Being in this business of design and craft, I have been able to meet so many talented people. Since I am at the New York gift show this week, I wanted to share some of my friends with you. Not only are they doing what they love and making it happen, but they are also kind and generous, which makes me wonder if there is something to that. My amazing friend Dana of dbO home is such a person that comes to mind. I have many many of her pieces all over my apartment, and I never tire of them. All her ceramics are made one at a time and hand pressed with natural botanicals. Swoon.

Xenia Taler is in the same aisle as me at the show and I have major crush on her work. We both worked with Urban Outfitters this year which makes me feel not only akin to her, but honored to be included with an artist such as herself. She and her husband have been making these hand painted tiles and ceramics for over ten years now.

Amy Adams of perch! is also on our aisle (which is the Handmade section of the show, 5500 row). We have traded work a few times and I use one of her little bird feeders for an air plant in my bedroom. Amy’s super awesome and has great advice to give on being a working artist.

So come by and see us! I am in booth #5514. We are all pretty sweet despite the fact we will on our feet for eight hours straight for five days in a row without any natural sunlight, however, we would still love to chat it up with you.

And thanks so much for letting me share some of my inspirations and fellow crafters with you. I am sort of new to this blogging bit, but I hope you enjoyed it.

[image above: “daylight shade“]

I am loving uhuru, a furniture design and build studio out of Brooklyn. Most of the materials they use are “reclaimed, recycled, repurposed, reused or otherwise rejected from their original function.”

The Bilge Lounge featured above is made from reclaimed materials (like used truck springs) and yet it’s so simplisticly perfect and modern.

To me, a good lamp can be hard to find in regards to it’s design lasting the test of time. However, I find this Stoolen Lamp above to be classic and timeless for many people’s aesthetic taste.

How amazing is this? I’m in LOVE with it and I want one in my studio!

For all you crafty green people out there, I thought this was too neat to pass up. Greetje van Tiem has created newspaper yarn, which can be woven into a variety of things. Check out how to make it yourself here.

Today I scoured the web looking at some of my favorite artists and printmakers. I noticed that many of the prints that caught my eye had those gorgeous living specimens that we commonly call trees. So simply put, here are some of my favorite artists and tree prints.

Brooks Shane Salzwedel is an artist out of Los Angeles who recently had a show at the Black Maria Gallery.

I love how the greens and blues work together in this print by another LA based artist Melissa Moss.

Tugboat Printshop artist Paul Roden has this woodcut print available at Little Paper Planes.

I have long admired Rachel Salomon’s work. How beautiful are these prints? Okay, I am officially inspired now and must get back to the studio at once! Tomorrow, I will write about another passion of mine: green design!

Today I wanted to finish up writing about two more of my favorite artisans out of Asheville. Although their aesthetic is quite different from one another, they both create each jewelry piece completely by hand. I have several pieces by Amber Mahler of Mani Designs and I just adore her process. She ventures out to the woods to collect various botanicals and uses the lost wax casting method. She also finds vintage tins from around the world to incorporate into her work. Her jewelry is simply stunning. I recently found out that the Getty in Los Angeles has begun to carry her pieces.

Molly Proctor Designs makes retro inspired resin jewelry from scratch. How fun are her pieces? I have one of her cortez blue rings and I swear it glows.

First and foremost, I’m pleased as punch to be writing for the design*sponge, so many thanks to you Grace. My name is Alena Hennessy and I am an artist/designer out of Asheville, NC. Some of you may have heard of Asheville, however, I know many of you have not, so I thought it would be great to start out by sharing some of my favorite artists and designers from the little city. Asheville is located in Western part of North Carolina, nestled sweetly in the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s a progressive, crafty, and albeit, a touristy little town that has its own unique charm that is hard to overlook. Asheville also happens to be home to many talented creatives. [image above: “grace & elegance“]

Joti Marra is one of my favorite artists who has an adorable and eclectic Etsy shop called Forest Creature. I love her prints and felted creatures all embroidered by hand. My friends gave me one of these little darlings for my birthday and I love the way it delicately sits on my mantle in all it’s handmade goodness.

Here is a painting by the talented Ursula Gullow. I love the painterly narratives she creates.

And finally Ms. R. Brooke Priddy is a dressmaker and designer (and fabulous illustrator) also out of Asheville. Her little Ship to Shore studio in the West side of town is so magical. She creates custom dresses and wedding gowns with each client and each of her pieces is like a work of art in itself.

