Atelier: Cy Twombly

Love Cy Twombly's work, so it's always wonderful to come across one I've never seen before. Perfect.

(via here)

Monday

A quiet corner to start your week gently. Have a lovely one.

(image via esther de groot)

Sponsored Post: Minted

The lovely stationery and wall art site Minted recently invited me to choose my favourite pieces from their collection of art by independent designers — something I was more than happy to do as there are so many great images to choose from. Here's a few of my favourites — find more here.

art credits: magnolia moonlight, joni tyrrell, j. bartyn, yao cheng, sylvieceres designs, lori wemple, kelly money, stacey meacham.


Thanks again to Minted. Please note that all opinions are mine. And thanks so much for reading this sponsored post — by doing so you help make automatism possible. 

Meet the Sponsor

I'm very excited to introduce you to new automatism sponsor Restyle, which makes beautiful retro posters and art prints inspired by classic Scandinavian design. Just gorgeous. Find more here.

Buffet

This week's links. Enjoy.

Cloud: An Indoor Thunderstorm
This is so cool — multidisciplinary designer Richard Clarkson's Cloud creation is an interactive light shaped like a cumulous cloud. Based on external input (remote control or motion sensors) it simulates a thunderstorm both in light and sound. Follow the link to see it in action.

Cape Town Eclectic
Take a tour over at sfgirlbybay of the truly beautiful home of South African interior stylist Shelly Street — love its serene white walls and floors, perfectly setting off her collection of lovely natural objects and mid century furniture.

Taking the Oblong View
Rebecca Willis muses on what she considers the most useful summer garment of all — that simple rectangle of cloth, the sarong.

The Edible ABCs
This is so sweet. Designer Tommy Perez is teaching his two year old daughter Zöe the alphabet, but with a twist — he creates edible letters. Check out his slide show of delicious lessons made from foods that Zöe likes, such as A (drawn with applesauce) to K (kale!) to R (rice krispies squares). See more of Tommy's great work on his instagram account, too.

13 Minimalist Movie Posters
Test your knowledge of classic films with this fun slide show of very minimalist movie posters (thankfully with hints). 

Without You I'm Nothing
Fascinating long read over at The Believer about the autobiographies of women who loved 60's and 70's rock stars, and their struggles to deal with the glare of their partners' fame — and to move beyond being mere historical footnotes and become individuals. Some, like Marianne Faithfull, eventually made it — others, sadly, weren't so lucky.

Marge Simpson Makeup
And now in fun beauty news — MAC has just created a 10-piece makeup collection inspired by cartoon style icon Marge Simpson. Previews indicate it'll be a bright palette including Beehive Blue, the exact shade of Marge's gravity defying hair.

Morning, Noon or Night Salad
Created by Sarah Tuck of the utterly lovely From the Kitchen blog, this fresh and easy salad works for breakfast, lunch or dinner, is filled with good things and a snap to make — spinach leaves, soft buffalo mozzarella, avocado, tomatoes, proscuitto, fresh basil and a poached egg.

(photo by vipp via hannahs room)

And ...

Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians! Have a wonderful day off, celebrating with family and friends.

(vintage 1948 canadian greyhound travel poster via the canadian design resource)

Atelier: Vintage 1930's Ads

Love these vintage ads over at Bibliodyssey, taken from two early 1930's issues of the commercial art magazine Modern Publicity. More here.

(all images via bibliodyssey)

An Editor's Office

With only four rooms in their apartment, director of Elle Decoration South Africa Laureen Rossouw and her partner opted to dedicate one room as an office/library — it's here that they keep all the objects of an interesting life. Art, books, music, magazines, souvenirs from their extensive travels — all go here, while the rest of their space is kept minimalist and tranquil. Such a creative environment. More info here on Elle Decor España. More photos of her office here.

Atelier: Japanese Poster Designs

Love these beautiful posters by contemporary Japanese artists, taken from the collection of Takushoku University Arts Library. Just stunning. More here on Bibliodyssey.

