JESSE KAMM

SHIP SAIL, SHIP!

2012-03-02T12:34:00.000-08:00

"Man, that JK SAIL collection is fine. I heard it shipped this week to Frances May, Tenoversix, Maryam Nassir Zadeh, Kickpleat, Vivier + Bentley, Beautiful Dreamers, A Cheng Shop, and Deuxieme Classe. Damn is this cigarette ever smooth".

THE GIRLS

2012-03-01T10:30:00.000-08:00

MARY + NANCY

2012-03-01T10:26:00.000-08:00

NYC. Fashion Week. Jesse Kamm slips up to the upper west side to hang with her girlfriends Mary and Nancy for a few nights. They are sisters. They are beautiful. They are not into twitter. Mary is the mother of my dear friend Ethan. They lived in London and Paris in the 60's and 70's. Nancy was the editor of the STYLE page at the Times for 20 years. Stories were told... Dating dukes, close friendships with Geoffrey Beene, working hand and glove with Bill Cunningham, shopping at the first YSL store in the states, haircuts by Vidal, standing in line at Mary Quant, undercover lovers, etc... this sort of rich banter went on evening after evening. Old garments were unearthed. Dress up was played. I choose these gals over the Marc Jacobs show any day of the week.

In the dining room... Delicacies their mother purchased in Paris in 1931.

JK -N- RYAN ROCHE

2012-02-26T08:57:00.000-08:00

I love Ryan Roche. She is one of my new heros. She makes amazing knits, is a mother of three,
and has a style all her very own. The woman loves pink, and I love her. Few people in my life have such a clear vision of who they are and where they want to go in life. Check her out!

JK wears a RR sweater knit by a women's collective in Nepal.

MAIL

2012-02-24T12:54:00.001-08:00

FLY

2012-02-24T12:44:00.001-08:00

Over the mountains, and through the clouds, to California we go....

FAREWELL

2012-02-22T04:05:00.001-08:00

I have written my last order in the Big Apple. West coast, here I come.

photo: Abbey Drucker

T MAGAZINE POLAROID

2012-02-21T05:57:00.000-08:00

Diane Keaton, Andy Warhol, and Nico. Right?

REFINERY 29 IS OVER THE MOON

2012-02-20T07:53:00.000-08:00

Read it HERE!

T MAGAZINE

2012-02-19T08:13:00.000-08:00

Why do I always act like such a nerd?

MISSING YOU

2012-02-17T08:11:00.000-08:00

I am in NY. He is in LA. I wish he was in my pants right now. I think he would move units.

FW//2012 COLLECTION

2012-02-16T08:01:00.000-08:00

The Sanguine Moon is the Hunter's moon. It is historically the full moon that occurs in October when all of the birds and animals are migrating. From the time of the Cherokee Indians, across the ocean to the European Hunter, men and women have gathered during this bright moon throughout time to take in the largest hunt before the impending winter season. I have been really inspired by vintage hunting and fishing gear, which I have been researching and collecting over the last year. I love the idea of people out in the bright woods at night time, wearing hats, trench coats, canvas, and leather... communing with nature, and working to sustain themselves in the most primal way.

I took elements from this Huntsman, and wove it into my JK world.... not in a Filson way, but in a delicate ladylike way. Think Lewis and Clark meets Jean Muir. Hand painted plaids, quilted patches, canvas packs, and the Moon.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

2012-02-14T16:08:00.000-08:00

A SHARED SPACE

2012-02-09T09:48:00.000-08:00

... a showroom collective. Buyers, come one come all. Email sales@asharedspace.com for an appointment.

WHO IS JESSIE KAMM

2012-02-08T18:45:00.001-08:00

THE DONGER NEEDS FOOD

2012-02-03T22:14:00.000-08:00

...and tonight the food came from Maximiliano. Half way through my dinner, Gedde Wantabe sat down beside me. My heart raced. I fought the urge to tell him that I love him, and that Sarah Weiss and I watched Sixteen Candles every weekend of our teenage existence. I also fought the urge to ask him to take a picture with me. If I had been brave, it would have looked like this...

FW 2012 LOOKBOOK

2012-02-02T20:44:00.000-08:00

Hot off the press.

OUTSIDE

2012-01-30T10:52:00.000-08:00

This weekend we shot the FW12 look book.
It was arduous. It was awesome.
Later we decompressed with the Mother.
My greatest inspiration.

