funding and grants can be a scary, but necessary, part of life as an artist and today artist lena wolff is sharing a few great ideas for raising money in tough times. no matter how well your business doing it’s always helpful to have additional funding from organizations that can help lighten your load. thanks to lena for sharing her resource list with us!
CLICK HERE for lena’s full post about funding + grants after the jump!
[ps: i'm looking for some bedding advice on twitter, if you know of a great light summer quilt please share your favorites. ours is in dire need of an update]
designer jenny lee-katz was born in wales but now resides in pennsylvania, where she designs beautiful textiles inspired by her travels. i’m particularly fond of her glan y môr collection, which means “seaside” in welsh. i love the playful seagulls in her pillows and the retro stipes that remind me of summers on northeastern beaches. in addition to being incredibly cute, jenny’s work uses all natural fabrics and organic textile dyes. want to see more? click here to check out jenny’s full collection and shop online (click here for her etsy shop). [thanks, jenny!]
good morning! it’s a grey, rainy day here in brooklyn, but my head is still full of beautiful moving images from last night’sscene film festival. we screened design by the book there last night, but it got me thinking a lot about short films and how moving they can be. so i thought i’d start off this morning with a short film by the creative team at impactist. it’s such a beautiful way to start the day… [via dkim]
ps: our guest blogger is a little swamped with personal work so it’s just us on the main blog this week.
today i am thrilled and honored to be sharing an interview with melinda launspach, the set decorator for one of my favorite new shows, hbo’s no. 1 ladies detective agency. i’ve mentioned my love of the show’s design before, so it was such a treat to get to chat with one of the people responsible for the look and feel of the program. melinda took the time to give incredibly thoughtful and detailed answers to my questions about design in botswana, working with local artists, and how one goes about telling a story visually, using paint, furniture and decor. what i most love hearing about is the way the show worked with hand-painted signage and supported local industry by using artwork from local artists working at a nonprofit cultural village. there are so many incredible details and stories in her interview, i hope you’ll enjoy it as much as i did. even if you’re not a fan of the show (yet), it’s fascinating to hear how creative people can work with objects and color to create the perfect mood and feel for a story. a big thank you to melinda for taking the time to answer my questions, and thank you to bear at hbo for making this interview possible.
CLICK HERE for melinda’s full interview (and pictures from the set of the show) after the jump!
i love whenever homes become testing grounds for great ideas, which couldn’t be more true for the chicago home of amy allison of soda. from prototypes, to a cabinet sketch that became an actual piece (with the help of a friend) to amy’s own wallpaper designs, they all make their way inside (only appropriate for a company where all the products are based of her own sketches). you can find more of amy’s work here, and CLICK HERE for the rest of the peek after the jump. [thanks, amy!] -anne
[stay tuned for an interview with melinda launspach, the set decorator for hbo's no.1 ladies detective agency next!]
[above: the living room sofa is Dunbar inspired and covered with my "wave" pattern in chocolate - most of the furniture, three tables and black chair, are either liaigre, astuguvielle or holly hunt, all acquired when i
worked for holly. ]
the kitchen banquette that i designed is maple and is perfect with our liaigre maquis chairs and the drawing above was a pencil sketch i did for life drawing class in college. all the paint colors [in the house] are “muddy” and are either benjamin moore or ralph lauren…the only exception is the kitchen “lovebird toile” wallpaper of mine that we installed with the mint green background.
the graphic diamond shaped painting is by a college friend mika mizuhara and gets reconfigured all the time.
the book cases + cabinet i designed and had my friend make them out of rough sawn cedar which we implemented again on the coat rack and the cup shelf.
the front door plaque i made in my studio out of porcelain.
