WRITE HERE

This is nuts. Talk about some serious lettering talent... Thanks, Christopher!

BE MY GUEST

Someday I hope I to have one of these little guys so you can be my guest. Heck, its so beautiful, I'd make it the main house. Betty Wasserman Art & Interiors has done an amazing job with this space. I love the shake siding, deep ebony floors mixed with all the wood tones, the art selections, ooo and my favorite cherner side chair. Betty also represents some amazing artists.

LONG LAST

It is launch day for the Eames postage... if you are at the post office, watch out... here I come! I feel like we've been waiting forever.

SHAPELY

It is official. I want every product by J Schatz. My affections began with the egg bird houses, but these happening curtains are too much... does not compute... design overload.

I just can't go on...

BRAGGING RIGHTS

I don't really mention family much on MStetson, but my niece is brilliant. I just had to share. ARE YOU LOOKING AT THOSE PAINTINGS!?! She started art classes when she was three. I was (and am) always so excited to encourage her creative passion. I remember asking about her painting and her reply… "Noooo Auntie, I use pastels." Then, I would ask how her pastels were coming and she would reply, "Aaaauunntttiieee, now I do watercolor." Now that she is seven, it is more like "Ahhhh Auntie Lindsay, I did watercolor when I was five. I paint with oils now."

One of my favorites I tuck away in my heart is when my sister told me about my niece wanting to move to California to be an artist like her Auntie when she grows up... pretty sure this seven-year-old has already surpassed her twenty-seven-year-old aunt.

Want to inspire creativity in your little one? Make sure to check out Bloesom Kids craft projects... and maybe the DIYs too.

I WANT...

I mean, I really want the vines large collage diptych by artist Lisa Congdon. View Lisa's portfolio.

REST

Apparently my body decided it couldn’t keep up with my crazy schedule and now I have caught a cold. I hope to be back at 100% on Monday. When I get better I want to visit the San Diego Children’s Museum to see Tanya Aguiñiga’s new installation.

LETTERFORMS

Shannon, better known as Sam, uses inspiring letter and number forms to create these attractive pieces. The juxtaposition of the clean curves of a clarendon typeface with the combinations of different mixed media is quite nice. You can purchase a select number of works on her etsy site. Her website is full of inspiring editions and lists many of the galleries where her work may be found.

For those of you in Portland, Oregon, you can head to the Buckman Art Show & Sell.

SANS

Oooo Rae Dunn now offers SANS SERIFS! You can purchase them here…

MIX IT UP

The delicacy of the line art paired with the bold graphic elements, make the mixed media works of Sheila Metcalf Tobin some of my favorite. The natural woodgrain of the plywood is an excellent backdrop to her botanical shapes and forms. Sheila also sells lovely limited edition screen prints (see below) on her etsy shop. Delightful color palettes, I might add.

HANGING

There is something about mobiles that seem to catch my attention. Sometimes, I attribute it to being easily amused, other times I find the delicate balance of materials, both in weight and composition, make them true works of art. Julie Frith has harnessed these elements into a wide variety of mobiles and stabiles very very well. You can find Julie’s work at her website, her etsy store or on her flickr site.

They certainly create beautiful shadows while in movement, don’t they? (see below)

LEAP

Happy Leap Day. These colors are so wonderful… beautiful technique. Leap7 11x14inch original oil painting by Roz

TIMELY

Portland artist Amy Ruppel launches another online art sale today at 10am (pacific standard time). I really enjoy her use of mixed mediums to create a well-balanced layering as well as her color palettes. She always offers such wonderful pieces in a variety of dimensions and price ranges. (Not that we really needed an excuse for a little treat, did we?)

Want to stay in-the-know of Amy’s upcoming events, sign-up here.

MAPPED

I am really wanting to add some new art around the house. Rachel Ann Austin’s work will definitely have to be among it. But what series to choose? Decisions, decisions... Each series offers its own uniqueness. The map paintings are so interesting with the layering effect and the bright paint juxtaposed to the muted map. The seed drawings are beautiful, organic and the colors are quite lovely. But, the oil paintings might really give me the pop of color I’ve been wanting and those abstract lantern/blossom shapes intrigue me. Hmm...

Check out Rachel’s etsy store here.

{ map paintings }

{ seed drawings }

{ oil paintings }

COMPOSED

I have always wanted to be a photographer. I inherited my grandfather’s old 35mm SLR and, although, I definitely didn’t master it, it did make me appreciate those who have. Like Michael Moran. His portfolio displays the interiors and exteriors he is shooting so thoughtfully. The light and composition create an overall mood and emotional response as you gaze into them. (It doesn’t hurt that he is shooting some of the best structures and spaces I’ve ever seen!) Make sure to check out the talented architects he has worked with... pretty sure I’m going to have to post about some of their other work in the near future.

{ Shelton, Mindel & Associates }
Mindel Loft | New York, NY

{ Shigeru Ban Architects + Dean Maltz Architect }
Furniture House | Sagaponac, NY

{ José Ramón and Ricardo Sierra }
c/ Abades, 3 | Seville, Spain

{ Stonely Pelsinski architects Neukomm }
Core Club | New York, NY

{ Rafael Moneo }
l'Auditori | Barcelona, Spain

LUCKY M

In the middle of a design meeting, I had to stop M mid-sentence… “what is that on your hand,” I exclaimed as I yanked it closer. It was my first encounter with jewelry designed by Anna Beck and I am definitely not going to let it be my last! Read about how Anna Beck found her way to her Balinese techniques here... so interesting. Below is a sampling of her collections…

{ bali | sumatra }

{ java | nila }

{ lombok | masa }

NITE

I came across this site the other day, and thought it was an interesting concept to share. One+Only Custom Headboards takes art and illustrations and turns it into bold canvas statements. They have pre-made designs but also offer custom headboards and I was thinking how fantastic photographer Trever Hoehne’s bokeh art would look set above crisp white linens. (Not that I really need an excuse to buy Trever’s work, but if I did, this would seal the deal.)

{ left: trever hoehne | right: bill wilkinson for One+Only }

{ bamboo from One+Only }

GOOD INDEED

As I have said before, I love hand-blown glass. New York City based jGoodDesign takes this artform a step further. Sculptural art + function. Without the lights on, the pieces can stand alone. With the lights on, they become alive… light interacting with the inconsistencies that come from being handmade. Perfectly imperfect.

SLABBED

I noticed it has been some time since I posted on one of my favorite things: typefaces. Just as I began my post, I received an email from my favorite type foundry Hoefler & Frere-Jones about their new release, Archer; It stopped me in my tracks. I have always been a fan of slab serifs and the sheer versatility of Archer is unbelievable. Forty styles and character sets to choose from could create one dynamic yet cohesive mix. It seems they have carefully refined every aspect of this typeface from the lining and old-style figures to the balance of slab serifs and terminal balls of a typewriter font. Regardless of whether you even understood the previous sentence, you will definitely recognize the quality of this extensive type family.

(Look how good “mstetson” looks and those numbers... please!)

NO WORDS

Nicole over at CouchDesign must be a woman after our own hearts. She just turned M & I on to artist David Wiseman. How we have never heard of him is beyond me. David’s work definitely speaks for itself… and it is quite well spoken.