May 2009
7 posts
greetings from london!
off to europe!
i’ve been a little lax the last couple weeks, preparing for our big trip to london & paris! so i will be pretty quiet the next two weeks as well, but when we get back, hopefully i will have tons of cool info for you!
this just in: happy owl glassworks
i’ve always been a huge fan of happy owl glassworks. while having heavy influence from the natural world, something about their minimal forms is just really urban! i love that they’ve expanded into the housewares realm with great glass coasters and nightlights, but their pendants and earrings are continual classics. check out their blog for all their latest news!
this just in: joseph joseph
from british housewares designers joseph joseph comes this super coolio spaghetti measure! it has an easy to use adjustable serving size up to four portions. awesome!
sunday stationery: shinzi katoh
shinzi katoh is an AMAZING designer from japan. extremely prolific, katoh has a 50’s children’s book sensibility and a clean, modern feel. although he has an incredible array of products (i have water bottles and a soap dispenser, just to name a few), i’ll focus this week on his stationery (especially since the national stationery show is impending!) i have NO clue what...
sunday stationery: l2 design collective
orlando, florida holds more than a certain mouse! l2 design collective is a mishmash of vintage type, graffiti art, and clever collage. they letterpress a great variety of occasion cards, postcards, interesting journals, and even funky recipe cards. check out their design blog blabbermouth for all of their latest!
malcolm venville
okay, so there are certain things that i have an unhealthy obsession with. fannie may trinidads, for one. another would be luchadores. i can’t quite explain it; i just think they are visually appealing (lots of color), and way cooler than the u.s. versions of professional wrestlers. so when i spied several of british photographer malcolm venville’s portraits in a recent magazine...
April 2009
17 posts
helen noakes
earrings with nuns. i think that about says it all. british jewelry designer helen noakes infuses a sense of whimsy in her resin pieces with her miniture models. i couldn’t find many webstores that carry her pieces, but a few can be found at the crafts study centre.
kuehn keramik
normally i’m not very big on pastels, but the incredible ceramic makers kuehn keramik of germany have made me love it! their dishes, saucers, and teapots have a very hand-made, rough hewn feel while still being highly finished and elegant. the pastel colors definitely give their work a feminine look, but the images screened onto the ceramic play with the vintage tradition for a timeless...
sunday stationery: studio on fire
darn, another day late with the sunday stationery! well, hopefully it’s worth the wait for this one! from minneapolis comes the intriguing studio on fire, a graphic design studio that provides design services as well as fantastic letterpress cards! they feature a variety of artists and letterpress the images on 100% cotton paper reclaimed from the garment industry. ultra modern with...
hannah louise lamb
another british hannah! this one, hannah louise lamb, makes really lovely and minimal jewelry with inspiration from the natural world and wallpaper patterns. for some reason, i really love the coat hanger necklace…an ode to a classic design!
hannah mcvicar
it’s a gloomy day in chicago, but one look at british illustrator hannah mcvicar’s bright and clean works has me in a springy mood! she whetted her skills initially doing textile design for abercrombie & fitch (but don’t hold that against her) before returning to her native england and embarking on a solo career
t-shirt of the week no. 11: get out of jail free
san francisco is the land of amazing t-shirts! i got this classic at the main headquarters for upper playground, a san-fran based t-shirt company. who doesn’t love monopoly?
jane moore
there is a fine line between over the top and fabulously crazy. usually, if i can look at something and say, “my friend marissa would love that,” then it’s fabulously crazy. so falls the work of british designer jane moore. her enameled silver jewelry features fresh color and gorgeous patterns. she really pushes the boundaries by combining a LOT of these charms, but somehow, it...
sunday stationery: unusual cards by francesca...
totally weird, totally wonderful! unusual cards by collage artist francesca berrini are unexplainable, but at the same time absolutely fantastic. she also sells her original collages! watch out for the attack of the giant jesus!
sweet grognasse
as you may know by now, i love anything that incorporates a vintage flair. painter/illustrator/screenprinter sweet grognasse was a no brainer in stealing my heart. hailing from montreal, s.w. takes a dash of 50’s & 60’s movie posters, a pinch of lichtenstein’s pop art, and a lot of girl power, and you get sweet grognasse’s distinct art! check out her blog for looks at...
t-shirt of the week no. 10: what you talkin'...
yay! i love getting my own shirts printed. i saw this saying at the website for the super cool t-shirt deli here in chicago, and i giggled for about an hour straight. needless to say, i had to have it. they have a variety of fonts and colors to choose from, and soon you’ll have your own nifty shirt!
new paper goods from sarah drake design
i just got an email from my friend sarah about her new paper goods! sarah is the principal designer for sarah drake designs, a really great letterpress line here in chicago that specializes in custom invitations. she’s recently been expanding her offerings, and i’m in love with these new mini-journals! sarah truly excels at clean, minimalist design infused with inspirations from...
