Another sunny day in California! Just back from a week in Santa Monica with my family where we had the privilege of working on a few families homes with Habitat for Humanity. Plenty to do and plenty of fun. Billy and Bethy were the consummate site supervisors always keeping things moving and we met some great people who had given their day to help out. I was pleased and impressed with two architects, Eric and Patrick who are pursuing new employment opportunities who decided to jump in and build with Habitat in the meantime... Go Guys! In fact everyone there deserves a big thanks for getting involved!

My son Rio and I spent most of our time laying sub-floor in the bathroom and my wife Dawn and Rio's friend Cole nearly caulked a whole house... sore joints and white latex fingers to prove it. A big thanks to Alison with Hollywood for Habitat who does such a great job working with the entertainment industries involvement with Habitat for Humanity!

From 70 and sunny in L.A. to 35 and light snow in Chicago we headed home to enjoy a bit of spring weather. Oh, it's coming... just takes a little while to get going.

I'll be speaking tomorrow about getting inspired and inspiring others to get involved in a great opportunity in Ft. Wayne, IN. With millions of dollars available in grant money to rehab foreclosed homes and breath new life into a number of Ft. Wayne neighborhoods, I am looking forward to an exciting time!

Through adversity come some of our greatest opportunities and for Ft. Wayne, it's one of those moments. To find out more about the NSP (Neighborhood Stabilization Program) go to: http://nspfortwayne.com.

Inspiring people in their everyday journey... that's what it's all about.

Just back from LA and reflecting on my visit to the Eames House in Santa Monica... what a serene tyme! Caught me a little off guard imagining Charles and Ray living in such a responsibly designed and built structure in the midst of LA excess. They moved into the house in 1949 and lived there until their deaths in '78 & '88 respectively. The main house at 1500 sq ft and the studio at 1000 sq ft are all they required to live, love and inspire a generation of Americans!

I was re-inspired, (if not a bit teary-eyed) as I realized their contribution to my, (and my design co-hort Dougal's) sense of the creative. Thank you Charles and Ray Eames!

Please check out the link for a bit of perspective and when in LA, make an appointment and visit the house. The best $5- you'll ever spend!

Ah California. It never ceases to amaze me how beautiful it is in CA. If you've never been there... go there. If you've been there before... go back for another visit. 

I'm out in LA for some great meetings and on my down-time I try to do some fun and some educational things while keeping up with the workout schedule. If I can combine them all the better. Yesterday was a shining example of just that.

Awake @ 3:45am in Indianapolis

Fly out of Indy @ 6am

Arrive in LA @ (you gotta love the @ symbol... it's so hip) 10:50am with a full day ahead of me to relax and enjoy. I was amused at (the grammatical "at" that is) the perspective of the woman sitting beside me on the plane who remarked upon hearing that the outside temp was 50 degrees, "oh my, it's freezing outside" to which I felt compelled to respond, "hey, to a Hoosier who spent his anniversary in Chicago, walking 4 blocks to the restaurant for dinner in -18 below weather... this is not freezing baby". Of course I didn't use the "baby" with this kindly old woman but you get the point. 

So I disembark (that doesn't even look like a word) rent my Toyota Prius hybrid, (what a great car) and head for the Topanga State Park where I rent a mtn bike for a two hour ride into the Santa Monica mtn's. Wow! What a fantastic ride! I rode up and up and up until I found myself at a dead-end overlook where you gaze out over the Pacific Ocean. To the north were the mountains above Malibu that looked like velvet brains pouring into the ocean. To the west was, duh the Pacific Ocean, (really gorgeous) and the coast line with all the beach cities stretching as far as you could see. Finally, there was LA's downtown popping right up out of the valley as if someone had sprinkled some seeds of architecture and it just grew on it's own. 

Once I returned the parking lot I decided to venture into the neighborhood and check out the local flavor of residential homes. My cruise through the Topanga Canyon streets offered a fascinating display of all things California with everything from 70's hippie hold-ups to amazing terraced landscaping hosting some fully modern homes. Really great, inspiring houses!

Thanks Topanga Canyon!

Later this week I'm heading to the Eames Museum for a bit of mid-century design inspiration, (and worship)! Can't wait. If you're not familiar with Charles & Ray Eames, they were arguably the most celebrated [furniture] designers of the 20th century and man were they talented! Google them and check them out... you'll love their incredible and truly classic designs.

That's it for now... more to come. Type ya soon!

Change is good... pass it on.

HAPPY 2009!!!

Hope it was a great holiday season for everyone! I WILL be blogging regularly this year so I hope you'll check back often and enjoy. 

If you haven't checked out my recent feature in Las Vegas Home & Design mag yet please do so. I was so honored to be included in the fall '08 issue and Wow did they do a great job! It's the link on the top right of my homepage if you missed it.

