Modern Family

Simply the best Nativity set, ever. Typographic wood Nativity set designed by Oliver Fabel.

In the Bag

In the spirit of giving green this holiday season, I always try to find gifts that are imaginative and recycled if possible. Jenny Adams, a handbag designer from Santa Barbara has just launched an e-shop offering these beautiful one-of-a-kind handbags made from recycled, vintage and new fabrics. I really love the retro print on the top bag shown and her prices are very reasonable. I've been assured many more bags will be added to the shop in the next few days, so have a look while trying to survive Christmas preparation and maybe do a little shopping!

ABCs of Xmas

Being the typophile that I am, there's no resisting decorating my little tree this year with these typographic ornaments from of all places, Ballard Designs. Measuring 2.5", these vintage looking ceramic ornaments come in a set of 26 letters of the alphabet. I'd prefer if you could order extra letters to actually spell out something but now that I think of it, adding rub down type could work too. I sense a DIY project brewing.

Big Head

I am blown away by the creativity and amount of skill it took to create this fantastic Halloween mask. A vision of designer Eric Testroete, you can follow each step and the software he used to produce this eerie costume on his website. Wow.

Boo 2009

A Happy Halloween to all! I live a few houses down from the West Hollywood Carnaval spectacle and plan on prowling the boulevard with my camera to capture some of the insanity. We are expecting a crowd of 500,000 revelers. Oh my. (My tiny skeleton is sitting atop my treasured photo of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera from the NY Times Photo Archives.)

Get Down with Your Inner Wizard

Whether channeling your inner wizardry or looking for an alternative and fun way to change channels, this whimsical buttonless Kymera Magic Wand universal remote must be most entertaining to use. The website design looks like an ancient tome with hidden links, worth a visit even if wanding your TV isn't your thing. I probably would end with with some kind of wrist whiplash but I'd love to try performing some magic!

Urban Candy Corn

Street artist Diabetik has been leaving candy corn traffic cones on the streets of Washington, D.C. Art like this just gives me such a chuckle and a smile!

Tiny Travelers

I know these are for kids but I so want an orange one! These mini vintage styled suitcases are from the Land of Nod and would make for a very good studio storage container.

Papering the Walls

I’ve never really been a fan of wallpaper but lately I keep stumbling upon examples that are very tempting to play around with. Darkly elegant, the flocked skull wallpaper is by Barbara Hulanicki and produced by Graham & Brown. The palette of urban concrete textures from Bentontapete is so refreshing as an option for wall coverings that I might have to try to find a way to use it other than on walls.

Food Tells a Story

It’s no secret that I love good food, typography and great graphics. When the two collide and tell a story, it becomes an art event mentally, visually and on your tongue. Chef John Sedlar is making magical and thought-provoking dishes such as these at his restaurant Rivera in downtown LA. From Rivera’s website: “Food tells a story. One sight, one scent, one taste, one bite and it can evoke whole worlds of memory and transmit experiences and truths that words cannot convey. We eat with our eyes and minds as much as with our mouths. Food is powerful. It sustains body and soul alike. It captures the essence of entire cultures and countries. Food unites us. A shared experience, it overcomes differences and distances to form common bonds. It is a dynamic vehicle for human understanding. These are the principles that guide Rivera. Through food and drink, the restaurant relates and celebrates the story and spirit of Latin culture around the world, from the past to the present day and on into the future. It aims to empower both body and spirit, to provide a convivial experience that leaves its guests pleasurably transformed.” Love the whole concept and execution, after having had the pleasure of eating his food at prior restaurants, I really am looking forward to a meal at Rivera.

Seasonal Impluses

Whenever I go to Target to stock up on household staples and cleaning supplies I try really hard to limit my impulse spending. This becomes nearly impossible during their seasonal offerings such as Halloween. I was overwhelmed with the cool choices of goods emblazoned with skulls and bones. The best part is I will use these things year-round, skulls stopped being a Halloween-only home accessory. My favorite so far are the red dish towels with a black skull applique and the green flannel skull pj bottoms which are awfully comfy. Find more choices here and at your local Target.

