Design*Sponge » weekly wrap up http://www.designsponge.com Your home for all things Design. Home Tours, DIY Project, City Guides, Shopping Guides, Before & Afters and much more Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:28:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 weekly wrap up + wooden valentines http://www.designsponge.com/2012/02/weekly-wrap-up-wooden-valentines.html http://www.designsponge.com/2012/02/weekly-wrap-up-wooden-valentines.html#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:00:12 +0000 Grace Bonney http://www.designsponge.com/?p=127697
Few things make me happier than flowers. Well, making it to the weekend is pretty great, too. In honor of both, I wanted to share these sweet wooden valentines from Brittany Burton. I wrote about Brittany the other week before she had an Etsy shop set up, and I’m thrilled to see (thanks to Tuesday!) that she now does. Her shop has a range of beautiful prints for sale, but I love this set of five wooden cards. Each is original and unique and comes with a blank back so you can write in your own message. Click here to check them out in more detail and order a set for your special someone.

I’m heading out to get some fresh air before I’m stuck back in the office tomorrow waiting for our new desk and coffee table to arrive. I plan to fill that four-hour delivery window with work, so I’m ducking out to start the weekend early. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. See you Monday! xo, grace

Below is a summary of this week’s highlights:

]]> http://www.designsponge.com/2012/02/weekly-wrap-up-wooden-valentines.html/feed 6 weekly wrap up + atelier de troupe http://www.designsponge.com/2012/01/weekly-wrap-up-68.html http://www.designsponge.com/2012/01/weekly-wrap-up-68.html#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:00:03 +0000 Stephanie http://www.designsponge.com/?p=127367
The rain has finally stopped in Brooklyn so I think it’s time to stretch my legs and leave the couch I’ve been slowly sinking into. Before I call it a day, I wanted to wrap up this week with some lights I’ve been crushing on all day, courtesy of Amy. I’ve been looking for swing-arm sconces for our office for a few weeks and these just shot straight to the top of my list. Sadly they’re outside of our budget, but I can still look. That brass and black metal combo is so chic. Click here to check out (and shop) the full lighting collection from Atelier de Troupe online. Until Monday, I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! xo, grace


Below is a summary of this week’s highlights:

 

]]> http://www.designsponge.com/2012/01/weekly-wrap-up-68.html/feed 13 weekly wrap up + becca kallem http://www.designsponge.com/2012/01/weekly-wrap-up-becca-kallem.html http://www.designsponge.com/2012/01/weekly-wrap-up-becca-kallem.html#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000 Grace Bonney http://www.designsponge.com/?p=126734
This has been an amazing week. It started with a dramatic kitten rescue and search to find her a home (we did!) and ended with a plane ride to Salt Lake City to join my friends on a book panel at Alt Summit. Tomorrow morning, I’m heading back to Brooklyn, but in the back of my mind, that little kitten face is still looking up at me. I couldn’t be happier that she has a new forever home, so furry friends are still foremost on my mind. As such, it’s only fitting to end the week with a story that combines three of my favorite things: flowers, furry animals and blasts from the past.


During the D*S book tour stop in DC, I was lucky enough to re-meet artist Becca Kallem. Becca and I actually went to William & Mary together and took some of the same classes with a rather infamous painting teacher. While I knew I would probably never be a fine artist, I remembered Becca’s work and was thrilled to see that she was still creating beautiful pieces and teaching art in the DC area. She has exhibited in galleries in DC and New York and has been fortunate to work with some very cool clients (like the Smithsonian Postal Museum) since we graduated. Today I’m excited to share some more of her work, which celebrates furry friends. Becca created a book called An Animal Compendium that features 90+ illustrations of animal characters, with a portion of proceeds benefitting the Washington Animal Rescue League. In light of the fact that this week was all about supporting and celebrating our animal friends, I couldn’t think of a better way to wrap things up. You can click here to see more of Becca’s work, here to see (and buy) An Animal Compendium and here to shop for prints on her Etsy shop.


Thank you again for your outpouring of support during our kitten rescue. And thank you most of all to Tuesday and Pete (below) who gave little Mischka (her new name!) a loving forever home. Here’s wishing you all a safe and happy weekend. See you Monday! xo, grace

More images of Becca’s work and a summary of this week’s highlights continue after the jump . . .

miscka yellowflowers greygirl flowers3 flowers dress2 rebeccamain giraffe bird greyflower fox

