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!

on cold mornings like this one, it takes everything i have to get up and going. but a nice hot cup of coffee or tea often helps the process. and if that cup of coffee was dressed up with a bow-tie sweater? even better. i know it’s unabashedly girly, but sometimes i need a little girlyness in my mornings- because if it makes me smile, it helps me start the day off on the right foot. if you could use a little bow-love in your morning routine, click here to pick up one of jessica goodman’s cozies ($15) at waysideviolet on etsy.

if my cup of tea doesn’t do the trick, this bright orange ‘fold’ chair from design student nina bruun at the danish design school in copenhagen will certainly do the trick. nina’s finished chair is being shown at the stockholm furniture fair and reminds me of one of my favorite bouroullec designs, their cloud tiles for kvadrat. nina used bright orange segments that connect to each other as an homage to both scandinavian and japanese folding designs. the chair itself is made of plywood, with six plastic segments upholstered in wood felt. i love the idea of a chair folding around you as you sit, so i’m excited to see if nina ends up producing and selling things in stores. fingers crossed. until then, you can check out more of nina’s work right here. thanks, nina!

today amy and i are shopping around terrain so i should probably step away from my phone and laptop and focus on green-things. before i sign off for the weekend, i wanted to share some gorgeous new pieces from canvas, like these colorful felt cushions ($150), cedar boards and bowls ($50-$250 each), black plaster lamp ($350), and earthenware ($180) and lemonwood bowls ($20). i really love the handmade/rustic feel of everything, but love how clean and simple the shapes are. you can check out the canvas site for information, or order/purchase canvas products at the ochre store in nyc (462 broome street/ 212-414-4332).

i’ll see you all on monday- thanks so much for all of your fun questions at formspring. feel free to add more if you have any. i’m always happy to share any resources, tips, or advice i have. have a great weekend! below is a summary of this week’s highlights:

• must-read posts of the week: sneak peek of emily hensen’s home (treehouse room!), kate’s diy jewelry bust, mini flower arrangements in chocolate boxes
• new d*s desktop calendar download: nate duval’s february desktop calendar!
• new city guide: orange county, california!
• biz ladies: creating a compelling work environment
• under $100: letter openers
• living in: groundhog day
• we like it wild: we heart flowers (mini floral arrangements in vday chocolate boxes)
• new sneak peeks: rosie brown of papa stour, emily hensen,
• diy projects: doily pillow tutorial, valentine diy projects, spring wreath, jewelry bust (this is one of my fav projects we’ve ever posted!)
• new before & afters: jelena + eleanor’s furniture, miriam’s dresser + jasmine’s entryway, kate’s office + cassidi’s table, cecile’s home + gillian’s kitchen
• small measures with ashley: infused sugars
• in the kitchen with: andrea nguyen’s vegan wonton recipe!
• behind the bar: with chelsea and tec petaja’s “magic juice” drink recipe
• new d*s guest bloggers: craft posts from the bbb craft sisters!
• misc: blue bird mobile, magnetic bird paperclip holder, bev hisey butterfly beanbag chair, charity plate designs from lost bird found, vintage fabric bikeseat covers and bags, modern world map, riddle map postcards, new work from alice stevenson, amy ruppel wall decals, new angela adams rug, birch lighting from tom rossau, the world’s small vday packages,

While we are hard at work on some major projects and enhancements at HORNE, Alissa and I are loving this creative couple kick our column seems to be on. This week’s creative couple hails from Tennessee, had their wedding featured on the cover of the premiere Issue of Southern Weddings Magazine and while one is an amazingly talented professional photographer, the other is an equally talented artist & educator. Can’t figure it out? We are honored to be featuring the preferred beverage of Tec and Chelsea Petaja. Tec Petaja is not only a widely published wedding photographer but also has a keen eye and passion for commercial photography. When not shaping young minds, Chelsea Petaja creates beautiful headbands and accessories to adorn brides (and occasionally grooms) on the most important day of their lives. (see the sneak peek into their home here!) And as if that weren’t enough creative juices in the mix (pun very much intended), they are featuring a drink created by their wardrobe stylist friend, Talitha. We hope you all enjoy! {Ryan + Alissa}

CLICK HERE for the full drink recipe (and more lovely images) after the jump!

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Thanks to food stylist Adam Pearson and photographer Matt Armendariz who just returned from doing a workshop at Club Med in Ixtapa, Mexico, we were able to produce absolutely stunning images of cookbook author Andrea Nguyen’s stellar recipe for Poached Vegetable and Tofu Wontons in Spicy Oil. After receiving Andrea’s fantastic cookbook Asian Dumplings last fall (a must have for anyone who loves dumplings of any types), I thought I’d invite Andrea to share a recipe that would fit In the Kitchen With readers’ interests. She was even willing to make one just for us, so based on your comments and requests on the column, I asked Andrea for a vegan dumpling, and she delivered! Don’t be intimidated by the length of the recipe– Andrea has been very explicit so that you have no troubles producing a great final product. If at first you don’t get the “nurse’s cap” fold right, don’t despair! It gets easier after the first few!

