i was puzzled by this headline in the styles section of the ny times:

“The chic new design element of the season? Why it’s the antler, naturally.”

new? this season?

just wanted to point out the kiki van eijk post over here. i was totally smitten with her booth at the via tortona in milan and thought you guys might like it, too. lots of yellow (lots) and a really fantastic new scissor pattern. click here for several more pieces and a look at her excellent embroidering…

kristen at shakadoo was kind enough to include me in their interview series on shakinstyle. if you’re interested in reading it you can find the full piece right here. [thanks, kristen]

i’m loving this soft wool pillow from english designer row pinto. irene at bloesem did a lovely post on the full textile collection but this one was my favorite. it reminds me of my favorite trading spaces episode in which genevieve gorder used old sweaters to make cozy cabin pillows. i love genevieve- she’s the best.

nadja mueller is a textile designer who studied in amsterdam but currently lives and works from berlin. she sent over a link to her series of bedding, window covering, pillows and lighting- i really love the way she plays with a contrast of subtle and bold patterns with texture. her lighting series in particular has such a soft, textured feel to it. she’s even got a cute series for kids…click here to check out nadja’s full collection and contact her for more information. [thanks, nadja!]

i’m a big fan of of brooklyn artist dan-ah kim. i have a few of her pieces at home and i was psyched to hear that she has a new site. you can browse her new web home right here and view her full collection of illustrations and graphic design. [thanks, dan-ah!]

as green design becomes a more of a lifestyle decision and less of an “eco-trend” i’ve seen tons of eco/design sites pop up here and there. most of them have been product based but i just got an email from jennifer at sprig.com about their new site. sprig, aside from being beautifully designed, features products, interviews with eco-experts, news alerts, recipe and green beauty ideas. it’s sort of a domino-meets-treehugger-meets-huffington post type vibe. and i dig it. click here to check out the new site- i think we’ll be seeing a lot more of it in the future. it looks like they’re off to a great start. [thanks, jen]

since i started d*s in august of 2004 i’ve tested out all sorts of ideas, columns and features. some have tanked (d*s snaps) and some have floated (the d*s guest blog) but i’ve learned that the deciding element for me is whether or not i feel like the feature is giving something back to the community as a whole. for me, the biz lady events sparked an idea i’ve been trying to expand on for a few months now- connecting real life “experts” with up-and-coming designers who could benefit from their advice. so i thought, why not make this a (semi) regular column on the site? so, starting next week, d*s will feature one designer for a week each and introduce their work, their success story and then open it up for questions. when their time is up we’ll move to the next available designer. i’ve tried to invite people that i think represent various stages of running a design-based business so you’ll see bigger names mixed in with smaller names- i think real designers running real businesses have the most practical advice for our particular audience. so, we’ll be launching THIS MONDAY with textile designer JUDY ROSS. in the weeks to come we’ll cover stationery, wallpaper, graphic design, jewelry, interior design, book deals for the small designer and any number of topics under the sun. but i wanted to open it up to you guys first:

WHICH DESIGNERS WOULD YOU LIKE TO ASK QUESTIONS?

i’d like to keep this indie for a while so please assume that for now i’m going to stick to people who aren’t as big as say, martha stewart. so, leave a note below and i’ll be sure to contact your requests and see if they’re available to share their expert advice.

[the coral fabric above is hable construction’s “bead” in clementine- a gorgeous new colorway]

when it comes to my dream apartment, there’s a very specific look that i’m always trying to achieve but just can’t quite grasp. i think perhaps it’s not inherent in my southern disposition to choose things that have a very northern california/scandinavian vibe to them. so when i saw adrienne labelle’s house i just about fell over. i think her beautiful home in ft. greene has officially tied lena’s for my “favorite house” award. i met adrienne through friends of ours and discovered that she happens to be one heck of an interior designer, and, like all interior designers, she thought her home wasn’t quite ready to share. but of course, it was. and it’s stunning. how her home hasn’t been in a magazine yet is a mystery to me but i have a feeling she might be getting some calls about this one. you can see below for yourself and click here for full sized- pictures. i’m quite simply in love with her home. lucky for me it’s just a few neighborhoods over so i’m going to have to go beg her to let me come in and stare at everything in detail. thanks to adrienne for sharing her wonderful home- you can click here to find out more about adrienne’s interior design business. [thanks, adrienne!]

“Joseph and I live in a pre civil war wood frame house. When we first looked at the place it was under some renovating construction and they were just in the planning phase of which carpet to put on all of the wood floors. Eek! Luckily we asked them to hold off and abort the floor carpeting mission. I had them paint them instead a sort of battle ship gray. Though the floors are a little worse for the wear it really pays off in the dining room where we get to see the old wide plank floors.”

“Here are the details from the top picture of my living room: Artwork, The painting above the Fireplace is by the talented and amazing artist Mindy Setzen, the cardboard trophy is by artist Brady Dollarhide both dear friends and both of Brooklyn, NY. There is a Plexi display case that I got for Joseph Ari for his birthday to display his “Flowbots”. (Not pictured) which is currently displaying a large tin pencil stub pencil case (courtesy of ebay). Another excellent find from ebay was the totally weird sun salutation drawer unit in orange and yellow. The Chrome lamp is circa 1960’s. Pillows on the Deco chair are from Jonathan Robeshaw. Finally in a mad day of fireplace discontent I fauxed a line pattern onto the surround to give it all a little kick. The second living room shot (second from the top) contains: a bookshelf from the old 26th street flea market in Manhattan. I think the lamp is Lightolier but not positive. Art work is “Flowbot Birthday Party” by resident Artist Joseph Ari Aloi, Pink Tree painting is by artist Dan Kopp, small Sunset tree silhouette is another Brady Dollarhide creation. I got the magazine rack from a vintage site a few years ago when I was really digging Joseph Hoffman. Unfortunately you cant see the beautiful blossoms of pink out the window. It is a full frame of pink and purples…”

“The picture of the dining room (on the left) is the reason we rented this place. There is a huge dining room with beautiful wide plank flooring and a nice double door between the living room and the dining room. We have three big windows at the front of the space and as you can see the wide plank floors. There is the worlds tiniest kitchen just off to the left as well as an itsy bitsy bathroom, these the prices we paid for the light and space. My Dining table: A lot happens here. I covered the midcentury chairs with a John Robshaw canvas print and the bamboo chair in the background is in Joseph Franks Subway fabric. Silkscreen Print above the stereo is from the design collective Assume Vivid Astro Focus/Eli Sudbrack. Deco bust I got at Horseman Antiques on Atlantic Ave Brooklyn. For the Kitchen: I decided recently to paint my itsy bitsy kitchen a deep gray brown. I have so many different colored dishes and trinkets that any color I put on the wall was overwhelming. Finally, I can see my lovely Villeroy & Bosch Auculpoware china which I collect. Platter shown hanging. For our bedroom: I am drawn to really bright colors these days and but I am also drawn to old well made furniture, especially when it is found in my future inlaws basement. Painting on the wall is another piece by our friend Dan Kopp. Vintage Starwars clock radio is Joseph’s. Little white bird is from Ted Meuhling in Soho. Lately I have been into searching for wild vintage pillow cases that can dress up my drab white bed. This is a Vera one. My other favorite set is differing values of green& blue that says love all over it in a very mod type. Finally this is our little dressing area above. Butler thing was a painted find. Chair in a Gio Ponti style is an old purchase from Swankarama and the great breast Print is by friend and artist extroidinaire Rostarr.”