(credits, from top to bottom: Yoshio Hayakawa [1995]; Tadanori Yokoo [2001]; Kohei Sugiura [1992]; Tadanori Yokoo [2000]; UG Sato [1983]; Kohei Sugiura [1983]; Kazumasa Nagai [1988])

Buffet

This week's links. Enjoy.

Small Lofts With Big Ideas
Dwell has a great slide show of 7 space-saving lofts that make the most of minimal square footage. Inspiring. 

Five Overlooked Silent Films
Really interesting list of lesser known silent films that deserve a look (and sound like they have fascinating histories as well). 

Coen Brothers Movies as Gig Posters
This is fun — Little White Lies, an independent UK-based movie magazine, commissioned 7 original silk screen posters from 7 local artists that reimagined classic Coen brothers movies as gig posters. Great design and illustration.

The Top 10 Locked Room Mysteries
From Wilkie Collins to Agatha Christie, thriller writer Adrian McKinty picks his favourite locked room novels. Perfect reading for cold winter nights.

The Forgotten Manor
Absolutely extraordinary Flickr set of UE Furhouse Manor, a grand home abandoned for decades with its entire contents intact, now all quietly mouldering away. It's exactly how I picture the home of Miss Havisham in Great Expectations.

Six Core-Strengthening Exercises
Still feeling a bit blobby after the holidays? Check out these 6 effective exercises designed to tone your core — a series of 15 minute moves inspired by Pilates that you do 3 or 4 days a week.

Victor Hugo: Acclaimed Author, Unknown Furniture Designer
The Paris apartment once occupied by Victor Hugo is now a museum dedicated to his life — including some of his furniture designs. Fascinating photo tour of his very personal (and rather baroque) space.

Winter Minestrone and Garlic Bruschetta
Hearty soups are the perfect comfort food in winter, and this lovely warming recipe is just the thing for cold weather suppers.

(photo by gui gomes for casa vogue)

Buffet

This week's links. Enjoy.

Minimalist Movie Architecture Posters
Italian architect/artist Federico Babina recently completed a series of 13 minimalist posters featuring iconic architecture and/or landscapes from classic films — check out ones for Moonrise Kingdom, Star Wars, North By Northwest and Mon Oncle among others.

Art, Prints and Posters 2013 Gift Guide
Great round up over at Design*Sponge of ideas for giving art this holiday season.

Terry Gilliam On Disconnecting
Film director and Monty Python alumni Terry Gilliam talks about the importance of disconnecting from technology regularly as a way of getting to know oneself (and finding inspiration, too).

Quentin Blake Author Illustrations
The brilliant Quentin Blake recently did a series of illustrations for Stylist magazine featuring literary greats such as Charles Dickens, Karen Blixen, Leo Tolstoy and Jane Austen among others. Wonderful.

Bloesem Free Downloadable Wrapping Paper
Irene of the lovely Bloesem blog recently collaborated with designer Jessica Nielsen to create a series of fresh modern Christmas wrapping paper — all downloadable and all free. Such a lovely idea. 

Top Ten Martial Arts Movies
Feeling saturated with all the holiday movies flooding your TV screen? Cleanse your palette and watch one of these classic martial arts movies, including Enter the Dragon (of course), Yojimbo (a fave) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon among others.

Inventing the Perfect Umbrella
Is there a better umbrella out there, waiting to be discovered? Have a look at the latest ideas, including a Japanese inventor's interesting inverted version.

Spicy Chicken Milanese
This recipe from Food and Wine not only sounds delicious, it's amazingly quick to make, too — just 12 minutes. Perfect for a busy weeknight supper.

(photo by trine thorsen with styling by kirsten visdal for vårt nya hem)

Atelier: Saul Bass

Just a few of the many stunning posters by legendary graphic designer Saul Bass (also known for his amazing film title sequences for Hitchcock and other great directors). See a wonderful collection of all the posters he created here at film.com.

(via explore)

Buffet

This week's links. Enjoy.

Le Corbusier 2.0
Lovely two-minute video that outlines Le Corbusier’s five revolutionary principles of modern architecture, covering everything from le Modulor to Villa Savoye and Les Cités Radieuses.

