john derian for target

fact: target is awesome, but a super target is even more awesome.
dwell studio bedding, thomas o'brien, liberty of london,
etc etc etc. it's a grand place.

also, how great are target's collaborations with designers?

john derian for target: collection at target

yes, please.
these were just released this past week in stores. i can't find the stationary that i ran into, but i swear it's rad. hives & animals.

fall window display 2010 // anthropologie

the last of my summer work at anthropologie for their visual display internship.
theme: boathouse
over 50 vintage wooden "buoys" were constructed.



also, take note. the numbers i painted on there were actually special numbers. you'll have to stop by the store itself to see them because they aren't in these photographs.

diy: sewn book page tree

there is something about a page of text looks beautiful to me. the formatting, the font, the paragraphs. just the rhythm of words & how they flow embedded on a book page. i like books. i like fonts. i like book pages.

i love them so much that i'll even rip them apart.
and make a tree.



i simply ripped out book pages and tossed them under the sewing machine as i was stitching them together. some thumb tacks later, and you've got a tree. i twisted and contorted some of the book pages to add some depth and dimension.

i took book pages made from trees,  that were bound in a book, and repurposed them into a tree. if that's not postmodern, i don't know what is. or just irony.

dining room turned "zen" room possible inspiration

hi says tommy boy

sometimes, i'm not sure why i buy some things. yanno, maybe it's that a company made it that i love, so once i see the brand "i've gotta get it."  this circle rug was one of these.

it was a floor display that was used in the store, so literally, it was a floor display. i'm going to help redo the formal dining room into a "zen" room for my mother. i don't know if i like the idea of this "zen" crap, but i'll do it to make my mother happy. (however, i'll add a little spin of vintage & elegance to it.)

i think i may want to use this piece as an inspiration to base all the other finds that i'll be scavenging for over the next few months. apparently, the formal dining room has to stay "formal" because it's aunt whats-her-face's furniture that she wants to see. however, the only thing she is going to see is how hideous it is, unused it's been, and the sheer amount of dust that never knew it could collect in 1 year. so, i can't start this until november.

but, really, come on. check out the price tag.

feel free to post any fun color palettes. i think i like this one.


Color by COLOURlovers

summer window display // anthropologie

this was my first project at anthropologie as visual display intern. when i signed up for the internship, i was informed that i would be doing a lot of tedious & monotonous work.

flashback: unpaid labor for doing arts & craft that was going to be on display and then tore down. this sounds familiar... a lot like pledgeship during homecoming. minus the hazing & alcohol. however, this unpaid labor was for school credit and not for some greek society.

i thought, okay, that sounds fine to me. i would be learning lots of new crafts & skills, and maybe even bring some of my own handiwork to the table. did i know i was going to be doing basket-weaving? did i know how to do that before? no. the only thing i knew about basket-weaving and baskets was that my mother, a midwestern middle-class suburban stay-at-home mom, loved longaberger baskets.





as i got the hang of making this basket-woven tepee-like structures, i became more comfortable with trying out different ways to maneuver the reeds. i had to use my iphone to snag this shot.

so, why not intersect this two.

these displays for the summer are now gone. i tore them down with tears that i never shed in undergraduate upon my first art project, because after all, this was my first art project for school credit.

bedroom display 2 // anthropologie

over my summer internship at anthropologie, i had the opportunity to go through an entire floor change of the concepts. home and apparel. this home concept was called, "material culture."



now complete with bedding. we used the extra burlap dyed strips to accent the folded yoruba bedding. you can see the before without the bedding here (link)

behind the bedding display, we did some string art. i never thought i would be doing string art for school credit, but i did. that & basket weaving.

yes, i nailed in each of those nails in a perfect circle. using a pattern, of course, same depth too.

tweet tweet from sri lanka

when it was a little cooler in the summer, i went out to a couple of estate sales down in southern kansas city. along the way, you always stop at the other sales that didn't scout out. i'm glad i stopped at this woman's garage sale, we chatted, and shared a bit about ourselves. i paced around and did a couple of laps around her wares, and stumbled upon these. intrigued, i picked them up and walked over to her. she told me the story behind these little birds.







they were her grandmother's growing up & she always had them in potted plants. she didn't know where they came from, until i looked at the tag that still said "made in sri lanka." the woman went on and on about how she remembered them from her childhood, and still wanted to keep one for herself. so, i made it away with 3 of the 4. they very beautiful and hand painted. i don't have any potted plants in my room, nor a patio. so i stuck them about my room, until i get my own place.

they were a little pricey for my lack of income, but $1 a piece was cool by me. they totally look like something anthropologie would sell or their new company, terrain.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="535" caption="bamboo garden markers"][/caption]

how cool would it be to have these hanging out next to them?

i should send keith johnson an email.

bedroom display // anthropologie

anthropologie bedroom display. enjoy!
it's a 5ft x 8ft structure with burlap dyed strips woven in a patchwork pattern.

