Event: Barneys Warehouse Sale

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Sample sales are commonplace in New York City. On an average Thursday you could be walking around midtown and pass by 5-10 handwritten signs beckoning you to enter. On the assumption that you’re even slightly adventurous, you decide to check it out and end up leaving with a garbage bag full of mark-down Tocca and Balmain. While some of these impulse buys may never see the light of day, the opportunity to own them is what gets shoppers excited. Today marks the start of Barney’s infamous week-long summer purge, otherwise known as their warehouse sale. For more info, check out their site.

August 20, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Retail: Plaid Toss

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It’s always fascinating when creative parallels emerge within unrelated markets. Vitra, a leading furniture concept store recently unveiled it’s Vegetal chair by suspending several black and white styles in their Meat Packing District windows. No more than two miles south, Burberry’s signature plaid has taken a similar route, by tossing it’s famous pattern in it’s Soho location window. This youthful touch looks like the work of Christopher Bailey, Burberry’s newish Creative Director. Merging plaid elegance with organic fast food, Sis. Deli + Café, a chain of restaurants in Helsinki, Finland, has proven that consumption and convenience can be effectively translated without bombarding the customer with incessant messaging.

August 19, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Trend: Casting Shadows

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Light will always be a source of inspiration. From free hand shadow puppets to mood-induced candle lighting, shadows have a way of revealing an alternate reality. Recently, we’ve been noticing an equal importance between objects and the shadows they cast. Maiko Takeda, an ’09 graduate from Central St Martins, recently applied this concept in her final academic project entitled, Cinematography Collection. Takeda’s jewelry casts an elaborate shadow upon the body, weaving organic movement with man made metals. Using a similar theory, Peter Burning’s ceiling lights project elaborate flower-like patterns on the surrounding wall space. Moving into the world of whimsy, Marc Philbert’s fashion photography is no stranger to light and patterns as he incorporates beautiful women with color and contrast.

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Light boxes can be easily crafted, as demonstrated on Design*Sponge this past December. Using canvas, paint and a creative concept, conversational or decorative art can make it’s way into your home. Taking this idea up a few notches, Jo Meesters, a Pattern Pulp favorite, has thrown a sophisticated spin on a would-be cabinet by converting it into an over sized light box.

Additional Contributions by: Emily Gup

August 19, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Trend: Digital Snacking

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Lately it seems that for Americans, life is delivered “on the go”. This style of living, most famously portrayed in the story, Fight Club, highlights the single serving lifestyle. “(The) Cordon Bleu hobby kit. Shampoo-conditioner combos, sample packaged mouthwash, tiny bars of soap, single serving friends.” While this trend was once attributed to the traveler on the go, it now characterizes consumption trends for a broader base of the population. Beyond the mini servings of cereal and 100-calorie packs of oreos, consumers are now snacking on their information as well. RSS feeds, text messaging, mobile apps, Twitter, and iPods all represent information, products and services that come in bite-sized packages that have been designed for flexible living and even disposable consumption.

This concept of splintered technology is conveyed through color in Bond No. 9’s summer window display. Each bottle of perfume is stacked in a tetris-like manner, reminding us of the infinite possibilities we must choose when devising a singular path. Jennifer Daniel, a graphic designer from the New York area is known for creating art as social commentary on the way we live our lives. This 404 illustration is the result of 36 unloadable images. In keeping with the spirit of the stirring mind, Propeller Modern, a home goods store based in San Francisco, sells this local work of art that reminds us of a topographical landscape compiled of “O’s” from every form of print media.

Additional contributions by: Kelsey-Lee LeGassick

August 17, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Quick Links: Weekly Notables

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1. Eternal Child’s bold mixture of prints and patterns, via Design Milk

2. Dentsu’s newspaper to new paper, via All the Mountains.

3. Interview with graphic designer Bianca Gomez, via Shiny Squirrel.

4. DIY block printed duvet, via Design*Sponge.

5. Instructions on how to make your own laptop sleeve, via Ars Technica.

6. Homemade potato chips double as artwork, via Luxirare.

7. PaPaYa’s workplace and the mix of patterns throughout, via Decor8.

8. Benjamin Shue paints with fabric, literally using pleated tulle, via Design Spotter.

9. Topographical relief patterns converted into jewelry and furniture, via Moco Loco.

10. Adorable pixel colored pencils, via Fred Flare.

11. Wallpaper designed specifically for boys, via If Its Hip Its Here.

12. Customizable wire cables, via Blog Da Jaeh.

Compiled by: Emily Gup

August 14, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik

Fashion: Shake Your Money Maker

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Santigold is one of our favorite pattern and pop culture mavens. Not only did she inspire our first post, we’re always amazed at the concoctions she throws together when going on stage, both lyrically and visually. It just so happens that Santi is the newest member of Nixon’s Women’s Program, a marketing initiative that fuses fashion, culture and music. Interestingly, Santi’s signature pose is cloaked in an 80’s style jumper that’s covered with money. We have to believe there’s a satirical element to this layout, similar to Jean-Charles de Castelbajac’s one dollar bill dress. With the economy on the tip of everyone’s tongue, creative reactions to our collective dependence on wealth are only a natural occurrence.

August 12, 2009 | By: Shayna Kulik