Friday, February 29, 2008

friday - FLICKR


Uppercase is a gallery out of Calgary that "highlights the world of graphic design through its books & papergoods". They have a great online store and blog. Their Flickr sets are awesome.

{the above is from the "blocks" set}


{from the "Saskatoon Public Library" set}


{typewriters, typewriter ribbons and vintage catalogs from the "interestingness" set}

Thursday, February 28, 2008

thursday - TYPE


As much as I love type, the I Love Typography website makes me feel like I know absolutely nothing. You can make a science out of pretty much anything. And the type science has been around for a long time. Oh, that Gutenberg.

Through I Love Typography I discovered this years Type Director's Club winners. There are some really gorgeous type families and ornaments.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

wednesday: COLOR

Continuing with the series theme, Wednesdays will be Color Day.

Seymour Cornelius will never be a fashion blog. I like fashion, but consider myself just a Gap girl - the classics, with an occasional trendy piece thrown in. I was happy to read the article in Fast Company about Patrick Robinson, the new Executive Vice President of Design for Gap Adult and Gap Body. He says: "Gap is supposed to make classic American clothes--the pea coat, the white shirt, the denim jean--cooler and more relevant every year. It's not a brand that should play like H&M and Zara, where it's a takedown from the fashion runways."


So ... The Gap is back. And this spring they are focusing on color. I am loving the bright hues and remake of the "colored" khaki. They have a non-traditional campaign for this new line that is food for thought - "The Sound of Color". Gap sponsored different artists to write songs about specific colors and then had the production company Rehab create videos for each song. Some songs work better than others. It would be interesting to see these made into 60 second spots. You can read more here and watch all of the videos here.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

series

So we have decided to start a couple of series on Seymour Cornelius. Tuesdays will be designer day, featuring a designer or design shop that inspire us. And Fridays will be Flickr day ... to feature the latest greatest photo set we've found.

elixir

Being that it's Tuesday we have to tell you about Elixir. Out of San Fran, Elixir is one of those design firms that continually puts out absolutely beautiful work. Everything they do is SO well crafted. They gracefully bridge the gap between traditional and modern. There catalog work is the best I know (see my Sundance post). The Athleta catalog is no longer designed by Elixir and it shows in the the overall design and photography. I used to eat that catalog up.

Friday, February 22, 2008

writing on the wall

I love the thought of wall stickers. We don't own any. I always think that I can save money and just draw it on the walls. But I've never quite gotten around to it. Probably should just order the wall stickers.

Harmonie Intérieure is a company out of Paris. They create beautiful wall stickers and posters. My favorites, of course, are all of the letters and numbers.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

eco-rugs

I am by no means an "interiors" blogger. There are enough good ones out there. But I have to share these rugs that I discovered in this month's Domino. They are made out of 50% post consumer plastic (that would be "recycled" to you and me). They withstand water and mold. And you can wash them in the washing machine.

But the best part about these rugs is their bold graphic patterns. I love 'em!

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

see the stars




These prints by Dan McCarthy are gorgeous AND they glow in the dark. The mountainous landscape is close to my heart. I love the lone images at the bottom. They make the sky seem it's true size ... GINORMOUS. Check out more prints here.

Friday, February 15, 2008

b.o. paid your parking meter

You must click here and keep clicking. So funny.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

happy valentine's day

The above and below were created using images from Biologia Centrali-Americana, an amazing online resource.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

happy hearts


The Kate Spade "Behind the Curtain" website is so cool that it actually makes me want to own something Kate Spade. Oh, those marketing people are so clever.

Go to the "B Mine" section of the site and send someone you love an original e-card. There are so many cool ones to choose from.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

art in the everyday

We just installed an old ski rack on our car and T's parents sent us all of the Yakima keys that they could find in their house (T has had quite a few roof racks). I love how they arrived ...

Monday, February 11, 2008

the little zoo


Seems we're on a bit of an animal theme here ...

Elizabeth Soule is a photographer out of Portland, OR. She has a wonderful take on photography, focusing on small objects. Her use of color is fabulous. And her Holga pics made me dig through basement boxes, looking for my Holga. Now to find the film.

