neva opet – tide & bloom

coffee with chelsey dellinger

Hello friends and followers, welcome to that time of year. The days are getting shorter and time is precious; I work full-time as a retail manager in addition to doing this little thing people called being an “artist”. What’s most important to be at this point in the year is keeping myself rested, motivated, and moving forward… however slow that may be.

And one thing I do not sacrifice, rather I actually put more time into, is connecting IRL to the people in my life. I’ve spent lots of time talking over coffees and connecting with colleagues and new friends. One new friend I’m especially grateful for meeting is Chelsey Dellinger. She’s an up and coming ATL photographer who, like me, is just trying to figure out her place in this town. She and I chatted over coffee and I had the distinct pleasure of having my photo taken by her. What a treat!

For more photos, head on over to Chelsey’s website!

sweater / anthropologie
jeans / banana republic
handbag / neva opet
sunglasses / urban outfitters
lip color / “lost” by colorpop
shoes / free people

nothing better than sweater weather

sweater dress / anthropologie
jacket / anthropologie
boots / frye
handbag / neva opet

a love story fall

If you haven’t heard then I’m sure you’ve at least seen that the 70s are back. The silhouettes, the patterns, and the colors of decades past is truly taking over stores for the fall season. Basically, we all now want to look like Ali McGraw (my mom would say she was way ahead of her time).

It’s all about that hint of menswear – in structure or pattern.. or both. This color blocked trench seduced me in about 10 seconds flat. I’m thinking that I’ll love it til I’m in my 70s!

sweater tank / anthropologie
trench coat / anthropologie
paige hoxton denim / anthropologie
purse / neva opet

neva opet fall photo shoot

Neva Opet fall 2015 photo shoot @ Foster Atlanta
featuring three Ladyfingers muses wearing Kit & Ace technical cashmere tops

plaid casual

So. This dress is my new favorite obsession. I’m so glad plaid is back and may it never ever go out of style. I’ve already worn this dress twice since I bought it (… like on Monday?) and I’m still finding new awesome outfits to make out of it. The plaid is relaxed, the silhouette is androgynous and I’ll wear this all year round. Total win all around.

comfort first

I can’t help it. Winter makes me want to hide in a baggy long sweater! My obsessions turn towards tried and true accessories – beanies, fingerless gloves, booties. I love breaking all of these out of my drawers and super thankful that they’re still in style. What’s your favorite cold weather accessory?

wrapped in plaid

I swear to you that I’m not normally this vain. If you ask any of my close friends, they’ll tell you that I’m pretty picky when it comes to liking pictures of myself. But something magical happened this past weekend and my boyfriend snapped a ton of great portraits. I’ve never liked this many from a style shoot! Perhaps it’s the photographer, perhaps it’s the outfit. Perhaps it’s the fact that I have a lovely new Maelu head wrap on!

wrapped-in-plaid-16a I’m super excited to finally have one of these! Maelu is an awesome clothing company that makes sustainable textiles made with natural fibers and veggie dyes. They make a lovely assortment of scarves, kimonos, and headbands – all block printed by Indian artisans.

I won’t lie to you, it took me a couple tries to get this head wrap looking anything but awkward. As I was adjusting it, I felt like I looked like something in-between a ninja and a gypsy fortune teller. But once I finally got the hang of it, I was feelin’ pretty darn cute…

the painted canvas tote

Say hello to the largest size in our collaboration, the hand-painted canvas tote:

the clutch

Clutch it with your hands, hold on to it with your heart. The medium bag of our collaborative collection is the perfect size for a subtle and chic statement. Each piece has a reinforced leather bottom and a long leather tasseled zipper. Large enough to hold your everyday necessities and small enough to carry conveniently, the clutch is easily adaptable for a modern lady on the go.

The design pictured here is now for sale at Crafted Westside’s Holiday Pop-Up Shop at Westside Provisions! Open daily from 10am-6pm, Crafted has great hand-made gifts of all kinds from Southern artisans, including my art prints as well. If you can’t make it to the store, feel free to contact me at christina@tideandbloom.com to see more designs available for sale and custom ordering details. Hooray for Small Business Saturday!

the dopp kit

My dear Wikipedia tells me:

A Dopp kit is a small toilet bag, made of leather, vinyl, or cloth, that is used for storing men’s grooming tools for travel. The name derives from early 20th century leather craftsman Charles Doppelt, a German immigrant to the United States, who invented his toiletry case in 1919. The kits became widely known during the Second World War when they were issued to GIs. Dopp kits were once a common gift given to adolescent males as they ascended from boyhood to adulthood.

While ours is not an official dopp kit, the traditional shape served as our inspiration to create these multi-use travel pouches. They are all unique and hand-painted, a great size for makeup, pens, jewelry… whatever daily tools you need to get by.
These are currently available at Crafted Westside’s holiday pop-up shop at Westside Provisions, as well as available for custom order. If you’re interested in ordering one, please email me at christina@tideandbloom.com!What would you use yours for?