I covet...

These beautiful wood countertops and lovely white cabinets. 

Photo taken from Dwell newsletter.

Mociun = Love

MOCIUN.  What can I tell you, I'm totally smitten!  I absolutely love her jewelry design and textiles.  Caitlin Mociun studied textile design at Rhode Island School of Design and is now designing textiles, clothes and jewelry.  I first came across her jewelry which is absolutely beautiful, modern and feminine with a touch of whimsy.  It is completely crush worthy.

 

Below are some of her print designs, I really like her use of geometric patterns juxtaposed with organic elements and color to make a statement:

All above images taken from mociun.com

  



I also read her blog religiously and find it absolutely inspiring.  I love her point of view and design sensibility.  See more of what makes Mociun tick at http://mociun.tumblr.com/ 

Pantone's New Colors

The final word in color just unveiled 336 new colors!  Here is the press release from their website:

Pantone Inspires Designers with 336 New Shades

Expanded PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM now offers 25 percent more color options
CARLSTADT, N.J. and SAN FRANCISCO, April 24, 2012 – Pantone LLC, an X-Rite company (NASDAQ: XRIT) and the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries, today announced the addition of 336 New Colors to its PANTONE® PLUS SERIES, bringing the total to 1,677 colors.

Introduced in 2010, the PANTONE PLUS SERIES is the next generation of the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM® – the defacto standard for color communication in the graphic arts market. The PLUS SERIES provides an accurate way for designers to communicate and control color throughout the entire design process – from inspiration to final output. The 336 New Colors offer designers more options and flexibility in the creative process and will become permanent standards in the PLUS SERIES Color Library.

The 336 New Colors enrich the current PLUS SERIES palette, providing a more comprehensive selection. All color families are extended to include a wider variety of values, saturation and undertones – from subtle pastels and reliable mid-tones to the intensity of deep tones, vivid brights and vital, nuanced neutrals.

“Color is integral to every project. The more colors I have to choose from, the easier it is to translate from fragrance to color,” said Matt Fadness, partner at Through Smoke Creative in Sausalito, Calif., a design firm specializing in home fragrance and body care scent and packaging design for brands including The Gap, Restoration Hardware and William Sonoma. “We need to form a strong connection between fragrance and color during the product development process and spend a lot of time choosing the precise hue. The additional colors in the PANTONE PLUS SERIES will give us greater flexibility and latitude to translate color into product.”

The New Colors were inspired by the PANTONE Goe™ System and add depth and breadth to the PLUS SERIES Color Library with fresh hues that did not previously exist. The Goe System represents important technical improvements in the area of ink film consistency and coatability, and these benefits have migrated to the 336 New Colors. Formulated using consistent ink-film thicknesses, the 366 New Colors can be easily reproduced by printers worldwide. All 336 New Colors will be available in coated and uncoated formats and are printed on text-weight paper to match popular print specifications.

Time to update your Pantone library!!  More at http://www.pantone.com/

I covet...

As if we haven't had enough Missoni madness with the roll out of their design partnership at Target this past winter, they are teaming up with Converse to make one of the most fashionable sneakers on the market.

Images taken from Converse.com

These would make my feet SO happy!!  I especially love them in white.  Swoon!

Bec Brittain

I stumbled upon Bec Brittain, Parsons trained industrial designer, while reading one of my favorite blogs Mociun (post on her work to follow soon!).  Bec Brittain has done some very impressive work and one of the most beautiful light fixtures I have ever seen:

Maxhedron

I love the shape and the way the light bounces off the glass, I'm picturing this in clusters hanging at different heights from a vaulted ceiling as an art installation.  What a statement that would make!

Here is another one of her light fixtures:

SHY light

I love the chic modern aesthetic!

Some of her other work includes chess sets made out of nuts and bolts, bug monsters which are like a taxidermy mash up of bugs, sea creatures, bones, and so on.  Bec also creates works of art using her bug monsters in glass domes and wall art.  She was also the project designer for Anthropologie's store revitalization with the store shown below in Corona, California.  Here are more images of her amazing work:



All images of Bec Brittain's work were taken directly from her website, which can be found here.

This is just a snippet of what is on her website, she has done some really inspiring work and I love her design for the Anthropologie store.  It really tells a story and curates an experience for the guest.  Definitely take the time to check out her site - www.becbrittain.com

Adler in the Minni Apple

Image taken from here

Image taken from here

Famed designer Jonathan Adler is bringing his chic and cheek to Minneapolis in his new store in the Uptown area just off of Hennepin and Lake Street.  It is a bright breath of fresh air in the area of town that is now becoming a modern design enthusiast hot spot.  With stores like DWR and ROAM nearby, Adler's new shop is in good company!

