swapmeat

for some reason, when many photographers go to buy art, they themselves don't want photographs. they may want something photography related, but not photographs. in my opinion it's because we can't commit to only one; if we can't have the whole series, what's the point? this print symbolizes a love of photography and the camera without actually being a photograph. in fact i myself have a photographer in mind to gift this to (and no, it's not myself).

limited-edition of only 100. 24" x 26" hand-screened on french paper dur-o-tone butcher off-white 80 lb cover. $35 each.

coudal partners have more cool stuff and prints for sale through their swapmeat because as they put it, " periodically, we receive unsolicited stuff in the mail. we love getting it, and most of the time we return the favor by sending back some of the stuff we've made. so we're trying to do the same thing on a slightly larger scale in an attempt to make lots of people as happy as we are when the fed-ex guy shows up unannounced. featured items are listed on this page."

via k. cooper

five and a half

it's hard to believe this journal is a journal; it looks like a well designed paperback book. only there isn't a title. or an author. the very talented people at five and a half leave that part up to you. for $28 it's a very giftable photo find. via poppy.

kirin & co

i found myself at kirin notebook this evening, which led me to her shop, kirin & co, where i spotted this print, 'crafttree,' for $35.

erin nelson

the website of the most recent "a flickr a day" installment was actually really fun. the artist, erin nelson, is a young photographer studying at cooper union. her website goes by ghost daugher.

kate spade/ behind the curtain

lt. and i had a very productive day dreaming session the other day about the possibility of starting our own design studio with our friend mike (who unfortunately couldn't make the meeting). i'm not exactly a graphic designer, and they're not exactly photographers, but we think we could make something work. all three of us have wild creative ideas that need an outlet of some sort and maybe more importantly, we would like the proceeds of these ventures to sustain our desired lifestyles. who knows where this dream will eventually take us, but we had fun imagining it anyway.

this idea of channeling all of our creative forces behind one name, got me thinking about the way kate spade's studio, the projects of which are highlighted on the site behind the curtain, acts as a conduit for all of her and her team's creative ideas. their array of imaginative projects, ranging from publishing books to producing films and curating art exhibits, are funded by the kate spade bag and fashion line (if i have my way, this is exactly where my dreams will take me).

on a similarly inspiring note, abby clawson low is the senior art director at kate spade. you can read a brief interview with abby over at hoping for happy accidents (my favorite snippet of that article: "wishing for...boyfriends for my sisters").

thrid drawer down

anyone who has looked at my personal work knows that i have a weakness for clotheslines. so natuarally i fell hard for this screen printed linen tea towel designed by lilli harmann for thrid drawer down (i recommend visiting their website not only for their great products, but also for their enchanting website graphics). unfortunately, my tea towel (and it will be mine) is out of print until march 15, but come march 15...

liz they also have some great aprons, called, wait for it, artprons (adorable right?), that you should check out as inspiration for our upcoming project.

oh my cavalier

i vaguely remember seeing julianna swaney's etsy shop, oh my cavalier, a little while ago but i couldn't remember where i found it so when i spotted her work on design sponge i was more than a little excited and i had to re-post (of course grace had in turn seen the prints on port2port which is where i might have seen them in the first place). julianna pulls from 19th century imagery to create a specific overall visual vocabulary: "i love birds, lace, anthropomorphism, natural history museums, old books and prints, anything victorian." i love all those things too.

genevieve dionne

i've been trying to get inspired to complete a screen print that i designed a month or two ago. the print needs to be done in a under a month so that i can put it in a show in march as part of a collaborative with two friends of mine. to be honest i don't think screen printing is really my medium. it isn't immediate enough for me (plus i have trouble pulling the prints neatly) and i've been thinking about teaching myself to woodblock. but i was actually rather inspired by these wood burnings by genevieve dionne partly because they are so beautiful and partly because wood burning is something that my grandfather does as a hobby and i have been thinking recently that it would be really nice to ask him to teach me (which would require a lengthy and much overdue trip to florida). i also really liked the below collage of paper dipped in beeswax that genevieve did in collaboration with ben skinner.

binth

you may have noticed that i love art that tells a story. and more specifically stories that let my imagination meander into magical worlds. not in the way of fantasy really, but in that magical realism way where i can almost believe the illusion is real. this stationary by a collaborative team of screenprinters called binth does just that for me with their graphic use of large areas of bold color and their intricately detailed illustrations.

working on starting a print collaborative with a group of friends myself, this group seems all the more inpsiring to me because i recognize many similarites between their philosophy and ours.

linotte

the illustrations of german born, london based illustrator anke wekman (pen name: linotte) seem equally suited for both adults and children. her charming assortment of zany characters of both the human and animal variety both delight and amuse me. and by her own desricption of her interests, it seems that she would as well: "she has a fondness for black ink, harriet the spy, small birds, stripey socks, documentaries, sketchbooks, spring, and potatoes."

the above image is from "it's a moustache world," a book about moustaches in which she juxtaposes her illustrations and her photographs.

scraps of paper

tiny little notebooks; handmade, one-of-a-kind journals; recycled materials like junkmail, floppy disks, and nancy drew books: these things and more make up the wealth of treasures found at scraps of paper. designer kristin amico will also cater to custom orders and to designing unique sationary for weddings and other special events.

above: 4" x 5" mini book from junkmail collection, $12


post script:
liz if you would just start a blog already, i could stop posting about things that you told me about. i'm not going to quit harrassing you about this; the sooner you cave the better it will be for all of us.

christine castro

christine castro kept an online journal for about two years, from 1999 - 2001. well before this blogging phenomenon took hold, she chronicled her daily life in a quirky tone, revealing through journal entries precious morsels of her life. christine's confessional manner resonates with me as the lover of memoirs that i am, and as she is also a graphic designer, the site has a distinct eccentric aesthetic to which i also respond. and of course, she also has a shop. i found the above sketchbook image on her flickr page.


an aside:

i never imagined that by browsing flickr's endless supply of imagery for my "a flickr a day" that flickr would turn into my prinicpal source of posting material. but, oh, what wonders i've found simply by responding to an attraction to a tiny thumbnail image.

boygirlparty

illustration artist, susie ghahremani, is the artist behind boygirlparty i've been admiring the above pocket mirrors ($6.50) for quite sometime. they are also for sale, as well as mirror designs by other artists, at my favorite mirror. and if that isn't enough, susie ghahremani also has an etsy shop, oh, and a myspace page. i'm kinda of a fan.

paper relics

okay, so paper relics does not technically design wedding invitations. my guess is that if if you pleaded and negotiated you could work something out. but otherwise just buy some birthday cards, or some of her beautiful collages. you can also purchase her stationary here: my bonnie & clyde.

the small object

it's raining and i can't muster up the strength to do the work i should be doing, so instead i am posting this, my fourth, post in one day. i need to pull it together. but benefit from my inability to focus and go enjoy the above stamps at the small object. the designs, by sarah neuburger, are really quite fun. i especially like the below "thumbprint chart of ABC's," which, at only $18, would make a great addition to any nursery or playroom, i just don't know anyone with young kids...

king pod

while browsing aimlessly today, i came across the most amazing artwork. amy karol of kingpod makes playful quilts that could more accurately be described as collages made entirely of fabric. i love artwork that employs craft techniques that inherently refer to woman's role as nurturer without being in-your-face feminine or feminist. amy also has a blog adorably titled, angry chicken.

top: friendly deer (print), bottom: king bird (a small quilt)

abbytrysagain

i'm a sucker for fun stationary (especially when it's woodblocked): abbytrysagain.