Gesundheit !

 

my perpetually runny winter nose will thank me when these arrive on my doorstep :
organic cotton handkerchiefs from hank&cheef

the benefits go beyond aesthetics : visit their amazing facts page
. . . it takes 90 years to grow a box of kleenex
. . . an average household spends $30,000 on disposable tissues ?

water dreams in winter

gorgeous photographs that I am adding to my wish list

Kelp and Yesterday I Sat Quietly by Shari Altman

via photographer Jennifer Causey’s Pop-Up Shop

yester -

by Lee Crutchley, via ShareSomeCandy

passion for process

I am a sucker for process : I love when stages of change are revealed because therein lies a level of detail rich with inspiration. Industrial, biological, political, creative – all types of processes intrigue me.

Enter pumpkin waffles.

Not what you expected? But doesn’t this culinary process look so delicious… ? The act of making – smelling, sorting, mixing + measuring – just enhances the ‘yum’ ….

 

I am also a fan of people who love something so much that they pursue its perfection simply because they enjoy it. Visit the Pumpkin Waffles Blog for this yummy recipe : that’s right, a blog devoted to pumpkin waffles. Fantastic !

OPEN loop

 

 

 

 

I am honored and humbled to be featured in an article on OPEN Forum today. Talking with reporters is an odd experience, and it often makes me collect my thoughts in a way that surprises me. Chugging along with the day-to-day work of running a business, I rarely reflect on it philosophies and synchronicities.

Some of Loop’s reflections are shared in the article “Connecting with Experience : 3 Business Owners Share Their Insights” by Marci Shinder as well as the stories of Bruce + Jordan Jed from Longfellow’s Coffee and Dan McHugh from Expense Reduction.

daydreamer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was introduced to this graphic designer yesterday while reading an interview from Samantha Hahn for Working Press [ a new online print gallery from sub-studio ] –
I am interested in learning more about who designers draw inspiration from, so when Hahn mentioned Christopher David Ryan, I had to check him out.

CDR is a Portland-Maine based graphic artist …“ daydreamer, pseudo-scientist, wanna-be astronaut and untrained intellectual who tends to find inspiration in pretty much anything... especially music, the universe, the human condition and natural phenomena. “  I fell in love with his Daydream print [ at the top of this post ] and was really taken by his Daily Postings, a visual diary in an unexpected and delightful horizontally scrolling format. Chris very kindly answered a few of my questions and it’s my pleasure to share his thoughts with you :

EB : Your Daily Postings from 2008 are incredible visual diaries. Do words lead your images or do images tease out words?

CDR : As much as I try to have a method for forming ideas that lead to pictures I never get anywhere. I have sketchbook, napkins, envelopes and various pieces of random ephemera that I have words jotted and images doodled/sketched on. These ideas range from things I think I heard in songs, random abstract thoughts, something that I saw or something that I can't explain. Somehow they are all connected. They have to be. They are all intertwined. One thing leads to another. If I have words, I will think of an image and vice-versa. There are the very rare times that both come at once. I appreciate these times... just as much as I enjoy the time that I have no idea where I am going with an idea.

EB : What do you do to overcome creative blocks?

CDR : I'm about to sound egotistical but I don't have creative blocks, seriously. I have times when I have blocks on "good" creative, but I can't recall a time that I have ever been blocked. I often feel cursed in some way. I find it difficult to not think creatively. It's something that I am currently really trying to work through.

I have a lot of ideas and do a lot of work that I find completely unworthy of being shared with the rest of the world. When I feel like I am in a place where I am feeling this way, I find that I need to step away from working or trying to come up with something. I need to go for a walk, listen to an album, watch a movie, have a conversation, whatever. I find that my best ideas come from simple observation, observing the world around me. There are many ways to do this, but I've found that staring into a monitor or a blank sheet of paper does not always work so well for me.

EB : What are some of the challenges you currently face as a designer?

CDR : Working too much, relaxing too little... and that's about it really. I would love to get more work or get representation and such things ... but I should try harder at making these things happen before I list it as a challenges. Ultimately, I am pretty happy with where things are going for me. Maybe that is a challenge.
Perhaps I could be more of a go-getter...
but I don't think so.

