Larsson mania

We love Lisa Larsson's ceramics - have managed to restrain ourselves to just a couple of little pieces at home, but get a bit antsy whenever we see others for sale ... so hard to justify buying little pottery knick-knacks, but they're so sweet!

Lisa is a Swedish ceramic designer who started at Gustavsberg Porcelain Factory in 1953. Since 1980 she has worked as a freelance designer and sculptural artist.  A distinctive style with a unique charm, her abstracted animal forms are the Scandinavian equivalent of our local maestros Ellis and Gus McLaren. 

Our new shipment from Sweden has put us in an awkward position, can we justify expanding our own collection, or should we share?

 

As well as the great little dogs and her cuter than cute people, we're lucky enough to have a couple of big pots and lamps she designed for Gustavsberg in the early 70's ... keep an eye out - they'll be popping up on the website this week (just waiting for the photos to come back from the chemist).

DOPE

How much fun was last night's Simpsons (ep #501 !!?!?) ... not that we would ever condone illegal street-art, but we definitely enjoyed El Barto's handiwork ...

Art imitating life imitating art imitating life ....

coast modern

Came across this site the other day, promoting a new film being made about modernist architectural practice up the West coast of Nth America.  Coast Modern looks like a fantastic and enthusiastic examination of a great time for design ... one which the world is re-embracing now.

Their blog is well worth a visit for some great stills and info, and from the film's trailer it looks like it will be a beaut too ...


Coast Modern Trailer from Coast Modern on Vimeo.


From their 'about' page:
Filmmakers Michael Bernard and Gavin Froome will take us on a journey from Los Angeles to Vancouver; from 1922 up to the present exploring modernist architecture on the West Coast.

Not sure when we'll see the production completed and released, but can't wait.

ancient modern

Dunno how we haven't come across these before - about the most beautiful bottle opener in the world ... Nambu Tekki crows.

Nambu cast iron dates from mid 17th century Japan. Originally the technique was used to create ceremonial iron teapots, but is now a well established craft, with the black color the result of a rust resistant urushi glaze.

Can't find them for sale here (again!) - but love them enough to be considering an online purchase, if it comes to that.  They sell 'em at Mjölk ... hmmmmm.

Post wall art in Berlin

Sure, it's an ad - but what an ad!
A 'mobile phone event' product launch by LG - with absolutely astounding 3D projections onto the facade of a building in Berlin. Seven minutes of madness ...



Thanks to boingboing for the original post and footage ... wow.
So what's next?  Banksy's holiday snaps as a slideshow on Westminster?

thanks steve ...

Love 'em or hate 'em, apple corporation have become the design touchstone of the current generation.  They have made some very beautiful things and stuck to the 'Think Different' commitment Steve Jobs gave.



RIP Steve, and thanks.

new wall-hanging

Loving the strong Australian dollar - great time to scan US ebay for those bits and pieces that are so tricky to find here ...

Last week Cath scored a new bit of string wall-art on ebay - we think the design is based on a Yeti?  Whatever the case, he's fitting right in with the others.

Actually, it might be a free-form portrait of 'Sam the Sheepdog' from the old Looney Tunes cartoons - the fringe is a bit of a giveaway ...

We'll live with him for a while and see.

Oh, and we finally got around to covering one of our Fler SC55's in green fabric - so there's another exciting addition to the loungeroom.

ugly can still be beautiful

How to make an eyesore make people smile ...

street art

Yes vs No.


Good fun.  And it used to just be a wall.

David Lynch, odd man.

Like that's a revelation.

Was over at Door Sixteen a couple of days ago (a reliably interesting blog, for sure, by a reformed Manhattanite - Anna), and was totally entralled by this commercial.  David Lynch selling his own brand of coffee ...that would be David Lynch Signature Cup Coffee, of course ... and what a compelling ad he has made.

David Lynch Signature Cup Coffee from David Lynch.

Just a glass of water for now, thanks.

readers digest again ...

November 1964 ... great articles, quotable quotes, unbeatable advertizing ...

no accounting for taste ...

For some reason we have come to love these woven wall-hanging things. 

We have collected a few over the years - always pretty large-scale, and in nice mixes of natural tones.  We now have 5 or 6 of them around the farm - all different, but definitely tied together thematically.

The thing is ... we have tried them out in the shop a few times - thinking that they are great pieces of mid-century decor, perfect for a 70's den - and folks just don't seem to like them ...

... maybe it's just us - hopefully folks will get it one day!

Very excitingly, we found a fantastic new one last week - super fantastic, don't bother denying it!  it came straight into the house, and found it's perfect spot immediately.

Craft ... art ... science?

readers digest ... social barometer

We have been collecting vintage Readers Digest mags for a few years now ... great and dated articles, and those invaluable opportunities to Enrich Your Wordpower being great motivators.  But the advertising is a major highlight ...

All of these are from the same issue - June '61 - but seriously, every month is just as good, even the '80's ones.

Seriously.

a special mention goes out to the marvelous Caterpillar corporation for telling it like it was - the headline says it all - "Today's bush - tomorrow's farm" - helping us tame this once overgrown land of ours.

As the saying goes ... read 'em and weep.

god bless vinyl

The postman just brought us some treats ... a few reissues of our favorite hiphop albums all the way from sunny California ... already wearing out our fresh copy of Pauls Boutique.  Remember 'Hey Ladies'?

Such a highbrow bunch, those Beasite Boys ... here's an appropriately scratchy and rough copy of the video ... disco revival in the Hollywood Hills.


Beastie Boys - Hey Ladies

What's not to love?

life in the box

Hmmmmm - big metal box ... so much potential.  We're planning to turn ours into a lock-up workshop, maybe put a deck on top for the views, but having seen a bit of architect/artist/designer Adam Kalkin's work on architectureandhygiene, maybe we're lacking a little ambition ....

How's this pop-out cafe designed for illy (from a few years back now) - unfurls in 90 seconds at the push of a button ... and, most importantly, sells coffee!

Modding beats building anyday.  Nice slideshow here, too, showing a self-contained residential application ... oh, and Kalkin's PushButtonHouse2 ... super-cool!

looks good on paper

Back before fun had to be electronic and have a screen, paper dolls were a sweet way to play.  So long as somebody was available to cut out the tricky bits, a printed page could keep a kid entertained for hours ...
With access to a bit of discarded packaging, cardboard boxes can take it to the next level - small for a doll's house or large for a touch of junior architecture in constructing a fully fledged fort ...

But artist Don Lucho from Chile has taken it to the next level ...

We came across some photos of his work on styleofdesign (among plenty of great reading) - just makes us want to get a few rolls of masking tape and redecorate ...

Maybe we'll wait 'til these rains stop.