sunday stationery: a. favorite
and now for one of my favorites: a. favorite! chicago based designer amber favorite unites vintage graphics with a great modern sensibility. a. favorite uses fantastic letterpress, vintage typewriters, and more to craft her super clever and fun cards!
maramiki
hailing from right here in chicago, maramiki is a really great line of screen-printed fabric housewares. i love the simplicity of her drawings and her inspirations from nature. and for all of you diy’ers, she sells remnents of her beautiful fabrics for your own creations!
t-shirt of the week no. 9: samurai meets zombies!
since i didn’t get to a t-shirt last week, i figured i’d do a double dose this time. um…samurai? zombies? man with an AFRO? i seriously doubt there could be a better t-shirt than this!!! i got this hot little number in new york, but sadly, there was no artist name printed on this t-shirt, and the fellow who made it told me that he didn’t have a website. le sigh! i’m...
t-shirt of the week no. 8: pai mei!
pei mei! surely by now, you have seen the gory mess of amazement that is quentin tarantino’s kill bill. one of the many wacky characters is pai mei, the bride’s martial arts master who loves to eat some fish heads. i picked up this lovely, understated t-shirt from the folks at quirk dog, who seem to have taken a (hopefully) momentary hiatus. mmm, fish heads!
sunday stationery: la familia green
this week we have chicago designer la familia green. headed up by the super-coolio mollie green and her husband andrew miners, la familia green uses collage, recycling, and gocco printing to create fantastic, witty, hand-made cards. also check out green’s etsy shop to buy some of her one-of-a-kind collages! i heart michelle obama, and i heart la familia green!
ecopeel accessories
is there anytime that bent wood veneer doesn’t look good? designer luis caicedo introduces these super cool trays made in Columbia from recycled metal, bamboo, and sustainable wood veneer. SO elegant and beautiful!
March 2009
25 posts
accordion wallets by frrry
i was at robin richman the other day and came across these super cool women’s wallets from frrry, a netherlands-based accessory line. the way they fold gives the wallet five separate compartments, and it comes in a number of funky colors!
peep: the work of justine harlan
i love the illustrations of justine harlan! she’s based here in chicago and has a wonderful, dreamy style. something about her work just makes me instantly think of favorite kid’s books from my past. check her out!
sunday stationery: herman yu
oh, herman! beautiful and minimal, seattle-based designer herman yu’s gorgeous botanic imagery creates lovely cards, stationery, and calendars! check out herman yu’s website for all of her inspirational images!
this just in: tashi
from the wild northern lands of canada comes the fantastic tashi, a really unique sterling silver line of jewelry. they have a lot of great basics, but the real stars are these interesting pendants and earrings that have been laser cut with great nature (or unicorn) images. awesome pieces for everyday, but still have a little zing to them! you can pick up some of their pieces online at mud and...
lorena siminovich
hailing from my favorite city, san fran, collage artist lorena siminovich’s illustrations have graced children’s books, stationery, and more. i really admire people who can look at a variety of patterns and textures and see something among all the chaos. you can buy some of her great stuff here!
this just in: catherine weitzman
i know that octopi have been EVERYWHERE over the last couple seasons, but we just got in these amazing pieces from catherine weitzman, a great jewelry designer from hawaii. she makes beautiful casts of seeds, twigs, and the like, but these necklaces really stood out for me this season. look at those adorable little octopus arms all curled up!
sunday stationery: paper-loop
whoops! a day late with the sunday stationery! this week it’s paper-loop, a really fun line of flat-printed cards based out of los angeles. their tag line is “1 part retro, 1 part modern, 100% fun,” which really sums it up. wacky little drawings, but just something really great about them. we sold out of them SO quickly when we first got them in; i’m glad we sould be...
this just in: figs & ginger
ooooohhhh, so adorable! we just got in this fantastic line figs & ginger, a sterling silver line that is handcrafted from at least 50% recycled silver. perfect for everyday and highly adorable!
ARGH! super cuteness!!
i was just at rotofugi yesterday and came across a new blindboxed set of mini figurines (which i’m totally obsessed with). it’s called BFF, and they are designed by the fantastic mr. travis cain. they feature two figures that interlock together. i got the hotdog with the fork. yay! collect them all!!!
superga!
i was out with jennie yesterday when she picked up a lovely pair of superga shoes. i had never seen them before, but it’s a classic italian line of sneakers with an amazing variety of colors. sometimes the simplest idea is the best!
property of . . .
i love a good bag! go ahead and make some jokes, but in the meantime, go check out property of…, an amazing line of men’s bags. all sizes and shapes, but really great basic designs! i also love their small leather goods!
donna hiebert
last year we came across the super cool designs of donna hiebert of nova scotia, and i think her pieces would be perfect for spring. she makes casts of various types of seeds, pods, worms, and the like to make fantastic jewelry. simple, yet a great nod to nature. a lot of her seeds were starting to sprout when she made the cast. i love it!
