|
While looking at Swiss Miss today, I came across this awesome Superhero Magnetic Pixels puzzle and was reminded how much I like Kikkerland. Kikkerland sells an amazingly diverse range of super-clever products from anatomical models to globes to cufflinks. I think this pixel puzzle would make a really fun gift for both designers and superhero fans. Check out a few more of our favorites after the jump.
Since no one really enjoys promoting themseleves, I thought I would do it for her. Jessica (aka tiniestj) has finally opened an etsy shop with lovely owl buttons. Go check it out!  Leave a comment Tags: buttons, etsy, jessica pettigrew, owls, pins | Category: Etsy Schmetsy, What we're working on
I love tape. Owen and I have so much tape that it has its own drawer in our apartment. In fact, “the adhesive drawer” was even mentioned during our wedding ceremony (in the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that the adhesive drawer houses glues and pastes in addition to tape). When I was in Japan, I bought some MT Masking Tape. It is beautiful tape made of Washi, and it comes in a ton of really great colors. I wanted to buy some more. After doing some tape research the other day, I learned that MT is now available in 32 new patterns. Unfortunately, you cannot place international orders on the MT site. This sent me into a fit of online searching which was, in the end, fruitful. I was able to purchase a few of the patterned tapes from Ginko Papers. My tape arrived today, and I am thrilled with it.
But, Ginko Papers only sells a few of the MT tape patterns. And, I wanted more of the solid tape. So, I turned to etsy, where I found not only more of the MT tapes, but some other fantastic tapes as well. I am loving some of the lace tapes, too, but I thought I’d dedicate this post to more traditional and printed tapes.
Row 1: washimatta My set of 20 is en route from Japan! Here are a few more useful, tape related sites:
Like the Crackery Crockery from Ornamented Life that I shared with you a while back, Sarah Cihat’s Rehabilitated Dishware brings new spirit and beauty to tableware that had been condemned to a life of rejection. Buying dishes from second-hand stores and retailers’ seconds piles, Cihat re-glazes and modernizes them with a new color and new design. The results are delightful, graphic and playful, all the while making you feel good about giving a loving new home to (what would have been) a stray. Cihat originally started this study of sustainability and renewal as a project for her thesis, and now sells the unique pieces in select boutiques and online. Leave a comment Tags: recycled, Rehabilitated Dishware, Sarah Cihat, sustainability, tableware | Category: Things we like, Things we want
I have an obsession with seahorses, and this exhibit, “The Secret Lives of Seahorses” at the Monterey Bay Aquarium looks absolutely amazing. Part of my commute every day is on Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). I’m lucky in that I’m commuting from south of downtown San Francisco to Millbrae: against the tide; I never have a problem getting a bench to myself. Sometime around January, something caught my eye on the platform. It was a great big bird.
Wow. There are a lot of things that these say to me. After the jump. These are the works of Berkeley artist Mick Wiggins. If you’d like to read his statement or other outsisde context before my observations, feel free. I only came upon this context after writing this. 2 comments Tags: Art, bart, mick wiggins, Poster, san francisco | Category: Art, Things in the world I randomly came across Peter Callesen while searching for a paper artist who plays with dimension and gives depth to something that was originally flat (like Cornelia Odonovan and Jason Jagel, but I’ll get back to that in a minute). Now I am obsessed. He has too many incredible works to share that I don’t know how to pare them down to one post. Using only cut white paper and glue (and sometimes pencil or paint for color), Callesen creates three-dimensional sculptures that truly boggle my mind.
So, back to the original inspiration for this post. Jason Jagel and Cornelia Odonovan do amazing work layering planes of two-dimensional pieces to create three-dimensional environments. Noah was kind enough to introduce us to the work of Jason Jagel. I was immediately drawn to his sculptural work. To see more, visit his website.
Katja, in turn, shared with us the paper art of one of her favorite artists, Cornelia Odonovan. To see more, visit her website.
One comment Tags: Cornelia Odonovan, cut paper, Jason Jagel, paper art, Peter Callesen | Category: Art, Things we like
Owen and I are big fans of slab serifs (and clarendons, for those who make the distinction) — they feel simultaneously classic and contemporary, and often feel fresher than a sans serif. Here are a few of our favorites; many of these typefaces are also available at MyFonts which we think is a great site. Row 1: Rosewood — I remember seeing Rosewood Fill (without the circusy outline) for the first time in 1998 and thinking it was awesome. Sadly, since then it has been used to death and we kind of avoid it. Row 2: Clarendon Text — We bought this cut of Clarendon — which has been regularized a bit to make it work for text — for a book we designed about the Center for Land Use Interpretation‘s residency in Houston. The lovely brown highway signs that mark national parks are set in Clarendon (or were until recently) and it has a good “Texas look,” so it seemed a perfect fit. Row 3: Apex Serif — The slab serif of the Apex family (Apex Sans, Apex Serif and Apex New), it’s one of our old favorites. Until recently, we felt it was a secret from the world — I guess the party’s over now that Best Buy has started using Apex New on their signage, store circulars and website. Row 4: The Serif — Luc de Groot’s superfamily Thesis outdoes all contenders in sheer volume; there’s the original sans, serif and mix, each in eight weights, small caps and italics. Since 2000 he’s contiuned with it, adding some new weights and a mono-spaced version. Quantity aside, The Serif is quite beautiful, and stays so from light to black. 3 comments Tags: Design des Troy, font, typography | Category: Graphic Design, Things we like, TypograFriday My view of the paper in its vending bin Thursday morning.
My thoughts went sort of as follows: 2) Or am I looking at it the wrong way, this isn’t about the demise of print media but about more innovative advertising strategies? I can’t remember the last time I’ve paid attention to an advertisement in a newspaper (I just read Seth Godin make a good point about this, that they’re invisible), and this one turned my head from 5 yards mostly by virtue of its nontraditional placement. 3) The ad covers the news as if to say, this is the cover story of the day. The grafitti tag covers the whole thing with the (possibly unintentional) message of No, I am the story. 4) Ooh, Paul Smith store! Leave a comment Tags: Advertising, Newspaper, Paul Smith, san francisco | Category: Things in the world, Things we've seen |
 
 |
