information graphics

I am having the hardest time getting anything done since our move. Each minute seems filled with reading, feeding, unpacking, laundry, gardening or finding something that was lost in the move. The computer has been the last thing that I get to these days. But our life is so rich, I cannot complain.

I found these two sites last night. Radical Cartography is full maps of all types. These of the Mississippi are wall worthy. And Feltron (of the Feltron Annual Report) just joined Tumbler (yet another way for us to be social without ever talking). His posts are wonderful information graphics.

I am thinking I should come up with a few "Mom Organizational Charts" due to my life lately. That may be my next design project.

chewing the cud

Isn't that a great name for a design firm? Out of San Fran, Chewing the Cud designs beautiful paper and cloth creations. I love their set of cards on Etsy and their reusable gift wrap. It is fun to see all of their ideas for weddings. The Save the Date dish towel is very original.

beautiful paper

I know we are seeing magazine after magazine bite the dust. But I do not think that all things paper will be a thing of the past. People want texture and keepsakes. Maybe we will just rethink what truly needs to be printed.

Enormous Champion, out of Brooklyn, has a keen eye for color and type. All of their prints are bold and graphic. Mika 78 is the wedding stationary company of Mimi Woo. Her eye for detail is out of this world. I love her envelope liners and bands around the invitations.

Both companies are so different in their approach, but they are keeping the beauty of the printed piece alive.



via: Design*Sponge and Oh Happy Day

for my father-in-law

T's Dad is a Sherlock Holmes aficionado. He wrote a HUGE index of where you can find anything and everything in all of the Conan Doyle books. I just saw that there is a new Sherlock Holmes movie and Robert Downey Jr is cast as Holmes. How perfect. I am curious to know what T's Dad thinks.

last week's quick craft project

I ordered some Birki's for D on MAJOR sale (they were $14 as opposed to $55). But they just wouldn't stay on his feet. A quick trip for elastic and some last minute buttons (he wanted trucks and all they had were buses) and voila! He loves them.

still unpacking ...

... and soothing a sick, teething baby. And sewing black out curtains for D's room. Waking up at 5:30 am has got to stop. His room might as well be on the sun.

Saw this on Here are Things I Like. Beautiful.

We're surrounded by boxes. The computer is next. Check back on Monday.

what do roly polys eat?

Never underestimate the power of the Google search. D was playing with a roly poly yesterday and asked me what they eat. We looked on the world wide web and found that roly polys eat decayed leaves. Searching for picture of "decayed leaves" I found Mayang's Free Texture Library, an amazing resource for free stock.

little gifts of chocolate

Mast Brothers Chocolate out of Williamsburg, NY is NYC's only bean to bar chocolate maker. The bars are packaged so simply and beautifully. They make for a wonderful display.

tiny desktop concert

This is nice ...

happy mother's day

bag lady (and man)

T and I are obsessed with bags. A bag is just so versatile. Whether it's a travel bag or shopping bag, they can be used everyday for so many things. When we realized that we had a closet devoted entirely to storing our bags we had to put a stop to buying anymore. So I buy them as gifts.

These bags by Flip & Tumble are super cool. I love the colors. And the fact that they bunch up into a neat little ball.

d's playlist

We got rid of our cable a couple of months ago. We were trying to cut extraneous costs AND I was tired of our 2.5 year old breaking down every time it was turned off. He becomes catatonic in front of the boob tube. So when D needs a little visual stimulation (and I need to buy a little time) we either put on a DVD or turn to the world wide web.


Yesterday we visited the Yo Gabba Gabba website. We love the show but invariably always missed it on Nick Jr. I had no idea that so many great bands had performed on the Super Music Friends Show! Coincidentally, D's playlist on iTunes contains many of the same artists: SuperNova, Aquabats, The Ting Tings. He danced all over the playroom watching his favorite tunes.

vintage ephemera

More beautiful vintage scans via Agence Eureka. Where do they find this stuff? It is such a great collection.

design project

My friend Janet told me today that she keeps her photography fresh by taking pictures of her kids. She is immensely talented and I am convinced that she would still be good if she didn't take another picture of anyone for years. It made me realize that I would love a constant design challenge. Yeah, I can go and design a birthday party invite for D (Dance Party this year ... so excited!) but if I don't have a project in front of me I start to feel a bit stale. So I think I am going to periodically give myself stuff to do. Yesterday's post made me want to combine both picture and type. Using the few words given on two pages of the wood type catalog I tried to make sense of one of the beautiful, iconic photographs.

gorgeous type and photography

Doug Wilson recently posted these two links. The wood type catalogs are ripe for a graphic design project. And the vintage color photographs from the Farm Security Administration (circa 30s and 40s) look unreal. Something about the saturation in some of them reminds me of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.