Attitude Adjustment

Had to get out of my funk this weekend and clear my head, so I headed off to the beach and Getty Villa with my camera that had been collecting cobwebs since last May. I ended up spending most of my time by the fish ponds taking photos, enjoying the first cool weather of the fall. Dinner with friends later at Top Chef Stephan Richter's LA Farm was great and the food was exceptionally attractive. My dining friends & I have become food paparazzi, unable to control ourselves when waiters bring course worth ooing and ahhing over. The table lights up with flashes of light and at least here, in Los Angeles, restaurants now know that bloggers are busy photographing every dish that hits the table before actually consuming the food. Sometimes this results in a great photo, my oyster shot being one of those. That oyster perched atop a bed of salt with an emerald "pearl" of absinthe gelatin just knocked me out in it's presentation. Result of days' activities, a slight attitude adjustment in the right direction.

Got Wood?

I seem to be finding quite a few faux bois 'objects of desire' lately and these slim wallets make me wish I could fit all my stuff into one. I love the simplicity and of course the faux bois embossing, a great holiday gift for any stylish guy on your list. Available from Evergreen.

Love Lost

The loss of a pet can really take the wind out one's sails and the loss of my sweet grey cat was no exception. I was lucky to have his constant company for 11.5 years and now have to adjust to an almost pet-empty house & studio for the time being. The good thing is that when I'm ready, there are so many cats & dogs that need rescuing, making the next pet choice will be a joyful occasion. Time to wipe the tears away and get back into the swing of things, notably—my poor neglected blog.

To Dry For

First, my apologies for neglecting my blog. It has been a difficult couple of weeks tending to my sweet cat who is very very sick and keeping the work flow going here at the studio. That being said, here's a delightful link to To Dry For and all they sell are fabulous tea towels. I've picked a few of my faves from a huge selection. A little humor and great graphics never hurts when washing the dishes. Have a splendid weekend!

Yearning for Fall

By this time every year, I start looking longingly at my dusty pile of firewood, long unused here in Southern California and yearn for cooler weather. Anything below 80º would be nice, quite frankly. I love to bundle up in the fall and winter with any one of the dozens of scarves I've amassed over the years. What I don’t have is a faux bois scarf and I am ordering one of these today from the delightful shop of RCA graduate Donna Wilson who creates beautiful and humorous knit home furnishings, accessories & bizarre stuffed dolls. Loving the wood-patterned throw too!

An Explosion of Color

This series of artwork really caught my eye with it’s graphics and depth of colors but when I found that the artist’s technique was blowing up fireworks on paper, I loved them even more. Rosemarie Fiore’s work is beautiful and dangerous.

Quoted from her site:

"Firework Drawings" These large works on paper are made by exploding and containing live fireworks, resulting in bursts of saturated color that are overlaped and collaged into abstract compositions. Shown above: "Firework Drawing #50", 2008 Lit firework residue on paper, cardboard, collage 30 in x 24 1/2 in

A Fine Dance of Typography

Delightful typographic video. Watch for the potato & ham letters being sauteed, brilliant! Typophile Film Festival 5 Opening Titles from Brent Barson. Handcrafted with love by BYU design students and faculty, for the 5th Typophile Film Festival. A visual typographic feast about the five senses, and how they contribute to and enhance our creativity. Everything in the film is real—no CG effects! Via: Black Eiffel

Such a Deal!

While I love the design of original Eames tables, the prices are a bit challenging in this economy. When I saw that this Eames-inspired Eliptikal coffee table from Lunar Lounge Design is on sale at $179.99 (+$62.99 S&H) for a limited time, I started trying to figure out if I have room for it. The handcrafted table is 54" long and 23" wide, and it comes in 12" or 14" high. Removable steel legs come in a chrome or semi-flat black finish. The MDF tabletop comes in white, gray, black, red, eggshell, blue, brown, orange or pink. A really fine alternative to the slightly larger original Eames version at $649!

Modern Camo

I love camo print on just about anything, in fact today I'm wearing a 10 year old camo mini skirt that I just can't get enough of. When I saw that Bape is releasing a Camo Side Chair, I really got excited. The iconic Modernica Eiffel Side Chair design comes in three Bape camo colors – green, blue and pink. The chair is a collaboration with Modernica and will come to Bape stores on September 4th. The green colorway is a Bape exclusive and the blue and pink are exclusive to Modernica.

