Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Over and Out
I'm so looking forward to the Alameda flea market Sunday morning -- we haven't been in months and months.
Here's to undiscovered treasures, and discovering them. Have a lovely weekend!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Cool Stuff: Irana Douer's Path to World Domination
Speaking of Irana Douer ...
If original art is out of your price range, young Ms. Douer has also created a variety of budget-friendly prints, housewares, and other items bearing her strange and beautiful artwork. Top: Untitled limited-edition Giclee print, $40 at Poketo
Wallet 2, $20 at Poketo
Untitled 6 ($20), Todo Pelo ($20), and Angel ($25) archival prints, all at Thumbtack Press
Hair Pillow, $30 Australian (about $20 US) at Third Drawer Down
Portraits of Broken Hearted Women limited-edition 'zine, $7 at Islands Fold
Maria, Christina, and Nadia, teacups, $46 each at LAMA
Safiya Cup, $48 at Makool Loves You
Check out more of Douer's artwork and other creations right here.
Mark Your Calendar: Irana Douer at Rare Device
Opening Saturday, January 31: Argentinian illustrator and painter Irana Douer's first-ever U.S. solo show, Hidden Treasures, at San Francisco's Rare Device.
Douer, who hails from Buenos Aires and is only 25, creates vibrantly colorful portraits of women that are at once innocent and sinister. The artist "is interested in how relationships, particular situations, or even ordinary things can affect a woman's life. Hidden Treasures ... explore(s) what's hidden, different and mysterious."
The opening reception (with Douer in attendance) is Saturday from 7 to 9 p.m., and the show will be up at Rare Device through March 3. If you're not in the area, check the Rare Device website to purchase Douer's original works online.
See more of Douer's artwork right here -- and click here to check out prints and household items bearing her illustrations.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Good Reads (Gone): Domino Magazine is No More
Domino magazine is ceasing publication, it was announced today. The March issue will be Domino's last.
There have been rumblings that the magazine was in trouble for awhile -- and plenty of other home-design titles have been shuttered recently due to this piss-poor economy -- so it's not like the news is coming completely out of the blue.
But still, I'm speechless. And sad. I guess I'll have no choice but to console myself with $9 imported copies of Living, Etc.
Where will you be getting your shelter porn now?
Etsy Find of the Day: Maxwell Loren Holyoke-Hirsch
Add this to the "Everyone has an Etsy shop now" file ...
Maxwell Loren Holyoke-Hirsch is well known on the San Francisco art scene, and he regularly shows his strange and mesmerizing original paintings, illustrations, and woodcuts at some of the city's hippest galleries. He's one of the growing list of artists whose work (like Holy Artisans, above, $400) I covet, but never thought I'd have the pleasure of owning.
So imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered that Holyoke-Hirsch also sells budget-friendly prints as well as originals on good old Etsy under the name The Small Factory. (In case I haven't said it lately: I love you, Etsy.)
My faves:
Star Mapper limited-edition signed and numbered print, $20
Force Field limited-edition signed and numbered letterpress print, $40
Untitled Portrait wood-mounted, resin-coated paper original, $80
Painter original illustration, $150
Megarealms7 original illustration, $200
Check out Holyoke-Hirsch's Etsy shop right here -- and see more of his work here.
(P.S. If you're in the area, stop in to see Holyoke-Hirsch's group show, Strange Ways, with Matt Furie, Mark Todd, and Matthew Lock at San Francisco's Double Punch starting February 7.)
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The Artful Home: Lisa DeJohn
I really like these prints from West Newbury, Massachusetts artist Lisa DeJohn -- they're sweet, simple, and ever-so-slightly retro. Clockwise from top left: Blue Flower, Green Vines, Yellow Lupine, and Jade. Each 8.5-by-11-inch print is $35, or $60 for a 13-by-19 right here. (The originals are available, too.)
DeJohn is quite the busy, successful bee right now: She has a canvas available at Urban Outfitters (above, $15), a set of charming prints at children's decor retailer Land of Nod (also above, $69 each), journals and calendars from Chronicle Books, notebooks from Pinball Publishing ($9 each), and a variety of other colorful and affordably priced items bearing her artwork. Plus, she recently painted a 175-foot water tower (below) in Albuquerque, New Mexico -- whew!
Check out more of DeJohn's work here.
Inspiration: Making the Bed
Face it: We could all stand to have a little more fun in bed. (And, yes, feel free to read that any way you want.)
