design*sponge | biz ladies

woohoo! new piece on design*sponge on the basics of preparing presentations & proposals

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...

spanish zebras

these zebra bike lane dividers are made from reclaimed tires and plastics. They are designed by Spanish designer Curro Claret and is the winner of the 2009 award in Design for Recycling, organised by the Catalan government.

{via treehugger}

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!

summer sunday

on a bit of a summer holiday and not blogging too much.

biking, reading/writing, walking, cooking, swimming and catching rays.

i found these great illustrations by london artist fiona woodcock. this one is from a series called | sunburn.

interview with style

Marije Vogelzang - Interview from Design Blast on Vimeo.

in june, Jill Enders and Chris Spatschek (students from the Arts and Design academy in Karlsruhe) interviewed dutch eating designer marije vogelzang. their approach was very whimsical and creative. they crafted a box of treats that had questions hidden underneath them. marije was allowed to choose eight from the eleven bits and answer those questions. clever, indeed....

spectacular spectacles

scott urban in chicago makes handmade wooden eyeglass frames. his shop is urban spectacles.

simple men's

homecore | men's basics with interest

see more on their site

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}

woohoo! design*sponge | biz ladies!

very excited about my first contribution to design*sponge's biz ladies section. it's about calculating your rate. the entire series of biz ladies contributions are helpful guideposts for entrepreneurs of any size (or gender!). thank you grace for letting me be a part of your site that i so admire. my next piece on the site is on presentations....stay tuned!

Golden Twigs

My sister Lexi forwarded me this pretty jewelry image from Melissa McClure : Jewelry Alchemy. The leather combined with the golden twigs is just my kind of bracelet.

Organization Necessity

In the category of things that you know you need, but didn't know they existed: Cable Drops from Blue Lounge

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.

the best new accessory....

Typically I'm not a techno accessory person, but these headphones are worth stepping away from my normal aversion to gadgetry as fashion. They work great with iphone (with the mic chiclet thingy) and have ones great for ipods, too. Best feature: they do not tangle....swoon.

Available from Danish design collective AIAIAI. Here's what they have to say about themselves:

The company AIAIAI was born out of Copenhagen’s nest of creativity known as the A-house. Apart from hosting a club on top of the old industrial building AIAIAI initiated a collective consisting of more than 200 young artists, musicians and designers in the years 2005-2006. We, the 4 partners of AIAIAI, started off with a vision that hasn’t changed: Together with a variety of different people, designers, musicians, artists etc. we create earphones, headsets, headphones and other kinds of consumer electronic related products that makes a genuine statement.

Vintage Wristwatch

Portero is a site that sells authenticated luxury goods.

This vintage Rolex caught my eye....

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.

Canning

after I finish up my work today I'm going for a swim and will swing by the farm for some strawberries. It's canning time! Strawberry black pepper balsamic chutney...yummy with cheese.

If you aren't familiar with canning, author Barbara Kingsolver was interviewed last year by the SF Chronicle and she talks about her lifetime love for canning. In it there are a number of recommendations for books and resources.

best new supply

japanese masking tape. heaps of colors, patterns & sizes available at happy tape

pretty videos for today

Theater time this summer

Looking forward to seeing this movie.

Bike Only Roads

Max Fisher has a great article in the Atlantic today about bike-only roads.

Curl up & Read

Lately we've had days that start out really sunny and clear and suddenly we have a huge downpour. Usually, I get all my work done early in the morning and so I can have the afternoons to myself to hike or just be outside. When it's raining though, I love some popcorn and a good book. 

I love to curl up with a blanket like this:


This summer blanket is from Swan Island Blankets. They are based in Maine and have high-quality, luscious textiles.

New Food Crush

While reading Elle Deco || South Africa, I learned of food adventurer Andreas Viestad. He's from Norway and is part farmer, chef, nomad, and all-round culinary gypsy. His site is beautiful and his books seem to offer up the multi-cultural and seasonal type of fare that I"m drawn to.

Moreover, I'm fascinated by his 'Garden of Elgin' project that he's working on together with fellow farmer (and brain surgeon!) Paul Cluver. Vistad describes the farming adventure as:

...a small agricultural project where we do everything that normal industrial agricultural wisdom tells us we shouldn’t. The only way to make agriculture profitable is to find out what you grow best and to specialize on that commodity. We do exactly the opposite – we cultivate diversity.

photos  Elle Deco ZA

Key Components

Two photos from Elle Deco | South Africa.


The storage along the ceiling in this kitchen is a great use of space and has the side benefit of creating depth and interest.


I think this bathtub speaks for itself.

featuring Marfa, Texas and JM Dry Goods

NYT featured my friends' Michelle Teague and Ginger Griffice's new venture, JM Dry Goods in Marfa. This photo is from the feature linked here. Also mentioned in the piece are my clients Liz Lambert and El Cosmico.. Pals from the Food Shark get a shout out too - Hooray!

Been searching for this for months

Ever since I was last in Munich I've been searching for this bench. It was outside the Haus der Kunst and I sat there while I was waiting for my friend Jürgen before we went to the Maison Martin Margelia and Gerhard Richter exhibits. I came across it today in a magazine and found out it's designed by Jurgen Bay who has a studio with his wife in Rotterdam.

Above is the photo from droog (it's only 11,000€....) and two of mine.





gestalten has a great video featuring the two of them. linked here....

Great Photography

Found these photos absolutely captivating by Trine Thorsen.

Her story featured in the profile section is lovely. Well written and inspiring.