working on design by the book with the new york public library was one of the best projects i’ve ever worked on in my almost 5 years at d*s. watching 5 artists create such beautiful designs inspired by the library’s collections was so much fun, and such an honor for me. i’ve always wanted to delve deeper into the creative process behind the work we love, so the series was my chance to immerse myself in the actual work that comes before the finished product.
so many of you responded positively to the series and today i’ll thrilled to announce that scene:brooklyn (an brooklyn independent film & media arts festival) has, too! a short-film version of design by the book (created by our videographer james murdock) was accepted into the festival and will be the subject of its own panel on the first night!
on monday, may 4th the entire DBTB team, including artists julia rothman and mike perry, will be speaking at the galapagos art space in dumbo brooklyn (not the old location in williamsburg) following the artists in residence screening. the screening starts at 9pm so it’s a late one, but we’re so excited to be able to share our love of the brooklyn art/design/film scene and we hope you’ll come join us! the event is only $5 (and gets you in to see all the films that night), so come meet some of the talented artists behind the project if you’re free!
CLICK HERE to watch the full design by the book video series online.
the nypl was kind enough to let us use celeste bartos forum, which was one of the most beautiful historic spaces i’ve ever seen in nyc. combine that with delicious cupcakes from baked (thanks renato and matt!), beautiful artwork and design and hundreds of happy faces and you’ve got one heck of a fun evening.
so today its’ bittersweet to be posting the final episode of our 4-part series, design by the book. i’m so thrilled to share the gorgeous final products that everyone made, but i’m sad to say goodbye to what has easily been the best project i’ve done with d*s in the past 4 and a half years. i’ll miss my library friends and spending time with each artist, but thankfully the library is always open to the public so hopefully we’ll meet again among the stacks.
i just wanted to say a special thank you to amy azzarito, james murdock, jessica pigza, the nypl, julia rothman, lorena barrezueta, rebecca kutys, mike perry and john pomp for being a part of this process. i had so much fun and i’m so proud of the work everyone did.
after the jump i’ll be sharing all of the final projects, as well as all four episodes of design by the book. if you’d prefer to watch them on youtube together, just click here.
CLICK HERE to see more final projects from the artists and to watch the first 3 episodes. want to skip straight to the product photos? click here to see them all on flickr.]
tonight is the finale party for the design by the book video series with the nypl and i just wanted to post a quick addendum because we’ve had to change rooms in the party to make room for the 350+ rsvps (we’ve hit our guest limit so unfortunately the rsvp list is now closed). we’ve been blown away by the response and are so excited to see everyone there. if you’re planning on coming, please meet us at 6:30 at the main library at 5th avenue and 42nd street- but please be sure to enter on the 42nd street side. in addition to an advance screening of the final episode, we will be selling tickets for a raffle (proceeds to benefit the library) to win items like ‘listen lady’ jewelry designed by lorena barrezueta, julia rotham’s luxury apts print, prints from mike perry’s LA show at tinlark gallery, and books by rob ryan, lena corwin, lotta jansdotter and more. we’ll also have a quick q&a with the artists so bring a question with you and we’ll see you there!
[also, come early to the party- the first 50 people to arrive with get a copy of the zine that mike perry made for design by the book as well as a copy of our series' soundtrack- 'brutal' by the clear tigers]
also, i posted about wedding music today at martha stewart and in the process of researching that i came across some really fantastic ’soundies’ from eikon productions in athens, ga. athens is home to such an incredible music scene it’s hard to even describe how good it is (it’s on my short list of cities to settle in when we start a family, along with chapel hill, nc). but needless to say, i’ve been watching these for hours and hours and they haven’t grown old yet. if you’re looking for a little musical break in your day, just CLICK HERE to watch the videos after the jump. the second band, corduroy road, is playing at our wedding (with ian thomas)! yay bluegrass!