I love California.

ACB + JK

2012-01-25T20:05:00.000-08:00

Annie Costello Brown + Jesse Kamm
It is gonna be good
Hand crafted hardware + Fine leather
Coming soon // Fall 2012

RAINY RAIN

2012-01-23T19:19:00.001-08:00

METROPOLIS

2012-01-21T13:27:00.001-08:00

The Chris Burden Exhibit at LACMA is rad. My friend Zak engineered this maniacal thing. GO!

TEXTURE AND LIGHT

2012-01-18T09:48:00.000-08:00

In my Neighborhood...

WOODY

2012-01-13T15:29:00.000-08:00

...and what a guy.

THEN AGAIN

2012-01-12T10:14:00.000-08:00

My mother bought me the new Diane Keaton book for Christmas. I have not read a book since Julien was born. I read it in 3 days. It has started somewhat of an obsession. Not only with Diane, but with Woody Allen as well. I have since revisited What's up Pussycat, Sleeper, Annie Hall, Manhattan, Interiors, and my list goes on. I am continually blown away by the two of them. Do you know she styled herself for Annie Hall... Say what? When she won her Oscar for the role, she was wearing the last look in these series of images. She shopped herself at Georgio and Ralph Lauren. There she stood amongst the glittering gals donned in sequins... wearing linen menswear. What a gal.

WORKSHOP PILES

2012-01-10T10:53:00.000-08:00

Stripes and Prisms. Coming in February.

La Ti Da

2012-01-04T09:03:00.001-08:00

Best holiday ever. There was work and productivity. There were boots. There was a cord of oak. A perch was built to take in the sweeping mountain views, and a little white phone with a bitchin camera was sent from Papa Noel to document it all. There were fires. There was Annie Hall. Best ever.

HOLIDAYS

2011-12-27T12:23:00.000-08:00

It was a karate chop Christmas. Back in LA. Feels soooo good.

EARTHSHIP

2011-12-15T20:35:00.000-08:00

My friend sends me this listing for the below home this morning.

So I think...

What, do you sit around googling "Homes that are AMAZING in places I could never f-ing live".

You are killing me here.

I am trying to accept my fate as an urban dweller,

whose child eats Rice Chex with sparkling french lemonade on them for breakfast.

Shit is weird enough.

This does not help me.

THE BABY BEACHCOMBER IS HERE

2011-12-14T13:46:00.000-08:00

Just in time for the high holidays.

Superfine Jesse Kamm Baby Beachcomber Sweaters.

100% Organic cotton. Hand Printed. Made in LA.

They are sure to get snot and blueberries on it by hour 2, but whatever.

Snot is so in this season.

SHOP NOW, or forever hold your peace.

42 clams, big whoop.

MY FRIEND EDDIE

2011-12-12T11:06:00.000-08:00

This is my friend EDDIE. The one on the right. He officiated my wedding 4 years ago. He presided over Kate Schelter's wedding this summer as well. He is not a man of the cloth... just a rad dude who went to a very rad Sadie Hawkins dance in the 90's.... And the best yoga instructor in town. I went to the wrong high school. I love Eddie Marashian.

LOOKMATIC

2011-12-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

Check it out... LOOKMATIC. I found this experience to be quite pleasurable. I feel like with enough whisky I could get stuck here for days. Fun for the whole damn family if you ask me. Julien and Totoro prefer the white. I say red gives me just the bit of pep I am looking for this holiday season.

KRISTEN LEE WEARS JESSE KAMM

2011-12-10T14:21:00.000-08:00

At the TENOVERSIX party on thursday, owner/designer Kristen Lee was sporting her Jesse Kamm desert dress. She was a pitch perfect JK girl. Love the hat and Rachel Comey boots. A girl after my own heart.

BIKINIS IN DECEMBER

2011-12-09T10:04:00.000-08:00

I went to a very fun party last night at TENOVERSIX.
Linlee Allen took the cake for best dressed.
Hands down.

BEACHCOMBER IN THE FOAM

2011-12-08T10:17:00.000-08:00

Foam magazine likes the beachcomber... and thinks you will too. Read about it HERE.

OF A KIND

2011-12-06T20:36:00.000-08:00

YAY! The Jesse Kamm limited edition Beachcomber sweatshirt hits OF A KIND today. I am so excited for this collaboration. It has been a super fun project. I have been wanting to do a unisex beach style crew neck for some time, and it is here... just in time for the Holidays. It is Organic... don't panic. Shop it HERE. They also wrote some dainty little tales about yours truly HERE.

