yes, it’s 11 pm and i’m blogging my top chef reaction like a total food dork. i’ve never felt so bittersweet about the person i wanted to win actually winning. i loved harold, he was consistent and a good leader. that said, i think tiffani got shafted tonight. i don’t think she should have won, but i felt that this particular episode was unfair for the following reasons: they seemed to discount her dessert because dave made it. well, harold didn’t make the beef dish they seemed to rave about either but that doesn’t seem to have been pointed out on air. also, they chose to air a soundbite of katie saying she wanted to send harold’s fish back, but they chose not to run it on the show. they really seemed to stick it to her because steven and dave didn’t like her but didn’t point out on air that they showed up late and were drunk. like collichio says on his blog (where he clears up a lot of details!), dave seems to be nursing his hatred of tiffani like there’s no tomorrow. she’s really not the reason he didn’t win the show- he needs to get over it and stop whining. showing up late and drunk? yeah, that’s taking the high road, dave. i don’t know. what do you guys think? miguel annoyed the hell out of me. anyway, it was a let down for me. i wanted to see more cooking and less lorraine bracco looking tipsy. she was the paula abdul of the top chef panel. anyway, hooray for the first season- i can’t wait for season two and a new host. (ps: i wish i could try tiffnai’s artichoke risotto)

every year the stationery show is secretly my favorite part of spring design season in ny. after rows upon rows of very serious design folk at icff it’s such a welcome change to head over to see the card gang and eat cupcakes. this year’s show had a few standouts and a few booths that are consistent favs. my standout new booth of the year: hammerpress of kansas city, mo. i spent most of my time hanging out with artists brady vest and lindsay laricks (see above) of hammerpress- their stunning concert posters, cards and cardboard prints were my favorite part of the show. i even bought a few pieces for our house. so, without further adieu, highlights of day one (day two to come tomorrow):

[lindsay and brady of hammerpress blew me away with their gorgeous blockprint cards and posters. full of color and rock and roll attitude, their selection was fresh and vibrant. hammepress' work combined clever imagery with excellent typeface choices and spot on color use. i kept coming back to their booth to see their work again- it really was the highlight of the show for me. you can click here to find more info on hammerpress and shop online. you can also click here for a slideshow of their rock posters]

[angelica kitchen played host to a litte card girl and blogger get together last night. from left to right: jill bliss, joy of oh joy!, rena tom, me, lisa of good on paper and kelly of k autumn. great to meet you guys!]

[the lovely ms. herman yu was also in attendance this year. her new cards were colorful and sophisticated with just the right amount of pattern. herman's work is always a favorite of mine because of its ability to bridge the gap between sophisticated stationery and colorful, fun cards]

[the hay/hey card by mr. letter's press. hay on the outside, hey on the inside. too cute]

[brooklyn's foxy & winston was another favorite of mine. each card was sophisticated, colorful and had the perfect amount of illustration and pattern. how cute is that squirrel in the first pic?]

[jean at eieio studio is always one of my favorites. jean (and ellen, pictured above) consistently churn out beautiful moden wrapping papers that deserve to be framed they're so lovely. and to top it off they're both sweet and awfully friendly. win win]

[the gang at the relish booth could not have been more fun. there were 6 or 7 girls crammed in the booth and each one was talented and sweet. jill bliss was there, lisa from good on paper, kelly from relish and k autumn, just my type, olive route, boon, pie bird press and dog & pony show. boon blew me away with their gorgeous stitched accessories like folders and notebooks. a must-have in my book]

[i love pamela barsky. her booth was full of great pins (i bought a ton to make magnets out of), new dog toys and these adorable piggy banks that will be a HIT when they hit the stores. pamela was funny, fun and as always, full of interesting stories and things to talk about. fun booth- very fun booth]

[the gang from chicago's binth studio was full of surprises and great new designs. they launched a line of art prints designed for children, a new series of orange notebooks and cards and a great new collection of cards in a gorgeous yellow color. be sure to check them out, great stuff]

today is my last day walking icff with the d*s tour so these spongey feet will be getting some much needed rest on wednesday. but today we continue with icff coverage, day two! these were some additional standout pieces that were in the crowd and definitely deserved a mention (stationery show coverage to come tomorrow and more icff galleries on friday). before i launch into the review, thanks to everyone who came to the 2modern/d*s party last night. it was unbelievable to meet so many people and even some b-list celebs (darlene’s boyfriend from rosanne? leon hall? lisa from house on fox?). thanks to greg and co. for putting together such a smash (and packed!) event.

