Follow Friday - Lisa Golightly

Exploring our Twitter followers is proving to be a lot of fun...Today I stumbled upon Lisa Golightly's work. Also known as Kiki & Polly, she has created a beautiful collection of paintings centered around scenes of childhood.

Happy Friday everyone, and a great 4th of July to all of our US readers. Oh, and a huge thank you to HOW Magazine for making our blog one of this month's top 10 websites for designers.

D-BROS - Kudamemo

How amazing are these? Kudamemo - fruit-shaped sticky notes - by D-BROS. I love them - great concept, great execution, right down to the little foam cozies. They can be bought here individually, or in a fruit "crate" of six.

Via Mocoloco.

LABEXP - Music Cups

Calibrated musical cups with a q-tip shaped dinger (for lack of a technical term)! These are Music Cups by LABEXP. I like!

Vertical Farming for Dummies

I think we have talked about Vertical Farming on the blog before. I am not sure why architects think they know what they are doing with this. Architects are not horticulturists, economists, climatologists, energy modellers, or anything that would really qualify them to make feasible models for vertical farming. What futurist sparked this idea and why is it so alluring to people?

It's the same as saying, "I think we should build farms for land plants in the ocean, because there's so much open space in the ocean." Only a few of them concede that the enormous energy costs for artificial sunlight will prohibit the idea from becoming a reality. Not to mention energy for transportation, water treatment/irrigation, fertilization, pest control, harvest/storage and the myriad of other things that would be made more complicated by turning a flat farm into a vertical farm. A horizontal farm in naturally fertile farmland is using as many natural advantages as possible to increase efficiency. Creating inefficient models doesn't really solve problems, even if someday energy is a near-free resource like solar, wind, or fusion.

Nursery Rhyme Prints & Revolution!

We've had our Nursery Rhyme prints available for pre-sale on our website for a while now, but they are now officially in stock and ready to ship!

We picked a few of our favorite nursery rhymes and designed a print around each, in a bold graphic style. Each 2-color print is 12" wide by 16" high, and is silk-screened by hand on 250gsm acid-free paper. All prints are signed and editioned.

Also - in honor of July fourth - for all the patriots/history buffs out there - our Revolution! prints are also finally in stock and ready to ship...and we're offering free standard shipping on all orders with Revolution! prints, through July 5th. Just mention REVOLT10 in the "Message to Seller" box when checking out and we'll refund you your shipping costs.

Marlon Blackwell - Moore Honey House

I have long admired Marlon Blackwell's work. There are only a few widely-published projects but it seems like they have a lot of fun with their projects. The one that has always stood out in my mind is the Moore Honey House. Set in the woods near one of Blackwell's residential projects for the same client, the honey house serves as a car port and simple shed for the making and storing of honey. Constructed in only 3 weeks, the shed is a great example of building something highly designed, but building it inexpensively and quickly.

For some reason, the office's website is 404. But you can google his office for more examples of their work.

Albeit Jewelry

I love this collection of alphanumeric jewelry by Albeit. It's a fresh and innovative take on classic monogrammed jewelry. From the website:

The intricate designs uniquely cater to each individual’s personality and character without shamelessly screaming “look at me!” The option of choosing a letter, number, or symbol significant to the wearer is where the idea of Albeit comes into play. Everyone carries with them their own unique story, and the notion of that story being open-ended for them to pursue their dreams is where this romance lies.

Shop here and browse the collection here.

Via Oh Joy!

Sid Wichienkuer

Love Sid Wichienkuer's entry in to the competition for a new TU Delft School of Architecture. The original TU Delft architecture building was burned down in a fire in May 2008, and the school held an open design competition for a new building. From Sid's website:

The use of section and topographies become the driving force behind this project...By reconstituting and reconsidering each of the precedents, the resultant project intends to not reinvent but understand how section can foster productive architectural relationships. The gathering/communal spaces are stacked through the core of the building - operating as a central gathering space for offices, studios, and the greater community as a central, unifying element that serves the same purpose for a variety of programs.

The ground level is extremely porous with the intention of capturing the interest of passerbyers and architects alike. The center of the space is the auditorium space that can be configured to accommodate multiple size and varyingly public gatherings. The option remains to accommodate even the largest of gatherings as a gesture toward bringing thinkers and doers of all-calibers, whether architects or not, into the dialogue of the building.

The language of productive topographical surfaces is exploited for creating circulation, shading users, creating usable surfaces, storing objects, and seating. The resulting dense, carved space envelopes all the users of the building.

Via Designboom.

Studio Cave Canem

I like this graphic glassware by Studio Cave Canem - fun designs inspired by nature.

Dutzi Design

Ariane Dutzi designs these beautiful burlap bags, which are handmade by local crafts-women in the Yucatan. I'm not totally sure if she repurposes burlap bags, with their existing graphics, but if so, I like the project all the more.