OF A KIND has done limited edition projects with all kinds of cool kids, including some of my nearest and dearest... Yarbie, Alyson Fox, + Clare Vivier... and some that I just adore, like the Fortunato girls and Society For Rational Dress. Needless to say I am honored to work with a small company that is supporting small runs of thoughtfully made works. Thanks Grace and Claire.

RAY CHARLES

2011-12-06T10:33:00.000-08:00

This morning Julien looked at the Times and asked if that was Ray Charles.
Luke assured him that, no that was a man who made a lot of money selling pizza.
Different guy completely.

SUNDAY CARD SERVICE

2011-12-04T13:10:00.000-08:00

Tired from the trunk show. It was a success. Mildly hungover from the Kegger. Babe sleeping. Classical 91.5 FM blasting. Having lots of fun in Santa's workshop. Coffee is flowing. Life is pretty swell.

THE BACK SEAT

2011-11-29T21:53:00.000-08:00

This warm California afternoon I was feeling blue. It was a long day at work, and then I had to take my sweet babe to get some shots. On the way home I reached into the back seat and was rubbing his foot, feeling tender about his sore arm. "Mom, what does that sign say?", he says. "That blue and white one", I ask. "Yeah. It says stop rubbin my foot." He is two and a half. It was a complex day.

OFFICIAL INVITE

2011-11-29T12:27:00.000-08:00

SOME OF MY FAVORITES WILL BE THERE..
VICTORIA MORRIS, ZUMI ROSOW, AND CLARE VIVIER... NEED I SAY MORE?

HOLIDAY BAZAAR

2011-11-28T09:04:00.000-08:00

Go west young ones. This Saturday there is going to be a Holiday Bazaar, and I will be there like a gypsy from the East, selling my wares to all that care. There will be linens for your home, bags for your ladies, dresses for your mom, and organic cotton for your babies. Other craftsmen will be on hand. Victoria Morris will be at my side, with some of the finest pottery in the land. Come one, come all, let's have a drink. You may find a tortoise print towel for your sink.

T MAGAZINE GIFT GUIDE

2011-11-25T13:11:00.000-08:00

YO YO YO AND HO HO HO.

JK BOAT TOTES ARE IT FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON!!!

READ ALL ABOUT IT IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, T MAGAZINE... HERE

AVAILABLE ONLY AT WWW.JESSEKAMM.COM AND WWW.KICKPLEAT.COM

EDITH PALM

2011-11-20T12:13:00.000-08:00

My friend Sarah Aaronson designs the amazing line EDITH PALM.

There is a trunk show today...champagne and shopping, featuring the new Edith Palm collection,

le peignoir égyptienne,

along with a selection of made to measure sartorial splendors.

Designed to meet a modern woman’s multifaceted needs—including specific wardrobes

for travel, elegant daywear, black tie or red carpet attire, bridal ensembles and any accoutrements in between-

all garments are custom made, therefore structured to

flatter a woman’s figure, hiding her troubles and pronouncing her charms.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

2178 High Tower Drive

Los Angeles, CA 90068

RSVP to sarah@edithpalm.com

www.edithpalm.com

Parking info: street parking or free parking lot at the corner of Highland Ave. and Camrose/Milner (Lot D3)

Please call to be let in at the bell tower entrance: 310.866.2477

UNGARO IN BLURRY YELLOW

2011-11-19T07:54:00.000-08:00

shot by a laughing hilary walsh

on a telephone

at gagosian

thursday night

YARBIE

2011-11-17T09:26:00.000-08:00

My dear friend Elizabeth Yarborough is having a show at Gagosian tonight.
If you are in LA, come.
You might just see a familiar face or two on the wall.

SUN POCKETS

2011-11-16T12:40:00.000-08:00

From Grandpa Ranny. In Texas.
Red Sunpockets. SPF 100.
What more can a kid ask for.
The design is redic.
Life is good.

JOSHUA AND THE WILD RAG

2011-11-15T11:57:00.000-08:00

This weekend I traveled to Texas to visit Grandpa Randolf Rudolph. I have a few tales about the trip, but I shall start here... at the end. Upon our departure from Dallas Fort Worth, we walked into the terminal and saw the most dapper lad. Luke and I both thought he was either a Famous Pool player or a Rodeo man, we were wrong.

