Fly

Mail Order Monsters

Cool installations from Ben Jones.

Conceptual Designs

This collection from Viktor and Rolf is AMAZING!

Simone Shin

Fun soft sculptures from Simone Shin.

A Little Break + Labor

This will be my only post today. It'll be an extremely busy week for me so I won't be posting as much, but I hope you'll enjoy the few that I can.

I love the look and feel of these screen grabs of an animation done by Labor.

Link of the Day

love these harem pants

What I Like Right Now

Here's another edition of stuff I'm enjoying at the moment:

1. Bobby Slides – My friend Katie bought these and I fell in love with them. She let me try them on and they are too sweet for pinning up twists. She found them at Target.
2. Mustard Moccassins – Tried these on and I really want a pair for Spring. The photo makes it look cheap, but trust me they are really cute in person.
3. Tortilla Soup – This movie is so yummy and heart-warming. There are some cheesy family moments but overall it's an entering flick that warms the spirit.
4. Honey Ginseng Green Tea – Delicious!
5. Calendar designed by Michael Renaud – Remember a post I did featuring this designer? Well he was all-so-kind to send me a copy of both last year's and the 2009 calendar. I was thrilled about this lovely gift! They are even more wonderful in person.
6. Linzie Hunter Illustrated Postcards - If you love hand-lettering like I do you'll enjoy this collection of Linzie's amazing lettered illustrations.

The Batallion

Really cute pieces from The Batallion. For all you Philly ladies I saw pretty ruffle tees from this label at Acardia Boutique.

Link of the Day

Pretty Home Vignettes

I really like these home pics from Jane of All the Luck in the World.

Spring Bags

Cute bags from Made by Hank.

Salvor Projects

Great wraps and beautifully screen-printed drapey tees from Salvor Projects.

Link of the Day

Elizabeth and James

This line of clothing from Elizabeth and James is so me. I am in love with those multi-colored bubble shorts. They would look too cute with a plain white tank and some yellow heels.

Design & Me: Early Beginnings

When I was four my mother bought me one of those Fisher Price doctor sets as inspiration for me to pursue a career in medicine. She thought if she introduced me to the field early on I would then gain interest in the industry of saving lives. Well, she knew that dream was lost when I proceeded to jam the toy syringe into her arm for our imaginary "routine exam." Had it been real, she — the patient, would have been seriously injured from the severe force of my injection. I would play with that set for a minute then abandon the toy stethoscope for my crayons and color for hours. Yes, it had been determined — I was not going to be a doctor.

Six years later I attempted to start my very own neighborhood newsletter for kids called Saturday Morning News. My friend's mom had this typewriter, which I obsessed over, and she would let me borrow it just so I could type little stories and letters. (Yes, I used a typewriter! This is aging me.) So I typed up the little "articles," created ads for my mom's then business and made Xerox copies at school (I was also VERY obsessed with the copy-machine). I had a newsletter and was very pleased to pass them out to my neighborhood friends for free, although it clearly stated on the upper right hand corner that it was 25¢. I only "published" two, but it was a good run :).

In the sixth grade I ran for class president. I won, but my favorite part of the whole experience was designing the posters for my campaign. Then in high-school I was all about writing stories and trying to design my own clothes. In every stage of my life I was experimenting with creative ways of expression through visual media. I was a designer and didn't even know.

Lately, my Design & Me posts have been very much about nostalgia and my early years of design. I think it's because I'm about to graduate and I'm thinking about all the things that lead me up to this point. From that disastrous injection to my love of crayons and obsessing over a typewriter it amazes me how who you are can develop so early and so effortlessly. Those things I did then are things I love now as an artist and designer. I mean, of course, my taste has evolved, but that foundation has been laid. Now it's just a matter of looking at all those things, evolving from them and executing.

Skinny Laminx

Cute aprons, pillows and tea towels from Skinny Laminx.