BeautyBug's Blog
snippets of artsy / craftsy / cool by Kelly Bonbright
Thursday, April 18, 2024
leaning in
Monday, August 29, 2022
eggman
The lights at Pixar are a bit dimmer as we mourn the loss of one of our greats...
Ralph sat next to me in the early Incredibles 2 prod pod at Pixar where I had just started my new role as Script Supervisor. I had interacted with Ralph for years prior on various Publishing projects, so it was nice to have a familiar face welcoming me to Production. He knew how valuable and intense the Script Supe role was at the studio and always made sure I felt valued and secure.We were both early birds. Every morning Ralph would swing by my office and talk about his obsession with silent film icon Fatty Arbuckle (my paternal great grandmother’s first cousin...I think he almost fainted when I told him we were related). He was enamored with Fatty’s career and downfall from Hollywood. Ralph let me borrow his tattered paperback copy of The Day the Laughter Stopped. It started to disintegrate while I was reading it so I repaired the pages using a role of tape and swiftly returned it to his bookshelf.
Ralph would always arrive to i2 art reviews in a frenzy, spinning into the room with newsprint flying everywhere. Brad Bird said he "molted artwork” wherever he walked. :D
In an act of kismet, I displayed Ralph's WALL•E crew artwork in my parent’s hallway this weekend.
Thank you for the colorful conversations, smiles, and laughs over the years, Ralph. Hope you get to meet Fatty. All the love.
Kelly B
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
hi blog, it's me, kelly b
favorite item of clothing: a very colorful, very patterned vintage Lord & Taylor duster jacket with big gold buttons. purchased at the late Arbor Vitae Vintage in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
one thing you never leave home without: my American Express card. jk. sunglasses. my eyes are very blue and abnormally large, which is the worst combo for enduring sunlight.
share something unique about yourself: i'm a visually & directionally gifted human: a walking MapQuest in every city.
your last trip overseas: Iceland in the middle of winter right before the pandemic. lots of mishaps that lead to some sweet synchronistic surprises: hitchhiking alone in the snowy countryside in the pitch black, getting locked out of my friend's condo during an arctic freeze and befriending her non-English speaking neighbor who treated me to hot tea and wool socks, becoming besties with a local who was actually a friend of a friend's friend in the States.
go-to alcoholic drink: aperol spritz but right now I'm favoring framboise lambic beer from Belgium (it comes in a wine bottle).
current obsession: Hacks on HBOMax, the cast of Hacks, fans of Hacks, filming locations of Hacks (my city of Long Beach!), and any Hacks related content on social media. LMK if you wanna chat Hacks...
two words friends would use to describe you: I get a lot of "cute & funny"
five things you love:
2. organizing my life into acrylic bins
3. mailing cards to friends with Mrs. Grossmans stickers tucked inside
5. R.L. Stine "Fear Street" novels (and their cover art) from the early 90s
biggest anxiety: as I start to age, driving. especially in the dark with my big blind alien eyes, lol. i'm very phobic of left turns in LA (lots of yielding, green arrows barely exist).
in 2022, you're most excited for: scripting on a new feature project, practicing and honing my voice acting, studying more comedy, paper illustrating again, and purging the family attic.
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
four months in brooklyn
oversized denim
barber shop windows
late night blasting car music
4th of July and My Fair Lady on Broadway at Lincoln Center with Keith & Steve
Parsons School of Design Summer Intensive – Mixed Media Illustration
Joe Coffee before class
the slow Parsons elevator to the 7th floor
my 6 floor walk-up on Driggs
bedroom view of the Empire State Building and all its pretty colors at night
the Dominican man greeting me at the Driggs door everyday: "are you OK today?"
the Chinese laundromat man who taught me the proper amount of laundry soap to use (after I spilled half my bottle on him)
Metropolitan Ave.
subway announcements
the very few mild and dry days
$3 slices of Joe's Pizza
cutie Parsons Professor Colin
spending loads of money at Blick Art Materials and Paper Presentation
Hal's sparkling water
freestanding ATM machines (that actually work)
fresh cut $3 street mango in the little baggies
impossible-to-find fresh cut coconut chunks at Brooklyn Harvest Market
Metro-North Railroad
"Brooklyn" pride attire
Sarabeth's and Cooper Hewitt with Bianca
Cherry Merlin's from Mister Softee
pop-up stores
Berry St.
never feeling lonely
Monk Vintage in Greenpoint with Tricia and my black Halston leather backpack find
visiting Kat & Regan at Nickelodeon in Times Square
the stools at Black Brick Coffee that are the perfect height for my stature
the bold, colorful vintage earrings at the junk shop near the Bedford L stop
people giving each other compliments on the subway
the most stunning, beautiful people on the subway
Doc Martens w/ankle socks
the last summer of Henri Bendel
Grand Central Station with Mom & Sam
laughing uncontrollably with Mom & Sam
bodegas aka corner mini marts
the 80s opening titles at Williamsburg Cinemas
lightening storms
Roebling St.
stoops
the L train
the impending L train shutdown of 2019 (that never happened)
walking all of Central Park with Yett
the view of the JMZ from my kitchen window
broken foot and Walk NYC Podiatry
reading my daily horoscope at Oslo Coffee Roasters
repeatedly going to every Artists & Fleas location
the Polish community of Greenpoint
never feeling scared
S 2nd FDNY station
laptop jungle at Toby's Estate Coffee Roasters (now Partner's Coffee)
The Rachael Ray Show and all its fashionable glory
abundance of brick buildings
sweating in the endless humidity
Mini Mall on Bedford Ave.
