my beautiful backside sofa by doshi levien

gather round everyone and admire my beautiful backside! oh. oh no. i didn’t mean my backside, i meant the very modern sofa from nipa doshi and her design partner (and husband) jonathan levien for moroso. i am quite batty about the high asymmetrical backs, the gorgeous indian textile choices and exaggerated style. it was inspired by a painting called the garden of life.

i don’t care if i am looking at the front or the back, i like it from every angle.

see more design excellence from the talented duo right here.

via bonluxat

share this story

elfine photographic art: miniview

oh! what a terrific way to start out the week here. the fabulous australian artist linda kruger of yellow monday has opened a brand new shop called elfine, which features work quite different from the whimsical prints in her other beloved shop. linda is taking original photographs and enhancing them manually and digitally to create a beautiful new series of giclee prints. these new pieces have a more organic, worn feel to them — so welcoming and familiar even when seeing it for the first time. those qualities, coupled with a contemplative color palette and very affordable ($20-$60!) price range, makes each piece highly stare-worthy and collectible. ever curious to know more, i decided to ask a few questions…

q: have you always been into photography? how did you decide to put all the elements together for the collection?
a: i have always loved photography. i studied it at university as part of my film studies course, and loved shooting with film and using the darkroom. i mostly use my digital camera at the moment, but am interested in photography from older cameras. a while ago i stumbled upon some images taken with a diana camera - a cheap plastic camera made in hong kong in the 60’s. the diana is quite unpredictable with her results - random light flashes, soft focus, super saturated colours - and the effects are fabulous! so i was partly inspired by this. i also have a background in printmaking (etching) but had stopped doing it about six years ago due to space issues. anyway these photos reminded me about the work i was doing back then - abstract landscapes and details of buildings, with very coarse textures, and simple designs. so i guess these two things came together and i ended up with something new. i really wanted to get a particular look in the photos which was a combination of rough textures and a gentle softness, so i ended up working in layers (like in etching) but with paint, and pencil, and also with photoshop.

q: now that you have opened the elfine shop, what is in store for yellow monday? will you continue to work on both?
a: oh yes. i will continue to work on both shops. i like the fact that they are very different, and that i can engage with the different styles according to my mood, or whatever is inspiring me. but i have loved doing the elfine images, and feel like i am getting back on track with a side of my work that i’d taken leave from for a while.

q: do you have a favorite piece in elfine?
a: i don’t really have a particular fave - they all have very personal associations for me, and each is from a place which has had some meaning for me. i feel like i layer each image with colour and texture and also something of myself as well. if i had to pick, i might choose the warrumbungles tree series.

purchase all the pieces shown here at elfine, see linda’s other work at yellow monday and be sure to drop by her blog to say hi and see what else she is up to!

thanks linda!

share this story

claire palastanga ceramics

reader saraM pointed me in the direction of the gorgeous organic stylings of uk ceramicist claire palastanga. the delicate porcelain forms are finely finished, and enhanced with the contrasting addition of silver of gold leaf details. claire is inspired by nature and has long been fascinated by spikey forms with sensitive centers, such as the fruit from the horse chestnut tree.

see more of claire’s beautiful collection and contact her right here.

share this story

holly grace art glass

look here at the stunning glass collection from australian artist holly grace. holly uses sandcarving and mouthblowing techniques to craft her gorgeous works, which are inspired in part by nature, period styles and scandinavian design.

see more beauty on holly’s website.

via modamuse

share this story

zsa zsa vase by joanna davies

look at this beautiful zsa zsa vase from the uk’s joanna davies. do you see her intention here — to juxtapose an ornate rococo style with the rather staid base form to explore contrast? yes, i see it, but to me this piece looks more like a strange sea creature that snorts water and sits on the bottom of the ocean floor. i reckon, in application, that is exactly what it does. it’s made of porcelain and no two pieces are alike.

bonus: the loopy spouts (snouts?) are a great cheat for beautiful flower arranging.

purchase it (not inexpensively, at £189.00) here, and see more organic beauty in joanna’s designs here.

via cribcandy

share this story

kirsten hassenfeld paper sculpture

(ed. note: welcome first-time readers! if you enjoy this article about kirsten, please click on the other categories to the left to enjoy even more posts about other talented artists and designers. better yet, feel free to be impulsive and click on subscribe to the right, and i will bring the good stuff to you instead! thank you for visiting!)

look at these gorgeous mixed media sculptures made from intricate paper cut outs, pipe cleaners, artboard and more from brooklyn’s kirsten hassenfeld. i love the scale and the delicate nature of the materials she uses. to me these pieces are poking and pushing around their edges, preparing to break into something bigger, into excess or obsession, or both.

these compositions are like a decadent party replete with extravagant strands of pearls and soft decorative chains strewn across the ceiling. i admire the softness of the light and the intimate feeling kirsten gifts to her viewers with these carefully crafted works.

