skills

beautiful typeface created by design student olga balina from russia. http://olgabalina.co.uk

inventory

if you're a boy and you like looking good. this is a great blog to go for some inspiration to impress your dates and potential ex-wives. inventory is a magazine based out of vancouver and these guys definitely know style.

www.inventorymagazine.com

feeling the love?

love. i love it. i hate it. but mostly i love it. these super sweet prints are from theloveshop on etsy. you feeling the love? 

gooooolllllllldddd

gold. seriously when did gold take off like this? i know its been hot and all but i remember a time when women would deny jewelry in gold and swear to never wear it or like it... all i have to say is that this gold come-back is serious. gold flatware? looks good to me: brushed gold, elegant with sleek contemporary lines, i like it a lot. made in italy, by the design house MEPRA. truly glamourous.

i got these images from my daily read of ohjoyblogs.com and this bike is seriously off the chain, maybe over the top but seriously decadent... designed by arumania, known for a no-limit attitude for gold and the un-practical, this bike is 1 of 10 track bikes produced and is plated in 24k gold and adorned with swarovski crystals and at a mere 80,000 euros or (21,000 euros for the un-adorned version), you can get this hand delivered to you by a man in a tuxedo wearing white gloves.

packaging love

i totally geek out when it comes to beautiful packaging. i've been known to buy $10 bottles of evian and have never drank the water. i've brought beautifully designed cereal boxes on a 15 hour flight home as a souvenir for myself. i've done some extreme things in the name of packaging love so as you can imagine trips across the border will find me at the the usual stops: the whole foods, the local co-op and other beautiful grocery stores like the metropolitan market in seattle. what's more about these grocery stores in the states is that they sell alcohol as well and i will tell you flat out, i have bought many many many bottles of wine without having any idea what it would taste like. so this amazingly packaged beer from portland brewery full sail, was such a knock out, super detailed down to the super cute and witty bottle cap messages underneath. i loved the robins egg blue label and the typography is so sweet. so great. super bonus, the beer was super tasty as well.

heading to point roberts to pick up some books across the border next week and i can't wait to see what that little ghetto marketplace has in store.

20x200: today's specials

1. contact sheets: parsley stenwiess

2. west nineteenth street (yellow dress): joseph holmes

3. to live with you alone, red boiling springs tennessee: taj forer

4. elvind: michelle arcilla

beautiful and affordable prints from the jen bekman gallery's project 20x200.

love these so much.

nice...

been a fan of jeff (ng) staple's vision and ideas for a while, although a lot of their clothing hasn't really moved me, this, i really like... combine a hand drawn typeface with a really sweet message equals love for me... i think im going to have to buy this online, anyone know if any vancouver retailers carry staple design?

i heart ed kwong

"its kind of like an out of body experience" is how i describe what it feels like to see ed's work. different parts of my imagination that are usually blanketed over, are awakened and brought to life. ed is amazing and on top of that a super gentle and down to earth guy. sublimely talented. he is in vietnam right now, so im hoping he's gonna have some more beauties like these in his sketchbook. check him out, you will be a better person for it. www.edkwong.com

insanely gorgeous!

monday mornings need some serious kick starting for me but my favourite blogs usually do the trick... this monday was no exception (even though with daylight savings, i technically had an extra hour.) via the super fantastic, www.swiss-miss.com these are some insanely detailed paper cut outs of maps of new york city by karen o'leary. im getting dizzy just thinking about keeping track of all the white spaces and all the cut out spaces. so crazy! awe-inspiring... just what i needed...

beautify your bike

via designspongeonline.com this morning. i swooned and at the same time wished it wasn't raining so i could take my bike out and buy one of these amazing, hand carved, leather bike seats. these are so gorgeous! i checked out the artist's site kara ginther of madison, wisconsin and she also does beautiful carvings into shoes, belts all things leather and a collection of leather bound books is coming soon. so beautiful!

over the pond

a little invite i did for a friend in london town, hope you guys have a blast, and all you businessy types loosen up those ties! live jazz is always fun!

calligraphy styles

last month, the lovely people at VIBC, the vancouver international bhangra celebration society threw an beautiful, intimate dinner party/fundraiser hosted and prepared by vancouver's favourite chef, vikram vij.

with this lovely event, i was commissioned to create 50 hand-written and hand painted invitations for this special night.

these were definitely a labour of love and i am really happy with the results and have gotten some great feedback. here's a look at the invitations and a sweet shot of a place card at the evening's event*.

