of paper and things

i've come across the most inspiring website - i could simply repost it in its entirety and call it a day, a week, a month, a year. fabulous. amazing. found via uppercase gallery , graphic exchange is an unbelievable archive of print material and portfolio links assembled by french graphic designer fabien barral. if you're looking for design inspiration, visit the site, choose a category from the left panel, and surf away. enjoy. sound's blue monsoon album art by paolo lim - graphic nexus neronia books - print boontje's wednesday light by graphic thought facility - packaging

maria jauhiainen crafts the most incredible pieces of jewelry! she experiments with the lightness of metal structures, realizing the most delicate of designs in a process that is driven by her fascination with both the delicacy and the strength of metal. her work is simply stunning and can be purchased at 2jane .

" bcxsy is a cooperative between designers boaz cohen and sayaka yamamoto...a multi-disciplined experience that creates and develops concepts, identities, products, graphics, interiors and atmospheres...a balanced combination of two unique talents creating one unique narrative...emphasiz(ing) beauty, purity, wit, emotional awareness, personal experience and personal interaction." and their designs are so fun! i want this swing lamp!! swing lamp see-saw bookshelf

mia pearlman's cut paper sculptures are haunting and beautiful and delicate and powerful and oh my goodness gorgeous! she describes her work as " meditation on chance, control and the ephemeral nature of reality. the forms in my work exist on the brink of being and not being, free from physical constraint. imaginary landscapes are shown frozen in mid-evolution, on the brink between contracting or expanding, solidifying or breaking apart. my goal is to find the picture beyond the big picture, the space between the nucleus and the electron, the moment between creation and destruction." more images of these and other amazing works can be found here . eye maelstrom

and we (i) were (was). in my earlier post on organized collections, i fell in love with danske's photos (jen of my polaroid blog ). so, i decided i'd post a few more, just because they make me happy :) 17 other colored glasses he and she

i love these cards by anna cote (one of my favorites!), designer and owner of modern printed matter , a stationary and graphic arts studio. these designs are from her botanical line , and can be purchased on etsy .

i used to collect four-leaf clovers. i had this insane ability to simply reach down into a patch and immediately find one, which used to drive my little sister to madness. she would spend hours looking for one while i'd amassed many, and often resorted to clever ways of cheating by splitting leaves and plucking one from five and six-leaf clovers. my mom recently found and returned some of the scrapbook/photobook pages i'd filled with my lucky findings. actually, she gave them to my 7-year old son, with whom (i am happy to report!) i scored a few points for my skills. he's now added them to his collections of rocks, die-cast cars and pencils (yes, pencils). cool. i found these photos of collections on the flickr group photo pool, organized collection : this is not how we live by mette of mettetations tabletop props from jen of my polaroid blog teal-ish collection by jo of red aprons and lunchboxes

yuken teruya crafts the loveliest little dioramas from paper shopping bags. born in japan and now living and working in new york, he combines the traditional asian art of paper cutting with bold statements on the disconnect between the natural environment and modern consumerism. here are a few of my favorites: christian dior le bon marche marc jacobs mcdonald's

incredible handmade Italian and Lauscha glass rings by Alice Matsumoto - just amazing. here are some samples, or you can (and should definitely) go here to see the full line.

Art Direction: Petra Storrs Starring: Singer and Actress Paloma Faith found via trespluscool

i am in the process of designing my 2-year old daughter's new room (or, rather in the process of thinking about designing her room), and i came across this beautiful design for a wall. Inke Heiland is a dutch designer/artist who creates these adorable diy silhouettes from vintage designer wallpapers. you can order a kit complete with the pattern, brushes, glue and instructions. i just adore this tree and the birdhouse lamp, both of which can be purchased here .

i have this recurring dream of a carnival. the premise is that i'm wandering through the grounds of an abandoned carnival/amusement park, a la bradbury's something wicked this way comes . the scene is dark and ominous. despite this, i always crave a trip to an amusement park following the dream - perhaps to reconcile the dream images with the colorful real-life experiences i've had with theme parks and fairs? for whatever reason, i'm thinking a roller coaster may be in my near future! i found these carnival-inspired items on etsy today: ferris wheel by dandytree vintage ticket glass pendant by geelizzie carousel by elle moss i dreamt of swings by daryl banks

oh, i love this, found via imedagoze . just recently launched, lines and shapes is described as "an independent art and design collective...a rotating group of artists whose visions converge...always thinking of new ideas...and lines and shapes connect us." and they create inspirational books, each volume having " a different visual 'jumping off point.' artists work separately, having no communication with each other, to interpret the visual idea. their creations are then designed into book form." some images from volume one: lena corwin maria vettese christopher ryan

at this moment i am listening to poi dog pondering, and specifically postcard from a dream . and i'm thinking (though the song really gives no mention of postcards at all, it does make me happy and puts me in a springy-newness-do-something-different-kinda-mood) how nice it would be to send/receive a handwritten note. and so i've decided i'll start with my friends out of state - surprise them not with an email or a message via some community messaging tool, but rather with a handwritten note. so, i realized i needed some beautiful new cards, and would you believe i found some on etsy ? i know - imagine that! i adore charmfoundry - one of my absolute favorites! here are images of the waxy postcard sampler :

i really really really want these new pieces by abigail percy . happy monday! anemone leaf hoop earrings hollyhock silhouette necklace

roof geography by lililemieux i'm watching an episode of american experience on pbs about the life and writings of walt whitman, and am reminded of why it is he's considered one of the best poets of all time. he really was an iconoclast and a rebel, and his descriptions of nature and the human form are just incredible. here are some items on etsy i've stumbled across with lines from leaves of grass in mind: leaves of grass by yellow fish vintage twirl by ameliorate ab imo pectore necklace by melanie favreau

this week in paris is the 3rd annual " detour: the moleskine city notebook experience ," an exhibition of the personal moleskines of international artists, designers, architects, illustrators, and writers. all proceeds support the nonprofit foundation lettera27 , whose mission is "to support the right to literacy, to education, and the access to knowledge and information." for practical purposes, i am in need of a limited edition red diary and an extra small black volant notebook. for aesthetic reasons, i'd like to have any of these past submissions to the project: scott henderson is an american designer who heads his own new york design studio and is a co-founder of mint kazuko nomoco studied graphic design, printmaking, and illustration. she is currently an illustrator in the uk. steven guarnaccia is the director of the illustration department at parsons: the new school for design and former art director for the op-ed page of the new york times.

for real! this sunday, april 20, is "national go fly a kite day." really. i like kites, so i may celebrate accordingly. if kites aren't your thing, you have many other options for sanctioned fun this weekend. saturday, for example, is "humorous day" - i'm not certain if the day itself is expected to be funny or its participants. either way, you're free to laugh on saturday for no reason at all! and on sunday, if you aren't so inspired to fly a kite, you could make a quilt, "get to know your customer," be a cuckoo, or celebrate "look alike day." good times! i found these items inspired by kite-flying on etsy today: kite and tree gocco card by two guitars longs to be free papercut shadowbox art by fog and thistle the boy and the kite photographic print by dandytree