From the Desk(s) of…Susie Ghahremani

And lastly, this artist has not one desk, but three desks to show us! As a painter, Susie Ghahremani needs as many horizontal surfaces as she can get. Especially when she’s preparing for a show, her whole house transforms into her workspace.

All the desks shown here double also as a sneak preview (Lucky us!) for Susie’s upcoming show called “The Wild Life” opening on August 16th at Giant Robot in Los Angeles.

Susie’s drafting table is her scanning and shipping station. Currently, this desk is housing most of the paintings from “The Wild Life” as they await being scanned for archiving purposes.

This desk (and this one is my personal fave) is Susie’s painting desk, an old school desk she got from a guy liquidating furniture from an LA public school. She figures it’s probably ergonomically horrible, but likes how it supports her arm as she’s painting tiny. She also thinks the school association makes her really dive in and focus when she’s sitting there!

And lastly this desk of goodies, is her product desk, which is currently displaying pieces of an aerial installation Susie is doing for her upcoming show.

About Susie Ghahremani:

Susie Ghahremani is a 2002 graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration. Her artwork combines her love of nature, animals, music and patterns. Born and raised in Chicago, Susie now happily spends her time painting, drawing, crafting and tending to her pet finches and cat in San Diego, CA.

Goodbye!

Thank you, thank you, thank you again Grace for letting me guest blog! Thanks everyone for reading my posts and for your comments and thank you also to the artists/designers who shared images of their workspace! I really enjoyed blogging here (probably more so than on my own blog!)–it was a nice diversion from things I actually should be doing like packing up my studio! Ah…I’m rushing now as I write, if you can tell. Now I’m afraid that I’m just going to have to quickly shove things into boxes and just hope for the best. But I’m looking forward to moving into the new digs, an old 1920s bank!

From the Desk of…SusyJack

SusyJack, created by Susan Connor, was definitely one of my favorite lines to debut at the National Stationery Show this year. (And as a little sidenote: I’m pleased to say that the SusyJack line became a recent addition to Mixed Co. as well!) The image above shows Susan’s ringlet jotters as well as a comp for a new product that she says mingles with items-in-production. For Susan, she says, “It’s important for me to create things that have continuity…and yet are going someplace new.” Word.

What’s on her desk (in her words): 1) shoeboxes to organize the different pieces and parts of orders that need to go out; 3) natural light. I’m totally a morning person and the light really helps me stay lively and focused; 3) computer; 4) mug of tea, usually decaf; 5) stack o’ cards; 6) clipboard and inspirations; 7) sketchbook and pencil cup. I use all of my own designs to make sure they work and also to find out what it’s like for my customers. Using them really helps me to make improvements to the products and to get ideas for new ones.

About SusyJack:

Created by Susan Connor, a Manhattan artist and designer, the collection emerged in 2007 as bold new alternative in the paper goods market. Inspired by everything from trips to the hardware store to textiles and fashion, the collection’s joyful colors, carefully chosen materials, and fun, functional product brings paper to a new place; as much a statement of the user’s individuality and style as it is a useful and artistic object.

From the Desk of…Jason Munn

I’ve always harbored this semi-secret desire to design band posters, so naturally, I’ve looked up to Jason Munn of The Small Stakes. He’s a demigod of sorts in this area with a poster style that’s simple and well-edited while communicating a visual narrative. The above image is one of his most recent projects that he completed for Insound called Insound 20, featuring 20 different t-shirts and posters for 20 different bands.

What’s on his desk (in his words): I’m typically working half in my sketchbook and half on the computer, keeping my sketchbook in front of my keyboard. There is always a Pantone color guide within reach and I usually have some random sheets of tracing paper that I use to create more detailed sketches. The reason I use tracing paper is because I often will do a sketch and like only part of it and I’ll fold the paper and trace the part I like and redraw the part I don’t like. I use random pens, pencils, and sharpies. I’m not picky about what I draw or sketch with. The Art Deco Alphabets book is one of my favorites.

About Jason Munn:

Jason Munn is originally from Wisconsin but now calls Oakland,
California home. Arising from a love of independent music, design, and
making for the sake of making, his posters soon became a fixture in the
local independent music scene. He started The Small Stakes in the fall of 2003, a design studio producing internationally commissioned work in a range of print materials, including book covers, album packaging, T-shirt designs, screen-printed posters, and illustrations. Jason’s work has appeared in Print, Communication Arts, and ReadyMade, to name a few. His work has also been featured in numerous exhibits and is part of the permanent collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.