SO PROUD of my girls Brook and Kirby over at Job & Boss for releasing their latest collection of bags inspired by OAXACA! We all traveled to Mexico last summer and the trip was a spark for many ideas, collaborations and movements…including this collection and me moving to Mexico. All the fabric was hand-woven by master weaver, Alfredo Hernandez-Orozco, in his family studio in Xochimilco and the bags were designed and sewn in Oakland. I want the crossbody bag! GET YOURS RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW!

2 months and 15 days have passed since I set foot in Mexico and tonight I board a bus leaving Oaxaca behind for Mexico City. To be honest, I’m actually quite sad to leave today. There is a magical energy here that anyone who visits  or lives here can attest to! I knew Oaxaca would be exciting, but I didn’t think I would learn so much and make such a deep connection to the place and its people. To imagine that I barely spoke Spanish when I arrived!!!

I’m so so so thankful for: my amazing roommates, beautiful pink casa and mascotas, Canela y Josephine; learning to cook moles and tamales and frijoles; every late night tlayuda; the patience of all my salsa and cumbia partners; an incredible birthday party; all the artists who shared their skills, knowledge y talleres; every conversation about the end of the world; everyone who gave me a ride; all the wisdom of formerly undocumented workers who have left and returned; every abuelita in the mercado; every color and every blossom of every tree; being “cleansed” in the mountains; cocos en la playa; hierve el agua; pueblo basketball courts and players of all ages; FIESTAS FIESTAS FIESTAS; all the elote guys & jugo guys; all the older extranjeros who shared their memories with me; all the niños y niñas who actually understood my spanish; the magic and mystical energy de la tierra!!!; my spanish teacher, Mercedes; my yoga teacher, Laurie; my piñatero amigo, Javier; my German intercambio, Carlos; and all the other incredible people along the way whom I may never see again- you are rad and I love you!

Now I’m off to big bad Mexico City to study Spanish at UNAM and I cannot express how excited I am to be in a world of learning– a whole city actually! UNAM’s student population for the 2011-12 academic year was a whopping 324,413!!!

Here are some Instagrams from my time in Oaxaca! If you’re interested in coming here or want to know more about it, please let me know, I’d be happy to share more about this wonderful place- the google map is in the works….

Mis amigas at Esqueleto are opening a show of Jaime Servais‘ drawings tonight (FRIDAY FEB 1) in Oakland! It’s First Friday. Check it out. I’m digging these drawingsSSSsssSSSSsss from afar!

images via two coats of paint

I would like to welcome you all to the Mexican edition of BIG THINGS…COSAS GRANDES! I arrived this week in Mexico City and am very excited to be back in this chaotic place. Some of you may have been wondering what the hell is going on over here: sporadic postings, flash sales, etc. So here’s a recap of the past 6 months and a quick intro to what’s next for BIG THINGS!

Over the summer I spent 3 magical weeks in Mexico and upon returning to Oakland, decided that it was time for me to make some life changes. This year has been incredibly successful for me- lots of traveling, pop-ups, press, new friends, etc.- all of which I am eternally grateful for! But I’m also going to be candid and say that it has also been one of the hardest years of my life.

Right before I left for Mexico I found out that the boutique that I had been working at for four years, Metier, would be closing it’s doors after a 21 year run. It was a fashion institution in San Francisco and we were a deeply-bonded group of ladies- they were my family!  I was on vacation for most of the process and watched my best friends close a space that had been my second home for many years.

After an endlessly inspirational trip to Mexico, I headed to Chicago to visit my family. My 92-year-old grandmother was frailer than ever; she could barely speak, only mouthed “I love you” to me with her sweet smile, but couldn’t do much else. A week after I came back to Oakland, she passed away. We were very close and she was always my role model. It was devastating to watch her deteriorate over so many years, but I am lucky to have seen her right at the end.

Earlier in the year, Nico, my best friend and boyfriend for 5+ years, and I also decided to call it off. No hard feelings whatsoever, I still love him and we are still family. But losing that kind of relationship puts a dent in your heart, for sure.

This isn’t supposed to be a sob story or some kind of sentimental BS, this is the honest-to-gawd truth. THIS IS LIFE, PEOPLE! Businesses close, love is lost, people die and things change. And all of these changes bring about major decisions- do I get a new job? Do I do BT full time? Do I go back to school? And my decision was a combination of all of the above + FUCK IT, I’M MOVING TO MEXICO.

So, here I am, writing in my friend Mariana’s extra room in Mexico City, my belongings sold or gifted, my friends and family back in the states. I’m heading to Oaxaca on Thursday for Spanish classes, ready to explore and expand and build on everything that has brought me to where I am now.

As for BIG THINGS, this has been a huge part of my life and I have no intention of letting it go. But sometimes the internet isn’t necessarily the place to be living your life. Everything I do here has always been about learning and sharing, so I will of course continue to share my discoveries with you. But I am also looking forward to a new chapter for myself involving learning,  languages and working more with kids and education.

SO WITH ALL OF THAT SAID (phew!), I invite you all to get the hell away from your computer, your phone, Instagram, Facebook, or whatever other bullshit devices we use to outsource our consciousness, and just spend time with your family, your friends, your cities, your countrysides and everything new and exciting. Pick up a book, ask some old people some questions, fall down and get the fuck back up again!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you all and here’s to a brilliant, fun, healthy & revolutionary NEW YEAR in 2013!

it’s also a great night to come out and learn more about the renaissance center’s awesome entrepreneurship programs! SEE YOU THERE!

happy happy happy happy happy happy happy

we love the holidaze, but aren’t that psyched on BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY. but we’re in RENO, NEVADA right now and we’re feeling lucky, so come on down to the BIG THINGS SHOP this weekend through monday and we’ll give you 20% OFF all online orders. lots of cute stuff from local designers and magical things i have found on my travels.

if you want to make an appointment to check something out at our west oakland studio, please email me: rebecca@bigbigbigthings.com!

*****READ: while BIG THINGS does not promote frivolous consumption of mass-produced, throw-away material goods, we DO believe in good-ass, thoughtful, well made, long lasting GIFTS once in a while!*****