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ispirato.com,
the home page for ispirato, a special store located amidst
the urban village of arlington, virginia's - clarendon neighborhood.
it's iSpirato not iNspirato!ispirato,arlington,home decor,jonathan
adler,uglydogs,uglydolls,lilian wanandy (wibisono),kevin
perez,lilian art gallery,paintings,design,vases,toys,funky,modern.
jonathan adler wanandy (wibisono) perez lilian kevin decor.
arlington home reid art gallery. design home lilian gallery
of art. vases, funky modern home furnishings. wanandy (wibisono)
and perez art gallery. ispirato is not inspirato. inspirato
has no meaning in italian. kevin perez joined ispirato in
june of 2003.
lilian
started lilian art gallery. lilian found that she was able
to sell her work at street festivals, like the annual clarendon
day in arlington virginia. her work was also well received
at the eastern market in washington d.c.. as people discovered
her work, they often asked where they could buy the paingtings.
as her work became more popular lilian decided to open a
store to offer her paintings. they decided on a space in
clarendon, an area where her work was originally well received.
prior to the opening of ispirato, lilian's work was featured
at the barnes and noble in clarendon. uglydolls joined in
2005.
a
very successful show in arlington. along with paintings,
lilian decided to offer lines related to home decor...in
hopes that the gallery style store wouldn't have an intimidating
feel. lilian brought in lines from jonathan adler, uglydolls,
rachel urbicki, and thomas paul. she wanted to include local
artists as well. kevin perez, a local who attended secondary
school in the arlington area, offered painting in much the
same style as lilian. fun, funky and modern. kevin perez
studied at art center college of design in pasadena, california.
uglydogs are coming in April 2005.
kevin
perez also studied at the school of the art institute of
chicago. but, kevin perez found most of his education was
at el camino college in torrance, california. ispirato became
a success. being featured ispirato's first month in the washington
post. deborah dietsch wrote about lilian and her new store,
ispirato. deborah also spot-lighted other neighboring new,
hip stores like a.k.a. spot, nora's arlington gift and garden,
and sjtorm and theory. ispirato also was featured in lucky
magazine as being one of the top five best new boutiques
in the nation. washington flyer picked up ispirato as being
on of the newest and hip places to see in washington. washington
business journal, highlighted ispirato as a successful start-up. ispirato lilian
art gallery Wedgehead
has his eye on you... and he likes what he sees! Finally,
someone who understands him! He is very handsome too... can't
you tell? What do you mean he looks pitiful? Look at that
charismatic posture! Wedgehead understands you too. He sees
things the way you see them... OK so he has to stand on his
head to do so, but still! He understands exactly what you
mean. Wedgehead and his best buddy OX are on a mission to
prove that humans really do exist, and he would like you
to help them on their quest. The proof can be found in the
snacks! Have any?
Wage
is a hard worker, just like you!He works at the local Super
Mart and wears his apron to serve his customers best.Does
Super Mart know that Wage works there? Nope. But Wage doesn't
mind. He likes to put things in bags, especially snacks.
Wage is best friends with Babo, but there is always room
for one more (you). The two of them can often be found on
the sidewalk trying to make friends with fire hydrants, phone
booths, and other lonely creatures. Wage hates for anyone
to be lonely! What's with that look? Is Wage happy? Sure
he is! He smiles on the inside. The next time you go grocery
shopping remember to take Wage along on your adventures
What
kind of name is OX? No, not like the animal... OX, as in
HUG and KISS! How can he hug you with such short arms? OX
uses his ears! He's not a very good listener, but he puts
his ears to good use in many other ways! Tuck them in your
shirt and take OX on a stroll! OX is great at magic, and
his best trick is turning your stuff into his stuff. His
best buddy Wedgehead calls that stealing, but OX just wants
to borrow things from you for a few hundred years. He promises
to put everything back when he's done. What he wants to steal
the most is your heart, and he promises to be your friend
if you would lend him a hand, or an ear... or like two dollars.
Ice
Bat lives in an ice cave inside an icebox. Everything he
touches turns to ice, yet he warms your heart! Ice Bat thinks
you are cool, and he wants to chill with you. He wants to
hang out with you... or just hang upsidedown, if that's okay
with you. Ice Bat is there for you when you feel like you
may be losing your cool, or getting hot under the collar.
