Britt's Picks: Designer Orlando Arocena

"Mexican-Cuban-American" Orlando Arocena's portfolio is filled with amazing illustrations designed for big brands and events like Diageo (distributors of Guiness, Jose Cuervo, Smirnoff, etc) and the New York Auto Show. I found some of Orlando's awesome, digitally designed artwork on Pinterest and was inspired to post a few of his illustrations:

I get a kick out of the luchador lady riding the burro pinata! What do you think of Orlando's unique artwork?

Images found here.

Britt's Picks: Furry Customers

Lots of our customers come into Casa Artelexia with their furry friends in tow. Each pooch that walks through the door has a big smile on their face, and I've decided to do a furry customer appreciation post. Here are just a few snapshots of our much appreciated, furry customers:

Do any of these happy dogs belong to you? Let us know!

Britt's Picks: Mexico's Nerd Culture

In honor of Comic-Con San Diego this week (which I am missing and am VERY distraught over), I wanted to bring to light some of Mexico’s own nerd culture, by giving you examples of popular Mexican comics. Finding classic Mexican comics took some digging, probably because the world of comics has not had a strong grip on Mexico. But I’ve found a few that seem to embody the goofy qualities of beloved superhero stories:

Mexican-American Gus Arriola, creator of the Gordo comic strip that ran from the 1940s through the 80s, wanted to introduce the U.S. and the world to Mexico through his comic. The story followed the adventures of Mexican bean farmer Gordo and friends.

1950's comic series La Araña Verde (“The Green Spider”) followed scientist-turned-superhero Steve Harley as he fought for justice in the guise of La Araña Verde.

La Llanera Vengadora was a 1970s comic book series based on a cowgirl-type hero, also fighting for justice. Actress/Singer Flor Silvestre became the image of La Llanera Vengadora.

Jose Guadalupe Cruz further popularized El Santo, the famous luchador, by creating a long running comic series of him titled Santo, El Enmascarado De Plata. The 1950's series was based on El Santo's quest to fight crime, and is one of the most famous comic series in Mexican history.

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Britt's Picks: Bohemian Garden Party

The summertime is my absolute favorite. I wait all year for these long days and warm nights (and needless to say I’m loving this heatwave). There is something enchanting and free-spirited about the summer that makes me want to gather with close friends and family and just enjoy the beautiful weather.

Bohemian style reflects the same free-spiritedness of the summer, whether it’s through fashion or home décor, and right now, the summer makes me want to throw a Bohemian themed garden party to celebrate. And with festive Bohemian tabletop and design inspiration all over the web, I couldn’t resist putting together a little inspiration board:

Images: 1, 2, 3, 4

Britt's Picks: Bright Bedroom Inspiration

I’m usually one for earthy color palettes with a few pops of bright color here and there, but every once in a while I succumb to the more adventurous side of my design style and enjoy interiors with bright colors and lovely florals. The Pinterest bedrooms and inspiration I’ve chosen are teeming with brilliant pinks, blues, and turquoise, and mix and match different floral patterns:

Britt's Picks: Vintage Crewelwork

Whenever I'm thrifting or antiquing, there's one thing I'll always look for: vintage crewelwork. I absolutely adore those kitschy 70's crewelwork pieces! Crewel embroidery has been around for centuries, but creating colorful, and quirky embroidery was most popular in the 1970's. I've come up with a few of my favorite crewelwork pieces that I've pinned from Pinterest and found throughout the web:

The first is a pillow cover with bright red and pink flowers–a very lucky lady here at Casa Artelexia purchased this from Etsy when she found it on my Pinterest! The second is a piece someone turned into a pillow, the third is a chair upholstered in a gorgeous crewel flower piece, and the fourth is a pillow created by Anthropologie from an actual vintage crewelwork pattern.

I usually find my crewelwork at the Goodwill or other thrift stores, but you can also find it at antique stores and online on Etsy and Ebay. The best thing about looking for crewelwork is that you never know what you'll find–after all, it's a crewel world out there!

-Brittany