License plate design is clearly very niche, very design by committee, and very bad. Usually. As the folks behind the State Plates Project say, “Over the past 50 years, the American license plate has taken a turn for the worst. We’re here to change that.” Fifty designers, fifty states, fifty license plates I wish were the real deal.
01/ Graham McGeorge captures owls perfectly camouflaged within trees.
02/ The 12 most popular New Year’s Resolutions turned into posters by Viktor Hertz.
03/ Memo Bank is both piggy bank and memo pad.
04/ Warby Parker’s Make Your Own Annual Report does just that.
05/ A conceptual iTunes redesign by Brye Kobayashi.
06/ Would you dare to use a transparent canoe?
07/ Jurassic Sweet is a series of half-dinosaur, half-treat creatures.
08/ A giant balloon shaped like an old man’s head was flown over Japan.
09/ The Belty is self-adjusting (think Thanksgiving) and nags you about your weight.
10/ A breathtaking snowstorm in the Grand Canyon.
This week on Design Crush:
Eight crush-worthy prints to mix up this month.
So impressed with Makrbox, a Pacific Northwest-filled subscription box.
Beautiful illustrations from Amyisla McCombie.
I teamed up with Target to make my entry winter-ready.
Dark and lovely work from Nina Torr (aka Andy Wyeth).
I’d love to fill my wrists with these painted leather Mixed Doubles bracelets.
Morgana Wallace captures fantastical characters in layers of paper.
Add some color to your space with Mod Pieces.
Work from the mysterious Olivier Umecker.
Design Crush elsewhere:
January is the perfect time to clean out your kitchen linens and invest in some new ones.
It might be cold outside, but your home can be downright tropical indoors.
01/ Processed Views creates crazy colorful landscapes using junk food.
02/ stunningly beautiful photographs of the mass migration of animals.
03/ The big guy in red, aka Santa, got a makeover from the designers at Joint London.
04/ Strap on a Circlet Bracelet and turn your arm into a touchscreen device!
05/ People of the Twenty-First Century highlights covertly captured street style over 20 years.
06/ The Fairy Post Office is hidden inside a tree in an Orinda, California park.
07/ Marija Puipaite shapes stools using her own legs.
08/ How chic is this carrara marble Ovo speaker?
09/ Honey, I’m Home is such a smart, symbolic concept for a key holder.
10/ The Twelve Beards of Christmas is pretty magical.
This week on Design Crush:
I’m daydreaming about escaping for a holiday getaway to one of these Cabins.
Good news – you’re invited to Christmas Brunch!
Lovely, ethereal collage work by Beth Hoeckel.
I created a fast and fun holiday candy buffet for holiday visitors!
The last of our four part holiday card coverage.
Gorgeous dhurrie rugs from OYYO (and a great lookbook, too).
Twelve more 2015 calendars to get you thinking about the new year.
Geometric wood art by Alex Morrison.
The tastiest breakfast comfort food – cinnamon rolls 10 ways.
Download these 22 holiday printables!
Design Crush elsewhere:
Make your winter home merry and bright with yellow decor.
01/ Symmetry for Breakfast is exactly what you’d expect.
02/ A lake in the High Tatras Mountains of Slovakia froze crystal clear.
03/ Frameworks One is a backlit picture frame that lets any photo on your phone become artwork.
04/ The Garden Bridge is a proposed elevated walkway park that would cross the River Thames.
05/ On the Wings of Freedom features hundreds of interactive butterflies controlled by smartphone.
06/ A fabric-like, moveable, 4D printed dress made with Kinematics.
07/ No fireplace, no problem. Choose from one of many digital designs on Yule Log 2.0.
08/ The world’s first glow-in-the-dark bike path is inspired by Van Gogh’s Starry Night.
09/ The world is full of Boring/Useless Superheroes.
10/ Chateau de Rentilly is a French country house re-clad with polished mirror surfaces.
This week on Design Crush:
You have until Sunday evening to enter our 24 Merry Days giveaway – win $300 to spend at Anthropologie!
Deck the tree with these 20 favorite ornaments.
Beautiful ceramics from Suite One Studio.
Check out 12 December DIYs that would also make amazing gifts.
Bright and hazy paintings by Leon Berkowitz.
Bake up these 25 cookie swap recipes for the holidays… or a Saturday.
Sent off your holiday cards yet? I’ve received a whopping five.
Crushing on these unconventional paintings by Liz Markus.
Take a peek at 20 holiday DIYs with some modern flair.
Only a few weeks left in 2014 – can you believe it?! Get ready for the new year with a 2015 calendar.
Lovely abstract photographs of Kim Keever‘s paint and water experiments.
Design Crush elsewhere:
Jojotastic and I did a sweet little gift exchange with Giftabl!
I shared my holiday wish list on Design is Mine.
01/ Go minimals this December with a nativity set of wooden blocks.
02/ Spy on classic authors’ American homes on Google Maps.
03/ Here’s what a tattoo looks like really, really close up.
04/ Move over ugly Christmas sweaters, it’s time for the ugly Christmas suit.
05/ The plans for Pier 55, a floating park over the Hudson River, look beautiful.
06/ Food Ministry’s Cake in a Can… for cake eating emergencies.
07/ Gumhead is a sculpture in Vancouver made to be covered in chewing gum.
08/ Dried scotch turns into interstellar landscapes in Vanishing Spirits.
09/ Stephen Orlando captured the motions of kayaking and canoeing in light paintings.
10/ Need some alone time? Meet the Nutshell.
This week on Design Crush:
Are you following along with 24 Merry Days? Twenty-four bloggers are doing giveaways for 24 days this month.
Drake General Store x Design Crush is giving away a cherry-picked prize pack worth a whopping $1,000!
