Dear Greg Hatton,

I'm writing to tell you that I think you've designed the most beautiful set of stools in the world. I am no expert and certainly no authority, but that's how I see it.

If I had my way, these stools would happily furnish my life. I'd not separate them; they'd always be close. In fact they look like they're perpetually in conversation with one another.

Sincerely,
Debi

p.s. I also love the mushroom window display, but I can only take so much in one day, so I'll have to talk to you about those later.

These pictures by Margaret Durow describe exactly my August mood.

August is one of my favorite months. There's just something about the heat, the sunlight, the mornings, something. Can't put my finger on it.

{found the lovely m. durow via the fabric of my life, a nice little blog I chanced upon}

Found these on Intelligent Clashing.
No idea where they came from, who made them, or anything.
All I know is that I love them.

{update: got a good tip...by Eden Batki available at IKO IKO.}

{click on image to see them larger}

A word of caution: you can get lost inside intelligent clashing. I'm warning you now... leave some bread crumbs as you go so that you can find your way back.

Beautiful gifts in the mail today.

Thank you, Marilá.

A wonderful original work in exchange for another.

I can't stop with the blocks.

By Serena Mitnik Miller, published in Arkitip.

{via identical eye and intelligent clashing}

Have you see these laquered blocks by Judith Seng? And my dream dining room table?

They make me want to not blink
and just stare.

That fugitive space between solid and deep color...

then suddenly nothing
but plain wood.


l.o.v.e.

{via kickcan & conkers}

Feels good to get back to circles.

I can't stay away.

More to come... stay tuned.

Aren't these so pretty? Hand cut and crumpled.

Owen Gildersleeve for Poogla.

I'm not exactly ready for Autumn... I'm quite enjoying the summer. But oddly, these leaves make me want to eat soup and bundle up. And jump in a huge pile of them on the front lawn.

Though, not necessarily in that order. I should save the soup for after the jumping.

Introducing Henrik Schnäke...

.... a fine example of a knitted snake. Don't worry, he doesn't bite, isn't creepy at all and eats marshmallows. Happy to live behind pillows on your couch, his little head sticking out waiting for his next meal.

{available here}

I am itching to go camping. But I'm a desert camper and this heat wave is sort of cramping my style.

A good friend turned me onto a desert fete, a blog that has caused much distraction these past few days.

The author recently camped at the river... ah the river, cool rushing water, I want YOU!

{see the lovely flickr set here}

I haven't designed any cards in a while... and now all of sudden everyone I know is having babies, they're leaving town, they're getting older, they getting engaged and married... enough is enough right?

I thought I could really use a pack of cards for all occasions. So of course... what else was I to do?

And while these aren't for ALL occasions, they at least cover 6 of them.

Find them here!

Fête des Lumières artwork by Romain Lenancker.

From last year but still blows me away.

See his blog for more goodness.

{images via behance network}

My dear friend Cathy Pack has launched her long-awaited website.

Trained and licensed as an architect in the hard world, she's also incredibly talented in the soft world. A lot of her work pertains to fabric/space textiles, soft barriers, and the intersection of clothing and architecture. She's an amazing seamstress (of course), has a perfectly trained eye, a keen sense of detail, and thankfully a refreshing perspective of the world; an asset to any project.

Plus she's a taiko drummer!

I'm fortunate to be able to work, collaborate and muse on future endeavors with her.

Congrats to you, Cathy!

www.cathypack.com

The multiverse.
I like it.

{via yayeveryday!}

Curaçao ... . ... .. . .. . . ..... was candy-colored, noisy and sweaty;
still and quiet, and many shades of blue;
dfasdfsd windswept and arid; unrelenting and abandoned.. .... . I loved it.

the air was humid and heavy at night, perfect for slow dinners and lazy laughs on the patio. I was caked in salt, my clothes were crusty. I ate goat and iguana in an unforgettable restaurant. I saw alien cities in dark water lit with bio-luminescence; secret little creatures in the dark, suspended skyscrapers above the reef.

It was all so beautiful. Each part, very different.. . .. . . .. making up what turned out to be a very interesting island.

{thanks to JB for photos}

Dear Blog,

It's vacation time and I'm getting on a plane soon. I'm heading to Curaçao to go diving. Do behave yourself and please water the plants while I'm gone.

Love,
Debi


... . ... . .... . . . . ... . .. . . . ...

p.s. these pictures are from the last time I was at LAX, or rather the long-term parking lot 'C' at LAX under the landing path (my favorite place!). Upon arriving back at the car, we realized we had left the car lights on and the battery was more than dead. It took three hours for us to get recharged, back on the road, and finally home. While waiting, I just walked around the huge parking lot. I found someone's car keys lying on the ground, eaves-dropped on a boisterous conversation between security guards in the bathroom, and took about a million photos of planes landing... of course.

p.p.s. did you watch the games yesterday? Both USA and England played with outstanding results... being citizens of both countries and having the games being played in South Africa (where I grew up, but of which I am not a citizen), I was absolutely overflowing with pride for EVERYONE! I just needed Canada in there, and then I'd be complete!

Oh, Marilá Dardot. Your work is lovely! I got lost in your portfolio this afternoon. I should have been doing some work and getting ready to leave town for a little while. But it was inspiring, I couldn't stop. I particularly liked your book My Garden for Emily Dickenson.

{via 3D Typography Book}

Upon seeing these sticks the first time, I lost my breath. And each subsequent time I look at them I see a new detail, or color combination. They make me so very happy.

{via the wonderful and addictingly fun kickcan & conkers blog}

Making a feast tonight.

