Unexpected Guests: Abbey Hendrickson.

This week a visit to upstate New York. Buffalo, to be exact, the home of Aesthetic Outburst blogger, Abbey Hendrickson. Abbey also runs the fun etsy shoppe How Now Design, full of vintage finds or Abbey's handmade crafts and prints of her original drawings. My discoveries of Abbey and her collections this week have been so personally inspiring. She is definitely someone with a unique perception and a creative eye for design. Her collections are some of the most colorful and unique I've come across. I mean who collects pencils, library cards and bread bag tabs and makes them look so great? And, so collectible? Well, Abbey, I guess.



Where do you live?
I live in Buffalo, New York with my husband and our seven-month old baby boy. It’s not as snowy here as everyone thinks.


What is your favorite outing in your city?
I love to go to just about any thrift store (particularly ones lacking in major odors). We like to load up the babe and walk to the local coffee shop and to the Albright–Knox Gallery. There’s also an amazing Italian market down the street from our house called Guercio’s; they have the best produce and pasta selection. Oh, The Darwin Martin House is great too…Frank Lloyd Wright in Buffalo…who knew!



What's the best thing about Buffalo?
We just moved here six months ago, so I feel like I’m still exploring Buffalo and finding new things. The best thing so far has been witnessing an incredibly supportive arts community. It may sound strange, but I like the grittiness of Buffalo too…most days.


What's one thing about you that would surprise people?
Get ready for this! If I can’t sleep, I imagine the floor plan of a department store that my mom took us to when we were little (Burt’s in Endicott, New York). It’s been closed for a long time, but they had so many different rooms and they were all so interesting. Once I’ve made it to the room with the fancy soaps on the top floor, it’s lights out!


Who are your favorite artists?
This could be the longest list ever, but I’ll try to contain myself. First and foremost is my husband Phil Hendrickson. Then…excluding anyone I know personally because we have a ton of talented friends and that list would just be insane, I like the work of Margaret Kilgallen, Barry McGee, Catherine Campbell (My Folk Lover), Julia Rothman, Annette Messager, Ellen Gallagher, Louise Bourgeois, Marcel Dzama, Brian Dettmer, Diana Cooper, Lisa Congdon, Tara Donovan, Georgia Russell, Ruth Asawa, and Julie Morstad. Whoa!



Where do you find inspiration?
My family and friends are a constant source of inspiration. I also like to roam around (on foot or in the car) and just look. When I was young my parents would take us for rambling car rides out of the blue and it was always an interesting experience (perhaps not as much when I was a rotten teenager). I do think that really influenced how I experience the world now; I’m always looking.


Who do you admire and why?
Wow! There are so many people that I admire, but my short list includes my husband Phil for his incredible patience and kindness; our little boy for making me laugh all of the time; my parents and brothers for their humor, energy, and constant support; my best friend Emily for her creativity and authentic style; my grandmother for her intelligence and strength; and my two friends Rachael and Kris for their dedication and ambition. I have to include our many talented friends and family members who keep me going on a daily basis (too many to list, but you know who you are).


What's the last great book you read?
You Are Here- Personal Geographies and Other Maps of the Imagination by Katharine Harmon, but that was well over a year ago. Grad school + baby= absolutely no reading books for pure enjoyment.


What's your favorite film?
The Big Lebowski followed closely by Amelie…I know it’s a strange combination.


If you could photograph anyone in the world, who might that be?
My Aunt Dorothy who passed away many years ago; she was a source of much inspiration.


Who would you like to sit down to tea with?
I’ll gladly sit down with anyone if they make chai tea lattes!


Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Oh, I have so many that it’s bordering on ridiculous. I like to stay in my pajamas all day and look at Flickr and read blogs. I’m also an obsessive thrift store shopper. Not only do they call me by name, but they also know our baby’s name.


Is there anything you would change about yourself?
I would develop a thicker skin.


What is your most treasured belonging?
My most treasured belonging is a 1913 edition of Pollyanna that belonged to my Aunt Dorothy. We always talked about books and she gave that book to me when I was quite young (it was hers when she was young).


What do you have really good taste in?
I don’t know that I have good taste…it tends to be very eclectic. I do have a very specific sense of personal style (my friends are all laughing right now).


Greatest indulgence?
I recently purchased a George Mulhauser lounge chair. That’s my most expensive indulgence in the last few years.



What is your idea of living hell?
Those houses on HGTV that are so disorganized that there’s only a path to walk through. I’m certainly no neat freak, but I just couldn’t live in a place totally lacking any aesthetic.



What are some of your favorites websites/blogs to visit?
Excluding yours of course, my daily blog reads are Book By Its Cover, decor8, Design*Sponge, Poppytalk, Tas-ka, Nina van de Goor, and The Mid-Century Modernist. As far as websites go, I haunt Etsy, fffound, The Shiny Squirrel, ReForm School, Rare Device, Fecal Face, Giant Robot, Mahar Drygoods, and my friends’ sites Pistachio Press, Preachers Biscuit Books, and Kaybu (etsy shop).



Thanks so much Abbey for a great visit! I was so inspired by your collections of oddities, all made to look so fantastic! I look forward to keeping track of you on your blog and checking out your etsy shop on a regular basis. Keep on making us smile and helping us find beauty in the unexpected.