Standing at about 6'6'' in his scalloped leacher boots, was Joshua Adam Cook, and his look was something to behold. I loved his authentic style. I really blew back his feathers when I asked to take his picture, he was truly humble and had a tale to go with every little detail.

Joshua wears Wranglers. His amazing boots were from Lost Valley Ranch in Colorado... he has had the resoled 3 times. The red and black silk "Wild Rag" scarf was beautiful, and it was tied with the most stunning leather braided "Wild Rag Tie" made by his friend Trevor. The cutlery in his pocket was such a great accessory. He had just met his Father at the airport on a layover, and had brought him some BBQ.

Now just in case you too would like to rock a Wild Rag Tie, you can learn how HERE.

Thanks Joshua.

MY FRIEND ELIZA

2011-11-12T12:19:00.000-08:00

IS HILARIOUS. SHE SAYS I STOLE KLAUS NOMI'S LOOK.

I DID, CLEARLY.

JESSE KAMM CAN

2011-11-10T14:51:00.000-08:00

LOVE ALL THE COLOR AT THIS PARTY. HATE THIS WEIRD PHOTO.

READ ABOUT IT

THE ZINE ARRIVED

2011-11-07T17:59:00.000-08:00

The Vena Cava Zine arrived in the mail today. Many-a bro participated... Waris, Jazzy Shokers, Claire, Ram Das, Mathew Katz Frost, and me. It is all happening.

SPEAKING OF COSTUMES

2011-11-02T21:19:00.000-07:00

EYE HEART NICK CAVE.

TOTORO

2011-11-01T22:12:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I have a mental block, I I have to sidetrack my mind with a project. Here are two of my favorites. A Totoro doll for Julien, and a Totoro hat for my friend Una. She is 3. I used scraps from the studio. The Grey corduroy is from Fall 2007 trousers. Reuse. Recycle. Relax.

BEHIND EVERY GREAT DESIGNER

2011-11-01T11:03:00.000-07:00

IS AN EVEN GREATER JAPANESE INTERN

My intern Chris is leaving. My protege. She has been interning with me for 11 months. It was supposed to be a 3 months, but she asked to stay on because she was learning so much. She said, "working for Jesse Kamm Industries made her a better person"... so tender. She is graduating soon, and got a job working for a trend forecasting company in Chicago. Boo yah.

We are hiring new interns. Send your applications to jesse@jessekamm.com. You too can come away looking like a miniature me, in your new limited edition JK Riviera Dress.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2011-10-31T09:38:00.000-07:00

BOO. My ghosts of Halloween past wish you a happy day. I love this day.

Laura Palmer, Sonny Crockett, and a Rodeo Cowboy

Viking Warrior and Lydia Deetz

Annie Hall and Bianca Jagger

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS

2011-10-29T14:55:00.000-07:00

With the day of the dead around the corner, I can not help but think of my homegirls the Chapin Sisters... and this amazing image. If you do not know them, find them on itunes. They are haunting blonde songbirds, whom I adore as people and as artists.

Sometimes I like to pretend they will ask me to be their third, because we are all tall with blue eyes and have matching tresses. That will never happen, I have a voice like a garbage truck.

*****************************************************************

....separated at birth, I am certain.

RIP DIAVOLINA

2011-10-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Diavolina closed its doors this summer. Times are tough, and it is scary. Halloween style, scary. If you did not know it, you should have. It sat on the south end of Robertson Blvd. It was owned by a lanky beauty named Evelyn. She carried the wildest selection of heels, wedges, and boots. She started with shoes, and then branched out to apparel. She gave me my first window display. Diavolina will be missed, but remembered as one of the Hollywood greats. The Moths and Dragonflies pay deep respect. Below... JK wrap dress and JK goddess dress.

THE MOTH AND THE DRAGONFLY

2011-10-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

There are a great deal of very talented people in my life. Life brings us together, and then life separates us for spans of time. I just came across a snapshot of two of my favorites, whom I miss very much. They are gifted ones... musician Jesse Carmicheal and painter Claire Oswalt wear early Jesse Kamm t-shirts. (One is traveling the world and one is making babies) So vogue...

In the early days there were aluminum blinds. Thank god those are behind us.

CRYSTAL COVE

2011-10-25T08:45:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I fell in love.
I think I belong in another time. On the sand.

