My Favorite Things

If I had to make a list of things I really love, it would have to include: design, books, and fashion. Well, to celebrate Penguin Classics 60th Anniversary (2006), they asked 5 designers to choose their favorite classic and design a cover for it. The designers chosen for the task were Paul Smith (Lady Chatterley's Lover, DH Lawrence), Manolo Blahnik (Madame Bovary, Flaubert), Ron Arad (The Idiot, Dostoyevsky), Sam Taylor-Wood (Tender is the Night, Fitzgerald) and Fuel (Crime and Punishment, Dostoyevsky). I love this idea, and the mixing of different creative industries.

See the results below in order. And click here for more info on each book and why the designer chose it.






































P.S. I do have lots of inspiration to share from Greece, but am currently sorting through 400 photos. I'll have something posted soon.

Greek Out

I'll be taking a little hiatus from blogging for a while. We're off on holiday to Greece! Ancient art, ruins, and maybe some beach-time. Be sure to check out the links to the right for some inspiration while I'm away.

In the meantime, keep a look out for Grecian inspired clothes this summer. Courtesy of Urban Outfitters:

Pop Pattern

Angela Adams has such fantastic patterns and home goods on her website (in conjunction with Sherwood Hamill's furniture designs). I love browsing through the site for inspiration on color and pattern. She also has a blog which updates the latest places that her work can be seen, and you can see what inspires her as well.

P.S. I totally want one of her bags... cute on the outside, fab pattern on the inside. If only my birthday were sooner...

A to Z

I was alerted to this site just a few days ago while browsing Print & Pattern. A to Z is an interesting blog all about the setup, distribution and running of a craft/design business. It discusses things like choosing a logo, creating business cards, selling online. But, beyond that, they have adorable products and prints. I love their use of silhouettes, pattern and color. They are truly running the type of company that I aspire to have one day. (Except for the sewing part. I'm very bad at sewing.)

Here are some items from their etsy shop. Click here to see more.

Sign Language

With all the technology we have at our fingers, it's nice to see someone go back to basics. Darwin Bell creates art from Polaroid pictures. About Darwin, from the site:

"... And so he began taking pictures of words from the urban environment surrounding him. With those words, he created phrases that were either twists on well-worn clichés, or personal statements, both serious and humorous in nature. The end result has been a unique, fresh perspective on a familiar idea..."

Below are some of my favorites. You can see the rest of Darwin's work here.

Shoes

Yes, I love shoes. I do. I don't know why. Maybe it's a genetic predisposition. Maybe it's my creative side that loves the fun colors and shapes. Maybe it's my inner fashionista just looking for an outlet.

So, imagine my joy at the new shoe website by Gap, Inc. called PiperLime. They sell a wide range of shoes by various designers, and the prices range from affordable to "time-to-treat-myself."

Take a look at some of the pretties...

Pure

We have a lot of friends with new babies, so I'm always on the look out for something different, cute or interesting. The products from "Natures Purest" fulfills all of those requirements.

Cute products, cute design, great idea. Dubbed as the UK's "first organic nursery collection." Unfortunately, I don't think they ship to the US, but you can contact them to verify. Currently their range is small, but hopefully they'll expand it in the future.

Click here for the website.

Some products:

Mail Art

MAiLmeART.com

Here is another fun site to browse through. It's an initiative which uses standard mail as its medium. Some beautiful work has been created. The founders have also made it into a contest, and will be holding an exhibition in London later this year. Here's a description from their site:

"MAiLmeART.com was created by Darren Di Lieto, the founder and editor of LCSV4, after toying with the idea of doing a collaborative project that everyone involved in gets something out of. MAiLmeART is a little project designed to test your skills, make you some money and give you the chance to have a bit of fun. Oh!.. and win some really cool prizes.

In 18-24 months MAiLmeART will be holding an exhibition in London (venue to be confirmed). The show will include submissions from you guys and girls which will be on sale at the exhibition. The creators of items that sell at the show will receive 70% of the price their creations sell for, less the landlord’s cut. I can only offer 70% because I need to cover costs. The project will carry on and continue after the show with possibly another show the year after and the year after that. Hopefully the first show will be the first of many."

And some samples. Top envelope is from Tommy Kane, the second is by Catalina Estrada.

3191

Here's an intriguing site that I stumbled across through a link on Paper Pony. The site is called "3191: A year of mornings." It was started by 2 photographers/crafters/designers who live 3191 miles apart. They each take a photograph every morning (M-F) and post them without prior discussion. The results are usual everyday objects that seem to become art through the lens. They are always interesting, and sometimes karmic. This will definitely be on my "must check daily" list.

Click here for the story.
And here for the pix.