I love twitter for lots of reasons but mostly because it often connects me to wonderful people I wouldn’t have met otherwise. This was the case with the folks at Faberuna, a wonderful site “dedicated to featuring artisans and their wares from across the globe.” With a mission like that, it’s no wonder we would become fast friends. Recently Faberuna has undergone a new and noteworthy project called the Faberuna Blog Blitz. It’s their way of giving smaller but amazing blogs, that don’t often receive comments,  a day in the sun by encouraging readers to leave a nice comment.

What I also love about this project is being exposed to beautiful blogs by incredibly talented people I may never found on my own. As much time as I spend on the web (and I spend a lot of time on the web), it’s impossible to turn over every rock and peek in every corner. Luckily, Faberuna has come along to make this a little easier.

Head over and check out Faberuna’s Blog Blitz! And if you see something you like, leave a comment. If someone you admire is putting out content you love, let them know. It’s the easiest way to brighten someone’s day and encourage them to keep going.

Anyone out there who is self-employed and works from home can tell you, it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. In fact, it can be one of the biggest challenges a freelancer faces. As well equipped and ideal as my apartment is to run my business out of, I still go a bit stir crazy and often feel an overwhelming need to get the heck out of here. So when I see places like Urban Station in Buenos Aires, it gets me excited to know that there are design groups out there that are finding solutions for the increasing number of freelancers.

Taking into account the various needs of the nomadic worker, Argentinean design studio Total Tool has created a combined cafe and office for workers in need of desk space. With plenty of power outlets, a help desk for all enquiries, and private meeting rooms, Urban Station is freelance heaven! I especially love the cozy seating options and the little nooks that are conducive to conversations with other freelancers. Some of the best conversations I’ve had are with creative strangers.

As the internet is providing more and more of us the opportunity to work from home, I sincerely hope that more of these types of spaces start popping up. If creativity breeds creativity, we’re going to need a lot more breeding grounds.

*via Dezeen

Last week I posted the first half of my photos from Egypt. I hope you enjoyed them! Despite all of the despairing news coming out of Egypt these days, it truly is a magical place! Standing at the foot of the great pyramids, exploring bustling bazaars, and riding a camel through a Nubian village were some of the most incredible experiences of my life. I hope that Egypt makes it through their tumultuous times and even more amazing on the other side.

Just a little info on the photos: See the baby alligator above? On my way out to the Nubian village, a little boy came out of the water, grabbed the side of the boat, and handed me a tiny alligator. It was madness! Down below, that’s me exploring the pyramids and later jumping for joy at one of the many ancient sites I visited. The cat is a little friend I made near the Valley of the Kings. We became fast friends. I named her Neferkitty, ancient Egyptian palace cat. I wish I could have brought her home.

All the best Egypt!!

The recent news in Egypt has been difficult to watch/hear about. It’s been a series of highs and lows and victories and losses that has left an amazing country so rich with beauty and priceless treasures in the midst of uncertainty. My heart goes out to the people of Egypt in these troubling times. I was fortunate enough to spend some time in Egypt last year with my family. After fun times at Germany’s Oktoberfest, we headed off to Egypt for the most epic trip of our lives. I haven’t shared any of travel photos for some time so I thought, in honor of lovely Egypt, I would do a two part series of photos I took while I was there. This is how I want to remember Egypt forever!

Join me for Part 2 on Tuesday! All the best to Egypt.

One of my favorite color-happy brands out there, Kate Spade, has recently launched a new tumblr blog that I’m loving! I was super excited to see these colorful images of Mexico that were posted a short time ago. It’s been a stormy week here in the Bay Area so these bright images are making it feel just a little warmer in here.

If you’re looking for color and style inspiration, be sure to check out Kate Spade’s new tumblr blog. It’s fabulous!!

Last week, LAMA blog reader Lai-Mai, pointed me over to designer Alexandra Grecco’s blog coverage of her vacation to Mexico. Starring at all of her stunning photos through her incredible ten part series, I am so grateful she did! I’ve chosen some of my favorite photos to share with you but I highly recommend heading over to her blog to check out the rest!

One of my favorite aspects of owning an e-shop and running the LAMA blog are the wonderful connections I get to make with awesome people going the creative route with their ventures. Most recently, I was excited to have an inspiring email exchange with fellow shop owner Daniela Montelongo. An architect and crafter by nature, Daniela made the entrepreneurial plunge at the young age of nineteen when she opened her own shop, Pompons Party, in Juarez, Mexico. For the past six years she has been grateful to be able to do what she loves most, creating colorful objects, mexican folklore pieces, beautiful textures, and other pieces of art. Even though Juarez is one of the most dangerous cities in the world, Daniela doesn’t see this as much of an obstacle. According to Daniela, “this just makes me want to keep creating beautiful stuff to give a nice color to this grey and sad  environment.” While owning her own business has been and continues to be “a learning process all the way,” it’s something she know she wants to do for the rest of her life.

Be sure to check out Pompons Party here, here and, here.

Thank you so much Daniela for sharing your story with me! All the best to you!!

Inspired by the hollow wooden frames popular in Moorish architecture, three Brazilian engineers (Coimbra, Boeckmann, and Góis) decided to create their modern pieces with the similar function of giving privacy to the interior of houses, without compromising brightness or vision of the outside world. Looking at these beautiful product photos, I would say they accomplished their mission. I would love to incorporate a wall like this into my home someday. It’s got such a great mid-century modern vibe.

If you’re fortunate enough to be in Brazil, these pieces are available at Cerâmica Martins.

via Casa Abril

Over the weekend I finally had the opportunity to sit down and check out a new e-zine I’ve been dying to take a look at called Matchbook Mag: the field guide to a charmed life. I have to say, it’s promising title did not disappoint. One of the articles I was most excited to come across in Matchbook was their beautifully well-done travel guide on Peru. As an avid traveller, I like to check out a lot of destination publications and, until recently, I’ve often been disappointed at the lack of coverage many of South America’s countries get. It’s been exciting for me to see South America’s popularity growing as a go-to travel destination, particularly cities like Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo. It was certainly refreshing to see such a lovely story about Peru and I highly recommend you check it out, along with the rest of this stunning new publication.

Bienvenido a Peru! Thanks Matchbook Mag for these GORGEOUS photos!

Like all South American countries (at least the ones I’ve been fortunate enough to visit) Brazil is one COLORFUL place! My time in Rio was a blur of vibrant colors flashing around me from every direction. It was color heaven! That’s why it comes as no surprise to me that this line of stunningly colorful leather jewelry I recently stumbled upon is designed and produced in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Designed by Luisa Herculano, this line of African influenced Brazilian jewelry is to die for!

Until recently, Luisa’s line was only available in Rio de Janeiro. They are gradually starting to distribute worldwide but they don’t appear to have any US retailers. Hm. Something for LAMA perhaps? I don’t know about you but I’m dying to get my hands on one of these gorgeous statement pieces!

To view the rest of Luisa Herculano’s collection, be sure to check out her website. Luckily she has an English version.