California Coast. Dilapidated. Vacated long ago.
Built as early as the 1930's.
Handsome.
This is where I want to live.
I can not.
California Park Department owns the the whole lot.

BEAUTIFUL DREAMERS

2011-10-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

It is monday morning. Back to work. I am excited. A beautiful new store has opened in Brooklyn. Go there! You can get your fall Jesse Kamm fix, leather crafts, knits, and many other rad bohemian odds and ends. Beautiful Dreamers// 326 Wythe Avenue. It looks so magnificent. I want to hang out there and noodle.

SPOOKY SCAREY

2011-10-23T12:06:00.000-07:00

WEREWOLF BARMITZVAH! Spooky windows are going up around the land, in honor of my favorite holiday. Oooooooo. These vintage photos are of one of my favorite window displays. Kaviar and Kind, circa 2005. Those were the days!!! It was a New Years display, but so appropriate. The skinny broad in white is wearing a Jesse Kamm jellyfish evening dress. Awesome.

THE APPRENTICE

2011-10-18T11:55:00.000-07:00

My momma is coming to town today. We are going on a sojourn to a little beach community for a few days. We are going to do search for inspiration. We are going to look at pottery and galleries. My mom is a great teacher. I just found these, while hunting for pics of Halloween costumes. Crafty Kamm girls in the Highland studio. So tender.

FEELING RESTLESS

2011-10-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

I have not been posting on this here vlog lately. I like the word vlog better than blog. I am feeling restless. Life is feeling too grown up all of the sudden. In the past when I felt like this, Luke and I would jump on a plane to Panama and go shake it off for a few weeks. There are just too many commitments to go right now. I miss the cranking surf in front of our property. Euggghhh. I better do some push ups.

TWICE IN TWO DAYS.

2011-10-05T06:55:00.000-07:00

THE TORTOISE SHELL STRIKES AGAIN!!!

My friend Heather Taylor, who is a fabulous fashionista, has a super cool blog called "LA in BLOOM". She does these little cooking episodes, which make me feel like a huge loser as I sit here eating my bowl of cereal for dinner.... seriously, women who cook like this make me feel very inadequate, but I must focus on my other talents... like knowing all of the lines in the film "Sixteen Candles", being able to do a bitchin fishtail braid, and counting to thirty in Spanish.

Anyway... watch it HERE. It looks delicious. I am going to go do some push ups, eat some turkey jerky, and call it a night. Heather looks rad in her JK sack dress.

FAMILY PORTRAITS

2011-10-04T10:44:00.000-07:00

Katrina Dickson is an amazing photographer. We met at a party. We were wearing almost the identical outfit. We have a lot in common. We both like to work hard. We both love to play hard. We both have little men in our lives. And handsome big men as well. We live in the same hood. You can check out her work HERE. She has been working for sometime on a photo series of human families in their natural habitat. Recently she shot the Kamm + Brower clan. We love these portraits. Love.

THE FEAST

2011-10-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

New little JK press piece on NBC's the Feast this morning. READ IT HERE.

TORTOISE SHELL LOVE

2011-10-03T06:45:00.000-07:00

In this morning's mail ///

Hi Jesse, I've always found your designs delightful, especially the tortoise shell print. The pattern is just so effortlessly chic and travels so well (while still reminding me gently of home in LA)! On a rainy day in New Haven, I saw a girl on campus with a JK tortoise shell dress, and wanted to chase her down and inquire about it, but alas, I was too late... I very much hope you will offer more pieces with the print in the future. Until then, a girl can dream! Best, Vanessa

/// Thanks for the positive vibes Vanessa.

O.K.B

2011-10-02T13:55:00.000-07:00

I am in Texas for the weekend.
I am here to meet my new pal.
Claire + Spencer + Oswalt.
What a trio.

I LOVE LUCY

2011-09-27T10:20:00.000-07:00

May I present Sirena Irwin. My homegirl. As Lucy.

Live on Stage in West Hollywood.

Spot on.

I am dying!

ALYSON IN VINTAGE

2011-09-21T09:28:00.000-07:00

Isn't Aly Fox cute in her vintage JK bird track print tank. I love that she has collected for so long.

Here new book is coming soon... and I am in it. woo hoo.

