friend of mine.

well hello there friend of mine.  when it comes to shoes, i'm usually more of a basics kind of girl, but every now and then i love to introduce a little crazy into the mix.  somehow these claw boots from friend of mine are the perfect combo - business in the front, party in the back - and by party i obviously mean giant golden talons.  get them from need supply here.

color study XV.

1. vanity fair book  2. irene neuwirth pink opal triangle earrings  3. d&g rubber watch  4. dreamcats calendar  5. anita fur jacket  6. studionostalgia pink oxfords  7. essie ballet slippers  8. miette cookbook  9. emilie lindsten  10. nelliana moth origami lampshade

note to self.

simple words of wisdom, courtesy of swiss artists fischli & weiss on an office building in zurich-oerlikon.

in love ... with escif.

i'm in love with escif, a street artist based in valencia, spain, whose highly illustrative style puts him more into the category of mexican muralists than it does of classic graffiti.  his striking use of muted color, black space, composition, and repeating symbols and characters becomes so recognizable that his work itself becomes his tag.  no matter how big or small, his style undeniably comes through.  what i love most about his paintings are how simple and restrained they are while having such a powerful impact on the space in which they inhabit, each one evoking a mood that is open to interpretation by the viewer.  he has more amazing work than i can begin to cover here, so check out his full collection of paintings on his flickr page.  i'm dying to go to valencia now just to experience all of these in person! 

plastic baskets.

i am loving these plastic baskets by artist josh blackwell, who transforms a seemingly disposable object into a work of art by embroidering intricate patterns using other waste materials.  the result is both beautiful and unexpected!  learn more about josh here.

pheasant.

i was first given the taste for backgammon at the tender age of 5, when one our neighbors who babysat me discovered that it was the best way to keep me distracted.  my love for the game remains strong, but this pheasant board by alexandra llewelyn might be a slightly more sophisticated version than the one i grew up on, with a walnut case and hand lacquered finishes.  see more from her collection here.

shadow puppets.

aside from the fact that i have already been in love with john derian, the master of decoupage, for a long while, the addition of his "shadow puppets" plates has made me very happy. i love the play between the delicate shapes of the hands and the slightly menacing shadows they create.  the series would look great on the wall in a kid's room!  explore more of the magical world of john derian here.

color study XIV.

1. selima optique yasmine 2. tarte cheek stain in flush  3. voluspa figue de bordeaux  4. current-elliott skinny leather jeans  5. madewell skyscraper shirtdress  6. ophelia ring  7. ld tuttle haunt wedge  8. jollytimeone smith corona  9. agadir twists rug  10. donna wilson beardy man plate

infra.

trying to pull my jaw up off the floor after seeing these gorgeous shots from photographer richard mosse's project infra.  taken in north kivu in the eastern congo, mosse's photos achieve their surprising pink hue with a type of obsolete film called aerochrome that reveals a spectrum of light not visible to the human eye.  the bright, saturated colors are an interesting juxtaposition to the tense political situations otherwise represented in the photos.  to quote a recent article by whitney johnson in the new yorker, "he aims to shock the viewer with this surprising bubblegum palette, and provoke questions about how we tend to see, and don't see, this conflict." richard, you've got my attention.  see more of his amazing work here.

kiva.

i'm loving these luxurious kiva platters by rablabs - natural hunks of stone offered in a mix of crystal, rose and emerald quartz, and calcedonia and then tipped in sterling silver or 24 karat gold.  they certainly don't come cheap, but that's the price you pay to feel like royalty.  cool royalty.  find them here.

schwarm.

this past weekend there was a feature in the new york times magazine on a collection of amazing bug vases entitled schwarm, a collaboration between dutch curator thomas eyck and german design duo RaR (comprised of beate reinheimer and ulrike rehm).  there are 10 porcelain models, each with approximately 6 different glazes, so for a full collection you would end up with 60+ unique and glorious insects crawling up your walls.   normally i'm a bit squeamish around bugs (the live kind, at least), but these are just the type of creepy crawlies that i can get down with.  learn more about schwarm here.

i've been thinking of you for a while.

i just came across these lovely type sculptures which are a collaboration between artists keetra dean dixon and jk keller.  the two pieces shown above, "i've been thinking of you for a while" and "become," respectively, are mind-bogglingly rendered from layers and layers of wax and acrylic paint, though they have the look and feel of a piece of ancient psychedelic rock.   i can't imagine how long this took, but damn was it worth it.  see more of their great work here and here.

warby parker / suno.

warby parker has collaborated with suno and you can get three classic styles in three amazing prints.  my pick would be the crawford in geo lanyard, pictured above.  get em all here.

basic house.

yes, martin azua, yes.  an inflatable gold cube balloon that fits in your pocket and can serve as shelter wherever you go.  genius. see more from martin here.

color study XIII.

