Buffet

This week's links. Enjoy.

A Rustic Retreat
Take a tour of a lovely cottage on Fire Island, the retreat of interior designer Ann Stephenson and her partner Lori Scacco. Pretty much the perfect summer home.

Legendary Designer Seymour Chwast on Failure, Egos and the Value of Self-Promotion
In need of inspiration? One of the most influential graphic designers and illustrators of the 20th century, at the age of 84 Seymour Chwast is still going strong, with a new book out through Kickstarter.

1970's Disaster Movies Posters
A great selection of film posters from the 1970's, a time when disaster movies were big in theatres. I would definitely go to a film festival of these cheesy classics. 

Houshi
Houshi is a ryokan (a Japanese traditional inn) located in Komatsu, Japan. Besides being the 2nd oldest hotel in the world, it's been in the same family for 46 consecutive generations. This is a lovely, bittersweet short film about how its owners struggle to continue its legacy in the modern era.

The Accidental History of the @ Symbol
Fascinating piece over at the Smithsonian on how a centuries-old rarely used character evolved into a symbol of modern communication.

Anti-Fashion: OMA's Philosophy
Short profile of OMA, an artist and designer from Korea, who founded a clothing and textiles studio in Seoul in 2010 after a stint working with Alexander McQueen in London. Her work blends traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design—and sustainability. Lovely clothes with beautiful, subtle textures and colours.

Air Travel: From Majesty to Drudgery in 100 Years
A history of air travel as referenced in contemporary literature, from Saint-Exupéry to DeLillo.

6 Ingredient Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup
Easy to make, this soup is a great way to use all the fresh tomatoes currently in season. Add grilled cheese on the side to make it even better.

(photo: artedomus via here)

Monday

A quiet vignette to start your week with a little inspiration. Have a lovely one.

(photo — and wall poster — by paulina arcklin)

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This week's links. Enjoy.

Urban Jungle
Take a tour of the home of India and Magnus of Haarkon, where plants play a major part in the decor. A pretty urban oasis.

The World's Best Teashops
Food and Wine has a great post on fantastic teashops around the world — would love to visit more than a few of these. 

Vienna City Typeface
Vienna is famous for its beautiful signs, and happily Achim Gauger is methodically photographing and sharing them on his Instagram account before they disappear. A must for typography fans.

Women Who Changed Fashion: The Designers
Nice overview of women fashion designers, from Jeanne Lanvin, who began her career in 1889, to contemporary designers like the brilliant Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen.

Smashed Chickpeas With Pita
Up your lunchbox game with this really easy and healthy recipe from Bon Appétit. 


(photo: house of pictures via pinterest)

Atelier: David McLeod

Smiling over the Amfursand, a clever 3D type design series by David McLeod. See more of it here.

(via beard is the new black)

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This week's links. Enjoy.

Modern in Melbourne
Take a tour of a recent project by interior designer Fiona Lynch, a lovely Australian home in a restrained modern style brightened with glam notes. Wonderful.

The Queen of Couture
Fascinating profile in Harper's Bazaar of Jacqueline de Ribes, countess and doyenne of French chic, who is being honoured with an upcoming retrospective at the Costume Center at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. What a life!

The World's Most Beautiful Bookshops
AnOther Magazine visits seven of the world's most beautiful and intriguing bookshops, from a haunted house in New Orleans to a spectacular Argentinian theatre. Stunning.

The Sound of the Forest
This is wonderful — students at the Estonian Academy recently built Forest Megaphones, 10-foot-wide wooden megaphones installed in the Estonian forest on the edges of clearings. Stand inside the clearing, and the megaphones direct the ambient sounds around you to where you stand, heightening your experience of the nature surrounding you. Lovely idea.

Swiss Style: The Principles, the Typefaces and the Designers
Excellent Print Magazine article about the International Typographic Style (commonly known as 'Swiss Style'), with gorgeous graphics to illustrate it. Love the band posters rendered in this style.

A Tune With a View
What do songwriters look to for inspiration? Writer David Hepworth asks 11 songwriters about how they find their muse.

One-Pot Chicken Cacciatore
Start fall on a cosy note with this warming one-pot version of a classic dish from Food52.

