The Mississippi State University AIGA held their 3rd annual student design competition and just announced the winners (whittled down from over 1200 entries). There are some really lovely entries and I just had to share a few favorites! See the rest on flickr right here. Above is from Sujin Lim; below is from Alanna Scott (stay tuned for more about Alanna’s work here).
Having read the recent news about Polaroid discontinuing its manufacture of instant film, I immediately thought of some of the beautiful Polaroid photography I’ve come across. [Read the NYT mention about Polaroid right here for more info.]
One of my favorite photography finds has been Maditi, who shoots gorgeous gauzy landscapes, makes weeds and branches look stunning, and transforms simple and mundane objects into bold color pops. She uses both Polaroid and medium format film, and I sincerely hope her work will not be at all thwarted by the sad Polaroid news. The top picture is one of my favorites - apparently taken at the Mirabell Gardens in Salzburg - doesn’t it just draw you in?
You can view more of Maditi’s portfolio on her website here, or purchase from a selection of her Polaroids on her etsy store here.
A luxury flooring and furniture design firm in Milan, Paola Lenti designs and produces pieces with vibrant color and interesting texture. I’ve skipped over a big swath of their furniture collection in order to present just a few favorites. Enjoy the snippet, but there is a lot more to see on their website right here, including a full line of outdoor furniture. I think the wool cubes (tippy top picture) are terrific - I’m such a fan of that thick wool felt right now, and those greens are so fresh. I hope the seams inspire me when I’m working on my felted wool blanket project…
Speaking of great seams, Paola Lenti has rugs that remind me a lot of Flor, but for the fact that Paola Lenti’s (superior) wool felt squares are beautifully stitched together. The work has such meticulous detail. I’ve been surprised to find such inspiration from rugs and carpets (see Nani Marquina - recently picked up by DWR - for the ultimate in carpet-texture-inspiration; particularly the collaborative projects with Tord Boontje - holy cow! More on that soon).
Really beautiful knitted cushions from Paola Lenti’s Milan 2007 collection, above, look like they put the “cush” into “cushion” - mmmm!
Filed under: letterpress
Went to visit Big Momma this morning. She’s the 10×15 Chandler & Price platen letterpress available locally from what used to be a small print shop but is now a fairly dilapidated little building with a bit of a flooding problem. She’s girthy, about 4′ wide by 5′ long and could likely do some serious damage to a small child/animal when her gears start whirring. But there is something so attractive about her.
It seems only logical to pass on her - I have no garage or facility of my own in which to house her - but I am having a hard time letting her go. She’s scary and big, greasy and dusty, and I’ve got very little experience with letterpress at all. Even Joe, the guy who’s trying to sell her, saw how small I am relative to the press and must think I’m crazy to want her. But he turned her on and cranked her up nonetheless. Is now really a time to be logical? Or is it just the time to do something a little crazy? Maybe Big Momma is the opportunity my fortunes predicted and I would be a fool to pass her up!
Option A: Buy Big Momma, hire moving company, house in parents’ garage
Option B: Buy the baby press (6×10 C&P tabletop platen press) and ease into this letterpress fantasy
They end up being about the same price for each. Big Momma obviously has a larger plate capacity and can be much more production-oriented. The baby press, however, may feel less intimidating for me to get started with and just experiment with. This is also when I start laughing like Beavis… uhhh, heh, uhh, what am I going to uhh print? Huhhh…
Do you know Looolo yet? A Canadian design firm extremely dedicated to sustainability, Looolo creates amazing textile designs - particularly pillows, scarves and blankets. The name Looolo is a visual representation of 100% - meaning 100% dedicated to being “green.” Their Climatex Lifecycle yarns, which they spent 5 years developing, are toxic chemical-free, certified organic and are biodegradable (you can even compost them). You can read a lot more about their process and commitment to being ecologically responsible on their website here.
To me, their extreme commitment to being utterly eco-friendly was an excellent “bonus feature,” as I’d originally been drawn to Looolo because of their gorgeous designs without having any idea of their admirable greenness. I simply loved their textures and range of colors, and hope you enjoy taking a look. I wish I could share some images of their scarves because they were phenomenal, but it looks like they’re revamping that collection now.
If I’ve got you into a pillow mood, be sure to swing by Ochre’s online store and visit their 100% baby alpaca cushions, pictured below. The grey and khaki are temporarily unavailable - but you can still pick one up in cream! Or check out some their other beautiful pillows and home decoration while you’re there.
I love the nubby texture of the alpaca pillows from Ochre - and even without touching them, I know they’ve got to be incredibly soft.
