freundevonfreunden

I'm really digging all the home interior blogs that have proliferated over the past couple of years. What could be cooler than seeing the apartment of someone whose work you admire? Or just someone with amazing style? I appreciate all the quirky little details that going into transforming a house (or apartment) into a home. The Selby hit a niche with his casual, un-styled photographs of the interiors of his extremely stylish and artistic friends. freundevonfreunden is another one that is gaining popularity in the design blogosphere. I spent some time on it and was excited to discover that Sarah Illenberger is featured. She's been a source of inspiration for me for quite a while. A few pictures of her apartment below, mixed with some images of Antje Taiga's home. I just wish I could read German..

Different Types

I have a thing for well thought out type, as I've posted before. I'm always impressed when I see well-executed, handmade type and lettering treatments. I saw this interpretation of the word "Modernism" a while back, and I think it's brilliant. It's so unexpected to see the word modernism rendered in this goth, death metal sort of way:

It hangs in the office of Dutch design studio, Experimental Jetset. Last week, I fell in love with another letter treatment for the New York Times Style Magazine. The caption is really clever too! This one must have involved some heavy set design (or photoshopping!), I would love to know how they pulled that off.

Minimal Masterpiece

I am blown away by the new cookbook that Ikea just came out with, “Hembakat är Bäst” (Homemade is Best). The styling was done by Evelina Bratell and the photography is by Carl Kleiner. I have a decent collection of cookbooks and even though I don't have room for any more in my apartment, I might have to make an exception for this one. I'm used to seeing a very organic, lush manner of food styling. Leave it to the Swedes to come up with something so quietly beautiful. When I think about the Swedish aesthetic I think of modesty, practicality, and accessibility. These qualities manifest themselves into work that is timeless and elegant. Not only is it stunning to look at, but it's so much easier to follow when you have such clear visuals guiding you.

Eve-il

How to persuade a package-design loving female to buy a pack of cigarettes.

Exhibit A:



If I was a young woman in the 1970's, this pack of cigarettes would have really appealed to me. The early days of targeted marketing:





You're not going to be beautiful if you smoke those cigarettes!

When it all went downhill:

Golden Glow

I was scrolling through a slideshow of art-inspired wedding cakes on the Martha Stewart Weddings website and this Gustav Klimt-inspired cake really caught my eye. The pastry chef, Wendy Kromer, did a great job of distilling the Klimt aesthetic into an edible work of art. Klimt paintings carry a feeling of opulence that could easy be overwrought when interpreted in another medium. There's something really striking about the delicate nature of gold leaf.



Over the past year I've been really drawn to gold, a warm golden glow can be so visually captivating. A more ephemeral example of this is Horsetail Falls, a natural wonder that can only be described as sublime and luminescent.



Gold is ubiquitous. It can be used or interpreted in a myriad of ways; symbolically, decoratively or naturally.

I'll end with a little more golden eye candy below..

Where Has the Time Gone?

It's been a long time since I've posted, the whole summer in fact! Summer is usually my favorite time of year, and this summer had some major highlights. But one can only handle so many 90-something degree days in a three month span, until you're just ready for fall. I'm ready for fall foliage, homemade apple pie, new exhibitions at my favorite museums, and more blog posting!

*Timeless Watch by Rogan

PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT









Tobias Wong was one of the most talented conceptual artist/designers in recent years. His death will leave a huge void in the art + design community, as Julie Lasky articulated so well in her article for Design Observer. I first learned about him during my first year in New York, 2004. I wanted so badly to see his installation that year at Terminal 5 in JFK, but unfortunately it was closed early as a result of vandalism during the opening party. I later became more familiar with his work when the MoMA featured his work in the 2005 exhibition “SAFE: Design Takes on Risk”, specifically his Bullet Proof Rose. His pieces ranged from playful to subversive, and were always an intelligent comment on today's consumer culture.