zeitgeist clocks by mylumi

look at these abstract graphic zeitgeist clocks from the creative duo of kerstin nill and sebastian pehl, aka mylumi. designed in an old fashioned flip style, these clocks present a bold new image every minute of the day — literally. there are 1440 different combinations. kerstin and sebastian describe this distinct styling they call typology as “avant-garde and visionary.”

learn more about the design team’s philosophy here, and purchase the clocks, available with typographical or city imagery (bottom two photos), at apt.

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orange beautiful’s type line (letterpress)

i love this modern and funky type line series of handmade letterpress cards recently released from chicago-based paper wizard emily martin of orange beautiful. the assorted fonts make an elegant statement, the pieces are printed on substantial textured card stock. they can be purchased separately or in sets of ten.

purchase these cards at orange beautiful’s etsy shop, see many other gorgeous things on their website and say hi to emily (and bff/blog collaborator laura) on their blog too (which is chock full of excellent goodness)!

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decisions, decisions print by jamie wieck

this limited edition giclee print by london-based graphic designer jamie wieck is an obsessive riot. the idea was borne of jamie’s outrage over the rules restaurants impose on their patrons. questions turned into more questions and the end result is this amazing, repeating if-then flow chart pattern.

purchase the print and see more of jamie’s work (i love danté’s tea break!) right here.

via the robot walrus

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tony forte photography & design: miniview

i am back in the saddle this week and today’s miniview brings us more insight into the projects of tony forte, a graphic designer who creates works through digital techniques and photography with strong urban themes. tony’s photography is striking and his rich mixed media pieces with glints of vintage influence intrigue me, so i thought i’d ask a few questions…

q: where do you live and where do you create your work?
a: i’m living in north new jersey, and all the creative workload gets done in my office/studio which is also in jersey.

q: do you have a formal education in art or design?
a: i have a degree: applied science in visual communication and graphic design. i’ve been drawing since I was a kid, and have always appreciated photography.

q: can you tell us a little about the backyard project you have founded?
a: backyard project was founded in late 2005. it was a venture that i had been trying to get off the ground for a very long time. it was tough with working during the day, and bar tending at night. (NO sleep.) me and dan puleo, a friend and artist who shared similar taste when it came to throwing ideas around, launched the backyard site. we had put some cash together to get the website up and running. it was a great way to finally get some more exposure, and also develop a t-shirt/apparel line, with one-color design concepts. the apparel mainly concentrates on simple designs that represent our everyday creative outlook in our neighborhood, that we can share with the world.

q: do you have a favorite piece in your collection?
a: um, i think one of my favorite pieces is “Yesterday” (below) which can be also viewed with many other pieces of mine on my website. i really do NOT get tired of looking at that piece, i feel that i get something else that pops out of it every time i look at it. it’s hanging in my apartment.

thank you tony!

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julia pott illustrations

loving these illustrations from london artist julia pott!

purchase this whimsy and more at julia’s etsy shop and stop by her blog or website to say hello!

via dear ada

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gilah press and design: let’s chat!

in the world of handmade stationery, choices abound that reflect many facets of our personalities. i for one have a bag full of cards in my closet that range from elegant letterpress to hipster sarcasm to simple pretty greetings. my stock reflects my ever changing moods, which is one of the many reasons why i love the clever, bright and pretty stylings of kat feuerstein and her company, gilah press. when i look at the collection of witty and just sacastic enough humor wrapped up in a classy letterpress card, it makes me howl with laughter. gilah (which is hebrew for joy) is a design company that not only creates clever cards and accessories, but also does custom work for corporate identities and invitations for special occasions. i enjoy this collection because it makes quick written correspondence so much more personal (and humorous) than a generic greeting card, and leaves the receiver not just with a gorgeous physical souvenir of a moment in time but also a fond memory to keep. let’s have a chat with kat and find out more!

q: where do you live, and where do you create your collection?
a: i live in a little eclectic neighborhood (hampden), which is located in baltimore, md with my husband (adam) and two cats (reo & mel). i create my collection in the very same neighborhood, a few blocks away in a big pink warehouse that i share with two assistants (whitney & nathalie), two interns (justin & maggie), a colleague (emily) and a cat (pica).

q: what is your background, and did you study art formally?
a: i went to maryland institute college of art (mica) where I earned a degree in graphic design. from there i worked for a couple of design firms, knowing that one day i would start my own company. i started doing some freelance design and happened upon letterpress through a friend of mine and the rest is history.

q: how did you come to work in paper as a medium?
a: i’ve always had an obsession with the printing process, so it was a pretty natural progression. there’s something so rewarding when you see a project come to life as the ink hits the paper and your vision becomes a real, tactile object. i love working with a variety of different paper types because every paper will react in its own way to the design.

q: are there any distinct challenges and rewards in working with a letterpress?
a: YES and YES. rewards wouldn’t be so rewarding without the challenges. with letterpress there are a lot of variables and almost every project we print comes with its own special set of challenges. the 100 year old presses we use can be finicky buggers, there are lots of rigs to help the process along. it literally depends on the weather some days, if it’s humid out the rollers will swell and we have to compensate for that. if the project we’re printing has a large solid area of ink coverage, we will print that differently than we would print a block of text. if we’re printing white ink on brown paper a whole new set of rules applies. if the ink is pushing out too much (looking sloppy) we can add masking tape to the rails that the rollers ride on to help correct that problem by bringing the rollers back to “type high”. so, to make an already long explanation longer, there are certainly lots of challenges every day, but that’s what we love about it and that’s what makes it so rewarding every time we print a beautiful looking piece.

q: are there any differences in your creative process between custom work and production work?
a: the custom work certainly takes more time in the beginning phases. there’s a lot more thinking involved, you know, in the shower, at the bar, on the couch to come up with the design and the specifications of what will work best for the design in terms of paper and printing. with the production work we really just have to make the time to bang it out, we already know what we’re getting into.

q: what inspires you to make the line?
a: inspiration comes from the things i surround myself with. my friends, my neighborhood, wine, the studio, etc. i also enjoy traveling to become inspired by new sites. a few months back we took a studio road trip to tennessee to visit yeehaw industries and hatch show print, talk about inspirational. the more sarcastic lines come naturally out of my acerbic sense of humor that i’ve had since i can remember. i’m a smartass at heart.

q: what is the price range of your collection?
a: our single greeting cards generally retail for between $4 and $6. we have some boxed notes and postcards that go for $10-25.

you can find gilah press cards around the country, at places like kate’s paperie (ny and ct), and powell’s books (or) and anthropologie (everywhere). if you’re a retail buyer you can see kat and the crew at the national stationery show in new york from 5/18-5/21/08, and if you’re looking for a perfect design for your special event in charm city, the studio is open by appointment. those of us who aren’t lucky enough to live in the are can stop by the gilah press website to see their full collection and say hi.

thank you kat!

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scratch and sniff wallpaper by flavor paper

when i was a kid i thought the scene where the kids licked the wallpaper in willy wonka was awesome. now i can enjoy it as an adult, in real life, with this crazy fruit cocktail collection of scratch and sniff wallpaper from the folks at new orleans-based flavor paper. this handscreened paper allegedly smells like the real thing — your choice of banana, cherry or tutti frutti.

the snozberries smell like snozberries.

purchase these styles and see the full collection right here.

via decorno

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ema takahashi jewelry

love this elegantly feminine and graphic necklace collection from japanese born, new york-based ema takahashi. it’s made of hand hammered 10k rose gold.

i like that if you look at these slightly off center some of the designs just look like loopy abstract script, and the words are revealed upon closer inspection.

purchase these pieces here, and see ema’s full collection on her website.

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