BIKE CHIC

Super swanky Chanel bike.

I have been an on-and-off bike rider all of my life. About three years ago I got back into it with my 80's TREK roadbike. It is teal with fuchsia grips. Awesome.

There was something I disliked about it though... By nature, a roadbike makes you want to go fast. Perfect for city riding and dodging cars. And the HILLS in San Francisco! Shout out to all my fixed gear riding girls, but it is just not for me! I am pretty girly, so on most days, fast/intense riding is not an option unless I am riding for fitness. This is where my lovely cruiser comes in...

My black Pake step-thru with a wicker basket meets all of my girly bike needs. I can ride it wearing a skirt and throw my purse in the basket up front. It is so chic and fun to ride. I even ride it out to bars with my friends!

I just found this awesome blog from the UK all about chic riding. My buddies over at PSFK just did a story on it too...

Here is a shot I grabbed from the Pake site of my lil one. If only I could fit my dog in the basket!

BEEN BUSY

I recently became a contributor to coolhunting.com! Love the exposure! Thanks to Ami and Josh for the opportunity.

THE DAVID

David Shrigley has been a fav for a while. Drawing wry observations about everyday life, he depicts a rough, sketchy infographic style. Some of his pieces seem to be pages torn straight from a journal of spontaneous prose.

He just published a new book with Chronicle, and the title is so funny, you have to click here.

REGALIA

I’ve been traversing the scary world of taking up a new hobby. While knitting is useful, I’m not so good at it. How can I concentrate on a computer screen for 3 hours straight without getting up– while sitting down to knit I get cagey and frustrated after 20 minutes? Who knows. Still, the crafty, detaily hum of needlepoint has been more appealing. Right now I’m making an art deco monogram. I googled fashion patch, or something like that, and found this awesome crown. I am going to scour the craft books for new patterns. This new thing– for me– also reminds me of the piece I designed at Craft. We profiled Jenny Hart, her work is amaze. Check it out at Sublime Stitching.

OBSESSED

by Mette Løber

by Julia Rothman

I am obsessed with wallpaper... always have been. Even as a little girl, I used to stare into the pretty scenes on the wall. And want to draw all over them. Check out wallcollection.com. They print wide-scale pieces as wallpaper. Don't frame your art– paste it!

THIRST

I'd feel way-chic drinking from these little canettes from Perrier. What a great way to evoke the brand's roots with a Frenchie looking girl in a hat, a modern flora pattern and an unexpected green tiger. 

(PS. Not a fan of much of their design, especially the illos on their website.)

ANTI ANOREX

The Phillipine news site Inquirer reports:
The French fashion industry on Wednesday signed a charter to promote healthy body images among ultra-skinny models in magazine ads and on the catwalks of Paris, the world's fashion capital.

After more than a year of talks, officials from fashion houses, advertising firms and media outlets joined Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot to ink the voluntary charter, joining a worldwide drive to combat anorexia.

The charter outlines a series of guidelines but falls short of imposing restrictions, as is the case in Spain which has set a minimum body mass index of 18 for catwalk models.

This translates to a minimum weight of 56 kilos (123 pounds) for a height of 1.75 meters (5.74 feet).

French fashion supremos committed to a series of "positive actions" to promote healthy body images, mostly through awareness-raising and information sharing.

Signatories pledged to refrain from using "images of people, in particular youth, that could contribute to promoting a model of extreme thinness."

more...

NYT article here...

FINDING ASIA

At the end of last year, I went to Hong Kong for work. This photo shows off the city's gorgeousness. I wish I could have stayed longer.

At luxuryculture.com, they've assembled chic city guides. The site is definitely for people with deep pockets; but is well-edited by Yaffa Assouline, a publisher of elegant books.

A WORD ON WINEHOUSE

So, I've been listening to Nina Simone and Billie Holiday for five years or so. They really spoke to my quarter-life crisis. Nowadays, I'm less tortured.