Don't panic! Don't stress out! Just grab Ice Bat, close your
web browser, leave the office, and go get some ice cream!
Ice Bat's pointy ears hear ice cream trucks from miles away,
and your round ears hear the boss coming, so better get a
move on it!
Jeero
wants to hang out with you. Why? He needs you. Jeero thinks
life is so complicated, so he needs you to comfort him. Wage
and Babo ask him so many questions, and he isn't sure what
makes them think he has any of the answers. Maybe they think
his red nose means he's Jeero The Wise. Well he's not! What
time is it? Jeero has no idea. How do you get from here to
there? Don't ask...Jeero doesn't know! Jeero just wants to
sit on the couch with you and eat some snacks. Is that too
much to ask? Jeero doesn't know much, but he does know that
it's time for you to cancel your plans and hang out with
the Uglydolls.
Babo
will protect you. Having a bad day? Someone giving you a
hard time? Babo's got your back. What babo lacks in mind
power, he makes up for in love.He's everybody's best friend,
He will stick with you to the end, and when something scary
happens, he will send you a nice greeting card from wherever
it is he runs away to. A very curious mischievous creature,
Babo may need some guidance and parenting, so make sure to
bring him with ou to as many places as possible.Leaving him
alone is fine, but please put all cookies and money on the
highest shelf.
the
uglydolls uglydog creator... david horvath
clarendon 1021 condominium
and home for arlington virginia professionals. Next to Clarendon
Market Common's, Clarendon Grill, Clarendon Ballroom, clarendon
home, clarendon apartment alternative. why not buy a condo
instead. save some money and earn equity!
clarendon ballroom and
rooftop pavillion. Clarendon apartment clarendon court clarendon
hotel clarendon virginia clarendon va
Anyone
who is a fan of the Uglydoll craze probably knows that
there is a love story at the root of the Uglydoll story.
Creators David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim were separated
by thousands of miles (David in the United States and
Sun-Min in Korea) after spending several years together
in college. David would say in contact with Sun-Min through
letters, and drew one of his artistic creations at the
bottom of one (now known as the Uglydoll named Wage).
Sun-Min later brought the character to life by sewing
the first plush Uglydoll and sending it to David as a
Christmas present. And that is how the Uglydoll craze
was born. David and Sun-Min still are still busy creating
new Uglydolls and plan on getting married in 2005.
I
must admit that I have been a fan of Uglydolls for a while,
so this review might be somewhat biased. I also appreciate
how they helped make plush dolls "cool" to collect again.
I also had the pleasure to chat with David Horvath over the
computer and tell him how I really enjoyed his artwork (and
it's 3-D counterpart). However, I think David probably thought
I was a stalker and now there's that whole restraining order
thing (just kidding).
I
received two Uglydoll characters (Wage and Target). Wage
is the "original" Uglydoll, being that he was the first plush
creation from Sun-Min. The story says, "Wage is a hard worker,
just like (me)!" I guess they don't know me! Wage wears an
apron because he works at the local Super Mart. Each Uglydoll
character does include a small bio (this helps give each
character it's own identity).
Target
is the elder statesman among the Uglydolls. You can tell
because he has more teeth (determines age) and he also has
body hair. I just thought Target might have hit puberty early,
but Target's bio definitely does state that he is the oldest
and wisest among the Uglydolls.
Currently
there are nine total Uglydoll characters, with more in development.
Also in development is an Uglydoll cartoon, looking to hit
television in the fall of 2005. So with the success of Uglydolls
and impending nuptials, I would say that those love letters
were probably the most important things David Horvath ever
written.
From
the minds of artists David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim emerge
the Uglydolls!
What
started as a drawing of an orange creature known as Wage
has turned into a whole new world of Ugliness and fun.
After
taking the first Wage Uglydoll along with him to his favorite
hang-outs, David noticed that Wage was attracting a great
deal of attention. Not wanting all of his new-found fame
to go to Wage's head, David and Sun-Min created a group of
friends for him to share the spotlight with.
Clarendon
is begining to become a hub for a lot of young professionals.