Check it out HERE

SAIL// INSPIRATION

2011-09-20T09:55:00.000-07:00

SS2012 was initially inspired by the 1960 Patrica Highsmith adaptation “Plein Soleil”. The film is set in the late 50’s Italian Riviera. My research took me deep into the age of sailing specifically, and then turned the focus onto the sail, the boat, and the people who come aboard. I wanted to explore the shapes, the folds, and the draping of the fabrics in regards to the physical sail. The influence of sun drenched primary colors, canvas, chrome hardware, and the light refracting up from the water are woven into the pieces. This collection continues the theme from last season, incorporating masculine and feminine forms. The garments are pieces that I imagine a captain, a dockworker, and a sun kissed female first mate to wear.

ALYSON FOX FOR JESSE KAMM SS2012

2011-09-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

Vintage beads, leather, and cord. Love.

OBSESSION

2011-09-17T18:59:00.000-07:00

Jeeezzzuusss...

ZINA CAVA/// VENA CAVA

2011-09-16T15:32:00.000-07:00

My friend Sophie does the line Vena Cava.
She asked me to make a page for her zine for fashion week.
The theme was 'self help'.
I present the Karate march.

MI CASA

2011-09-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

APARTMENT THERAPY featured my house today.

Check out the article... HERE

9-11-2001

2011-09-11T19:58:00.000-07:00

I can remember waking up late that day. I had a hangover. A bunch of us had been out very late the night before at the Marc Jacobs after party. I just can picture Perry Ferril and Roseanna Arquette spinning records. I had a few runway shows later in the afternoon on the 11th. I had the times and addresses saved in my voicemail on my cell. I called to check, but the network was not working. I brushed my teeth, and called my agent at Ford to get my call times. She answered.

Me// Hey it's Jesse Kamm.

Her// What is it?

Me// Oh, well, my phone isn't working for some reason. I need my call times for today.

Her// What do you mean everything is cancelled!!! We are under attack. Click

I sat there groggy trying to piece together what she had said. I looked at my friend Mickey. He was like, what? I remember opening the curtains and smoke was filling the street. I can remember we were just sitting there in silence. We were confused. We were suddenly scared. We went onto the front stoop of the building, and there were 5 dudes standing there yelling about something. "What's going on?" I asked. They told us that the planes had hit the towers.

We started crying. We roamed the streets lost and confused. Four days later we rented a car and drove across the country back to LA. I have lived here ever since. These photos are from the weeks before, and the days after.

JK SS2012

2011-09-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

Fashion week begins.

I present my new collection, SAIL.

VIEW JK SS2012 LOOKBOOK

Hilary Walsh is photographed by Jeana Sohn.

JKB

2011-09-06T14:46:00.000-07:00

The bean started preschool today. My emotions are in tangles. I think I am going to puke.

FOR BUYERS ONLY

2011-09-04T10:14:00.000-07:00

New York City, here we come. Get ready for a little California sunshine.

THURSDAY NIGHT

2011-09-03T09:13:00.000-07:00

My girl Sammy Shelton crooned in my ear at the Spare Room, while I threw strikes on the lanes... well, I threw one strike. Man that girl can sing! Check her out...

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING

2011-08-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

WHO IS MATT JOHNSON?

Matt is my friend. Matt is a prolific contemporary artist. Matt is the boyfriend of jewelry
designer Win Bowers. Matt is an oak of a man. Matt is mellow. Matt is humble. Matt
is focused. Matt is Private. Matt has been down to the Panama homestead with Luke. Matt lets me use his sandblaster. Matt's studio was the site of the JK lookbook shoot on Sunday. Matt has a one man show at Blum & Poe on September 10, 2011. Matt Johnson is aces.

BLUM & POE

is pleased to announce

MATT JOHNSON

September 10 - October 22, 2011

Opening reception: Saturday, September 10, 6-8pm

Blum & Poe is very pleased to present an exhibition of new work by Matt Johnson. This marks the artist's second solo show with the gallery.

Johnson's new work transforms materials commonly found in art studios and construction sites, such as dust, drywall, stone and steel, into unexpected forms, exposing the scientific and spiritual potency of these seemingly humble objects. The six new sculptures freely traverse the myriad paths of human expression in physical manifestations.

