Sweater Owls

I am in love with these handmade sweater owls by Sarah Goldschadt. I love owls in basically any form, but these seem especially soft and cuddly. 

Sarah makes a lot of great things. Thanks to Jennifer Young's blog, i art you, for the tip! 

Design Sunday : Gig Posters

Today, I thought I would feature what I consider to be 5 great gig posters. Like most design nerds, I think of gig posters the way most people think of designer chocolate. They are bright and fun and colorful and delicious. A gig poster is a project where a designer can really showcase their creative chops. The designer or firm gets to work with another highly creative party ( a band or musician or venue) and create something for a like minded, creative audience. What results are some really gorgeous works of art.

1. Here is a psychedelic
 poster for Fleet Foxes by one of my very favorite designers, Nate Duval.

2.  Here is a beautiful and fun example for Vampire Weekend by Spike Press. I love that they have worked with a literal depiction of the band's name in a creative and original way. I also love the work in of text and image that happens with the face and script V.

3. This Of Montreal poster by f2-Design is whimsical with a vintage feel. This is a great example of the perfect fit of style and typeface. The color scheme is also brilliant.

4. Here is  another Nate Duval poster for the Monsters of Folk. This poster is one of my favorite images out there. I have used it as my laptop wallpaper quite a few times. It is so lovely and unexpected. Doesn't it just make you happy?

5. Here is a much more graphic poster for Feist, by Micha Smith. This is simple. but very effective. This poster is more similar to my personal aesthetic; clean, simple , but attention grabbing. 

Love for the Dailes

Design for Mankind is one of my very favorite blogs. If you are not already reading it, you absolutely need to be. Erin Loechner is doing some great work, bringing so much inspiration into people's lives. My very favorite feature of the blog is The Dailies . This feature follows creative professionals throughout their day. The features are written and documented by the creatives themselves, so the reader is inspired not only by the way these individuals spend their days, but also by the way they see the world. Some of my favorite artists and bloggers have been featured in The Dailes. If you aren't already familiar with this feature, you should grab a cup of tea and click on over.

Frank Chimero shows us how to have an idea..

I am not feeling very well today, but I do want to show you this great comic by Frank Chimero. It is very good advice, and super fun to read. So, without further a do - http://www.frankchimero.com/idea/

Artist Envy

One of my favorite image makers out there in the wide word is Ashley Goldberg of Ashley G and Drew. I love everything about this lady's work. Her style is whimsical, but never twee. The colors of her compositions are always perfect with each other. The best thing about this artist, is that she has an etsy store where we can buy pieces of her art to brighten up our lives.

A Moment of Solitude 

Do You Ever Think...

Templeton

Joanna Newsom

I haven't spoken about music on this blog so far, but it is very much an important part of my life. My very favorite, primo musician is Joanna Newsom. She can do no wrong as far as making music that I love. If she were to quit making music, I would go into mourning. Plus, she has such excellent style.

Her latest album Have One on Me, may be her best yet. It has a lot a great songs, and I mean a lot. (it is a 3 disc album) Here is one of my favorite live performance videos of Ms. Newsom.

4. Victorian style Brooch from Oh My Cavalier

I am a Graphic Design student. I went into this field because I love good design, and want to play a part in making the world a more beautiful place. Many of my favorite bloggers have a weekly feature. I have been trying to think of a feature that would be rewarding for me, and fun for my readers. I have decided to go with what I know, and feature 5 things I love from the world of design, every sunday.This may include items from Graphic Design, interior design or even jewelry and apparel. So here is my first Design Sunday post!

1. Nude Bee Honey Co. packaging.

I found this lovely packaging design on Lovely Package.com, which is an excellent blog for all things packaging related. This honey business from Ontario sells high quality honey from independent producers. The packaging was designed by co-owner Edward Okun. Wouldn't it be a nice change to see this work of beauty in your cupboard instead of that goofy plastic bear?

2. The Great Gatsby book cover by Coralie Bickford-Smith

Coralie Bickford-Smith is the senior cover designer for Penguin Books, a publisher who is known for beautiful cover design. I am smitten with these art deco covers Bickford-Smith has created for the novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald. I think that this example for The Great Gatsby, may be the most spectacular.

3. Level by Gabriel Teixido for AG Land 14

This beautiful desk was designed by Gabriel Teixido of the spanish furniture manufacturer          AG Land 14, for their high level management. It is really beautiful work. We may not be able to purchase the desk, but it certainly a lovely bit of eye candy. I discovered this little beautiful design on design milk.com.

