michael amzalag and mathias augustyniak make up m/m, an amazing graphic design and art direction firm based in paris. after meeting at an art school in france, michael and mathias formed m/m in 1995. from its conception, m/m has worked with some of the most innovative and experimental artists in both fashion and music .

i stumbled upon m/m after falling in love with their artwork for icelandic songstress, bjork. m/m created haunting visuals to accompany both the album and one of its singles, “hidden place”. the way graphics and stunning photography intertwine in her album art is breathtakingly beautiful. images of swans and various flora float overtop of images of the already unusual looking singer, compounding both the album and singer’s otherwordly aura.

after working a connection between a friend and yohji yamamoto, m/m starting designing posters and ad campaigns for the japanese fashion magnate. their work with yamamoto is some of my favorite and it also marked their entrance into the fashion world- an entrance that has lead to some beautiful work for designers like balenciaga and calvin klein.

whether they’re working for high-profile fashion or music clients, m/m produces some of the most creative and visually innovative design out there. i highly recommend you check out their work and become better aquainted with the other parisian duo currently occupying my thoughts…

ICELAND’S FINEST [still from hidden place video*m/m] bjork is so phenomenal. and so is the artwork in this video…

POP PRINCESS [vespertine album art*m/m] their work for bjork’s vespertine album…

BALENCIAGA BOYS [ad for balenciaga*m/m] more fashion…

AMERICAN ART [calvin klein ads*m/m] bringing their parisian style to the good old usa..

LE QUACK [duck graphic for bjork*m/m] i loved these simple graphics they did for bjork’s album…

ANTLER BOY [ghost tree*eric ginder]

i stumbled upon designer eric ginder while drooling over the goods at velocity (how great is velocity? i am constantly impressed by their collection. great taste and great work. win win.) and have found a new love- ginder’s ghost collection of entryway furniture (for lack of a better term). his ghost coat tree and ghost tile antler coat rack are uber cool and well, uber pricey. but if you’ve got 2 grand to drop on a sweet coat rack- sign up here. erich’s website is still in the works, but i promise i’ll be writing more about him when it’s up. until then, check out velocity for his retail designs and check back here for more info when it’s available.

BOO! [ghost collection*eric ginder] hang your hat and coat on something spooky- spooky cool.

FLOWER POWER [vasemaker*designfenzider] i can’t remember where i first saw this, but it is worth a second look. the vasemaker from designfenzider brings glamour to your very own cups and containers. you can even make something gorgeous out of your plain old juice glasses. you can pick up a vasemaker at the apartment in soho or snag one online here.

EVERYDAY GLAMOUR [vasemaker*designfenzider] make beauty out of the ordinary.

CUTTING EDGE CANINE [bow haus*bow haus design] i know this isn’t brand spanking new, but i can’t get enough of it. after a pet-filled weekend i’ve been dying to check out modern digs for our four legged friends. dwell covered bow haus (could that name be any cuter?) this this summer, but i feel the need to post it again, because well, it’s monday and everyone needs a little cuteness on monday. dogs are cute! especially in hip little houses!

by the way…have you registered to vote? do you have your absentee ballot? do you have all the materials and info you need to be ready to vote on november 2? if not (and even if you do) drop by rock the vote and get the facts straight. please vote…it’s important!

BE LIKE TURK [cat nap*casa coles] take some advice from my cat: have a relaxing weekend and i’ll see you on monday…

ugh. t-mobile ruined my friday, so i’ve had my will to blog sucked right out of me today. however, i will be back on monday: fresh, happy and un-bummed about how much t-mobile really really bites. bites! (i urge you to use another company- they just gouged me for a phone i lost. like accidents don’t happen…geez)

anyway, i’ll be back next monday with gobs of info on a bunch of cool new designers and their even cooler new designs. hint hint (two are from paris and one represents gowanus…) so, have a great weekend everyone. see you monday…

xoxo,

design*sponge

droog design darling, frank tjepkema is amsterdam’s finest. designer, that is. with several of his designs already scooped up and placed in the illustrious droog design collection, tjepkema is at the top of his game. sadly, i only jumped on the tjepkema truck in 2003 after i saw his “signature thing”, but i’ve been a loyal fan ever since.

based in lovely amsterdam (where i once managed to run into someone from my little southern hometown..talk about small world) tjepkema attended both the technical university of delft and the design academy at eindhoven, and THEN graduated with an MA from the sandberg institute in amsterdam. when he’s not busy racking up design diplomas (and now heading up the design dept at the rietveld academy in amsterdam), frank is busy working on some of the most interesting and beautiful designs i’ve ever seen.

