Month: October 2011

Makri for The Row

This post harkens back to my motivation for another post, The Problem with Being a Graphic Designer…. The logo for Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen’s clothing line, The Row, immediately caught my eye. I am definitely a sucker for logos with combined letter glyphs, when letters blend together.

What then got my attention though was the great new line of jewelry done by Makri for the Row. Check out this beautiful round eye ring in 18k pink gold with green, burgundy and black diamonds. In my pretend life where I am a millionairess, I would definitely be splurging on colored diamonds as a beautiful alternative to classic white diamonds.

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Color!

There is a trend circling in the design of album and book covers right now. Both Mylo Xyloto from Coldplay and Steve Martin’s book An Object of Beauty channel the knockout lettering filled with abstract/colorful designs. I’m not sure that there is an explanation better than that, haha, so just take a look.

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So Fresh


I am loving working at my new job. We carry a variety of home products including home fragrance. It is great to be able to test them all out before committing to one of my own. For the past few months I have had the Fleur de Sal diffuser from Williams and Sonoma. It is the perfect fresh and taste-neutral scent but it is running out, oh no! After smelling all of our diffusers around the store I think I have a new love for the coming months. It is the Bamboo diffuser by NEST, another light scent but this time more earthy than watery. Buy it here at Neiman Marcus. What are your favorite home scents?

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To India With Love

I have had my eye on this book for awhile now and have yet to get my hands on it. It is a compilation of writings by celebrities on their experiences in India written to raise money for the victims of the Mumbai terrorist attacks. I have India and other Asian countries on my travel list and am itching to get my hands on some good, related reads. Let me know if you all have any suggestions!
-grace

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Everyone Needs a Chair

When I was a kid I would visit my grandmother’s farm in Maryland. I loved her antique furniture. Especially her green armchair. This armchair, however, was her armchair and I spent the better part of my childhood trying to finagle my way into getting to sit in it. I finally decided that when I had my own place I was going to have such a chair, one that fit me perfectly and that only I could occupy. While mine isn’t the dreamiest of interior decor it is absolutely perfect, accompanied by my coffee table topped with none other than Grace Bonney’s new book, Design*Sponge at Home.

I was lucky enough to see Grace Bonney speak last night in Savannah and get her to sign my copy. Yay!

And because everyone needs their own special chair, here is more chair inspiration from one of my favorite illustrators, Maira Kalman. I saw her exhibition at the Jewish Museum this summer in New York. Absolutely lovely.
And, the chair is pink. Even better.

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Anima Mundi

One of the reasons I love having the Marc by Marc Jacobs store in downtown Savannah is there amazing curation of art and design books. The other week I happened upon American artist, Philip Taaffe’s Anima Mundi and it is now on my list of to-buy’s. Taaffe combines geometry, color, and nature to create new landscapes that keep me mesmerized forever. Read about the original exhibition of this body of work here. And buy the book here.

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“Frost Yourselves”

We all know the seminal 2003 classic, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and the sexy Matthew McConaughey, advertising exec who comes up with the catchy “Frost Yourself” diamond campaign. I wish I could do just that but alas, I have a graduate student budget. I am loving the teardrop gemstone look right now, instead. I see it everywhere. Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and other celebs among them.

My favorite are these by Ippolita, but in the universe where I have an unlimited budget.

But for those of us who do not have a Louis wallet overflowing with cash…These beautiful alternatives from two Etsy shop-owners. One and Two.


The problem with being a Graphic Designer…

Do you know the show Extreme Couponing? Well, if not, we’ve all been guilty of doing just the same, buying something because of the great deal. But, you know, times are tough, no shame. I however, have a different problem. I buy things just because I like the packaging. Does it have a trusted brand name? Probably not. Does it look super awesome? ALWAYS. It is always nice to buy a product on the basis of the design and then discover that the product itself is pretty sweet too. Today I am referring to my recent purchase of J.R. Watkins Dish Soap in Lemon that I found at Target. No animal bi-products or colors and fillers. Woohoo! I will be indulging in J.R. Watkins home products for the foreseeable future.