{Inspiration} a tiny ferry ride & studio visit…

Posted by kristinloffertheiss on June 30, 2012 in beach, ceramic artist, fine art, Guemes Island, sculpture, studio visit, Sue Roberts | 3 Comments

Recently, during an opening at hutch studio, I had the opportunity to meet a pretty fantastic woman named Sue Roberts. She was patiently waiting to ask me questions during a thread drawing demo & introduced herself- right before she had to dash off to catch a teeny ferry to Guemes Island. It wasn’t too long after she left, that I actually realized that I was a fan of her sculptures & had seen some of her work in many galleries over the years. Since then, both Chris & I have had the chance to hang out with her a bit. She is a ceramicist/sculptor as well as Chris so their paths have been crossing often lately.

(image: Chicken Man- encaustic on painted ceramic)

Chris’ dad is visiting from Rhode Island right now & we are always looking for a cool things to do when he is here & Sue had just happened to invite us over for a studio visit – which was perfect timing! We all hopped in the car, took a itty bitty ferry, & met Sue at her studio (Tower Arts Studio) for a tour.

She & Chris talked clay talk & I visually took in Sue’s world. My eyes immediately honed in on a medical model of the body on her top shelf & I pointed out to Sayer. He, of course, went bonkers (as he is still obsessed with the body) – she was so great & let him play with it! He and Grandpa Whitebeard (what Sayer calls Chris’ dad) worked on that body for a really long time- the parts are much easier to take out than put back in apparently. I then had a chance to just walk around & check out all of the sites…

{Safe Voyage- Ceramic & Partnership – ceramic}

Bird Boy 2 – Ceramic/Encaustic & Chick -Ceramic

I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we all had a wonderful time yesterday! After our studio tour, Sue took us on a site seeing adventure of the island including a frolic on the beach – all after serving us handmade chocolates (she has a little chocolate business too!) & coffee. She is one talented & fun gal! Thanks Sue- Sayer is still talking about the medical body (I think he even dreamed about it)!

Hope you have a fun weekend with lots of cool adventures. Any plans?

Photo Credit: Artwork: Sue Roberts

{Music Monday} A Wasteland Companion…

Posted by kristinloffertheiss on June 26, 2012 in A Wasteland Companion, M.Ward, music monday, studio music | No Comments

It’s a M. Ward Music Monday. A Wasteland Companion has been a “go to” playlist in the studio ever since the release in April. Today it’s been on repeat & I thought I would share. Happy Music Monday! What is your “go to” playlist?

Photo Credit- M.Ward /Merge Records

{Inspiration} balloons, a kitty, & a boy…

Posted by kristinloffertheiss on June 24, 2012 in kitty tee, KLTworks, photograpy, spontaneous photoshoot, The Red Balloon | 15 Comments

Last year I wrote a blog post about my love of the movie The Red Balloon. The post was written as a documentation of my first year blogging & the new banner my friend Chantale made for me using a Red Balloon inspired photo I took of Sayer on his birthday. The movie served as inspiration again for this recent photo shoot for the new klt:works kitty tee that I did with Sayer. Incidentally, the kitty on the tee is actually our kitty. I used a picture of her from when she was kitten (before Sayer was born) as reference- she was my first klt:works muse.

As always, things have been busy with lots of new products filling the shop – namely, lots of new kid’s apparel. Sayer is finished with pre-school for the summer & coming up with fun activities is at the forefront of my mind. It’s a total bonus that I can put a new tee on him & head out on an adventure- with the camera in hand. It fits the philosophy & aesthetic of klt:works well to have real life snippets represented in the collection. Plus, (as I’ve mentioned before I know) I love taking photos of him.

This was a fun Sunday for Sayer & I a few weeks ago. Our little downtown is nearly a ghost town on Sundays- 75% of it is closed. So after a trip to the party store, we headed downtown to explore. I always love the textures, colors & history in the alleys. I’ve gone through a handful of the doors we pass by over my lifetime. I grew up in this town. I left for college & graduate school – but then ended up back here. I’ve worked, watched movies, eaten at restaurants & shopped here for over 30 years. Weird to think really. Needless to say, I know it well & it’s fun to see it through Sayer’s eyes- better yet to document it.

Thanks to all of you that stop by this blog now & then to read & see my thoughts. I really do appreciate it & I’m constantly amazed at how many wonderful people that I have met here. I look forward to another year of blogging! Hope you are having a great weekend!

** new blue kitty tee pictured : here

{Music Monday} Paper Animation…

Posted by kristinloffertheiss on June 18, 2012 in Lorenzo Papace, music monday, paper animation | No Comments

Nothing like some wonderful paper animation to get the week started (love this). Happy Music Monday! What are you listening to?

photo credit: here

Happy Father’s Day!

Posted by kristinloffertheiss on June 17, 2012 in father and son, father's day, KLTworks | 8 Comments

These two guys are peas in a pod. Being that I always seem to be the one with a camera in my hand, I have TONS of photos of the two of them. Here are some of my favorites that I took during photo shoots for klt:works in the last year or so (except the second one that was taken right before Sayer’s end of the year pre-school performance a few weeks ago). I love watching them together. Chris is a wonderful dad & you can just see the mutual adoration between the two of them. Oh, & yes – there are a tremendous amount of klt:tees in our laundry at all times – but we do own clothes that aren’t klt:works too.

