LEAVE IT TO KATE SPADE

This is probably the incorrect use of the english idiom "stuck between a rock and a hard place" - but the Kate Spade & Keds collaboration is just killing it! How am I to choose? Dots or Stripes? 

First world problems to the max.

(not pictured, pair of hot pink sneakers also in the running)

original product images via kate spade 

STUDIO HUNTING

Half a year into the so-called "real world," I'm finally getting around to looking for an art space to continue my studio practice. Ideally, this amazing studio would be part of my equally amazing abode, but alas, our 500 sq. ft apartment has no space for my creative mess, so off I go to search through craigslist. So far I've been surprised to discover the dearth of studio spaces available on the peninsula.

I actually scoped out a great studio space this weekend just a short bike ride from home, and as much as I loved it, it was above my price-point. Even still, I was considering taking the studio with the idea of finding a studio-partner in mind, but before I could even put out an ad to find someone to share the space with, I received an email this morning telling me that the studio had already been grabbed. Sigh. I guess it was not meant to be. If any of you know anyone in the bay area, please let me know if you hear of any studio availabilities on the peninsula! 

With my real-life 20-something-year-old budget, I will probably be lucky to find a level table somewhere in a partially-sunny, communal studio space on the peninsula, but I thought it couldn't hurt to share several beautiful studio spaces that have the meat and bones of my dream studio.

Who's not to say that one day I'll be working out of a space like these?

Image via: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

SPACES ON MY MIND

Hi ho, friends! Finally finding myself with some time to blog. Working two jobs keeps you plenty busy and tired. 

In two months, I'll be leaving Hanover (along with it's less than ideal residential options) and moving to the west coast. J's been out there for a couple of weeks and has found an apartment with good bones for us to build upon. It's a small but functional, neutral and sunny space; and importantly, it comes unfurnished. 

Needless to say, I've been going a little bit overboard dreaming about and planning the space and J's been patient enough to indulge my fantasies and put up with the million emails I send him with links to inspirational rooms, furniture, and accessories (curated on my pinterest). I'm envisioning a clean, minimal space evocative of the natural world; lots and lots of neutrals.... with moments of yellow ochre and pots of plants. (I'm currently obsessed with mid-century furniture, but that's for another blog post all together.)

Thought I'd share some of the spaces and pieces that have been on my mind. I'm referring to these as jumping off points as we curate pieces for the apartment. So dreamy, minimal, and beautiful with the essence of home. Stay tuned for updates in the future about what the space actually ends up looking like!

What are you envisioning for your next home? Share share!

via 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

A GOOD IDEA: BENCHWARMERS

A close friend of mine has been working on a product that I'm sincerely eager to get my hands on. 

Introducing Benchwarmers, a company with a mission to improve the experience of male skivvies. As stated on their website, they promise "comfort, a bold style of modesty, and absolute affordability" when it comes to their product offerings for men's underwear. 

They're looking to launch in August, so be quick and go sign up to be one of the first to try out their fresh releases. Though I wont be wearing any benchwarmers - us ladies have a plethora of products to choose from - I've signed up anyway hoping to share with the men in my circle of friends. 

Go check them out and read about the story behind their idea. I'm super excited for my friend behind this venture and I look forward to Benchwarmers being my go-to place to pick up some essentials for the boyfriend! 

MY DREAM COME TRUE... SERIOUSLY

Holy canoli. Presenting The Book Cover Archive ("steady beta").
1351 covers and growing. Some features even have the typefaces identified!

I die.

SATURDAY NIGHT SHINDIG // MOODBOARD

A moodboard for invitation designs for an upcoming party that I'll refer to as the saturday night shindig for now. It's going to be a great collaborative shebang and I've volunteered to design the invitations! Stay tuned for updates :)

OH LOLITA

Some of my personal favorites from the collection of cover designs for Nabokov's Lolita. While I wasn't a huge fan of the novel - understandably, I found the material a little rough to get through at times - it's fascinating to see how designers throughout time and place have approached the cover to the infamous book with designs as varied as readers' reactions to the novel.

Which cover do you find most appropriate for Lolita? Any thoughts on how the content of the novel should be translated onto the cover?

Original images via Covering Lolita.

READ MORE

I think you might relate when I say that I often feel like I need to be a "trailblazer" of sorts - think of something no one else has thought of, make something no one has ever made, do something no one has ever done. And honestly, this sense of responsibility to be a "trailblazer" can be paralyzing at times as I turn inward to find that kick of genius. At times, it can be a fruitless struggle.

Let's just say that I'm thrilled to have re-discovered the magic of the library. I've come to truly appreciate through my time in the stacks just how many awesome people doing awesome things came before me/are working around me. If I want to be "trailblazer," I need to turn outward in addition to inward to know what paths have already been made and learn from what's being done around me. I forget that I do not and should not exist and work in a vacuum. This is something I'll say I've always known in the back of my mind, but really failed to take advantage of until very recently in my creative career. 

So, when I find myself with the glorious gift of "free time" these days, I make the short walk to the art library, peruse the shelves, sit my butt down, and devour book after book. For many of us college students, the library seems like a pretty grim place to spend one's free time; it's Senior Spring, I should be partying it up, getting drunk, reveling in the last of my glory days as an undergraduate. But as someone who discovered her passion late in the liberal arts game, I feel a pressing need to take advantage of the resources provided by Dartmouth and the time I have as a student to get the information I want and need before I graduate and enter the "real world."

It's crunch time! READ MORE!

Do you have any books you'd like to recommend?
 

A TYPOGRAPHIC DATING GAME

Type Connection is a game created by Aura Seltzer that helps you learn how to pair typefaces. You get to play the role of matchmaker and try to create successful typeface pairings based on given personality/dating profiles. I've found it to be not only a great educational resource for informing design decisions, but also just a wonderful site to experience. Aura creates an experience that successfully communicates and reignites the life, energy, and passion of/within designers as she infuses the typefaces with such tangible personalities that you can't help but become attached.

Give Type Connection a try! I suggest you challenge your design-appreciating partner/friends this weekend to see just how good your matchmaking skills are!

Warning: Reported side effects of playing Type Connection include severe procrastination as well as frequent reference to typefaces in conversation with non-design friends that often leave them confused as to who "Futura" and "Archer" are. Use with caution. But please, do give it a go!

(via Swiss Miss)

COVETED COVERS / 1

They say don't judge a book by its cover, but I have to admit, I always do.

Among the hundreds of choices presented to me on my pilgrimages to Barnes & Noble, each book only has so much to make a first impression, and in the sea of visual and tactile overload, a well-designed cover is what hooks and reels me in. I'm a huge fiction fan, always on the hunt for a good read, and as much as I'd like to say my book purchases are driven by a respect for content, I'm coaxed time and time again by beautiful covers. The well-designed cover whispers "pick me up, take me home, give me a chance," and for some reason I'm convinced that the content of the book will match the quality of the cover (forgetting, momentarily, how many times I've been wrong about this in the past).

Cover designs have not only informed my spontaneous book purchases, but have also served as rich sources of design & art inspiration and let's just say this is first of many posts to come featuring cover designs.

Enough of my chatter. This week's post features the designs of Trevor Baum. His concepts for Faulkner titles took my breath away. I love how the designs pay respect to the works of both Faulkner and the illustrious photographer Sally Mann. I hope these concepts go to print one day - I would love to have these on my shelf.

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Go check out more of Trevor's Faulkner covers as well as his other beautiful designs on his website; he has some great work!