Pop Ink Decor-a-Boards
i’ve loved the stuff that the fine folks at pop ink have been doing for a while, such as their crazy, yet wonderful wrapping papers. i came across these super cool decor-a-boards at one of my favorite stores in chicago, four-sided, and immediately began to wonder where they would fit in my apartment….
polly wales
back last year at the international gift show, we came across this AMAZING jewelry designer from britain named polly wales. i had never seen anything like her pieces, so when i was thinking of an engagement ring for swissie, i knew that i had to ask her to do something for me. this is the amazing result! and by the way, he said yes :)
t-shirt of the week no. 7: i love my helper...
DEFINITELY one of the prizes from my collection. i mean, how cool would a real monkey be?? this lovely number comes from the amazingly named Let’s Be Awesome, which needs some help with it’s website. why isn’t there any info??? ah well….i wore this shirt proudly when i got to feed some monkey’s in mexico….kahlua, corona, and monkeys??? what a great country!!
sunday stationery: oddball press
i am SUCH a sucker for great letterpress stationery! and when they combine vintage style graphics with witty text….well, that is just my total downfall. i absolutely love the folks over at oddball press, a great little stationery line based in cleveland, ohio. it’s a line i find myself buying and saving for the right occasion!
darn computer!
ok, my computer went bonkers, and i couldn’t make an entry for a while! but now the lovely mac people made it all better, so the entries resume!
it's supermaggie to the rescue!
by now, i’m sure you’ve figured out my obsession with t-shirts! so you can imagine my excitement when i came across husband and wife team, supermaggie! the duo take images from nature and silkscreen them onto comfy tshirts, hoodies, and the like. i love the simple, yet detailed images! maggie herself also has a separate site for her personal artwork!
loyalty & blood
speaking of renegade handmade, the last couple years i’ve gone, i’ve come across loyalty & blood, a great jewelry/t-shirt line out of brooklyn, and i always pick up something fun for one of my lady friends! husband and wife team David Denosowicz and Maggie Doyle mix together wacky charms for a vintage, timeless feel. check out their etsy store for a constantly changing mix of...
t-shirt of the week no. 6: superhomosexual!
ohhhh, how i love this shirt! this pink tee comes from the brilliant minds at seibei. i first discovered seibei at the renegade handmade festival here in chicago, and while i was attracted to quite a few of their t-shirts, this one just really stood out as fantastic. the designer let me know that the japanese text translates to “super homosexual,” which, really, just fits. check out...
sunday stationery: pancake & franks
this week’s sunday stationery is another one of my all-time favorite card designers: pancake & franks! head designer stacy pancake offers up super clean, minimalist design that is always highly detailed and gorgeously letterpressed. the company hails from the heart of design, san francisco, and all of her cards are frame-worthy! i was super excited to see her latest wedding invitation...
michele bosak
i really love michele bosak’s minimal and modern artwork! her pieces definitely makes great use of negative space, and anything that utilizes fantastic furniture always has a special place in my heart! visit her etsy store to pick up a fun piece for yourself!
t-shirt of the week no. 5: 3-d attack!
this week’s little beauty comes from the fine folks at heavy rotation. i picked it up on a trip to magnificent boston, and it actually CAME with 3-d glasses, which, really only works if i stare at myself in a mirror for hours on end. well, it IS a rather hypnotizing shirt, so can you blame me?
robot-a-go-go: museum of robots
i don’t know what it is about vintage style robots; something about thinkers of the past looking forward to envision future life that gives them an imaginary look but still rooted somehow in a past time. the fantastic museum of robots has utilized some classic robot imagery in their fun line of melamine plates and tea towels.
on another note, i found the incredibly bizarre, yet...
sunday stationery: angela driscoll
and now for one of my all-time favorite card designers: angela driscoll! hailing from seattle, washington, angela’s work is clean and smooth, yet highly detailed without being over the top. she takes influence from vintage images and classic style for a timeless feel. all of her cards are cute enough for grandma, but modern and sleek enough for any design freak. check out her website,and...
February 2009
14 posts
this just in: sonny angel blind box figures
oh, sonny angel, you’re an angel to me! a little weird, a little creepy…but so cool and addictive at the same time. these funny little cupie dolls are, of course, from japan. there are two different “animal” series, and one fruit series, and they all come blindboxed ($8 each). yeah, marissa and i have already bought a couple each. *sigh* a new addiction begins….