What have I been doing lately? Well, aside from checking ulzzhang, beauty Tumblr blogs, and tackling the world, I came across Pinterst via Oh! Joy blog. Pinterest is a "place to share collections of things you love -- whether that's food, art, clothing, or books." I love the picture-driven format where every item gets a neat white border and label. A virtual pin-up board which is ALOT easier then how I would just save random photos to my hard-drive and forget where I found the original image source.
If I could throw a wedding right now, I'd hire Our Labor of Love in a heartbeat, no hesitation to capture the most romantic time of my life. The Atlanta-based wedding photography duo manage to fill their snapshots to the brim with whimsy, emotion, and most of all, a fun, devil-may-care attitude. You can tell that the couples who commission them share the same sentiments and really work with them to produce these memorable pictures.
Audrey Kawasaki's artwork first captured my attention when I was perusing GelaSkins for laptop decals. After looking through their artist series, I discovered this LA-based artist whose artwork is a sensual mix of traditional Japanese mythology, manga, Art Nouveau, and natural organic scenes. In using natural wood as her canvas, the warmth gleams through her artwork and adds a special ambiance to it. I love the delicate, moody atmosphere her art exhibits. Truly beautiful.
I met Matt Schwartz, the photographer behind She Hit Pause Studios at the Brooklyn Flea Market. He was friendly, approachable, and let his photographs speak for themselves at the market. His dreamy, vintage-inspired photographs grabbed me for their haunting, evocative, slightly faded imagery ~ most depict women in portraiture, gazing away at the camera or focusing on graceful off-camera poses. His photographs feel intimate, up close, and as the viewer, you are there experiencing a private moment with the subjects. Here are a few photos that I saw at Matt's stall at the Brooklyn Flea Market that I wanted to share.
There! I finally got my weekend art project done. You may recall this. What do you get when you've had Yoshitomo Nara's Oh! My God! I Miss You postcards that you've assembled in white IKEA frames but never got around to mounting? Well, you drag all 9 frames to NYC, dither, and finally get around to mounting it (sans nails) with the mighty help of 3M Velcro! My student apartment room is quite tiny so it's nice to have a major art element draw the eye in (and away from the clutter). All together, I'd say the total amount spent was less than $30 ~ the best part is I can easily dismantle this and take it with me to my next destination.
For the fantastic, morbid, whimsical, and strange, Tim Burton does not disappoint when it came to debuting his special collection of art, sculpture, and memorabilia at New York's MoMa. Whether it's sketches from his high school years to movie work (Pee Wee's Big Adventures to Nightmare Before Christmas to Corpse Bride), the exhibit is worth taking your time to peruse. Just beware of large crowds! After taking close looks at his personal sketches, you can see influences from other artists like Edward Gorey. If you can't make it to New York, MoMa's Tim Burton interactive exhibit is worth perusing and includes interviews with the spooky director himself. Best? It's free. Tim Burton Exhibit runs at the MoMa from November 22, 2009 – April 26, 2010.
Powerful, femme fatale women are a running motif in Phil Noto's artwork which I noticed after riffing through his artbook, Trans Am Champions. After noticing the clean lines of his sketches, vintage color palettes, and their graphic appeal, I fell in love with his work. This is an art book worth picking up at your nearest book store or comic shop. Affordably available at Buds Art Books, $25. Visit his art website here.
1972 Olympics Judo by Otl Aicher at L-Dopa Design, $360
Every four years, I get a thrill out of watching the Olympics (Summer, Winter, it doesn't matter). There's something magic about watching the nations parading in their uniforms, the best athletes competing in the world, and the sports drama that gets to me. As a designer, the sheer amount of promotion materials for the Olympics is dizzying -- merchandising, logo work, posters, etc. the list goes on and on. The designer Otl Aicher created these Munich 1972 Olympics that are dynamic, colorful, and modern. They're excellent posters worthy of being hanged in your homes. Here's my favorites from vintage art/poster site L-Dopa Design
1972 Olympics Archery by Otl Aicher at L-Dopa Design, $420
1972 Olympics Shooting by Otl Aicher atL-Dopa Design, $350
Argh. It happened again: an inopportune hiatus! Where did July go aside? Well, Seattle is in a major heat wave (try experiencing 100-deg. weather in a non A/C city and apartment).
Me no likey. Aside from that, I'll be moving soon! So expect to see me more regularly when I get the downtime to share news!
Forget the special occasion, dumbfound your friends on random obscure holidays with this WTF card statement. Random suggested holidays to dole these precious cards include National Hamburger Month, Hug Your Cat Day, National Ventriloquism Week, etc. Surprise! I'm sure they'll love you for it.
Travis Pitts is an illustrator whose work was featured on Apartment Therapy. His poster above captures one of my favorite, B-movies of all time: Big Trouble in Little China. Dude, it's the villain, Lo Pan! I had to high-five him for that, what a classy poster for a cheese-tastic movie. Ahem. His art posters draw upon retro, graphic illustrations from the 1960s with a dash of post-modern snark (see the Zom-bot poster below).
If you loved Helvetica, the documentary, like I did, you must be SUPER EXCITED to see what the filmmakers' next project is about: product design. Meet Objectified. It covers the interesting world of product and industrial design and the creators behind them.
Here's what their website summarizes: "Objectified is a feature-length documentary about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them. It’s a look at the creativity at work behind everything from toothbrushes to tech gadgets. It’s about the designers who re-examine, re-evaluate and re-invent our manufactured environment on a daily basis. It’s about personal expression, identity, consumerism, and sustainability. "
Just look at this A-team roster, some of whom I know and some I don't: Featuring:
Paola Antonelli (Museum of Modern Art, New York)
Chris Bangle (BMW Group, Munich)
Tim Brown (IDEO)
Anthony Dunne (London)
Dan Formosa (Smart Design)
Naoto Fukasawa (Tokyo)
Jonathan Ive (Apple, California)
Hella Jongerius (Rotterdam)
David Kelley (IDEO)
Bill Moggridge (IDEO)
Marc Newson (London/Paris)
Fiona Raby (London)
Dieter Rams (Kronberg, Germany)
Karim Rashid (New York)
Alice Rawsthorn (International Herald Tribune)
Davin Stowell (Smart Design)
Jane Fulton Suri (IDEO)
Rob Walker (New York Times Magazine)
Gawwwwd. I can't wait and Seattle is getting a sneak preview in early June!
Meet Gary, an illustrator or, should I say illustration?, that has his own hip Tumblr account. Each day, he delivers a polaroid account of his day. So, cute.
Don't cry for me, Polaroid. Alas, we had some good times together when you, my friend and I would blow $20s on your expensive-as-hell instant film but it was always worth it. The washed out colors, the square frames, your indie ambiance...like Tim Curry said in Rocky Horror Picture Show, it was all about the "anticipation."
So, it was a trés sad day when I heard you were retiring.
God bless, the Internets for finding a digital solution to keep you around though! Check out Poladroid, a web program that stylizes your digital photos into polaroids, vintage patina included. Click-drop-boom! Click-drop-boom! My New York - San Francisco - Seattle snapshots make me feel so nostalgic now. Thanks toPoladroid, it was almost as if you never left me. Poladroidis a free download. Ch-ch-check it out.
dearlydevoted is my design and shop guide dedicated to seeking out nifty + beautiful byproducts online and abroad. items that are whimsical, functional, endearing, and offbeat score extra brownie points. any q's? contact me at ms.dearlydevoted [at] gmail.com - cindy w
