Do you have NYC friends that had a baby in 2011 or are just about to have one? This 2011 Year You Were Born Letterpress Card would make a lovely gift!
Everything is a Remix, Part 3: The Elements of Creativity
Everything is a Remix Part 3 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.
Kirby Ferguson just released his third installment of his Everything is a Remix series, titled The Elements of Creativity.
If you’d like to read the full transcript of this episode, go here. If you enjoy this video and would like to support the series, please take a moment to donate.
(via Brain Pickings)
Brush
I spotted these amazing brushes over on Mrs. Easton. Talk about beauty in ordinary things. The packaging is stunning. (Does anyone know where one can get these?)
GROUP
My studiomate Larry Legend and composer Aaron Siegel have been working hard on a collective sound performance for multiple people and iPhones called “GROUP“.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, June 21 is the big day!
As part of Make Music New York and the River to River Festival, at 12:45 pm on Tuesday, a mass of people with the rainbow checkered, sound-emitting GROUP iPhone app will swarm to the intersection of Wall Street & Broad Street in downtown Manhattan and create a dense, evolving drone of sound and color that will last for about 10 minutes. Part flash mob, part ambient music meditation, and part performance art, the piece is turning out to be something really unique and fun.
Here’s how you can participate:
1. Just download the free GROUP app from the App Store and be there a little before 12:45 pm! It’s an unusual opportunity to take part in something really special.
2. Please spread the word!
Uncontacted Amazon Tribe
Talk about putting things into perspective:
(via ZachKlein)
Leander Stool Set
Leander creates the most stunning children’s furniture around. Consider me a fan. First came the crib/toddler bed, that had me gasp for air and now the Leander Stool Set. Totally wishlisted for casa swissmiss. Hat tip off to Designer Tina Schmidt.
(via Minor Details)
Subconscious Information Processing
(…)
He explained that I should start working on a project as soon as it was assigned. An hour or so would do fine, he told me. He told me to come back to the project every day for at least a little bit and make progress on it slowly over time. (…)
He explained that once your brain starts working on a problem, it doesn’t stop. If you get your mind wrapped around a problem with a fair bit of time left to solve it, the brain will solve the problem subconsciously over time and one day you’ll sit down to do some more work on it and the answer will be right in front of you.
(…)
The above quote is from Fred Wilson‘s father’s day post about a lesson his dad taught him.
Do you hear a click?
Rita and Frank tried to take a photo with their built-in camera on their mac. They hit the video button by mistake and filmed their entire interaction. Made my day! I am obviously late to the party, given this video has already over 1mio views on YouTube.
And then check this video they ended up taking. I am all smiles!
(via Spiegel Online)
Lion
I fully agree with the Fab.com copy-writer: This mammoth crochet-knit sculpture of a life-sized lion’s head is a witty, whimsical commentary on the sport of hunting and taxidermy’s trophy exhibitionism.
How fun would this be in a kid’s room? (Even though, it might cause nightmares)
Embroidered Portraits
These embroidered portraits by Daniel Kornstrumpf had me drop what I was doing and stare, in awe.
(Thank you Jon)
Wall of Rocker Switches
Valentin Ruhry had the brilliant idea to take 5,000 orange rocker switches you normally see in power strips and transform them into a blank canvas. Oh, the possibilities! #want
(thank you Rusty)
Definition of Work
Here’s a question I asked iconic Swiss Designer Jost Hochuli at last night’s AIGA event:
Me: “What’s your definition of work?”
Jost Hochuli: “70% pleasure!”
+Pool Kickstarter
I have written about the +Pool concept before and am thrilled to see that the team at Dong-Ping Wong are trying to make it happen. Considering that this floating pool could potentially become reality right outside our Studiomates windows is making me giddy.
They started a Kickstarter campaign to raise $25,000 to begin physical tests of the filtration materials and methods that they spent the winter studying. With each donation amount you’ll receive an article of + Pool summertime attire, from tantoos and koozies on up to sunglasses, tanktops and towels.
I am so totally backing this and encourage you to do the same.
constant quest of improvement
“A life without any complacency, in constant quest of improvement.” – Jost Hochuli
That is how Jost Hochuli described his former teacher, Willi Baus.
New and improved Typekit integration with WordPress.com
Adding Typekit fonts to your WordPress blog just got a whole lot better. Starting today, a new Custom Design upgrade provides a visual font preview that allows you to modify your theme quickly and effortlessly — no coding required. Just pick some fonts and instantly see how they will look on your blog.
This is fantastic! More details over on Typekit.
Search Google with Images, Not Words
Google Goggles has enabled you to search by snapping a photo on your mobile phone since 2009, and today they’re introducing Search by Image on desktop.
(via a photo editor / via chrisglass)
Galaxy Song
Yep, one of these days where I needed to put things into perspective.
(thank you Fran)
♥ / PHOSMade
A big thank you to PHOSmade for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed.
Are you into stainless steel and/or German stuff? If so, you’ll love PHOSmade.com. They have just about every possible home-related item, all made from the very best hand-polished stainless steel (remember, Germans build really nice cars). And if you have an idea for some new creation or customization, good chance they can do that too. Visit PHOSmade.com and gain a whole new appreciation for German creations.
PHOSmade.com gets the swissmiss thumbs up!
(Interested in sponsoring a week of my RSS feed, learn more here.)
Hoban Cards
Nate Burgos of DesignFeast pointed me to a true gem today: Hoban Cards is a fantastic letterpress calling card printing service by Evan Calkin. To get your own Hoban Card all you have to do is choose from six designs, enter your name, email or phone number, check out via paypal and then wait for them to show up at your doorsteps! Each calling card is hand printed on a 1902 Chandler and Price letterpress. For an affordable $75 you get 100 personalized cards printed on 100% 110lb cotton paper. Here’s Evan’s press in action:
These would make an amazing gift! I might just order a batch for myself…
ABC Crayons
This 26 alphabet letter crayons set is definitely a cool gift for future type nerds.
HelloFax
HelloFax is a site that let’s you send faxes, sign documents and fill out forms, all online, in a few easy steps. No cumbersome printing-scanning-emailing necessary. My studiomate Cameron tried it today, and he was happy enough to euphorically tweet about their service. I will twitter-echo that right after I upload this post. I just gave it a try and it’s amazingly easy! What a time-saver. (Only bummer, it doesn’t seem to work in Safari)
Smart UI Design
Now here’s a User Interface Detail that made me look: When you right click the logo on the Akismet site, it shows you a dialogue offering you different high resolution versions of the logo. Brilliant! Probably something only designer-types understand!
(via chris glass)
Sewing Kit Wall Sticker
Are you constantly telling someone to put things back where they belong? These Sewing Kit Wall Stickers will make a big statement!