my walk to paris

The children's book, Henri's Walk to Paris {illustrated by designer Saul Bass and written by Leonore Klein / published in 1962 by Young Scott Books} is the story of young boy from Reboul, France, who, after reading a book about Paris, decides to pack up a lunch and head for the city:

Like many of us Henri wants to see Paris.

In Paris, there are thousands of buses. In Reboul, where Henri lives, there is only one bus.

In Paris there are many parks and rows and rows of trees. The Park in Reboul has only five trees. In Paris there are many zoos full of animals for the people to see.

And off I go to Paris for a few days!...how thankful I am. Happy Thanksgiving to all - may it be a wonderful weekend for you and your family~

More amazing photos of this vintage book...

announcing...affordable art fair 2009

Greetings from the Affordable Art Fair New York City 2009! The 2009 Fair has been announced to be in a neighboring building of the iconic Empire State Building. Studio TOTA will be collaborating with the folks at AAF again to design/create the concept and materials for the fair that will take place on May 7th to May 10th of 2009. Above is a promotional postcard that will be distributed to inform visitors of the new dates and new location. Plans are to take full advantage of the building's architectural elements and to be inspired by the art-deco style of when the building went up. More to come from this project...stay tuned!

complexions {joyce theater}

During the brr~ of the weekend, I went to the Joyce Theater in Chelsea and saw the dynamic modern ballet art of the Complexions dance company. With super cutting edge choreography and costumes, plus brilliant performers {so graceful yet so physically strong!}, I felt that I was getting a chance to see something really new and refreshing. The program of dances were done to music ranging from abstract sounds, to classical Bach, to Ave Maria {this duet performance was short, but my favorite} and to even a medley of U2 songs. The coming of a NYC winter is definitely a bitter adjustment, but it welcomes the diverse and unique arts - and so I'm willing to take up that exchange.
*FYI...Complexions is on stage at the Joyce until the end of the month!

pile of sweets {justin richel}

I think artist, Justin Richel, was able to capture a dream that I probably often have. Going on with the theme of tasty food, above is his letterpress print of sugary sweets. Below is the artist in action for his larger collection of gouache paintings. The letterpress print and other prints of his paintings {like the bottom image, Precarious Print} are available at Little Paper Planes.

Reminds me, I should go run out to Momofuku Milk Bar and Bakery {that just opened} to grab some of their snickerdoodle cookies...mmm.

dogmatic dogs

Due to my recent projects, I find myself oftentimes in the 18th-22th St blocks on 5th Ave. Jumping between meetings I "need" to find quick grab-a-bite places and one of those moments brought me to Dogmatic Gourmet Sausage System. Apparently they were a street-food cart in the West Village...and due to their popularity, they opened up a mini-flagship location.
The food = a choice of a beef, pork, turkey, lamb sausages or asparagus + one sauce + a hollowed out toasted baguette = a nice little gourmet hot dog package {I had pork + truffle gruyere cheese = mmm}.
The space = approximately 500 sq ft (???...not very big} with a massive communal butcher block counter in the middle with ingeniously space-saving stools that pull out of the counter piece at an as-needed-basis.
The decor = fun illustrations of NYC drawn on subway tiles {same artist as their website} and hot dog "sculptures" set into the wall.
You can sense that the entire experience of the store was thoroughly designed - from the architecture/interior design down to the packaging/presentation of the hot dogs - which is something that I love to appreciate as a designer. And the food was great too, as it was made-to-order and had just as much of a thoughtful feeling to it. Thumbs up from me.

