d*s reader anne sent over a link to this great project from the london subway system, posted on design assembly. ian at design assembly wrote a great piece about the victoria line and its decorative tiles created by artists. i wish the nyc subway line would do more pieces like this. our subways do have great tile work (i do like the new starn bros. piece at the whitehall ferry stop), but these are seriously cool. here’s what ian has to say about the project:
“The Victoria Line was the first new underground line to cross central London since the beginning of the 20th century. It opened in three sections; in 1968 between Walthamstow Central and Warren Street, in 1969 extending to Victoria, and 1971 stretching down to Brixton. This new line provided the opportunity to produce a new and consistent look across the whole line, from the trains themselves to the stations and platforms. All aspects of design were overseen by Misha Black, the Design Consultant for London Transport (1964–1968), who previously had a similar role with British Rail. He employed the talents of the The Design Research Unit (DRU) – a collective of designers, artists and architects who designed all aspects of the VIctoria Line.
Each platform was designed with a very muted colour scheme, described by some of the press at the time as the ‘late lavatorial style’ (1, P58). The tiled designs in each seat recess provided much needed colour and decoration, and gave each stop its own visual identity. The results were a mixture of direct inspiration from the station name and references to historical details of the local area.“
i’ve chosen some of my favorite tile designs above and below, but you can click here to see all 16 designs at design assembly. thanks, anne!
lately i feel like the craft/art/design world has been making its way into music videos in a really big way. elements of all three worlds have always been in videos, but it’s been so fun to see crafts like felting, paper-cutting and knitting in popular music videos on youtube. today i wanted to share two videos from irish singer/songwriter lisa hannigan. lisa’s worked with people like damian rice and herbie hancock (a personal favorite of mine) and her solo debut “sea sew” was just released earlier this year. in the first video above, “i don’t know”, lisa creates an entire landscape from paper cutouts, and the second video below, “lille”, features a handmade pop-up book that goes along with the song. so, so cool. just click play to check them out. if you’re at work, they’re worth watching even with the sound off. [thanks, court!]
good morning! this morning i thought i’d get things started with some affordable artwork. first up is a fantastic show at artstream studios: the incredible print show. susan’s studio will be showing prints from over 50 artists from around the world. they’ll be printing in all forms, ranging from lithography, silkscreens, and digitial prints, to linocuts, woodcuts, letterpress and gocco (and much more). the show runs from may 1st through june 27th and starting may 1st all of the work will be online to purchase. all of the work is under $400, but most of it is under $100. click here for more information and to view work from the show. [thanks, susan!] (works above and below by lucie summers and lisa solomon)
With Earth Day coming up, I figure I show you how I recycle some of my tin cans.
First off, buy cans that look good. You don’t want your pretty things in busted cans. Why not practice grocery-offsetting to insure you have good packaging to work with? 25 cans of cat food are offset with a sack of dried Morels. You want Kraft singles? A quick twirl in the international food section will result in Greek thousand-flower honey, a suitable offset. At the checkout I’m enamored by the opulent and unusual packaging… Israeli couscous (Triscuits), hibiscus salt (marshmallow fluff) and a Tahitian vanilla bean packaged in a test tube (toilet tissue). And much of this packaging will have a second life…
Let me tell you some good looking cans; Sclafani Tomatoes. Dammann Tea. San Marzano tomatoes generally come in good cans. As does loose Twinings tea. You’re shopping for style here folks – oh, you don’t eat sardines? Yes you do! – with a stylish can of Sicilian sardines you can make a lovely moss-filled pincushion.
You can also make a vase with a tin can. Or a planter. We generally start rootlings in cans in the kitchen where they are more likely to receive attention as opposed to the more established plants in other parts of the house. To ensure good drainage, turn the can on end and using a hammer and screwdriver, pop a few holes in the bottom.
For flowers, make sure you clean your cans well – residue will lead to bacteria. Yesterday I made an arrangement of red ranunculus in a Sclafani Tomato 28-ouncer. To keep the stems supported and upright, I balled up a few squares of chicken wire and placed them down inside the can.
Same chicken wire treatment in a second can resulted in an arrangement with camel roses, peonies and dogwood. I dug out some birch bark* and wrapped it around the can. Later at home, I fiddled around with a French tea canister to make a sweet little arrangements with a red charm peony and some andromeda.
*You can buy birch bark at US Evergreen (T: 212-741-5300) on 7th Avenue between 27th and 28th Streets.
we’re moving from paint to fabric this morning- my other favorite way to spruce up a piece of furniture without spending a fortune. these chair makeovers were done by d*s reader jill- she found this first chair on craigslist for $50 and bought $35 worth of fabric and spray paint for the project. she took everything apart herself and remade it- and i think the finished result is fantastic.
the second chair is jill’s favorite- her ikea lunna chair. she says, “it’s the most comfortable chair in the world- it feels like a hug” but she didn’t love the fabric texture or pattern for her room. so she simplified the cover a bit (to use less fabric) and sewed a new cover herself. i think it’s a great update- good work, jill!
[have a before & after you'd like to share on d*s? just shoot me an email right here with your pictures!]
next week i’ll be posting a special wallpaper-themed interview, so i’ve got wallpaper on the brain. so i was excited to see this before & after entry from IT tech slash “crafty momma” susan edwards.
susan found this beautiful yellow flocked wallpaper in the attic of a local wallpaper store in oklahoma city. she originally went in looking for black and white paper, but came out with this fantastic vintage print instead. she bought two rolls for $25 each and decided to use it to recover the closet doors in her studio. this is such a fun and easy way to make a big change in your space and i love the way it adds a big splash of yellow to susan’s pink studio. thanks so much to susan for sharing.
