Dude . . . I finally finished my Paintings! 

A professor once told me that my work has the unique quality that there is no artist’s foot print. “It’s like you’d would never know who painted it… there’s no identity of the execution that you could link to the artist… there is only the image.” I still can’t tell if that is a positive statement or negative. I have also struggled with my own identity, wonder who I am, how I should think and feel, what the hell I should be doing with my life, etc. Some times I feel I have none. I walk around empty. Sad. And not knowing I should be doing or why I am here. But I just don’t want to paint cliche images of sadness and depression . . .

I’ll be honest with you, I’ve been struggling with my “artist’s voice” for some time now. I mean… I haven’t painted in over a YEAR! The previous images I’ve been making have been inspired by aspects that I thought were deserving to but put on canvas: nice lighting, strong composition, hot guys, sexy lips.g dicks… I haven’t even titled my work until now. I still want the viewer to assign their own meaning or feeling to the image. But I think It is my responsibility to say something more with my work, or portray more particular feelings or themes, while retaining the dazzling mystery and ambiguity.

It’s my hope that this new collection of work features this shift in displaying more particular emotion due to an increase combination of facial expression, composition splices, and of course my patented “extreme cropping”.

enjoy!!!!

My First Experience With Panty Hose 

My First Experience with Pantie Hose:

Despite what you might think, being a gay man, I have only been in full DRAG once in my life. I was in high school starring as Dorthy Dinsmore in a dinner theater / murder mystery (for church… if you can believe it). But other than that, i haven’t had time (or the money) to buy fancy sequin gowns and 9 inch stilettos. But i was able to revisit the magic of PANTIE HOSE for this current window display!

I wanted to feature our new Corset collection from NRS (Nicole Rae Styer). But this particular corset featured sexy garters. So I was really excited to have to buy leggings for this display. I settled on hot pink panty hose that i cut and converted to slutty thigh-high stockings to show off the garters. But have you ever dressed a mannequin in panty hose? I harder than it sounds. I guess I’m glad that I have still retained some pit of masculinity, as I noticed to huge “runs” in each stocking after the display was finished. Oh well… it adds to it’s “edgy” urban feel!

Indie Fashion 

i love these long time

Our Grass Just Got Greener 

I may not be a vegetarian, but I do believe in taking care of the planet. I recycle when I can, try to drive small cars so I don’t take up too much space, try to be as resourceful as I can when making new designs. On a business perspective, I try to do my part as well.  I try to order from vendors that don’t use Styrofoam or none-recyclable / bio-degradable packaging. (I even have a big-ass bag of Styrofoam that I use to make holiday decorations). Lots of our fashion is made from recycled fabrics. I didn’t even realize this, but our store is vegan: from the vinyl belts right down to the vegan lip gloss. No animal parts appear in our store. (I just thought I’d share that little tidbit.)

But thankfully there is a growing trend in Eco-friendly production and design. And that is probably why I am SUPER excited about the new line of items we have brought in at the store.... for your Earth-saving, decorating pleasure. We have three new items in particular that exemplify this growing (and smart) trend of the Eco-friendly or GREEN home:

I love love love these. Not only is it visually stunning on a design standpoint, but they are made of 100% recycled cardboard and they don’t even involve the killing of any animals what so ever. Each piece is laser cut and numbered so you can easily assemble it your self. And the price points are very reasonable. The large one is HELLA BIG and makes an awesome impact.

These are rechargeable lights that don’t eat up batteries or create waste like smoke and wax from “normal” candles. They last for 8 hours and cast the same romantic ambient light that a candle would. Great to use as night lights !!! My favorite is the SLUG shape. So cute!!

These are awesome. I was actually unpacking them on the sales floor and when I went to grab “MY” coffee I couldn’t tell which one was mine!!! It’s a ceramic coffee cup with a silicone lid. You can use it over and over with out piling up public garbage cans with a bazillion empty Starbucks coffee cups.

So… I don’t want to turn into Reverend Recycle on ya’. I just think we should be more thoughtful in our consumer buying when it comes to the global environment. There are many other ways you can save the world while accessorizing your home. Try to stay away from buying furniture made of Oak or other trees that take FOREVER to grow back. Use Mango Wood or Bamboo instead.

FUN FACT:
Did you know that bamboo is technically a grass? It is the worlds most renewable plant and is used in every facet of humanity. There are even clothes made of bamboo. Another interesting thing that you probably don’t care about, is that mango trees only produce fruit once? After the trees are “spent” they are cut down and used to build a variety of eco-friendly furniture. Resourcefulness should be the spice of life.

I just gave you 2 new wrinkles in your brain ! (you can thank me later)

This is Karl, signing off.

Why is your store PINK? 

WHY IS YOUR STORE PINK?

A few days back, I was chatting with my friend (and love of my life), Dan, when he asked me:

“Karl.. why is your store so pink?”

“Well Dan” I start to reveal to him. “A long time ago, in a gallery far far away, a young gay boy was roaming thru a design store and kept seeing all this brown, beige and baby-diarrhea colored furniture. Even the fixtures and architecture of the store was also boring and colorless. Many retailers choose neutral colors as to not detract from their product or service. But at the Galactic Boutique, we say “BULLSHIT!” Life is about experience and energy. We want you to feel excited by what you see at our store and what better way having our store esthetic and color identity blow yer skirt up other than making everything cotton candy pink?

Dan’s question is a valid observation, as our main store front features a bright pink stage for window displays. We also use the color pink freely as a testament to our excitement about color (also… it makes the store a little bit Gay). As being a young Gay entrepreneur, I feel it’s important to be a visible part of the community as to inspire other minorities to hold on to their dreams. Plus the shade of pink we chose for our store’s “branding” and identity is very eye-catching. And you know how I LOVE to be noticed and be the center of attention.

However, we are still in the position of catering to a variety of customers. And not all of them like pink. So there is a large range of color through out the store… however we have kept the tone as bright and cheery as possible. Come in and see for yourself! About 90% of our customers have been lured into the store just because it stands out against the typical gloom of Seattle rainy days (which only last from about August to May… )
It’s like a breath of fresh air”, a customer exclaimed “It’s like walking into heaven”.

I smile and think to myself “my work is done”!