I'm gearing up for a proper website, or rather a redesign on my existing one. I'm trying to figure out a way to merge my 'professional' work with my 'crafted' work. So far I've been separating the two, and I've started to realize that they need to be combined.

How does one combine knitted beasts with exhibition design/architecture and graphics and environmental signage, you ask? I don't have the answer for that... yet. But I will!

I'm also wondering if I should use an online program like indexhibit or squarespace, or start from scratch, obviously with the help of someone. As I ponder these big questions, I admit I'm having a lot of fun browsing other sites for reference, window shopping if you will. Yesterday I stumbled upon typefields. The site is clear and simple, but what I love the most is the opening image, shown above.

{note to self: start off with something beautiful}

stay tuned for developing website info... and please share advice if you have any!

p.s. did you see SA in the game against Mexico today?!? Woo hoo World Cup!

I like this.

A lot.

available here on Etsy... by Hello Jenuine.

Typographic tree columns for Crawley Library.

I love these so much, I am speechless.

By Why Not Associates in collaboration with Gordon Young.

{via yayeveryday!}

Our lobby is about to undergo a transformation. I wanted to remember it the way it is now.

This picture made me smile. I love Cameroon too!

When I was living in Melbourne during the 2000 summer Olympics I went to see a soccer (excuse me, football) match between Cameroon and Chile. Everyone in the stadium, it seemed, was cheering on Chile who was presumed to the better of the two(?). I don't know my sports facts, but that was my assumption from the crowds and the cheers.

Of course, I love the underdog, almost without exception... and lo and behold Cameroon won the match, and even went on to win the gold. I loved that moment in Melbourne, it was such a dramatic match, no goals until the last few minutes and Cameroon shut out Chile. I was so proud, you'd think I was from Cameroon.

Sigh.... Wish I was in SA to see some matches.

p.s. my secret inner soccer fan will be emerging in the next two months. She comes out every 4 years during the World Cup. I have another secret inner hockey fan buried deep, but this one emerges only when the Canucks are in the Stanley Cup. As you can see, I'm not very committed, but you wouldn't know that seeing me shout at the TV during these times.

{image via yayeveryday!}

Can you imagine a more beautiful watering can?

I don't think I can. I tried.

For sale here at Etsy by Hindsvik... a wonderful vintage shop.

I'm back to making the mobiles.

Many more strands to go... will show you more soon.

Finally, some new faces in the shop.

Introducing Dimitri, Janice, Rodney, Chauncey, and Truman.

When my external hard drive decided to fake it's death the other day, I didn't really know what to do. It seemed to take over my lap top; the screen went black, all this jibberish appeared and lots of noise came from the hard drive. For hours. Ten hours. There was nothing I could do.

I haven't had a lot of free time lately, so I confess I really didn't know what to do with myself. Habits are hard to break, and work is like a habit. And except for knitting (which is work and sadly not so much of a hobby anymore), I can't do much with my job without a computer. After I had done some long-overdue filing I took stock of the situation. I looked at my laptop, still a black screen and only 8% recovered. I looked at my knitting needles and all the half-beasts waiting for legs arms and faces and thought that seemed like a lot of work. And then I picked up a paint brush and a very nice quart of grey paint ("Slip of Silver" by Mythic, my new favorite paint company) and proceeded to make-over my studio space. Just like that. Paint is an awesome refresher of spaces as well as spirits. Not the most efficient use of ten hours, but the most fulfulling.

And yes, ladies and gentlemen, I did, as you can see, paint while the bookshelf was still installed. And yes, I did just simply pull my desk away from the wall and I did just dump everything on any extra surface I could find and did not cover anything properly. And yes, I did spill paint on the floor and no, I did not wait for the first coat to dry properly. It was a very very very unprofessional ten hours of painting and rearranging. BUT, I love it. I couldn't be happier.

I know they are mechanical.... really, I do know that. But they are still so lovely. They look down on me from the shelf above my desk.

I have to say that when I do turn them on (not very often), and I forget, their little motion-sensored tweets scare the bejeezus out of me.

+++++

Some blogs I've been loving lately:
design vagabond
alice wemple

I love my orchid so much I used an entire polaroid cartridge on it.

I've been saving that cartridge like it was a piece of gold.

But also, that orchid is only going to look this this once, so I figured it was a perfect match.

I love this image. How wonderful to just float.

It reminds me to:
1. get a red bikini (after some work on the ol' tummy)
2. jump in the water

I've lot a long list of summer wishes started... getting in the water is just one of them. Camping is another. Road trip comes after that, and it continues....

{image by Christopher Jonassen, via the ever-so-wonderful design is mine}

Finally.

The sewn type is installed. Why I do not have an image of the complete installation escapes me. But then again, most of my brain was given over to this show for the past 4 months and I haven't been thinking clearly. I will make sure to get some shots.

If you're in Los Angeles, please stop by the Autry to see the show... I'd love to hear what you think about the exhibition. I worked with 3 other designers, each of us with our own skill set. While I did drawings for all the furniture and helped with getting it built, the contribution I am most proud of is the material palette. The entire exhibition is very rich in texture.... I'm so happy with the outcome.

And now onto new projects and catching up on all the things I've been neglecting; eg: this blog and the beasts.

p.s. a big thank you to CP and CG for helping me with the type wall. It was pretty insane. About an hour a letter, if not more. It was an enormous project; no way I could have done it alone. Thanks you guys, xo.

The long story short: I just can't get them done in time for Thursday's event.

I'm finally coming around to the idea that I need an intern.

To all the Jacks and Janes of all trades, I'm on the look-out for you.

And it continues....