high peformance...meets high fashion

Working at a A/I design firm can be a lot of fun. I love it when they put out samples of new finish materials. This new line Xorel Embroider from Carnegie Fabrics really caught my eye. I love the detail and the delicacy of the fabric.

"Modern luxury is captured by the merging of the unexpected. The art of couture embroidery decoratively embellishes and transforms this high performance textile. The richness of detail and the sens of craft is apparent in the decorative stitches and laid threads."
-from Manufacturer's product packaging

lucite delight

I love the crisp, bold and modern feel of this lucite lamp from Aaron R. Thomas.  The open space in the base is just perfect for tucking away that bedtime read.

bring back the letter

I adore the personalized stationery sets from Avie Designs. You can check out more sets and purchase them from the Etsy store.


[Top to Bottom: Tree Drops and Hexagon White patterns]

using your walls to declare your shoe love

What every shoe lover needs is a way to express that love in their home decor, right? Swedish designer Lisa Bengtsson has created this stunning wallpaper that will allow you to stylishly do just that. You can purchase it via Bunny Maxwell.



[spotted via the style files]

paper dolls

Anna Ventura's paper dolls are so exquisite and delicate. They are perfection in paper form.

nature's own air filter

Naturaire's “living wall” functions as a natural air purification system. For more details, check out their website.





via Metropolis

reducing holiday waste with origami

Leave it to the japanese to come up with a wonderfully minimal and artistic way to wrap gifts. Download PDF instructions here.

[via treehugger and lifehacker]

thankfulness for stone

Since it is Thanksgiving tomorrow, it feels like time to reflect on family and our uncanny similarities. For a variety of reasons, the women in my family have a fondness and some might call it "obsession" with stone. I recently came across a lovely article in House & Garden magazine, titled "Skillful Salvage" featuring the amazing stonework of Lew French that made me a bit nostalgic.



I can remember as a little girl my grandmother used to point out these little stone houses we would pass on weekend drives through winding country roads. She always had this glimmer in her eye and a yearning to someday have a little stone cottage of her own, complete with a beautiful and overflowing garden of luscious roses, peonies and irises.

My mother's fondness leans far more towards obsession. I'm not really sure when or how it began, but one day she started "collecting" stones for her rock garden. One by one, she would bring them home and add to her pile. Soon, the rocks were more of an attraction than the flowers that surrounded them. The collection started to grow as she started making requests for people to bring her back a rock from their travels. I once brought her a stone I found in a creek bed driving through the Berkshires. Unfortunately, it never made it to the collection because believe it or not someone stole it off my front step. I guess it was a nicer rock than even I realized. She has since moved on to boulder size monoliths, and she likes to insist that I hop out of the car and grab these monsters when we drive past a freshly plowed potato field. I'd do it too, if I didn't think I would end up with a hernia.

Finally, my own interest is more archeological and architectural in nature. When I was a little girl my grandfather gave me two lumps that I at first thought were just rocks, but he explained to me that they were once pieces of wood that had petrified. These are still two of my most prized possessions, to this day; and there began my own connection with stone. Ever since, I have been moved by the longevity and historical relevance of stone itself. Where has it been, how old is it, who or what has touched it and was it something else before it became what it is today? One of the things I loved when I lived in New England was the plentitude of stone walls that are just everywhere. Some were built to mark the boundaries of property lines and some for modern day curb appeal, but all were and are built by hand with skillful thoughtfulness that isn't easily matched. To me stone is not cold. It is something warm and familiar, and it makes me think that nature's own architecture is quite frankly tops in my book.

I hope everyone has the opportunity to take the time this Thanksgiving to celebrate and be thankful for their own families.

harajuku me, please

Wee fun! HP is now featuring the fabulous and fashionable Gwen Stefani. The website allows you to create a Harajuku paper doll of yourself and all your girlfriends. My doll, which is below, is just so cute.



[Harajuku Joy]

Rapture & Wright

Sorry for being gone for so long. Life sometimes has a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it.

To get into the swing again, I thought I'd mention this lovely wallpaper from UK company Rapture & Wright. The Portobello design looks like a cross between delicate lace doilies, snowflakes and cells under a microscope. The perfect combination of feminine and science lab all rolled into one.

Type City

I'm totally excited. Veer has now started selling letterpress prints of the illustrations from their beautiful promo piece Type City.


[Type City: print detail and collection images]

i heart hayden-harnett

So sometimes there are moments in this girl's life, when she clicks on a link or turns a page and her heart starts going pitter pat. This happened to me today when I spotted the Luciana Dress by Hayden-Harnett. Believe me I know that there are probably folks out there laughing at me for getting so excited over an article of clothing, but a girl can't help what she loves. It is just simply gorgeous, in flowy silk with the most amazing pattern that surrounds the lapel and sweeps down the sleeves. The pattern too reminds me of the Marimekko Pythagoras design, which is so cool.