Dogmatic Gourmet Sausage System: E 17th St bet 5th & Union Sq West

moving calligraphy {betsy dunlap}

I'm working on a wedding invite design for some friends and came across the quirky but beautiful hand calligraphy of Betsy Dunlap. I love the girls' names she gives her styles: I like them all but I might be prone to befriending Jill and Amelia first. I know that I would be pretty excited to see an envelope like this in my mailbox - it would be sure to stand out in the mix of bills and catalogs that I've NEVER signed up for {how do I get rid of them?!?!?...already tried Catalog Choice. can't tell if I'm a success story}. Anyways, going off on a tangent - please enjoy Betsy's work! Turns out she has a Etsy store too...

crystallization {thomas kral}

Was reading about 100% Design {a contemporary interiors event that takes place in London} and stumbled upon these beautiful measuring cups by Thomas Kral, a Slovakian designer. These pieces are part of his collection, Upgrade,that takes common glass containers {milk bottles, pasta sauce jars, etc} and applies traditional cutting + gilding techniques that you see in crystal glass objects {common inhabitant of wedding registries}. His balance of the industrial material and the fine craftsmanship creates a truly unique collection...see below and his site for more.

election day = change

So here we are...election day, and we are ready!
As we read the handworked words on this great pillow by designer Shanna Murray {who was inspired by the words of Gandhi}, I am ready to walk over to the voting booth. And for whatever reason it may be for you - your strong political beliefs, the paper you read every morning, the voting ads out there, the hype, whatever - block the time and go out there to make your choice count. Today is the day for a new vision, a new leader, a new chapter...

{On a tidbit sidenote, according to the Empire State Building lighting schedule, tomorrow night the building will light up to celebrate whoever wins the election - blue for Obama and red for McCain...go blue!}

artist bio

Read this photographer's bio on Dossier that totally caught my attention:

"Justin Hollar's work has never been featured in a one-person show or in any group shows in New York City, or anywhere around the United States or abroad. His photographs are not in any private, public, or corporate collections. He has never received grants from anyone. His client list does not include Visionaire, W, i-D, or self service. If you would like to change any of this...feel free."

How great is that? And then I went on to his portfolio and really liked his work {some samples above}...always appreciate a partnership of talent and wit/humor, hence, my subject matter for today.

animal index

Animal silhouettes peeking out of your bookshelf - this is Animal Index, a +d product designed Hiroshi Sasagawa. Place a reindeer, giraffe, or pig in the shelf and they will remind you where a book or file was removed. As the indexes are the front half and back half of animals, they look as though they are walking/jumping in and out of your shelf and adds a nice layer of movement and fun to your (my) piled shelves.

ABC3D {by marion bataille}

After forgetting about an order I placed MONTHS ago, I received my copy of ABC3D, an amazing pop-up book by Parisian graphic and book designer, Marion Bataille. It's her first publication and it's literally a page-turner. A flip of the cover makes an Art-Deco-styled letter "A" pop off of a black background. With a black, white and red print palette, each page continues to reveal the next letter in the English alphabet. Above is a great video that was created when Marion had a prototype of the book - but luckily for us, the book was published without cutting corners and with just as much artistry as shown.

stairway to heaven {OMA}

Office for Metropolitan Architecture {better known as Rem Koolhaas's OMA} presented their 1st NYC building design for a new luxury residential high-rise, 23 East 22nd Street, just a few weeks ago. I saw the renderings {thanks Dezeen} and I have to say, I'm quite intrigued. As I walk around the city {despite the economy downer} you can see that the skyline is changing here. This building will surely impact the skyline AND streetscape - as this vertical structure seems to challenge gravity and make people wonder if there is waste of real-estate {every sq ft counts = $}. But apparently, this building cantilevers 30 feet over its neighboring building to make up for the lost space. “The form provides a number of unexpected moments that appear at each step – balconies at the upper part of the building and floor windows at the lower part—providing a variety of unit types and features throughout the building”, says OMA partner Shohei Shigematsu. The building is scheduled for completion in 2010 - should be interesting to see the final outcome...

