When we saw this cunning walnut doorknob from ModKnobs, we imagined it to be the perfect knob for our bathroom door. But when it finally arrived, the knob we thought so fab turned out to be huge and clunky, way out of scale for the space (see photo, below). We had neglected to take note…
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When the wise, inventive, not-terribly-technological Christoph Niemann tried to create an app, it became pretty “interesting. He documented the process in the New Yorker recently and in doing so, a wonderful distillation of the creative process and struggle: I explored countless (but crucial) dead ends, and it all came down to the most important struggle…
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We are big fans of outdoor rooms—outdoor spaces defined in such a way as to make them feel like rooms in plein air— and have featured a number of them over the years. (One of our favorites is the lovely outdoor “room” that Constantino Nivola created on his Long Island property.) We were smitten when we saw this…
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(Video link here.) Marina Abramovic The Artist is Present is a stunning documentary portrait of artist Marina Abramovic. She explores themes we are always mulling: pushing one’s limits, the nature of will power AND being truly present in one’s life. Here we get to see them in action as Abramovic weaves them through her art and life.…
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Maria Robledo sent us these words from Mother Theresa. They’ve been reverberating as we think of the people we know that really live them…wondering if we can find —improvise— ways to do that daily. Related posts: sister corita kent’s enduring rules for making + her art the collected wisdom of louis c.k. ‘proceed from gratitude’: personal…
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The headnote to Dorie Greenspan‘s crazy-simple, unbelievably good ‘M. Jacque’s Armagnac Chicken’ begins “This recipe, une petite merveille (a little marvel), as the French would say…”. The recipe IS une merveille, taking almost no work to make, with the most ordinary of ingredients, yielding spectacular results, as we discovered when cooking dinner for friends the…
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(Video link here.) Apparently, some readers were turned off by Louis C.K.’s vulgar, and to our minds perspective-inducing reflections on “what comes with a basic life”. Susan Dworski sent us this brilliant few minutes of Steve Martin as the Great Flydini as “an antidote”. Like all great magic, it appears to just happen— an improvision…
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One of many things we love about artist/designer/craftsman/journeyman Max Lamb‘s work is that he ALWAYS has an unusual take on the practical AND he loves to reveal his process, offering in a powerful lesson in EMPOWERMENT. This video shows him making a wood stool out of huge chestnut tree log he hauled home from Springfield…
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Many of Mark Tipple’s photographs of swimmers and surfer’s diving UNDER waves look like people flying and leaping…underwater. They are, in a way, in a different medium than air… because there are many….ways….to….fly……and…………………..leap!
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(Video link here.) When this very resourceful couple found that they didn’t have the money to build even the traditional brick envelope of their 20’x40′ lot in Brooklyn, they used 5 shipping containers and went from there. It’s a totally inspiring and charming story of perserverence and outside-the-box (!!!!!) thinking, as well as a swell…
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According to motivation scientist Heidi Grant Halvorson at at 99U “Making if-then plans to tackle your current projects, or reach your goals, is probably – without exaggerating – the most effective single thing you can do to ensure your success.” Yikes! Sign us up! What do we have to do? If-Then thinking works like this: You decide…
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Always on the lookout for clever way to divide and define a space, or give the illusion of different areas in an open space, we really like these clever “screens” from Swedish firm Karin Matz Arkitekt. They’re made of made from blue polypropylene string strung tight from floor to ceiling with hardware store fittings: simple, inexpensive materials, carefully…
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Marc Berenson sent us some snaps of magazine wallpaper he spotted at Steiner Studios at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The subject line read: I thought you might have an opinion on this homemade wallpaper from old magazine pages, it’s improvised For sure we have an opinion: Although it kinda works in a public stairwell with that…
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(Video link here.) 2:39 minutes of brilliant perspective from comedian Louis C.K, from his recent HBO special “Oh My God“. WARNING: Adult content. If you’re not ready for it, save for later. Related posts: louis c.k. on ‘putting the time in’ the collected wisdom of louis c.k. louis c.k. car dances ‘who are you?’ +…
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Truth be known, I have been composing food right on my kitchen worksurface for many years. As a food writer, I enjoyed the big palate the worksurface offered, perfect for combining elements and creating new combinations, both visual and gustatory. So when I renovated ‘the improvised life’s laboratory kitchen, I chose white Corian for the…
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Last Thursday, ‘improvised life’ reader Sue Anderson sent us these extraordinary photograph taken during the massive May blizzard that hit the Midwest last week, with this report: This goose with a “can-do” attitude may be of interest to you. I suppose you have heard about the snow storm currently underway in the US Midwest. Here…
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This weekend when we go to the farmer’s market, we will have Tubetti Pasta with Asparagus, Morels and Fava Beans from Sally’s award-winning cookbook A New Way to Cook in mind. It the perfect spring-into-summer pasta recipe because it lends itself to endless improvisation, depending on what look’s best in the market, or how much energy we have. It plays…
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This image of sneakers worn during the Boston Marathon is the cover of the current Boston Magazine. It was the idea of the magazine’s design director Brian Struble; the magazine sent out tweets and Facebook posts asking runners to submit images of their shoes, along with personal stories. Here’s Brian’s thinking: To me the cover is…
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In the new Spring Design Issue of New York Magazine, artist Maira Kalman talks to longtime neighbor and friend Isaac Mizrahi about how Tel Aviv has influenced her New York apartment. The two images of Kalman’s apartment shows a warm, personal, comfortable, loose space, very different from the stark interiors of so many other designer’s…
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…good ideas…bad ideas…doubt…more doubt…no, no, no….fear…talent…self-loathing…concepts…scribbles… imagination… What a mash-up! Anyone we know? ….Meanwhile, what about that left brain/right brain thing?
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