Design*Sponge » paper

paper record player

Grace Bonney — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:00:49 +0000

When I saw this wedding invitation project from designer Kelli Anderson, the first thing I thought was, “Awesomesauce.” Despite weaning myself off of TV and celebrity gossip (which I’ve done pretty well, if I do say so myself), I can’t shake some of my favorite character-driven dialogue that’s always in my head. Top of the list? Liz Lemon’s “What the what?” and “Nerds!” and of course, Andy’s favorite above. While I try to fight them off in favor of more descriptive words, all I can say about this incredibly amazing project is: WOW.

When approached by her friends Mike and Karen to create a creative wedding invitation, Kelli Anderson decided to embrace the couple’s love of music. Both Mike and Karen work in music (she DJs at night, he’s a Grammy award-winning sound engineer), and they wrote their own song for their wedding, so Kelli worked with them to record the song on a flexidisc and create an invitation that would actually PLAY the record (watch it in action above). Can we just pause to marvel at how that makes this the coolest wedding invitation ever? Until another invitation pops open and hand-feeds me a piece of chocolate, this one takes the cake.

In addition to the standard wedding invitation details, Kelli’s design for the invite included a back page with a needle that, with some hand-spinning, actually plays the record. I’m too blown away to go on, so I’ll let the video and Kelli’s post here explain the rest. Two thumbs up for an amazingly creative couple and designer going all out and inspiring me to rethink how far paper invitations can be pushed. xo, grace

More images of the invitation after the jump!

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tokketok

Grace Bonney — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 11:39:31 +0000

After spending two jam-packed, wonderful days in Birmingham, Alabama (I wish I had a guide to link to here, any locals want to share how awesome it is?) I was mostly happy to come home. Mostly only because I absolutely fell in love with Birmingham and didn’t want to leave. I wanted someone to magically hand me a tiny house in English Village and stuff me full of chocolate popovers at Continental Bakery every morning. Is that too much to ask? Oh it is? Oh, ok. Well, I’ll continue to wish that I win one of New York’s nine million lottery contests and can somehow afford to buy a tiny home there. Really, is there anything better than wonderful towns in the South? Every time I visit my accent comes back out and I start wondering why I don’t live somewhere that dogwood trees grow with abundance and people say hello to you on the street and aren’t asking for you to sign a petition.

Anyway, I was happy to come home, but after a trip I find myself needing to be surrounded by simplicity and quiet. All the flying and meetings and nervousness leaves me craving a quiet apartment full of neutral things that subtly welcome me back home. While I can’t go changing the color of the things I already own, I can embrace little details that feel like the kind of simplicity I crave. I’ve had these cards from TokkeTok on my desktop for a few days for that same reason. They’re clean, simple and just beautiful. I have some thank you note writing on my horizon (how do I write the entire city of Birmingham a note for welcoming us with open arms?) so these will come in handy. If you’d like to pick up some you can do so right here for about $5. xo, grace

wye oak + baltimore artists = beautiful music video

Grace Bonney — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:30:12 +0000

It’s no secret that I’ve been crushing on Wye Oak lately. Their new album, Civilian, is on heavy rotation around my apartment, so I was excited to hear from Merge about their newest music video. The video for their song “Fish” is a collaboration between Wye Oak and local Baltimore artist Katherine Fahey and photographer Michael O’Leary. Katherine created stunning paper cuts to illustrate the song, and Michael was responsible for the photography and cinematography. The result is a really gorgeous pairing of music and art that is absolutely worth pulling out your headphones to listen and see (if you’re at work; if not, crank it and enjoy). I’ve been hoping for something that would take the place of stop motion in the video world lately, and I think paper cuts are a strong contender. Fingers crossed. xo, grace

PS: You can check out behind the scenes photos of the video shoot right here.

karolin schnoor floral prints

Grace Bonney — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 12:00:57 +0000

I’m developing a new obsession: floral wreaths. As much as I love the real variety, I’m getting a little “put a bird on it” over wreaths as decorative details. I love the little floral circles in Shanna Murray’s decals, Yellow Owl Workshop’s cards and now these beautiful prints from artist Karolin Schnoor. Each of Karolin’s prints has a delicate floral illustration that looks pretty enough to pull out and wear. You can pick up her new prints (“Girl with Flowers,” “Hands” and “Wreath”) right here at Etsy for $30 each. Here’s to delicate florals! xo, grace

notebook love

Grace Bonney — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 12:00:58 +0000

Morning guys! It’s SO good to be back in NYC after a whirlwind trip to LA for the Design Bloggers conference. I ended up catching a last-minute red eye back (a few rows away from Jessica Szohr*) to NY and found myself happier than ever to be home. I’m not sure if it’s all the moving and the sense of unease that can bring to one’s life, but after being away from home for 24 hours, all I wanted was to get back into my own bed with Turk curled up next to me. Now that I’m home, I’m feverishly making lists of things to do before we move (two-week countdown), so naturally I’m procrastinating by looking for cute notebooks to write the lists on, rather than the lists themselves. Some of my favorite simple options are these new designs by Italian graphic designer, Alessandro Barbieri and illustrator Julie LaBulle. They feel like something I would have drawn in high school had I been a neater doodler. But because I’m not (my drawings always look rambling and off-kilter), these might need to go on my “to do” list of things to buy soon. Until then, you can check them out (and shop online) right here. xo, grace

*As of last night, I’m giving up my vice of online celebrity gossip. Goodbye, US Weekly. You won’t be wasting my time with headlines like, “Justin Bieber Autographs Lady Lumps” anymore.

gigi gallery paper goods

Grace Bonney — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 13:00:14 +0000

As I get older I find myself starting to pay more attention to things that have clean lines and simple compositions. I used to prefer as many stripes, dots and patches of glitter as possible, but now the idea of something a little bit more restrained seems like a good fit. These cards fit the bill for me right now and come from Gabriela Silva’s Etsy shop, Gigi Gallery. Designed and made in San Francisco, Gabriela’s cards are sold for $1.99 each or in packs of six for $10.50. I also love the easily customizable wedding invites in Gabriela’s collection- they’re a great way to have custom stationery without breaking the bank. Click here to check out the full store and shop online. xo, grace