[a very cool piece by risd student charles brill. this was the winner of wilsonart's student challenge. the chair is made with wilsonart laminate strips. prob not a comfy option, but it was quite striking in person]

[the cycloc was even more impressive in person. designer andrew lang could not have been nicer and he was a BIG hit with show goers this year]

[lovely ringed coasters by new york's meg cohen design]

[shelly and mary klein at k studio designed this gorgeous fabric for an exhibition celebrating the eames lounge chair. it was by far my favorite chair in the booth and the fabric gave it such a nice warm, modern feel]

[i got to meet designer erica wakerly in person. we'd discussed her work here before and she was equally lovely in person. her wallpapers were a hit at the show]

[a unique sugar/cream/spoon set by melissa gamwell at the idsa ny booth. more info to come]

[i loved these lamps. they were hard to capture in photos, but their simple powder coated steel forms with a nice minimalist touch. designed by finnish artist jari-petri voutilainen of plink]

[philly's iannone sanderson's gorgeous wooden console piece. a BIG big hit with show goers]

[a nice simple two part chair from modus design in the uk. the color came out a bit funny, but it was very simple and quite impressive in person]

[chair and side table by autoban design. we talked about these on d*s and everyone thought they couldnt possibly be comfy. erika from hable sat in it and confirmed- comfy, not uncomfy at all]

[chandeliers by studiomold. despite their somewhat (to me) messy wires, they're actually quite nice in person. i was pleasantly surprised]

[a nice grey wool sofa/bench at small pond, the thorsten van elten distributors in the us. erika from hable tested it for us, quite comfy!]

[i got to meet karen from nama rococo in person (as well as her sister april). their papers were even more beautiful and richly detailed in person. she even had a little d*s printout at her booth, it made my day]

[shelly and mary klein of k studio really hit the mark this year. they introduced a gorgeous new line of pillows made from eco-friendly hemp fabric that featured a new series of designs. i was most excited to see the seat cushions for stools and the gorgeous new butter yellow color of the pillows. great work, guys!]

['little houses on the black river' was one of my favorite booths in the entire show. designed as a project by parson's students, the booth was an example of modular housing that was going to be installed in europe and use as artists' dwellings. i wanted to crawl inside and take a nap- they were beautiful little pods]

[some simple, but pretty, wavy shelves from plodes studio- the texan design team]

[could i love judy ross any more than i do? i don't think so. i got to see some of her beautiful textiles in person and was thrilled to see the new seat cushions for this year]

[just for fun: little gorilla ashtrays (?) at the salvor/areaware booth. super fun in person]

coverage of icff on d*s will be a week long affair and i’m heading out to cover the stationery show today so you’ll see that this week as well. one quick note: the d*s tour will start at 10 am on tuesday in front of the umbra booth on the main floor! hope you can make it! today will be my first shot at covering some of the highlights of the show: after walking the show twice (sat and sunday, 6 hours of walking) i found the same groups sticking out in the head and felt an overhwhelming urge to cut through the pack and really only bring you guys the best of the best (in my book at least). there were thousands of vendors there this weekend and d*s will spend the week covering what i thought to be the most impressive. but first, the good stuff:

[CELEB SIGHTINGS: kanye west and the lovely (and very pregnant) ms. rachel weisz were in attendance, and both were spotted at the lite brite booth. kanye wore a sweatshirt that said "f*%king awesome" all over it and rachel looked laid back and sweet]

[FIGHT NIGHT: designers take their work seriously and someone in the 1400 row accused another designer of stealing their designs. collar pulling and some messy fighting in the aisles ensued. yes, it was that ridiculous. who fights at a design show? well, apparently these guys do]

and now- overall impressions of the show?

[TEXTURE + TEXTILES: for me, this year was all about bringing textures and textiles to design. the integration of textiles and layered textures into furniture, lighting and flooring was far and away my favorite aspect of the show. kristina from 3layercake is preparing a big piece on this so i can't claim credit for the idea, but we've been talking about it and icff was definite confirmation of this trend]

[SOPHISTICATION: believe it or not, after walking endless rows of work i found myself drawing weary of the slightly kitsch, "ironic" design we've seen so much of (read: hunting chic, "disposable" designs and anything with the words "fu*k luxury" on them). i found myself leaning towards craftsmanship, quality materials and attention to detail that's often missing on the pieces i see in the mainstream market]

[GREEN-DESIGN: this was a bone of contention throughout the show. many of my colleagues and i (and many a show goer) came to the conclusion that we love green design, but feel that some teams are using it as a crutch, and that perhaps the movement needs to try to break a bit more ground with eco materials. i love the mission, the people behind it, everything, but the pieces really started to look alike when you got a bigger view of it.]

and now, round one of icff highlights:

[gorgeous 'stocking' crocheted lamps by cai lighting of lebanon. colorful, textured and romantic, these were some of my favorite pieces of the entire show]

[textured wall decorations from austin texas' j pritchard design. the color was really vivid in person.]

