one, I'm loving all of this...

Sources: Alexandra Grecco gown, Delpozo Fall/Winter 2016, Valentino Summer 2013 via Vogue UK, and Delpozo Fall 2016 and Fall 2015.

an oh joy mural!

I have always wanted to see an Oh Joy pattern large in and in charge on a wall mural somewhere in the world. So when we were asked by the Southern California Children's Museum to paint whatever we wanted on the walls of their new space, it felt like the perfect moment to bring that dream to life for the kids who play there.

Our designer, Angie, and I worked together to concept a mural that I wanted to be fun, bold, very Oh Joy, yet not too specific that it would feel dated later on. So I didn't want to use any Oh Joy patterns that have already seen on our products and instead decided to merge a few different patterns together to create a brand new one just for this project. I worried how we would execute the mural because with my team's already busy work schedule, we didn't have enough resources to be able to paint the very large project on our own. So it was time to ask for help from someone with mural experience.

With the incredible help of Rachel Deitsch of Really Fake Digital and Carrie Hansen, we were able to make our vision a reality. We matched our Pantone colors to Benjamin Moore paint colors, Angie drew the pattern to 1/10th scale, then Rachel and Carrie blew it up to full scale to draw out all the lines on a grid for the shapes. The mural took almost two weeks from start to finish thanks to their amazing work. The Oh Joy team took a break from our usual work and came to help paint, too, which was seriously so therapeutic.

Here's the finished mural! We are still waiting on vinyl decals of the museum's logo which will go right in the entryway overhead as well as a plaque that will tell about our involvement and inspiration behind the mural's design. This was such a fun change for me to conceptualize and see Oh Joy come to life in a different way than we're used to! For those of you in Los Angeles with kids, I hope you'll stop by the Southern California Children's Museum in Pasadena and see it in person. And if you do, please tag @ohjoy so we can see your photos!

A huge thank you to Benjamin Moore for donating all the paint for this project and to Rachel and Carrie for their help with this project!

P.S. For reference, we used Benjamin Moore Regal Select paint in an eggshell finish in the following colors: Bubble Bath 1326; Limelight 2025-40; Bahama Waters 576; Pink Ladies 1347; Cactus Flower 1335; Paddington Blue 791; Bayberry Blue 790; Golden Orchards 329; Tangelo 2017-20; Neon Green 2032-10; and Cool Aqua 2056-40.

{Photos by Casey Brodley}

work in progress...

Earlier this week, I shared a peek on Instagram of a mural we designed for the Southern California Children's Museum. The mural is almost done and we'll be making final touches next week. I'll be sure to share more photos of the entire piece when it's ready! Yay!

...and happy weekend!

{Photos by Casey Brodley}

what to do with leftover wrapping paper...

We all have scraps of wrapping paper leftover from those gifts we've loving wrapped and given. Sometimes you buy a roll of beautiful paper only to see leftover slivers get tossed in the trash. So we created these colorful and (super easy to make) pieces of wall art using those scraps that won't go to waste again!

We created a few different collaged pieces using a variety of wrapping paper scraps and put them in frames afterwards to make them feel more elevated.

You'll need:

-wrapping paper scraps

-a frame

-foam core

-mod podge & paint brush

-gold leaf kit (optional)

Here's how:

1. Group your wrapping paper scraps by color and compile together a combination that you like. We recommend sticking to a certain color palette so that it feels more cohesive than a mix of all colors.

2. Tear the paper into strips and shapes of your choice.

3. Using mod podge under and over each piece, paint a thin layer over the strips of paper, and mount them to foam core that match the size of your frame. Continue to layer until you're happy with it.

4. Pop the piece into the frame and display! We left the glass out of the frame but you can use with our without the glass on top.

{Photos by Casey Brodley, styling by Julia Wester, crafting by Julia Wester & Jess Hong. Papers from Urbanic and Paper Source.}

some bits of inspiration lately...

...beautiful peonies from Mother's Day in my new favorite vase, giant tassels at the Rosebowl Flea Market, a new Beach-perfect book, and pattern on pattern on texture...

Have a great weekend all! I'm headed to the Beyonce concert this weekend (weeee!) and filling my days with kid activities a plenty!

{Photos by Oh Joy}