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Collect Magazine

May 17, 2012 in Design   Comments { 1 }

It must be said, I am a magazine addict – the smell, the texture, the crinkly plasic sleeve (if they have one) – all so lovely. In fact I have been known to get quite upset if anyone tries to read a fresh one in our house before I do (sorry Alexis!)
One of my favourite things to do on a chilly weekend is to curl up with a cuppa tea and a fresh new glossy. I would love to get my paws on an edition of Australia’s Collect magazine.

To quote the magazine: “Collect is a magazine about taking pride in what we do, and where we live. It shines a spotlight on things done well and explores ways that we might be able to do things better.”

I dont know where in SA you can get one of the lovelies, if you have seen them, please let me know.

Collect MagazineCollect MagazineCollect Magazine

See the Collect covers at Cover Junky
Read more about Collect here

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Ferse Verse Goodness

May 10, 2012 in Design, Fashion, Jewelry   Comments { 1 }

I cannot believe this week is nearly over. I have been crazy busy with an exciting new project I am going launch soon (but more about that later)
In a quest to find simple design that would sooth my eyes and mind, I discovered this cute little online store Frese Verse. They are based in Hong Kong and list only beautifully curated pieces that fit within their ethos of “respecting vintage designs because of their ever-lasting aesthetic and cultural values”.

Ferse VerseFerse VerseFerse VerseFerse VerseFerse VerseFerse VerseFerse Verse

See more lovely things at Frese Verse

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Korean Story Telling

May 7, 2012 in Design   Comments { 0 }

I found these fantastic Korean children’s book covers here. Apparently the 1950s and 60s are considered to be the “golden era” in the history of Korean children’s books.
KoreaKoreaKoreaKoreaKorea
KoreaKoreaKorea
KoreaKoreaKoreaKorea
You can see more book covers here.

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Visitants

May 4, 2012 in Design   Comments { 2 }

Visitants
“They are here, walking amongst us and taking in the sights, though the odd one might bust something so keep an eye out and your camera ready.”

Check out these crazy, one off Visitant lino print illustrations by Barnaby Purdy. They are created using pages from encylopedias from 1972. I think they are flipping fantastic and may well have to get my hands on one.

VisitantsVisitantsVisitantsvisitantsVisitantsVisitantsVisitant

You can see all of Barnaby Purdy’s Visitants here

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Poster Love

May 3, 2012 in Design   Comments { 0 }

I love these clever posters for the “Come with one story; leave with another” campaign for the Colsubsidio Book Exchange. They where created by Columbia advertising agency Lowe/SSP3. The idea behind the Book Exchange is pretty much like a library, once you are done reading one book, you return it and move onto the next one.

Great interpretation of the idea (and super cute too!)

Colsubsidio Book Exchange
Colsubsidio Book Exchange
Colsubsidio Book Exchange

All credits for this work can be found here

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Avifauna Birds

May 3, 2012 in Design   Comments { 1 }

The 51st edition of Salone Internazionale del Mobile 2012 (Milan Design Week) has just ended and it was a riot of amazing projects and installations. One that caught my eye was this eerily fantastic installation by Dutch deo Studio Maarten Kolk & Guus Kusters. This gothic flight of fancy was entitled Avifauna (meaning: the birds of a particular region, habitat, or geological period) and consisted of a collection of 13 stuffed bird species all “dressed” in “Reticolo Ardesia” fabric from Rubelli’s collection.

I think the collection has a strange magnetism, even if you are a little put off by taxidermy, you can’t help but be fascinated by these dark alter-egos.

Avifuana Bird
Avifuana BirdAvifuana Bird
Avifuana BirdAvifuana Bird
Avifuana Bird
Avifuana Bird

All photos are from Studio Maarten Kolk & Guus Kusters
Found here

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Scrabble Typography Edition

April 12, 2012 in Design, Typography   Comments { 0 }

Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble

In a vain attempt to get past the autocorrected and spell checked lives we live, Alexis and I decided we needed to play some Scrabble. Now it had been some time since my last attempt at the Triple Word Score, so locating the trusty family Scrabble board was going to be a mission. After numerous phone calls to my sister and Mum it was discovered that our original family board had gone missing. I had assumed it was with all the other much loved and long forgotten board games at my Mum’s… sigh! I was certain I would see its’ familiar green box hiding in amongst the Monopoly and Cluedo boxes, but alas, no Scrabble (although I think the Hungry Hippos are there still!)

Feeling very despondent we skulked down to our local toy shop, only to be told they had sold out (it was just before Christmas) What… sold out of SCRABBLE? How can this be? Do kids still play Scrabble?

Weeks went by and still we struggled to hunt down the elusive Scrabble (or buy a new one). Then a couple of weeks ago we got wind of a fresh supply that had just come in. I was so excited, finally Alexis and I would be put to the test in a battle of the brains (or lack there of).

Sadly my excitement was met with sheer horror – they just don’t make Scrabble like they used to.

The letter pieces are made from lightweight plastic and the little trays are flipping ugly too. The board is garish and bright and nothing has any old school charm like it used to (It even smells cheap and nasty).
Anyhow, this did not put us off playing, but it did leave us wishing we could find the old family board we used to love.

