happy munday. Oy. So much catching up to do! First off, was flipping through the latest Dwell and saw they had a review of this new book Hand Job: A Catalog of Type, by Michael Perry, published by Princeton Architectural Press. I've actually had a copy of the book sitting on my table now for awhile and have been meaning to give it a review here. So, with no further delay- Here it is! I really really really love this book. I remember back in the early 90's (totally dating myself here) the graphic design world was all about deconstructive type and how many crazy fonts you could use. I'm so glad that today, there's a strong resurgence of hand drawn type.It brings back a more "artistic" aspect to commercial design, and its just more fun and gives much more quirky personality. This book has a huge and comprehensive collection of recent pieces that have used hand drawn type, but what I also love was that it showcases many designer's studios and work places. It's a must-have reference for any graphics person, or anyone that simply appreciates some personal creative expression. Here's a little video of a flip through so you can get a feel of the book. (sorry for my creepy looking hand, I was trying to hold the camera steady and flip the pages at the same time)
Even though these are meant for a nursery, they're so cute and simple, I could see these working well in any space. Love the fishes and birds ones- They're limited edition letterpress and come already framed. More info here.
Its finally friday- for some reason the past few weeks have been so hectic- and fridays can't seem to come soon enough. I've got a bunch of things to tackle this weekend that I've been longing to do, all those "weekend project", etc... but first- it's time for a little french 60's "avant-garde"... How we love you so. I bring you a little vintage Catherine Deneuve, in the classic Belle de Jour, and a more modern interpretation of it via Garbage.
Posted this house that I saw in the Sept. 2007 California Home+Design mag, (click over to AT:LA for my post- the house was done by the cool folks at Sundayland)- I am strangely obsessed with how they hung the cactus pot in the kitchen. I want to have a pot hanging off the wall like that- how cool is that? I don't know how or where I'd find a metal ring thing like that but I want one. I suppose you could just put a shelf up, but it's not the same effect. I remember seeing an iron garden trellis type thing awhile back, but that was a whole set up thing- I would just want the arms... any ideas? Also, I love the unexpected color combos they used and am so drawn to this image of the semi-cheezy 80's garden wallpaper with the color coded bookcase. It feels so fun and fresh.
I'm not sure what it is, but I find something kind of charming about this set of Confetti dishes. They're made of recycled melamine. I've always had this weird fondness for dishes that have built in sections. I guess it takes me back to those lunch trays in elementary school, or family pot-luck dinner parties. Anyways, I think the cereal bowl is my favorite. Get them here.
Happy friday folks. Why is it that friday's just can't seem to come soon enough?? It's thankfully cooled down a bit here from last weekend's heatwave. One thing that's always refreshing are frozen grapes. I always thought that sounded weird, until I tried them. So easy, and sooo good! I've also heard frozen watermelon is good. May need to try that next...
I recently got the latest catalog from U+ Studio collection by Umbra (thanks Cynthia!). At the last ICFF show, I stopped by the Umbra booth and saw lots of great things they have in store for this fall, but somehow totally missed this one! It's the clever Biblioteca bookshelf- It was inspired by two vintage coffee tables designer Matt Carr found- which he then created a bookshelf from. Now you can get your own (granted for $525) here. But, I guess if you're handy with a power saw, you could probably DIY it with some brackets and some paint? For some reason, I see this being a great display piece- could be fun mixing different table styles too... hm... ideas...
How cute are these things from Dutch by Design?! I just got an email from them, and I love these little bird salt/pepper shakers. They also showed this amazing bunny dish rack, by Chris Koens, who also designed the salt/pepper shakers (and its only $25!) but I can't seem to find it on their website... but as soon as they put it up- I must have!
It was soooooooo hot here in So Cal this weekend. Yesterday was even hotter. In the morning, decided to go to Laguna Beach for breakfast. Ate at the famous Beach House restaurant, which had a nice beachfront view. As we were waiting for our table to get ready, I was like a little kid, staring at the row of aquariums. Fish are cool...