The unique shopping and dining village of Clarendon has actually
become largely popular beyond the best Whole Foods / Fresh
Fields grocery store in the Washington metro area. The dining
now includes many major national and internation chains,
including Cheesecake Factory, La Tasca (based in London,
England the city where Lilian incidently went to school),
Bertucci's, and Baja Fresh. Local chains include Harry's
Tap Room (which is connected to Sam & Harry's steakhouse)
and Hard Time's Cafe. And independents like the Vietnamese
restaurants, Clare N Don's, Wilson Deli (Formerly Big Belly
Deli), Hunan One, Mexicali Blues, Lazy Sundae, Faccia Luna,
Boulevard Woodgrill, Whitlow's on Wilson, Iota, Galaxy Hut,
Sobe Seafood, Moby Dick, and Java Shack.
Nightlife...Galaxy
Hut, Iota, Whitlow's on Wilson, Boulevard Woodgrill, Faccia
Luna, Mexicali Blues, Clarendon Ballroom, Clarendon Grill,
Mister Days, Talulah's, Eleven (or the Eleventh Street Lounge),
and more to come.
Condominiums...
Clarendon 1021, Clarendon Station, The Hartford, Odyssey
Condominiums (including the Platinum), 1800 Wilson, Zoso
Condominiums, and many others awaiting approval or start
dates.
the
market common clarendon college clarendon ballroom clarendon
national insurance clarendon grill insurance clarendon county
clarendon hotel clarendon home
Ruehl 925 http://www.ruehl925.com 0000-00-00 Abercrombie,
David In 1904, Abercrombie & Co. becomes Abercrombie & Fitch.
Ezra fitch beleived that the future of the business lay in
expansion and in bringing the outdoors to more of the general
public. He wanted the store to have the feel of the outdoors;
tents were pitched on the floor, as if in use, and a campfire
was built in one corner where an experienced guide gave information
to interested customers about the correct ways to bank a
fire. The clerks were not professional salesmen; they were
real outdoorsmen who were dedicated to educating their customers.
They loved to talk, trade hunting stories, and give all sorts
of advice on the best places to go hunting and fishing. In
1909, Ezra Fitch published the first 456-page catalog and
mails the 50,000 copies all over the world. The catalogs
were free to customers, but they cost the company about a
dollar a piece to publish (a very large sum in 1909!) In
1910 Abercrombie & Fitch introduces sportswear for women.
In 1913 Abercrombie & Fitch moves from the Reade Street address
- which was not a convenient shopping location for women
- to a more fashioanble midtown address, 55/57 West 36th
Street, just off 5th Avenue. In 1917 Abercrombie & Fitch
moves to Madison Ave. and 45th Street, where it occupies
an entire twelve-story building, making A&F the largest and
most impressive outdoor gear and sporting goods store in
the world. The Madison Avenue store was a fantasyland for
the lover of the great outdoors. The sign outside the store
read, "Where the Blazed Trail Crosses the Boulevard," and
that's exactly what it was like. Fitch had a log cabin built
on the roof, which he sometimes used as a townhouse. Next
to it he installed a casting pool, where serious fishermen
could try out the store's largest collection of rods and
flies. In the basement, an armored rifle range was set up
for customers to test the store's vast collection of guns.
The huge store also contained a golf school, a floor consisting
entirely of setup camps, a picnic department, the famous
seventh floor gun room (for many years, A&F had the finest
gun department in the world), and a dog and cat kennel. In
1920, Abercrombie & Fitch was the first store to import the
Chinese tile game Mahjong to the United States. The story
goes: a woman entered the store wanting to find the game
that she had played in China called "Mahjong." Fitch sent
to China for the game and had the rules translated and printed
in English. The game became a huge, instantaneous success,
and Mahjong sets flew out the doors as fast as they came
in. A&F sent emissaries to Chinese villages to buy every
Mahjong set they could find and ended up selling ove 12,000
sets in all. In 1927, Abercrombie & Fitch outfitted Charles
Lingbergh for his historic flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
In 1978, Abercrombie & Fitch is bought by Oshmans Sporting
Goods, which struggled to develop a strong identity. In 1988,
Abercrombie & Fitch is purchased by The Limited, Inc. In
1996, Abercrombie & Fitch is spun off from the Limited. Fully
divested in 1998. In 2001, Abercrombie & Fitch moves into
a new 300 acre home office in New Albany, OH. Currently (as
of 1/12/2005) there are 792 total stores across 4 brands:
363 Abercrombie & Fitch stores, 176 abercrombie stores, 249
Hollister stores, 4 Ruehl stores. 6301 Fitch Path usa
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