March 2018 - Design Crush

March 31, 2018

March Favorites

1/ Birthday Box: Twenty Birthday Cards
This box of twenty birthday cards created by five different artists has saved my butt not once, but twice this month alone. Every single one is gorgeous and printed on thick paper stock, so it won’t look like you forgot to pick up a card.

2/ Case Study Table Top Diamond with Wood Stand
I adore Case Study’s ceramics and own about five of their planters. This one is the perfect size for a kitchen table or countertop.

3/ Petit Collage 5pc Mealtime Set (Dinosaurs)
Petit Collage offers the best modern designed children’s toys and decor, and it’s al sustainably made. I picked up a few things for two of my cousins’ birthdays this month, including this mealtime set. Get 15% off your purchase with code DESIGNCRUSH.

4/ Kristen Ess The One Signature Shampoo and Conditioner
I took some travel sizes of these along when I had to travel last month and really fell in love with the way they made my hair feel. The scent is more powerful than most hair products I’ve tried, but I don’t dislike it and feel like it helps cover any second day hair smell.

5/ MyChelle Lip Hints
These conditioning lip balms have been valuable players in keeping my dry winter lips moisturized. The light tints are a nice added bonus.

6/ Sqwishful Pop Up Sponges
These guys are 100% renewable plant-based, 100% biodegradable, and compressed to reduce their carbon footprint. And they come in a fun shape.

7/ Striped Knit Crop Jumpsuit
Wish you could wear your pajamas all day? Get this jumpsuit. Not only does it make you look super pulled together, but I guarantee lots of compliments will follow. (Note: I’m 5’2″ and it fits to my ankles, not cropped.)

Posted In accessories, beauty bag, cards, create, favorites, house and home, kids, kitchen, living, paper goods, series, style, wear it

March 30, 2018

Sarah Greaves

A vibrant installation of ancient Armenian images, embroidered wooden scupltures, zoomorphic creatures, and soundscapes. A collection that uses embroidery to vandalize everyday objects with emotive, political, and thoughtful text. A pseudo kitchen where fridges, doors, food, and sinks become the canvases for hidden thoughts. Sarah Greaves elevates everything she touches to the next level of thought and emotion.

Posted In create, installation, textiles

March 29, 2018

Too Legit to Quilt

Aside from having a brilliant tongue-in-cheek shop name, Dre McLeod of Too Legit to Quilt creates some super badass custom patches and textiles. You can opt for a patch on its own or even buy a jacket. She uses mostly repurposed fabrics, and the garments are always purchased secondhand which I definitely applaud.

Posted In create, style, textiles, wear it

March 29, 2018

Wardrobe Snacks

Photographer Kelsey McClellan and prop stylist Michelle Maguire first met back in 2013 while working on a recipe book. Their collaborative series, Wardrobe Snacks, evolved out of observing how people eat when they are away from tables.

Michelle’s stepdad who rests his sandwich on his thigh (hell with a plate!) in between bites while he blasts an action movie on his TV; a commuter cramped up on a crowded bus retrieving an item from a bag or pocket; a lunch-breaker on a park bench eating from her lap. They’re informal — perhaps even a bit awkward — spaces as far as eating is concerned, yet the diner always appears to be comfortable and perfectly satisfied with his chosen snack, almost zen-like.

Shop Wardrobe Snacks

Posted In collaboration/project, create, photography

March 28, 2018

Carrot Cake 15 Ways

To me carrot cake is irrevocably tied to spring as the perfect transitional sweet – am I alone here? It’s like the hope of warm weather that’s to come all tied up with a bow and (in most cases) a layer of cream cheese icing. The classic flavors involved can be incorporated into more than just cake too, delicious dishes like scones, oatmeal, and a gin fizz to name a few. Check out all fifteen takes on carrot cake below!

Posted In food, living, recipes, round up, series

March 28, 2018

Nobel Truong’s Acrylic Plants

If warmer weather hasn’t quite reached you yet, consider Nobel Truong‘s acrylic plants. The extensive line features translucent cacti, lamps, leaves, and other accessories inspired by Bauhaus architecture and the Memphis Group. Check out Truong’s shop to bring a piece home!

Posted In create, living, outdoors, sculpture

March 27, 2018

Omoshiro Block

The Omoshiro Block – or fun block – uses laser-cutting technology to create what is a hidden object in disguise. At first glance it’s just a square cube of notepaper, but as the paper is used an object begins to appear! Make your way through all of the paper to excavate it.

Posted In create, house and home, living, office, paper goods

March 27, 2018

Jared Small

Jared Small has always been captivated by the decaying homes and rundown neighborhoods of the Southeast United States. Despite socioeconomic shifts and exterior facelifts, their bones remain the same.

The center of each painting focuses on a painstakingly accurate image of a house or individual while the background dissolves into abstract elements that devise an emotional and dramatic interpretation of the subject. This technique allows Small to hypnotize the viewer into a dream-like state, caught between the realities of the obvious image and the possible mysteries that lay beneath the surface.

Posted In create, painting

March 26, 2018

Xenia Taler

Xenia Taler‘s casually refined lifestyle goods have an undeniable signature look that draws you right in. My favorite pieces in her shop at the moment is this collection of geometric incense holders that are handmade in Canada. Each one has a cork bottom to protect surfaces and wipes clean with a cloth.

Posted In accessories, create, house and home, living

March 26, 2018

Cody Cobb

I’ve been overdue a grand adventure for some time now, and photographer Cody Cobb‘s landscapes have me daydreaming on overdrive. Through his work Cobb strives to capture small moments of stillness in nature.

For weeks at a time, Cobb wanders the American West alone in order to fully immerse himself in seemingly untouched wilderness. This isolation allows for more sensitive observations of both the external landscape as well as the internal experience of solitude.

Through subtle arrangements of light and geometry, the illusion of structure appears as a mystical visage. These portraits of the Earth’s surface are an attempt to capture the emotion of the land as much as the topography.

Posted In create, photography