kirsten is represented by the bellwether gallery in new york, and you can find out a lot more about her right here.

via sub-studio

share this story

pamela tang silk accessories

i love these luxurious home accessories from australian born, singapore based pamela tang. pamela, a former interior designer, takes traditional quilt themes and twists them into fresh and modern cushions, coverlets and more in her sumptuous collection. these contemporary pieces are a reflection of her inspiration from her surroundings and search for accessories to make a living space complete.

what gorgeous things to wake up and see everyday! the finishes and color choices are beautifully executed.

see pamela’s etsy shop and her website for these items and more.

share this story

studio archirivolto charme chair

i don’t care that these are $795 each, i’m hatching a plan now to cook up a scheme to somehow see these in the flesh and maybe sit on them once… to me this is the perfect feminine/masculine chair. glamorous and curvy, but made from macho materials of aluminum and leather, from the brilliant minds at italy’s studio archirivolto for fasem.

LOVE.

see for yourself at fy2k or the conran shop.

via betterlivingthroughdesign

share this story

lilly piri illustrations

look at these beautiful colored pencil works by australian artist lilly piri. they are soft and gorgeous, surreal and familiar. some of the people in these victorian feeling floaty portraits can’t even look you in the eye.

lilly has a show coming up at the thinkspace gallery in los angeles from december 7th - december 23rd. you can purchase her original works on her website, and prints at thumbtack press. oh - and she writes a nifty blog too!

share this story

more photography from rebecca dietz

i know i’ve mentioned rebecca dietz’s work before, but it must be mentioned again. the fact that 1) she has new work; and 2) it is still stuck in my mind weeks after i wrote that first post is telling. so this time (and with the artist’s help), may i present it all with more feeling and detail.

rebecca’s fascinating souvenirs collection was a bit of a homecoming, as she’s always been immensely attracted to carnivals, (and at one point was a circus/performance artist in san francisco). the giant animals, pirates and fairy tale figures were a wonderful mixture of terror and delight that frequented her childhood imagination. on her return to delaware to get her mfa in photography, a chance drive brought her back to ocean city, the scene of many summer childhood vacations, where the same creatures awaited her. this created a direct connection back to forgotten memories of her childhood.

the camera that she used for many of the photographs was an old mamiya twin lens reflex, the tank-like kind of camera that you hold at the waist and look down into to compose the image. this particular choice of camera created an interesting irony: seeing this world again from the height of a five year old child. add to this the fact that rebecca and the creatures were older. the weathered paint and exterior added a sadness and a softness to their characters, yet also brought them back to life, like an old friend discovered after many years. these photographs are a bit like portraits, a reconnection with childhood friends and an homage to the distance of time and decay.

the souvenir series is sepia toned, silver gelatin photographs. the image sizes are approximately 10″ square, framed to 17″ square. they are selling for $250 each, framed, plus shipping - a veritable bargain considering the quality of the pieces and the rich history behind them!

it would be so rewarding to take a photography class with her at the san antonio college in texas, wouldn’t it?

thank you rebecca for sharing this wonderful behind the lens info with me!!!

find her pieces and view her portfolio here.

share this story

(fantastic) michelle white illustrations

i am really nuts about this brilliant work from california (by way of florida) artist michelle white. michelle graduated from the ringling college of art & design. she has been creating her illustrations and paintings and residing in san francisco for the last ten years. she’s recently become a full time freelance artist, after working as an editorial artist for a variety of traditional and online publications. her pieces are made with pen and ink or graphite pencil on textured paper, their colors then subtly enhanced digitally. other pieces are made with color and graphite washes and are created on wood.

to me, there is a noteworthy amount of tension and contrast in this collection. i feel like i’m staring into the eyes of a real person, there is that much rare and melancholy depth of emotion here. and i could stare for quite a long time. the cracked up faces that look like chiseled stained glass, the mostly somber color palettes and the consistent, expressive nature and themes of love, dreams, childhood innocence and broken promises are so affecting.

isn’t it fantastic?

michelle will be showing a doll in the upcoming kokeshi doll show at subtext in san diego, which opens november 3rd.

she does not currently sell prints of her work, but she does make her paintings available for sale.

see michelle’s portfolio here. her blog is also an excellent place to see her terrific work and of course to contact her!

share this story

jessica rust ceramics

i nearly lost my mind when i saw these gorgeous porcelain and 14k gold luster pieces by minnesota artist jessica rust. they are simply stunning! each of these two styles is limited to 50 pieces and can be customized.

i love the gleam of the gold with the glossy white interior, dotted with jessica’s simple organic imagery. the fact that you can personalize these pieces to commemorate a special occasion is the cherry on the cake.

purchase these bowls and other beautiful pieces on jessica’s website. 

via design sponge

share this story