Tonic Living

I’ve always got a few DIY projects on the go and the latest has led me to Tonic Living, a fantastic online source for creative fabrics. Nearly all the patterns are retro inspired but they’ve also got some great complementary basics. Fair warning: choosing just one pattern is nearly impossible. I checked out with 4 this morning – all in black and white – of course.


Photo credit: Tonic Living

Kiitos Marimekko

I’m a bit of a google junkie and I often find myself searching for something specific and stumbling upon all kinds of great bits in the process. The other day I did a search for “white Queen Anne sofa” and discovered Kittos Marimekko, an independent textiles boutique located in New York City. I love that their textile designs are both bold and organic – what a great combination.


Photo credit: Kiitos Marimekko, New York

Black Chandelier

If the Bendant Lamp had an arch nemesis, this would be it. The Concerto Black Chandelier. Props to The Home Depot for carrying such a cool line. Check out how Color Confidential used it in Episode 75.


Photo credit: The Home Depot

Thinking Outside the Bin

You know you’re a true recycler when you look at a bowl of pistachio shells and you think to yourself, “I must be able to use these for something.” The authors of the How Can I Recycle This? blog began with this thought and are now proving to the world that you can repurpose virtually anything. What’s really cool about this blog is that it acts as a public (and global) forum for all to offer up their own unique and often ingenious repurposing ideas.

Now…what to do with those “non-recyclable” bottle caps…

The Bendant Lamp

This piece is noteworthy on so many levels but what I really love about it is the idea that it has the potential to give the average everyday person the feeling of being creative. The Bendant Lamp is ingeniously designed. Each piece comes flat, you bend the leaves however you choose and…voila! A one-of-a-kind designer pendant lamp designed by you! MIO has been creating sustainable products since 2001.


Photo credit: MIO

Yipee!

Every now and then I come across a photo that really makes me wanna be a kid again. Can’t you just smell those nostalgic scents of summer from this one? Thanks Veer!


Photo credit: Veer

HOW in Boston

Creative minds from around the world have been uniting at the HOW Design Conference every year since 1991. This year, the three-day conference attracted nearly 4000 attendees, over 45 speakers, a resource centre packed with industry suppliers, and me! Most of the sessions I attended were useful in content and sometimes even inspirational but for the most part, I attribute the success of the event to its inherent social nature. Attending the HOW Design Conference: $1075. Being in a room with 4000 creative minds: priceless.


Attendees fill the auditorium in the Hynes Convention Center for “10 Secrets of Typographic Success.” Speaker: Allan Haley


Goofing around with new friends after day 2 at the conference. Location: The Clink restaurant at The Liberty Hotel.

Glass Flowers

If you ever find yourself in Boston you must make a point to cross the bridge to Cambridge and stop by the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Their collection of hand blown glass flower specimens is well worth every penny of the $9 entrance fee but they also have an amazing collection of taxidermy animals (I know - eew - but also very cool!), sea creatures, dinosaur fossils, bugs, minerals, gems and meteorites.


Above: One of over 3000 glass models created by artisans Leopold Blaschka and his son, Rudolph. Models were commissioned from 1887 - 1936.

Beauty in Imperfection

After months of tinkering, the letterpress is now running! Nearly 100 years old and it still purrs like a kitten. Sunday, April 27th marked the press' very first print run in nearly 13 years. Some say that practice makes perfect but I prefer the notion that beauty is in the imperfections.


Above: Hand set lead type. Script - 18 pt. Murray Hill. Sans - 8 pt. Univers.

Best Place to Whip Up Some Art

Recently voted “Best Place to Whip up some Art” in the Georgia Straight, Blim is a community based art resource center that facilitates screen-printing, button making, drawing, knitting, local experimental audio, film screenings, animation, video, dance, spoken word, visual art, creative workshops, and crafts in the independent field. They even offer classes on how to make a sock monkey. Simply put, Blim rocks. If you live in the Vancouver area, it’s definitely worth swinging by Main Street to check out the studio or visit their website for a current list of workshops.


Photo credit: Blim

GI Gogh

I stumbled on this little gem at the AMOA museum store in Austin but just discovered it’s also available from a number of sources online. Check out Shakespeare’s Den. Their shop is packed with totally unique novelty items inspired by the most iconic creative thinkers of all time.


Photo credit: Freitag

What's not to like?

Recycled banner bag companies are popping up all over the globe but these guys are credited with the concept. Swiss by design, Freitag products are one-of-a-kind, totally functional and of course, super cool. If you’re a sucker for design-your-own functionality like I am, check out their “DESIGN A BAG” tool for endless hours of entertainment.


Photo credit: Freitag

Brand Camp

Paper Magic

Paper sculpture has always fascinated me. Years ago, I endeavored to carve the Leaning Tower of Pisa out of a sheet of bond with a #11 x-acto for a school project. The end product was impressive but excruciatingly delicate and eventually disintegrated over time. Peter Callesen has mastered the art and taken it to new heights with his conceptual sculptures. His framed work is especially exceptional.


Photo credit: Peter Callesen

Eye Candy

The Beaumont Gallery presents, Serious Intellectual Eye Candy. The grand opening of The Beaumont’s extended gallery and permanent rotating collection.

Opening Reception
Date: February 29th, 2008
Time: 8-11 PM
Location: 316 West 5th Avenue
Phone: 604.733.3783
Flyer: Eye Candy

Proceeds from the event will be donated to The Universal Outreach Foundation in support of relief projects in the Musema region of Burundi, Africa. To learn more about this cause please visit: www.universaloutreachfoundation.org and www.givemeaning.com

Cool as a Cupcake

All cupcakes are yummy but when they’re neatly designed and beautifully packaged they become little works of art. But with a price tag of forty six dollars a dozen, you may want to save these for a special occasion.


Photo credit: Victoria Pearson for Cupcakes

Protection with Style

I love my iPod touch and want it to stay shiny and new forever. Thanks to GelaSkins there’s now a practical and stylish way to protect our cherished toys without adding extra bulk. With dozens of designs to choose from, I spent about an hour on their site before finally deciding on Blow Fish designed by Nanami Cowdroy. My new skin arrived in the mail today and it’s every bit as adorable as it looked online. The vinyl isn’t stretchy like “gel” would imply, but is extraordinarily easy to reposition — for all those perfectionists out there (like me) who want it applied just right.


Photo credit: GelaSkins