I spotted this great Flickr set called "Making the Bed" by jek in the box (aka the L.A. craft blogger behind Scrumdillydilly) on Shelterrific awhile back and have been meaning to share it here ever since.
Especially on these cold, dreary, mid-winter mornings, who wouldn't want to wake up to such bright and cheerful bedding?
Admittedly, I've always been a white sheets and nothing-but-white sheets kind of gal. But these delightful jolts of color are inspiring me to be a bit ... wilder in the bedroom.
How about you?
Monday, January 26, 2009
Etsy Find of the Day: Summerland Salvaged Furniture
Even in a modern space, I love a few vintage pieces mixed in -- it imparts much-needed character and personality, and lends an element of the unexpected. I also appreciate timeworn furnishings that have been given a new lease on life with updated upholstery, a surprising paint color, or clever alteration. And that's exactly what Etsy seller Summerland does. Above: Acid Green Dresser (which reveals a flash of hot pink when you open the drawers), $300
Wall-Mounted Demilune Table, $135
Teardrop Vase Pendant Lamp, $80
Sweet and Cheeky Chair, $225
Robin's Egg Blue Wool Sofa, $1,200
See all of Summerland's Etsy offerings right here.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Cool Stuff: West Elm Bridge Tables
I'm kind of over West Elm -- all that wenge-colored wood, all those boxy upholstered pieces, the whole "modern/rustic/ethnic" thing ... But there are occasional exceptions to my growing apathy about the store's trademark look.
Like these Bridge Side ($179) and Coffee ($299) tables, especially together. I really like the contrast of smooth white lacquer with a silkscreened jacaranda-leaf motif and the earthy, striated sungkai wood. Yes, please.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Cool Stuff: Oras Clocks
I blogged Oras's (aka Northern California designer Vilija Marshall) modern mobiles awhile back, and am really liking her brand-new clock designs as well. Reminiscent of midcentury sunburst clocks, each 18-inch timekeeper is handmade from lasercut walnut and is available with one of four different hand colors: Orange, green, pink, and turquoise.
Pukas Clock, $160
Gele Clock, $165
Check out the entire Oras collection right here.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The Artful Home: We = Trouble
Last fall, the print-release site Tiny Showcase put together a group show at Brooklyn's Secret Project Robot gallery. Called We = Trouble, the show featured collaborative works (as well as several solo pieces) by a international group of 32 artists. (Above: Three Cranes and a Deer by Nigel Peake and Holly Rice.)
The exhibit "was designed to showcase communities of artists that do not subscribe to traditional art world values of egocentricity and competition, but rather foster communities of trust and encouragement. Sixteen artists were given complete freedom to invite a partner that they would most enjoy collaborating with. Responding with an avalanche of marathon drawing jams, long-distance parcel post, fake feuds, spying, empty threats, pseudo sabotage, and curiosity, the participants spent the last six months oscillating between forgetting about the show altogether to pulling all-nighters just trying to out-trouble one another, or simply trying to trouble to their maximum extent."
A few of the artists are familiar names -- there's a significant Bay Area contribution, for instance -- but many of them are new to me (and several of those were love at first sight). Now these original artworks are available through the Tiny Showcase website. Some of my favorite pieces:
Slutty Plan by Riikka Sormunen
Pony by Riikka Sormunen
Sex Grill by Jaakko Pallasvuo and Riikka Sormunen
Caves, Telescopes, and Slides by Nigel Peake and Holly Rice
Acclimation Blast by Maxwell Loren Holyoke-Hirsch
North by Caroline Gaedechens
Secrets by Caroline Gaedechens and 1911 (aka The Good Machinery)
Bird Series V by Matt Furie and Aiyana Udesen
Ghost in the Graveyard by Jen Corace
We Were There by Catia Chen and Danni Meyerson
Boglight by Michelle Blade and Marci Washington
The Wanderer by Michelle Blade and Marci Washington
Moon Mouth by Michelle Blade and Marci Washington
Moon Bathing by Michelle Blade, Jay Howell, and Ferris Plock
Bones by Jay Howell, Deth P. Sun, and Ferris Plock
Lost Marbles by Ferris Plock and Kelly Tunstall
Untitled by Erin Althea and Drew Beckmeyer
Purple Panties by Mike Bertino and Daniel Gibson
Check out all of the featured pieces here, and contact Tiny Showcase for info and pricing on available works.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
