Inspiration: my mother's piano ...

Just showing some of my work in progress ... these are the first scans I have done for my mom's portrait. I have scanned the entire piano and tomorrow I'll have her put her hands on her favourite keys/notes and scan this ... I'll add these to the scans I have already completed tonight ... so here is her piano sans hands and some of her things sitting beside the piano ...




These are my favourite portraits of Leo. I think it's the colours, textures and unusual camera angles that make them so wonderful for me ... and of course the subject - my little man. Blair Marie took the photographs.




Sharing a couple great artists and designers ...

yumiyumi makes these wonderful animal and floral prints ...


Kenyon Yeh : Product + furniture design - I especially like his furniture collection - homeless ... the idea behind it is genius!

Here is a great article IKEA Hacks: Designs by Kenyon Yeh

"I have assembled the pieces from a standard IKEA flat pack without following the instructions … Instead, I have simply composed the kits into customized furniture to suit my personal preference, adding some new details along the way."

(Behind the Scenes - UNIKEA)

(BRIA - UNIKEA)

Inspiration: seeing things a little differently...

How a circle composition may look better than a square composition ... Here are some images I have worked on over the last little while, and inspired by Marco Suarez, I decided to change the frame from square to circle to see how it would alter the composition ... I like it.





Knack Studios make incredible furniture, they refurbish old pieces by dramatically resurfacing furniture and adding unique hardware ... Here are some samples of their work ...

{via Design *Sponge}

Here is another furniture refurbishing project done by sticks and bricks. They sanded an old table down, hammered in 'the summer day' poem by Mary Oliver, rubbed black paint in and gave it a coat of furniture wax ... The finished table is shown below.

{via Design *Sponge}

Tied Up Memories make wonderful and eclectic pieces. She describes her style as romantic, shabby and vintage ... one is shown below.

The style reminds me of these old brooch bouquets by Fantasy Floral Designs. Some of their brooch bouquets ...

{via sweet jessie}

But it's hard to beat real flowers, especially when they are this stunning ...

{via Style Me Pretty}

Today it's all about kids...

Here I found inspiration in this circus themed boy's room styled by Kate Dixon. My little guy's room is already circus + cowboy theme, so I love this design, ferris wheel toy box, chalkboard wall and all. See the pictures below.

artistic living spaces

Bloesem Kids is my absolute favourite blog for children design and crafts. Check it out for amazing designs, designers, products, crafts and other lovelies geared towards children.

For example, I found this awesome design on the Bloesem Kids blog: this tree bookshelf was designed by Shawn Soh from Korea, picture shown below.


My favourite photo shoot has been a simple one - white sheet backdrop and taken outdoors with natural light. Here are some shots from the photo shoot - simplicity and the first signs of spring!



I made this funny puppet/rattle in university last year, it was a self-portrait. All the parts were designed to move when you shake it- the hair, the eyes, the head...it makes me laugh...it has been suggested that we start making these as kids toys. I'll see if I can find the jigsaw...this could be a fun weekend project!


The radiating converse shoe!! The converse is timeless, I keep reiterating this shoe in designs every so often, this time it's radiating!!


And finally, here is a short story I wrote about three months ago. I am trying to show the circularity of life. Now to work on some illustrations for it...I would love to illustrate it in the style of Eric Carle's work, like the caterpillar we all know and love!!!

Look up, way up in the sky
There is the sun that glows and glows

Onto a seed that grows and grows
With the warmth of the sun that glows and glows
From way up in the sky

This is the tree that's growing and growing
From a little seed that grew and grew
With all that help from the sun's glowing and glowing
From way up in the sky

These are the branches, reaching and reaching
Up and up from the tall, tall tree
That has grown and grown from a tiny, little seed

These are the leaves, shiny and green
That have sprouted from those branches
Of the tall, maybe tallest, tall tree

All that growing and growing takes a lot of energy
The tree has gathered it up all this time
From when it was a small, maybe smallest, small seed
From the glowing, glowing sun way up in the sky

Now, raindrops collect in those lofty leaves
And the water drains all the way down
The branches of the biggest tree of trees
The tree needs all this water to grow and grow
and with the warmth from the sun,
The tree is sure to, you know!

