writer's block.

This is not what I intended to post.  But how can one top a tiny, literate, chain-smoking squirrel?  One can't.  So one doesn't even try.

[ amigurumi and images by Tada's Revolution ]

libertine.

Liberty of London for Target... available March 14.

[ images via simply stated and target ]

water ballet.

Generally speaking, I am not fond of animals without faces.  But I can't stop looking at Jamie's jellyfish photos.

[ Jamie Beck ]

...

A moment of silence for Alexander McQueen.

[ image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art ]

snow day.

wheeled and wiry.

I'd like to get a vintage wire hamper for storing blankets and linens.  The above is a reproduction from Pottery Barn, but I've seen several originals for sale on ebay.  I like things with wheels!

yo-yo.

[ Chanel Spring 2010 Couture via style.com ]

I spotted some couture craftiness on the Chanel runway.  Models with valentine-shaped coiffures sported garments adorned with the little fabric rosettes known to quilters as yo-yos.

[ Chanel Spring 2010 Couture via style.com ]

[ Chanel Spring 2010 Couture via style.com ]

Below is a photo of some yo-yos in a more traditional context.  The image is from a yo-yo craft project that Laura of Wren Handmade shared with design sponge readers last summer.

[ Wren Handmade via Design Sponge ]

tiny laurel.

[ click to enlarge ]

This is a handmade miniature of my friend Laurel.  Tiny Laurel wears tiny gold sparkly tights, tiny suede moccasin boots, a tiny neck scarf and a single tiny feather earring.  She is holding a tiny baritone ukulele which I made out of leather, wood grain contact paper, and gold thread.  Real Laurel is about 6' tall.  Tiny Laurel is about 6" tall.

sweet virginia.

[ click to enlarge ]

Two favorite photos of my dear (and ever so chic) friend Virginia.  Above:  Virginia near her home in Stony Brook, Long Island. ( I love the wintry palette! )  Below:  Virginia as a very becoming gentleman one Halloween.

[ PS:  Virge, if you're reading this, do you remember who took these photos? ]

double dare.

Here are a selection of pieces from Dare studio's 2010 collection.  I love the mid-century industrial sensibility--the juxtaposition of wood and brightly-hued, powdercoated metal is striking.  

The clever cage lamp (pictured below) is reminiscent of the lamp guards used on construction sites.  The design functions as either a pendant or as a lamp base, depending on the orientation of the bulb.

[ photography by Peter John Morgan for Dare studio ]

envelope please.

Andrew Bush's envelope photographs are an elegant tribute to humble beauty.

[ photographs by Andrew Bush ]

thanks, Allison!

drip drip.

Form and Function.  Lovely umbrellas from London Undercover.

[ via the cool hunter ]

after these messages...

Sarah, Justine and I created this claymation bumper for our friend Matt's Saturday-Morning-Cartoon-Themed birthday party.  (A bumper, if you didn't know, is what you call the transition between tv program and commercial break.)  The birthday boy and his three roommates, painstakingly rendered in clay, star in our homage to this classic.

Here are the guys again on Matt's illustrated invites:

The party was really fun.  Guests munched on sugary cereal and watched shows like Thundercats and PeeWee's Playhouse on a giant, makeshift screen.  Matt even inserted vintage commercials (i.e. pound puppies, the original super soaker) for an authentic feel.  What a great theme for a party!

Haiti.

[ Damon Winter / The New York Times ]

---  Help is still needed.  Please give what you can.  ---

[ Gerald Herbert / Associated Press ]

[ Ruth Fremson / The New York Times ]

[ Ruth Fremson / The New York Times ]

 [ Images from the The New York Times' photo gallery ]

ribs soundtrack.

Matt Choi and I designed this album cover for Evan Mazunik's RIBS soundtrack.  Evan composed an original (gorgeous, moving, quirky) score for the 2008 modern dance production by Coriolis Dance Inc.  The album is available for purchase here. 

Here you can see the wrap-around effect.  The look and color palette for this project were inspired in part by this sign/experiment from a few years back.  I really love the crosshatch pattern on the cover--I drew it by hand and I think it lends a raw, organic quality to an otherwise sleek design.

[ COVER ]

[ INSIDE LEFT ]

[ INSIDE RIGHT ]

[ BACK COVER ]

[ CD ]

creepy things to make and do.

Should you ever need to make creepy-crawlies in bulk quantities (for fishing or for more mischievous activities), these vintage bait molds would do the trick.  Personally, I think the aluminum molds would make for interesting wall decor.

This particular set is available on ebay.  There are some similar molds for sale on this site, where you'll also find an archive of vintage mold designs.  My crafty 8-year-old self would have died for the "Jillions of Jewels" set.

all aboard.

Indigo Stripe Dress by Wiksten available here.

The Marchesa.

Paolo Roversi's depiction of Tilda Swinton as Marchesa Luisa Casati, the early 20th century Italian socialite, for Acne Paper Sweden's Winter 09/10 issue.

Photography by Paolo Roversi

Styling by Mattias Karlsson

Scans via Fashion Gone Rogue

[ Full editorial here ]

dollar store.

My roommate Sarah has been making these little illustrations with a 99-cent watercolor set.  They're so wistfully winsome.  Or winsomely wistful.

happy new year.

I'm back.  Hope you've all had a lovely 2010 so far!

[ this photo and others available here ]