[ceramic stools by sha-ling that were part of the idsa aisle. more info coming soon]

[gorgeous hand dyed wool textiles from new zealand's essenze design. really rich colors and friendly designers]

[gorgeous hand made wallpapers by british designer catherine hammerton. she was as sweet as she was talented]

[bedding with a fun cartoon punch from twinkle living. great for a modern kids room]

[gorgeous felt throw by thailand's tazana design]

[tazana's gorgeous stemcell rose lighting was another of my favorites. perfect for a restaurant or bar]

[really beautiful etched leather seating from london's koi. the images reminded me of gauguin's island women]

[matt, cedar and the gang at lite brite were the toast of their row. i'm just glad the neon photographed well- it's so hard to get good neon pictures]

[richly textured felt rocks from the danish crafts collection. not quite sure what you'd do with them, but they were so soft to touch. touch therapy if there is such a thing?]

[more crocheted lamps from cai lighting. so, so lovely. they really stuck with me after the show]

[the lovely shelly klein of k studio and her beautiful new line of hemp pillows. a lovely sophisticated version of her previous line with new drawings embroidered on the fronts]

[who doesn't want a dutchtub? start a fire and relax on your roof, in the backyard or at the beach- it's portable!]

[i loved the teal and walnut combo on this great outdoor chair from m studio/metaline. i'm loving teal this summer]

[claudy jongstra's chartreuse felted textiles for maharam. 'drenth heath' was made by the dutch designer from a rare species of sheep she uses to create her felted pieces. the color was divine in person. you had to see it]

[blu dot's comfy felt bed. are we seeing a felt theme here? because there was A LOT of it at the show. and again with the teal. i was loving all the teal at the show this year, was a lovely break from last year's colors]

[beautiful teal and coral wallcoverings from new york's trove design. i would love to have a bathroom wallpapered with this. it was so calming and relaxing]

[barnacle wall storage pods by texas' plodes studio. the design team was relaxing with some covered beers, very texas]

[rich red tulip wallpapers from brooklyn's twenty2 design. nice people, great work. the tulips were such a refreshing change after a few aisles full of "eh" design]

[be back tomorrow with round two!]

it’s friday and time for a fresh new podcast: this week i’m speaking with the lovely ladies of dwell! well known for their beautiful line of modern bedding, dwell is run by the dashing design duo of christiane lemieux and jennifer chused. they were kind enough to let me pop by their canal street offices to ask a few questions about their work, inspiration and the future of dwell (think tabletop!). so [click here] to here the full interviw. and be sure to check out the new designs from dwell at icff, booth 1408. [thanks guys!]

calgary’s massie office will be debuting a great new modern shelving system at icff this year. the flying vee modular shelf is a fun solution to traditional shelving and allows you to create “schools” of shelves where you please. can’t wait to see it in person. if you’re at the show, check out massie office at booth #1758, or online right here (site is just a contact/placeholder site for right now) [thanks, paul!]

what a fun idea: artist shannon lowry runs round robin press and came up with a genius idea for celebrating friends and the environment. the next time you give or receive a card, think about shannon’s grow a note cards- each card has wildflower seeds embedded right in the paper so that instead of cluttering up the house, you can “plant” the card (the paper is 100% organic, recycled paper) and grow some flowers in your garden (or plant one in a public place for a little guerilla gardening ala you grow girl). what a fantastic idea! you can contact shannon here to find a shop near you or check her out at the stationery show, booth 1377. [thanks, shannon!]

it’s pouring outside today and i’m a nut trying to get my weekend design schedule together so i thought i’d share some of the great design posts floating around this week:

• frida at husmusen showcased some gorgeous fabrics by romo textiles. click here for more!

• kristina at three layer cake did a great interview with british designer susan bradley (out outdoor wallpaper fame). click here to check it out!

• joy posted some gorgeous cake designs. and a belated happy b-day to miss joy!

• kick ass light plate covers over at mocoloco

a new look for stac at pancake and franks. she’ll be at the stationery show, booth 1737!