creative barcodes {d-barcode}

Not to be overly generalizing, but the Japanese are oftentimes amazingly creative in updating the old and making the everyday item a little more fun - while maintaining the functionality of it all. So, what's in a barcode? It's used in processing most purchases, as well as organizing inventory - basically, it's pretty significant and needs to be reliable. Japanese company, D-Barcode, spruces up the customer experience by adding a tiny bit of fun to the mundane vertical bars we are so used to seeing, while keeping them completely scan-able. Hanging strawberries from the barcode "vine" for a strawberry jam label...a guy lifting the heavy barcode for the packaging of a energy drink bottle...a barcode jumping out of a pan for a popcorn box...a surfer dude riding a barcode "wave" for a surfer brand tee.
As a designer, barcodes are a headache {...but that fixed-size white box is going to RUIN the design, ugh.}. As a customer, barcodes are to be dismissed {...that thing on the back of the package?}. I appreciate how these tiny additions can make someone smile and make the otherwise unrelated presence of a barcode to have some context to the product it's on. how fun.

log bowls {loyal loot}

Via various stylish blogs out there, I came across these beautifully crafted log bowls by The Loyal Loot Collective - a design group based in Alberta, Canada. With a fine balance between the natural base and the high-gloss painted interiors, these bowls can be a nice addition to any space. Using "nature's leftovers" - waste wood from storms, re-landscaping development, etc. - what a pretty afterlife these log slices are living.

PS. Check out the other witty creations from Loyal Loot on their website {love Monsieur Dressup too!}

rainy friday

It's raining lots today here in NYC and it's supposed to be this way for most of the weekend. Not ideal but what can we do...well {if you ask} one thing is to appreciate some tasteful solutions to capturing the beauty of rain. {top image is of a decorative drain grate and bottom is of a kusari-doi, a Japanese rain chain that channels rainwater into a drain}
Enjoy a lay-low weekend all~

dressed objects {manon}

Hello to Manon who creates fabric sculptures, dressed objects, clothes and accessories – each piece is unique and utilizes re-used clothing or fabrics that are given a new function. I think these are beautiful images of plain objects that are given a little bit of special attention with custom-fit fabrics. As the weather gets a little cooler, no reason why a salt + pepper shaker can't have little cardigans for themselves =)...

have any books lying around?

The idea was that everyone has books lying around, that they might have even forgotten about. The challenge was to get people to donate those books to the Greenville Literacy Association so that they could in turn sell them to raise money at their annual Annual Really Good, Really Big, Really Cheap Book Sale.

The Bounce Agency creatively executes an ad campaign by transforming stairs into a pile of books (above), a parking garage into a bookshelf (below), and mini post-it packs left in local hangout spots into books that are just "laying around" (bottom). What an eye catching effort to get the community involved in a great cause.


**The Result** Greenville Literacy Association’s 7^th Annual Really Good, Really Big, Really Cheap Book Sale opened its doors on August 16 to 16,000 visitors who over the course of the day purchased 82,000 books {priced from $1-$10} to raise $122,000!

sketchy furniture

Swedish designers, Front, created Shade - a room set containing white objects and furniture, which are decorated with black hatching to enhance depth and shadow - for Italian shop, Spazio Rossana Orlandi. I love how the pattern on these pieces {rug, plate, cup, vase, table, etc} are hand drawings of the shade/shadow of the actual objects and how they play with one's eye. It creates a little bit of a mixed feel of Alice in Wonderland and a moment of opening up an architect's sketchbook...

flowers & ribbons & buttons, oh my...

I spent a nice late morning walking around flower market and garment district. It's a "not so nice" area in terms of street ambiance, but it's a great area for perusing the source of flowers and textiles in the city.

Above are some snapshots of the floral market on 28th St between 6th and 7th Aves. Surrounded by floral designers, event planners and their clients, and commercial space owners, I got a chance to see the blooms and trends for the autumn. I definitely sensed a strong emphasis on natural materials {wood and bamboo containers} {large berry/peppers/fruit branches and greenery} which I think goes in line with the overall trend of eco-green-ness. The fall colors of deep purples, crimson, and orange mixed with natural greens were really beautiful...

