Urban Prairie "ODDITIES" Book Series

After the great success of Chris' Urban Prairie .07 FOUND Desk Calendar & Inspiration Guide comes a three part book series with a "CULTURAL ODDITIES" theme. First up is "Crack Heads", a look at Chris' favorite collection of vintage doll heads and how they can be used in modern, striking displays and vignettes.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE A CONTRIBUTOR TO THE BOOK?

Chris is asking anyone who shares the passion for collecting vintage doll heads or parts to send in a photo. If used in the book, they will receive credit and a free copy of the book when released. The special "collectors edition" has a tenitive release date of late spring/early summer. All photos must be sent in by Febuary 28th. Only digital photos will be excepted, at a resolution of at least 300 dpi. Photos can be emailed to chris@urbanprairie.net

Prairie Cool, Gypsy Rock

Chris recently supplied the Junk Gypsy Company with some Urban Prairie style for country star Miranda Lambert's new tour bus. Amie, Jolie and Janie Sikes tricked the bus with cool, vintage, cowgirl rock flair to help Miranda feel more at home on the road. The vintage mailbox (shown in photo above with Jolie) was one of the items Chris donated to the bus design. It was placed in the galley and repurposed to hold silverware. It also doubles as a message center since it's magnetized.

Cabin Fever Experiments

It's cold out on the Urban Prairie. Plans are being made for the Spring .07 Warrenton/Roundtop, TX. Antique Week. But while inside, Chris has been experimenting with new ideas. His fondness for crusty, vintage bottles has him acting like a mad scientist with antique laboratory glass. They are showing up everywhere.

Collector Profiles Coming Soon!

As regular viewers of urbanprairie.net may know, Chris is a huge supporter of fellow designers, artist and collectors. A section titled COLLECTOR PROFILES can be found in STYLE & INSPIRATION at urbanprairie.net. There collectors discuss their favorite collection and give a personal view to those items. Those COLLECTOR PROFILES will soon be featured on this blog as well. Check back shortly. First up, Erin Pata from Butterbean Studios; where art and farming collide.

Antler Girl

For something strange and cool, check out the antler girl tee for guys and gals at www.imsmitten.com. The art was designed by Ashley Alexander. The image is perfect Urban Prairie style.

Am I Weird?

It seems that inquiring minds would like to take a look inside my head and have me list six weird things about myself. ONLY six? I could probably fill a book. Below is that list, in no particular order:

1. I would probably eat sushi every night of the week, if allowed.
2. Other than signing my name, I only print, in caps, when writing.
3. When growing up, I wanted to be a circus clown. Some say I succeeded.
4. I fly like Superman in almost all my dreams.
5. In a small group I'm shy, but put me in front of a hundred people and I'll shine (see no. 3)
6. I lose sleep at night worrying if I'm a good father and husband.

Arms & Legs

The Alameda Flea Market in San Francisco seems to have the coolest oddities around, or is it that I can just think of a million things I could do with this box of doll arms and legs?

Photos from sfgirlbybay.com

Scissorteeth

To quote myself, "I like to take things people don't see as beautiful and somehow make them beautiful". People love the things I do with white roses, cracked ironstone platters, tranished trophy cups and moss...that's the prairie side of me. But the side of me that seems to turn the most heads is the urban, or is that strange, side of my design style. I've come to be known for my vast collection of cracked, faded, vintage doll heads and the displays/vignettes I build with them. My fondness for the odd comes as no suprise for the people/clients/fans that know me. It's this side that more and more people are beginning to ask about.

WHAT I'M COLLECTING NOW.
Teeth: This past summer I found myself talking to a gentleman who had just cleared out the contents of a old dentist office in a small Texas town. He let me search through a vintage metal cabnet. There I found display TEETH of all sorts. I fell in love with their odd beauty and I just knew I needed more. My motto, if one is good, five is better.
Scissors: Their different shapes and sizes are so interesting. The patina of old metal gets me everytime. I have about 15 of them simply sitting on a large cracked, but wired together ironstone platter. It's displayed in the entrance of our home on a bare farm table. Sheer Urban Prairie elegance.

Style Tips

Got a cultural oddity you don't know what to do with? Have a corner of your home or loft that just screams out for something interesting? How about that old box of clipped decanter tops you found at the flea market? Check out "Style Tips" in the STYLE & INSPIRATION section at urbanprairie.net. Chris will offer a different slant on how best to put together your great finds, making your surroundings perfect Urban Prairie style. Email Chris, chris@urbanprairie.net and ask a question - his reply may even appear online at urbanprairie.net.

Trick My Bus

A very late night IM conversation between Amie Sikes of the Junk Gypsy Company and Urban Prairie's Chris Brown:

Amie Sikes: Hey cowboy!
Chris Brown: Hey cowgirl!