Check out e.soule's flickr sets, etsy site and website.

Friday, February 8, 2008

type animals



This site is beautiful in its simplicity.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

it's alive!


We are super excited to announce that our website is up and running. Over the next 48 hours the load times may be slow ... but it seems to be working fine for us.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

vintage science charts

Our condo in Chicago was right down the street from Scout ... one of the coolest antique stores ever. I fell in love with a giant vintage poster of desert geography (like the ones that would be hanging in your AP science classroom in highschool) right around the time I quit my full time job. Needless to say, it sold quickly to someone with money. Ever since, I have tried to find similar posters but to no avail. This morning was no exception ... but I did stumble into Maraid's photos on Flickr. Maraid is Jane McDevitt's design company out of York, England. Her Flickr sets are incredible! Some of my favorites:

{the above are thumbnails from the "photo, film and sound ephemera" set}

{from the "in print" set ... SO many great things here}

{from the "my dad's architecture photos" set}

{from the "abandoned paper mill" set}

{from "portuguese tiles" set}

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

caucus


Unfortunately we did not register to vote in time to take part in tonight's caucus. We are mad at ourselves for not seeing the deadline. So I am going to urge all of you to get out there! No matter who you're voting for ... take part.

{the above poster is from Obey Giant ... originally famous for his papering cites with Andre the Giant posters)

Monday, February 4, 2008

oijoy photo


Check out Janet and John's house on design*sponge!

it's all gonna be alright

Since moving to Colorado I have felt so full of the landscape. Even in the bleakness of winter, just being able to see the mountains and blue sky makes me feel at peace. And those parts of my brain that weren't filled by the views I have satiated with "blog-hopping" and the occasional trip to Anthropologie or Urban Outfitters.

I had resigned myself to living in a more retail chain, muted hue, Pottery Barn world.

But last week I rediscovered Composition. I had read about them years ago and thought their site was amazing. I loved what they were selling, but knew I could find all of that stuff in various Chicago stores. Well, I don't live in Chicago anymore. So this was field trip day.

Bel Mar is one of those new "communities". Condos, restaurants, shops, galleries, parks. These communities are all well intentioned but also a bit creepy in their perfectness. Among many others, there's the Whole Foods, Gap, ice skating rink and brewery. Bel Mar sits in the middle of every big box store you could ever imagine. So it struck me as odd that they had so many wonderful things. Obviously the planners had artists in mind.

Composition is exactly what I had imagined. A well selected group of graphic design books, paper products, clothing, bedding and laptop/courier bags. Jennifer, the owner, told me about two other spots in the area that I might like: Ink Lounge Gallery and The Lab.

Both were super cool. Ink Lounge is owned by a husband/wife team and they hold screen printing workshops (future date for me and T). And the Lab is a beautiful gallery, think tank and public forum. I love that the Lab stands for the labrador (not something stark and scientific, but a warm friendly place). I still found it strangely bizarre that it lies between a Zales and a Yankee Candle Company. So maybe I can't get away from the retail chains, but I have found my people.

Friday, February 1, 2008

the writer's almanac


My first apartment (I should really call it a rented room) was in Durango, Colorado. I had moved to the high desert seeking life away from the South. I spent a lot of time rearranging my furniture, painting, reading and watching the snow fall from the basement windows above my bed. I religiously listened to The Writer's Almanac and to this day when I hear the intro music and Garrison Keillor's voice I think of home. My own home.

Today is the birthday of one of my favorite poets, Galway Kinnell. He was quoted this morning: "To me, poetry is somebody standing up, so to speak, and saying, with as little concealment as possible, what it is for him or her to be on earth at this moment."

Sounds a bit like blogging.

One of Kinnell's poems:

Night in the Forest
A woman
sleeps next to me on the earth. A strand
of hair flows
from her cocoon sleeping bag, touching
the ground hesitantly, as if thinking
to take root.

If you miss it on the radio, you can read or listen to The Writer's Almanac everyday from your computer.