Design Freebies

Ok, so one of the reasons why I love Coveiter sooooo much is because she led me to Design Freebies. How fun is this? Design Freebies finds you the fun, cool designs out on the web that have someting free to share with you. Shown above you can create your own pin hole camera, create cute little shops out of paper (a great project for kids) and very cool stationary and much much more. In case you didn't know, many artists use pin hole cameras to create some amazing photos. The photos can end up looking very artistic.

Reupholstered Furniture

I have a new favorite blog. A must read. Coveiter You must check it out for yourself. She posts about fashion, furniture, art, gardening. Everything that's cool. I'm finding a ton of great information off of her site. I think you will too. So, the chairs posted above were posted on Coveiter, but actually come from Spruce. Cool, hip, elegent reupholstered furniture. I enjoy reupholstering, so I find the furniture inspiring. I think what I like most is the fabric choices they have used on each piece of furniture.

Rolleiflex Mini Digital Camera

How cute is this? Not only would this just make a cute necklace, but this mini camera actually works. It is actually a digital camera using the old fashion twin lens reflex. You need to focus and look through the top of the camera in order to take your photo. You can purchase it at urban outfitters for $399.00. I first saw this photo on Darling Dexter.

Painting on a Chair

This is what I had in mind when I was talking about painting on furniture. At the time, I couldn't find a photo to go along with what I was trying to say, but this is perfect. I would love it more in color. I found the photo on Designer's Block. Painted by Sugoigen at Suge!

Key Holder

I thought this was clever. Sol at Pupazzo.org used knife magnets as a storage place to keep her keys near the door. I like it. Magnets are from evasolo.dk

Make or Purchase?

Feeling adventurous? Are you interested in taking on a sewing project? The Victoria and Albert Museum has a free pattern to create your own couture inspired dress under their section of The Golden Age of Couture;Paris and London 1947-1957. You can download a dress pattern or skirt. If you're not feeling so adventurous and love the dresses above, they are created by the very talented Lesley Evers.

Nani Bird

This is a Nani Bird. You can download your own free pattern at Nani Bird. I found the Nani Bird on Arian Armstrong's blog. They even give you step by step instructions on how to create your bird. And if you're feeling creative, they have a call for all artists. They would love to see your design! Be creative and email your design to Josh@nanibird.com.

Keep it Cartesian

Keep it Cartesian came up with this design for a letter holder. I need this! I am always putting outgoing mail on the counter top and next to the light switch. Found at 2modern

Hong Kong International Trade Fair

The BBC posted this in the 'Day in pictures' section. They didn't give additional information other than "Designers in Hong Kong decorate a booth ahead of an international trade fair." A place where people can promote their products and network with others. I like the design.

Eric Inkala

Eric Inkala is another local artist of the twin cities. He has done some collaboration murals with Gabriel Combs. The last image is a mural that Eric and Gabriel worked on together in Tennessee. I couldn't find anything about Eric other than his connection to Gabriel. However, I have seen Eric's work on some of the murals in uptown. Above are some of Eric's paintings. You can see more of Eric's work here.

Gabriel Combs

MNartists.org published an essay by Gabriel Combs. MNartiststs describes the article as this: "Gabe Combs is in and out of trouble with the law, he drinks too much and, now, he's homeless. This Mpls artist is also determined, ultimately, to earn his way with his artwork. In this utterly candid first-person account, Combs offers his story. " Read his essay here. It is sad to see such a talented artist struggle with the law and alcohol. His art is way undervalued right now, so if you are interested in an original piece of his work, it is very affordable. View his blog

Off for now

K, I'm off for the weekend! Have a good one!

Tonia

Karim Rashid

Planning a trip to Athens, Greece anytime soon? Karim Rashid designed his first hotel called the Semiraris Hotel. Although this is his first hotel, Rashid is no rookie when it comes to design. He leads in the fields of product, interior design, fashion, furniture, lighting and art. Photos from Cube Me and more info on Rashid at Swindle.

Sieben and Friends

Josh Spear posted about the addidas campaign celebrating originality. Sieben and Friends made the final chapter's debut. Do you have an interest in video? I find homemade shorts like this to be inspiring. I love the creativity. Click here to see a couple of different shorts by this unique and entertaining Michael Sieben and friends. There are also some free downloads and if you're a fan of the Sieben and Friends, you can pick up a sweatshirt, shoes or t-shirt right off the addidas website. Imagine that. (No, I'm not getting paid for this shameless plug.) Have fun with it and have yourself a great day!

Michael Sieben also has a website of his own. To see his artwork click here.

Dalki Theme Park

Initially, I found out about this cute theme park called Dalki Theme Park at The Cool Hunter, but these great photos are actually from chaemii's blog. The theme park is in Korea and is similar to our version of disneyland.

The COOL Hunter

The COOL Hunter, and do I mean cool. I just happened to be looking for some ideas on kids spaces, places and things and whola! The Cool Hunter makes me want to go back in time. The top two photos are from a bookstore in Beijing called Kids Republic and the photos below that are photos of a school in Denmark.

ISkin Brasil

Check out these iskins from a bunch of artists from Brasil over at iskinbrasil. Very cool indeed. Looks like they are only for blackberries. If you were very clever, you could paint on some contact paper and make a skin for your own phone. I found this cool stuff from Josh Spear's blog.

Yayoi Kusama

Yayoi Kusama is obsessed with dots. io9 has a very interesting story about the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama:

"78-year old Yayoi Kusama has had a hallucinatory obsession with dots for as long as she can remember. Throughout the hardships she endured as a child—alleged abuse by her mother, suicidal tendencies—all she saw was dots. Vast fields covered with dots, people wearing polka dots, trees wearing polka dots. Instead of trying to fix her OCD, Kusama decided to embrace it, moving to NYC in her late twenties to meet pen pal Georgia O'Keefe and join the thriving avant garde movement. Today, her signature art can be seen in galleries and museums all over the world.
Kusama herself lives in a mental hospital in Tokyo. It's a personal choice—she feels more comfortable there, and leaves only to go work in her nearby studio and to attend award ceremonies where she's touted for having an amazing brain that yields beautiful dots.
People are fascinated with brains that function differently than that of the average human. Despite being a near-octogenarian, I tend to think that Kusama's brain is actually closer to what humankind's will look like in the future—colorful, orderly, and full of dots."