Cannon Safe got Bneato’d

Posted on May 2, 2012 by bneato

you guys are not gonna believe what i’ve been working on since March! okay, maybe you will but i keep pinching myself. Cannon Safe called me up right before my big u.s. tour and asked if i’d come out to their headquarters to talk shop (and all things safe). they are known for creating gun safes (and are maxed out with organizers for all things firearm). but they were looking to debut a new sort of safe that appealed to the organized family. so i literally got to rethink (and design) the interior of their safe. i also sourced out the job and had it built to our specifications. the only part i’m not responsible for are the black pockets on the bottom half of the door. not wild about them but hey, it’s a prototype and i’m sure things will change.

picture of the safe at Cannon on the day i delivered the interior. so satisfying to see the project come full circle.

my favorite part—the pull out floor! heavier items are a breeze to take out as you don’t have to reach in—as the floor comes to you!

SXSW–> san francisco–> #NAPO2012

Posted on March 25, 2012 by bneato

totally recreating this idea--as seen in austin, TX at SXSW!

i was super apprehensive about leaving LA for two whole weeks–not to mention packing for 3 completely different destinations (oy vey). the first leg of my trip had me traveling with my bandmates in a van to austin, TX and at times, i had little access to email and the internet–which threw me for a tailspin. i was hoping to work for the better part of my trip but back roads and staying in the middle of nowhere, USA often left me anxious and that weird feeling of not being connected. and even though work was tricky at times, i ended up having a blast. some highlights: seeing the shins play for free, experiencing the very cool city of austin with thousands of fellow musicians and spending time with my best friends.

being tourists in san francisco

my next journey was leaving on a plane to SFO for the wedding of my beau’s aunt—held at the brazilian room at tilden park (gorgeous)! we then spent the next day with the beau’s parental units in san fran being complete tourists (as seen here on the top of a sightseeing tour bus).

our booth at NAPO 2012 conference

and finally, the last leg of my journey flew me clear across the country to baltimore, MD for the national association of professional organizers 2012 conference. this was my first time as an exhibitor and i had a blast.

me + Erin Doland from Unclutterer fame!

i met everyone from erin doland to the editor of getting organized magazine. even got some face time with my fellow rubbermaid blog squad crew and made new friends that i know will last a lifetime.

do you know about gump’s?!

Posted on March 21, 2012 by bneato

ladies. dudes. i’m currently on my world tour… was first in austin for a week at SXSW, then made the trek to San Fran (where i discovered—or rather, was told, about Gump’s). now i’m in Baltimore for NAPO 2012 conference (for organizing fanatics only). but back to gump’s. my beau’s step-mom took us to this store and it’s kinda insane. it’s a little old school but in the best possible way. i, of course, found tons of things i wanted to take home (some are affordable but most will break your bank). the fact that the store is super fancy and called gump’s kinda seals the deal for me.

1 i want to rip every page out of this book and frame in my home! i will eventually buy this book and find a poster by Miroslav Sasak to frame so as to keep the book intact:)

2 golden rule. hmpf. how about a golden ruler?! it’s actually brass but who cares? it looks rad!

3 ercolano shou box (made exclusively for gump’s). super duper fancy and offered in black and white. i’ll take both.

4 well hello orange lacquered box. you’re so shiny and bold. come on over and i’ll fill you with jewelry or sewing stuff.

5 when i was in college, i got over a boy dumping me with good friends, a lot of alcohol and a huge puzzle that we put together in the living room. and while puzzles usually scream, “college dorm room!” this woodcut one screams, “you’re so cool. where’d you get that! let’s frame it and put it on display!”

6 i have a thing for stationary. and when i have loads of money to throw away, i might just spend some on custom stationary by charles fradin. until then, this recipe box would be a fun hostess or housewarming gift for a friend that cooks.

7 i love love love cane chairs. we had some in our old house that our cats ruined. thanks for that kitties! i’d have to keep this tote hidden from their little claws.

let’s catch up!

Posted on February 29, 2012 by bneato

it takes a lot of work to get an organized binder shot just right....

lots of shopping at the container store + staples for the photo shoot!

so after many years of teaching Bneato Organizing Boot Camp to the public, i have decided to license this program to fellow organizers. that way, an individual in d.c. is able to experience the same organizing love that my clients in la are afforded. feel free to check out the new logo for boot camp, to which i have enthusiastically named, no mess no stress organizing boot camp. we’ve started a facebook and twitter page–so come and hang out! i just wanted to share the above ‘behind the scene’ images from our photo shoot with laure and abby. and as abby says, “It takes a lot of messy to get organized.”

twitter party. tonight.