Check out eight art prints I’ve got my eye on this month.
Crushing on the ceramic work of RedRaven Studios.
Time to start fresh with some clean stockings this Christmas?
The wall hangings of artist Heather Levine are stunning.
More holiday cards, just in case you have yet to pick yours out!
This monthly art subscription – Papirmass – is perfect for the art lover on your list.
Showstopping hand-painted wallpaper from Voutsa.
2015 calendars, part 5 to get you ready for January!
Sharing the last room on the first floor of my home, the kitchen.
A bevy of drinks for holiday entertaining and coping – Happy Alcoholidays!
Design Crush elsewhere:
Shiny brass accents are where it’s at!
Resin and wood simply has to be one of the most beautiful material pairings. Marcel Dunger‘s conceptual line of jewelry combining the two brings together broken pieces of maple and brightly colored bioresin to create something so simple, yet incredibly eye-catching. Looking forward to keeping track of this project and seeing if it (fingers crossed!) comes to fruition as a purveyed set of goods.
(via The Fox is Black)
Posted In concept, create, mixed media, wood
01/ I hate zoos, so Zootopia sounds like an fascinating concept.
02/ Every bus stop should be as fantastic as this typographic version in Baltimore.
03/ In case you’d like to jump off of the world’s largest suspension bridge, well, you can.
04/ If you haven’t seen Justina Blakeney’s floral portraits check out her Instagram!
05/ No big deal, just a wall built out of Jell-o and plaster.
06/ Reading Between the Lines is a see-through church constructed of 100 layers.
07/ Kids fight off scary monsters in Laure Fauvel’s Terruers.
08/ The eerie innards of America’s abandoned sanitariums.
09/ Pitbulls get such an undeserved bad rap, Flower Power shows off their softer side.
10/ Can you guess what these paper masks are made out of?
This week on Design Crush:
Trust me when I say you need to enter our Rebecca Atwood giveaway for TWENTY chances to win a set of her incredible throw pillows!
We did crepes 10 ways.
Check out Carly Waito‘s painted gems. Yes, painted.
Michael Afsa creates some incredibly detailed metal works that I’d like to crawl inside of.
This month’s mix is out – Mixtape #39: Everything I Do I Do in Slow Motion. Have a listen.
Another Country explores home goods designed with British country kitchen, Shaker, Scandinavian, and Japanese influences.
What happens when 19th century French poets meet American rappers? Kate Gavino shows us.
I’ll be teaching at next month’s Alt for Everyone – will you be joining me??
This sleek metal swinging love seat would look great on the porch of the new house!
Design Crush elsewhere:
What do you think about the rose gold trend??
We’re offering FREE SHIPPING on everything in Design Crush: The Marketplace through the end of the week!
We’re also hosting a flash sale on the paintings of Kuzana Ogg to fund her next few exhibitions.
01/ It might be a digital rendering, but how great are these typographic office cubicles?!
02/ A ten foot tall origami elephant!
03/ Maps of the world created with iconic foods of their countries and continents.
04/ These sculptural crystal orbs might be the solution to climate change.
05/ A mayoral candidate is proposing turning abandoned Paris subway stations into more.
06/ Artist Echo Yang turns obsolete devices in Autonomous Machines that create art.
07/Facades reduces buildings to only their face.
08/ Check out two artists living in a giant hamster wheel in In Orbit.
09/ An updated twist on old-time school punishment in Vices, or I Will Not…
10/ Awkward meets hot as twenty strangers were asked to kiss in First Kiss.
This week on Design Crush:
If you haven’t yet listen to Mixtape #34: There Was a Midnight Call, perfect weekend tunes.
I started some spring updates by adding some relaxing Minted art to the master bedroom.
Bright and beautiful textiles that do good from Elephant Landing.
My first attempt at Irish Soda Bread was a delicious success!
Responsibly well-made home goods from Katy Skelton.
Eight things I’d like to add to my walls in Prints: March Edition.
We’re celebrating Pi Day with 10 pie recipes!
New blog fodder for you – 1-2-3 blogs I love.
I’m bragging about my pets with Kolo’s Noci photo book.
This weekend is your last chance to enter our mega-giveaway with Drake General Store! Win $1,000 worth of their favorite products.
Posted In concept, create, grand design, happy weekend, installation, mixed media, paper, video
Christmas Eve seemed an exceptionally appropriate time to share these pieces from Still. Take time to reflect on the beauty of the simple things in life and the wonders of the world.
(Most of Still’s pieces are available for purchase or licensing.)
Posted In accessories, concept, create, house and home, photography
01/ The Shoot Pool Slide is the only pool slide I’ve ever been jealous of.
02/ An infinite real-life stairway to heaven.
03/ Detailed portraits created from thousands of hammered nails.
04/ A concept for a futuristic airport located on the River Thames in London.
05/ Beautiful mirrored infinity rooms.
06/ The 13 chairs that were never painted in The Last Supper.
07/ Do tears of joy and sorrow look different under a microscope?
08/ If you’ve lived in NYC, you know. Priceless reactions of people being slept on in the subway.
09/ Swarms of everyday objects that almost look alive.
10/ Popular internet cats embroidered on shirts!
This week on Design Crush:
Modern, timeless jewelry from Isobell. (And a 15% discount!)
Plenty of holiday cards in part 2 and part 3 of our roundups.
Perfect gifts from Baba Souk! (And another 15% discount!)
Forty-eight cocktails to get you through Alcoholidays 2013.
Giving thanks with photographer Jessie Askinazi.
24 Merry Days is back this year! 24 days, 24 bloggers, 24 giveaways beginning December 1st!
I hope all of our U.S. readers had a Happy Thanksgiving!
See how my month went via Insta November.