With the works Touch the Void (2011) and Pyramid of Dust (2011), Johnson subtly intervenes with matter found in the natural world. In Touch the Void, Johnson has meticulously carved and rendered the impression of his handprint on the face of a billion year old granite boulder. By leaving a physical mark, Johnson dates his contribution within the finite life of this stone, exposing man's ongoing impulse to alter his surroundings, even if only to leave evidence of his existence. In Pyramid of Dust, Johnson delicately balances notions of stability and instability, construction and destruction, through the creation of a four-sided temple built up from several months of collected studio dust. The work, appearing as if poised to crumble at the slightest shake, offers a bittersweet reminder of the temporality of the artistic gesture.

Rising nine feet high and cast in bronze, the monumentally scaled Nuked Buddha (2011), assumes a serene pose, yet its warped and blasted torso suggests a more violent history. Inspired by documentary images taken in the aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing, this fictionalized artifact holds in suspension the velocity of human desecration alongside the endurance of an enlightened icon. In Star in a Jar (2011), Johnson illuminates a trapped light bulb within a Mason jar, with no visible electrical charge present. The spark of creativity is held captive, as if by magic, to be treasured like a caught firefly in a child's grasp. In the infinitely looping Trefoil I-Beam (2011) and the precariously leaning Dodecahedron (2011), Johnson creates "geometric readymades" from iconic architectural elements, such as steel and drywall. These familiar skeletal building materials give visual and tangible weight to the underlying mathematical ideas governing all physical structures.

The span of Johnson's new work investigates the human desire to interact with the given world through science, mathematics, religion, art and architecture. Johnson's exploration points to our inherent need to connect with the cosmos, our desire to understand it, and our attempts to control it.

Matt Johnson (b. 1978, New York) lives and works in Los Angeles. He received his B.F.A. from Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore and his M.F.A from UCLA. Johnson has exhibited widely in such international venues as: The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2005, 2009); The Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2007); The Saatchi Gallery, London (2009); The Hydra Workshop, Hydra, Greece (2011). Johnson was also included in the 2007 travelling exhibition, American Art in the 3rd Millennium, Astrup Fearnley, Oslo; traveled to Bard College, New York, NY; Serpentine Gallery, London; Reykjavik Art Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland; Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague, Czech Republic.

///

SNEAK PEEK AT THE SHIPYARD

2011-08-29T15:17:00.000-07:00

PRESENTING///

JK SS 2012 LOOKBOOK /// Closet Visit at the ShipYard

Director: Jeana Sohn
Starring: Hilary Walsh.
Executive Producer: Jesse Kamm.
Special Guest: Matt Johnson.
Jewelry: Alyson Fox for Jesse Kamm
Shoes: Dieppa Restrepo
Wardrobe: Coco Cady.
Produced Design: Luke Brower

COMING SOON///

I am out of my mind excited right now. It is going to be insanely beautiful.... Perhaps the most beautiful thing I ever created. Besides Julien, of course. Holy moly!!!

STUDIO VISIT WITH KATHY KAMM

2011-08-27T13:19:00.000-07:00

I love my mom. She is beautiful, funny, smart, and an inspiration. She is a potter. She makes beautiful, simple, functional pieces, of which I own many. I just spent a week with her in Illinois. Here are some snapshots of her studio. I feel like the apple did not fall far from the tree... She is real deal man. I am so glad she is mine.

MY SWISS VILLAGE

2011-08-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

I spent the last week in my hometown of Highland Illinois. It is rural, it is quiet, it is beautiful, it is awesome. More awesome than I remember. Wide open spaces. It was settled by my Swiss ancestors in 1837.

A little tour... the view from my bedroom window, my house, country roads, Hooks Bridge (home of many a road party), my school, and a big bus mosaic that I contributed to in 3rd grade... my tile was in the center of the rear wheel.

A country girl I am. Auf Wiedersehen!

STYLELIKEU

2011-08-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

Stylelikeu did a portrait of me and my world a month or so back. It posted last week. It is pretty cool. I was VERY nervous for the filming. I hate the way I sound on film... yikes. We got into some topics I have never really shared with most... Enjoy: http://stylelikeu.com/closets/jesse-kamm/#4

SPIRAL

2011-08-23T20:51:00.000-07:00

I was in my homeland this week.

Illinois, baby!

Home of corn and throwin' the pigskin.

Bliss.

I am pretty damn good.

* Russ Smith is a hipsta. Thanks for the pics.

