Archive for November, 2010

happ & stahns perfume packaging

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

I stumbled upon this perfume at the Anthropologie accessories store just the other day. It’s the cutest box and bottle…every single detail is just perfect. I especially love the pincushion top on the bottle. I was sooo close to buying it just for the packaging—I don’t even think I smelled it—but thankfully I came to my senses. Purchase it for yourself at Anthropologie here and here. It’d make a great gift for a perfume lover.

p.s. If you live in the DC area you must check out the Anthropologie accessories store in Chevy Chase—it’s to die for.

playbutton

Friday, November 19th, 2010

Playbutton is a wearable button that plays music: a record that plays itself. What a great idea! Who would I be wearing right now? I think Florence + the Machine and the new Girl Talk album. Can’t wait to see which band will be the first to try this out.

images via the Playbutton site

paris vs. new york

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

Simple and clever artwork depicting a visual comparison between these two cities. View them all here.

found via elements of style

pulp art book

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

Pulp Art book is a collaboration between photographer Neil Krug and his beautiful model wife Joni Harbeck. The photos were take with expired Polaroid film which has given each photo a grainy, worn texture and gorgeous colors. See more pictures from the book here. Purchase the book here.

Images via here.

nomoco illustrations

Tuesday, November 16th, 2010

Beautiful illustrations by Nomoco. Nomoco was born in Fukuoka, Japan and currently lives in London. Nature and the French Horn are her inspiration. She enjoys experimenting with various materials and craft-work in her works. For the past few years, she has been especially keen on playing with ink and its organic movement. View more of her work here.

images via here

2011 letterpress calendar

Monday, November 15th, 2010

I participated in the Pyramid Atlantic Letterpress calendar once again this year with other members of the Pyramid Atlantic letterpress community. Each month was designed by a different artist. I chose April because it is my birth month and decided to focus on its birthstone, the diamond. It is a 2 color design using silver and magenta ink. There are still some calendars available for purchase. It’s $25 this year, which is a steal if you ask me! They are working on having it for sale on the Pyramid website but until then Update: Available for order on the website or you can purchase it at ArtSpring 821 Wayne Avenue, Silver Spring MD). All proceeds go to Pyramid Atlantic Art Center.

Peru (part 5: Diana mini)

Friday, November 12th, 2010

I LOVE my Diana mini. (Thanks Christine for convincing me to get it!) I have had a Diana camera for a few years and just recently bought the Diana mini went I went to the lomography store in NY. The advantages are it’s mini, and everything mini is better, it takes 35mm film, which means cheaper to buy and develop and you have two shooting formats; square or split-frame like the image above. Plus it’s exciting getting film developed in our world of digital cameras. I was really happy with my Diana mini pictures from Peru especially the series below. I love the dreamy and radiant quality that is captured. Next week my blog will be back to the normal design posts and some features on updates that I’ve made around the house. Have a great weekend!

Peru (part 4: Machu Picchu)

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

Visiting Machu Picchu was an amazing end to the 5 day hike. We woke up at 5am to get to the site before sunrise. The sunrise didn’t happen because it was overcast, but it was worth getting there early because there were far less tourists. Machu Picchu is positioned in the middle of the “cloud forest” and you can see why it was called that. The fog surrounds the entire site helping to hide it from the outside world. The fog also makes the visit a little magical, as if you’re floating high up in the clouds. The tall mountain to the side of Machu Picchu is Waynapicchu which was the lookout point for the Inca guards. Tourists are still allowed to climb Waynapicchu, (300 a day,) but just a warning it is no easy task. The way up is a mile of the steepest stairs you’ve ever climbed with nothing separating you from the edge of the mountain. The view from the top does make it worth the climb, BUT the climb down is even scarier especially at the top. I was pretty much scooting down the steps on my keester for about the first 10 staircases on the way down because I was semi-terrified. After climbing Waynapicchu we had a tour of Machu Picchu with our guide. The history behind this Inca civilization is very fascinating. The craftsmanship of the structures is amazing, as well as, all the little details that made mountaintop civilization fully functional. I would definitely recommend seeing this wonder before you die. (But honestly don’t climb Waynapicchu unless you’re in tippy top shape.) Tomorrow will be my last Peru post and I’ll share some of my pictures taken with my Diana mini.

Peru (part 3: the jungle)

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

From the second half of day 2 onward we were walking through the lush jungles of Peru. They were full of beautiful and unique plants, flowers, birds and fruits including passionfruit, avocado and banana. Image below of me eating a fresh passionfruit and boy was it delicious and refreshing. Scattered throughout the journey there were plenty of little stands run by the locals where you could purchase bottled water and other goodies. And while I thought this took away from the hike, I’m sure it’s a good source of income for these people that live so far removed from the city. Tomorrow will be dedicated to the final part of the hike Machu Picchu.

Peru (part 2: the trek)

Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

The main highlight of my trip to Peru was the Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu through SAS Travel that I did with my friend Nicole. We picked this trek because it’s a little more difficult than the Inca Trail and less traveled. We had two trek mates from Australia, Peter and Marie who were just lovely to share this experience with as well as our guide, Ruben and 5 porters (cook, ass. cook, waiter, horse wrangler and ass. horse wrangler.) The picture above is the beginning of the trek. You can see the gorgeous glacier in the background which is where we were headed. The first day was completely uphill and got a lot colder as we went. By the time we made it to our campsite it was raining which later in the night turned to snow. It was absolutely amazing waking up to the snow (and rare according to our guide. He had only seen snow about twice before and he’s been doing the trek for 12 years now!) The beginning of the second day we continued upward to reach our highest point at 4600m on Abra Salkantay mountain. During this time I was experiencing some altitude sickness which made the morning 4 hour hike miserable. This didn’t take away from the beauty of hiking through the snow. The third picture below is at the top of the Abra Salkantay. You can see the rock offerings given by all the people that have made this trek. The last picture is Mount Salkantay which is Cusco’s second highest peak at 6,264m.

More pictures to come tomorrow!