I’m on day 5 of bed rest after having my tonsils out. OUCH. I don’t recommend it. Oh, I kid; it’s one of those no pain, no gain situations. I’m looking forward to being a lot healthier in the future!
Despite the mewling, I am making the most of my time at home and preparing for the move to England by going through some of the design snippets, magazines and ephemera I’ve collected over the years. There are piles of interesting stuff stashed away in my filing cabinet. One such thing was this Nest winter catalogue from 2007. Nest was a New Zealand homewares store that sold the prettiest things, and sparked my love for all things Conran.
“It’s time: turn on the kettle and stir the pot,
pull up the quilt and cozy up.”
I like these spreads because they are very “New Zealand” – both the dark landscape, and the way the stylist has mixed high and low, old and new. Shiny new pots hanging by an old cooker, a satin dress on a spindly wire washing line. Actually, the first shot reminds me very much of my great grandfather’s house.
If you’re in the midst of winter too, I hope you’re staying warm. (And if it’s your summer – get off the internet!) ❤
This skate deck totem by Pale Horse Design strikes a chord with me. While not my usual style, I like the bold use of primary colours, and the way each can deck stand alone, or be part of the wider stack. Also, I still like owls. A lot.
John C. Jay is a renaissance man in the creative community, turning his hand to advertising, marketing and film, and generally turning everything he touches into gold. These are his top 10 rules for creating:
- Be authentic. The most powerful asset you have is your individuality, what makes you unique. It’s time to stop listening to others on what you should do.
- Work harder than anyone else and you will always benefit from the effort.
- Get off the computer and connect with real people and culture. Life is visceral.
- Constantly improve your craft. Make things with your hands. Innovation in thinking is not enough.
- Travel as much as you can. It is a humbling and inspiring experience to learn just how much you don’t know.
- Being original is still king, especially in this tech-driven, group-grope world.
- Try not to work for stupid people or you’ll soon become one of them.
- Instinct and intuition are all-powerful. Learn to trust them.
- The Golden Rule actually works. Do good.
- If all else fails, No. 2 is the greatest competitive advantage of any career.
I am forever trying to organise my recipes in a handy dandy way. Right now I use a flowery Cath Kidston binder for print outs, or more often than not, drag my lap top into the kitchen. However for something more permanent, these darling Rifle Paper Co. Heirloom Recipe Card Boxes caught my eye:
Aren’t they fantastic?
Here’s one recipe I’ve made recently that I will be transcribing straight away. It’s a delicious lunchtime snack – or a great dinner with a crisp carrot & rocket salad.
Mushroom and poblano vegetarian enchiladas
1 package of firm tofu
1 small pepper
Sliced mushrooms
1 tsp. ground cumin
¼ cup dairy sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar and another sharp cheese of your choice
8 corn tortillas
Chopped tomato and red onion
Drain tofu; cut in cubes. Stem and seed poblano; cut in strips. In skillet heat 1 Tbsp. oil over medium heat. Add tofu, peppers, mushrooms, cumin, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Cook 8 to 10 minutes or until mushrooms and peppers are tender, turning occasionally. Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup of the cheese.
Lightly grease a baking pan, set aside. Wrap tortillas in dampened paper towels and microwave for 30 seconds or until warm and softened. Spoon mushroom filling into tortillas; fold over and place in prepared pan. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Grill in oven for 1 to 2 minutes, until cheese is melted. Top with tomato and red onion.
Yield: 4 servings
Speaking of gin in teacups, my favourite brand Hendricks have already made their own cups with delightfully quirky illustrations, complete with matching saucers!
Along with ‘Hendrick’s & Tonic’ and the ‘Floradora’, the recipe for a ‘Tea Time Martini’ sounds awfully good! I have transcribed it here for your reading pleasure:
Tea Time Martini
50ml Hendrick’s Gin
15ml fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon rose petal jam
6 large mint leaves
Add all ingredients to a teapot and fill with ice. Stir vigorously and leave to brew. Serve with panache in your Hendrick’s teacup.
{Images via NotCot. Thank you Emma for the heads up!}
I’ve mentioned a few times before that my friend Tessa is a talented print designer, but it turns out she is also an incredibly talented CAKE maker. She fronted up to my recent house party with a magical narhwal cake. It features a blue jelly ocean, with chocolate fish swimming in it, crocodiles circling the outer ring, a hokey pokey iceberg, and two narwhals (which were individual cakes). Oh and the kicker? Once you cut a slice it was revealed to be a rainbow cake inside!
I have a narwhal tattoo emblazoned across my left gun, which I like to think served as the inspiration. Tessa says she wanted to “smash together the idea of a ‘pool party’ and ‘under the ocean’ensemble, with a nod to the traditional unicorn/rainbow combination.”
It was delicious as well as pretty. Thank you so much Tessa!
Lego has influenced the paper arts before. When I was 6, my schoolmate Campbell and I made a machine out of lego that ‘corrugated’ card when you cranked the tiny handle. Physical Fiction has come up with a much more sophisticated technique, utilising the the pixel effect that lego lends.
Sheets of paper have been hand-cranked through a Vandercook using a monospace grid, et voila!
Their prints are cute (as you can see, there’s lots of game inspired pieces), and their prices are low – what’s not to love? The next time I need a gift for a recovered-nerd friend I know where I’m heading.
PS. Baddies!
“It’s very tricky to do any drawing of a tragedy,” said Christoph Niemann, who created “Dark Spring,” this week’s cover. When asked to come up with an image about the series of disasters that have hit Japan, he was hesitant. “A drawing often comes across as lighthearted, and there’s obviously nothing lighthearted about this thing.”
- New Yorker
4 years ago (this week) I visited Tokyo and Kyoto. The cherry blossoms were just popping through, it was amazing. Whispery little snowflake-like petals got caught in your hair wherever you walked. They truly are an icon of Japan.
Comments on this New Yorker cover range the gamut from “totally disrespectful” to “powerful”. Personally, I like the subtlety, and find it an elegantly sombre take on a terrible situation. It’s a great piece of graphic design in a world where we can often be overwhelmed by photographs.
Just wanted to share with you this gorgeous poster designed by my dear friend Tessa Stubbing. It’s a simple poster made of found images, but it really works. I want a print of this beauty for my new house.
The gig itself sounds pretty swell too! D. Burmester is touring his new alt-country album “The World Of Beast”, with support from Lubin Rains (The Vietnam War) and Ms. Ivy Rossiter, aka Luckless.
Being no longer stuck in the year 2006, I find cuppycake iconography totally overcooked and a bit twee. But I can’t help but smile when I see this “Bake Someone Happy” tee by Parinto. It’s true! Baked goods make the world go ’round.
Designer Stephen Richardson says “Back in the 1970′s my dad’s advertising agency produced some sweaters for a client with the slogan “Bake Someone Happy” on them. He gave one to my mom and for whatever reason that slogan has always stuck in my head. To cut a long story short, this design is a nostalgic nod to that long-gone sweater.”
Look how stoked this guy is:
- Also featuring a teepee, The Outsiders – a dreamy fashion editorial by Keren Richter and Elizabeth Weinberg:
WILL COTTON “CANDY STICK FOREST” 2005, OIL ON LINEN, 60” X 72”
I spotted this owl sweet mug with matching coaster/cup warmer yesterday at Auckland store Iko Iko. Want it? Yes! Strictly necessary addition to my kitchen? No. I had to march myself swiftly out of the store. But maybe you’re in need of a fine new vessel? I found it online at Cloth Ears… Please buy it and I will live vicariously through your consumerism.
