Making Wooden Accents Seasonal

We’ve all seen the painted driftwood trend– it ushered in summer and complimented many jewelry, fashion and swim catalogs. Fast forward and it’s time to consider the evolution of this idea. Hombre and striped twigs can be appropriately styled for winter as well, with wool replacing paint and branches in place of castaway wood.

Not Tom designed the woolen hombre installation in collaboration with Loui Thomas. The driftwood mobiles are by ZeLape and the striped driftwood is from Zinke’s SS12 swim presentation.

January 17, 2013 | By: Shayna Kulik

Hunting for Homegoods in BA

Who here’s heard of Paul? Before heading to Buenos Aires, I knew nothing of this magical land of homegoods. After seeing it on many a friend’s Foursquare list and my own Fortnighter itinerary, I was determined to visit ‘the Merci of BA.’

The store is located off the main road down a peaceful gardened path. For the New York readers looking for a comparison, it has an ABC Carpet meets South American vibe throughout. It also feels a bit like Corso Como of Milan.

The home accessories are high-end, comfortable and air on the side of neutral. The patterns when enlarged are sketchy and imperfect, and when smaller are even prisms of geometry.

These knitted mounts are interesting. I’m not a fan of taxidermy, but this interpretation takes the edge off in a delicate way. They feel like creatures of the netherworld.

Everything’s mixed and matched with subtle embroidery, soft texture and screen-printed detailing. Though a star is a star is a star, I was still drawn to this Sabe Bonito pillow- it has a seasonless appeal that you just want to curl up and read a book on.

January 16, 2013 | By: Shayna Kulik

Nike's Latest & Greatest

A well-designed Nordstrom catalog arrived in my mailbox last night. It’s all about getting active, which couldn’t be more appropriate for January. While flipping though, admiring the type, model and copy layouts, I stopped short on pg 23. I present you with Nike’s latest and greatest: the Free TR Fit 3 Print training shoe. If I needed a new pair, I’d get them in purple and black.

January 15, 2013 | By: Shayna Kulik

Installations on a Budget

The title of this post reflects the current state of affairs in so many stores around town and abroad. After everything’s been spent on product, PR and marketing, the window budget is usually minuscule, unless maybe you’re LVMH, Anthropologie or Bergdorfs…

Talk to any artist or designer though, and they’ll be the first to tell you that limitations force creativity. The image above is one I love to reference- it’s a window display by Simon Doonan for Barneys when they filed for Chapter 11 in 1996. He scavenged the bathrooms for toilet paper, added lighting and created a monochromatic masterpiece.

Fast forward to today, and Turkish artist, Sakir Gökçebağ is wowing us with other innovative uses of this most common, everyday item.

There’s a elegant simplicity to his art that mimics computer infographics, particularly ones related to travel, wouldn’t you say?

January 14, 2013 | By: Shayna Kulik

Friday Quick Links!

1. How to build a rainbow igloo via Colossal
2. Beautiful illustrations from David Sala via Patternbank
3. Coveting Bryan Nash Gill’s woodcut notecards via Poppytalk
4. John Westmark incorporates sewing patterns into his art via The Artsy Forager
5. Love the little plant pots in Ghost Patrol’s “Made to Last” via The Design Files
6. Amazing cross-stitch installation at Patria Restaurant via design*sponge
7. Charmed by this kitty scarf from Leah Goren via Oh Joy
8. Geometric Bang! via booooooom
9. Hello, awesome! – 3D dinosaur cookie cutters via design-milk
10. Diggable DIY shell earrings via Honestly WTF
11. Intrigued by this series of Russia’s derelict churches via Present & Correct
12. Madame Peripetie’s dream sequence via Trendland

Contributed by Emily Gup

January 11, 2013 | By: Shayna Kulik

Half-Piped Installation with Leslie Friedman

Back in August, Leslie Friedman crowd-funded an interesting creative endeavor. She made a skate ramp composed entirely of collaged imagery relating to Jewish stereotypes, conspiracies, and myths. Now that that project’s over, she’s installed a compelling exhibit at the Jewish Community Center in Providence, RI.

I happen to be in town this week, so I was able to attend the opening last night. It was a treat and wholly impressive- the grand structure enlivens the room with over-sized flow, color and repetition. Curators take note- this would be a lively and modern addition to any museum entrance or grand hall.