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]
the other day i hopped on the F train and headed over to carroll gardens to visit my favorite event planner of all time, david stark. i’ve been watching (andblogging) david’s work for a while now and thought he would be perfect or the next installment of the d*s video series. thankfully david was game and let us into his studio for the afternoon to talk about his work, his philosophies on design and to share a fantastic diy project inspired by his recent work for the whitney gala. there are two separate videos here (one interview, one diy project) so just click “play” below on each of them to watch. i hope you’ll enjoy them! thanks to david and everyone at his team for their help and for welcoming us so warmly into their busy studio.
[ps: click here to see a tour of david's beautiful, and colorful, brooklyn home]
PART ONE: Interview with David Stark
PART TWO: Slide sheet DIY Project with David Stark
sometimes people ask me what my favorite things are. my favorite shop? my favorite place to buy fabric in the city? normally these sorts of questions elicit a long “umm…” from me as i try to decide in my head between all of the great places that exist in new york. but the one question that i can answer quickly and without a doubt in my head is: “what is your favorite bakery in new york?”. that’s easy- it’s baked.
located in red hook, brooklyn- baked is hands down the coolest bakery i know. founded and run by matt lewis and renato poliafito, baked specializes in the sort of classic american desserts that warm your heart before they’ve even hit your mouth. their famous brownies, mini-cupcakes, cookies, and, of course- their infamous sweet and salty cake (made with caramel and salt- so good!)- are worth the trip over to red hook that i take once a month. a bakery that is worth calling a car service or renting a zipcar for is definitely something to hold on to. so i decided that baked (and matt and renato) would be a great subject for our next video.
so i hope you’ll enjoy second installment of d*s videos: baked part 1 (the interview) and baked part 2 (the cooking demo and recipe). in the first segment you’ll hear an interview with matt and renato and get to see the interior of their beautiful store (designed by brooklynites ruby and sather of hivemind design). in the second segment matt and renato will be baking- and sharing- their delicious peanut butter and milk chocolate chunk cookie recipe. it is seriously a must-make. i made 20 of these cookies this week and have had at least one for breakfast since. really, they’re that good.
so just click play below to watch both videos. thanks again to matt and renato for all of their help, and to jimmy benedetto for filming and creating our video. and last but not least- matt and renato have a new book out! their delicious new recipe book, baked: new frontiers in baking (stewart, tabori, and chang, 2008), is on sale now for $29.95 right here (you can choose from several online shops). i’ve been poring through it for the past few weeks and it’s quickly become my new favorite cook book. everything is easy and beautifully shot by photographer tina rupp. click here to check it out. [photos above by tina rupp]
PART ONE: Interview with Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito of Baked
PART TWO: Peanut Butter and Milk Chocolate Chunk Cookie Recipe and Demo
( Please note: The full recipe and instructions are after the jump! Just click here or click “read more” below to see the ingredient list and recipe)
we know this week’s diy post is a little off-topic, but (continuing on last week’s sweet theme) we thought it would be fun to share one of our many, many obsessions with you—beekeeping! for the past few months, we’ve been tending to our little hive in the hopes that some day we could harvest some delicious, homegrown honey. well, this labor day we enjoyed a very sticky, very sweet bonanza, and we caught the whole thing on tape!
last month we packed up a rental car and headed to new york’s hamptons- a playground for the rich and famous- but also for anyone with a passion for great design and antiques. along with our summer interns christy and lesley, we checked out our favorite shops and destinations throughout the area and filmed a little trip video thanks to our friend and videographer jimmy benedetto. we thought it would be a fun way to document our summer-staff trip and set the mood for what was one heck of a fun city guide to build. despite the torrential downpour the first day we were there we were able to check out a ton of great shops and hope you’ll enjoy this video and the following guide to design shopping in the hamptons. to view the full guide just click here, or click “read more” below.
thank you to jimmy benedetto for filming our trip and to bryan eich for the great soundtrack. *we just caught the typo at the end of the video. it’s music, not mucie. whoops!
click here for the hamptons design guide below (after the jump)…
d*s reader dess papadeas sent over a link to these super cool animated embroidery video by architecture in helsinki. i’ve never been a huge fan of their music but this video is seriously, seriously cool (and the song is poppy and fun). if you like embroidery, well, sit back and enjoy the ride.
today is one of those days where i’m pinching myself to see if my life is real. i feel so, so lucky and honored to work with lauren and derek of the curiosity shoppe. why you ask? besides being incredible friendly and totally cool, they made what is, in my opinion, the cutest and most perfect diy marshmallow video in the entire world. need proof? just click play below and watch lauren and derek show you how to make your own marshmallows and create a gift-ready hot chocolate kit. with the music and lauren’s cute hair it feels like a san francisco version of amelie. complete with lovely food shots and an adorable couple at the end. i just love these guys. thanks to lauren and derek for the wonderful video (and all of their incredible posts so far)- i hope you all enjoy it- be sure to check out their text below the video, too!
holiday hot chocolate kit
well, here it is—our last diy wednesday post of 2007! to celebrate, we thought we’d do something a little different, so we made a movie, “how to make: home-made marshmallows”. we always get a kick out of making gifts for our friends and family, and we thought this peppermint marshmallow recipe from the latest issue of ReadyMade would be the perfect addition to our holiday hot chocolate kits.
we wish you all a wonderful holiday and a happy, happy new year!
derek & lauren