AS: We've got a project in the works.
CB: I'm all ears...
AS: You know Miranda Lambert?
CB: The Grammy nominee Miranda?
AS: Yep, that's the one.
CB: How's she doing?
AS: She's great.
CB: I hear she's got a brand new set of strings?
AS: You're a dork Chris, but we love you anyway.
CB: At least I'm taller than you...
AS: No you're not!
CB: Yes I am!
AS: Focus Chris.
CB: Shoot.
AS: We've been asked to decorate Miranda's new tour bus and drive it from Texas to Nashville and surprise her with it. You got anything you might wanna add to the decor of the bus??? Like a few of your little vintage bottles??? Or some of your cultural oddities???
CB: I think I can throw a few things in the mail.
AS: We will be rollin' out to Nashville on Jan 15th. Country Living magazine will be ridin' with us. I will need all stuff for da bus in house as quickly as possible.
CB: You got it!
AS: Junk Gypsy decor with a litte Urban Prairie style thrown in...it will be total rockstar cowgirl! Thanks Chris!
CB: 10-4 good buddy.


Check out countryliving.com for a LIVE BLOG journal of Country Living's Roadtrip with the Gypsies from Texas to Tennessee. Or visit www.gypsyville.com for more details.

A True Fan (2)

From brocantehome.typepad.com

Chris Brown has done it again. Go see his newly designed & "REFUELED" website urbanprairie.net. Order the 2007 calender. Absorb his utter style and download the wallpaper...The man is the nearest thing we've got to a BrocanteHome God, with more taste in his little finger than most men could conjure up for a big clock.

This, my darlings, is a bona fide , countrified, hellified crush.

HOT Item of the Moment

They are popping up everywhere. In some of the coolest store displays and homes around the country. They are being used as tables, desks and simply as a area to showcase your favorite collection. Gurneys are Urban Prairie cool. Their steel industrial structures lends the perfect modern air to any involvement. Take it from me, they definitely make for a conversation piece when guest come a calling.

Urban Prairie RUIN(s) the World

Out in the dark, seedy, Dallas music world - Jason Hess, lead vocals and guitar for the up and coming band RUIN is spotted sporting the fashion accessory tee of the winter - the URBAN PRAIRIE skull/rose logo thermal. Jason says "I kept hearing about this odd guy who collects cracked and vintage doll heads, so right away I thought he was cool." Hess did some searching. "All the new things he was doing to inspire a new generation was right in line with what RUIN is trying to do with music. I really dig Chris' vision" Jason added. For more info on RUIN, visit www.ruintheworld.com

"REFUELED" Wearables Coming Soon!

New Urban Prairie "REFUELED" tees and wife beaters are coming soon to www.urbanprairie.net. These special promotional items will be used at the upcoming "Spring" Roundtop/Warrenton Antique Week show. Both tee and tank will be unisex. A limited number will be produced for the show and for sale - once they go online they will move fast. A great item for the Spring/Summer to show you have been "REFUELED". Check back for further details on their arrival.

Stay Tuned.

Stay tuned for news from the Urban Prairie & Junk Gypsy Company camps. The gals from Gypsyville and the Urban Prairie creator have long talked about a collaboration. They held out for just the right one! More details as they become available. Sparked your interest yet?

A True Fan(atic)

Chris,

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for the Urban Prairie site, and for your incredible vision and gorgeous design!! I came across your site earlier this week and have been lovestruck ever since. THIS is what I've been searching for....THIS is the style that captures all that I am about...all that I want to be! THIS is home.

And I want IN. I want to immerse myself in Urban Prairie and swallow it whole! I want to be baptised in your chippy-peely font of new country! (Do I sound like a raving lunatic? Well, I guess I am, a little.) I need you to come to my apartment and work your magic, and turn this quaint-but-dated suburban hole into a prairie oasis and make it sing! You see, I've got the raw materials--I've been collecting textiles and china and bottles and baubles for years--but I can never seem to pull them together with the appropriate panache. I'm a transplanted Californian living in Columbus, Ohio, and for years I worked on a little look I called "Beach Farm"...easy-going, summer cottage meets heartland farmhouse. Then one bright morning, A-HA!!....Urban Prairie. It embraces all!

How can I be more a part of Urban Prairie? Tell me you need a personal assistant, and I will be at your door pronto! Tell me that you're thinking of opening a shop in Columbus, and I'm your gal! Or even tell me that you'll be moseying through central Ohio on a junking trip soon, and I promise I'll buy you all the beer (or margaritas or Jack) it's safe to drink.

Seriously, Chris, thank you for making your vision and creativity available to us, the tired and uninspired masses, and for all the positive energy that is bound to ripple out from these wonderful pages. Keep up the love.

Peace,

Mo McC

The ODD Couple

Check out the cool conversation between the King of Odd, Chris Brown and the Queen of Clutter, D'ette Cole at www.urbanprairie.net. It can be found in the STYLE & INSPIRATION section of the site. Chris and D'ette took time out from the .06 Fall Warrenton Antique Show in Texas to meet at a middle-of-nowhere Thai joint outside of Austin and talked clutter, collecting and tumbleweeds.

SOLD OUT!

The Urban Prairie .07 FOUND desk calendar & inspiration guides are all sold out. Because of the great feedback and response, I will definitely be producing another calendar for '08. For all of you who purchased a calendar and enjoyed the, shall we say, odd direction - there are several other URBAN PRAIRIE books currently in the works. Each with a limited, collectors item print run. Enjoy each month.