Tile Trends

I am loving this large format tile from Mutina by designer Patricia Urquiola:

I love the pixelated look and the beautiful mix of textures in this tile.  What a focal piece!

INSPIRATION

All images from Kelly's blog My Vibe My Life

Painted plywood canvases with large nails serve as backdrops to product in Kelly Wearstler's window displays in her new boutique creating cool edgy displays.

I especially love the first image of the paint on plywood.  The color choices are beautiful and the abstract patterns pop against the faint wood grain.  Totally inspiring me right now!

For the Love of Lakes

Art Director Nicole Mayer is redesigning and rethinking the standard lake name and logo.  Taking one Minnesota lake and creating a new visual identity for it everyday.  The results have been a fun way to pay homage to the 10,000+ lakes of Minnesota.  Here are some of her designs:

King Lake

She says it will take a little over 27 years to complete the branding for every lake, but slow and steady wins the race right?  You can find her designs and links to her twitter and facebook, where you can chat with her about your favorite lake, here.  Some of her designs are even for sale here so you can proudly display your lakes new logo in your cabin!  You can find the link to shop on her website.

What a great creative challenge!  What are you doing to challenge yourself and flex your creative muscle?

Alexander Girard

I just came from a fantastic presentation by Todd Oldham about the great Alexander Girard.  Part interior designer, part graphic designer, part industrial designer Girard was a master at everything he touched!  From creating beautiful textiles with (for the time) outrageous bold color schemes, exquisite graphic posters with beautifully unique text, to lovely folk art inspired dolls for his children were all crafted with the utmost attention to detail.  He broke the rules in an exciting way and was at the forefront of design working along side Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen and Emilio Pucci.  Here is just a small sampling of his work:

I would also recommend checking out the Alexander Girard book by Todd Oldham and Kiera Coffee:

Its big and expensive but has beautiful photographs and is full of details of his work and life

Folk art inspired dolls originally made for his children, these have been reproduced by Vitra



I love his use of color, texture, and line.  The book really illustrates his love of juxtaposing unexpected colors and shapes.  His work translates so well to our modern aesthetic sometimes it's hard to believe his work is mid-century and his graphic work was absolutely genius!  If you are looking for a little inspiration, Alexander Girard is someone to check out!

I loved the art from yesterday's post so much that I am dedicating a whole post to Thepairabirds shop on Esty!

I love the idea of these three individual geometric prints matted and framed and hung over a sofa to add a splash of color and bring your space up to trend!

Here are a few other pieces that I really liked from her collection:

Pieces featuring women in a very strong, positive way

Cool art featuring animals that would be perfect for kids rooms...

The thing I find really great about Thepairabirds store is the great breadth of selection and the use of repeating color schemes/motifs that make the prints very easy to put together in a cluster of 3 or 5 to really make a statement in a room.  And at around 20 dollars a print they are a pretty inexpensive way to add some unique art to your space.

Tabitha Bianca Brown, the Chicago area illustrator behind Thepairabirds, also has some really great portraits and abstract nature themes that all have that faceted look. I love her perspective and fresh color schemes.  Definitely an artist to check out! 

On Trend: Planes and Folds

Wow, I have been MIA for quite some time.  I would like to blame it on the fact that my fingers have been so frozen here that I haven't been able to use my keyboard, but it's been a ridiculously mild winter.  The only one I have to blame is myself.  In my absence I have been keeping my eyes open for upcoming trends and really love this graphic, edgy look:

Image from zainteriora.net

Handmade faceted vases by Phil Cuttance.  Since each piece is done by hand, each is unique.  Read more here. 

Images from United Nude

A new spin on a classic, United Nude turns the classic Pantone Chair into a series of planes and folds in this edgy looking high design chair.  They have also applied this same theory to bottles, shoes and martini glasses.  It's definitely worth checking out the entire project online here.

Image from here.

 For a more natural way to incorporate this faceted look into your home try this sideboard from Amitrani, called Sedici.  The natural wood element makes it easy to incorporate into any existing design while the faceted surface ties in this trend beautifully. 

On a budget?  Don't want to spend $2000 on a chair?  How about these less expensive ways to incorporate this trend:

Faceted Mirror Side Table, $199 - West Elm

The Pixel Rug, $349 - CB2

"Geometry" 8x10 Art Print, $20 - Etsy