gratitude, honesty, and humor
I leave it in your capable hands
it’s all right in front of you.
I love these retro-inspired “just because” cards by Dani Press. Dani takes all the photos herself and turns them into these sweet and original cards.
Check out more here– it’s fun to look around at the different ones because she gives a little background on each photo and where/why it was taken, which makes them feel even more special.
The Regional Assembly of Text
I would love to hang out here. In addition to being a stationery/gift store, the Regional Assembly of Text has a monthly letter writing club. !!! How brilliant. I love hand-written letters (who doesn’t), but other than thank-you notes, it’s rare that I actually take the time to sit down and write a letter. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a monthly time set aside to write a few letters and gather with friends?
And, they have a reading room of rare magazines and self-published books! I love that they not only sell them, but that they call it a reading room– implying that they won’t be annoyed if you want to spend an hour or two just browsing and hanging out.
Considering the Regional Assembly of Text is located in Vancouver, meaning not available to me (or most of the readers of this blog) (although there are some in Vancouver! Hi!), I’m inspired to start my own letter-writing club with friends. Wouldn’t that be fun?
[PS - now seems an appropriate time to publicly thank
my awesome brother-in-law, from whom I received a
mix cd in the mail last night! An old playlist of duets
he and my sister love that he'd burned for me once before
when I was younger and had since lost.]
[Regional Assembly of Text website]
Retro Travel-Inspired Graphic Design
Love these retro travel-inspired pieces designed by Caroline Popham as press invites for UK fashion brand Jigsaw.
Mabona Origami
Amazed by the precision and expressiveness of these origami creatures by Sipho Mabona.
And of course loove the stop-motion animation video made from his creations. This video was created as an ad for Asics and won multiple international advertising awards.
Also love these installations of the figures suspended in air…
Click through for more, including a couple of examples of the absurdly intricate 2-d patterns these are made from.
These are what two of her patterns look like unfolded…. !!!
Thanks Monica!
First I Reconized That You Were…
Finnish born architect Eero Saarinen met Aline Bernstein in 1955 when she was working as an art editor and critic for the New York Times and she was assigned to write an article about him. As the story goes, they fell in love instantly, and this list of things he loved about her was written shortly before they married.
Letterhead
This is awesome. Just discovered a sister blog to Letters of Note (check it out if you don’t know it– it publishes scans of original historically significant letters) called Letterheady, which publishes the letterhead of famous figures and companies. Could browse their archives for… a while.
(Stephen King)
LustList >> “Lists”
I am dying to get a look at manuscript archivist Liza Kirwin’s new book Lists. The book collects various lists of famous artists, from to-dos to address books, with the premise that such lists both augment an artist’s personal history and add insight to bits of history that were happening at the time.
(Can’t make out much of Kline’s tab, but the one at top looks like possibly a Chateauneuf du Pape?)
The book includes ephemera like Picasso’s list of his favorite artists at the first Armory show in 1913, most of whom went on to dominate the art scene in the coming years, proving that he not only had personal talent, but also an eye for quality in others’ work. (Also interesting that he left off Braque, his contemporary in the Cubist movement… I am personally gratified by this because I never liked Braque’s work haha.)
(Pretty awesome cover, no?? I love the retro illustration and the mix of typography!)
Another “list” is Alexander Calder’s address book, which reads like a summary of the “who’s-who” of avant-garde Paris in the early 1900s. Other lists are more personal, like Janice Lowry’s list of “50 people I need to forgive” and Eero Saarinen’s list of reasons he loves his soon-to-be second wife.
Little seemingly insignificant lists, in retrospect, can actually take on major significance as snapshots into the making of a decision, the evidence of priorities, etc. As a compulsive list-maker myself (I literally have lists for everything– running lists of gifts to give people, equipment I want for the kitchen, etc.), I am totally intrigued by the chance to look at other peoples’ lists, espcially hand-written ones!
Available here from Princeton Architectural Press.
Via The Morning News.
PS — Speaking of lists, if you’re looking for something to make, here’s what’s on my list of things to cook this week: Grapefruit, Celery, and Parmesan Salad, Cilantro-Marinated Grilled Tofu and Soba Noodles, Grilled Guacamole, and Double Chocolate Layer Cake.
Old Paper
I’m a sucker for old paper things, like airmail envelopes and tickets… they have that effect I’ve mentioned before of making me long for an era I never actually lived through. They also make me wish the design of small, everyday things like this were still given such attention.
It’s the same way I feel about public buildings, like post offices and public schools– they used to be built so beautifully, and were architectural icons in town, and now they’re just built to be functional and cheap.
via Paper is Lovely
