cynthia warren is an oakland, california based artist who specialized in invitations for weddings & events, as well as identity & packaging, illustration, and calligraphy & typography. when she sent over her website i was immediately smitten with her wedding invitations, which have that sort of old-world meets contemporary look and feel that i love….
for years i’ve been stocking my stocking my lone (tiny) utility closet with these open canvas bins, trying to keep our cords, cleaning supplies, and odds and ends in order. but after four years, i’m getting bored, and i’d love a new way to keep my tools and cords together without having to label another…
i love the crisp, graphic nature of silhouettes. I know that you’ve seen a lot of silhouette designs though, so i tried to give you a project that rethinks the traditional form a bit by allowing you to add your own style to it. the great thing about working with these contact paper cut-outs is…
Regardless of the fact that I work full-time at a spectacular flower shop, elbow deep in stupidly fancy and pretty flowers, deep down I’ll always be a wild violet girl at heart. Each spring the yard of my childhood home would fill with little purple gems and my sister and I could hardly contain our…
i’m always excited when a new ebook from curbly is launched. their last title, make it! mid century modern, was a big hit and i was excited to hear that they were moving on to tackle my favorite subject: reusing found and secondhand objects to create great new home designs. i couldn’t wait to get…
last year i was blown away by german designer valentin löllmann‘s work and this year i’m equally impressed with her beautiful new series of wooden furniture. in addition to some seriously gorgeous product photography, valentin’s new collection really knocked my socks off because of the contrast between the warm wood colors and the stark white…
i’m a huge frank viva fan, so when he emailed to announce his second new yorker cover i had to reply and ask him if he was currently writing his email from cloud nine. i’m so psyched that his artwork is on this week’s earth day cover and i couldn’t resist sharing it with a…
hi guys! i’m about to step up to the panel talk for the 140 character conference at the 92nd street Y this morning. if you’re looking for a quick 15 minute dose of “real-time web and interior design” chat, you can tune-in for a live stream of our panel right here. back at 9 with…
Let’s all take a deep breath of salty ocean air and say in unison On the Waterfront. Okay good. Now let’s try again with (deep breath) Marlon Brando. Exhale and enjoy the natural endorphins that will flow from your brain at the sight of masses of 1950s longshoremen wearing plaid on the docks of Hoboken….
Now for the fun part! (Don’t miss the history of this terrific pattern in Part 1!) One of my favorite things about doing these pattern histories is they way it increases my awareness of the patterns around me. This week – working on paisley – I saw the pattern everywhere! [clockwise from left: paisley reef…
illustration by julia rothman I’m still working my way through the pattern history requests! Whew! (We’ve had Toile & Liberty of London, so far!) Today, I thought we’d take a little look at paisley – an Indian design named for a Scottish town. Stay tuned a little later for my paisley round-up! (Thanks for the…
today’s biz ladies post comes from artist, designer and fellow D*S editor kate pruitt. a former display coordinator for anthropologie stores in the bay area, kate now offers freelance interior design and display services for local clients. today she’s sharing some insightful advice on how to design and execute a creative and eye-catching storefront window…
illustration by julia rothman i have a love for charleston, south carolina that’s hard to put into words. the southern charm, grace, and beauty of this historic city is so breathtaking that i always feel as if i’ve stepped back in time when i visit. and though the historic parts of charleston are almost limitless,…
yesterday was a mess with server errors, so before we dive into today i just wanted to apologize for the server time outs and slow loading for yesterday. our server tech made some upgrades so hopefully today will be smooth sailing. if you couldn’t view the site yesterday, please scroll down and check out the…
workstead is a brooklyn-based collaborative between stefanie brechbuehler and robert andrew highsmith, two risd grads who provide clients with architectural and design services including buildings, interiors, furniture, graphic design and events. before moving to their home in october 2009, they lived in a 387 sf studio apartment that taught them to collect only what really…
Australian designer Nina Still of puka puka (which in japanese means ‘an object floating gently in space’) credits her modernist aesthetic from her training as an architect and jeweler. Drawn to the clean lines of the 1960s, she also loves the colors from that era. her own work is inspired by the forms, colors and…
today’s sneak peek into brit-born illustrator/artist susy pilgrim water‘s boston home feels like the perfect place to ring in spring, with its light and refreshing color palette. susy and her husband keith have been in this 1898 home for 14 years now, and have been remodeling it themselves ever since (each piece of susy work…
i’ve admitted my love for “handsome travel bags” so the fact that i’m loving this natural felt and leather laptop bag may not be a surprise. when it comes to travel, i really love heavy duty detailing like thick leather straps, buckles, and brass snaps. i’m always on the lookout for good laptop bags (i…
one of the things i feel most passionate about when it comes to artwork is buying original paintings whenever possible. it’s rarely in my budget to do so, but when it is, man is that a great day. i love prints + posters to death (and buy them as often as i can) but there’s…
good morning! the sun is shining here in brooklyn and i’m in a celebratory mood because my good friend llubav just had a beautiful new bambina. besides being over the moon for her and her family, i always love getting to pick out gifts and cards for little ones. it’s so rare that i have…
