Here’s another Pascal Anson innovation: disparate forks, knives and spoons, all painted the same way, are transformed into new collections of “silverware”. Such a simple design principle makes a cool unified set. Here’s what Design Museum had to say about Pascal’s “Reunification Project”: “One of the new generation of British product designers for whom narrative is…
Read Morepascal anson’s surprising d-i-y paint project
Pascal Anson is the ultimate ALT-Martha Stewart, a true challenge to keeping everything within-the-lines and predictable. He’s made some videos which we plan to run periodically to remind ourselves that a guy on tv (well almost; we wish he were on tv) can inspire EXPLOSIVE!, original thinking about d-i-y and home improvement. Pascal’s view of…
Read Morefasnacht: wild + creative antidote for winter
This Saturday is Fasnacht, a wildly pagan, pre-Lenten festival takes place in Helvetia, a tiny town deep in the West Virginia Appalachians that was settled by the Swiss in the 1860’s. It is like Mardi Gras in a cold snowy land: revelers parade through the town wearing terrifying homemade masks and carrying lanterns lit by…
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duct tape: potato chip bag pants
“Mike’s new pants design for Florida: potato chip bags duct-taped together.” via Creative Commons License.
Read Moresing LOUD! like they do in sardinia
Peggy Markel, an intrepid and inspired seeker (and facilitator) of culinary and cultural adventures, recently sent us this one-minute video. She was on a scouting trip at San Francesco di Lula in Sardinia and followed the singing she heard coming from the church rectory’s kitchen. Local women were washing dishes and one was singing in…
Read Moreribbon watchband repair
…more beautiful than the original watchband. via the late, great Platform 21’s “Remarkable Repair” archive.
Read Morecouturier de cardboard: matthew sporzynski
Matthew Sporzynski whose impromptu gift I blogged about a few days ago, is an artist whose medium is paper. His business card reads: “Couturier de Cardboard”. Although Matthew’s work is published regularly in Real Simple, and he has made his unique creations for Estee Lauder, Ralph Lauren, and the Special Events department of The Museum of Modern…
Read Moredesign as resourcefulness and self-reliance
We were hoping that Constance Old would guest curate for ‘the improvised life’…here is her first (great) post: “Emily Campbell works as Director of Design for a British think tank called “RSA” (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) which is committed to research and projects devoted to social progress. (http://www.thersa.org/home) She…
Read Morelemon squeezer repair in honor of platform 21
When my trusty lemon squeezer broke, I toyed with the idea of buying a new one, but found that design collaborative Platform 21’s Repair Manifesto (blogged last summer) had lodged itself in my consciousness. “REPAIRING IS A CREATIVE CHALLENGE“…and “TO REPAIR IS TO DISCOVER” subtly resonated. There’s a way to fix this, I thought, as I wandered…
Read More‘there is more to life than increasing speed’
Via Peggy Markel
Read Morewhat to do when someone’s in trouble
The other day, I ran into my neighbor Matthew Sporzynski in the elevator. When he asked how I was doing, I let slip that I was on my way to way to have a scary test to check out my heart. “I’m sure it’ll be fine” I said, betraying my nervousness. After several hours of…
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