My Grandma Lila. A tribute.

I just posted this for the hi, friend blog...but wanted to share it here, too. It's a collage I created as a tribute piece to my dear Grandma Lila. Read the full story.

Stylepedia. A book review.

I'm addicted to Louise Fili. 100%.

She's collaborated with Steven Heller on several publications. My goal is to get my hands on every single one. There really couldn't be a more dynamic, design-oriented pair. Stylepedia: A Guide to Graphic Design Mannerisms, Quirks, and Conceits is one of the books that's been on my list. Apparently it's been on lot of others lists, too; I couldn't find it at any of the local bookstores. Eventually an Amazon merchant came to the rescue. I now have an beautifully-tabbed, already-loved copy of Stylepedia on my desk. In it, more than 100 entries define specific design styles. It's a brainiac designer's dream-come-true. I. Can't. Get. Enough.

Now, if I can just find the time to study it, I'll be a happy camper. I guess it's a good thing that there's waaaay to much to digest quickly. I'm definitely raising my glass and flipping those pages to Fili and Heller's mindful contribution to my library.

The fruits of a summer weekend in Spokane

This past weekend the hubs and I drove out to the east side of Washington State (Spokane, to be exact) for a jam-packed weekend. We attended a wedding, caught up with family, stayed with friends, tried a new restaurant, laid by the pool, went to a car show, explored the casino, met a Japanese-American POW Korean War Vet named Yoshie who told us his life story at the casino, won $20 at the penny slots and saw two larger-than-life lemons rolling down the road on the way home. And the entire time I forgot to tote my camera along. Until of course we were on our way home and passed the giant lemons, one of which is pictured above. So that's the visual you're getting today because A) it's the only one I have and B) somehow seems to sum up this summer weekend perfectly: refreshing, bright and traversing the road.

Last but certainly not least, I got to meet up with Maggie of Shanty to shop and share coffee. (I popped into Just Because to say hi to my other lovely Newport clients, but they had skipped away to Vegas for market.) I came home with several new treasures that I can't wait to debut this fall. Maybe sooner if this heat wave subsides. What a sweet, sweet summer weekend.

Footnote: While we were away our dog procured a new nickname ("Moozilla") and was treated like a celebrity by Heaven of Green Chair Studios. Take a peek at what her weekend was like here.

The Free Agent Formula | Website Launched

The Free Agent Formula Website has been in the works for a while. As of 5:07pm this evening, it's been released into the wild that is the world wide web. Click here to visit The Free Agent Formula.  

If someone asks, this is where I'll be: Frank Chimero Art Show

On Friday night I zipped down to NE Portland to attend Frank Chimero's art show opening at Land Gallery. If you remember, I became acquainted with Frank and his work via an AIGA event this past May. As Frank said that evening, "Where surprise and clarity convene, you find delight." His art show was surprising and full of clarity and therefore very delightful. The work was very simple, human and concept-driven. Each piece told a little story or made a point. The execution was rudimentary: construction paper, sharpies, old books and colored blocks. But the messages were sophisticated and astute.

He really took the entire space into consideration. This same show can never be exhibited anywhere else in the same way because he used pieces of the gallery itself as part of the show - writing on the walls, point out pipes, captioning windows, dictating directions....again, delightful. Art should be full of personality.

I think Frank was showing us (among many other insightful things) is that what's most important is what we're saying, not how fancily we can say it. Right, Frank?

To read more about how Frank favors idea over prettiness, read this from Print.

Friday is Fontday. 8/6/10

Just for fun, here are my favorite stamp and script fonts du jour.

 

Design*Sponge Meetup in PDX

If you're a 20- or 30-something who has even one teeny tiny home, interior or graphic design inclined bone in your body, you better know Design*Sponge. If you don't, get to know it now.

Last night some girlfriends and I were lucky enough to make it over to Alder & Co. for the Design*Sponge Meetup with Grace Bonney. Firstly, we were thrilled with the oh-so-thoughtful selection of goods at Alder & Co. (Especially Clare Vivier. Wow.) Secondly, we were totally thrilled to finally meet Grace and chat with her about her time here in P-Town. (She's here for the IDSA Conference; we'd like to save our pennies and pounce on that next year, by the way.)

We love that Portland is such a creative hub and people like Grace think it's cool to visit. According to her, "Portland's a cleaner version of Brooklyn". Perfect. We'll take it.

Oh, and Portland's definitely a generous city, too. We (meaning all of us design*sponge lovers) happened to collectively gather a quite impressive pile of art supplies for p:ear while we mingled (see above image of a creative kid's dream come true). Go us! And go Alder & Co. for coordinating such a delectable evening. We'll be back for more.