Bertoia Wire Chair

One of my favorite pieces of furniture is the Harry Bertoia side chair. It's more of a statement piece of furniture than a piece you will use daily. Well since I can't afford the original, I set my sights on a replica. There are a few retailers that carry the chair. Surprisingly, Target is selling one on their website now.

Letterpress - I'm impressed

Every time I turn around, it seems like someone is talking or writing about "letterpress". So I felt the need to investigate this new trend. What I found was pretty nifty.

What is letterpress? - A term for relief printing of text and images. It creates a raised surface on the paper. It was actually invented in the 15th century. It was mainly used for book printing. Letterpress has since been revived using a newer technique from digitally-rendered art. Several colleges have begun or re-activated programs teaching letterpress.

Letterpressed cards have a different character than the norm stationary. You can tell right away that the cards have a different quality to them - a higher quality. A quick search on etsy for letterpress yeilded some great designs.

To buy - http://www.letterpressed.com/index.shtml

To create the look in Photoshop - http://creativenerds.co.uk/tutorials/quick-tip-creating-a-letter-pressed-text-effect/

Daisy Rock - Guitars for Women

Daisy Rock makes guitars that are specifically made for women and girls. Tish Ciravolo is the founder of the company and says that "guitars have largely been designed for men by men." She came up with the idea for Daisy Rock guitars while a stay-at-home mom. A musician herself, Tish found it hard to play a standard bass guitar, due to its heaviness. The neck of a Daisy Guitar is thinner which makes it easy for women whom traditionally have smaller fingers, to wrap their fingers around and hit the cords.

Miley Cyrus and Lisa Loeb are among the many female artists who play on a Daisy Guitar. I love the designs and colors of the guitars, they are both feminine and empowering at the same time. I think a lot of younger female musicians would be inspired to pick up a Daisy guitar than the traditional guitar which is designed primarily for men.

Moleskine - An Old Friend

Moleskine, they call them "legendary" for a reason. These notebooks have been used by some of the most brilliant artist and writers of all time. Picasso, Hemingway, Chatwin and Van Gogh - to name a few.

On old professor of mine carried one and I admired how smart he looked just by holding the book. There is just something about a moleskine that catches your attention. Maybe its the graceful material or the simplicity of it. I bought my first moleskine in college and have been a fan ever since.

They used to come in just a basic black but now they have expanded their color palette. Some of the colors you can get are pink, red, yellow, sky blue and green. My favorite is the Volant. These have soft covers and are flexible. They also come in a variety of sizes and fit great it my purse. I know its the "digital age" and a lot of people keep their notes in their phones however it comforts me to know that what I write down in my moleskine is more permanent and less likely to "crash".

Facebook's New Headquarters

For its new HQ, Facebook selected a 1960s-era, 150,000- square-foot building that served as both a factory and materials-research lab for Hewlett-Packard. The architects tried to recycle or reuse as much of the existing lab equipment as possible: lab cabinets were repurposed as kitchenettes, for example, and an industrial crane was retrofitted to create a moving conference table.

All of the furnishings feels almost second-hand. I guess that was part of the design goal.

http://hq.construction.com/case_studies/0912_facebook.asp

Necklush = Very Cool Scarf/Necklace

Is it a scarf or necklace? Or both? I will leave that up to you to decide. What I do know is that its a very stylish accessory that is worn around the neck. The Necklush is a single piece of cotton fabric and the brainchild of Stephano Diaz and Troy Mattison. The duo draws and screenprints the patterns by hand. There are a dozens of ways the Necklush can be worn. I think this would make a great gift for a stylish friend!

Daily Drop Cap

Jessica Hische the designer at Daily Drop Cap posts a new decorative initial each work day to beautify your life and your blogs. I especially like the initial cap above because its pink, black and my initial.

Women Are Different Than Men

I am sure some of you are saying, "well duh!". However some companies are just now waking up to that fact. Furthermore they are realizing that their products should be tailored for both men and women separately. Enter the Femme Den, a woman think tank. They believe, "gender needs to be a part of every design project in the same way we consider ergonomics, function, aesthetics, etc."

It's about time!

Amazing Modern Home

Hand Cream

My hands get super dry in the winter. My Holy Grail hand cream used to be the Neutrogena but most recently I was shopping at Ulta and picked up a trial sized version of the Bliss hand cream. Wow, I am very happy and satisfied with the Bliss. It seems to last a lot longer and it smells better.

My Favorite Dining Room Table

I love the look of this strong wood table against the clean white modern chairs and accessories.