The Non-Definitive Guide To Life

If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with rain" - Dolly Parton

Posts for 5 Fab Questions

5 Fab Questions with Craig “Skibs” Barker

ART, INTERVIEWS - July 18, 2016

Craig ‘Skibs’ Barker creates colorful retro pieces that encapsulate the charm of postwar era style and signs in his paintings and installations. I’ve seen three different art installations filled with whim and wonderment by Skibs, and I love how he plays with lights and tv screens to manipulate an environment. A  fantastic new art installation is now on view at the Long Beach Museum of Art for “Vitality & Verve: In The Third Dimension” and should be seen by all fans of vintage & art.

Here are 5 Fab questions with Craig ‘Skibs’ Barker!

Q: Where do you think everyone should visit once in their life? What’s currently at the top of your travel bucket list?

A: I think everyone should visit Fiji once in their life. The people are some of the most happy, kind, generous, amazing humans I have had the pleasure to spend time with. The islands are some of the most scenic, and stunningly beautiful places I have been. And, if you surf it is some of the best surfing in the world.

The top of my travel bucket list right now is Western Australia…I hear it’s rugged, open spaces are amazing.

Q:  Best “hole in the wall____” you’ve discovered? (it can be bar, restaurant, store, club etc…)

A:  Best hole in the wall for me, is Factory Records on 17th St. in Costa Mesa, CA….The place is literally a tiny “hole in the wall” space packed with records old and new…stacked in bins, on the floor, everywhere…there’s barely room to move if there’s more than 5 people in there. Dave the owner knows his shit and can help you find it if he doesn’t have it in stock.

Craig Skibs Barker - Bowl

Q: Favorite comfort food, is it homemade or at a certain place?

A: My wife Kristen makes homemade vegetable soups that are by far my favorite comfort food….homemade soup and a grilled cheese….mmmmmm!!!!

Q: Do you have an awesome book or documentary recommendation to share?

A: I’ve been on a Steinbeck kick for the past year or so…I’m reading Travels with Charley right now…highly recommended!

I also highly recommend Filmage the documentary on the LA punk band The Descendents…you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll pass gas…watch it!

Q: Pass on the love and give a fab shout-out to someone we should know about?

A: I have 2 shout outs…artist/graphic designer/doodle hero Nick Simich…check him out! And….Ross Morgan at Morgans Woodshop….custom furniture and design guru…find him if you can!!!

Craig Skibs Barker Dear To Me

 

Funny Story:  I had met Craig ‘Skibs’ Barker through the art world, and it wasn’t until a few years after having become familiar with his art that I found out his used to be a part of a punk band called The Stitches.  About ten years ago, when I was 18, my friends and I drove up to Hollywood to see The Stitches play. Unfortunately by the time we got up there, the band had canceled and we didn’t want to drive back home. So my friend and I decided to get tattoos! Yes, my first tattoo, which is a darling four leaf clover on my hiney,  was all because Craig ‘Skibs’ Barker’s band decided to cancel their show. It’s funny how our lives are connected, paths will cross, and the memories we create along the way.

Craig Skibs Barker

Scope out more of Craig “Skibs” Barker’s work here!

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5 Fab Questions with Coolhaus co-founder Natasha Case

EATS & DRINKS, INTERVIEWS - March 20, 2016

The fabulous Natasha Case, co-founder of Coolhaus ice cream

The first time I had a Coolhaus ice cream sandwich, it was at an interior design show located inside a defunct Robinson-May in Beverly Hills. The gallery I was interning at was exhibiting some work, and Natasha was not only working the event checking in vendors but had her new inventive ice cream truck parked outside. The sandwiches were wrapped in edible rice paper, and all the combinations were cleverly named after different architects. Now, over ten years later, Coolhaus ice cream sandwiches can be found in major grocery stores and indie movie theaters. They have pints of their ice cream available for mass consumption and a few ice cream shop locations too. The Culver City location is down the street from the art gallery that I was interning at, which brought me to that fateful design show

I’ve loved watching Coolhaus grow into a nationally available brand of ice cream along with Natasha becoming a role model and face for female-owned and operated business.  I celebrate their success with the same enthusiasm as I would any of my close friends.  

Also, it deserves mentioning that not only does she make sweet treats but is incredibly sweet herself. Here are 5 fab questions with Natasha Case.

Where do you think everyone should visit once in their life? What’s currently at the top of your travel bucket list?
We just came back from the Northside of Kauai – it was incredible… already itching to go back! Also, on the top of my list is Aquinnah in Martha’s Vineyard and Zion National Park. All these places have in common that they are serene, undeveloped, and amazing places to disconnect and rejuvenate. On my bucket list: Hong Kong!! (Funny enough, kind of the opposite travel experience—but I’m dying to go there and eat everything.)

Favorite comfort food, is it homemade or at a certain place?
The breakfasts that Freya cooks me every morning—usually an egg dish with vegetables like green onions, collard greens, kale and turnips from our garden. She’s amazing at one-pot meals as well, and I create the drinks to match.

Do you have an awesome book or documentary recommendation to share?
The Official Preppy Handbook, 1Q84, and The New Yorker’s long-form pieces.

Pass on the love and give a fab shout-out to someone we should know about?
So many! Freya Estreller of Ludlows Cocktail Co, Jennifer Puno of ILOVECREATIVES, Courtney McBroom of Large Marge Cooks, Jill of Domaine LA, Amy Atwood of Amy Atwood Selections.

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