Posted on February 22, 2012 by bneato

you guys you guys you guys. i’m hosting my first ever twitter party tonight with rubbermaid (6:00 – 7:00 PST). tweet in about all things kitchen and organizing. rubbermaid is giving away goodies and heck, i feel like i should get dressed up for the event, no?! follow this link for instructions and deets!

hobby time

Posted on February 3, 2012 by bneato

“When a habit begins to cost money, it’s called a hobby.”–Jewish Proverb

i think that most of you know that for a hobby, i’m the drummer for a local LA band called kissing cousins. just wanted to share a fun thing we gals got to do back in january…. alex oana (a sound engineer) was looking for a local indie band to test out a recording studio in town (called nrg). we were on board and super stoked (the studio and equipment was ridiculous—as you can see from the pics). anyhow, that’s us on the cover and you can listen to the song we created if you follow this link (song is at the very bottom). the article can be found here.

what do you do when you’re not working? how did you happen upon your hobby?

let’s catch up

Posted on October 2, 2011 by bneato

it’s a bit early for me to be awake on a sunday morning but clients and the container store call so it’s all good. not sure how you feel about fall or october but i’m stoked that change is just around the corner (and hopefully a little rainy weather and halloween and my mom coming to visit in a few weeks). it’s also the end to the month-long diet i was on (thank god). eating became a boring habit that i didn’t look forward to. at all. you guys, there are so many exciting things happening over here at Bneato that also just around the bend that i’ve been dying to tell you about. hopefully more will be revealed this week as i receive artwork for an event that we’re hosting in november. i feel like kristen wiigs character on snl who cannot keep a secret. for starters, Bneato hired its first intern ever a couple weeks back and she started last friday. she’s pretty rad and i can’t wait to introduce her! i was also super thrilled to be picked by usc’s school of business recently as one of the businesses that they work with for an entire semester. i’ll be working one-on-one with a team of students on all things Bneato in order to grow and expand my business. i’ll definitely keep everyone up-to-speed as things happen and develop so please stay tuned.

ps; we’re finally having a proper screening of the music video we made for summer darling next sunday which is a perfect introduction for the halloween season.

pss; sorry for the rambling paragraph. what’s new in your world? and above all–what are you going to be for halloween?! i’m going as one of the guys from lmfao or cher (with a little more clothes on) tough decision, no?!

well, hello there

Posted on July 7, 2011 by bneato

i feel like a bad boyfriend. heavy client load + dwell on design week + working on peter walsh show this week = zero time for blogging. and while a newly created pinterest account feels a little like cheating on my blog, i have started to create some fun content over there. and i can usually find time to link to some fun stuff on the Bneato facebook fan page and twitter. so if you need a little organizing love that you’re not getting from the Bneato blog, come and hang out with me elsewhere on the blogosphere. i’ll be back here soon (like next week) with some cool stuff and a link to the july newsletter.

where i’ve been for the past week

Posted on June 29, 2011 by bneato

if you happened to find yourself at dwell on design this past weekend, you probably didn’t miss the bravos exhibit. it was the ginormous spanish design show that was front and center (okay, just a bit to the right) but definitely front row. this past week, i was hired to produce this design showcase which dwell scored at the very last minute. oh the things i learned about project management while pretty much living at the los angeles convention center during instillation… after the jump! Continue reading →

let’s catch up

Posted on November 29, 2010 by bneato

each thanksgiving (since 2003) our friends play host and have us over. in the beginning, we ate on the floor in their sherman oaks apartment with 6 of us in attendance. it started out because we were all LA transplants and our families lived in far away states. it has now turned into an event not to be missed and we now dine alfresco with a group of about 20 with twinkling lights and space heaters. it doesn’t hurt that one of the hosts is a top chef in los angeles and a better half of the attendees are southern ladies and make delicious things like ham and collard greens. there’s always a heated game of taboo to keep us going late into the evening and this year, there were 8 dogs to eat whatever fell on the floor.
last evening, i hosted the present (and former) fellow blogging ladies from apartment therapy, los angeles. we ate the most amazing empanadas from this place and enjoyed a cozy evening by the christmas tree. in preparation for the event, a friend of mine gave me this cleaning tip… “turn on all the lights in your home before you start cleaning. it’s amazing what you can see when all the lights are on–that way, you don’t miss a thing.”
my closet cleanse project is still going strong over on flickr and you can check it out here
you can still cast your vote for the 2011 Organizing Awards (Bneato made the list this year for most innovate service). we’d be pleased as punch if you had a moment to support us here–you can only vote once (polls close on december 24th).