CLICK HERE for the rest of amy’s sneak peek (including additional, full-sized images) after the jump!
our next sneak peek comes to us from amy salvini-swanson, who makes up half the team behind greenwich letterpress based out of greenwich village, nyc. i love that she’s not afraid to have fun with prints and patterns that weave their way into her fun and welcoming home. don’t miss the rest of the peek after the jump (with more images) and you can find all of our fantastic homes right here! [thanks, amy!] -anne
[above: Being a renter (especially in NYC) has it’s pros and cons, one big con at least for me is not being able to put up wallpaper. So in order to battle my white walls I tend to purchase items with bold patterns and bright colors. The rug is from Anthropologie. The Faux Bois Light is from 2modern. Log Pillow is from My Imaginary Boyfriend. I used it as a prop for my Log Lady costume last year.
The posters were a present from my parents for our first anniversary (Paper). We found them in a really amazing antique store in Paris. I had been on the hunt for vintage school posters for years and was over the moon when we came across them. My Mom made the curtains for us using Amy Butler fabric, she’s quite crafty. The table runner is from Velocity Art and Design.
Owning a store certainly has it’s perks. So I do get to take a lot of goodies home that we carry at the shop. I actually have to restrain myself from taking a lot more. These Cavallini posters and Yee-Haw Industries calendar are good examples.
My husband always tells me that if I had my way I would make our apartment into a diorama from the Museum of Natural History. Oh if only to dream. So yes I have a thing for anything with an animal on
it. Since I have a ton of clipart books I printed the images on the wall on my inkjet at home. The frames are from Ikea, don’t know what I would do without the Ikea frame section. Couch is from Room and Board.
CLICK HERE for the rest of amy’s sneak peek (including additional, full-sized images) after the jump!
ever since seeing julie’s incredible paper cut of paris, i’ve been drawn to the work of famille summerbelle which has been popping up around the web. their designs and accessories are fun and playful, with the fundamental idea that they belong in a “room for everyone.” the sneak peek of their beautiful home comes to us straight from paris so be sure to CLICK HERE for the full post with additional images. [thanks, julie!] -anne
[above: Our living room. We love book, so this this a small selection of our favorites. The painting in the background and the drawings on top of the bookshelf are all done by me when I was at art college.]
Our Kitchen is just on the left. Once again I love the mantelpiece to display my collection of glass candle holders. The table cloth is from an antique market in Paris. The glasses from Habitat and the chairs were from a Church. We bought them on Ebay.
I am very fond of mantelpiece. The fireplace doesn’t work but it’s a great place to show my favorite objects and photos. That’s us on our wedding day, and the 2 wooden puppets are a souvenir from Japan. The green glass jar was found on a market in the South of France.
The Alphabet poster is a screen print from Dandy Star. I customized a boring chest of drawer for Ophelia’s room and covered it with vintage and contemporary wallpapers. The vintage glass knobs are from an antique market in London in Angel, Islington.
CLICK HERE for the rest of the summerbelle sneak peek (including additional, full-sized images) after the jump!
i always wish i had an endless fund for traveling that would let me jump from city to city and country to country to check out all of the great design shows every year. but thankfully artist paola serrao of rephilosophy (who created our milan design guide), offered to share some of her images from the show. i’ve chosen my favorites above and below, but you can click here to see paola’s full set with descriptions. thanks, paola!
[top image and image above, clothing (using maharam fabric) from daniela rondine]
[images above, designs from the zona tortona district]
good morning! i’m starting off a little slowly today because i indulged in a little sleeping-in so i’d be awake for our ‘design by the book’ panel in dumbo tonight (hope to see you there!). so my apologies for the late start. we have a guest blogger from portland, OR coming up this week so those posts will be up soon, but in the meantime, i wanted to kick off the day with these gorgeous feather installations from artist kate mccgwire. i saw them on my friend amanda’s tumblr page and have been sitting here with my jaw on the floor ever since. click here for more info on kate’s work.
i’m getting psyched up for bklyn designs next week- and i’m excited to see jill malek’s new patterns, anemone and betta. they’re such a lovely way to head into the weekend. i’m heading out a bit early to get caught up on submission emails. sorry to anyone who emailed last week- i’m still plowing through the emails i missed during the wedding. so i’ll see you on monday with some gorgeous sneak peeks- and an interview with the set decorator from hbo’s no.1 ladies detective agency! below is a summary of this half-week’s highlights.