Walking a few blocks up to the mid-30s area, amongst the various beads and textile stores, I stopped by my favorite trimmings shop, M+J. As you walk into this large space that is filled from floor to ceiling with buttons, ribbons, fringe, feathers, lace, sequins of ALL shapes and colors...it's almost like walking through a candy store. I loved the above wall of white lace and beading trims - ranging from antiquated to modern. I spent quite some time in the store pulling out various boxes and spools of trimmings, while imagining what kinds of crafts could come out of it. It was a great little mini-inspiration day for me...

it's back-to-school time~

I live in the vicinity of NYU, so for the past few days the sidewalk has been consumed with college newbies carting their extra-long twin bed sets, mini-fridges, halogen lamps, shower caddies, and all that other college dorm gear. And I can't help but be reminded of my lava lamp (yes, I thought it was SO cool)... Not that I can use any of the above items listed anymore, but in the spirit of back-to-school-ness, I bring to your attention these beautiful file folders from Nantaka Joy (who I am a big fan of!). Fresh off the press, these woodcut floral file folders can spruce up a cubicle, add some style to your client meeting, and just bring joy to organizing. {And hey, if you ARE a student, add this onto your cart that you are pushing through the dorm elevators - and fully enjoy your school experience!}
Folders are available exclusively at Anthropologie stores...

materializing flowers

I feel the air cooling down here and so the fall clothes in the store windows are not looking as "unthinkable" anymore. But I'm going to keep a hold onto the summer as long as possible - so ode to blooming flowers (but with a fall palette)...I love this look of cascading flowers created from material being cut, folded, and manipulated to become surface relief objects.
Photographed above are from top to bottom:
1. hand-crafted leather manipulation by Helen Amy Murray
2. flower petal top from Bottega Veneta's fall collection
3. contemporary armchair by Helen Amy Murray
4. detail of the armchair leatherwork
5. detail of Valentino's Jardin Rose Frame handbag
6. skirt from Vera Wang's fall ready-to-wear collection

organic giraffe

Put a graphic designer and a fashion designer together and we get Organic Giraffe. This NYC duo's debut creation is an organic cotton scarf wrap that has writing in the Basque language and their great giraffe logo silk-screened on it. The scarves have been hand-dyed in various colors {red and purple shown above are part of their summer collection} and are nice addition to the eco-friendly fashion family. They are so soft to the touch and is a perfectly fun accessory for all 4 seasons.
Organic Giraffe scarves are available at shopbop.com, OAK, and other stores in NYC...

modern mantra {thomas broome}

With crazy precision, Swedish artist - Thomas Broomé - uses indian ink on white paper to create interiors and illustrations constructed with words and letters in Modern Mantra, a series of 18 text drawings. Broomé masters perspective by positioning letters at certain angles and degrees. As seen above {click on image to see enlarged version}, he uses the word of what he is drawing in repetition until it forms the shape of that item. His drawings were used in an ad campaign for the Yazigi English School with the tagline, "Life has no subtitles.", {how excellent is that?}. Not sure how appreciated his drawings were in these ads but his technique + method captured my attention for sure...

go upcycle!

Last night I met with my former colleague and founder of UpCycle, a progressive company that is encouraging consumers and businesses to create an environmentally sustainable economy. UpCycle promotes responsible consumerism by building the infrastructure to allow people to recycle everything - especially products that go beyond paper, plastic, glass - and get rewarded. They hope to close the waste loop by giving people incentives towards new products by recycling their old product. So let's say your inkjet printer is no longer doing its job...you can go through UpCycle to recycle it (yes...printers can be recycled!) and get a discount to buy a new printer via a store that is also part of the UpCycle program. Everyone wins! Studio TOTA has been given the opportunity to create the identity for this promising program. After many rounds of decision making, above is the official logo - and we are in the works for a website and promotional materials...so stay tuned!

people cutouts

Noticed a new graphic trend {that I do like} lately in editorials and ads: rough cut-out photos of people. Top black & white image is from the newest Converse ad campaign - photos of 3 artists are multiplied and stacked and flipped through as a fun visual affect. Bottom is nymag.com's Party Lines, New York Mag's showcase of celebrity pics at parties - the background of the celebrity is cut out and the resulted photos are treated like a little collage project. Granted it creates a more casual aesthetic, the cutouts result in specifically unique shapes that give some movement to an otherwise flat medium and allows images to escape from the boxed in standard. Always open to being a little out of the box...

