words of pottery {rae dunn}

I have been a quiet fan of clay artist Rae Dunn. Sparked by my friend's recent engagement and wanting to find her and her husband-to-be a memorable gift to mark their special day, I was clicking through my favorite sites to be inspired with options. And wanted to share Rae Dunn today. Inspired by the earth and the beauty of simple things, she sets type and her drawings on clay and creates little baked creations. For the holidays, her plates {such as this one} were a nice gift and I have been personally eyeing the salt and pepper containers {imaged below}. A new item I came across is the plate photographed above that reads "let the beauty you love be what you do" and a crown imprinted into the clay. Such nice words of inspiration...check out her Etsy store for all her recent creations~ {Oh, and when/if you do purchase something from her, she has great packaging - almost to the point of not wanting to open it! But yes, of course, I opened it...}


{Photos courtesy of Rae Dunn}

los farruco {ny flamenco festival}

This weekend, I unexpectedly got to see Los Farruco - one of the amazing performances from the New York Flamenco Festival 2009 at the City Center. This show features a family {sons, daughters, grandsons} of the patriarch El Farruco and showcased the dynamic and high-energy flamenco dance of the big stage. From my view, their skill and talent was highlighted by the intricate, rhythmic and deliberate steps created by the toes, heels, sole of the dancers' feet. With a soft spot for the Spanish guitar and flamenco singers {that distinctive and resonating sound~}, the show was a treat for the eyes and ears.

{Photo courtesy of City Center website}

what does your world look like today?

I am wrapping up some design consulting work for Fotolog - which has included a major re-design effort for various parts of their site - and wanted to share that the new homepage I designed has launched.

Fotolog is a leading photo blogging site that allows its members to upload 1 photo a day to share with friends, family, and other members in a journal/blog format. It's quite popular with the teen/tween market {ie. what outfit am I wearing today? or who am I hanging out with today?...} but there are lots of very clever {for my taste} member pages that document things more like what am I eating today? or capturing a moment on the way to work or finding faces in non-human mundane objects.

With over 23 million users from 200 countries around the world {wow!}, the site has evolved to serve a variety of users and uses from its original launch as a community project in 2002. For the re-design of the homepage, we wanted to target newcomers to the site and acquaint them to the function of the site as a daily photo journal, communicate Fotolog's vision of spontaneous discovery of the world and its people, and highlight some members and their photographs. The above image is a zoom-in look of the piece that showcases existing users and their photos. Marked by a retro "flip clock" that reads today's date, visitors can randomly click through photos that people have posted today. The look is reminiscent of a cut-and-paste photo collage of background images, while staying true to the Fotolog identity which is all black, white and gray. Other functions of the homepage include introducing some members from around the world, as well as highlighting Fotolog Groups, which are group pages for people who share a common interest. The bottom image is a shrunken glance at the entire page design. To snapshot-takers to avid photographers alike, check out the site and join in on the fun~

iphone art

So, I thought the iPhone level was pretty clever, but I just discovered iPhone artists using an app called Brushes. Nice work! If you take a close look at the image above, the part on the iPhone screen is David Lasnier's painting juxtaposed on his "still life". I really like Lasnier's style and choice of office supplies for his bold, magnified look on everyday items. All done on the little iPhone. Right?

coffee rings

Found this beautiful yet functional item - Bentwood Coffee Cuff - a re-usable wooden java jacket. It can be worn around the wrist as a bracelet until you grab that morning cup of joe, which then you can wrap it around the to-go cup to help you carry your cup to wherever you need to go! Handmade by Contexture Design Group {from Vancouver Canada}, these coffee cuffs come in 4 different wood grains...love this form and function piece by them.

baby announcement cards {garlands}

Just finished and sent out a set of baby announcement cards that Studio TOTA designed and printed for a family here in NYC that is welcoming their second baby. With a palette of deep red and purples, there are 4 litle birds - that represent each member of the family - sitting on a string of garland flags. The gatefold cards open up to the baby's brith time/date & information and close with the back saying "we look forward to you meeting the newest member of our family." Although it is exciting to work with new companies and organizations, there is something so special and rewarding about doing one-of-a-kind creations for individuals - thank you to the family for sharing this momentous occassion~

queens museum of art

To take advantage of the sneek peak of spring weather this weekend, I went to the Queens Museum of Art in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Currently they have an exhibit called Queens International 4 that features artists from all over the world who live/work in Queens. With bikes mounted on a large wall to soda cans lit with neon lights, it was in interesting look at some emerging artists {not sure if I fully "understood" it all}. But I was pleasantly surprised by an ongoing piece the museum houses called the The Panorama of the City of New York {middle photo}. This is a 9,335 square foot architectural model - built by NYC builder Robert Moses for the 1964 World’s Fair - that includes every single building constructed before 1992 in all five boroughs. Between the scale of the model and the level of detail, you can't help but be awed by the scope of NYC {and to try to find your apartment building =) }. It's a go-see item for New Yorkers, I think.
The museum trip was followed by a hearty meal in Jackson Heights with some amazing Indian food!...just a few stops away on the 7 train coming back into the city. Good stuff...

i lego ny {christoph niemann}

At this point, I'm slightly concerned that I'm obsessed with Christoph Niemann and his nytimes.com visual blog, Abstract City. This is my 3rd time mentioning this artist {there were others I held back from...} but his latest posting could not go missed! I LEGO N.Y. is a bunch of photos of his Lego creations that were made when playing with his sons and reminisce of his time here in NYC. I've posted most of them here, but check out the whole entry to feel his creativity, endearing sense of humor and love for the city.

monocle magazine

From a dear friend's recommendation, I have come to discover and quite like a magazine called Monocle - that describes itself as "a global briefing covering international affairs, business, culture and design." Based in London, but with contributors from around the world, this publication {both online and offline} is a collection of interesting articles, edgy photography, unique point-of-views and a stylish sense of aesthetics. This month's current issue {top photo is of the cover} features Iceland and how the country, the people, the industries, are fighting back and facing recovery after the fall of the banks. The cover and article feature the photography of Cedric Bihr who has been mentioned before. I found Monocle at the St. Marks Bookshop here in East Village...happy reading~