When I was invited to share my favorite sandwich on Your Favorite Sandwich podcast, my personal history of sandwiches flew through my head. Then I landed on a doozy.
Read MoreThe Inferno in Our Pages
The day a friend remarked that “Books are the closest humans have come to making seashells”, we read about the library ISIS burned in Mosul, and a blogger’s defiant declaration and challenge.
Read MoreThis Cool Art Shelf Headboard Is Really a Plywood Box in Disguise
We’ve been collecting examples of shelf headboards that double as picture/object displays to inspire the one we are designing in our head. Looking closely we realize they are really only a plywood box…
Read MoreA Foam-Wrapped Sofa’s Lesson in Problem Solving
We can only imagine the process of making this strangely-compelling foam-wrapped sofa…It made us think of British architect Richard MacCormac’s useful insight…
Read MoreWake to MOVING Calder Mobiles
At museum exhibitions, it’s been rare that Calder mobiles are put into motion as they were meant to be see, languidly, wondrously, seeming to float on currents of air. Until now. You CAN experience them in motion, this very minute.
Read MoreStop, Just for a Moment, and Breath in the Scent of June (Rimbaud)
For several weeks starting in mid June, linden trees blossom here as well as in France. Their tiny yellow flowers emit the scent of honey, vines and the most delicate florals that waft around on air currents. It is worth stopping and just…breathing in a scent that defies everything that is going on in the world. Read a poem about it, or drink it as tea…
Read MoreMaud Lewis’ Expansive Gaze
Maud Lewis, who by most measures had everything against her — being crippled by severe rheumatoid arthritis, no means of support and losing her parents at an early age — had what was essential: extraordinary resourcefulness and the soul of an artist. Her house tells — and a new film – tell the story.
Read MoreTape in the Hands of Artists Like You Make for Sublime and Unpredictable Outcomes
Eric Timothy Carlson’s abstract tape painting reminds us a) how great ordinary tape is for making stuff, including a la minute artworks b) you don’t need to get crazy about it. It can be a fun, chill few moments of exploration that you rip off the wall when you’re tired of it. Perfect for the weekend.
Read MoreWhat Does Self Care Look Like To You? (Solange)
Solange’s extrordinary album, A Seat at the Table, has been described as an expression of the right to feel it all…Her song Borderline (Ode to Self Care) begs the complex question: What does self care look like to you? Here’s her answer, and ours.
Read MoreCheap + Stylish: Painted Natural Fiber Rug (Ikea)
The best idea we found among the design blogs came from designer Fay Toogood’s installation using Ikea products during Milan Design Week. Dig what she did to an inexpensive agave rug.
Read MoreThe Heartening Museum of Failures
(Video link here.) Dr. Samuel West, Director of the Museum of Failures in Helsingborg, Sweden collects innovation fails made by big companies. Through them, he hopes to share an essential lesson.
Read MoreAlison Harris’ Skyscapes: “Being Attentive to What is At Hand”
Photographer Alison Harris spent six years photographing the sky from her window in Italy. The result is a series of photographs that gradually evolved into an exhibition in Milan. It also became a simple, contemplative practice that we can all easily do…
Read MoreSurprise, Astonishment, Wonder: The Intimate Oliver Sacks via Insomniac City
Insights into the very original Sacks, or perhaps we should say Sacks’ very original insights and thinking, culled from Bill Hayes’ perfect memoir Insomniav City, make delightful weekend reading. Here’s a sampling…
Read MorePersonal Kanban to Focus Your Unruly Creative Brain
Personal Kanban, is a tool to visualize, organize and complete work in a way that maximizes, rather than depletes, energy and focus. It is simple and incredibly effective; its core principles address just how my unruly monkey brain functions.
Read MoreAnthophilous? Explode a Big Bouquet into MANY Joys
Whenever I receive a flower arrangement, I use this trick to expand its effect throughout my space. Its a great way to deal with not-great bouquets as well, whether from a florist or deli.
Read MoreAlisa Barry’s Encouragement Cards + Care Packages
A couple of weeks ago, a big cardboard box arrived in the mail with an unusual sticker on it: BE BRAVE. What we found inside blew us away.
Read MoreA Quick Metaphysical Inventory When Lost (Insomniac City)
We are halfway through Insomniac City, Bill Hayes revelatory memoir of his love affairs with the late, astonishing Oliver Sacks AND New York City, which comes across as a deeply complex and generous being. We are struck by Hayes’ lovely practice for when he needs to take stock and center himself.
Read MoreLet Miss Eaves, Walt Whitman and the Venus of Willendorf Help Liberate Your Summer Bod
Who doesn’t find a part of their self-image or their mindset locked in a prison of some sort? Let Brooklyn Rapper Miss Eaves, Walt Whitman and the Venus of Willendorf break you out in time for summer.
Read MoreHome is Your Canvas, Finger Paint It
Watch this slideshow by photographer Margaret Courtney-Clarke and imagine yourself painting your walls, floors, houses, textiles with your fingers…
Read More3 Rules for Writing and Life (Denis Johnson)
From The New Yorker ‘s brief, compelling tribute to novelist Denis Johnson, who passed away last week at the age of sixty-seven: his three rules for writing that ANYONE can use.
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