The Experts Agree

Etsy Schmetsy: Counting the Days, 2012

January 3rd, 2012 by samanthatroy

It’s a new year and that means it is time for a new calendar! We’ve sorted through a bazillion calendars on etsy, and here are some favorites.

Here’s to a fabulous 2012!

Row 1: girlingearstudio; ScoutCreative; desTroy
Row 2: smeurer8; cicadastudio; michellesmith
Row 3: curiousdoodles; dirtybandits; pistachiopress
Row 4: ellanerine; MissWyolene; LolasRoom
Row 5: TheMadeShop; VioletMay; snugstudio

Renegade Craft San Francisco

December 18th, 2011 by samanthatroy

If you are in San Francisco today, you should definitely come down to Renegade Craft Fair (we’re here until 6). There are a ton of awesome vendors, including many etsy sellers we’ve posted about in the past. Owen and I are here with some new items that aren’t yet in our shop!

Typografriday: Round Sans Roundup

November 11th, 2011 by owentroy

Stupid type joke: T-Mobile uses VAG in pink, AT&T uses Omnes in orange (which they took on after consuming Cingular). If the former absorbs the latter their rebrand is going to look like Dunkin’ Donuts. Ha. Anyway. Ahem.

We’re in the age of the rounded sans. Why, ten years ago, Helvetica rounded and VAG were about all there was. Now not only do we have a plethora of new loveliness like Omnes, Sauna, Bryant, Estilo, Brevia and ooh look at Mija wouldya — we’re also seeing new releases of rounded versions of classics and recent favorites like FF Unit, Gotham, Museo, Din, AG Book, and Proxima Nova.

Here are a few of our favorites:

International Year of Chemistry

November 10th, 2011 by samanthatroy

In 2009 we posted about Simon Page’s beautiful poster series for the International Year of Astronomy. Well, he’s followed them up with a new series, this time for the International Year of Chemistry. I for one am a big fan of chemistry and a big fan of Simon Page. Check out the rest of the series on his site.

Here’s a bit more about the International Year of Chemistry:

The goals of IYC2011 are to increase the public appreciation of chemistry in meeting world needs, to encourage interest in chemistry among young people, and to generate enthusiasm for the creative future of chemistry. The year 2011 will coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Prize awarded to Madame Marie Curie—an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of women to science. The year will also be the 100th anniversary of the founding of the International Association of Chemical Societies, providing a chance to highlight the benefits of international scientific collaboration.

via Pinterest

Etsy Schmetsy: The Office Redux

October 26th, 2011 by samanthatroy

We did an office themed schmetsy quite a while ago. We’ve had a few requests to take a second look for fun office decor. So here is a fabulous schmetsy full of awesome mostly vintage office accoutrement.

Row 1: Wire Basket set from AMradio; Vintage Aluminum Canisters from ReFindery; Vintage Rubber Stamp Stand Holder Carousel from harlowmonroevintage

Row 2: From the desk of… Rubber Stamps from presentandcorrect; Vintage Industrial Steelmaster single drawer file box from retroradar; Solid Walnut Desk Lamp by RickMorin

Row 3: 1950s Aluminum 35mm Film Canisters from marissarocke; Mini Goals Chalkboard by MaryKateMcDevitt; vintage metal lab drawer cabinet from everyeskimo

Row 4: Vintage Stacking File Trays from ifindubuy; iPhone/iPod Dock – with pen holders by woodguy32; Mid-Century Modern Lightolier Desk Lamp by Gerald Thurston from modernspecific

House + Eames + Herman Miller + Tokyo = Awesome!

October 18th, 2011 by samanthatroy

Oh, how I wish I were in Tokyo right now, rather than stuck at home, sick in bed. If I were in Toyko, I could go to the House Industries, Eames Exhibition. Instead, I guess I’ll have to settle for some of the limited edition prints. They’ve only printed 33 of each design, so go grab one while you still can!

Respublica animations

September 29th, 2011 by owentroy

What happened that animated gifs disappeared for years and now are coming back so dang cool? Check these animations for Russian bookstore (slash bikestore?) Respublica. Great modernist layouts with awesome motion graphics: some favorites below, and see all of em (and a reel with transitions between) on Pavel Paratov’s Behance page!

Park and Pond

September 9th, 2011 by samanthatroy

Park and Pond - exterior
For the past few months, Owen and I have been working on the identity of a fabulous new shop in San Francisco, Park and Pond. Park and Pond, which opened last month in North Beach, was founded by sisters Jessica and Abbey Herman and features products that are designed and produced within 100 miles of San Francisco. They’ve curated an impressive selection of merchandise from a ton of Bay Area designers, including Pie Bird Press, Lisa Swerling, Whitney Smith Pottery, Yellow Owl Workshop, and of course, us.

We’re thrilled with what a great job Jessica and Abbey have done carrying the colors and identity through the shop and we’re so happy we were a part of helping this great store come to life.
Park and Pond - Jessica and Abbey

TypograFriday: Wood Type Revival

September 2nd, 2011 by samanthatroy

It’s been a while since we’ve done a TypograFriday for y’all, but Wood Type Revival seems like a worthy candidate to bring it back. Digitizing wood type is not a totally unique idea — there are definitely some wood type fonts out there (most of them aren’t even close to the real thing). But, based on the description of Wood Type Revival methodology, it seems like they are going to put the work in to making these some pretty awesome typefaces. Even more awesome, they are all available on typekit, so you can have rad wood type online. Started as a Kickstarter project, their shop is now live and they have 4 fonts available!

Here is their kickstarter video explaining a bit more about the project:

Glass Cathedrals

September 2nd, 2011 by samanthatroy

I first saw Lisa Swerling’s fabulous Glass Cathedrals at Renegade Craft Fair last December. I was then reminded of them at the totally awesome Park and Pond (more on Park and Pond later). They feel like little windows onto secret worlds. And there are even some elements on a few of them that she will customize for you!

Here is what Lisa Swerling has to say about the project:

Glass Cathedrals are a series of artboxes that I began working on in London in 2006. The idea of Glass Cathedrals is taken from an episode in the Peter Carey book Oscar and Lucinda — a life-size glass church, made by missionaries in the Australian outback, is seen floating down a river. A trapped dragonfly collides against the walls trying to escape, blind to the concept of glass.

My inspiration for this series was the collision between the seriousness with which we take our lives, and the limitations of our understanding. In Glass Cathedrals the heroes are the tiny figures, my boxes the space where they struggle, aspire, dance, dream.

They are a little hard to see here; head over to Swerling’s site for larger images of a ton more Glass Cathedrals.