Out of This World

Shoe porn photo of Prada patent ruffled shoes from Jak & Jil.

Fierce

These sandal booties really speak to the future of shoe design. Modern, tough, chic & oh-so-fierce, I’ll be hunting down something similar that doesn't cost more than my monthly car payment. Maison Martin Margiela sandal boots, sigh.

Takes my Breath Away

Located on the top of Motta Grande in Calabria, Italy, the new Art Museum Strongoli in Calabria is the third Coop Himmelb(l)au project in Italy. With it's panoramic view of the sea I can only imagine how much it would take my breath away to be there. Dauntingly beautiful.

Treescaping

Certainly an unexpected and creative solution to bare trees by artist Sam Spenser, titled Bloom. Photo: Jessica Rolland, Via: Wooster

Feeling Vintage

The photo apps for iPhone just get better and better. My new fav is Camera Bag which lets you choose filters such as 1974 B&W, 1962, instant, etc. I'm not using my good camera as much because these are so fun to play with. Thanks to David John for making me buy this app this morning!

501 Blues

Stefan Sagmeister has created a series of designs that celebrate the 501 Button-Fly Levi's jeans. Levi's brand and American Rag stores in Los Angeles and San Francisco will distribute a limited run of 501 museum-quality poster reproductions of the Sagemeister images featured in American Rag windows this March. This is just a beautiful piece, and typography done in threads, oh my!! (click on photo to see details)

Toast to Good Design

Great design for this new Bistro toaster from the folks at Bodum.

Lamp Totems

Completely digging the tribal and urban feel of these floor lamps designed by Marc Sadler for Italian lighting manufacturer Foscarini. Made of composite materials, interwoven threads drowned in resin mimic the texture of baskets. Just stunning!

Sweet Branding

A clever branding tool for the Paris fashion shows created by photographer Massimo Gammacurta, high fashion brand logo lollipops in delicious flavors: Chanel luscious lilac, LV watermelon slice, Gucci juicy pomegranate and YSL caramel. Sweet idea, indeed.

Water Logged

This time of year I find myself spending more and more time tending to my garden, starting vegetables and herbs that couldn’t grow even in the mild weather of a southern California winter. My watering can is an old dented tin model that will soon be replaced with this amusing faux bois version from Fred, available at Target.

Urban Messages

Just wonderful. I love these huge typographic installations by Glascow-based artist Nathan Coley.

Through the Glass

Considering my love of dioramas and any artwork encased in glass or domes, Sarah Woodfine's work is just a delight to behold. Her drawings take the form of three dimensional constructions in glass boxes or liquid filled domes. Thanks Krysta for alerting me to this fine artist.

In Case You Forgot

Love this series of photos from Erin Hansen, making me want to play with type in my house now. Via: Please Sir

Putting a Spin On It

Artist & designer Thomas Forsyth creates these beautiful little drawing tops that produce wonderful and original drawings. They are available on Etsy and you can watch a video on them in use here. 

Fashion Forward

Another peek at the future from Chanel, the Perspex Briefcase. Also love what's going on with the fingerless gloves and things stuffed into them and of course still rocking those jade green nails. Interesting look & concept for a bag, Mr. Lagerfeld!

Green with Envy

Really digging the whole look of this tattered fabric bracelet and jade green nails. From the Chanel Fall 2009 collection. Photo: Nylon magazine

Guest Editor/All Modern: Magis Designs

Design Nomad is very happy to announce a collaboration with All Modern, a one stop source for all your modern & iconic home accessory and furnishing needs. Periodically I will be posting stories provided by the good people of All Modern and their Modern Design blog with interesting designer profiles, DIY projects and much more. Today we have a piece on the Me-Too children's collection from Magis Designs.

For the breadth of its 33 years of designing and manufacturing contemporary furniture, Magis Designs and its founder Eugenio Perazza has been ahead of the curve when it comes to many trends. They were among the first companies to create modern office furniture with domestic values and they also pioneered the use of injected plastic molding during the manufacturing process. Yet when unveiling the Me-Too Collection in 2004, Magis shocked many by redefining the concept of childrenís furniture by creating contemporary pieces that were not only stylish and attractive but would also engage and educate the child. This concept was the brainchild of Perazza and was further developed upon in conjunction with Edward Melhuish, the renowned Professor of Child Development at the University of London.

A great example of this philosophy is the Puzzle Carpet. Created by Indian/Dutch designer Satyendra Pakhale, it is a colorful carpet that is split into puzzle pieces, allowing for a child to build the carpet by hand. The most famous piece in this collection is the Trioli Chair, winner of the prestigious Compasso díOro prize. Designed by the acclaimed Finnish designer Eero Aarnio, the Trioli has won widespread praise not only for its contemporary and engaging design, but also for its versatility (it can be used as a regular chair, high chair, or a saddle rocker). The Me-Too Collection overall demonstrates that even though he has been around for a while, Eugenio Perazza and his stable of design talent still have the capacity to change the way we think about modern furniture and there is no doubt that we wíll see Magis break down barriers for years to come.

Wrapped in Language

Just lovely, this calligraphic fabric work from artist Francesca Biasetton. See more at her Flikr and portfolio sites.

Launch Party

Back in early February I ran a post about the release of these sneakers from SeeVees and Pantone. On March 19 in Santa Monica, CA there will be a launch party held at Fred Segal. Here is a sneak peek at the installation using Pantone's vintage logo and a color swatch from the 1963 color guide. If you are in town, it should be a colorful event!

Print Bounty

Many thanks to sfgirlbybay for enlightening me about online art print resource Art River. Offering an exclusive selection of rare prints from modern artists like Ed Ruscha, Basquiat, Ellsworth Kelly, it is a delight to scour their gallery. I just had to order the Ed Ruscha Lion in Oil book plate shown above for my newly painted studio. Being that my last name means lion in Italian, it’s a perfect fit!

Domestic Checkmate

The Modern Chess Set by Rachel Whiteread, made me smile.

Sign Me Up

Artist Boris Bally works with recycled traffic signs re-working them into beautiful graphic home furnishings, flatware, wall art and wearable art. I love the whole idea of working with recycled materials, especially those that contain vernacular typography.