Find more of CDR’s work at :
cdryan.com | mylittleunderground.net | hellosleepyhead.com | alittlemorelikethis.com

im-pressed

 loving these coral placemats from chilewich’s Pressed Vinyl Collection

made in philly

“ Philly Works is a survey and exhibition of work by 60+ students and professional designers, crafts people, artisans, architects + manufacturers based in Philadelphia and the region.  Prototypes, hand made limited editions + mass produced goods will be on display to illustrate the many types of production still alive in hopes of inspiring new work, new connections, and to bring light to what is happening in the city. “

Join Loop for the opening party at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design : October 9th, 5:30 – 11pm, Meyerson Hall, 34th + Walnut Streets

Part of the week long design festival that is DesignPhiladelphia + sponsored by Made In Philly.com.

buzzed

 

loving the insect / arts + crafts architecture / futurist black lace detail
from Alexander McQueen’s Resort 2010 Collection

25 of 500

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday was a glorious day ! Amid moving boxes half-unpacked and a dining table full of loop orders half-assembled, a little buzz at my [ new ! ] front door door shooed away the clutter for a moment.  A package had arrived from Kobe, Japan bearing the most delicious red pencils I have ever seen … !

Do you remember my gushing over the 500 pencils program last month ? Somehow, someway, my little blog post caught the eye of the PR + Events Coordinator of Felissimo, the maker of said pencils. I was invited to participate in their Creative Ambassador Program, whereby I’d be given a full subscription to the pencils program in exchange for participation in their competitions + their online community and just general social buzzing about the program.

From Social Designer : “Change doesn’t happen by chance, it happens by design.“

“Social Designer strives to spark new thinking about the issues that matter most by encouraging the design community to create fun, socially-relevant graphics for tees, totes and other goods. We do this both by holding design competitions to create products that support meaningful causes — all winning designs are available here — and by selling goods with a strong social or environmental value.”

I can’t tell you how excited I am to begin drawing with these glossy new wood-covered creatures ~ with colors dubbed Spiffy, Jessica, Toy Box, Scarlett O’Hara and Apple Pudding, who knows what will happen !?

“ Nice to meet you, Constantine … “.

At the other end of the world, a swath of printed fabric hangs precariously in a stairwell. From a distance, the black and white graphic looks like Moorish tile or a Macintosh illustration, the intricate foreground competing slyly with the figural negative space.

Upon closer inspection, one discovers that the inked motif is actually a building, sketched by a hand adept at conversing with it’s master’s eyes. Mirrored and repeated, this sketch stretches the running length of the cotton and becomes pattern. Ah !

Then you learn it’s 12 metres of the new Constantine fabric collection by Architect Lorenzo Nassimbeni, on display as part of the ‘Architects as Artists' exhibition at the Cape Institute for Architects, curated by Suzette Bell-Roberts. And you love it !

Fabric and wall coverings distributed by MAVROMAC :

Johannesburg: [ +2711 ] 011 444 1584
Cape Town: [ +2721 ] 021 797 4739
Durban: [ +2731 ] 031 303 8203
Port Elizabeth: [ +2741 ] 041 586 3338

ps – thanks for the great pics, lorenzo !

a-washi in color

 

I love the translucent breath of color that this japanese washi tape adds to wrapped gifts !  Torn easily by hand and *repositionable*, I think I could have hours of fun with this stuff… [ Yukio Taniguchi’s tape show here on loop’s eon’ wrap at MoMA ]

With my favorite season approaching, these warm hues from happytape have me feeling the cooler breezes of September already !

25 colors x 20 months

I just discovered this on Twitter and have become completely distracted by the 500 pencils program from Social Designer : a simple subscription service delivers 25 curated colors each month for 20 months. The idea that this staggering collection can be mounted to the wall in sleek plexi holders made me marvel at the following : wall-mounted pencil holders would create a work of art that creates works of art, the display itself changing as different colors are taken down, used, sharpened to differing lengths and returned to the wall.  My imagination is slipping into blisssss …….

ps : my birthday is september 18th ; )

loop + GreetQ + Scoutie Girl

While there is nothing like the sensory stimulation of a good paper store – the colors, combinations + textures – the online boutique GreetQ is so chock full of good design, I can almost smell a clean, fresh sheet of writing paper when I visit. Beyond a well-curated collection of notes for all occasions from independent artists and small card companies, GreetQ thinks outside the envelope :

“” … We believe that people still appreciate the act of receiving a note or beautifully made card in the mail. That’s why we want to make staying connected with family and friends as easy as ordering a pizza. You never have to leave your home or office; just select a card, type in your message and we will handwrite or print your message, mailing it directly to the recipient in time for that important occasion.”

[ They have a great blog, too ! ]

Some of the great lines to choose from include, from left to right :
Masha D’Yans, Cartolina, Egg Press + Herman Wu

You can image Loop’s great delight in announcing that a large selection of our Loop and Doodlespark note cards are now available on this unique platform. We’re blushing at how excited Jennifer at GreetQ was to feature us in a special giveaway with Scoutie Girl as part of their Emerging Illustrators and Stationers Giveaway. Scoutie Girl, courtesy of vendor-partners, will be giving away the work of 7 selected artists and illustrators ~ visit now to enter by Sunday, August 9th !