studio {love} : commune (jp)

on a quest to find work that's mind boggling, i realized while reading the book by kenya hara entitled, "designing design" that sometimes inspirational design is not always about using the most craziest colors or making something that looks like it is part of another galaxy far far away. in fact, a lot of beautiful design is created by noticing details of existing pieces and tweaking them to present a new way of viewing the piece. for example, in the book there is a project which questions the shape of a toilet paper roll and asks "what if it was designed differently, how would it effect the product itself?" i won't go into details here as i wouldn't want to give anything away, but if you're interested to find out what kind of answer came out of the question, please do read the book. it's quite fascinating.

another designer was once saying that most things if not all things have already been 'created' and therefore, it's nearly impossible to create something 'new' and 'different' as most designers strive to do. i cannot say that i agree or disagree with this point of view, but i do believe that there are many things exisiting around us that if one were to revisit each 'thing' again and again, that there would be many new ways of creating that same object.

with this thought, i have always been mesmerized by design/designers who take this ideology and create something beautiful within our existing visual language. commune, a design studio located in hokkaido japan, somehow takes this idea to another level. their design work is a cross between nature + modern design. understated and yet, glows. it makes me think about life and noticing all the small details. their work gets me -really- excited.

// commune

product*obsession : bolon

while filipping through an interior design magazine, i found a beautiful photograph (above) that made me think about paper art + installation design, which i find very facinating. curious, i decided to investigate more into what this company was about and surprised to find out that it was a flooring company! i've always been a fan of flooring from flor to graphic rugs, but i had never heard of this type of product before... bolon, woven vinyl flooring.

after digging deeper into what this company was about, i was so delighted to find out about how they began and their beliefs towards the products produced.

"... located in the middle of the deep forests of ulricehamn, vastra gotaland, sweden... began in stockholm in 1949, when the grandfather... started to manufacture woven rag rugs using textile waste from the yarn factory and later on became plastic rugs..."

they have a beautifully designed catalog to enjoy while looking at their selection of woven vinyl flooring~ makes me think about other options for covering our cement floors....

// bolon

i want : j crew weddings & parties

with the wedding coming up, there have been so many things as far as preparation is concerned... save the date card, wedding invite, venue, photography, etc. i feel like a foreigner entering into a new country. but, i am enjoying the process and thankful to have friends who have been graciously helping with the process.

since i am a fan of martha stewart (as many of you might already know), i decided to educate myself and bought an issue of martha stewart weddings. i never thought that i would be one to say this as i've never really been into weddings, but now i could definitely see myself truly enjoying the idea of designing invites/cards/etc. for others~ such an important day for a couple and if i could help to create a memorable piece for them, the project would mean so much to me also.

so while flipping through the pages of gorgeous photography, mouth-savoring cakes and beautiful gowns, i came across this photography for j crew weddings. although i've only just begun to dress shop, this made me -want- to go out and find the perfect outfit for the wedding. so romantic and yet flirty. then i proceeded to their weddings & parties site and found so much more that i would -love- to purchase! that white suitcase~ although i'm sure will turn gray instantly is to die for~ and the dresses~~ oh my! i definitely am going to be bookmarking this page for future reference when looking for 'something to wear' to a wedding event.

// j crew weddings & parties

fashion*obsession : leifsdottir

i have been a follower of urban outfitters and their eclectic style of fashion, merchandising, store design, and philosophy for years. but as i grow older, i find myself really loving anthropologie. everything about this brand feels so right to me. i'm not sure why, but when i step into an anthropologie store, my body overcomes with joy. when i receive their catalog in the mail, i look through it over and over again and then keep it with all my other design books. every shoe, every bag, household goods, everything in that store.... i want.

then they had to take it up another notch. that sentence just reminded me of chef emeril lagasse when he adds his special spice to make his food 'magical'. i feel like that's what happened when this amazing company introduced their new line, leifsdottir.

let's just say, i am in love. oh how i wish i could win the lottery. i won't be greedy and say i want to win the largest prize. no. just enough for a spring shopping spree at anthropologie + leifsdottir. that's all. then i would be a happy girl... until summer that is.

// anthropologie + leifsdottir

studio {love} : nick bell design (UK)

during a trip to london, i was very fortunate to have been introduced to some studios through a gracious professor (whom i will definitely have to introduce in another blog post as her work is amazing!) and one of the studios that i had a chance to visit was nick bell design.

their office was located in an old industrial building, which also housed many other creative firms (product design, graphic design, etc.) and the energy was electrifying! i wanted to take a tour of the whole complex! the people who worked there were very friendly and shared projects designed by the studio. the work was very diverse and aesthetically different from what i usually design, which was great as it opened my eyes up to a new way of approaching projects.

one of the identities that they were working on at the time consisted of a logo that was hand illustrated and they explained how difficult it was to try and create a 'tree' logo that looked clear enough when it was sized down. each individual branch had to be retouched and redrawn to create the perfect balance between negative space and the image itself. when i viewed the logo in person, it was beautifully foil stamped into a dark colored cotton paper... the tree looked as if it was floating.

if you have a minute, go pop-by their website as they have downloadable .pdf's of their work that you can view during your coffee break. enjoy!

// nick bell design

i {heart} work : andrea tinnes + typecuts

since my type design class, i have been intrigued with the intricate + precise world of type. typography as a whole, i feel in a way, is like a religion. the more you learn about it, the deeper + more complicated the teaching becomes, but with each step you are enlightened, it feels as if you discovered a golden nugget of life-transforming information. people, myself included, might have never taken a moment to think about the individual letters that create our world of language and how each is designed. each curvature, delicate ornamentation, balance, etc. of a letter is carefully calculated, measured, looked at on a micro and macro level (and many other steps that i probably have no idea about) before outputted into the world.

thankfully there are many wonderful + highly talented type designers out there creating beautiful type, which allows us not only be able to choose from such a vast variety, but also enables one to be able to express themselves through the use of a particular typeface. as you can see, i really love type.

during my senior year in design school, while working on a type face, i was doing research on different type foundries and was introduced to andrea tinnes. i soon found out that i was a fan of her work without even knowing it was her! so shocked, i wrote her an email to tell her how i really enjoy her work and to my surprise, she wrote back to a stranger on the other side of the globe! she definitely won my heart. real, down to earth people doing amazing work. how can i not be a fan? perhaps you'll become a fan too.

// andrea tinnes + typecuts

studio {love} : handbuilt (us)

hello! i hope that you had an enjoyable weekend~ it's a cloudy evening here in LA tonight and the weather is getting quite cold (well, for LA standards that is...) :)

after receiving a message from my alma mater about a design symposium that is going to be happening soon, i was interested to see who would be speaking this year. although all the guests have amazing work and it definitely piqued my interest to attend, handbuilt's work not only made me interested, it captivated my attention for more than my usual five minutes.

beautiful, diverse work and yet there is a sense of cohesiveness~ of course, their hand 'aesthetic' just tickles my stomach.

// handbuilt