Vök performing at The Knitting Factory in Williamsburg
meeting new friends on the streets of Williamsburg
meeting Kathleen on the street in front of Black Brick Coffee
Nitehawk Cinema
the hipster juice bar on Havemeyer posing as a laundromat
the 99 cent store on Havemeyer
people reading and writing on the subway
Showee coming to visit!
the June bug I found in my shower
Pietro Nolita with Meg
Marcy St. station
my roommate is right: "CA never changes"
laughs and stories in the apt with roomie Tiffanie
the extremely rainy day shopping in Westport CT with Mom
mediterranean brunch with Mary Beech in Park Slope
the stuffed gorillas in the vacant lot on Bedford
so. much. trash. on. the. streets
the cockroach I followed in Flatiron
homemade dinner & movie night with Tricia in Clinton Hill
chicken caesar at Patsy's
McCarren Park
the late night in the RV with Susan and Ted
road trip upstate with Ted Hand to Chapel of Sacred Mirrors
feeling fancy and free at Domino Park
walking the High Line with Lisa Fletcher
potato croquettes at Cafe Colette
finding Tony Danza on Staten Island
Tony Danza: Standards & Stories
the G train
genuine, friendly waiters
the wooden escalators at Macy's Herald Square
Dylan's Candy Bar in the Upper East Side
cocktails at Hotel Delmano (never went but was told to go lol)
soft Italian cookies from Brooklyn Bakery
the free ferry to Staten Island
Shake Shack
the best deviled eggs at Jacob's Pickles with Aubrey
never feeling bored
the Orthodox Jewish community of Williamsburg
Shabbat siren on Fridays evenings
frozen peanut butter hot chocolate and chocolate cake pops at Martha's Country Bakery
Butler baking class with Ceci
visiting Carol & Jerry in Ridgefield CT
the most adorable dogs everywhere
always feeling inspired
Arbor Vitae Vintage and Pablo the store kitty
the last summer of Lord & Taylor
Tony Danza's "the brush": when NYers walk right in front of you and you both sway to the side to avoid hitting each other
11-hour Amtrak through the Adirondacks with Mom en route to Montreal
Sunday, August 26, 2018
sabbatical so far
subway line: the L
"Ladies and Gentleman, the next (pause) L train is now arriving on the (pause) Manhattan bound track." Did you know the subway announcements are voiced by real people?
most frequented subway stops: 14th St./Union Square, Bedford Ave., Spring St., Grand Central, Metropolitan Ave., Marcy St.
spent most $$$ on: food (really expensive here!), drinks, shoes, Mister Softee soft serve ice cream, art supplies
future Parsons wish-list course: Fashion: Visual Presentation
Drake: Passionfruit
PM Dawn: Set Adrift on Memory Bliss
Electric Light Orchestra: Evil Woman
Neon Indian: Polish Girl
in Brooklyn:
Buvette
Jacob's Pickles
Tortaria
La Newyorkina
Taboonette
The Campbell Bar
Mister Softee
Oslo Coffee Roasters
Black Brick Coffee
Partners Coffee
Joe Coffee
Butler.
fav stores:
artists & fleas weekend arts / crafts / vintage market in Chelsea, Soho, Williamsburg
MeMe Antenna kitsch and vintage store in Williamsburg
Spoonbill & Sugartown Books in Williamsburg
Besfren Beauty beauty store & cafe in Koreatown
Ricky's beauty supply store
C.O. Bigelow Chemists pharmacy
Beacon's Closet in Greenpoint
Buffalo Exchange in Williamsburg
• completely getting out of my comfort zone
• daily discoveries of new places and visual nuggets of fun in my neighborhood
• surviving intense humidity with gusto
• LOTS OF WALKING & STAIRS
• learning a ton about NY culture (it's vastly different than the Bay!)
• an unforgettable return trip to Iceland traveling with my Icelandic viking sisters
Iceland stops:
Iceland memories:
Queen Tara the Afghan dog in Kopavogur
Coocoo's Nest brunch
sunny rooftop drinks with the girls
the beauty of Tingvellir
Woman at War and the 80's movie posters at Bio Paradis
pasta carbonara at Jamie's Italian in Rey with Loa & friends
Cocoa Puff drinks and scream-singing at Pablo Discobar
the mean old lady at Fontana
swimming in the Arctic Ocean
the tomato farm
learning to say "showshashay!"
the old bookstore in Flateyri
our friend the gong
eating "E.T." candy
needing Immodium in Isafjordur
shopping at Bonus for Polish goods
seeing Puffins at the Latrabjarg cliffs
• personal style is amplified and cool (edgier fashions, metallics & color!)
• ACCESSABILITY
• there are gorgeous people of all walks on the subway. Great people-watching venue.
• LOTS of cash-only places!
• Mexican food is still king in CA
• not totally loving the bagels here...Sonoma Homegrown Bagels is still world-class.
• the fresh cut street mango is everything
• Corgis are everywhere
typical brooklyn: walked into what I thought was a fully-functional laundromat (given the outdoor signage). was a bit mortified when I traipsed in with my Tide and a huge bag of dirty clothes only to learn that it was actually a hipster juice bar.