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.

An App a Day

My favorite photography apps for the iPhone are the QuadCam and TiltShift apps. QuadCam is especially fun because you have only 3 seconds between shots, so one has to pre-plot the photos. I just ending laughing so hard by the third shot and can't quite get them all in focus just yet. Love, love the TiltShift app, it's imperative that you shoot a scene from up high to mess with the scale. All at the iPhone app store.

Listening In

Great type treatment & cover design on this new album release from M. Ward, and a beautiful website too. Get it on iTunes.

Sit on It

No, it’s not a plant but a succulent pillow from Be Sweet made from felted merino wool into free forms that resemble an actual succulent. Be Sweet's mission; to bring socially and environmentally friendly products to fashionable consumers that evoke an individual style and help support community development around the world. Be Sweet works with several job creation programs in South Africa by giving artisans the confidence and the means to support themselves and their families in an otherwise economically depressed region. 

Bring on the Wrinkles

There is no doubt Muji is a wonderful thing and I continually hope they will open a store here in Los Angeles. At their shop in Times Square you can pick up this fabulous wrinkled t-shirt for $ 21.50!! They come compressed into a little cube and are such a close clone of Prada's spring wrinkled t-shirts, I'll be calling the store to hopefully get one shipped out. Muji Times Square (212) 382-2300 Photo: NY Times

Lovely Letters

How cool are these typographic chandeliers from Perch?!! They can be made with up to six letters, each ball is 5" in diameter. The custom light comes with a hardwire kit only, the single lamp also comes with a switch. I’m going to get it in a single letter and hang it in a low in a corner or the entryway. Each lamp is $110.

Camo Pen

I've used Sharpies to camouflage nicks in furniture, shoes and anything else that needs filling in with permanent color with varying degrees of success. Now Sharpie makes these three shades specifically to match pine, oak, cherry, walnut and mahogany wood surfaces! Like having wood stain in a pen, just brilliant and so handy.

Chair Crush

This iconic chair has been a favorite design of mine forever, but with the calf skin treatment I now have a very serious crush. This last December, Herman Miller released 500 limited issue Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chairs. Finished in walnut veneer with a refined cowhide covered seat and back, each chair is numbered for authenticity. To die for!!

Utilitarian Literature

To celebrate their 50th anniversary Cramer Inc. has created a Kik-Step stool that reflects its origins, the Library Edition, featuring quotes from classic literature molded into the non-skid tread. A nice nod to wordsmiths.

Buckle Up

Kind of loving these Ozzy Inspired Jack Purcells from Converse. 

By Invitation Only

New York Fashion Week has spawned some very imaginative invitations, my favorite being the oven mitt for Betsy Johnson’s show. See more examples at the NYTimes The Moment blog. Photos: Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

Nice Package

Calvin Klein will launch three limited edition fragrances for spring 2009. I really dig the type treatment on the CK One & CK Be “we are one” bottles of the iconic scents, decorated with the words "we are one" written in various languages. Slated to launch in February, they will include a MP3 player-compatible speaker to tie in with the idea of music as the universal language. 

Eco Revolution

This weekend Debra of Trend Agitator and I headed up to Malibu for a Valentine's Day soft opening of new boutique Revolution Malibu, tucked into a tiny cluster of shops across from Zuma Beach. The vision of infectiously energetic Cece Abel, this shop creates most of its merchandise from recycling, re-imagining, re-stitching and re-sewing materials into hats, t-shirts, silky tops, skirts, dresses, jackets and even a line of baby clothes that upon viewing, are instantly objects of desire. Everything she and partner Melissa Simpson do at Revolution Malibu is based on recycling, handmade, eco-friendly dyes and using local products. A huge inspiration are the techniques from the Alabama Stitch Book. For those of you out of the area, she will soon open an online shop but one can always call in orders to ship. I have to say that I've only been wearing my wool cap as seen above for two days and 4 people have asked where I got it and raved about how fabulous it is. 

Book Love

Great vintage book cover found over at Uppercase Journal. Happy V Day.

Cuffed in Vinyl

WRecords by Monkey uses reclaimed vinyl records to create cuffs that are artwork for the wrist. They offer a huge range of designs and sizes as well as earrings, necklaces, rings and t-shirts. Music & fashion meet on the arm.

Pantone 1963

Just love these new sneaks from SeaVees! With the creation of their 09/63 collection, SeaVees celebrates the founding of Pantone, and the release of the first PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM in September 1963. For the first time in their 45 year history, Pantone has allowed an external design team into their hallowed archives. SeaVees has selected seven vintage colors from the original Pantone color guide. The palette, chosen from the only authentic guide known to exist, epitomizes the cool, casual style of California in 1963. The series production has been restricted to 1,963 pairs. Get them here.

Mama Shelter

Mama Shelter, a new 172 room hotel in Paris has just opened. This imaginative,very chic and delightful hotel was designed by Philipe Starck and created by the Trigano family (co-founders of Club Med) with French philosopher Cyril Aouizerate. With five different sized rooms, the hotel has fabulously designed common areas, a fun bar, a restaurant and lots of art. Love the slightly sinister bedside lamps made from masks. Those tribal chairs are pretty stunning too.