September 2014 - Design Crush

September 30, 2014

Checking In: September

Making : pile after pile of broken down cardboard packing boxes
Cooking : I’ve been on a breakfast sandwich kick (apple English muffin + egg + cheddar)
Drinking : (diet) lemonade
Reading : The Book of Life, the third book in the All Souls Trilogy
Wanting : fall to slow down already
Looking : for the perfect dining room table and chairs
Playing : old mixtapes
Deciding : whether I need to make another trip to Lowes today
Wishing : that this house could set itself up
Enjoying : reacquainting myself with my hometown
Waiting : to put up Halloween decorations for another week
Liking : the sight of the changing leaves
Wondering : how long it will take for this town to feel like home once again
Loving : all the help my family has been offering up as I get settled in
Pondering : how best to set up my office
Considering : when and where to buy this year’s pumpkins
Watching : Parenthood
Hoping : the headache I woke up with goes away soon
Marveling : at how much I love the local farmer’s market!
Needing : to go grocery shopping
Smelling : Bebe, who is laying next to me and desperately needs bathed
Wearing : my hoodie, constantly
Following : college football like whoa (Boomer Sooner!)
Wanting : a cheeseburger for lunch
Noticing : how the grass seems to grow slower here
Knowing : that I need to have a few electrical outlets upgraded asap
Thinking : about what to pack for the beach next weekend
Feeling : overwhelmed
Admiring : people who seem to juggle it all seamlessly
Sorting : through everything I’ve unpacked, trying to find its place here
Buying : washer, dryer, dishwasher, etc.
Getting : tired of spending money
Bookmarking : more articles than I have time to read, mainly about haunted stuff
Disliking : the slow process of setting up house
Opening : bills, bills, BILLS
Feeling : anticipation

Posted In my life

September 30, 2014

Sally Hewett

Sally Hewett creates these very minimal, very NSFW embroidered textile pieces of male and female erogenous zones that I’m openly enamored with. In the hands of another artist this type of project could easily go awry, but Sally manages to give it a sweet and charming undertone that doesn’t go unnoticed.

Posted In create, textiles

September 29, 2014

Spiced Apple + Granola Parfaits

I can’t even tell you just how fantastic it feels to get back into the kitchen after months of packing and feeling so out of sorts during the move. But it feels so, so good. This recipe for Spiced Apple + Granola Parfaits are actually the first thing I’ve made in my new kitchen. They couldn’t be easier to pull together at a moment’s notice, and make a great stand-in for breakfast if I say so myself. Ahem. Hop over to Wayfair for the full (super-easy) recipe.

Posted In recipes

September 29, 2014

BOUND

We can all thank an excess of wood scraps and an interest in furniture design for what resulted in BOUND, a breathtaking geometric line of wooden jewelry from Emma Holland Denvir. Architectural lines, an interest in sculpture, and 3D design also play roles in the evolution of Emma’s necklaces, earrings, and rings. If you want to make a statement with your accessories this fall, BOUND is the place to start!

Posted In jewelry, wear it

September 26, 2014

Happy Weekend

01/ Who says junk isn’t beautiful? The First Law of Kipple will show you in gradient fashion.
02/ A visual project exploring just what it means to be emotionally available.
03/ Well-executed “birth control” work from Julia Blackburn for Planned Parenthood.
04/ Giant copper orbs that show just how much metal comes from a mine.
05/ Pantone-inspired beer packaging from Txaber.
06/ Portraits of five men who participated in the Manhattan Project – in match form.
07/ A vertically-designed Ikea apartment you can climb!
08/ Before/After takes a look at hardcore metal band members before + after performing.
09/ Just what chemicals give autumn’s leaves their color?
10/ These beautiful knives only need sharpened once every 25 years. WHOA.

This week on Design Crush:
Happy go lucky animal illustrations by Kathy Lam.
Remixing a classic – lasagna 10 ways.
Storybook-ready illustrations by Isabelle Arsenault.
A super smart flat water bottle design, check out memobottle.
Beautiful minimal, geometric jewelry pieces from Rebecca Gladstone.
Tips+tricks for the dreaded act of moving house.
Thean’t be beat AW14 home collection from Ferm Living.
Six of my favorite additions to Design Crush the Marketplace!