Still, soul and old-school style singers are all the rage lately with Amy Winehouse. She is not the first woman to wear thick black eyeliner, but since she has gone mainstream, her press coverage would have you believe she invented the beehive. And yes, I do love most of her music. At least with Mark Ronson. Musically, it is classic and classy. In the real world, not so much. I wouldn't call Winehouse a lady. Neither would she. This piece via PSFK delves into her popularity with the kids. It all just makes sense.

UNDERWERKET

Underwerket, or Lisa Grue, is always coming through with simple solutions to some of my design problems at work. I've worked with her on a project and now we are using her for our straightforward instruction. My favs of her work are the flat, predominatly black and white illos. She always does a very pretty femme face, without overdoing the doll quality. Check out these new pieces for Anni Sui she just emailed me. The girl is rocking it.

MANY STUFF

from many stuff: Annette Stahmer & André Heers

I love checking manystuff. There is always something interesting conceptually— and tons of great links.

FELTRON ANNUAL

Nicholas Felton's Annual Report is a feast for infographic nerds and number freaks. It is always awesome to see information ordered clean and easy to ingest.

I HEART MARC

Marc has done it again. This splashy sweet print dress makes me feel like spring might just be around the corner. Love the hint of 70's super graphics. See it at shopbop.

SPOON, THE BAND SITE

DANG IT.

You know, when you actually surf the web (so 90's!) you can find some nice stuff. I blogged the other day about a Spoon interview. From there, I linked to their bandsite. I went back yesterday and checked it out in detail. I love the usability and design. It makes so much sense. All of the menus act as their own movable post-its aka information panels. Of course this interface design would not work for a super commercial site, but for a band, perfect. The site is full of band snap shots and a shot of an old school hot chick opens the site and you can customize the wallpaper. It is full picture splashy, but clean. The details are maddening: the post-its are "stuck" with translucent tape, and even the page title uses a visual trick that only the super-dorky designer will see.

Of course I saw it.

EDEL ILLO

piece by Edel Rodriguez

I stumbled upon this sweet spot illustration in The New York Times for an article called "New Justice, No Peace" in the Opinion section. The politics of the article are not the focus of my attention- but this simple, yet informative, illustration caught my eye. I've always hearted the NYT's Style section and T Magazine, and secretly wanted to ring up their creative director and beg for a business lunch.

This piece in particular is reminiscent of Saul Bass and Paul Rand- in execution and in conceptual territory. Most important, Rodriguez captures the point of the Op piece. Well done.

SUNSHINE VS. CREATIVITY

Piece by Barbara Kruger, a bi-coastal artist

I've been vacationing in the southern version of my favorite home state over this holiday season. On the drive down the coast, we pass time with NPR podcasts. I love This American Life, Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me, and All Songs Considered. On an episode of All Songs, host Bob Boilen interviewed a couple of members from Spoon. He asked the band about where they draw their creativity. The band named lots of obscure references which let my mind wander...

As we wound through the cliffs of Big Sur, I wondered if I moved somewhere warmer, to a more relaxed city, would I still be as creative? The question is not so much about me as an artist/designer, but more about how environment affects creative people.

I love what is going on in the Northernmost European cities- Copenhagen, Hamburg (lived there!), and seemingly all of Sweden continues to churn out young innovative talent. Are they all rock stars because of all the hype- or is there something in that cold water?

Then there is LA. Of course there are tons of plastic star f-ers, but it seems plasticity is not requisite to break into the art scene. There are tons are artists who are very anti LA, all while living in the thick of the Botox.

If all you have is sunshine...

Piece by Camille Rose Garcia, a Los Angeles-based artist

MERRY HAPPY

TATTOO

I found this type tattoo on Veer’s blog. It is going a tad bit overboard. The entire Garamond ital set looks like swashy fun, but I am sure it did not feel fun. Maybe some brave soul will get an epic like the Iliad, similar to that puzzle face guy who was on the X-files back in the day. I have to wonder though- why Garamond? Is this person an old school novel designer?

I guess I just can't commit to one typeface like this brave soul.

OH PUCCI

Pucci is Palm Beach retiree and kitten heels poolside. Nothing wrong with that. But this scarf is a sweet update to their iconic 60's aesthetic. Love.