As I mentioned before, this year's Back to school/college 07 offerings at Target has not excited me much. Compared to last year's, it still doesn't feel very new or exciting. However, I am a big fan of the displays, with the striking and cool black silhouettes against solid the cyan/aqua...
Oh those clever and brilliant IKEA copywriters. It's true. Home is the most important place in the world. "...homes are not just made of bricks and mortar with four walls. Home is an emotion - a feeling of security, safety, comfort, peace, about being yourself and being together with your loved ones. Home is the place where memories are made, relationships are built, where children and families grow together. ...regardless of where you live or who you are, home is the most important place in the world..." Check out the ad here.
Happy Friday folks! This weekend is a long weekend (monday's a holiday here in the States) so I'm super excited for this mini-break. The past couple weeks have been quite hectic and I'm hoping to take the weekend to just - CATCH UP. There's a ton of magazines I need to go through, general maintenance, and just ... enjoy? I'll have more posts this weekend... in the meantime, I spotted this interesting pattern the other day. It's sort of a less deliberate version of this that I posted awhile back. I'd like to say it's a "natural" occuring pattern... but it's not. hehe, I still found it kinda unintentionally pretty...
What a great cover image for the latest album by The Pinker Tones. It brings back memories of looking at my Crayola box and at the same time reminds me of mosaic tile from Morocco or something... Muji has a pencil set that kinda reminds me of this too... (too bad I use ink pens the most...)
I'm fascinated with this chandelier that I saw in the July/August 2007 Southern Accents Magazine. It was featured in the home of Chuck and Kathy Hawkins' weekend getaway home in Georgia. The house is great, but the chandelier struck me. It's so unexpected- She put those traditional rock crystals on an antler chandelier! I also like the column shade that sits inside of it, makes it more modern. I'm thinking how cool it could also look if it was all one color, like white or black or even a light blue! But I guess just the contrasting juxtaposition is what's so fun about it and it totally works to glam up and balance the rustic and elegance in the room.... DIY project for Labor Day weekend anyone?
Yikes- I've been double blog tagged! First is from Gregory. (I'm cribbin' his image set up too) Here are 10 Sounds I enjoy (in no particular order). What are yours?
1.) rain on the roof 2.) the *ping* notification on my email (I got mail?! oh. just junk mail.) 3.) scooping rice out the storage container 4.) nylon swishing against nylon 5.) a thumpin bass and a good beat 6.) the snap crackle pop of Three Flavor Sizzling Rice Soup 7.) the crunchy sounds inside my head when I eat cereal 8.) a crisp page turn of a glossy magazine 9.) the dripping of a flowing fountain 10.) The sound the Transformers make when they "transform!"
Saw this on MoCo Loco, these logos by Jamie Weick for Virgin Atlantic are so clever. They show a very subtle skyline of a city. There are 3 more versions you can see here.
art director/editor living in Orange County, CA (j3productions.com) Happy Mundane is a place to celebrate the ordinary and the extraordinary, happy colors, good design of any kind, and to take a moment to appreciate some things that get overlooked in the everyday. There's beauty in your dishsoap.
happy munday. Oy. So much catching up to do! First off, was flipping through the latest Dwell and saw they had a review of this new book Hand Job: A Catalog of Type
, by Michael Perry, published by Princeton Architectural Press. I've actually had a copy of the book sitting on my table now for awhile and have been meaning to give it a review here. So, with no further delay- Here it is! I really really really love this book. I remember back in the early 90's (totally dating myself here) the graphic design world was all about deconstructive type and how many crazy fonts you could use. I'm so glad that today, there's a strong resurgence of hand drawn type.
It brings back a more "artistic" aspect to commercial design, and its just more fun and gives much more quirky personality. This book has a huge and comprehensive collection of recent pieces that have used hand drawn type, but what I also love was that it showcases many designer's studios and work places. 
It's a must-have reference for any graphics person, or anyone that simply appreciates some personal creative expression. Here's a little video of a flip through so you can get a feel of the book. (sorry for my creepy looking hand, I was trying to hold the camera steady and flip the pages at the same time)
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