Don't think, just shoot

Humble preface: I haven't even been able to blog or write poems lately. Perhaps it's all the traveling this summer, and visitors, and fun things to be done with friends that's taking up my mental space for the past few months. Oh, and work. (Hah!! Nice to know that it takes the back seat to funner exploits.) Better late than never, right?

When we visited New York we happened upon a store in the village that sold only lomography products. (Click pic for yelp reviews and info.)


Aside from the fact that the store was delightfully merchandised, I was tickled to find an HQ for this stuff. What is lomography, you ask? It's an analog way of taking pictures...you know, with that old stuff called, "film"...wherein you can achieve cool effects that one would associate with old cameras with light leaks, and other sorts of "flaws" that produce happy (IMO) accidents such as inadvertent color effects or double exposures. Fortunately or unfortunately the cameras have been re-introduced in the past few years at your friendly neighborhood hipster appropriators, Urban Outfitters. I remember back in school, students used old cameras, pinholes, and polaroids to achieve these kinds of effects to include in work. It's a look, and a look I happen to like. Here's some examples:

(Photo thanks to anarchy)

Cut to, there's a "Diana" camera out there that can not only achieve these effects, but can also take an instant film camera back! (Now that Polaroid instant has become defunct, I learned happily that Fuji is picking up the slack in the instant camera/film department! Oh joy!) Here's the camera that can be purchased at the lomography shop online.

Example result

In the words of Rachel Zoe, I die. I'm buyin' one! Join me! We can have a lomography geek club. I'm happy to add another artistic diversion to my life.

Etsy purchase: Breakfast tea mug

Good lord, I love this mug! Purchased it last week and arrived in perfect, more-wonderful-than-I-imagined condition. Lani and I have fond memories of English breakfasts under the Union Jack. So much meat! So much sodium! So what!! Now we have a green and a red mug to remind of those halcyon mornings.

Mere moments after opening.

Musical Chestnut for the Day

Sleepyhead, by Passion Pit
Samples here.

Jen Corace notebooks

Came across these notebooks again, which I lurve. The thickness of the coverboard gives it an extremely appealing heft, and the screenprints/palettes are gorge. Imagine a nursery mural at the hand of Jen Corace. Yumz!

Notebooks

Illustrations and Fine Art

Gettin' paid.

I'm very pleased with many things about working for myself, not least of which is my new office. It's about 70% done, just gotta put in the Flor tiles, get a new chair, and reorg the peripherals station. Oh, and put up my faux bois bulletin boards and hooks for the clipboards (a la "Ace of Cakes"). One of my fave new office supplies is my Daiso red stamp kit. Bringing the cute back into business, fo' sho'. For example, check out my "PAID" stamp. I have no idea what it says, but I love the bun bun holding the paper (click for detail). Who says paperwork needs to be serious? Can't wait to see what my accountant says.

Freelancing is the bomb.

GLEE!

Would you like to be happy for 3 minutes? To forget that you spilled your coffee on your pants, that the world is going to hell in a handbasket? Then read on, my friends.

So, my friend Dave told me that he watched the pilot episode of "Glee", a new FOX show. Backtrack: the entertainment bible, Entertainment Weekly, put it on their "Must List" and went on about it, so L.'s and my interests were suitably piqued. Unfortunately, I forgot to Tivo it as we had planned. I thought, oh well, I'll get it next time.

But after tonight and what I saw of the pilot, I am an instant diehard fan of this show and will be waiting on pins and needles for the season to start, as well as comb every inch of cyberspace for video scraps to tide me over to the fall!

Earlier, Dave and I watched the debacle that was the final episode of Idol (damn you, America), after which he played me a snippet of the end of the pilot. All I have to say is that after a shitty month, and after feeling particularly nihilistic after seeing "Angels & Demons" last night, this little clip did nothing less than RESTORE MY FAITH IN HUMANITY. To all my karaoke friends, this shit is solid m.f.'ing GOLD! Inspired!! Take note: within this motley teen glee club you'll find gay, African-American, Asian-American, disabled, theater geek, and jock living--nay, SINGING--in utter happiness and harmony. Take special note of the female lead--that gal was born to be on stage. Epic triumph.

You go, kids.



p.s. Watch the pilot here.

