lab partners just released a beautiful new series of affordable prints at their etsy shop- click here to check them out. [thanks, ryan!]

last month we introduced you to our new regional roundup column, where we look at place, the artists who inhabit it, and how each influence the other. for round one we traveled to iceland, but for the next three tuesdays we’ll be turning it stateside. last week’s guest blog posts by lisa dejohn featuring the new england creative scene was the perfect way to set the stage as we move further up the coast to portland, maine. many of these artists will be very familiar to you and you’ve never associated them with portland, others may be new to your eyes. either way, there is much to see and inspiration to be had. click here to check out the first set of 5 artists (or just click “read more” below), and tune in next tuesday for part 2. thanks so much to all the talented artists who participated! -anne

{portland map by patrick corrigan, stay tuned next week for his feature in the roundup}

since ac and i finally have a date for our wedding next year we get to start the fun that is creating a save-the-date card. i’m still trying to tackle things on my own (we’ll see how well that goes), but i’m always looking around at wedding stationery to see if perhaps there’s something that might inspire a wedding project or just inspire me to hire someone to do our stationery instead. right now i’m loving these pieces from andrea tahlier at float paperie in chicago. that marquee-style font is so, so cool. it doesn’t quite fit our southern gothic wedding theme but if we were getting married in new york or even los angeles this would totally fit a cool ‘glam’ theme. andrea has traditional stationery available as well as custom wedding work- click here to check out her full collection and contact float.

last friday when i poked into the soho anthropologie i grabbed a bottle of this sweet smelling orange and rosemary dish soap. not only is the scent really, really fantastic (i’ve been washing cups this morning just so i could use it again) but the packaging is painfully cute. made by isabella smith, the dish soap is part of the danish company’s maison belle line of house cleaners. they make everything from laundry detergent to floor cleaners but so far i’ve only seen the dish soap in anthropologie. but you can view their full collection right here. maison belle soaps aren’t on the anthro site yet so if you have a shop near you just drop in to pick up a bottle. if you’d rather order online it looks like these shops sell online- though they’re located in the uk so a local anthro might be the best bet. happy washing!

just a little texture to kick off the day- how beautiful is this cover? you can pick up a copy of kyuuto! woolly embroidery right here for $15.95.

we have the fabulous skinny laminx (aka heather moore, whose sneak peek you can see here) to thank for the tip when it comes to second last sneak peek today- wiz wharton. besides having the coolest name ever, wiz is a freelance scriptwriter and reader who divides her time between writing and consultancy work (you can find her book here). today she’s sharing pictures of her incredible 1960s east london home. click here to see more, full-sized images of her home. [thanks, wiz!] -anne

[above: this is ren’s corner of the living room, hence the décor and furnishings! the mini Tulip Table and mini pantons are a wonderful proportion for little hands whilst the vintage sewing box on legs makes an ideal storage unit for arts and crafts materials. artwork on the left is by ren, complimented by a vintage stretched piece of rupert bear fabric. the teak lamp and g plan sideboard (just seen) add warmth to the scheme.]

The bedroom, featuring framed original London Transport signs from the wonderful Haydn at London Transport Original Signs. The framed vintage line diagram of the notorious Northern Line reminds me of many a painful commute to work before I turned freelance!

A corner of our living room. The shelving system is a Weber from Denmark. The Eames rocker is an early upholstered shell. The Kindt-Larsen chair was another ebay purchase and features the skinny armrests and organic shape. I have always liked the idea of mixing vintage with modern and the Habitat tripod light and Ikea rug sit well with their mid-century companions.

The panelling to the hallway was original to the house and was painted white to open up the space. The print is by Japanese artist Shinzo Katoh. The framed “Eep” teatowel is by the fabulous Heather Moore from Skinny Laminx and also features in the bedroom in the olive colourway. The shelving unit is vintage Danish. It has coloured apertures behind the shelves. . . My side of the bed! I find antlers one of the most beautiful design in nature; these are a vintage pair dating from 1936. The vintage library drawers benefit from the addition of some chunky casters which make them super portable. The Habitat MacLamp is an original, one of about six that we own! There’s something iconic about their simple flawless design.

Our beloved Poul Cadovius Royal shelving system. This was an ebay buy that came all the way from Canada! It makes a practical and beautiful storage solution without imposing on valuable floor space. On the shelves a selection of pieces, ranging from Cathrineholm storage canisters to a wooden fruit bowl from MOMA and a Habitat wooden childrens’ bus.

This is my writing space in the bedroom. I would love to have a dedicated office but this does very nicely. The table and chair are original and quite rare James Leonard’s. Designed for schools in the 1950’s a lot of them were destroyed to make way for more recent (and far uglier!) designs. It’s a much debated point whether Prouve or Leonard was the first to pioneer the characteristic compass type leg shape seen on both the table and desk. I love the patina and marks on both these items as I can imagine the history these had in the classroom throughout their original lives. The poster is of the iconic Olivetti Valentine typewriter, designed by Ettore Sottsass, available in London from the Design Museum. The yellow MacLamp is another from my collection. . .The hallway features a Bertoia side chair. The bureau was bought with the coloured handles already done; a quirky take on an essentially traditional and utilitarian piece of furniture. I had the wall colour especially matched to one of the shades on the Lucienne Day cushion cover!

Tomado wall shelving system featuring part of my ever growing Cathrineholm collection. There is something wonderfully pleasing about the symmetry of colour of these objects when grouped together. The glass storage jars with teak lids are from my new favourite vintage cyber haunt, H is for Home. The pull down ceiling light is an original Guzzini from the 1960’s which replaced an almost identical but completely derelict version that we inherited with the house!