CLICK HERE for a musical interlude after the jump (and to hear our wedding band!)…
to say that the design by the book series with the new york public library has been the highlight of my working year would be a massive understatement. having the opportunity to work with such incredible local artists and alongside the fantastic team of librarians at the nypl has been easily my favorite project i’ve done with d*s in the past four and a half years. so as sad as i am to be finishing up our final episode, i’m thrilled to announce that we’ll be having a finale party in nyc next week, on february 5th!
next thursday, february 5th, from 6:30-8:30pm, we’ll be hosting an open party at the beautiful new york public library (the main branch at bryant park, enter on the 5th ave side by the big lions) to screen the fourth and final episode of design by the book. in addition to all of the final works of art being on display, all of the artists will be there in person, and we’ll have wonderful librarians on hand to help you with any projects or research you’d like to work on. there will also be a book raffle where we’ll be giving away great design and art books from artists like lena corwin, lotta jansdotter, mike perry, rob ryan and many, many more. also, the first 25 guests will receive a copy of the clear tigers album that served as the series’ soundtrack.
because this was a homespun, low-budget project, we’re keeping things low-key but we’ll be snacking on delicious sweets donated by baked bakery in red hook, as well as some hot chocolate and hot apple cider. so if you’re in the nyc area next week please stop by and say hi! you can meet the artists, see their final works in person, get an advance look at the last episode, and get some great one-on-one help from local librarians who are ready and waiting to help you with your creative research.
if you’d like to come please rsvp to amy azzaritoright here. see you next thursday!
if you missed any of the design by the book episodes just CLICK HERE or click “read more” below to watch all three episodes after the jump below….
i’m so thrilled to post the third episode of design by the book today! after a holiday break the artists are back in their studios working and in this episode we check in on them to see what they’ve done so far and how they hope things will finish up. our final video with the artists’ final projects will be up in a few weeks, but we’ll be debuting it live at the new york public library at our design by the book party! stay tuned for all the details soon- it will be open to anyone who’d like to come and we’ll have some great resources there for everyone to take advantage of. in the meantime, i hope you’ll enjoy the 3rd installment of design by the book. also, if you missed the first two episodes, they’re below- just click ‘play’.
[ps: there were crazy gale-force winds blowing in the last shot, sorry for looking like a total dunce with hair in my eyes and mouth. duh grace, should have brought a hat]
after some uploading drama yesterday the second episode of design by the book is up and ready to go! in this video the artists visit the nypl for the first time as they look through the collection to find inspiration. there’s also a short interview with isaac mizrahi in the beginning so click “play” above to watch the full episode. we’ll return before the holiday break with the third episode and wrap things up in the new year with our final videos! click here to watch the first episode of design by the book if you missed it.
ps: in this episode you’ll meet jessica pigza, our nypl reference librarian. jessica is also our guest blogger at d*s this week- click here to check out her posts! and, as always, the music in our vidoes (which i’m obsessed with) is by the clear tigers.
today i am thrilled and so proud to debut the first episode of design by the book- a collaboration between design*sponge and the new york public library. for the past few months i’ve been working with a fantastic team at the library to create a series that would highlight the amazing local design talent in nyc as well as the incredible creative resources the new york public library has to offer.
together we invited five brooklyn-based artists to come to the library, become inspired by its collections and have us film their entire creative process from the beginning to the final finished product, whatever that may be. in this episode we’re introducing the project and our designers: rebecca kutys of moontree press, john pomp of john pomp glass, julia rothman, mike perry and lorena barrezueta.
this has been an absolute joy to film so far and i can’t wait to see what the artists find in the library and end up creating throughout this process. please stay tuned for the next episode (date TBA) where we’ll follow the artists as they rummage through the library to find resources that inspire them. we’ll also meet with isaac mizrahi in the next episode and talk with him about inspiration and the creative process! thank you to all of the artists who are generously donating their time for this project and thank you to james murdock, amy azzarito, and jessica pigza at the nypl for making this series the highlight of my year. (and thanks to the clear tigers for the awesome music!)
[click here to check out the video on itunesU. click here to check it out on the nypl's site and here to check it out on youtube]
