Fly

naKIMuli Bow Brooches

I've been wearing a lot of button-ups lately (love the ones from Madewell); these colorful bow brooches from naKIMuli would add a nice fun touch to my buttoned-up look. They also have the flexibility to work as brooches, bow-ties, and as a hair accessory. Love!

AIGA Penned Workshop

Over the weekend I made a quick day trip up to Philly for, Penned AIGA, a lettering workshop with lettering artists and designer, Ken Barber, of House Industries. I love hand-lettering so I was really excited about developing my knowledge in the skill. There were actually two parts to the workshop, a hand-lettering morning session and an afternoon session where attendees could learn about designing with pre-fabricated typefaces.

The first session completely sold out, but I managed to get into the second.

Ken walked a small group of us through the process of creating lettering inspired by existing type. I used Stymie as my inspiration for my whimsical logotype for "Queen Bee" — which I only used because we were supposed to use words that repeated letters. For some reason I could only think of Queen Bee.

Later, when I got home, I scanned in my tracing paper sketch and redrew the letter-forms in Adobe Illustrator, which then gave me the flexibility to add color, make adjustments, and scale as needed.

It was a lovely afternoon of design inspiration.

Interested in AIGA events? Check out the site to see what's happening in your city.

Signora Bon Bon Prints

I want each of these retro inspired collaged prints to hang in my office space. See more from Signora Bon Bon Prints.

Erin Flett for the Home

Beautifully screen-printed pillows and artwork by surface and textile designer Erin Flett. I love the colors and that some are inspired by vintage illustrations.

Jewelry from A Peace Treaty

I want every piece in this collection of jewelry inspired by ancient civilization from A Peace Treaty.

New Bambako

New handmade hair accessories from Bambako.

Inspiration for Your Weekend: PopupHood

POPUPHOOD from Eva Kolenko on Vimeo.

Having lived in Fort Green, Brooklyn; Kansas City; Harlem (Sugar Hill); Philly (and possibly Baltimore very soon) I've seen first hand how a number of crumbling neighborhoods with so much history have come to life with the creative vision of just a few people who care.

There are tons of social and political issues that arise when we talk about "revitalizing" neighborhoods, trust me I know (I have very strong views on this) — but that's a whole other post.  

Actually, no, I will say I really really don't like how the people who have been living in some of these neighborhoods for years are looked down upon, mistreated, and even abused. I've seen hardworking families being pushed out of their homes and stomped on for situations they did not have any control over.

Once years ago, I attended a block party in a changing Philadelphia neighborhood where older residents stood on one side of the street while the artsy newcomers stood on the other; one side feeling left out and uninvited while the other side not caring either way.

If revitalization is only for the benfit of certain groups of people then it simply becomes a band-aid to a deeper problem that will (and have) hurt us all. This needs to stop.

I digress.

I have to say though, I love city-living and I think that all neighborhoods have the capacity to be safe, sustainable and strong communities for it's residents. City-living is fabulous!

With that said I love the concept behind PopupHood. PopupHood works with landlords of empty spaces and artists to attract locals to areas that were once desolate, all in the hopes of retailers staying longer than the 6 month required period. It's an innovative concept and seems to have a lot legs. I feel many neighbords (e-hem, Baltimore) could benefit from something like this, or maybe it can inspire one to think of a similar program.

We desperately have to get our cities back to being productive communities if we really want to get education and our economy back on track.

Take a look and learn more here.

Music for Your Weekend: Afrika21 Mixtape

This mixtape project features a deliciously rich collection of contemporary African musicians curated by Society Hae. Download the mixtape for free here.

Also, check out how this recent installation of The AFRIKA21 Mixtape will support 3 organizations looking to use technology and the arts to invigorate communities throughout Africa. Click here for more info.

The POP'AFRICANA Blog

A rich collection of stories, news, and imagery featuring amazing influencers and talent from the African community on blog POP'AFRICANA.

Duro Olowu

Bohemianistic looks from Duro Olowu's latest collection.

Studio360's Branding Teachers

Public radio show Studio 360 has a series where design teams are commissioned to address unique design challenges. Recently they reached out to Brooklyn-based design firm, Hyperakt, to re-brand the concept of teaching.

For many, the visuals that initially come to mind when thinking about "teaching" are apples, desks, ABC's and 123's — which are very childlike and quite frankly very dated. Besides, teaching comes in so many forms and ideals; and the ever present element in teaching is getting one to connect the dots. After a a few explorations Hyperakt landed on this concept of connecting the dots to inform their visual identity. Take a look, I think it's quite beautiful and a fine representation of what teaching really is.

See more imagery, a video, and some audio right here.

Inspired by: Pink and Red Colorblocking

I've been seeing this combo of hot hues a lot: a bright red on top matched with a hot pink on the bottom (sometimes switched as well). It's a great look.

 

Jillian Tamaki for Penguin Threads

    Images via Jillian Tamaki

 

Embroidery artist, Jillian Tamaki, was commissioned by book publisher Penguin to illustrate a series of covers of three classic novels: Black Beauty, The Secret Garden, and Emma.

 

 Images via Jillian Tamaki

Not only do I love her detailed embroidery style, I'm really drawn to the beautiful colors she uses in Emma and The Secret Garden.

See more of Jillian's work here and a video interview here (scroll down to the bottom of the page).

Tuli & Savu Magazine

 

A fruity illustration by Laura Suuronen for poetry magazine, Tuli & Savu.

 

 

Studio Magazine

I'm loving that the Studio Museum of Harlem's publication, Studio, is available to read online. Check out the latest six issues here.