Top Chef Tats

Love Top Chef's Michael Voltaggio's spoon and skull tattoo! Classic and bad-ass at the same time. There's a great slide show called Chef d’Oeuvres over at the NYTimes of imagery & words chefs have chosen for their tattoos. Bad to the bone.

Mad About Don Draper

AMC, the home of the much acclaimed Mad Men, has released its own MadMenYourself microsite, letting you transform yourself into a character straight out of the 60’s ad-men-era-inspired television show. Using artwork from Mad Men illustrator Dyna Moe, you follow along as the site walks you through the character creation process from body,head, hair, facial features, clothing, accessories and backdrops. Characterizations are formatted to be used as your Twitter avatar, iPhone background, or desktop image. Just a little too much fun when I should be working, but how fun is to pretend to have a drink with Don Draper!

Going to Need Food Rehab

I'm going to need some serious food rehab, as MyLastBite put it so well today, we are going to go through "Ludo Withdrawal". Tonight marks the end of a food-lovers dream with LudoBites shutting down for the summer after a wonderfully successful 3 month pop-up food event with chef/artist-in-residence Ludo Lefebrve. He & his wife Krissy created an atmosphere that quickly became the only place you wanted to eat dinner at, he would talk about his inspirations for the night's menu on Twitter and made sure he met every one of his customers (between cooking) all with the feeling you are eating at their home. I mean really, who else in the world could teach me how to make charcoal oil or put curry or wasabi in my dessert? Who else can combine cantaloupe, chorizo & smoked paprika in a soup and make my eyes roll back in my head? Ludo has ruined us by cooking food that is so memorable, one finds it hard to even eat the next day for fear of blandness in everyday food. For now I plan really studying & making some of the recipes in his cookbook Crave. We have been assured he will be back by mid-October in a new location and for now I wish he & his wife a most relaxing vacation. Follow him on Twitter @chefludo.

Photos: Omar Kalifornia

Eggs & Sausage

Wonderful typographic music video by Jackie Lay for the Tom Waits song Eggs and Sausage.

Surprise Package

When I was a little girl, every once in awhile my father would bring me a surprise ball from a little shop in Little Tokyo. I have such fond memories of unwinding what seemed to be endless strips of crepe paper until little by little, small toys and treasures would fall out. Such a simple but totally exciting thing for a child. When I saw that the wonderful shop Kiosk offered a surprise ball of considerable size filled with vintage trinkets, I knew I had to have one and somehow re-live the joyful memories of early childhood. I still got the same rush as I unwrapped this colorful orb. Haven't figured out what to do with the trinkets, maybe they'll be attached to Xmas gifts this year. My cat loved the mound of crepe paper, so all was not wasted.

Artist on My Radar

I happened upon a few paintings by Don Fritz completely by accident in a back room at Billy Shire Fine Arts gallery in Culver City and fell hard for his work. Multi-layered and appearing almost as if encased under ice, the paintings are rich with symbols, graphics and memories of childhood, something to behold in person. See and read more here.

Good Enough to Eat

Years of designing on the computer have left my hand-drawing skills in the dust but I just might try again with these striking multi-colored crayons from Japan. The crayons make harmonious colors as you draw with them, blending as you go. Almost too pretty to use, get them here.

Fanged

Along with millions of other viewers, I am completely smitten with True Blood on HBO. These little baby silver fang rings have just the right amount of Goth attitude. Subtle but sharp, available from Bittersweets. Now if only Eric the vampire came along in the package…oh my!

It's Okay to Write on the Wall

Chalkboards have seen a renewed popularity in recent years and I can't imagine not having one in my kitchen, whether it's to post recipe ideas, seasonal drawings or quotes to live by. I've seen entire walls painted in chalkboard paint, covered in wonderful drawings like an ever-changing art exhibit. Now Hudson Paint has come out with a range of 24 mouth-watering colors of chalkboard paint, making it hard for me to decide what's going to get painted next. I think if I had a child, giving them a chalkboard wall would be a great way to encourage creativity but I also love Raina Kattelson's idea of painting it on jars for changeable labels. Anyway you use it will brighten up the room and encourage imaginative thinking!