when it came to registering design*sponge as a trademark and all the other legal details that come with it, i put it off for years, assuming i would be fine because i’d used the name for years. man, do i wish i had just gotten off my behind and registered it- now that i have an official government document i feel so much more secure and can sleep just a little bit easier at night knowing that if something bad were to happen, at least i finally did my homework and got everything squared away.

trademarks can see a little confusing or daunting, but thankfully amy everhart is joining us again today to explain the ins and outs of trademarks for designers. she explains how to determe if your work is protectable by trademark, breaks down the different types of trademarks, and then tells you how to make it all official. if you haven’t trademarked your business this post is MUST READ. believe me, when you have everything squared away on a signed legal document it really does take a weight off your shoulders. thank you again to amy everhart for sharing her expert advice here today.

CLICK HERE for amy’s full post after the jump!

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today’s city guide is devoted to sunny palm springs, california- which seems lightyears away from grey brooklyn today. jaime curtis of prudent baby created this fantastic guide to eating, shopping, site-seeing and staying in this fun desert city. jaime grew up playing tennis and golf with her mother at their palm springs condo and now works in palm springs for both her day job and upcoming book. she created a wonderful list of things to do and places to see in town so i hope you’ll enjoy her guide as much as i did.

CLICK HERE for the full city guide after the jump!

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i’ll never forget stumbling upon an old family tree when rummaging through my grandfather’s above-garage storage space one day. i was really young, but remember staring at all the bonney names listed and marveling at the types of names people had and the elegant handwriting that wrote each one. ever since i’ve been dying to find an original copy and frame it at home, but lately have been tempted by something slightly more modern. so when i saw these pieces from vermont designer jen o’neill i had to smile.

jen started researching her family history when she became a mother, but couldn’t find a contemporary way to display the genealogical information she uncovered. so she decided to start “my tree and me” a business she runs that designs and customizes modern genealogy charts. each piece is a custom giclee print of on acid free watercolor paper, but there’s also an option to purchase a blank pre-made chart to fill in yourself. the older i get the more i appreciate the history behind both sides of my family, and designs like this are a great way to honor the people that shared your name years, decades and centuries before you. click here for more information on ordering a modern genealogy chart from jen.

good morning! i wanted to start today off with these sweet, simple framed prints from coulson macleod. the team at coulson macleod prints each piece onto wood and then frames them in rough-saw solid oak. i love the worn-in feel to each of them, and the lovey-dovey text. because sometimes it’s nice to have something sweet to see at home. if you’re in the market for one of coulson’s prints click here for purchasing information. thanks, hannah!

ps: jill has a fantastic post on the ware-home that belongs to pinball publishing- as well as a portland bike-home! click here to check out her second post of the week….

i can’t believe that it’s already november (where has this year gone?) but that means it’s time for a new d*s desktop wallpaper! this month designer/artist camilla engman is our guest artist and she’s created a truly beautiful series of wallpaper designs with and without dates. i love the way the dates run across the islands on the bottom of the image (detail shot below) and the variation in patterns used for each little island, home or character. want to give your desktop a makeover this month?

CLICK HERE to download all of camilla’s wallpapers with or without dates.

thank you again to camilla for generously donating her time and work to our wallpaper project! you can also download date-less versions of august (deanne cheuk), september (lena corwin) and october’s (dan funderburgh) wallpapers right here!

artist and design blogger (from the right bank to the left coast) ally has moved so frequently -  two overseas moves, several times across the country and many moves across cities – that she’s been dubbed the modern-day nomad by friends. a self-identified design junkie, each move gives ally the opportunity to decorate a new space and leads to the discovery of new shopping sources, so it’s not surprising that her seattle home is a seemingly effortless mix of the modern and the antique where everything seems to be carefully selected and collected. {thanks, ally!} – amy a

[Our last move was from Paris to Seattle and on the very first day of our house hunting trip, my husband and I found a green, contemporary house in the middle of the city that was in the beginning of the construction phase. Even though it was basically just a shell of a house at the time, we could visualize how it was going to turn out and bought it on the spot! It’s turned out to be the perfect house for our two dogs and us and to this day we can’t believe our luck.

Some of my favorite objects in our home are the antique French and Flemish paintings in the living room. I especially like them contrasted with the exposed beams and contemporary furniture.]

Having moved so much, you can imagine our furnishings are from all over the place. I’ve also always been a fan of mixing styles so our home is a real mishmash of old/new, froufrou/modern, high/low . . .

CLICK HERE for the rest of Alek’s sneak peek after the jump!

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