IS•LY: calligraphy

I've been into letterpress goods lately, like Rifle Paper Co. & Hammerpress, however I stumbled upon this beautiful piece of calligraphy from IS•LY.

When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.”

– Desiderius Erasmus

I love this whimsical handwriting.
I've never dabbled in calligraphy, yet I'm vain enough to admit I like my various handwriting styles that I may want to try something like this. But am I vain enough to hang it up in my own room? Haha, we'll see.

diy: string tree wall mural

Maybe it's my nostalgic love for agrarian societies that I never experienced as a child as an oppressed suburban middle-class white boy, or my half-hearted allure for the idea of the outdoors to reclaim the remnants of alpha-type masculinity, but I love trees.

Check this apartment therapy hack via re-nest:
How to Make a String Tree Wall Mural

It looks fairly easy to make & I have a rich avocado green wall, a little darker than theirs, to work with.

Just promise me I'll never get a tree tattoo, instead let me channel my appetite through artwork of trees and the like.

hammerpress // first fridays

One of the usual stops for my friends & I when we go to Kansas City's First Fridays is Hammerpress.

Hammerpress is a local letterpress shop in Kansas City that creates beautiful letter pressed stationary, posters, wedding invitations, cards, and other assorted paper goods.

If I ever have an event/occasion that's a step above a party that would merit invitations, you know, like a graduation party from college, I would totally get the goods from Hammerpress.* However, did you know that Hammerpress makes beautiful leather & canvas bags?

Leather & canvas. Whenever I get a job, I'm gonna go back there & buy one for sure.** $60 for the smaller one (top), and only $70 for the bigger one (bottom).

The bags are not listed on the website. I'm not sure what exactly a bag that size (bottom, the larger one) would be made for. Maybe something to do with letter press things, who knows, but you could always use a great bag to tote around your laptop, books, or even other things that young professionals, real adults, and people with jobs need to carry around.

*Whoops, that party never happened, nor did it happened when I graduated from secondary school. I opted out of having a "high school graduation" party, because it would have been more of an event to coordinate and set up the dang thing in itself than throw the actual party. Consider it a favor, parents. :)
**Correct, I still do not have a job. I've been interning at Anthropologie as a Visual Display Intern, but alas, no call-backs from my call-backs. I'm hoping to nab a short time serving gig at a kitschy restaurant.

thrift store finds 5/29/10

I've been on the search for a dossier, a man clutch, or would you say, organizer. I found one tonight, however, when I came home tonight & tried to slip my Moleskine XL planner into, it wouldn't snap close. Oh well. It's still great, leather, and was like 2 bucks. Here is my inspiration.



Here is what I found:

So, do I buy a new $18 Moleskine planner for it to fit into my 2 dollar dossier? haha.
I also snagged a pair of Havaianas, which were at Cargo Largo with the URBANOUTFITTERS tag on it marked down to 9.99 and almost bought them. However, at the thrift  they were 3.99 for a brand new pair with the original tags still on them. Holla.

I'm not sure where this place is, but it's real wood and was only a buck. I hung it up on my growing wall.

This photograph of my room is poor quality and angle. Uh, and to think, I wanted to be a photographer at one point. Whatever.

As you can see, I've collected various frames, photos, and items and nail them to my wall in attempts to create art. We'll see where it's at in a couple of months. It's a process yanno, and I've only been a recent jobless, college grad for a bout 2 weeks.

gold cassette tape art

Found at the Jupiter House Coffee Shop in Denton, TX (location)
This could be a great arts & crafts project for an hour.

what would john do

I know Wiehe gave Andy & Linds some going away gifts, but I think they may need another LOST shirt.

( link )

academia cards

Someday, when I'm a really hip & trendy professor at a really liberal University where the hipster girls fawn over me & the hipster boys despise/love me because I'm infinitely more cool/postmodern than them, I want to have these calling cards that I can hand out to academic arch nemeses (is that the plural of nemesis)?



I want one with a turtle neck & illustrated facial hair. ( rifle paper co )

bookbook

i saw this posted on over at designsponge & had to re-post it.
my birthday is next week. i also want to go to L'abri.
but i really want the bookbook.

it is 80 bones though. but it's sweet. maybe i'll try & make one. i just need to find a really big book. good thing there is a book sale at the public library tomorrow.