imogen heap sings salt into cosmic design

(Video link here.) On the heels of Sally’s how-to-make-herb-salt-video on The Splendid Table this weekend, we thought this piece by British ‘ecclectic, eccentric and innovative musician’ Imogen Heap would make a nice combo-platter. Heap “sings” salt into a beautiful and very controlled, rather cosmic-looking pattern. Actually, singing might not be the right word – we actually…

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video: sally making herb salt with lynnne rossetto kasper (now there’s no excuse not to make it!)

(Video link here.) As promised in yesterday’s post, here ‘s the video of  Sally on public radio’s The Splendid Table showing host Lynne Rossetto Kasper how she makes her Fragrant Herb Salt, and the many possibilities for improvising with it, from roast chicken to vegetables to butter cookies. You’ll find the recipes for it and…

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maira kalman on life, death, work, love…

(Video link here.) We can’t think of a better way to celebrate this lovely ordinary day than with this video of the great Maira Kalman – whose remarkable books are a blend of images and words into vivid stories –  giving her two cents on what it is to be human. She covers a lot…

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harlem lab renovation: ‘before’ photos

I’ve been circling the story of the transformation of ‘the improvised life’s new Laboratory from vin ordinaire apartment to its new incarnation of fluid, morphable, multi-use space for living and improvising (a glimpse above), wondering how to tell it. Having shown the early sketches and plans, it seems like the best bet would be to…

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desktop (+floor +wall) inspirations from unlikely sources

Since we started renovating ‘the improvised life’s space’ we’ve had our eyes peeled for solutions to various design problems. We’re finding that once we have a question in our head, inspiration and ideas can come from the most unlikely places. Desperately needing a proper desk to work on, we hurredly devised one out of hollow…

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four from our readers…from typeface to pallet art

We’ve gotten quite a few email submissions from our readers lately, along with a stead uptick in traffic. Yaye. Or should we say YUM, the beautiful fragment of type Maria Robledo’s daughter Isabel created. At bottom, a shipping pallet that’s been transformed into an artwork by Mexican artist and reader Mary Carmen. You can see…

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good maker’s ‘blogs for good’ contest (+ jesse bernstein)

Good Maker is running a contest for bloggers trying to make a social impact. Selected by popular vote, the winner will get $1,000 for the cause they support plus a $500 prize. The ‘Blogs for Good’ run the gamut, from blogs that advocate for the positive aspects of pit-bull-like dogs or the virtues of home-grown foods to…

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reader’s improv: cardigan sweater skirt

Last Fourth of July, Antonia LoPresti sent us an email about the emergency improv she came up with for her daughter Sofia: After an impromptu dip in the Washington square park fountain, Sofia’s skirt was soaked. A hunt to find a children’s shop yielded no luck SO I took my cardigan sweater out of my bag,…

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vacation (or weekend) mental prep

This recent New Yorker cover by Mark Ulriksen called “Capturing the Memories” is, curiously, the perfect illustration the New York Times article Call Waiting: It’s Me, Your Vacation: Eight Rules for Getting the Most Out of Your Time Off that appeared a week before. Matt Richtel outlines “Vacation Mental Prep”  for people who have a hard time letting go…

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