I also can't forget to mention that there are matching handbags and totes with the same pattern.


[Hayden-Harnett: Malinka Hobo and Luciana Dress]


[Marimekko Pythagoras]

fabulous fur...no animals harmed

Alright, so I'm a bit of an Aussie kick. It is what it is, and it's cool stuff. I especially love the hidden wall storage, in the form of recessed drawers and the groovy discoesque mirror columns. Good on ya mates!


Fur Hairdressing
Melboure, CBD
Designed by: Six Degrees Architects



[via thecoolhunter.net]

i don't really think so....

Eureka Skydeck 88
'The Edge' - a glass cube which projects 3 metres out from the building - with you in it - suspended almost 300 metres above the ground!

I said it before, and I'll say it again. I don't really think so, but you can go right ahead. Getting into this suspended glass box seems more like a form of torture than entertainment to me.

Wieki Somers

Wieki Somers is amazing. Her Memory Ring holds a hidden picture and when you rub it, it appears. So lovely!

The Amber perfume bottles are wonderfully artistic, earthy and delicate all at the same time. They are shaped like amber stones, but inside is a feather that you use to brush on the natural scent of the amber. Again, lovely!


[Top to bottom: Memory Ring and Amber perfume bottles]

New Gold Mountain

This place is so hot hot hot. I can totally see myself hanging out here with girlfriends.



The bar is located in Melbourne CBD and was designed by Cassandra Complex.



What a really cool and memorable space. I wish it didn't take so long to get to Australia.


[Photography by Peter Bennetts]

soaring spires of light

I spotted the United States Air Force Memorial project in Metropolis Magazine. The project was designed by Office for Visual Interaction (OVI), New York.

Excerpt from article - Let There Be Light
"...lighting as a way to shape space, complement architecture, save energy, and make our streets feel like home. "

mmm, light...it's so beautiful!


[via Metropolis Magazine, Photo by Thomas Mayer]

bernard maisner - "a man of letters"

PRESENTATION AT THE GROLIER CLUB
Wednesday, July 18, 2007, 6pm
47 East 60th Street, New York, NY
Information: 212-452-0139

This lecture is free and open to the public
www.bernardmaisner.com, www.grolierclub.org


[via Society of Scribes]

to light the marrow of life

The Bone Lamp from Materious, made from salvaged PVC sewer and drainage pipes. What a beautiful use of recycled materials.

a wall with personality

If you're looking for some wallpaper that is a unique conversation starter, this could be it. This Flower Pedal paper is designed by Dan Funderburgh, an amazing graphic artist. Check out Dan's other patterns and artwork on his website.

You can purchase your own roll thru Flavor Paper. Happy decorating!

Bev Hisey

Amazing die-cut cushions from Bev Hisey.

Luzifer Lamps...fresh new campaign

Image from the publicity campaign by Barcelona studio Lekuona for Luzifer Lamps. The images are delicate , complex, organic and fresh. Simply breathtaking.

nerd alert

Finally there's a name for it...via Graphic Design USA, JUNE 07

Revenge of the Nerds
Avant-nerdism is gaining steam and will hit the mainstream in 2009, "Avantnerdiwhat?" you ask. Zandl Group researchers, the ultimate trendspotters, define avant-nerd as a stylish, cool or social person who engages in nerd culture with full awareness of the irony of his or her behavior. Irm Zandl says that avant-nerds are the new creative class and that they possess a "compact, eco-friendly, quirky and smart" aesthetic. Avant-nerds tap into retro styles and reflect a european sensibility. They ironically re-approriate nerd culture, transforming the formerly nerdy into something cool. The aesthetic is influencing fashion, industrial design and interior design, Zandl adds.

Antoine+Manuel

I adore Antoine+Manuel. They have for years been creating the most magical designs for the Christian Lacroix fashion shows. The complexity and creativity of the pieces is just simply breathtaking. Even beyond their print design, I want to slap their sticker wall graphics all over my little apartment.


[Christian Lacroix Designs: 2006 Haute Couture Checklist, Summer 2006 prêt-à-porter Checklist, 2005 Haute Couture Invitation]

Marian Bantjes

Jealous much? No, not me. OK, maybe a little. I am consistently left drooling everytime I see something new from Marian Bantjes. Her exquistive lettering is any typophile's dream.


[InStyle Wedding Feature]

Why do I love thee? It's the illustrations that look like they are woven lace and the amazing charts that take basic information from boring to sizzling. Anyone who knows me knows how I love love love a good list, graph or chart. Order can be beautiful!


[Top to bottom, left to right: Fox River Paper Promo, Jerry Garcia Chart, True Heart Valentine, Influence Map]