(*will be coming)

time flies

geesh time flies! i have been on a 6 month hiatus from blogging, literally its almost been 6 months! but im back and im ready to go! so much new stuff has happened in the last 6 months that its going to be crazy to try and get caught up and share with you here but it will be done! glad to be back, i've missed you!

happy friday!

happy friday everyone! i thought i'd get the weekend started with this sweet motown jam! there are lots of amazing crafty things going on this weekend, MakeIt debuts at the Roundhouse Community Center tonight, with drinks and a dj after 4pm and running all weekend, as well as the ever so amazing GotCraft? happening at the Royal Canadian Legion this sunday! im kinda bummed my weekend plans fell through and i won't be participating in the shows but that means i get to do some shopping! stay tuned to see what kind of treasures i bring home!

good morning you!

this is so awesome. that's all.

via swiss-miss.com

black kids are cool!

i went to this super fun concert last week at the commodore where the black kids played with mates of states and bought this sweet canvas bag! these are definitely my favourite for the summer and the graphic on it is just hilariously weird and bizarro. me likey! 

check out their music for some fun dance party tunes www.blackkidsmusic.com

go watch this! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaa4eGOtrTg

too pretty not to post

i know these have been circulating all over the internet, but how lovely are these earth day cupcakes from the gorgeous jewels of new york? so amazing. i wonder if they taste as good as they look. you know? sometimes they don't, but these are just so beautiful to look at. 

check out recipes they post online and other beautiful things they sell at http://www.thejewelsofny.com/

i heart thu cao

i just got back from cuba yesterday and have lots to blog about but first, i want to give regular shout-outs to people i've met doing really sweet things, i think i'm going to make a mini-series out of it, so first up: this incredible goddess like being, thu cao.

this is what people have to say about her:

Thu Cao was born on a tropical island in the far East to a family of misguided idealistic Communist, to be raised in the Northern BC Mountains by a pack of cheeky wild wolves. For the last decade Thu has made a humble home in the beautifully sedated City of Vancouver. Thu is a self taught artist, who is titillated with painting portraits of desire and all its many faces.

this is what i have to say about her:

this beautiful, eclectic and uncomprimising soul dabbles in between the lines of love, lust and the humanity of all sexuality. her work is vivid, frank and invigorating both visually and consciously and it translates so clearly onto canvas and paper. necessarily graphic the shock value in itself can give one an epiphany of sorts. can you handle her art? come and see for yourself tonight at the libra room: her second show following her premiere solo exhibit "the beautiful sex" last fall. "S' approcher" is at the libra room, 1608 commercial drive from 8pm-1am.

vinyl rugs - arzu firuz

i found a link this designer's work from ohjoyblogs.com and i found this amazing project! vinyl rugs from french designer arzu firuz. they must be laser cut to get that elaborate detail and the result is so exquisite! im not sure how practical these are but seriously, floor art has got to be one of those supreme indulgences, that and a specially made for outdoor flatscreen tv.

tres cool indeed.  check out the website:  http://en.arzu-firuz.com/collections 

new series coming!

spring friends

i love spring and the sweet flowers that it brings! i've transformed my balcony into a container garden for the warm weather. here are a couple snaps of my new buddies and as soon as there is a bright day, i'll post the whole family!

these last two weeks have been home reno weeks and after 3 years in my apartment, i finally have beautiful baseboards and moulding up! thanks to my amazing friends and a miter saw from my dad, we did it! before and after pics will follow as soon as everything is complete, i still have to sand the putty off and paint!

three for five