But a father’s day post really wouldn’t be complete without a photo of me & my dad (yes, that is me – not Sayer). Not only is Sayer lucky in the father department, but so am I. My dad has always been there for me.

And now, he is best buddies with Sayer – which is also awesome to witness. So happy Father’s Day to all of the dads out there! You are very much appreciated!

{Inspiration} Visual Acoustics…

Posted by kristinloffertheiss on June 16, 2012 in architecture, documentary, Everyday Inspiration, Julius Shulman, mid-century modern, photography, Richard Neutra, Visual Acoustics | No Comments

In my last post about Mr. Rogers, I had mentioned watching two documentaries last weekend to creatively rejuvenate. Being that it’s Friday, I thought I would let you know what the second one was, in case you were in need of some inspiring relaxation this weekend yourself. It was a documentary called Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman. Not only do I love mid-century architecture, but I love photography too. This film will make the modern enthusiast swoon. I have to say, the combination of the Mr. Rogers & Me documentary & this one, was magic. It was a perfect balance in my book. Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Happy Father’s Day to all of you awesome dads out there too!

Photo credits:

1) Case Study House #22 via
2) Julius Shulman & Richard Neutra via

3) Kaufmann House (Richard Neutra) via
4) interior via
5) interior via

{Inspiration} Mr. Rogers & the garden of your mind…

Posted by kristinloffertheiss on June 14, 2012 in construction paper fun, documentaries, Everyday Inspiration, klt:tee, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Rogers and Me, spontaneous photoshoot, the garden of your mind | 6 Comments

Last Friday, PBS posted a video that has had me on a major Mr. Rogers kick ever since. I’ve been playing it pretty much non-stop since I first saw it in the PBS facebook feed. Mr. Rogers Neighborhood conjures up such nice memories – it’s a wonderful hit of nostalgia. But as a mom, it was a really perfect reminder of a special show – & as a small business owner, it was the much needed inspiration I’d been seeking.

Some of you may remember me talking about my love of watching documentary films when I’m needing to decompress & take a creative break. Well, this little video got me on a search that led me to Mr. Rogers & Me & I watched it this weekend (I actually bought it on itunes). It was just what I needed- two thumbs up from me!

I introduced Sayer to Mr. Rogers this weekend as well. Not only by the cool “Garden of Your Mind” video, but by watching a few episodes of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. I was thrilled to see that there are videos posted on PBSkids. We watched an episode on Tuesday about paper (here). This is what it inspired….

We had a blast making this paper chain like the one in the Mr. Rogers paper episode. But we had even more fun playing with it. Of course, I had to document this colorful play (along with the new german pointer toddler tee).

Thanks Fred Rogers, for still encouraging continuous joy…

Mr. Rogers image via

{Music Monday} New favorite…

Posted by kristinloffertheiss on June 11, 2012 in alfie jurvanen, bahamas, conan, music monday | 6 Comments

Chris & I watch Conan almost every night together- it’s just one of those things & last week, one of the musical guests caught our attention. After hearing Alfie Jurvanen (aka Bahamas) play, we immediately went to the computer to find out more. Barchards is Bahamas second solo record- before that, Alfie had been the guitar player for Feist. Both of us played this song/album non-stop this weekend- so I thought I would share. Happy Music Monday! What are you listening to these days?

photo credit : here

{Process & Inspiration} New Rooster!

Posted by kristinloffertheiss on June 05, 2012 in dan zanes, drawing in thread, Henny Penny, KLTworks, music monday, rooster, rooster tee | 5 Comments

I’ve been itching to make a new thread drawing image & finally had an opportunity & the inspiration to make it happen! I love to watch chickens strut around – their group dynamic cracks me up. I thought it would be fun to try my hand at a drawing one – & it was a rooster that finally made it on to the canvas. When thinking of a song to go with this image (because there is always a song to go with my images)- of course Dan Zanes popped into my head. All Around the Kitchen was on replay often for awhile in our house & we tend to dance around a lot like this on a daily basis.

I was looking through all of my children’s books for chicken reference pictures & Henny Penny was top on my inspiration reading list- however, I ended up using a picture of a Rhode Island Red Rooster as a reference in the end because my husband is from Rhode Island & it seemed to speak to me. After about 6 chicken drawings in thread, I was finally happy with one. Sayer’s love of red is what helped me choose the tee color. I guess you could say it’s a sort of a rooster fire firefighter as far as he is concerned.

And there you have it, the new klt:works rooster tees are finished & in the shop! Now let’s dance!

{Thrilled Thursday} Play & Repeat…

Posted by kristinloffertheiss on May 31, 2012 in Andrew Bird, music monday, video | No Comments

Ok, so “thrilled” may be a bit strong, but seeing this Andrew Bird video this morning via Etsy was really cool- it’s awesome! If you’ve been here before, you know that Andrew Bird is my all time favorite musician & I’ve been enjoying his new album in the studio non-stop since its release. The thing that sort of blew my mind, was that this video embraces everything that Sayer is interested in right now (space, human body, putting together drawings). I showed it to him & he went bananas! We watched it 6 times before school this morning. I’m particularly excited that it’s possibly replaced the bloodmobile video. This is a video/song that I don’t mind playing over & over- I really can’t picture myself saying, “Sayer, will you turn off that Andrew Bird now?. I hope you enjoy the video as much as we do! It was just what I needed on this rainy Thursday. I just couldn’t wait until Music Monday….

Read about the video on the Etsy Blog

Andrew Bird’s Etsy Shop