From Public Restroom to Home Sweet Home
Truly amazing London reno by young architect Laura Clark, who, in a city that's challenged for space, made her own home out of an abandoned public restroom. Seriously — check this out. Slide show of the reno here. Via @AptTherapyGreen.

Passport Photos of Celebrities
Fascinating vintage passports of such luminaries as Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, Audrey Hepburn, Alfred Hitchcock, Ella Fitzgerald and others.

Edible Mathematics
Fun round up on The Guardian with links and ideas on how to have your own geometry bake-off — check out sconic sections, toast tangrams and the Möbius bagel. A great way to make learning math fun (and delicious).

Summer's Sartorial Headache
London writer Rebecca Willis ponders the tricky art of dressing for the office and city life in the heat of summer.

15 Over Used Movie Poster Clichés
Does that new movie's poster campaign look eerily familiar? Well, probably it does because you've seen it dozens of times before — just for different movies. Really interesting. Via Booooooom.

A Lecture on Johnson and Boswell
This is a treat — a newly translated essay by Jorge Luis Borges on Samuel Johnson and James Boswell. Wonderful to see how these two literary figures are viewed by the (often humorous) Borges.

Chickpea Cobb Salad Cups
A colourful vegetarian version of the traditional Cobb Salad, this salad features healthy ingredients nestled in pretty radicchio cups. Perfect for a light lunch on a humid summer day.

(photo by tara pearce for est magazine, issue #10)

Buffet

This week's links. Enjoy.

The IKEA Dollhouse
IKEA just announced that it is launching a new doll's house furniture set in early August, when it ships the 2014 catalogue. Called Huset, the set features the Klippan sofa, Lack table, Expedit shelving unit and Vago chair. Follow the link for details and photos of how it looks, too. And — no assembly required!

Why Wanting Expensive Things Makes Us Happier Than Buying Them
Fascinating research into why anticipation is better than owning when it comes to big ticket items — and why it might be a better idea to put money into experiences (such as travel or learning a new skill) rather than things. 

Poetic Licence
Take a tour of the pretty 1890s London home of Delia Peel, co-founder of textile and homewares shop Thornback & Peel, her husband and their two small children — a warm mix of inherited antiques, vintage finds and, of course, great Thornback and Peel original fabrics.

Vintage School Library Posters
Buzzfeed has a great round up of 19 vintage school library posters — retro fun. And a nice reminder to visit your local library more often, too!

Internet Anonymity is the Height of Chic
From The Guardian: "In this age of information overload, internet exhibitionism and NSA snooping, is it possible to make yourself unGoogleable? And does it earn you added credibility, as fashion designer Phoebe Philo and bands such as !!! suggest?"

Five Gifts Guys Secretly Want For Father's Day
Joanna of A Cup of Jo has a great list of Father's Day gift ideas — especially love the T.A.M.I show DVD suggestion!

Books That Don't Exist But Should
FastCo Create recently shared their favourites from graphic designer Tyler Adam Smith's often hilarious Tumblr of a personal project of his while working towards his masters of branding degree at New York's School of Visual Arts — for 100 days, he'd design a book cover a day of titles by well known authors who, well, haven't got around to writing them yet. Check out awesome fake titles like Coco Chanel's You're Wearing It Wrong, Nicolas Cage's How to Fake Your Way Through Anything and James Joyce's This Is What I Meant.

Linguine WIth Salmon, Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes
A lovely dish from Tartelette that's perfect for a light supper.

(photo by sara svenningrud)

Smile

The Magic Bus, an utterly charming print by Blanca Gomez, is making me smile a lot today. Available from her Etsy shop here.

Smitten

I'm smitten with this lovely Onion print by Tokyo-based illustrator Ryo Takemasa — gorgeous design that just makes me smile. Available on Etsy here.

Atelier: Julia Geiser

 

 Today I'm admiring the beautiful collage art of Julia Geiser, which mixes vintage images to both comic and disturbing effect. Wonderful. See more of her work here.