 4. Victorian style Brooch from Oh My Cavalier

This beautiful brooch features artwork by Julia Sweeney of Oh My Cavalier and a beautiful velvet bow. The packaging is pretty easy on the eyes too. I can certainly see myself wearing this.

5. Anything by Frank Chimero

Most designers have several design heroes. My number one inspiration is Frank Chimero. He is a graphic designer and illustrator whose work never ceases to delight me. The above example is an art print he designed for Red Velvet Art. (see A Beautiful Mess) Chimero's work constantly challenges me to be better, to work on my drawing skills, to simplify my message.

GaGa Ooh La La

I am absolutely in love with this "Lady Gaga a la Aubrey Beardsley" print by John Alison. Beardsley is my favorite illustrator of all time, ever, so I just adore everything about this.

Book sales make me happy...

Today we went to the bookstore on a whim. At first, there wasn't anything that peeked my interest. Eventually, I saw a clearance rack, and more than a few books that I had been wanting. Here is my favorite purchase:

This  book is one that I have wanted since it was first published. It is a sort of short history of the twists and turns of the English language. I am a bit of a linguistics buff, and love to learn about the history of English, in particular.


I picked up another fun book, one of those Useless Information types. I also got Ready Made magazine for the first time. So far, this seems like a publication that I will continue to read .
The best part of the little shopping spree, the books ended up being on sale for $1 each. I walked away with 3 new things to read, all for under $10. I just love it when that happens! 

LensCrafters don't carry these babies...

Urban Spectacles, based in Chicago, is a shop that creates the most spectacularly beautiful wooden eye ware. My current specs are a little "brow"beaten, and I would love to make this gorgeous verawood model my next pair.

If you are so inclined, Urban Spectacles will even work with you to create a custom pair. Can you imagine the joys of that? 

If you are like me, you might find that iCal is somewhat lacking as a digital planner. When I first switched to Mac, I tried working with the feature for a few weeks, but it never felt natural, so I didn't consult it as often as I needed to. Luckily, in 2009, Tina Roth Eisenberg of SwissMiss and Evan and Cameron of FictiveKin, designed teuxdeux.com. Since launching the "simple, designy, to-do app," they have also created a version for iPhones and iPads. This app, is my every day planner. It is simple to use, and beautiful to look at. It is neat and ordered, even when your week is anything but. Here is  screen-capture of my teuxdeux in it's current state.

I am not terribly busy this week, as you can see. :) If you are looking for a way to keep your life in something that approaches order, teuxdeux is definitely for you.
Here is a link to some videos that will show you how to use all of the convenient features that teuxdeux has to offer. 

These Boots...

I've just discovered that I really need to have these boots.

Anyone wanna get them for me?

Need a new T-Shirt?

Why not take a gander at these babies?

You can find these, and several other witty reflections on Tea Party logic at http://imvotingteaparty.com/.

Bad Ass

Artist Envy

I found a new artist to love...

                                                           Aphrodite and Dionysus

                                                                        

                                                                                                           Viking I

                                                                Circus on the Frontier

Deedee Cheriel is a visual artist from Oregon whose work just came into my life via the benevolent hands of the internet. Cheriel has led an incredibly interesting life, starting her own band and record label at 19, joining several all-girl bands and traveling extensively . Her work is colorful and seems to focus on the grey area between nature and society. Check out her work and bio here.

Nervous

I am headed to campus today, on my last day of fall break. BA portfolio decisions are ready, so today I find out if I can go forward with my chosen path. I am pretty confident in the work I submitted, but still incredibly nervous, because this decision can change so many of my plans. Wish me luck!

home office

home office by bekan on Polyvore.com

Our home is getting new appliances today. I am pretty excited. I will be whipping up a delicious dinner to christen the new kitchen!

Spoonflower Fabrics

Anyone who has shopped for fabrics more than once has probably wished they could design their own. However, most of us are not textile design geniuses with looms in our spare rooms. Luckily, the folks at Spoonflower have us covered. This Durham,North Carolina based company allows customers to upload their own original designs, and have them printed on quality fabric. There is no yardage minimum, and prices range from $18-$32 per yard. The process uses water based inks and natural fibers. Anyone who has ever printed or dyed fabrics can imagine how much water is saved by an ink-jet printer process. Once your design is printed, you receive a 10% commission if someone else buys your fabric. There are a variety of fabric types to select from, and if you don't have any designs in mind right now, you can stil shop the fabulous designs they have in stock. Below are some of my favorite examples of their  fabrics, independently designed by their customers.