In the annals of kitchen design, art collector/dealer Holly Soloman‘s has to be one of the most out-there. The dazzling, mind-boggling riot of colored mosaic was created artist Dorren Gallo as an on-site installation in the eighties. Solomon said to the New York Times in 1984, “I don’t know how to find an egg in it. But for me…
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Spring Quickie: Asparagus with a Fried Egg + Parmigiano-Reggiano
On nights alone, one of my favorite meals is pan-steamed asparagus, tossed with Parmigiano Reggiano and a soft-yolk fried egg, a dish I first had in Italy. When broken, the runny egg and cheese combine to make a creamy sauce for the asparagus. The dish is fast, healthful and supremely satisfying; it exemplifies the ingenious simplicity…
Read MoreWondrous Spinning Gif + Anne Herbert’s Inimitable Wisdom
We love this beauty of a gif from the great intepid gif-artist DVDP. It reminds us of the very wise words of the mysterious Anne Herbert:
Read MoreThe Lunar Magic of Solar Lanterns + Solar Cell Stars
On the heels of our post about Staging a Summer Party with Modest Means, frequent contributor Susan Dworski sent this email about Shoji Solar Lanterns, an essential, inexpensive, mood-enhancing element that are, in her words “Pretty damned lunar at night”: Ironically, I just replaced my tattered red Shoji solars yesterday with the familiar bluebird ones. They are…
Read MoreFrida Kahlo’s Artful Wardrobe, Painted Casts and All
Frida Kahlo, confined in terrible casts most of life, painted them, transformed them into something beautiful, expressive; she turned them into art. Recently, we found a trove of powerful images by photograher Ishiuchi Miyako of Kahlo’s wardrobe, in remarkable detail. Each item is evidence of her powerful drive to self expression, despite wounds, setbacks and handicaps.
Read MoreDIY? Room Screen of Colored Slats
While checking out the work of designer Meike Hardeeike Harde, we were intrigued by her wooden aquarelle room screen. We’re always looking for clever, mutable ways to divide our space or hide an in-process project. We were pleased to see that, like Max Lamb, Harde SHARES her process, allowing us to take her ideas and RUN.
Read MoreHair as Personal, Cultural, Historical Artform
Nigerian photographer J. D. ’Okhai Ojeikere spent more than thirty years traveling across Nigeria documenting hundreds of braided “Tall House” styles that appeared after Lagos gained independence from Britain in 1960. He took close to 1,000 portraits of different braids, twists, plaits and buns, each carrying a distinct meaning. For us, they are examples of personal expression taken to wondrous heights with the most elemental of materials.
Read MoreA Minature Tabletop Pond of Floating Blossoms
At Maria Robledo‘s house the other evening, a huge glass bowl of floating blossoms and petals replaced the usual flowers on the dining table: a charming and surprising “pond” made from three simple elements: a bowl + water + blossoms or flower petals.
Read MoreCharles Ray: “The Difference Between Making and Discovering”
We were stunned by a number of passages in “Meaning Machines“, the New Yorker’s recent profile of sculptor Charles Ray. The first has to do with “making”, something we do a lot of, but we’d never thought about it quite this way. Like Ray, we are haunted by it:
Read MoreAnnals of Good/Bad Design: DIY Burlap Panel Shades (with Fixes)
Remodelista recently posted a compelling DIY by San Francisco blogger Caitlin Long of The Shingled House. It’s an example of a charming idea that has, in our eyes, something of a “fail” built-in, or at the very list, an interesting design problem.
Read MoreTime to Enjoy Blossom Showers and Petal Snow
(Video link here.) The dazzling last gift of cherry and other trees in-flower right now is the “snow” that falls once the blossoms begin to die. We find ourselves walking under lovely showers of petals and finding wondrous patterns of them on the ground… … We’ve been watching them fall…on people on their way to work, sitting…
Read MoreWild Ramp’s Short Season is Almost Over: Cook ’em NOW
Thirty years ago, ramps, the delectable leeks that grow wild throughout the Appalachian and Catskill mountains, were virtually unknown except to locals of those areas. Since them, chefs across the country have fallen in love with them, spreading the word of their delicousness, and their availability in markets. Ramps’ season is short, just a few…
Read MorePaola Navone’s Wire Crate Shelves
When VosgeParis posted images of a party at designer Paola Navone’s home in Milan, the wire crates affixed to the wall caught our eye. Are they an artwork, or simply vintage crates made into art, on which she arranges objects to her liking? So we hunted for google images for clues.
Read MoreA Mime’s Curiously Visionary Design
(Video link here.) Ikeda Yosuke is a mime who incorporates graphic design and typography into his performances. He is not a professional designer, but he practices outside-the-box thinking with everyday objects we take for granted. Here he envisions OPEN’s opposite hidden within: an example of true possibility-thinking. More of Yosuke’s work here. via Core 77
Read MoreUnique Logic of Maison Margiela’s White Space
When Fashion designer Martin Margiela’s moved into his 3000 square foot studio in Paris in 2oo4, it was in extraordinary disarray.When Margiela took it over his in 2004, it was in disarray. Built in the 18th century, evidence of its history was everywhere. He preserved a lot of the detail and turned the entire space white. All the furniture,…
Read More5 Funny, Fab, Do-able Exercise Anywhere GIFS
Man Repeller’s recent round-up of popular workout options was peppered with wonderful gifs of exercises you can do anywhere. They take our penchant for improvised plein air exercise to a fab, curiously useful extreme. The memorable images show your really CAN be working out sans gym or special equipment/clothes.
Read MoreAudrey Hepburn’s Fab Eco Garbage Can Liner (DIY)
This charming image of Audrey Hepburn in her kitchen shows how ecologically correct she was, or perhaps better put, the times she lived in were — pre plastic bag. Newspapers were folded into a neat origami bag to line garbage cans. EVERYONE did it in those days, and it worked well enough. We thought we’d check…
Read MoreLOOK! Cherry Blossoms are Happening NOW
Two astonishing time-lapse videos and a couple of haikus remind us of the fleeing moment that is cherry blossom time. It only takes a moment to STOP and take it the fabulous colors as we walk by a blossoming tree.
Read MoreStage a Rooftop Party with Modest Means
When Ikea’s Livet Hemma posted this compelling image of rooftop party preparations, we ran the Swedish description through our language translator to discover that Ikea’s copywriters left out the best parts for DIYing a rooftop space.
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