(photo: vlakbij de molen)

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This week's links. Enjoy.

Minimalist Beauty in Finland
Take a tour over at My Scandinavian Home of a remarkably serene minimalist home in Finland. Stunning.

A Celebration of Bathing Rituals
Inspired by a new exhibition depicting bathing rituals in art from the 1500s onward at the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris, AnOther magazine takes a look at the history of bathing — and includes some fantastic product recommendations, too. Don't miss the slide show of bathing in art, too.

A Typographic Tour of Paris
Graphic designer Louise Fili describes Graphique De La Rue, her new photography book from Princeton Architectural Press, as "my typographic love letter to Paris". Follow the link to see some of the truly lovely vintage signage she's captured for it.

How to Repot Succulents
Beautifully photographed and informative guide over at hello hydrangea on repotting and general care of succulents — perfect if you're as terrible with plants as I am.

The Persistence of Litmags
Interesting New Yorker piece about how — despite all odds — little magazines continue to be created, and to be read, and to matter.

Star Wars in Wood Block Prints
This is fascinating — Japanese craftsmen are reinterpreting Star Wars through the centuries-old art of wood block printing, as a way of keeping this traditional art form alive. The results are just stunning. Love the photos of the artists carving out the blocks, too — amazingly intricate.

No Cook Pasta Sauces
Perfect for muggy summer days when you want something simple without a lot of time heating up the stove, these pasta sauces take full advantage of fresh summer veggies (or keep it even simpler, with butter, fresh parmesan and cracked pepper).

(photo via couleur locale by way of planete deco)

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This week's links. Enjoy.

A Colourful Beach House
Take a tour over at sfgirlbybay of this beautifully styled and colourful beach house in Palm Beach, Sydney. Just wonderful.

Taste Isn't About Money
Inspiring interview with Condé Nast editor-in-chief Pilar Guzmán, who discusses how to cultivate a sense of taste, the value of going outside your comfort zone, and why you should make 15 minute visits to museums. Love this.

French Words
Lovely Twitter account by Paris-based Julien Azarian of the interactive agency XPrime, featuring a daily French word or phrase. Perfect way to encourage yourself to learn more French.

The Retiring Type
Catherine Nixey tells the curious story of the man behind a font seen and used by millions every day — the designer of the London Underground's signature font.

Italian Hours
Fascinating history of a secret Italian bookshop in New York's West Village.

13 Best Films Set in Paris
Great list over at Goop of 13 great films of Paris, ranging from Amélie (of course), Funny Face, Breathless, Belle du Jour, An American in Paris among others. 

Indie Music, Illustrated
Lovely series of illustrations by French artist and illustrator Damien Florébert Cuypers for this year's Full Moon music festival, featuring portraits of the artists performing there. 

Char-Grilled Asparagus and Parsley Pesto Pasta
With asparagus now coming into season, this interesting Donna Hay pasta recipe is a great light weeknight supper.

(photo by nathalie krag. via scandinavian retreat)

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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)

Smile

Love Heart Blocks by Red House Industries — hand drawn typography that spells out the word love in twelve different languages. Hello Valentine's Day. Available from luvocracy.

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This week's links. Enjoy.

Six Winter Essential Oils
These natural remedies will help boost your mood, relieve pain and fight the flu — and they smell amazing, too.

Fish Tales: The Instagram Cooking Show
This is such an interesting idea. Calling itself the world's shortest cooking show, Fish Tales on Instagram presents 15 second videos that teach you how to cook a complete fish/seafood dish. Via Kottke.

Making Up Hollywood
Fascinating history of Max Factor and how he revolutionized the makeup used for Hollywood films. Before he arrived on the scene, the makeup devised for silent films was frankly hair raising — mixtures of brick dust and paprika, petroleum jelly and vegetable shortening, flour and white paint were just some of the highly dubious ingredients used.

10 Best Novels With Real Writers
Interesting list of fiction featuring appearances by real writers — Franz Kafka, Walt Whitman, Henry James and Gertrude Stein among others pop up as characters in these ten novels.

Theramin: A Playable Touch Synthesizer Using Web Audio API
Totally addictive and fun, this great site lets you play a virtual theramin — just had a session that was a lot like the soundtrack from the classic sci fi film Forbidden Planet. 

