(Video link here.) One of the things Designer Stefan Sagmeister is known for is the seemingly radical act of taking a year long sabbatical every seven years to refresh his creative self and explore projects freely. He has much to say about sabbaticals. Our favorite bit: How important do you think a sabbatical is for…
Read Morememorial day is our ‘memory day’
This Memorial Day weekend has us thinking about extraordinary friends who have passed away over the years, and the many gifts and resonances they left behind. For us, Memorial Day becomes Memory Day, rich with memories of lives lived BIG and generously. Each of the people we remember was completely unique, one-of-a-kind, original and taught…
Read Moreour best, essential ramp (wild leek) recipes
Maria’s Robledo‘s instagram of ramps reminds us that the wild leek that grows throughout the Appalachian and Catsill mountains in spring won’t be around much longer. Like many truly wild foods, they possess mighty powers to fortify the body and lift the spirit. Buy ’em while you can get them. If they’re in good shape,…
Read Morea balanced feather and palm branch mobile comes alive
(Video link here.) Balance is a mesmerizing video of Rigolo Swiss Nouveau Cirque artist Maedir Eugster, creator and master of the “palm rib balance”, in which he builds a living mobile out of palm ribs and a single feather. It had to have been carefully plotted (the palm ribs appear to be notched) and rehearsed over and…
Read Morefab diy outdoor clawfoot hot tub
I see these outdoor junkyard tubs featured here and there, but I liked the rustic simplicity of this one, from a diy featured at Houzz: salvage transformed into elemental luxury. We had one years ago on our back deck in Malibu. I found an old tub for $5 in a junk yard with a flaking ocean…
Read Moremomofuku’s david chang improvises with space food
If you like, skip the stilted, overlong 2:22 minute set-up of this video about the food International Space Station astronauts eat…Jump right to 2:23 and Momofuku chef David Chang improvising with pouches of freeze dried shrimp, asaparagus and cheese grits (among other things) in an attempt to jazz up the fare for astronaut Chris Hadfield. It…
Read Morea shift of view yields a ready-made tree trunk chair
While walking in the park across the way, I passed a tree stump left behind after Hurricane Sandy. Overwhelmed with fallen trees, the Parks Department had done their best to remove the huge tree bodies with chain saws that struggled against massive trunks; the cuts were often roughly-made or incomplete like this one: a tusk…
Read Morebistro table hunt: name brand or knock-off?
Recently, we went looking for a 24-inch round metal bistro table for our Harlem terrace and hit a dilemma: whether to buy the pricey classic Fermob table (top photo), made in France, (THE table used in many public spaces), whose durable finish we’ve tested in the guise of a rectangular table we’ve stored outdoors for 2…
Read Morepaolo goldstein on how repair can be a way into creativity
(Video link here.) Paulo Goldstein sees himself as a craftsman in his approach to repair. It seems to us, he has the viewpoint of an artist, and certainly his repairs reflect a rare sensibility. We found this short video incredibly illuminating, for the many levels of living he addresses. Here’s the gist, but there’s way…
Read More‘eat up’: how to create a rooftop garden
Wish you could create a rooftop vegetable garden like Chef J.W. Foster of the Fairmont Hotel, in San Francisco? Get yourself a copy of Lauren Mandel’s EAT UP: The Inside Scoop on Rooftop Agriculture.
Read Morethe charm of freestyle painted walls
There is something really charming about the patches of “freesyle” painting on the entranceway walls of this Los Angeles home. It “breaks” the expected symmetry in a lovely way. (And we have a thing for breaking with the expected…) From Freestyle: New Architecture and Interior Design from Los Angeles, 1986 via An Ambitious Project Collapsing Related…
Read Moregrace jones hula hoops to the rhythm (one cool workout)
(Video link here.) We’ve written in the past about the virtues of hula-hooping as exercise. But we’ve never seen SUCH an inspiring example as Grace Jones, age 65-ish, performing Slave to the Rhythm at Roseland. Amazing body, energy, joy… If you crank the music up and have a hula hoop on hand (or just feel like…
Read Moreartful improvised receipt storage (via maria robledo)
We found this wonderful image on Maria Robledo’s Instagram. Ohhh, what a great method of storing receipts (emptying pockets or bag then-and-there.) Thrown into a space between books —some amazing ones at that— they take on a curious beauty. We have a box in an easily-accessible file cabinet that we throw them into to collate…
Read Moresighting: porch built around a tree (urban tree house?)
Wandering around Harlem recently, we spotted this structure in the back of someone’s brownstone. It appears to be a clever combination porch and treehouse, literally built AROUND the tree growing in the yard. Whoever made it clearly didn’t want to mess with the old tree growing very close to the house. So they found away…
Read Morethrow some wildflower seeds for surprising urban gardens
We have a nasty patch of rubble in the back alley guarded by unsightly bent pipes that protect a gas meter. Every fall I throw a packet of wildflower seeds down, scratch them in, and wait to see what the rains will bring. It’s different every year. Nasturtiums and poppies duke it out neck and neck for starters…
Read Morehow to to store extra chairs + stools, on walls + shelves
Stumbling on this wonderful image of sculptural black-painted chairs on a wall of the La Gran Francia Hotel in Granada, Nicaragua got us thinking about ways to store un-folding chairs. This assemblage is a more playful, freeform take on the Shaker-esque practice of hanging uniform chairs on hooks (below). Then, moving too fast as we scanned…
Read Moremaria robledo’s stunning instagrams will change your view
We’ve just discovered photographer Maria’s Robledo’s crazy-beautiful Instagram, a trove of images that will make you SEE the everyday differently and put you right in the moment. Only Maria could have come up with this simple, curiously moving arrangements of pussy willow blossoms (which people usually just throw away once they’ve been knocked off their stem). The…
Read Morepop-up guest rooms + room dividers redux
Of the many imaginary inventions in my head, a pop-up guest room has had many iterations. Living in a moderate-sized New York City apartment with only one bedroom, I’d love a separate, somewhat private space to offer guests who come to sleep in my big open livingroom/kitchen/workspace. My latest inspiration comes Fabrica, Benetton’s communication research…
Read Morestaircase of succulents + succulent sculpture
Dig this wondrous display of succulents on an unused staircase (well, er, we assume it’s not used, otherwise it would quite an unusual challenge to navigate)! It shouts JOY and a kind of uninhibited artfulness. Succulents are in the wind…or are we just SEEING them now? Maria Robledo brought us one as a house gift.…
Read Moreessential read: the new yorker’s innovator’s issue
Speak of the devil! Christoph Niemann created this brilliant cover for the new New Yorker’s Innovator’s Issue. At the New Yorker blog, Niemann has again illustrated his process , which AGAIN involves nixxing an idea, only to have it come back at him in a completely unexpected way. We GET and love that the brilliant…
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