when i first started d*s, product designers were my idols. i practically worshiped the ground the bouroullecs walked on (and still do) and seemed to have less of a passion people involved in other areas of art & design. but as i’ve gotten older, i’ve found myself moving through specific fields and finding new idols in the worlds of textile design, pattern design- and lately the bulk of my interest has turned towards the world of illustrators.

i’ve always admired artists who work with pen and paper, but recently it’s become something of an obsession, and i find myself clicking on endless links and websites trying to find someone whose work speaks to me in a way that makes me want to stop, stare and think. and lately that person has been jon klassen. i talked about jon’s work last year, but something keeps me coming back over and over again to his building and landscape illustrations. maybe it’s a desire to escape to one of his dark and slightly moody worlds, but i find myself staring and zooming in on each image, waiting for some hidden detail or creature to jump out and reveal itself.

most recently, jon was the co-designer behind THE most gorgeous animated winter olympics commercial i’ve ever seen. so if you’ve got a few seconds to spare, i highly suggest clicking here to check it out. it’s lovely to see something so fresh and creative in the realm of olympic advertisements (which i usually find are sort of a let down). whether you’re looking to check out a cool commercial, or just escape work for a little mental vacation- click here to check out jon’s portfolio online. thanks to steven at writer’s house for the reminder!

it’s diy day at d*s so i couldn’t resist sharing this fun doily pillow tutorial from rachel at smile and wave. i’ve still got a boatload of doilies left from a failed wedding project so i’ve been looking for something fun to do with them, and this project is perfect. rachel has posted the full step-by-step instructions on her site, so check them out here and make your own doily pillow.

and just for a little extra morning eye-candy: beautiful new work from alice stevenson. click here to check out her latest illustrations online and here to check out new releases on alice’s blog.

good morning! i thought it would be nice to kick off today with a bit of my favorite color: green. amy ruppel has a beautiful new print at the working proof called “this land is your land“. 15% of each print’s sale will be donated to american forests (which inspired the design), whose mission is to work with communities on local efforts that restore and maintain forest ecosystems. you can read more about amy’s print (in her own words) right here, and pick up a copy right here ($45)!

and, to start diy day, i wanted to share a link to this fun topiary project from abby schill at tales and trials. inspired by a ballard design, abby converted a seriously sad little 99 cent thrift store topiary into a chic little (faux) topiary for her counter. if you have a mostly black thumb like i do, this can be a fun project to tackle over the weekend. thanks, abby!

this weekend at the alt summit i was reminded of how infinitely inspiring the internet can be. with so many different websites, blogs, social media outlets and online magazines to read, the numbers of places we have to find inspiration is almost endless. so i thought i’d share one of my new favorite sources of inspiration, folk object. folk object is a gorgeous reference page (set up on a tumblr site) created by graphic designer clifton burt (who is married to the lovely kate bingaman-burt). clifton describes the site as an “ongoing collection of ornament & utility”, and its pages are filled with great folk objects pulled from blogs, websites, books and multitude of other sources. it’s fun to see so many beautiful pieces tied together with a single theme, so if you’re looking for something beautiful to start your day with, look no further. click here to check out the growing list of beautiful folk objects right here. [thanks to amy ruppel for the tip!]

*those fun little boxes were designed by sanna annukka- stay tuned for a peek of her home at 12 pm today!*

good morning! it’s great to be back home after 4 lovely days in salt lake city. for those of you who came out to the altitude design summit, thanks so much for coming to our panel and saying hello- it was so great to meet everyone in person. if you couldn’t make it this year, i can’t recommend coming out to next year’s summit any more- it was an absolute blast. our keynote breakfast was recorded and will be online soon, so i’ll post the link as soon as it’s up.

before we launch into sneak peeks this morning, i wanted to share a fun new show taking place at artstream studios gallery in new hampshire. “it takes two: partners in art” will showcase the work of talented couples like julia rothman and matt longacre, mati mcdonough and hugh d’andrade, lisa dejohn and scott patt, and anna corporon and sean auyeung, among others. the show will open on february 6th, but will be online for sale starting on february 5th. above is a preview of the pieces from julia and her husband, matt. it’s such a fun concept for a show and i look forward to seeing all of the couples’ work. click here for more information.

happy friday! while grace is at the altitude design summit in salt lake city, i’ve been fawning over these hand-cast resin frames from john murphy. here at design*sponge, we’ve been huge fans of john murphy’s work for a few years now. (see john’s recent sneak peek here!) and one of the main attractions, for me, has always been those brightly colored frames! so i’m thrilled that john is finally selling the frames on his site! honestly, i can think of so many things that i would love to see surrounded by a pop of color! (now if i could only get my photographs to turn out as well as john’s, i’d be set!)   -amy a.

(p.s. even though grace is in salt lake city, we still have a full day over here with “small measures” and an “in the kichen” coming right up!)

artist simon page’s international year of astronomy prints (last two images below) were a big hit online, so i was happy to hear from him this morning about a new series called futurism. it’s not often that i get submissions that i think ac will like, but this one has my ac radar beeping, so i’m hoping that when he wakes up this might pass the “boy-test” in our home. even if it doesn’t, i’m really loving the minimalism of these images. they would look so lovely in large scale, framed in a long hallway- i’d love to see them all together to get the full effect of all those lovely retro-style images.

simon’s newest series will be available in print form soon (i will update this post when they are), but in the meantime you can buy his astronomy prints here and click here to check out the full futurism series online.

i figured i’d keep the love theme going this morning with this new “love lights” screenprint from scott and jacqui of slide sideways in tacoma, washington. if you’re looking for something fun to give your special someone, this 100% recycled, hand screenprinted print could be just the ticket ($20 each). click here to place an order.

before i stop the love-fest i wanted to add these beautiful paper roses that artist megan galante created as part of a “queen of hearts” valentine’s window display for the lingerie shop only hearts in nyc. megan made paper rose bushes that will be on display for the holiday so if you’re in nyc be sure to stop by and check them out. if not, click here to check them out on megan’s site.

this morning i’m continuing my cut paper love with these beautiful pieces by amy flurry & nikki salk of paper cut project. they’re debuting their paper hairstyles in the windows of jeffrey ny and jeffrey atlanta so if you’re lucky enough to be a near either shop in the coming months be sure to check it out. click here for more info on the paper cut project. [thanks to wendy hanson for the tip- you can check out her personal work below!]

the image i’m hooked on this morning comes from artist yuken teruya. an everyday toilet paper roll is transformed into carved branches that seem to float on a white wall. it’s such a lovely way of celebrating the things we use everyday and making us think twice about the materials around us. as i slowly wake up this morning i’m now looking around my room to see what everyday object could be transformed into something beautiful…

[via mandr, via swissmiss, via lushlee]