wheeled and wiry.

I'd like to get a vintage wire hamper for storing blankets and linens.  The above is a reproduction from Pottery Barn, but I've seen several originals for sale on ebay.  I like things with wheels!

yo-yo.

[ Chanel Spring 2010 Couture via style.com ]

I spotted some couture craftiness on the Chanel runway.  Models with valentine-shaped coiffures sported garments adorned with the little fabric rosettes known to quilters as yo-yos.

[ Chanel Spring 2010 Couture via style.com ]

[ Chanel Spring 2010 Couture via style.com ]

Below is a photo of some yo-yos in a more traditional context.  The image is from a yo-yo craft project that Laura of Wren Handmade shared with design sponge readers last summer.

[ Wren Handmade via Design Sponge ]

tiny laurel.

[ click to enlarge ]

This is a handmade miniature of my friend Laurel.  Tiny Laurel wears tiny gold sparkly tights, tiny suede moccasin boots, a tiny neck scarf and a single tiny feather earring.  She is holding a tiny baritone ukulele which I made out of leather, wood grain contact paper, and gold thread.  Real Laurel is about 6' tall.  Tiny Laurel is about 6" tall.

sweet virginia.

[ click to enlarge ]

Two favorite photos of my dear (and ever so chic) friend Virginia.  Above:  Virginia near her home in Stony Brook, Long Island. ( I love the wintry palette! )  Below:  Virginia as a very becoming gentleman one Halloween.

[ PS:  Virge, if you're reading this, do you remember who took these photos? ]

double dare.

Here are a selection of pieces from Dare studio's 2010 collection.  I love the mid-century industrial sensibility--the juxtaposition of wood and brightly-hued, powdercoated metal is striking.  

The clever cage lamp (pictured below) is reminiscent of the lamp guards used on construction sites.  The design functions as either a pendant or as a lamp base, depending on the orientation of the bulb.

[ photography by Peter John Morgan for Dare studio ]

envelope please.

Andrew Bush's envelope photographs are an elegant tribute to humble beauty.

[ photographs by Andrew Bush ]

thanks, Allison!

drip drip.

Form and Function.  Lovely umbrellas from London Undercover.

[ via the cool hunter ]

after these messages...

Sarah, Justine and I created this claymation bumper for our friend Matt's Saturday-Morning-Cartoon-Themed birthday party.  (A bumper, if you didn't know, is what you call the transition between tv program and commercial break.)  The birthday boy and his three roommates, painstakingly rendered in clay, star in our homage to this classic.

Here are the guys again on Matt's illustrated invites:

The party was really fun.  Guests munched on sugary cereal and watched shows like Thundercats and PeeWee's Playhouse on a giant, makeshift screen.  Matt even inserted vintage commercials (i.e. pound puppies, the original super soaker) for an authentic feel.  What a great theme for a party!

Haiti.

[ Damon Winter / The New York Times ]

---  Help is still needed.  Please give what you can.  ---

[ Gerald Herbert / Associated Press ]

[ Ruth Fremson / The New York Times ]

[ Ruth Fremson / The New York Times ]

 [ Images from the The New York Times' photo gallery ]

ribs soundtrack.

Matt Choi and I designed this album cover for Evan Mazunik's RIBS soundtrack.  Evan composed an original (gorgeous, moving, quirky) score for the 2008 modern dance production by Coriolis Dance Inc.  The album is available for purchase here. 

Here you can see the wrap-around effect.  The look and color palette for this project were inspired in part by this sign/experiment from a few years back.  I really love the crosshatch pattern on the cover--I drew it by hand and I think it lends a raw, organic quality to an otherwise sleek design.

[ COVER ]

[ INSIDE LEFT ]

[ INSIDE RIGHT ]

[ BACK COVER ]

[ CD ]

creepy things to make and do.

Should you ever need to make creepy-crawlies in bulk quantities (for fishing or for more mischievous activities), these vintage bait molds would do the trick.  Personally, I think the aluminum molds would make for interesting wall decor.

This particular set is available on ebay.  There are some similar molds for sale on this site, where you'll also find an archive of vintage mold designs.  My crafty 8-year-old self would have died for the "Jillions of Jewels" set.

all aboard.

Indigo Stripe Dress by Wiksten available here.

The Marchesa.

Paolo Roversi's depiction of Tilda Swinton as Marchesa Luisa Casati, the early 20th century Italian socialite, for Acne Paper Sweden's Winter 09/10 issue.

Photography by Paolo Roversi

Styling by Mattias Karlsson

Scans via Fashion Gone Rogue

[ Full editorial here ]

dollar store.

My roommate Sarah has been making these little illustrations with a 99-cent watercolor set.  They're so wistfully winsome.  Or winsomely wistful.

happy new year.

I'm back.  Hope you've all had a lovely 2010 so far!

[ this photo and others available here ]

winter break.

[ Elisabeth Dunker ]

I'm off for a little holiday adventure!  I'll be back in the new year.  Peace and warmth to you this season.

[ photo from fine little day ]

hanging around.

Some very appealing necklaces:

1.  Samma

2.  Samma

3.  Samma

4.  Marion Vidal

5.  Marion Vidal

6.  Confetti System

7.  Confetti System

[ all necklaces available at maryam nassir zadeh ]

have yourself a dandy little christmas.

These 1960's-advertising-inspired images accompanied an interesting New York Times piece about the style gap between men in their 20s/30s, who have eagerly adopted the dandyism of their grandfathers (or Don Draper), and those in their 40s/50s, for whom a perpetual casual Friday is the ideal.  Read David Colman's article here.

Photography by Douglas Friedman for the NY Times

Typography by Jennifer Green

bed head.

There is something oddly chic about JooYoun Paek's pillowig... it reminded me of Viktor & Rolf's bedding-inspired apparel from several years ago.

JooYoun is an artist based in New York and you can see more of her artwork/inventions on her website.  Wouldn't it be nice if New Yorkers, in the interest of sidewalk etiquette, employed her polite umbrella?

[ Thanks, Natty! ]

Sunday.