Like most things in life, as soon as I had came to terms with the ugliness of our new Scrabble board, I spotted the most amazing Scrabble board on Linda’s website One Fine Dae. GRRR!
If only I could have saved the Rands I spent on the butt ugly board and rather invested them in one of these gems.
Isn’t it so lovely? Check it out here

Yah for clever design. Yah for beautiful typography. Yah for (non plastic) Scrabble.

All images from here

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Easter Egg Caddy DIY

April 4, 2012 in Design, DIY   Comments { 4 }

Easter egg hunting is such fun, but what do you do with all your chocolatey treasures once they have been found? Why not store them in an adorable Easter egg caddy.
This caddy is surprising easy to make, follow the instructions below and you will end up with a gorgeous Easter present, sure to delight Easter egg hunters of all ages.

Easter DIY
Easter DIY
Easter DIY
Easter DIY

What you will need:
- One glass jar
- Plastic farm animals of your choice (chickens or rabbits would be ideal for this time of the year)
- Glue (I used epoxy, as it’s pretty strong)
- Spray paint
- Sticky back vinyl (I found an old piece of faux wood printed vinyl, don’t worry what it looks like, you are going to spray over it before discarding it)
- Pinking shears or craft scissors with a decorative edge
- Easter eggs to fill your jar

Step 1. Glue your little animals to the lid of the jar.
Step 2. Using your fancy scissors (or pinking shears) cut a long strip of vinyl. Be sure to cut it deep enough to cover the bottom half of the lid (the bit you don’t want spray painted)
Step 3. Stick vinyl around the base of the lid. Remember that the vinyl is going to mask the area of the lid you don’t want to spray.
Step 4. Following the instructions on the spray paint can and spray your lid. Remember to rather do numerous light layers of spray paint, leaving the lid to dry between layers, than heavy thick layers, which will run and eventually peel.
Step 5. Once your lid is thoroughly dry (over night is best) you can peel off the vinyl.
Step 6. Fill your glass jar with Easter eggs and you are done!

These little caddies make fun storage containers for stationary etc, so they can continue to be used long past the holidays.

Enjoy making your Easter egg caddy and happy hunting.

(Inspiration for this Easter DIY came from this cute “Playroom storage idea” from House to Home, have a look at it here)

Comments { 4 }

A recipe for the perfect cherry pie

March 27, 2012 in Design, Photography, Typography   Comments { 0 }

Cherry Pie
Cherry Pie

I have always had a crazy love for typography. I suppose it began while studying Graphic Design at the old Cape Tech. Apart from learning all the theory behind typography we also had to recreate entire font families, by hand!
Nuts, I know, but a vital step in the true appreciation of well set type. Computers and graphics programs simply cannot space letters as well as the human eye, its about feeling the white space around the letters and making it work.
Nothing irritates me more than seeing badly kerned lettering. There simply isnt an excuse for it – it’s just laziness.

Hand lettering is a craft which I am so pleased to see is currently experiencing a huge revival. Being very inspired by ascenders and descenders, kerning and leading, I have hauled out my old drawing pens and note pad, in an enthused attempt to start font doodling again. Thanks to my dear husband, Alexis, who gave me a copy of “Just My Type” by Simon Garfield for my birthday, I really do feel armed to make the most of this artistic whim (so watch this space).

On another note, they say you eat with your eyes first, well if you could make the actual recipe you are reading just as delicious as the dish you intend baking, then you are onto something truly magical.

Inspired by hand lettered chalk boards, Leanda from One Little Bird Studio manages to make your mouth water while reading her Cherry Pie recipe. Her blog is equally as gorgeous, filled with beautiful colours, inspirational posts and fantastic typography (serious blog crush material).

Cherry Pie Recipe

The scrumptious Cherry Pie photos are from another glorious blog you have to visit, Raspberri Cupcakes, but be warned, you may gain a dress size just drooling over Steph’s delicious photographs. This woman knows how to cook!

Hand Lettering by Leanda from One Little Bird Studio
Cherry Pie photos by Steph from Raspberry Cupcakes

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Words to end your week on

March 23, 2012 in Design   Comments { 2 }

Cory Say

To spite the week having a lovely mid way interlude, I am super pleased it is the weekend again.
This week’s Words To End Your Week On post is from Cory Say. Cory is a super talented hand lettering geek/typographer. Check out more of his amazing work here. Source for this piece from here.

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Alianoid

March 19, 2012 in Design   Comments { 0 }

Living by the sea means that the air is often moist and there isn’t really a need for a humidifier, which is a real shame because I would dearly love one of these Alianoid creatures in my home. The humidifier (designed by Minwoo Lee) acts by puffing jets of moisture our of two holes on its “head”, kind of like two steamy horns. The little dial in the front indicates the amount of water left in the container and also adjusts the volume of the moisture “puffs”.
Simply adorable!

Minwoo Lee Design
Minwoo Lee DesignMinwoo Lee Design
Minwoo Lee Design

All photos found on Minwoo Lee‘s website.

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Golden Delicious

March 16, 2012 in Design, Jewelry   Comments { 0 }

Warning: Magpies look away now! The following post may be damaging to your retinas.

Golden Delicious
Golden Delicious
Golden Delicious
Golden Delicious
Golden Delicious

Kim Buck is goldsmith and creator of these nuggets of shiny goodness. I love all of them, but if I was to pick one, I think I would go for the Swine and Pearls necklace. Which is your favourite?

(all photos from Kim Buck’s website)

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