Just Ship

This video from 99 percent features Writer and Creative firebrand, Seth Godin. He talks about how vital getting our ideas out in the world really is.

jam it up

more jar repurposing from decor8

Planning For Terrace Time

Excellent photo styling by Muskelil.

french fall

le tour les chapelains in southern france. why not?

play time

Berlin has some of the most amazing playgrounds. Have been enjoying these inner-city treasures with my cousin and her babe.

trans-pecos love letters

desert adventure 2009 | el cosmico

wiry bits

pretty wire creations from fil di ferro.

summer naps in a tree

tree house from la cabane perchée. good video here - in french and still good even if you don't understand. via maire claire maison

ship of dreams

been trying to find a way to rent a house boat in berlin. today while searching i found a post on ouno design about ships and boats hanging from ceilings. this dragon photo is from their site. it got me thinking about my friend patty's idea some time ago about hanging a boat from the rafters and using that as your bed.

it got me searching for other hanging bed options and i found these:
this hilarious, so 1970's nest bed
and a source for my favorite playground swing that's like a bird's nest:
so, if i can't find that houseboat, maybe one of these options will do...

texas gets better and better

Open publication - Free publishing - More style

incredible feature in refueled on friend and client, liz lambert. amazing photos, background and design insight on liz's newest project, hotel saint cecilia. friends bobby & steve of mercury design studio get a shout out, too. hooray!

wow | stunning on the ligurian coast

found this hotel in vernazza, italy (on the cinque terra): la malà. the rooms seem so full of light and the furnishings well edited with clean lines.

vernazza is the birthplace of pesto and a great place to take a swim.

their site really captures the mood they're aiming to strike - because really, it's all about the food and the sea and the hotel is done in such a classy way that it frames it all perfectly.

wooden design for your every need

berlin firm {wood begood} designs and builds customized wooden dwellings, furniture, kindergärtens, huts (!) ....more more more. they have some lovely photos on their site of a project in finland. the one above is a sample. check out their site for more.

{store front in berlin}

Yesterday at Vitra

It was rainy and nasty yesterday and I thought - how 'bout an outing?!

Got my stuff together and launched out to Weil am Rhein (close to Basel) to the Vitra Museum. It's a beautiful train ride there and the museum and grounds are fantastic.

main vitra entrance | building: frank gehry

balancing tools : claes oldenburg | coosje van bruggen

Saw exhibits by the Campana Brothers, Fernando & Humberto, of Buenos Aires, viewed the architecture of Frank Gerhry & Zaha Hadid, saw a very cool Oldenburg | Van Bruggen sculpture and fell in love with the bus stop.....a great day.

vitra holds workshops on a regular basis. I would love to go to the Re-Design workshop they have in September.

Berlin Architecture Treasures

Been hunting for new diggs in Berlin. I came across Rainer W. Leonhardt's warehouse in AD Deutschland. He runs an antique building materials warehouse in Charlottenburg. His online catalog details only a sliver of the treasures on offer.

Illustration

Colorful illustrations from talented artist Jenny Bowers.

Perfect for menus, etiquettes, guest services books, and stationery. The grey in all of these above illustrations really adds interest - rather than the standard black.
Love these for house numbers.

Scripty Bits

Marian Bantjes is an artist who specializes in script work. This image is of her business card. She has collaborated with Stefan Sagmeister on his books and her work is featured in numerous magazines. Her site is {lovely}.

Check out the {sugar type} on her site. 

Seeing this got me thinking about guest services books in hotels and menus. They are so nice when the focus is on not only the information itself but also the communication channel & design.

99 bottles of beer in my wall

These buildings are constructed from glass bottles.
As Alex Steffen says:

There is no such thing as garbage, just useful stuff in the wrong place.

via treehugger

New Inspiration in Munich

On May 21st the newest member of the Munich Kunstareal steps onto the scene: Museum Brandhorst. It will contain more than 700 artworks of the most renown artists of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol, Sigmar Polke, Bruce Nauman, Mike Kelley and many more. One whole floor will be dedicated to the Twombly collection of nearly 50 artworks and will be thus the second largest collection outside of the US.

I've watched it being constructed over the past three years and am so excited to see a museum embody (in my opinion) the approach to art that's very much this generation - a 21st century place - colorful, creative, lively use of light and shadow. It seems to jump right out of the ground and say - "come inside see these beautiful things!" The museum is located in Schwabing/Maxvorstadt - at the corner of Theresienstrasse & Türkenstrasse (Theresienstrasse 35).

Images & Imagination has some great photos up of the exterior and a nice bit on the architects and design process.

Michelin Star System on its Head

New non-star hotel concept by Swiss twins Frank and Patrik Riklin. They run the {Atelier für Sonderaufgaben} and their newest project is {Null Stern Hotel} located near Zurich.

It is a fall-out shelter converted into a hotel. There are nods towards hostel-life, communes, ideas of elegance and 'traditional' hotel accommodations. 

This video {in German} shows a bit of their construction process and a celebration. The twins are playing with the understanding of 'null' - 'nothing', contrast, content and community; a collective call for connection and focus on shared experience...

The concept allows the idea of  without to be experienced as with.

Train Romance

Very romantic new advertising campaign by {Chanel}. Film takes place on the elegant Orient Express train starring Audrey Tautou and a delicious seducer.