Dedicated to my friend, Kitty

You gave us many years of companionship. Hope you have as many Pounces as you want, and lots of birds to meow at, and a comfortable pillow cloud to lie on. We'll miss you.

Etsy mini: Favorites This Week

Ye Olde Siren magazine

I just love Googling. Today I randomly searched on a magazine I designed with my co-conspirator Laura D. and found a blog post on the topic. In the 40 plus comments, a few of them sang the praises of the magazine and one even gave a shout-out to the cover I designed for Lili Taylor. The mag work resides in a special place in my heart b/c it was one of my first (albeit meagerly) paid jobs out of art school, and Laura and I designed much of it fueled on homemade breakfast after watching Martha Stewart in our pajamas, trips to Mel's diner for egg salad sandwiches, and beer. We also did a lot of xerox experiments that found their way into the layout. Ah, the glory days.

Crafty

So my second craft day with Melissa yielded fabulous results. She was working on a birthday present for Leah and I, having forgotten my original stencils, started work on some graphic coasters. I'll be revealing Melissa's fabulous painting after this Friday, but suffice it to say that it's genius!!
The following are some of the fruits of my labor. Photos courtesy of Melissa.

What's On My Ipod

K'naan: Fatima. Heartbreaking sentiments on the gang shooting of a first love, wrapped up in light hiphoppy pastry. I lurve this song. Wait for the chorus.

Drawing little mopeds with tempera paint

I remember one of my first forays into making artwork that presaged my career as a graphic designer; I believe I was 8 or 9, and pulled an ad from a magazine for Honda mopeds from a Rolling Stone. There was a headline and a few lines of copy on a white background, and lining the bottom were images of 4 mopeds in different colors and models. Something compelled to draw and paint in freehand those little moped images with my Crayola tempera paints, the ones in those small plastic clear containers. The finished product looked fairly representative of the photographs, but more importantly, it was quirky re-creation. Of course, I wanted it to be a perfect reproduction; I didn't yet appreciate the value of idiosyncratic gesture.

Recently, Lani gave me a large postcard that featured the work of Evah Fan, an artist that lives and works in Berkeley with her partner, Brendan Monroe, also an artist. She makes these tiny pieces that are simultaneously loose and detailed, and most of all, full of humor. Her work took me back to those early joyous tempera moments. Take a gander at some of her work and marvel in the negative space and then get hit on the head with the polo mallet of her witty insights. Be sure to click for a larger image.

invitation to kleptomaniac at art committee meeting


source of bad energy



without further adieu

Meditation on surfing

(random cull from Google images; please excuse copyright)

KITTENS!!

Um. This rocks in every way.

Bag porn.

I must tell you about a store L. ventured into last week: Hlaska in the Fillmore. The description on its website:

Born out of a love for science and design Hlaska combines elements of nature, science, architecture and engineering to create luxury wallets and bags. Each design is carefully thought out, with special attention paid to its inspirations, its functionality, and its beauty. Using only the best materials, including Italian leather, European fabrics and custom hardware, Hlaska products go through countless revisions to ensure the final product meets our strict standards for resilience, functionality, and aesthetics. Staying true to the original vision of founder Anthony Mazzei, each new Hlaska product brings with it a new way of appreciating both science and luxury.


Upon further research, apparently the owner has styled his showpiece bag after an archaelogist's bag, thus referencing his love for science. Another chestnut is that "Hlaska" is a combination of Helsinki and Alaska, two places he's fascinated with; as it turns out, "hlaska" is also czech for "communication".


So what differentiates this bag maker from any other of hundreds of fine bag makers? One word: Execution. I accompanied her to return to the store and purchase a weekender bag that she had eyed the week before. What followed was blissful enjoyment of a retail concept well-executed both physically and philosophically--the ambience and the soul is there. The store is tight. I felt like I was in on the ground floor of say, a Louis Vuitton in the making. This dude is passionate about one thing: a luxurious, well-designed, classic traveling bag made from the finest of materials, harkening back to when the well-heeled traversed the friendly skies wearing sassy neck scarves, valises in hand. Sigh. It was refreshing to see not one hint of trendy, faddy pandering to the transitory tastes of today's consumer culture. Kudos, Hlaska!

My new favorite kid actor. (No, there are not that many of them.)

