Pasaquan - Buena Vista, GA is a colorful little pocket full of color and whimsy about two hours outside of Atlanta. It is the former artist compound/home of folk artist Eddie Owens Martin or as he called himself St. Eom. ​

Chris and I took a trip down to St. Eom's magical looking palace to scout it out for an upcoming photo shoot he is doing. When I saw where his shoot was at, I had to tag along to scout it out. (Lucky for him, I also make a great supermodel stand-in to help him test out ideas. hah......he is a professional fashion photographer who works with real models on the daily and puts up with my poser-self in-between times. lol #BESTinstagraHusband ever!) 

I LOVE folk art- how colorful, carefree and childlike it is. (Remember this outfit post inspired by folk art?!) And Pasaquan reminded me of the time Chris and I visited Jorge Selaron's house/steps in Brazil. Full of color, life and a contagious energy that inspires you to create something ASAP! 

And this quote above by St. EOM sums up being an artist 100% to me. 

                         "...here in these lines, trying to express something for you."  -St. EOM

...I feel that, my words aren't always clear, but hopefully my work can properly express how I feel. 

I LOVE going to do things like this with Chris (photo adventures). It reminds me of when we first started dating. We were friends for YEARS (I'm talking, since 8th grade, we will both be 30 in a little over a year) and then in our last year of college, coincidentally signed up for the same film photography class. We (REALLY) bonded over our photo adventures and (literally) haven't stopped since, 8 years later....

We have totally different perspectives on how we approach things, in photography and life in general. but work really well as a team. We usually understand what the other one is trying to accomplish and can easily assist one another to get the different shots that we want without much explanation. And it is always fun to experiment with our two different perspectives on things and figuring out how they mesh together. 

I of course packed up a few StudiOH, Shoppe! handbags to shoot while we were down there. I knew the colorful back drop would be perfect with my playful designs. 

I am not going to lie, the amount of color and patterns going on at Pasaquan was a bit overwhelming even for me, a color + pattern enthusiast. As I just couldn't figure out where to look, or what to focus on. Around every corner is something colorful and interesting to look at.

And even though it is the end of September, this is south GA...SO IT WAS HOT AS HELL!!! AND there was an tour going on with a group of students from Auburn University and I am just casually posing, laying out on the ground and voguing with statues. lol. .GOOD TIMES!

​Really, though- If you're ever passing through Columbus, GA you should look this place up, and swing on by! 

I LOVE the colors in his kitchen, the bamboo wall and this charming little table. 

The tile all through out the property is out of control and gave me all sorts of floor goals!

You know, just a look back at the casual walk up to St. EOM's front door. 

I told Chris, I'm decorating our future home something like this. 

Sneaking a pic of my handsome + hardworking husband! 

Doesn't everyones backyard look like this?! 

In this Plant Diaries series, I will also be sharing from my art journal, paintings and products that I have created inspired by my plant babies. 

I added this abstract Alocasia Kris print that I created to my PAOM shop. I thought this print would look so lovely as silk scarf. What do you think?

[[[PAOM is a third party vendor that I use. When you order something from this store, it is made to order and comes directly from PAOM. The order takes about 10-14 days to arrive.]]]

And one weekend, this little guy was hopping all around my garden driving the dogs crazy. I was able to snap a few pictures of it (I was kind-of obsessing over the patterns on its body. Nature is so cool!). He (or she) really loved this plant. 

StudiOH, Shoppe! Labor Day Sale is going on and there's still time for you to snag up some great deals! I wanted to pop in over here, on my blog to share with you some of my favorite items from the sale section on  StudiOH, Shoppe! 

Also, I wanted to share a bit more about these leather goods. It has been made clear to me a couple of times now that people don't realize that I am the one making these leather goods you always see me sportin'/here me talking about. I sell them, but I also design + make everything in my shoppe, myself. A true labor of love and work of art!  

I buy the leather hides, paint them, cut them down and turn them into fun + functional accessories/work of arts for you to wear. Each piece is hand painted, hand-sewn and made with LOTS of love, here in my Atlanta, GA studiOH.

Each clutch/tassel is truly a one of a kind creation, with the patterns and brush strokes varying from product to product. Most items in my shop are offered/made in a limited quantity, Once they are sold out, they are gone. 

Some popular patterns and certain leather hides will come back and continue to sell on a seasonal basis. But if you see something you love, get it while you can! There is no guarantees. (I get my leather hides from a local supplier, I buy what they have in stock. The colorful leathers are seasonal, and certain colors are only available certain times of the year). 

I am also available to do custom orders as well. Such as a custom clutches for a special event, or bridal clutches for your bridesmaids etc. If this is something you are interested in, email me here : Courtney@myfriendcourt.com and I will be in contact within 48 hrs. 

But today, let's talk about the Labor Day sale I have going on. It's filled with some pretty amazing deals (3 pages worth of deals!) on some of my favorite items. Like this Clutch, Me - Color Block Clutch, currently on sale for $50! 

And did you you see? I am donating 20% of this weekend's sales to the American Red Cross! 

- Leather Keyfob - Colorful Dash :: shoppe here
- Wristlet Keychain - Color Dash :: shoppe here
​- Colorful Handbad Clutch with Rainbow Dash Design 

- Make Your Mark Journal :: shoppe here
- Keychain - Mini Green Tassel :: shoppe here

- Colorful Tassel Keychain :: shoppe here
-Beautiful, Nor Broken - Original Acrylic Painting :: Shoppe here

- Pink Palms Leather Handbag :: Shoppe here
​- Pom-Pom Leather Tassels :: Shoppe here