The biggest dream I have for my house is turning the finished attic, complete with dormer windows and a turret, into my dream master suite. It’s split into two rooms, and ideally the front one would become the bedroom and the back a wardrobe and sitting room. The main obstacle is that there is no ductwork up there, and I live in a state that fully experiences all four seasons.
But whatever. Because when I’m finally able to save up and make it happen I know that I don’t want built-in shelving or suspended rods, what I actually want are old school garment racks lining the walls.
Greg Hart‘s Historical Portraits combine unexpected colors, negative space, and some unexpected subject matter. Ladies and gentleman from the past are captured in portrait form, in an almost topographic-like style, while giving us a look into their haunted pasts.
Are you elbow-deep in potting soil, too? So far I’ve already moved the majority of my indoor plants onto the front porch and repotted a bunch of succulent babies. This weekend three peony bushes, two peony roots, two oriental poppies, and heirloom tomatoes are on the docket for planting. I love how greenery and flowers make any space feel more alive, but always seem to be running short on pots and planters. It turns out now is the perfect time to stock up – plenty of these are on sale!
Simple, functional pieces that can be easily moved from room to room depending on what I need them for draw me to them like a moth to a flame. When I came across OMMO‘s products, that combine both eastern and western cultures, it was love at first sight. The word OMMO stands for the idea that good design is for everyone, and their collection exemplifies just that.
Nadine Geopfert is a Berlin-based textile designer whose work focuses on the materiality and structure of textiles. Her Permanent Compression series of vacuum-packed garments more closely resemble abstract paintings than the pieces of clothing in your own closet. Knowing what each fabric feels like from memory and not being able to reach out and touch them makes for a strange visceral feeling indeed.
A favorite part of my job, that you may only know about if you follow @designcrush on Instagram, is reviewing books. I had zero chance of not being a bibliophile, my Mom and Grandma read to me daily and my aunt was an elementary school librarian. Put that together with my two passions of art and design and, well, it’s basically the definition of a match made in heaven. I’ll now be sharing the art and design books that I usually keep to Instagram here as well, as a sort of quarterly book recommendation list.
The Golden Secrets of Lettering: Letter Design from First Sketch to Final Artwork by Martina FlorA a comprehensive, beautifully illustrated guide to hand lettering with easy-to-understand instructions and guidelines, plenty of inspirational examples, and hundreds of hand-sketches and illustrations. Martina Flor shows readers how to transform their initial lettering concepts and handdrawn sketches into a well-shaped piece of digital lettering that can be sold and published. Learn how to train your typographic eye by studying lettering samples and the anatomy of letters, explore concepts of hierarchy, composition, and flourishes, and discover the different ways of creating letter shapes. Flor also explains the process of creating a lettering project step by step and gives valuable tips about how to make a career as a lettering artist.
Paul Rand: A Designer’s Art by Paul Rand A comprehensive collection of Paul Rand’s most important and best-known designs, this book gives unique insight into Rand’s design process and theory. This new edition of Rand’s classic monograph, long unavailable, meticulously re-creates the graphic quality of the original. It includes more than 200 illustrations and 27 essays, and a new afterword by Steven Heller. Required reading for anybody interested in modern design.
Encyclopedia of Rainbows: Our World Organized by Color by Julie Seabrook Ream This playful collection of rainbows is a bright and beautiful appreciation of all the color that surrounds us. Artist Julie Seabrook Ream invites us to see the extraordinary beauty of ordinary objects as she gathers colorful iterations of a single type of thing, from feathers to fishing gear, matchbooks to macarons, and neatly arranges them in rainbow order. This index details all the objects in each rainbow, bringing the magnetic appeal of meticulous organization to this burst of color in book form. A striking package with a rainbow-colored spine makes this book a treasure for those who love art, design, and a fresh perspective.
Creative Pep Talk: Inspiration from 50 Artists by Andy J. Miller Every artist needs a little pep talk now and then. An inspiring tool and beautiful art book in one, Creative Pep Talk offers illustrated words of wisdom from 50 of today’s leading creative professionals. With full-color, typographic prints and explanatory statements from a host of creative luminaries — including Aaron Draplin, Oliver Jeffers, Lisa Congdon, Mike Perry, and many others — this book encourages artists to stay excited, experiment boldly, and conquer fear. Create curiosity, Learn to say no, and If you can’t be good, be different are just a few of the motivational mentions in this visual collection that’s perfect for students, designers, artists, and creatives at any stage in their careers.