Top Ten Amazing Libraries
I've featured links to great libraries before, but there's always room for more. I especially love the glimpses into private libraries, like Nigella Lawson's and Karl Lagerfeld's — both wonderful.

The Typography of 2001: A Space Odyssey
There really is a blog for everything. Fascinating reading for type geeks, this post looks closely at every typographic detail in Kubrick's classic film.

Fresh Cranberry Scones
Lately I've rediscovered fresh cranberries (I made a cranberry orange loaf last Sunday that Andrew and I ate far too quickly) so I'm now keen to try this recipe from the lovely Always With Butter blog — the gorgeous pictures alone will have you eager to get baking.
(photo by anna-malin)

Buffet

This week's links. Enjoy.


How Typeface Influences the Way We Read and Think
Typeface designer Cyrus Highsmith, quoted in The Week: "Typography is the detail and the presentation of a story. It represents the voice of an atmosphere, or historical setting of some kind. It can do a lot of things." Must read for all designers.

Galliano in the Wilderness
Ingrid Sischy of Vanity Fair sits down with designer John Galliano for his first interview since his notorious self-destructive outburst hit headlines in 2011. Galliano talks frankly about his spiral of addiction — and his efforts to atone. There's a long road ahead for him.

How Eight Famous Writers Chose Their Pen Names
Fun literary trivia — see why Lewis Carroll, Voltaire, George Orwell and J.K. Rowling among others chose the names they'd publish under.

We Need a Fixer (Not Just a Maker) Movement
Excellent piece by Clive Thompson in Wired about the need for people to be able to fix their stuff rather than just tossing it out and buying new — not only is it good for the environment, but it's good for our souls, too.

House T by Takeshi Hamada
Take a tour of a modern Japanese house by architect Takeshi Hamada — minimalist style with a triple height living room.

47 Skills You Need to Survive Home Ownership
The team behind This Old House have assembled 47 household fix-it tips that you can do without hiring a pro, from fixing a leaky faucet to hardwiring a light fixture. Bookmarked this one!

A Brief History of Denim
From More Intelligent Life: "When the going gets tough, the tough turn blue — denim is just the thing for fighting, farming and triple-dip recession. Matthew Sweet traces the fortunes of the world’s favourite utility wear."

Wednesday Finds Etsy Treasury
My Sir Potato letterpress print is featured in a lovely Etsy treasury this week — follow the link to check it out.

Raspberry and Coconut Summer Cake
A light and perfect cake for summer entertaining — and beautiful presentation, too. Do follow the link to see accompanying stunning photos of Morocco as well as lovely food photos!

(photo of thurloe square via desire to inspire)

Weekend

Happy weekend! Hope it's a lovely one. The weather here is shaping up to be miserable and messy, so we're planning on avoiding the slush puddles and staying snug inside watching a movie or two and catching up on some reading. How about you?

(photo by seth smoot)

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This week's links. Enjoy.

Charles and Ray Eames: The Architect and the Painter
You can now watch the full documentary film about these two extraordinary people online through American Masters on PBS. Looking forward to this one.

The Language of Stamps
You have to see this lovely and wonderfully illustrated post on the blog Poemas del río Wang about the now-vanished delicate art of stamp placement. Depending on how you placed a stamp on an envelope, it told an informed recipient you sent a kiss, you were thinking of them — or (sadly) that you were not free. Fascinating — and something it would be charming to revive for Valentine's Day, I think.

Vintage Views of London
Slide show of gritty and beautiful black and white photos of London, from the 1950s to mid 2000. Via things magazine.

450 Free Online Movies
Open Culture has assembled a great list of links to free online films arranged according to genre — check out Comedy & Drama; Film Noir, Horror & Hitchcock; Westerns & John Wayne; Silent Films; Documentaries, and Animation. Lots of really interesting stuff.

Charles Dickens's Inner Child
A lovely, meditative essay on Dickens by Christopher Hitchens — his last one for Vanity Fair before his untimely passing last month.