grid wall pockets

Designers Jaime Salm and Elizabeth Ingram have designed a solution for you to get rid of all the *misc* clutter on your desk and put them in pockets on your wall. Made from die-cut and stitched recycled felt, Grid Wall Pockets Organizer is easy to install on any wall at home or in the office. Available in 3 colors {Hot Rod Red, BB Blue and Orangina - how cute!}, this is a "green" item available at MIO, an online store promoting well-designed, modern, sustainable products.

photography {by cedric bihr}

French photographer, Cedric Bihr, has an intriguing point of view that captures romance, mystery, and beauty via his lens. The mood and color he portrays are things that can only be described visually through his photos. Above are photos from a fashion editorial {Redux magazine} and landscape shots of the French countryside. See more pics and get swept into his world...

chance printed cards {postalco}

Check out the new cards/envelope set from Japanese company, Postalco. Named Chance Printed Cards, these are one-of-a-kind creations via bouncing rubber balls moving at random and applying paint to the cardstock. Reminds me a little of spin art at carnivals where you drop some paint onto a t-shirt and let it spin crazy and...voila~ art on a hanes tee =). These cards are just as fun but much more modern + pretty...

color your home

I see that fashion designer Missoni is quickly expanding their home collection. For a modern minimalist home looking to add a splash of color, I think their bold but carefully chosen color palette can be a nice accent. Above items {bedding, floor cushions, pillows, and candles} are all available at auto.

moving momentum identity

Studio TOTA has been working with Portland Oregon based pack-and-load moving company, Moving Momentum, for a bit now. After getting the essentials of business cards and a simple informational website up and running, we had the opportunity to develop a logo for the company. Keeping their signature colors, as well as the chevrons that point upwards to represent the positive change that Moving Momentum participates in for someone's life, we finalized the logo as above. This logo will be used on all marketing materials going forward, as well as shirts and hats for the movers!

sunday at the moma

This weekend kept us on our toes with schizo weather - sunny mornings followed by sudden torrential rain followed by sun showers. While it was gray outside, I was in the particularly colorful MoMA, thanks to Olafur Eliasson's exhibit Take Your Time. Piecing together a few technical gadgets, he creates makeshift devices that are the source of his installations that showcase the ideas of color, time, and reality vs. perception. In one room, he has "frozen" drops of water - via falling water illuminated by a strobe light. In a circular structure, he has visitors basking in the color spectrum - via the surrounding walls constantly changing color. In another room (above), he has people walking through a color prism - via rotating color glass panels that are lit by a bright light. As commentary describes how he is influenced by the landscape of his native Scandinavia, for me, each room felt like a walk through a visualization of one of his many dreams.
FYI: Olafur Eliasson is the artist responsible for the NYC Waterfalls massive installation along the East River.

On the top floor, I also enjoyed Dali: Painting and Film, where we got to see the relationship between his art and films, as well as how they all impacted the Surrealist movement. I particularly enjoyed the animated film "Destino" that was a collaboration between Dali and Disney - who would have ever thought...

travel art

San Francisco design group, Publique Living, has created an art series named GRAFIK180: CITYART. Inspired by the distinctive architectural element from buildings around the world, each piece calls out a pattern or shape that is iconic to that specific building in that specific city. The chosen cities are identified by their 3-letter airport code stamped in the center, creating another layer of graphic distinction. The codes also seem to emphasize the notion of travel and destination - the airport being the entry and exit point to these cities - and let me daydream of visiting or re-visiting some of these cities in hopes to identify the architectural elements that these designers chose. Each "city" is so interesting but I think this composition of all of them grouped together creates a treat to the eye.
Whether it's a local or distant weekend, have a good one~!