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]]> http://www.designsponge.com/2012/01/weekly-wrap-up-becca-kallem.html/feed 20 weekly wrap up + dupatta nara love http://www.designsponge.com/2012/01/weekly-wrap-up-dupatta-nara-love.html http://www.designsponge.com/2012/01/weekly-wrap-up-dupatta-nara-love.html#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:00:22 +0000 Grace Bonney http://www.designsponge.com/?p=126326
This week has been a blur of paint fumes, planning and agonizing over how best to organize our new office space and the year ahead. As much as I love making big decisions, sometimes I feel overwhelmed and the best way to remedy that is to window-shop for warm fuzzy things. At the top of my list right now is this gorgeous red-on-red scarf from Matta. I love the rich red tones and feel like it would be the perfect jumping off point for a room design. I’d love to see a couch upholstered partially (just the back and bottom) in dark red and then the cushions in a lighter red. That sort of slight variation in colors always makes me smile. If you’re looking for a gorgeous scarf to splurge on, you can click here to pick up one of these. Until then, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I’ll see you back here on Monday! xo, grace

Below is a summary of this week’s highlights:

 

]]> http://www.designsponge.com/2012/01/weekly-wrap-up-dupatta-nara-love.html/feed 2 weekly wrap up + rebekka seale house portraits http://www.designsponge.com/2012/01/weekly-wrap-up-rebekka-seale-house-portraits.html http://www.designsponge.com/2012/01/weekly-wrap-up-rebekka-seale-house-portraits.html#comments Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:00:14 +0000 Grace Bonney http://www.designsponge.com/?p=125637
This time of year, few things comfort me more than being safe and warm indoors with loved ones (pets included, of course). Having a place of your own that you truly love and feel comfortable in is something worth celebrating. A fun way to celebrate the places we call home is to document the actual space you live in. Whether you choose to photograph your home or put your feelings about it into writing, having a physical reminder of that home or apartment can be really special. One of my favorite ways to document or remember home is through illustration. Sometimes an artist, or just the nature of drawing itself, can capture the feeling and spirit of a space better than a photograph.

 


While I love highly representative drawings, I’m really enjoying these more playful illustrations from artist Rebekka Seale. Rebekka creates these custom house portraits using watercolor and gouache, and each one emphasizes the details that make the house special. I feel like mine would primarily be about a lot of cat heads in windows, but no matter what makes your house feel like a home, this idea would be a wonderful gift, housewarming present or just a nice way to celebrate your home and the family within it. You can check out and order custom house portraits from Rebekka on her Etsy shop right here. Each 8 x 10 portrait is $100 and includes custom lettering, up to two pet silhouettes (yay!) and a CD with a high-res file for printing (Rebekka even includes step-by-step instructions for using the file to create affordable notecards online). You can read more about her process here and here. Thanks to Rebekka’s friend Sarah for the tip!

I’m shutting down my laptop for the day and heading out to find some black paint for our office floor. On Monday, Amy and I will tackle the gross gray portion of the office floors that desperately need a new look. Stay tuned for (paint-covered) process shots next week. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Stay warm. xo, grace

Below is a summary of this week’s highlights:

]]> http://www.designsponge.com/2012/01/weekly-wrap-up-rebekka-seale-house-portraits.html/feed 15 weekly wrap up + 2011 d*s scholarship winners! http://www.designsponge.com/2011/12/weekly-wrap-up-2011-ds-scholarship-winners.html http://www.designsponge.com/2011/12/weekly-wrap-up-2011-ds-scholarship-winners.html#comments Fri, 23 Dec 2011 18:00:02 +0000 Stephanie http://www.designsponge.com/?p=124988
Nothing makes me happier than dedicating my final post of 2011 to the next generation of great design talent. Today I’m thrilled to announce the winners of the 2011 D*S Scholarship! I am so appreciative that so many amazing students took the time to enter- thank you for sharing your work with us, it was an honor to look through it all. Thank you again to this year’s sponsors Congratulations to:

Undergraduates:

1st place ($2500): Alyssa McNamara
2nd place ($1500): Nick Missel
3rd place ($750): Carly Ayres
4th place ($250): Leah Goren

Graduates:

1st place ($2500): Marta Dlugolecka
2nd place ($1500): Bethany Ng
3rd place ($750): Ashley Peifer
4th place ($250): Elise Deringer

Thank you again to this year’s scholarship sponsors who made these no-strings-attached financial awards possible. West Elm, Perigee Books (a division of Penguin) and Artstream.


It has been such an honor to talk about and celebrate great design with all of you this year. 2011 saw a major redesign at D*S, our first printed newspaper, our first book, a 30-city book tour, the Portland Bazaar, our first ever office and our first full-time employee. If 2012 is even a fraction of what 2011 was, I will be the luckiest girl alive. Thank you so much to all of you for joining us here every day and being a part of this amazing community of people who truly embrace living a creative life. I am so inspired by all of you and can’t wait to see what 2012 holds for all of us. We’re closing up our laptops and will return after the New Year on Tuesday, January 3rd. Until then I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday and from all of us here at D*S, best wishes for a wonderful new year. xo, grace

*Image above via Hope and Joy Studios

Below is a summary of this week’s highlights:

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