{If you’re curious about food styling and photography using real food (no gimmicks!), a workshop with Matt is coming up in March at their studio in Long Beach.}

About Andrea: Andrea Nguyen is a celebrated food writer and teacher with a unique ability to interpret traditional Asian cooking styles for modern cooks. Her work appears in the Los Angeles Times, Tastingtable.com, and Saveur, where she is also a contributing editor. Andrea’s first book, Into the Vietnamese Kitchen (Ten Speed Press 2006), was nominated for three James Beard and IACP cookbook awards. Her new book, Asian Dumplings, was released by Ten Speed Press in August 2009 and recently named as one of NPR’s 10 Best Cookbooks of 2009. Andrea lives in Santa Cruz, California, where she publishes Vietworldkitchen.com and Asiandumplingtips.com.

CLICK HERE for the full recipe (and more lovely images) after the jump!

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[image sources, clockwise from top left: design fetish, sugar2sugar, kuali, bbc, guidespot, chick*pea, gabriel teas, martha stewart, apple creek herb farm]

When I was 8 years old, I made my mother a heart-shaped cake for Valentine’s Day. This cake marked one of my first forays into the world of baking. That fact, coupled with my making it without any assistance, resulted in an end product not without its fair share of mishaps. In addition being riddled with weird air pockets throughout, the cake was oddly spongy and chewy. I think there might have even been some bits of baking powder that weren’t properly sifted in. Essentially, it was “gross”, to use the vernacular of my 8 year-old self. Nevertheless, my mother consumed it with gusto and praise, as she did with pretty much every project my brother and I attempted. Her adulation, though admittedly largely undeserved on that particular occasion, stayed with me, encouraging me to keep it up. My nasty heart-shaped cake would later transition into a lifelong hobby (improving considerably along the way, thankfully!). I’ve been baking ever since, even working as a professional baker at a natural foods store, making a friend’s wedding cake, and cooking up all sorts of delectable baked goods while serving as manager of a bed and breakfast.

For the loved ones in your life, I offer a considerably less daunting food gift than the cake-tastrophe I baked my mom so long ago. Today’s small measure proposes crafting up batches of infused sugars. From your parents, siblings, or significant other to a valued co-worker, trusted friend, or even a life-saving babysitter or hairdresser (or, in my case, a neighbor with a chainsaw who helps you chop up the trees that fall all over your long, dirt road during a snow storm!), infused sugars are perfect for saying “you make my life better, richer, sweeter.” They’re a snap to make, cost quite little (using ingredients you quite possibly already have on hand), and bear a shelf-life far greater than a bouquet of fresh flowers (which have their place, too!).

If you know your recipients palate, you can craft the sugar to their liking. Otherwise, if you’ve got a general idea of their characteristics, use that as a starting point and assemble their sugar accordingly. Traditional parents or grandmother? Think vanilla. Girly-girl girlfriend? Lavender or rose. Intrepid foodie? Star anise, clove, or fennel. The following list (after the jump) includes several ingredient suggestions for infused sugars that I’ve had great success with:

CLICK HERE for the rest of the post, Ashley’s ingredients and infused sugar recipe after the jump!

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when it comes to lighting, i tend to prefer things that are highly decorative and shiny. for some reason the smaller size makes me more adventurous. but when i saw these beautiful lamps from tom rossau in denmark i was reborn as a minimalist lighting girl. charlie at tom rossau sent over the TR15 lamps that the company is showing in sweden this week. this series of lamps (both hanging and table) are based around a magnetic ball so that the shades actually swivel in whatever direction you want. all that clean wood makes me want to clean off my desk and embrace a more minimalist space. click here for more info on the tr15 collection. thanks, charlie!

lea, the lovely postmaster of the world’s smallest postal service is taking on valentine’s day this year with her “world’s smallest valentine’s packages“. i love the play on small things with a “cute as a button” theme- it’s such a sweet, and unexpected, way to send someone you love a little hello. click here for more information and to place an order. thanks, lea!

good morning! i thought i’d kick off today with this beautiful new “jilly” rug from angela adams. i love the seaweed-green and “late afternoon-inspired” color palette angela uses here and can’t wait to see this in person at the design shows this spring (i also love her forest rug, bottom right). angela’s new rugs will be available in 6 sizes and 2 colors ranging from $349-$1,950. click here for more information and to shop online.

it’s been such a pleasure having the bbb craft sisters on the d*s guest blog this week. today they’re closing their series with a post on needlecraft. there are gorgeous votives, bangles and baby gift ideas, so click here to check out the full post!

Avoid adding to the glut of office chocolate and candy hearts this Valentine’s Day by bringing a bit of of the outside in. You don’t need to be head-over-heels in love with someone to add some sweetness and color to their day, and these bite-sized arrangements are guaranteed brighten up any cubicle.

We recycled a heart-shaped box to use as our tray (spray-painted white) and mini tins as our candy cups (we found ours in the baking section of Bed, Bath and Beyond and spray-painted them gold). Once your paint has dried, arrange the cups in your box the way that candy would sit in a candy box. Add a small amount of water to each cup, enough to keep your stems wet but not so much that they’ll spill over on the drive to work. Choose a few scoops of your favorite flowers to artfully distribute to the tiny cups. The nice thing about this project is that you can use smaller flowers that are sometimes too small and delicate to work into large arrangements. Cut short stems and sort them into the cups. We used narcissus, quince blossoms, and ranunculus but any small flowers will do fine. Add the lid and secure with a ribbon. Be careful transporting them and be sure to keep the box level (that’s why we kept the water low).

Pass out the mini-arrangements or let your coworkers choose their favorite ones. The arrangements may only last a few days, but that’s a few days more than a box of candy would last and with so fewer calories. Don’t forget to save one for your desk, too!

CLICK HERE for more lovely images after the jump!

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