flashy usb flash drives

A USB Flash Drive has become a everyday item these days, as it allows us to port our files, music, photos, etc to any machine. I'm seeing lots of creative solutions for this gadget and I thought I would share some of my favorites...
1. Data Injection by Dialog05 - Simply inject data into a computer.
2. Memory Infinite by Yanko Design - As you daisy chain one to the next, storage capacity increases. Plug it in, plug it in, and so on and so on.
3. Domo Mimobot by Mimoco - My favorite Japanese character (face of NHK's BS satellite network) in form and function.
4. Berlin USB Cufflinks by Tonia Welter - USB storage at the tip of your shirt.
5. Datenshutz by Dialog05 - No access is you don't have the combo to unlock!
6. Lego Memory Bricks by Zip Zip - Our favorite toys in nostalgic primary colors - stackable fun included.
7. SPINACZ by Poor Design - USB on a wooden clothepin. Clamp storage on any piece of clothing or item.

wallpaper by studio nommo

Came across Studio Nommo and their fun wallpaper prints! Some are fun play on wall space (book pile for bathroom - top left), some are fun graphics (doodles - top right), and some are bright colored motifs of everyday items (kitchen foods - bottom). I think their prints are a great way to open up your imagination and dream a little AND to say goodbye to stark white walls...

zoo york new york

East Coast skater company, Zoo York, asked Mark Owens and Matt Owens to develop a line of skateboards for their artist series. The six boards represent the socio-cultural realms of Literature, Architecture, The Arts, Transit, Food and Tourism - together the series encompasses New York’s "Urbane Jungle". To me, they capture NYC in a happy colorful way, while creating something clever fun (check out the details - love "delirious zoo york" + the subway rat!) to look at...

affordable art fair nyc kick off

Last night, the Affordable Art Fair in NYC opened its doors with the Private Preview Reception! And wow, there was a full house with all in great spirits. People walked around and even purchased first dibs of art. There is amazing variety of artwork to see from galleries around the world - some samples below:

So go check it out and see for yourself...

The Affordable Art Fair New York
135 W 18th Street {between 6th and 7th Aves} New York City

Thu June 12 / 12-9pm
Fri June 13 / 12-8pm
Sat June 14 / 12-8pm
Sun June 15 / 12-5pm

*On Father's Day, June 15, children 12 and under get their fathers in for FREE!

Here's some press of the Fair >>

send a card { father's day }

This Sunday is Father's Day. You can get that umpteenth tie or random house tool, but sometimes - especially in this time of 3-word-response-emails, texting, and voicemail-tag - a really nice card with handwritten words can mean more than any material object. Above are really cute and fun letterpress cards from Egg Press. OK, he's worth it - get him that little special something too =).

the affordable art fair { nyc }

The Affordable Art Fair NYC is taking place next week - from June 12 (Thu) to June 15 (Sun). This art fair is for everyone - from first-time buyers to seasoned collectors to people just wanting to check out new contemporary artists. There are over 70 galleries from all over the world featuring their art from $100-$10,000.
Studio TOTA has had the pleasure of creating the look and executing all design materials for the 2008 Fair. The design concept is "art to go" - since it's all about accessible art - and since it's taking place in NYC, we took imagery of to-go coffeecups and takeout boxes and incorporated it in a clean and bold look. We gave "art to go" a neon light look reminiscent of the "fast delivery" type signs adorning our favorite takeout shops. There are ads in TimeOut, subway stations (!!!), various art publications + websites, and more...so keep your eyes peeled. And come by the Fair with a $5 discount to general admission!
Hope to see you there...

seven virtues pdx

Just in time for the Grand Opening celebration for Seven Virtues Coffeehouse, our friends out in Portland (PDX), Studio TOTA has created a blogsite for them that includes information about their coffeehouse, their events, the local artists featured on their walls, and more. Having a strong sense of community and wanting to share a warm and healthy space to neighbors, we felt as though allowing their customers add to their website through comments and feedback would be quite appropriate. So utilizing Wordpress blog software with a custom CSS upgrade, we were able to create a low-budget website that communicates essential information for their business to their existing and new customers. Something to consider for new businesses out there that may not have the budget to build out a full out customized website, but wants something that is not your typical generic template website (<-- not so pretty).
For those of you in the Portland area, Seven Virtues Coffeehouse's Grand Opening is on June 7th so go join them with a full day of free samples, live music, coffee demonstrations and more!