Sweetness and Light

Delicate flowers to brighten a Thursday in January.

(lovely photo by lesley unruh)

Buffet

This week's links. Enjoy.

Make Things With Your Hands
A Q&A with Sir Terence Conran, designer, restaurateur and retailer who over the last five decades has significantly influenced how Britain lives and eats. Beginning in 1964, his Habitat chain of stores helped to introduce simple, well-designed housewares at affordable prices. Decades later, his restaurants did much to introduce the country to fine and stylish cuisine.

Photo Remakes of Famous Art
Amazingly clever photographic versions of famous paintings, part of the "Remake" project by BOOOOOOOM! Wonderful Via kottke.

Dot-dash-diss: The Gentleman Hacker's 1903 Lulz
A century ago, one of the world’s first hackers used Morse code insults to disrupt a public demo of Marconi's wireless telegraph. Fascinating bit of technological history.

Bon Appétit's Food Lover's Cleanse
Feeling sluggish after overindulging over the holidays? Kick off the new year right with Bon Appétit's two week healthy eating challenge, which focuses on balanced and nutritious eating rather than crash dieting.

Mourir Auprès de Toi (To Die By Your Side)
Check out this lovely stop motion animation short, a collaborative work between director Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich and Where The Wild Things Are), and handbag designer Olympia Le-Tan, whose intricately embroidered clutch-bags were the inspiration for this film. Set on a shelf in famed Parisian bookstore Shakespeare and Company, it's the star-crossed love story of a skeleton and his flame-haired amour — all with a jaunty French sensibility that's both cheeky and charming. Via brainpickings.

Flying Robots Build a Tower Near Paris
This is rather extraordinary — the future is closer than we think.

How to Find Creative Inspiration
The Guardian recently asked artists from various disciplines (music, dance, playwright, architecture, art, actor, director and others) how they make their ideas a reality.

Orange Flower Pavlova with Coconut Cream, Pistachio and Meyer Lemon
I don't know if I'd ever make this, but it's such a poetic-sounding recipe that I couldn't resist sharing it with you — and the gorgeous photos just add to the loveliness, too. Via Roost.


(photo by lesley unruh)

Smitten

I'm smitten with this vintage postcard design for an iPhone 4 or 4S case — so pretty and practical. Available here from On Your Case on etsy.


smitten is a new regular series of posts on automatism featuring lovely online finds — hope you enjoy it.