seeking inspiration

inspired by design for mankind's awesome new monthly e-zine of inspiration boards, i looked to my bulletin board of the moment. not wildly exciting, but an interesting collection of items from the past months...

yes, this is leading me to another list of links. i guess i'm in a phase of collecting & examining. soon to be followed by a period of creative action...

[counter clockwise from midright]
- "be kind to books," cuz you should
- food - hipster eating joint on pico blvd. their "market" has a great collection of iconic food items (heinz ketchup, grey poupon, morton's salt, etc.)
- snippet of a colorful lamp by heather wells, beautiful after dark
- card from nana with a print of her mariner's compass quilt
- sample of teal paint, my new favorite color
- old john lennon trading card
- button from LA's craft & folk art museum - check out their local event listings!
- wristband from the standard hotel - hiphip + interior design lust
- little green pin from phantomlimb
- leftover red ribbons from wonderful papersource
- print of matisse's basket of oranges. "One of the proudest moments of Matisse's life was when Picasso bought his Basket of Oranges in 1945. Matisse reciprocated by sending Picasso a crate of real oranges every New Year's Day." love this.
- matt's paused-for-now prntd.com

and obama 08 - spread the hope. [words & image]


[photo from myflickr]

not all who wander are lost

wrapping up my weekend again...

i came across this bit about the beauty of wandering at apartmenttherapy:LA that sums up my days off. my actions & thoughts get scattered in a a bunch of different directions--but (usually) that's the way i like it. bouncing between ideas. errands & organizing. projects & brainstorming. and wishing i spent some time cooking & reading.

five fave finds of the weekend:
- well-advised posters
- train from LA to SB for $20
- funky fat quarters (any ideas on where to find/buy a sewing machine?)
- one method for design
- an inspiring apartment

ready & recharged for the work week.


[photo via myflickr]

stormy night

the rain continues to pour in LA, with flash floods warnings, snowstorms, and even a tornado scare. after a long wet day, all i wanted was a sweatshirt and a hot bowl of soup.

i took advantage of the soggy night to catch up on some emails...and to sort through a biggg stack of old magazines that have been piling up. tearing out the worthwhile articles and photospreads (ohh that martha stewart and her pretty pictures). and then tossing (recycling!) the rest.


on the side, hot cocoa (the milk+cocoa+sugar variety) made with dad's special gradually-add-the-milk technique, in my barnswallow mug from mum (one of my favorite things).

now the electricity has gone out (third time tonight).

this city cannot handle precipitation.


[photo from myflickr]

winter project: complete

now that most of my packages have made their way across the country, i'm happy to present the results of my winter project: the companion cookbook.

the idea for a compilation cookbook started with a chain letter email ("send a recipe to these five people and..."). excited about a bookmaking project and the prospect of a collecting some fun recipes, i set to work mailing & hassling my friends and then collecting & organizing their recipes.

i scanned each of the recipes that i received and formatted them (roughly) in adobe indesign. i spent many days printing and shuffling notecards around, pumping out 50+ copies of the text.

then for the fun part! each book was handbound, starting from scratch with info & tutorials from fiveandahalf (thank you, judy!). with a big bottle of pva glue, a quality paste brush, and a bagful of clothespins, i was a happy bookmaker.

the bookcovers feature images from the blender way to better cooking (1965). the "blender" theme provides for some interesting (and some surprisingly appetizing) cover art.

finally, the whole bunch was complete.
wrapped with parchment paper & tied with red ribbon.
headed off to kitchens & friends around the country.


[photos via myflickr]

a short roadtrip north

pink grapefruit & hot coffee (and amazing drinking chocolate!).
discovering a collection of homey recipe books at santa barbara's oldest used bookstore.
of course, an excellent visit with peter.
plus two beautiful sunsets.

no thank you to plastic bags

tinychoices, a new but not-so-tiny envirogreen blog, wrote this week about steps to ban the overuse of plastic bags in cities around the world. americans alone use 100 billion (plus?) plastic bags--every year. argh.

i may get funny looks for refusing bags and occasionally stuffing my purse with groceries... but i'd rather have an excuse to stock up on fun, reusable bags than have to look at a cabinet full of bags & bags of cheap plastic.

here are a few favorite bags&totes:
- "thank you have a nice day" [photo above]
- envirosax in amazonia patterns
- ecobags in earthtones
- bazura market bags from recycled materials


[EDIT: los angelenos held a "ban the bag" rally on jan 22...read more interesting info at the great LA green girl.]

special delivery

after weeks of printing, cutting, pasting, brainstorming, and shopping for just the right materials... my holiday project is finally complete! i am oh so happy with the results.

more photos to come once these packages reach their recipients.

P.S. special thanks to allison for not complaining about the enormous bookmaking mess in our apartment--to mum&dad for allowing my mess at home--and to matt for being a super production assistant.

[photo from myflickr]

come alive!

inspired by this great poster on hi+low (another favorite blog for visual inspiration), i started reading a profile of the artist Sister Corita, an LA/Boston nun-turned-artist who spent thirty years teaching & publishing her art across the country.

she was the artist behind the 1985 Love stamp and, before that, the south boston gas tank (above), which i've driven by a million times (always pointing out the infamous hidden face!)--but never learned its history.

her art seems to be an awesome mix of mid-century pop culture & spirituality.


the Corita Art Center is here in LA and now added to my explore-the-city list.

her art bio is out there just waiting to inspire: come alive!


[photo from ..jolli......]

2007 by the books

from january to december
- on beauty (zadie smith)
- what is the what (dave eggers)
- kafka on the shore (haruki murakami)
- white oleander (janet fitch)
- how to win friends and influence people (dale carnegie)
- atonement (ian mcewan)
- a tree grows in brooklyn (betty smith)
- getting things done (david allen)
- refuse to choose (barbara sher)
- no one belongs here more than you (miranda july)
- omnivore's dilemma (michael pollan)
- how we are hungry (dave eggers)
- the bell jar (sylvia plath)
- the history of love (nicole krauss)
- girl, interrupted (susanna kaysen)
- apartment therapy (maxwell gillingham-ryan)
- living the simple life (elaine st. james)
- god bless you, mr. rosewater (kurt vonnegut)
- the fountainhead (ayn rand)
- white teeth (zadie smith)
- the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe (c.s. lewis)
- prince caspian (c.s. lewis)
- the audacity of hope* (barack obama)

*still reading into '08


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