Take note of the three design pics that are in that mag. The Shanklin Residence will be featured in an upcoming "Trad-Mod Makeover" video I will be offering soon. I know many of you have older, traditional home's that you'd like to update in a fresh and modern way without losing the character and integrity of the original homes design... well this video's for you!

I'll also be making some major changes in my own home with video tips from that one too. Full-on creative mayhem that will show how my crazy creative head works in the whole process. 

Oh, and yes I'm way behind on the furniture but... the Frank Suspended Lounge Chair & Ottoman is nearly done and will soon be on the site. It will be worth the wait!

So much more coming this year. Heading to L.A. soon for some meetings... sssshhhhh (!)

And what do I do for inspiration in Indiana in the winter. Check out these pics of Villa Dakota (my abode) covered in ICE and mountain biking in freezing temps on a frozen lake bed with friends Adan and Peter. Hard to not be inspired when you look at those barren trees rising out of the lake, eh?

Change is good. Pass it on!

Cheers, Tym

The "Lost Keys" Incident

I nearly forgot to mention a crazy incident I had at this years Summer Las Vegas Market.

With temperatures in the 100 to 110 range, my body's cooling system is not so kind to my clothing... translation; I tend to look like I just came out of a dunk tank. Not so good for on-camera work. So I valet park my Camry Hybrid (note; the word Hybrid) in order to avoid walking a mile in the heat and I head off to shoot all day for the "Style File" video. 

Upon finishing the shoot I am soooo ready to get back to the Hotel, maybe lounge in the lovely salt water pool and then out for a meal at one of my favorite dinner spot's like Spago at Caesar's or Mon Ami Gabi at Paris. Sounds grand, huh! Well, the problem arose when the parking attendant at Las Vegas Parking informed me that I must have kept the car key. 

Now understand that with a hybrid car the key is necessary to start the car, it is not needed to turn it off so... yeah, you get the idea. Well, I was SURE that I had given them the key so round and round we went about where the key could be. They called anyone and everyone who could have parked my car that AM and no-one seemed to recall getting a key, but I was SURE I had left it. The owners son finally drove me to my hotel while they searched for it and looked into getting the car towed to the dealer and re-set the code for a new key... aaaaarrgh!

A little lesson in modern entry systems on automobiles is as follows; the vehicle has a push button starter but the key fob must be in close proximity to the car to start it up. In the event that I just might be wrong about my recollection I had walked to the car with my rolling bag and computer bag, getting right up against the car. That way I could be sure the key was not somewhere in there. Alas, the system had vindicated me by NOT registering the keys presence.

Skip to the hotel and I'm finally in my room waiting for the valet to call and unpacking my clothes and show swag when what should I find but... the KEY! No way!

While it was a really frustrating situation I just have to say that all the guys (and one girl) at Las Vegas Parking were AMAZING!!!!! They were so kind to me and never made me feel like the idiot that I was. What a great group of people! Shout out to everyone at Las Vegas Parking... You Are THE BEST!

Summer Market in Las Vegas...

What a blast! This one was unusually fun with a trip to L.A. before heading to LV and by the way my Toyota Camry Hybrid got 34+ mpg on my combined driving in L.A., Vegas and in between, wow. What's not to like about that. If you haven't tried a hybrid car do yourself a favor and check one out. Oh, and as for the urban folklore regarding all the battery service problems... ask someone to name an actual person who experienced it. That's why it's called urban folklore no doubt purveyed by all naturally aspirated vehicle producers, (nice try).

Ok, back to Vegas. The market kicked off, and I mean KICKED OFF with a concert by legend Rod Stewart. It was crazy good with giant screens down the entire length of the building and pumping sound!

Backtrack... during the day on Monday I had the privilege of doing a photo shoot for a Las Vegas Home & Design magazine feature. The photographer was Tomas Muscionico who did a fantastic job making me look better than I do. Hey, that's talent baby! Check him out at 

http://www.tomasmuscionico.com

Next for me was the "Style File" video shoot on Tuesday and market was jumping. I always love to see what's hot, what's new. The Living green pavilion featuring all kinds of home furnishings produced using recycled, sustainable and renewable materials... great stuff!

Check out "Style File" on my website by clicking the button of the same name. You can see a few of the great products that were showcased at World Market Center this summer. Very cool products! Check back soon.

Super Green!

I love the springtime colors, so super green and rich. It's such an inspiring time of year so don't let it pass you by without rolling up your sleeves. 

The new furniture pieces are so cool but what a chore to constantly refine the design, materials and means of production. I can't wait to be up and running with full production models available this summer. 

I've also moved agency's so I hope to be back on the air in the near future with some design related show.

With design in mind, think about bringing the outdoors inside right now with some spring greens and sky blues. Those colors are a can't miss! Another good hit is to replace some dated light fixtures. Maybe start with your foyer and do one each month. Pretty easy, (don't forget to turn off the power at the breaker) and very rewarding in bringing new life into your home. 

Now go do it! Cheers.