Posted In ads, collaboration/project, create, grand design, graphics, happy weekend, house and home, installation, kitchen, mixed media, package, photography, street

September 26, 2014

The Marketplace: September

I’ve added a lot of great pieces to The Marketplace over the past month, especially in the Wear It and House Goods categories. You should definitely pop over to take a look, and if you aren’t already following @designcrush on Twitter do because you might catch a promo for free shipping!

Now that fall has hit us – okay, some of us more than others – I’m ready for spots of bright color in unexpected places. The above yellow shibori tea towel by Kristen Chandler has been such a happy spot in my kitchen for the past month. It’s a great size and the material is just the right thickness and absorbency.

Since moving I’m still in the process of framing the most recent additions to my art collection. Fading Lake Day by Lisa Golightly (one of my all-time favorite artists) has been sitting on the windowsill in my dining room for the time being and catches the best light every afternoon, a good match for Lisa’s washed out style.

Speaking of my new place, one of the first things I like to do after a move is do my very best to make it smell familiar. Like me, not its previous occupants. Wildfolk has an incredible line of eco-conscious, GMO-free, soy wax candles that are packaged the nicest recycled amber glass jars. I’ve been burning this night jasmine.

This Hapi Raw Silk Tray by Kristi Kohut is quite sturdy (perfect for this clumsy girl) and so pretty. I love the versatility of the 12 x 12″ size, I’ve been using it for my afternoon snack every day but plan on using it on my dresser as well!

And while we’re on the topic of snacks, this set of two walnut and beech double stripe snack bowls by Araya Jensen has made quite a few late night trips out to the living room full of dry roasted almonds (fine, and maybe a few kernels of candy corn). The natural woods and earthy tones also make them fantastic for fall entertaining.

This petit wood bud vase by Melanie Abrantes has been working overtime lately. It’s just the smallest, most perfect piece to hold a single bud that there ever was and the farmer’s market blooms I pick up on Saturdays have been keeping it busy.

Posted In accessories, create, house and home, kitchen, painting, paper goods, prints, the marketplace

September 25, 2014

Ferm Living’s AW14 Collection

I look forward to Ferm Living‘s new collections just about more than any other. They’re always perfectly put together because, well, those Danes just know what they’re doing when it comes to design. The autumn/winter collection for 2014 is full of fantastic use of sparse color and lines, as well as a few crazy patterns used with restraint.

Posted In accessories, furniture, house and home, kitchen, office, storage

September 24, 2014

Tips&Tricks: Moving

Having just completed a move that took me halfway across the country, I can openly admit that I wish I’d read some of these tips and tricks on the task ahead of time. (Especially on having the essentials on hand in case of the unpredictable!) What’s your best tip and/or trick for relocating, be it one block or 1,000 miles?

How to move long distances with houseplants.

The one thing almost everyone gets wrong when moving into a new home.

Four reasons why moving is pretty awesome.

Make a kitchen moving care package.

How to physically and spiritually cleanse a new home.

The moving survival box: Kitchen Edition.

No ordinary move-in essentials box.

Posted In tips + tricks

September 24, 2014

Rebecca Gladstone Jewellery

The only thing that makes a gorgeous minimalist jewelry collection better is when there’s a beautifully styled and photographed lookbook to heighten the experience. Such is most definitely the case with Rebecca Gladstone Jewellery. The clean lines, graphic elements, and geometric forms of the collection are indicators of Gladstone’s past as an art and design teacher – wouldn’t you say?

Sterling Silver Mountain Stud // Sterling Silver Half-Moon Necklace // Sterling Silver Square Stacking Rings

Posted In jewelry, wear it

September 23, 2014

memobottle

For years during college and post grad I carried around a water bottle, day in and day out. I always carried a messenger bag jammed full of too many things, but refused to do that thing people do where they attach their water bottle to the strap on the outside. I’m wondering how it took so long for someone to design this genius version – check out memobottle. It’s slim, BPA free, dishwasher friendly, and resembles the shape of various pieces of paper (specifically Letter, A4, and A5 sizes). The project is currently kicking ass and taking names on Kickstarter where its blown its initial goal completely out of the water.

Posted In grand design, house and home, kitchen