Go Forth! by Chronicle Books A perfect dose of positivity and kick-in-the-pants motivation to get out and get living, making, and doing. Chock-full of uplifting text-based art with an emphasis on being brave, courageous, and authentic, it’s the perfect gift for grads, travelers, or anyone else in need of inspiration as they embark on a new adventure.
Print & Pattern: Nature by Bowie Style The latest book based on the popular site, Print & Pattern, celebrates surface designs, patterns, motifs of leaves, insects, grasses, butterflies, and trees. Product areas covered include stationery, cards, giftwrap, fabrics, wallpaper, rugs, ceramics, homewares, gadget skins, and more. Documenting the work of the best designers in the field, it’s an invaluable reference and inspiration source for surface designers, designer-makers, craftspeople, graphic designers, illustrators, and textile designers.
How Art Can Make You Happy by Bridget Watson Payne This little book offers the keys to unlocking a rich and rewarding source of joy. A handbook full of insight that will help regular people begin a more inspiring and less stressful relationship with art with tips on how to visit museums, how to talk about art at cocktail parties, and how to let art wake you up to the world around you. This guide makes it possible for anyone to fall in love with art, whether for the first time or all over again.
How to Make It: 25 Makers Share the Secrets to Building a Creative Business by Erin Austen Abbott The ultimate tell-all, show-all guide to making a living by making things. Featuring 25 profiles of illustrators, jewelry designers, ceramicists, painters, clothing designers, and printmakers, this book provides a behind-the-scenes look at the daily rituals and best practices that keep these creative entrepreneurs on track. With Q & As, insider tips, and DIYs from each maker, each page offers guidance and encouragement to artists just starting their careers and to professionals looking to take their creative business to the next level. Brimming with practical advice and inspiration, a recommended read for anyone interested in making it as a maker.
Broad Strokes: 15 Women Who Made Art and Made History (in That Order) by Bridget Quinn Historically, major women artists have been excluded from the mainstream art. Aligned with the resurgence of feminism in pop culture, this book offers an entertaining corrective to that omission. Art historian Bridget Quinn delves into the lives and careers of 15 female artists in text that’s smart, feisty, educational, and an enjoyable read. Full of beautiful reproductions of the artists’ works and contemporary portraits of each artist by renowned illustrator Lisa Congdon, this is art history from 1600 to the present day for the modern art lover, reader, and feminist.
Even though parts of Gordon Harper‘s Backlit Memories series takes place in winter, most pieces feel like a washed out summer day. No air conditioning, sweaty glasses of iced tea, as little clothing as possible and a fan whirring in the background. Harper’s quiet streets filled with vacant houses just about fade away with every stroke of his brush.
New Zealand’s Louise McRae‘s sculptural wall art uses discarded building materials that she paints and splits into smaller shards. Each piece ends up feeling as though it’s organically found its place among the hundreds of others.
It’s getting to be that time of year – RE: May through September – when my bathroom feels like the surface of the sun while drying my hair. To solve that little problem I avoid it as often as possible, and turn to wave sprays to avoid looking like a professional hobo. In the past I’ve tried more than I can count, all in the name of finding the perfect one for my fine mane. More often than not the answer has been a combination of two or more sprays working their magic together. Here are sixteen wave sprays you might want to add to your arsenal.
The world around us is forever changing, sometimes on its own and more often than not by human hands. Mya Kerner creates to capture these fleeting moments of vulnerability and balance.
My studies in permaculture revealed a new way of perception. I notice geological disruptions, moments and parts within the landscape; together, these notes present a segmented image of the whole. When I look out to the mountains, I see scratched lines breaking through the slopes, while flecks of white dapple on eroded surfaces, recalling cooler seasons. Light moves across planes, marking time with stretched and shortened shadows and form denotes the flow of water through rocky slopes. I record by drawing and writing in attempt to capture these moments of vulnerability, leaving the rest in the haze of lost memories. My concern for humanity’s precarious relationship with nature drives my exploration of the intricacies of terrain and the potential for balance through my material studies.