famous for his preoccupation with branding and identity, tjepkema has a veritable obsession with logos and their use in the corporate world. i first saw this in his now-infamous bling bling collection, available at moss, and have continued to love it in his work for the wedding of princess maxima and willem-alexander. comprised of layers of corporate logos, the bling bling pendant is a great big chunk of branding genius. i don’t think i’d ever actually wear it, but it’s still amazing. for the wedding of maxima and willem-alexander, tjepkema designed the most elegant and delicate tiara made of layers of the words “i love you” written in as many languages as it can be said. tjepkema’s ability to combine conceptual innovative ideas with functional intelligence and visual elegance is truly unparalleled.

taking his branding compulsion to a more practical place, tjepkema designed the imaging and logo for the francois vatel cooking school- designs so cool that they make me want to go there. well, not really, but you get the point. speaking of cooking, has anyone been to per se in nyc? i’m nursing a pretty huge thomas keller crush and would love to know how it is…

frank tjepkema continues to produce some of the most amazing products in contemporary design. his pieces are bright and innovative enough to perk up any lackluster thursday afternoon so, go check him out!

*this is a much abbreviated version of my original article, as evil blogger chose to eat my saved draft…jerks.

ICH LIEBE DICH? [princess tiara*frank tjempkema] i can’t get enough of this picture. i looove it.

SHINY SHINY [tiara close-up*frank tjepkema] girls like pretty things from frank…

HOLLA HOLLA [bling bling medallion*frankie t] what what?

SIGN IT ["signature thing" vase*f tjepkema] have your own signature hold your flowers!

WHAT A GIRL DREAMS OF [decorations for dutch royal wedding*frank tjepkema] a sky full of hearts and arrows, what more could you ask for?

WEDDING PARADE [more wedding decs*f tjepkema] for wedding day decorations…

EAT THIS [edible logos for francois vatel*frank tjepkema] mmmm….good enough to eat!

COME ON IN [entrance to fv school*frank tjepkema] school’s cool again…

ROHRLICH GOT IT RIGHT [noguchi free form sofa*vitra design museum] marianne is not always my favorite design writer, but i do like the feature she did this morning on curvy sofas. well, i at least like the noguchi sofa. i don’t know where this picture came from but i love it. love it. yeah green sofas and yeah isamu noguchi! (that’s for you coles…)

more info at design within reach

thank you thank you thank you bryan boyer for turning me on to a great new designer (jewelry, that is) that is not ridiculously overpriced! bryan emailed me about his friend rena tom, so i decided to check her out and i’m so glad i did. rena’s jewelry is just plain gorgeous. the materials match the design in their simple, raw elegance. kryptonite and wood mix beautifully with stones like chalcedony and ruby quartz, creating absolutely precious bracelets, earrings, necklaces and rings. now, i’m more of an earring/ring/necklace girl, but her peacock bracelet is really to die for (i’m keeping it in mind for upcoming christmas gifts for my family). for my money, the flag necklace and wooden necklace are the cutest, but you really can’t go wrong with any of them. so, drop by rena’s site and indulge in some beautiful fall jewelry. support local artists! (well, she just moved here, so it’s local enough…)

GREEN WITH ENVY [necklace and bracelet*rena tom] rare plasma verisite stones and any girl’s weakness, gorgeous green kryptonite

PURDY GIRL [necklace, necklace and ring*rena tom] curve necklace made of mother of pearl, nature girl necklace made of ebony and green fluorite, mega ring

LOVE IT [flag necklace*rena thom] gorgeous. gorgeous.

TREE HUGGER [necklace*rena tom] ebony and sterling silver. so pretty…

BETTER AND BETTER [custom invites*rena tom] AND she makes custom cards and paper goods!

LADY BIRD [peacock bracelet*rena tom] if i wore bracelets, i’d wear this one in a heartbeat…

IT’S ABOUT TIME [george nelson table clocks*vitra]

vitra decided it was about time (i know, i know, painful…) to reissue some more george nelson clocks, so here they are…table clocks from the early fifties that are so cute it’s hard to pick a favorite. well, maybe not. i like the chronopak clock (bottom left) the best. they run between $250 and $350 and will be in vitra stores sooooon. call 888-278-2855 for additional retailers or just shoot me an email, the firm i work for reps them currently.

*clockwise from top left (pill clock, night clock, watermelon clock and chronopak clock)