Thinking About Burma

Today's Red Shirt for Burma event was an all day reminder of the current worrying situation there. I've been keeping updated on the latest breaking news via the Buddhist Channel (as well as other sources such as the Guardian and the BBC), and I encourage you to do the same. Shown here is a Burmese Seated Buddha dating from the Pyu period (8th–early 9th century), in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A Minor History of Miniature Writing

In a recent issue of Cabinet magazine, Joshua Foer examined a fascinating sidelight in the history of the written word in his article A Minor History of Miniature Writing. Read it here. Shown at left is a Sumerian cuneiform clay tablet from 2060 BC, measuring 1 5/16 inches by 1 5/8 inches––the earliest known example of miniature writing. (Collection of The Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana)

Home Sweet Work

The Balcom Agency in Texas recently took a long, hard look at their work surroundings (standard office fare of white walls and grim little cubicles) and realized that it didn't at all reflect the creativity of the people who worked there (not to mention the decor was really getting everyone down). Grace of Design*Sponge reports that in an interesting move, the management decided to let the employees redo their own spaces, "...giving each employee a $300 allowance (some used additional funds of their own) plus a new desk and new chair to redo their cubicles. Cassie (one of the employees) said that at first they thought it might end up looking like a carnival, but they all were pleasantly surprised." Have a look at the inspiring results at the Design*Sponge website.

The Trade Card Place

The Trade Card Place recently created a permanent, on-line Reference Library of articles about various aspects of trade cards and trade card collecting, dating from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Illustrator Amy Crehore notes on her blog that this is "... an incredible resource for artists or anyone who loves Victorian illustration, humorous advertising and the color lithography of the late 1800's." She's so right––it's fascinating stuff. Have a look here. Check out Amy's blog here. Via boingboing.

Fall Promo

The Fall 2007 promo mailer has just arrived from the printer! If you're an art director, art buyer and/or designer and would like to receive one, please send me an email and I'll mail one out to you ASAP.

Wall Type

I love the typography used in old store signs, and recently started collecting carved wooden letters. This is what I'd do if and when I get a sizeable collection. Photo from LivingEtc, via Black Eiffel.

Utne Reads Burnt Toast

The Fall 2007 issue of Burnt Toast magazine (with a cover and inside illo by me) has a nice review in From the Stacks, the Utne Reader's online highlight "... of 1,500 magazines, newsletters, journals, weeklies, zines, and other lively dispatches from the cultural front that are rarely found at big-box bookstores, newsstands, or even online." See the Utne Reader review here.

The Sartorialist

One of my favourite blogs to visit, The Sartorialist started out as a personal project for fashion industry insider Scott Schuman, featuring his own candid photos (and expert commentary) of stylishly dressed people encountered on the street in his home town of New York. It's now blossomed into something of a phenomenon––still street photos, but now they're also the streets of Paris, Stockholm, Milan, London and more as The Sartorialist travels on assignment for some of the biggest fashion magazines out there. But wherever he is, he stays true to finding good style, whether it's flea market vintage or designer cool. Truly inspiring.

Three-Pronged Chopsticks

Introduced at The Milan International Home Show (which wrapped up last Friday), these three legged chopsticks are the tableware equivalent of a bicycle with training wheels, designed for those who find using regular chopsticks a challenge. Via eternallycool.net.

The Bible All-Stars CD Release Party

My brother Greg's band, The Bible All-Stars, will be hosting a CD release party at the fabled Dominion Tavern (33 York Street) on Saturday September 8. They'll be joined by local bands 90lbs of Ugly and Lucky Ron, so it looks to be a stellar night--be sure to get there early to get in!

You can read some great press about the band here. The fab poster for the show is by Tim Huesken.

Breakfast Portraits

Los Angeles-based photographer Jon Huck has an intriguing series on his website called Breakfast. Each work features a portrait accompanied by a photo of what that person ate for breakfast. Surprisingly intimate, and a little window into the personalities of the people photographed. See the series here. On the left is Camilla. Via yumsugar.

Retro New

It's designed to look like a 1950's vintage record player, but the TCU-350SD by Japan's Scitec not only plays your old vinyl records, but also CDs, music from your iPod, iPhone or other media player--plus it has an AM/FM radio, too. One of its nicest features is being able to record from vinyl and CD into MP3 format. Perfect for the mid-century modern home. More info here. Via the raw feed.

Book Trade Labels

A gallery of book trade labels, courtesy of Greg Kindall of Seven Roads. Greg writes, "Anyone who handles old books will have come across these small and sometimes beautiful labels pasted more or less discreetly into the endpapers. Publishers, printers, binders, importers, distributors and sellers of books -- new, second-hand and antiquarian -- used to advertise in this way their contribution to bringing the book to market." View the collection here. Shown here is a book trade label from the collection of Donald Francis. Via Design Observer.