Maria Lark, most recently seen in Medium, the show with Patricia Arquette where she's like, an investigator with extra-sensory powers...or something. I don't know. I confess I don't watch the show, but I do watch TV, and today I saw a Hallmark commercial with this little gal. She's a 40 year-old in a 10 year-old body. She entertained me so much in that minute that I googled her. Here she is in a video for NBC wherein she takes us on a tour of the Medium set. Between her and Gladys the caller on the Ellen show, I giggle on a daily basis. Enjoy! (Especially when she talks about her call time on the set.)

Back to School

This post is dedicated to my friend L., who started her first day of schoo..I mean, work, at a new job today! She hates being the new girl, and who doesn't? Nothing a few nifty office products can't fix, and believe me, I am an office supply WHORE. I have so many journals, agendas, day planners, notebooks--I just can't get enough of 'em! Thankfully I use them all, however that doesn't explain why I'm still disorganized. Anyway.

Here's a sampling of supplies that will boost your productivity and your serotonin levels from their sheer fabulousness!

I got this day planner recently from my friend A., and it makes me smile every day. It's the Non-Planner's Day Planner. Perfect for non-type-A's such as myself. Every day is a different illustrated format!! It's like a grown-up version of Highlights activities or something.



This next planner is a lovely horizontally formatted day organizer, from the folks at whoMi. I love the heft and the size, and especially the waterproof plastic cover. And Helvetica strikes again. Throw this planner in your Hobo bag and look chic and unique. You've got your shit together, girl.



For those who need giant rubber bands for...the things we need giant rubber bands for...here are a set of lovely colored bands for your pleasure. I imagine you could even print or stamp a design on these bands, for added fun! Nice palette.


Lastly, for write-on-the-run pad fun, here are some cool objets from our Canadian friends at Uppercase (we love them). The covers are made from plastic sign letters. Could anything be more beautiful? You're gonna make it after all!

Who, meme?

When I am at my weakest, blogwise, I return to the meme! I sure do love a good one. Luckily I was tagged by my pal M. a few weeks ago. This meme is the ultimate in navel-gazing. Ladies and gentlemen, 16 little-known facts about me:

1. It does not make me queasy to leave CD cases empty, their contents strewn about in a disorganized way.
2. If or when I have kids, I'd like to skip ages 3-14 and go right to their sophomore year in high school.
3. I hold in highest regard the ability to give a firm and friendly hug.
4. I am the worst procrastinator when it comes to sending things in the mail. Among other factors, I find I never have stamps.
5. I would like to study to be a master carpenter someday.
6. Sometimes I think I could be a better-than-average actor.
7. I once had flying phobia and have now licked it for good, although I am dreading my first flight to Australia or Southeast Asia.
8. I sound exactly like my sister on the phone.
9. I took college courses for credit when I was in seventh grade.
10. I played piano in a group performance in the Florida capitol rotunda once in eighth grade.
11. I am in constant search of the perfect surf shop hoodie.
12. I have absolutely no problem taking a long nap in the middle of the day. As a result, I worry that my net time spent sleeping is...a lot.
13. I only read food literature these days.
14. When I really like something (i.e. tasting food, shopping for clothing), I will start cursing ("this is the fucking best piece of meat I've ever had")
15. I crave long road trips when I can sing with my custom-made mix tape at the top of my lungs.
16. I wonder when we are ever going to be able to buy a house.

I sweep gingko leaves off the windshield

I'm back. My pal M urged me to start posting every day, and goshdarnit, I shall! Though I have no design-related news to report today, I thought it best to let you know that I will be sending missives via blog every day for as long as possible! Due to recent macroeconomic events, I have a lot more time on my hands, which of course means I will be fighting the evil force of inertia, especially during the hours of 7am and 10am. How I love thee, snooze button!

Ok, I'm going to break down and post 2 cool gifts I got from Santa (aka Lani) this year. The first is a set of Muji (go Muji!) cardboard speakers:


So cute! Loved especially the flat-packed presentation with translucent gift pouch. what's not to love?? A great travel-sized solution for your Ipod needs.

And next, Kelly Wearstler's recent tome, "Domicilium Decoratus".



It's a fun page turner, with photos of her domicile all prettied up in the way only Kelly can do. She a crazy lady. Though a lot of her touches aren't exactly my personal taste, the book is very inspirational and reminder to bust out of your comfort zone. Love.