But after some time, it turns icy and chilly
And those leaves shiver and wither away
They fall one by one from the tree
That is still reaching, but empty-handed today
The tallest tree, all bare now, still stands proud
And the sun embarrassed hides behind a gray snow cloud

Look down, down on the ground

Those tired withered leaves
All around the tree surround
Like a giant comfy blanket
Keeping the tree's roots warm in the ground
And so the tallest tall tree
Through winter stands warm and proud
[Well maybe a little chilled]
Through the chilliest season
Until the sky is once more sun-filled

Look up, way up in the sky
There is the sun that glows and glows

Onto a new seed that grows and grows
Under the shade of the tallest tall tree
From the branches that reach way up high
Sprouting new leaves in the warm sunny sky
That wave and dance
Or drain rain down when its gray and cloudy
Down and down the tree
To the newest new tiny seed

Could this be a glimpse of what could be in our city's future? We're looking forward to visiting PF1 (Public Farm 1 is the official name for the installation), and seeing how the project works when it's in an actual space with actual people and yielding actual vegetables. In other areas of the world vertical or step farming happens in the countrysides where terrain or flat space constraints (mountains) have necessitated this way of growing. These projects begin to show us how we can farm within the landscape constraints of major cities. More and more, people are talking about the need to better utilize our natural resources. These designs attempt to do that as well as bring city people closer to food sources.

matt at apartmenttherapy dot com

WORKac is the architectural firm responsible for the design, inspired by urban vertical gardening concepts. Public Farm 1’s intent is to educate thousands of visitors on sustainable urban farming through the unique medium of contemporary architecture.






The unveiling of Public Farm 1 by WORKac, the winner of MOMA/PS1's annual architectural design competition, took place in June 2008 in PS1's courtyard.

You can view the evolution of construction and planting of the actual Public Farm 1 on the PublicFarm1 website.




And just a few links...

Christien Meindertsma's Urchin Pouf



Canadian Photojournalism...

Jonetsu Photography

Davina + Daniel

This cabinet pictured below is called Monster... I love it! Ellen Seegers designed this unique piece together with Jolanda Slegers.


Bloesem Kids is probably the best blog for children's design, everything on here is absolutely fantastically adorable!

This bamboo bird mobile by petit collage is so cute...


Graphic designer and illustrator Tutti Shafir makes beautiful and cute prints...

Designers ünal & böler describe their budak shelving (pictured below):

"budak" means “knot in timber”. System starts growing from single unit to form seating and shelf structures without using any fixtures or screws. Each element acts as a locking piece by itself. The structure becomes more rigid with every element added on each other. System can be used where a quickly recomposable shelving and seating is required such as shops.

My Beautiful Backside (pictured below) designed by Nipa Doshi and Jonathan Levien for MOROSO.

Nipa and Jonathan have this to say about their new design:

“My Beautiful Backside is a collection of seats whose backrests are a composition of highly coloured, floating cushions in various shapes. The wider your seat, the more cushions you can have. Our use of oversize symbols, such as the buttons on cushion backs, is a way of conveying a variety of messages. These symbols also provide a means of customising each chair, making it unique, just as you would add little distinguishing touches to an article of clothing. We used a new wool fabric designed by Giulio Ridolfo for Kvadrat. We teamed it up with felt because it's a combination that reminds us of old-fashioned clothes with stiff starched collars. We also designed a new daybed, called Princess, with layers of mattresses. The top mattress is covered with a composition of different objects and since they draw inspiration from a modern princess they're embroidered in gold and silver."


Designer Tokujin Yoshioka's Bouquet chairs (pictured below) for MOROSO.

He likes to astonish us by producing surprising effects from simple, almost banal objects which he interprets and uses in an extraordinary way by means of his ability to see beyond and to reinterpret the world through the characteristic poetry and harmony of Japanese culture.


Demelza Hill's Snap and Dine (pictured below) is "an injection-molded-yet formal-place setting intended for use by a single diner on the move."
-Surface Magazine