Corner Portraits by Irving Penn
Love this striking black and white portrait series by Irving Penn — the stark, angled backdrops (a bit reminiscent of the Expressionist sets in the German silent film The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari) really make the personalities of the subjects stand out. Included here are Marlene Dietrich, Salvador Dali, Georgia O'Keefe, Igor Stravinsky and the Duchess of Windsor among others — though it's the last photo of the Ballet Society that really strikes my eye (that amazing dancer!).

Dana Tanamachi
Watch designer/typographer Dana Tanamachi create her beautiful hand lettered chalk signage in these time lapse videos. Lovely work. Via BOOOOOOOM!

Date Recipes
Guardian cookery writer Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall serves up some inspired sweet and savoury recipes for dates. There's one particularly delicious-sounding one, Spiced Chicken With Dates, that I'm definitely going to try out.


(lovely photo by fryd + design)

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This week's links. Enjoy.

Pantone Hotel
Design nerds will love this — Pantone, the colour authority, recently opened a 59-room boutique establishment in the Brussels. The interiors have a playful 60's modern vibe — with, of course, lots of great colours. Be sure to check out the slide show.

When Mods Grow Up
From Intelligent Life magazine: "How does one age within a style tribe? In her latest Dress Sense column, Linda Grant writes that the mods and punks still look good, but pity the poor hippies ..." Excellent read.

Who's That Girl?
John Maloof's purchase of a collection of negatives at an auction in Chicago has turned out to be one of the most exciting discoveries of street photography in history — over 100,000 negatives shot primarily on the streets of Chicago between the 1950s and 1970s by Vivian Maier, a French-Austrian woman who worked as a nanny. Check out the blog now dedicated to her brilliant work, too. What an amazing eye she had.

Embracing the Art of Decluttering
Great article by Susanna Sonnenberg from the March 2011 issue of Whole Living magazine, about learning to get rid of clutter as a means of gaining room for the positives in your life, rather than seeing it as a tedious chore. So inspiring — and just in time for spring cleaning, too!

Recent Scenes From Antarctica
From The Browser: "Breathtakingly beautiful photo-essay recording varied Antarctic environment. As the tourists and scientists retreat for the season and head north, sit back and enjoy the most remarkable sights from the region of the past year." Very cool (no pun intended).

A Brief History of Title Design
Great short video showing, well, a brief history of film title design. Really nicely done. Via kottke.

Scientific Breakthroughs, Illustrated
The Royal Society is a Fellowship of the world's most eminent scientists, and is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence. Have a look at this beautifully illustrated collection of original notes and drawings from their archives, capturing the moment a significant scientific breakthrough was made.

Irish Soda Bread
Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with delicious Irish Soda Bread — so much better (and much more authentic) than green beer!


(lovely photo by Nicolas Mathéus)

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This week's links. Enjoy.

Lost Daphne du Maurier Stories Discovered
I love a good book sleuthing story. Bookseller Ann Willmore, co-owner of a bookshop in du Maurier's home town of Fowey in Cornwall, discovered the stories in long forgotten short story collections.

The Rise of Vintage Technology Collecting
The recent sale of an Apple 1 computer for $212,267 during an auction at Christie’s in London changed everything in the market of technology collecting — what was once readily available on eBay is now becoming increasingly rarified. A look at the hottest new area of collecting.

Street Photography in London
Check out this fascinating slideshow of candid London street photography from 1860 to the present day, selected from the new exhibition at the Museum of London.

A (Shockingly) Short History of Hello
Ever wonder why we say "hello" when we answer the phone? Now you can find out why — though I must confess that I'm rather partial to Mr. Burns's "Ahoy - hoy?" on The Simpsons.

Zing But No Alcohol
There's been an upsurge of interest recently in restaurants creating nonalcoholic cocktails that are actually interesting to drink — great news for designated drivers, or for those who simply don't care to drink. So nice to have options instead of the usual soda water or pop.

Heavy Stuff on Top of People
And now for something completely different — vintage photos from the Life magazine archives of, well, heavy stuff on top of people.

Typographic Makeup
Fun little short film of makeup being used to honour four outstanding typographic designers. Via brainpicker.

Honey Chocolate-Chip Cookies
These look like a delicious alternative to the classic chocolate-chip cookie — I'll definitely be trying this recipe!