1. super lucia brown stone  2.  free people chevron leather bracelet  3. hine grande champagne cognac 1928  4. canyon de chelly scarf  5. madewell striped lamppost sweater dress  6. rag & bone wool-felt fedora  7. national parks poster 1930s  8. crosley archive turntable  9. d.s. & durga my indian childhood  10. becca moon cody in london boot

penguin threads.

penguin has pretty much been knocking it out of the park with their book redesigns in recent years, and their latest series, penguin threads, is no exception.  i love books and i love embroidery, so these were more or less made for me.  the lady behind the design is jillian tamaki, an illustrator and cartoonist who hand-embroidered each cover, and the final book was then sculpt embossed to give it a real texture.  and that's not all - when you open the covers, you can even see the backs of the embroideries!  swoon.  buy the series at penguin and learn more about jillian here. 

mystic scarf.

this item isn't super new, but i think the recent episode of brian greene's the fabric of the cosmos i just watched has me re-hankering for this digitally printed christopher kane scarf.  i'll restrain myself from making any "out of this world" puns and just say that it's spectacular.  even if it may only be a hologram projected from a black hole. 

hello mr lentz.

even though the weather is transitioning away from warm afternoon picnics and long bike rides, i'm still dreaming of cruising the streets with this lovely wooden detachable bike stereo by etsy seller mr lentz.  each piece is made to order and has a built-in amplifier that turns your tinny smartphone tunes into something glorious.  and luckily it's so good looking that you can take it anywhere!  check it out here. 

color study XII.

1. be optimistic badge.  2. frederic malle carnal flower (my signature, when i can afford it).  3. nars jungle red lipstick.  4. the 100lb coal bag.  5. abici note bike.  6. whistles cleo 60s wool skirt.  7. lipten ruby eyes fox head earrings.  8. perspex ball clutch.  9. best made famous red axe and box.  10. m.t. sheahan 1906.  11. ban.do heart shoe clips.

scarfshop.

i'm loving these hand-dyed scarves by minneapolis-based scarfshop.  the beautiful color combos, the seemingly random application of color, the crinkly texture of the cotton - they're the perfect item to wrap up in for fall!

vintage camp invitations!

i am so stoked to finally share some pictures of another project i worked on last month - designing the wedding invitations for my good friends oliver and naya!  of course it doesn't hurt to work on a project for someone you already know, especially when they are planning an epic weekend-long wedding party set at a vintage summer camp, so there was no way this wasn't going to be fun.  naya and i have very similar color inclinations to begin with, a good starting point, but the rest of the inspiration really came from the camp itself - the rustic cabins are tipped in bright teal paint, and the archery targets pop out of the natural setting with their yellow, red and blue concentric circles.  vintage camp ephemera and signage also helped define the mood and typography choices. 

aside from the main invitation, everything was digitally printed, cut, and folded in house by me! the invite was printed on maple veneer by the lovely folks at cards of wood, located in western michigan.  the veneer is flexible, but sturdy enough to survive the journey that invites have to make through the mail, and the wood was a perfect material for the theme. the maple was nice because it had a distinct, noticeable grain that made each piece unique.

my favorite parts to work on were the fold-out map and wedding weekend checklist.  since this is a days-long event with loads of activities sprinkled throughout the gorgeous camp property, i thought it would be most fun to create a map and legend that guests could bring with them on their stay.  the layout was inspired by vintage travel postcards, though i took a more modern approach with the illustration itself.  for those staying at the camp, i created a small checklist with hand-drawn illustrations of the items needed to survive the weekend.  my favorite?  outdoor finery.  my feathery fascinator is lined up and ready to go.

last but not least, the icing on the invitation cake was a custom return address stamp, designed by me and made by los angeles based company paperwink (their made-to-order stamps are great as well!).  so now that the invites are out and there's less than a month to go, all i have left to do is sit back and look forward to the big event!  that, and practice my archery stance.  in heels.