I LOVE ROSEARK

2011-08-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

HEATHER'S DAD

2011-08-14T08:33:00.000-07:00

I love this image. Heather just sent it to me. She knows I am entrenched in a sailing phase. This image embodies it all... The colors, the shapes, the lines, the lettering and that hot old timey dude. So nice.

FIRST RUN

2011-08-13T09:28:00.000-07:00

New prints are in the works for Spring 2012. Baltic Blue. Oooh

VESPER

2011-08-12T08:36:00.000-07:00

Vesper is a girl. Vesper turned 2. Vesper is Rock and Roll Royalty. Grandpa wrote the music for Grease. Grandma was in an australian pop duet with Olivia Newton John, called Pat and Olivia. Dad is the bass player in Phantom Planet. Mom is one of my best friends, and was the lead in Agent Sparks, sings with Weaser, Gomez... you get the point. For her birthday I made my first little dress... her first Jesse Kamm. I am thinking mini Stevie Nicks.

SANDBLAST

2011-08-11T14:18:00.000-07:00

I spent the morning in my friend MJ's studio. I was sandblasting hardware for a new jacket I am working on for the spring 2012 collection. It was awesome. I felt at ease in the grit. Luke says 'Rosey the Riveter'. This jacket is gonna rule.

ROSEARK SANTA MONICA/// SATURDAY

2011-08-11T09:38:00.000-07:00

GET THERE LA!!! WE WILL DRINK BUBBLY, AND LOOK FABULOUS!

ITALIA

2011-08-11T08:19:00.000-07:00

6' 1" Croatian Princess wears the JK smog knot dress to a Mondavi wedding in Italy last month. How amazing is that hair? May I introduce Jesse Kamm's lanky muse, Laura Keseric.

JK 2012 SPRING/SUMMER

2011-08-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

Pulling the anchor up on this collection soon. It's good. Get ready.

EARLY MORNINGS ARE BACK

2011-08-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

Reality sets in. 5:45 reads the clock on the microwave. I pour the milk. I will hold onto San Francisco as if it were a golden light. It was there, and then it was gone. Now sits before me a cute and very loud man, who is ready for his MUUUUUUUULLLLLKKKKKK.

OF GREAT MAGNITUDE

2011-08-05T09:07:00.000-07:00

They constructed this beauty over the ocean in the 1930's. It blows my mind.

It reminds me that man can be great. The Great Golden Gate. Behold.

GRAVEL & GOLD

2011-08-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

My favorite store in San Francisco is GRAVEL & GOLD. Go there when you visit. JK is in the house. Handsome boys keep the peace. Good deals exist. Rare finds are all about. The three girls who run the show are smart, super creative, and very beautiful. I love these hippies. Get there!

MAD LOVE

2011-08-03T09:46:00.000-07:00

Luke and I had 2 nights and 3 days sans Julien this weekend. I am reminded how madly in love I am with the man. We laughed, we played football, we slept in, we drank coffee, we strolled, we talked for hours uninterrupted, we shopped, we drank Jack Daniels and we danced like sweaty nerdy fools... and loved every minute of it. Thank you Coco.

Part II. Jesse loves Luke.

THE SAN FRANCISCO TREAT

2011-08-02T07:17:00.000-07:00

No, not Rice a Roni. I am talkin about a road trip. Two nights and three days. The treat... no kid. It was awesome. You can only know the grand scale of joy of which I speak if you yourself are a parent. I can guarantee the rest of you lucky bastards are taking your freedom for granted in a serious way. This week I will share my many wonders from this amazing retreat with Jesse and Luke.

Part I. On the road. California. I-5 Northbound.

JESSE AND THE SHOE GYPSY

2011-08-01T15:46:00.000-07:00

Today I went to visit my old friend Blake. You may have heard of his little venture, TOMS shoes. Just kidding, only a cave person has not heard of this mega brand of canvas slip-ons and do-gooding.

Blake is awesome. He just got home from traveling around the world, as he does. We talked at length about doing what we love, and making time to step away from doing that thing to pursue adventure, love, and nature. We recommend it highly, if there was any question.

The snapshots... Us with our JK canvas bags and mighty grins. Shoes I love. Vans I love. Comfy-ass tibetan pants that I love.

IN THE TRUNK

2011-07-28T22:11:00.000-07:00

Mark your calendar...

OBSESSED

2011-07-25T13:40:00.000-07:00

DIEPPA RESTREPO. KILLING ME. I CAN'T FIND THEM ANYWHERE.