(photo by Douglas Friedman)

Smile

Love this inspiring poster by Jeremy Paul Beasley.


(via it's mary ruffle)

Christopher Silas Neal

The always wonderful grain edit recently had a post about illustrator and typographer Christopher Silas Neal, and right away I was completely smitten — utterly beautiful work. Just had to share with you here — see more goodness on his website, too.

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This week's links. Enjoy.

The Human Library Project
The Toronto Public Library recently started a fascinating ongoing project — the Human Library. First initiated in Copenhagen about a decade ago, it began as a way to break down prejudice by bringing people of different backgrounds together for a one-on-one half hour conversation. Such a great idea. Via pinterest.

Chocolate Letters
On the eve of Sinterklaas (the night of December 5th) children in The Netherlands receive the initial of their first name in the form of a chocolate letter as a gift. The FontFeed has a fun post about this tradition — plus a video on how they're made and new versions of chocolate letters, too.

12 Tales for Christmas
The Guardian is running a series of podcasts featuring leading authors reading short stories by other writers — they're airing every Saturday until Christmas, but being podcasts you can tune in anytime.

The Year's Best Cookbooks
The NYT rounds up their pick of this year's bumper crop of cookbooks — lots of great reading for food people.

Caganers
And now for something completely different. Caganers are "... statuettes of well-known people defecating (and) are a Christmas tradition in Catalonia, dating back to the 18th century. Catalonians hide caganers in Christmas Nativity scenes and invite friends to find them. The figures symbolise fertilisation, hope and prosperity for the coming year." Follow the link for a slideshow of this, um, unusual Catalan Christmas tradition.

Life in Miniature
Fun slideshow of the 2010 Kensington Dollshouse Festival — amazing variety of miniature accessories, all handmade with a loving attention to detail.

Throw Pillows as Character
This sounds like a decor enthusiast's perfect Christmas book — check out Alexandra Lange's review of the novel Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson.

An International Christmas Dinner
Looking for something a little different for your Christmas feast this year? Saveur has assembled 24 traditional recipes from all over the world, such as Jansson's Temptation from Sweden, Tourtiere (a French-Canadian Réveillon staple) and Viennese Christmas Goose.


(photo by Anna Kern for Elle Decoration JP, via the portfolio of stylist Cia Wedin)

B-Movie Ecards

This Hallowe'en, send your designer friends one of these fab B-movie typographic ecards! Created and designed by TDC member Will Staehle, they're available in six different designs and can be found here. Via How Magazine blog.

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This week's links. Enjoy.

Rue Magazine
The highly anticipated premiere issue of Rue magazine is out! And it was well worth the wait — I for one am still swooning over Victoria of sfgirlbybay's gorgeous home. Make yourself some tea and prepare to be happy.

Raymond Carver Mad Libs
Write your own Raymond Carver story with this handy template! Via the morning news.

Sweet Paul Magazine
And more reading goodness! The fall issue of the always delicious Sweet Paul magazine is out — follow the link for a great preview of what's in store in the print version. Lots of great recipes and crafts — and gorgeous photography and styling as always.

Soda Pop Stop
Check out this great short documentary about a grocery store in Los Angeles that only carries soda pop — over 500 kinds, no less, and most without high fructose corn syrup. The variety is dazzling — and it's an education to find out how many types there are out there. I for one would love to try the delicately pink-coloured rose soda, made with real rose leaves. Sounds amazing. Via kottke.

Fall Music Preview
NPR has a great roundup of some of this fall's most anticipated albums — and tracks for you to listen to as well. Looking forward myself to new Brian Eno and Tricky.

Top 10 Stories About Sisters
Cathy Cassidy chooses ten novels that examine the relationship between sisters, ranging from Pride and Prejudice and I Capture the Castle to The Color Purple.

We Love Typography
A wonderful site featuring type-related images and quotes. Beautifully curated.

The Michael-in Guide to New Orleans
Michael Stipe of the legendary REM shares his fave places to eat, hang out, see music and more in New Orleans — just in time for me to share the link with my brother, who just went there for a visit! Via GOOP.


(photo from the portfolio of design firm heyhome, via the beautiful soup)