Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
It’s getting chilly in Minneapolis, which means a lot of my favorite clothes are finding their way out of my closet. And it means that color has come and gone. It’s back to black. Or at least, back to neutrals.
That includes one of my favorite DIYs ever. My spectacle sweater!
I have to apologize for the solemn face. With fall, comes sickness. In this case, an endless running nose, cough, ear ache, all that. It’s snotty and gross.
So what am I wearing?
How about from bottom to top for a change?
Tory Burch Mid Heel Pump
Theory Wide Leg Trouser
My DIY sweater
Thrifted Wool Coat
Butter London Nail Polish, Gobsmacked
Ray-Ban New Wayfarer in Tortoise
Clear Hardshell iPhone Case
The Lady Geek of this Week is Wendi Phan of Wendiand. Check her out on Facebook, Etsy, YouTube, and @Wendiland on Twitter.
Phan is the designer of “modern, eco-friendly terrariums, Zen gardens, and marimo pet aquariums.” I’m sorry, what aquariums? (My first thought.) Basically, a marimo pet aquarium is a fuzzy green algae ball that you keep in a glass of water at your office to foster joy and peacefulness. Scientists refer to them as Cladophora Aegagropila, fyi. As you poke and prod them around 2:35pm, feel the stresses and slight boredom of your day melt away.
When Phan was young, she and her family immigrated to the US from Vietnam. She graduated with a graphic design degree from California State University of Long Beach and began freelancing. Soon after, Wendiland was born.
Here’s a bit more from Phan:
Q: What inspires you in the world?
A: Nature, my love for gardening, architecture, modern interior design in homes, and lying next to Lotus Phantastic (Phan’s dog), listening to her snoring.
I view the world as one big studio that cannot be confined to a specific time or place. There are so many inspirations for me — traveling through buildings, the mountains that surround me, or simply jumping into the ocean. Colors, movements, and sounds can inspire all of us.
I scour the world for objects of interest, gather funny little plants and dig into some dirt!
Q: What has led you to your passion?
A: My aunt shared her collection of Japanese bubble gum wrappers when I was about 5 or 6. Each wrapper had illustrations of girls in different customs. After I saw them I picked up a pencil and began designing dresses and evening gowns. Since then my creativity has bloomed and flourished.
Q: Where would you like to be in ten years?
A: I would love to have a boutique that offers design services for special events, provide yoga classes, and sell my terrariums and special desserts.
Post by Emma Bauer, who works as BGC’s official intern. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, history scholar, tea drinker, fashion devotee, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. On twitter: @emmalynnbauer
When I was in my formative pre-teen years, I found a box in my mother’s home full of cross-stitched designs. I was fascinated by the delicate squares that made up a larger image. Oh, the patience it must have required! I asked my mom to teach me how to do this and it turns out, I wasn’t the best at it. Despite the fact that the technique basically requires you to create a bunch of simple squares - I wasn’t quite precise enough to create perfect work. Maybe it was my stubby fingers or my dwarf thumb. (Yes, there is a medical term and then the term that the doctor’s use so you’ll actually remember it. And it’s dwarfed fingers. Except in my case, it’s only my thumbs.) I know, weird.) I got slightly better over time, but by my teenage years, I lost interest.
Soon after, I started noticing that all the delicate little patterns on napkins and pillows in my Grandma Giorgi’s house were utilizing this same crafty technique. And in a moment of true geek “aha-ery” I made the connection between these lovely combination of square threads and the square dudes I manipulated on my television screen through my Nintendo. They were cousins! One in the tactile world and the other in the digital.
Life moves on and you forget these things. Crafty techniques like cross stitching go in and out of style and certain generations will never pick up on the skill at all. That’s kind of a shame. Especially for the geeky youngins’, because cross-stitching is basically 8-bit art via a needle and thread.
I’ve never been more aware of this then when my friend Ranja took an 8-bit portrait of me and made a version of it with cross stitch. My brother was supremely jealous. And I’m serious about that.
If you’ve never done it before, I promise it’s not THAT hard. It takes some time to perfect your technique, but if you can pull thread through holes, you can do it. And let me tell you, it’s the perfect couch craft. Turn on your favorite show, marathon and cross stitch. It’s crafting bliss.
Want to give it a try? I’ll turn your attention to some online 8 bit/cross stitch geekery available on the interwebs.
Kitschy Digitals has a free Avengers pattern, a $12 Doctor Who pattern and a $4 Nintendo pattern, which would look great on a pillow or a napkin.
You can always find things on Etsy. Case in point? Pixel Power Design offers an IT Crowd pattern for $5 and the Game of Thrones characters for $8. I should also note that they are currently offering 3 patterns for $10 as part of some kind of awesome sale.
Don’t want to spend money until you’ve given it a try? Well, Pixel Power offers free patterns every week on their Facebook page. Here’s the offerings for this week:
Angry Birds
Darth Vader
Lord Voldemort
Terminator
Luke, I am your father
Friends, lest you think I’m full of crap, I’ve decided to try this craft again myself. I’m searching for something in the vein of 221B for a pillow that will inhabit my redesigned bedroom. (which is still underway…) Off to Google.
It’s well documented: I’m a bit of a crafter. Whether it’s the DIYs I do for the site or the projects I do for fun and relaxation, I need a spot where I can craft for days and stretch my arms. (And legs… read on!)
For years, I crafted on my dining room table and it was a terrible, terrible idea, because now the table is covered in paint splatters and there are dings in the wood. Eventually, lesson learned.
I also realized that I spend way too much of my life sitting. So I thought:
Why not have a standing work space for crafting?
Ah, I love when there is a symbiosis in practicality and purpose.
So I bought the IKEA Utby, put a dark piece of wood on it and never looked back.
Right now, the table resides in my kitchen, where I get lots of light and I can also use the countertop for dinner parties and prep work.
And then there’s the products that I love, love, love.
The stool is nice for when I just don’t want to stand anymore. It’s from West Elm and it’s a perfect solution for multi-purpose people like me. I can use it at the buffet by twirling it up 6 inches or I can use it at the Utby.
And those pencils. Right? I can’t for the life of me remember where I got them, but I think they are adorable.
The fabric below is a recent find from Crafty Planet, a local craft store in Minneapolis, which you really must check out if you’re ever in town.
The curtains are a soft gray and let in a lot of light, even when they’re closed, which made taking photos of this space more than a little difficult. They are called “Henna panels” and they’re from Target.
So tell me friends, where do you craft?
I want to thank everyone who nominated Lady Geeks for this Tuesday feature. I received a ton of nominations and I’m really looking forward to working through all of them.
First up is Tara Theoharis of the awesome blog, The Geeky Hostess.
The Geeky Hostess is the place to go if you are planning a party and want to get tips on how to find the best recipes, cocktails and decor. Plus, it’s just a lot of fun.
You’ll also love Tara’s blog for her contests and give aways. She seems to get the best sponsors. For example, her Knit for Nerds contest could win you a book with 30 knitting projects with a geek culture angle. Check out the give away and enter here.
Portal lovers will appreciate this awesome video recipe for cake shots, complete with orange and blue rims. Super delicious!
Don’t forget to follow her on Twitter @GeekyHostess to keep up with all the geeky party ideas.
