Moodboards

I love the idea of a moodboard. The process, the visual aspect, I even love the word moodboard! It's really satisfying to land on a refined, finished design concept, but sometimes the preliminary moodboard gives greater insight into the depth and breath of the creative concept. The act of creating one is so free flowing and limitless. I came across these moodboard "tests" on the Ensuite blog and found them so inspiring and rich with detail.

Miss Fitzpatrick

This font, part of the Charles Bluemlein Script Collection, has been bookmarked under the design tab on my browser for ages now, and I'm still waiting for a project to use it! A font that harks back to the pre-digital glory days of good penmanship and calligraphy, the description of the font includes this interesting tidbit:

"The odd way in which the Bluemlein scripts were assembled and created - by collecting different signatures and then building complete alphabets from them - is a fascinating calligraphic adventure. Because the set of constructed designs looked nothing like the original signatures, fictitious names were assigned to the new script typefaces."

So cool! From the Sudtipos project.

The Chocolate Bar

We're living in a sort of culinary renaissance era. It seems like everyday there's a new way to redefine what is considered gourmet. Take the chocolate bar for instance. Aside from a handful of artfully designed wrappers, the chocolate bar itself has largely remained the iconic brown rectangle, sometimes divided into smaller rectangles, sometimes not. The availability of quality chocolate has vastly improved, and you no longer need to look as far as Belgium or Austria for artisan chocolate. Thankfully America has come a long way since the Hershey bar. But now it's taking a new direction, wherein the design of the bar itself is evolving and becoming more decorative, more reflective of the variety of ingredients and ingenuity of the chocolatier. These are certainly impressive looking treats, and seem as fun to make as they are to eat! I love the color block-ish Mary & Matt bar and the gold flecked Chocomize bar.

From the top: Byrne & Carlson Chocolate Bars, Mary & Matt Chocolate Editions, Chocomize

Sisters of the Moon

If ever there were a reason for me to be jealous of Courtney Love, this would be it. Late 90's Courtney borrowing from late 70's Stevie Nick's wardrobe....

"Madm and CLC in Stevie Nicks ‘s borrowed finery. Toasting a lovely world gone mad."

Images via Silk & Rayon via What Courtney Wore Today

Hardware Store Nostalgia

This song was playing when I went to the hardware store the other day. Maybe it's the impending holiday season that's putting me in a nostalgic mood, but there's something about walking into a hardware store, being greeted by friendly sales people who've been working there for 20 years and the sound of The Guess Who in the background that makes me feel warm and fuzzy. Which is funny since the "hardware store" I frequented the most during my childhood was The Home Depot :(

Flora / Fungi / France / Famille

My last post included an image from this Vogue Paris November 2010 editorial, Une Dimanche a la Campagne (A Sunday in the Country) with Sasha Pivovarova. Today I came across this mushroom image from the blog, Cannelle et Vanille, and the colors reminded me of the Vogue editorial, so I decided to post more images from the spread. Vogue Paris is hands down my favorite of the Vogues, and is one of my top favorite fashion magazines. I'm not sold on Sasha as a mom and I wished she looked a bit happier, but I like the story that's being told, or at least the story I'm interpreting; a nostalgic view of a daughter's first steps into fashion guided by her mother. These images feel like memories, as though years the daughter later is sifting through old childhood photos, reflecting on happy, playful times with her maman.

Click on images to enlarge.






Mushroom image from Cannelle et Vanille, all Vogue Paris images from Fashion Gone Rogue.

Hats

There were a few trends that stood out to me among the SS 2011 fashion shows; Minimalism, menswear styling, and especially 70's revival. 70's fashion was defined by billowy dresses and flowing silhouettes, but I forgot about the amazing hats. Many of the hats featured in the shows were wide-brimmed and floppy, but I've noticed quite a range in the fall magazine editorials. My favorite is classic black. It's very "of the moment" and classic at the same time.

From the top: Marc Jacobs SS2011, Anja Rubik in Vogue Latin America, Alexa Chung in Elle UK, Elise Crombez in Vogue Turkey, Sasha Pivovarova in Vogue Paris