Inspiration

Maurice Sendak

by Amber on February 7, 2012 in Writing & Books

A magical video. You have to take the dive. {via Royal Quiet Deluxe}

{ 0 comments }

Planter

by Amber on February 2, 2012 in Interiors

Isabel Marant and Jerome Dreyfuss' house

Skyplanter

Justina Blakeney

Sunny window sill

Brooklyn Loft

Dwell Studio - at home

I can’t wait till Spring, when the dirt will thaw and we can plant things in a our postage stamp of a garden. In the meantime, I feel like I need to surround myself with more living things inside. The right ratio? At least 3 plants per human per room, perhaps. Or maybe we should turn our downstairs bathroom into a veritable jungle.

{click the photos for sources}

{ 2 comments }

David Lynch on Creativity

by Amber on January 31, 2012 in Notebook

David Lynch

“Negativity is the enemy to creativity. So if you want more ideas flowing, happiness in the doing, happiness in the doing, happiness in the doing. I love, capital L-O-V-E, building a thing that ultimately has to feel correct before it’s finished, and that feeling correct is like a drug. It’s like a thing that kicks you and makes you feel so good, You almost pass out. You fall off your feet.”

David Lynch, to Melena Ryzik of the New York Times

{ 0 comments }

Sydney Side Up

by Amber on January 16, 2012 in Interiors

Sydney Apartment - King's Cross Station Sign

Sydney Apartment - Book Rack

Sydney Apartment - Living Room
Sydney Apartment - Sunroom

Steve’s Sydney apartment has it all. Twin chestnut chesterfields, a sun-room peppered with hanging plants, and an appropriately seedy King’s Cross sign. In particular the stacked and strapped filing cabinet wall of storage is an idea I’d like to steal, and a giant mirror wouldn’t go amiss in my house either.

Scooch on over to Apartment Therapy for all the pictures and to read about the inspiration behind it. Meanwhile, I’m still be busily scouring the classifieds for the perfect couch…

{ 5 comments }

CFS Loves 82

by Amber on November 27, 2011 in Notebook

National Geographic - Fox of the Year

Best Wild Animal Photos of 2011 | National Geographic

Elle Decor - Antwerp GuideElle Decor’s stylish guide to Antwerp | Elle Decor

Tjalf Sparnaay - Hyperrealistic Food Paintings

Tjalf Sparnaay paints hyper-realistic pictures of food | Trendland

XKCD - money chart

Money – an infographic | XKCD

Engaged to Prince William

Engaged to Prince William, a sculpture | A Cup Of Jo

Oasis, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?

Famous Albums on Street View | Vice

Alexey Titarenko

Alexey Titarenko, The Zombies | But Does It Float

Superlatives Used in Missed Connections, oh how I adore Craigslist | Center for Missed Connections

Marked, a series of prints made by hand | Karin Wolters

Jay-Z – a man of the year. “Jay’s tourist-bureau anthem, “Empire State of Mind,” comes on somebody’s radio, and for a block or so it’s like we’ve strolled into a montage.” | GQ

Late Bloomers – Why do we equate genius with precocity? | The New Yorker

Nathalie Lete, artist | Wee Birdy

aaaaaand my favourite of the week…

How to properly hide booze in your Facebook pictures | Celebr8wewill

Inspired this, I made my own PUPPY version. Check out the gorgeous Mon with her vodka & soda:

Vodka&soda Puppy

{ 2 comments }

CFS Loves 81

by Amber on November 11, 2011 in Notebook

Twisted, Nicholas Kennedy’s photography | But Does It Float

Twisted - Nicholas Kennedy

Best of Breed, 102 champion dogs photographed at the Westminster Dog Show | NY TimesBest in Breed - Westminster Dog ShowF.lux and Ommwriter, 2 programs to increase the aesthetics of productivity. I have been playing with them both and they are an excellent alternative to the Word.doc of death | Cellar Door

Miranda July Q&A, from Stylist’s clever masterclass series. I had a Q and MJ gave me an A! | Stylist Magazine

More Inspiration from Miranda July

And even more inspiration from MJ – on Strangers | The School of Life

Codeacademy – an interactive way to learn programming by actually coding!

Code AcademyRose & Clover and other colour schemes | Apartment Therapy

Rose & Clover Colour Scheme

The arc of drama, explained by Kurt Vonngeut | Sivers

Kurt Vonnegut

Kaleidomaniac, an image blogging experiment. Below: Tsukiji Fish Markets by Rory Hyde  | Jarred Bishop

Kaleidomaniac - Jarred Bishop

Starbucks’ augmented reality app makes your cup come to life! Naturally, I like the fox | Mashable

  Also of note:

Vintage cameras in London, an alternative shopping experience | Last Minute

Lapday, a definition to consider | Dictonary of Obscure Sorrows

A wedding in the woods | Jody Rogac

What’s on the mind of Laura Ford | STW Nextness

Anita Calero: Curated Chelsea Home, I want to live here | LoftLife

And:

… I leave you with a Steven King quote that I enjoyed this week:

“Look, writing a novel is like paddling from Boston to London in a bathtub,
Sometimes the damn tub sinks. It’s a wonder that most of them don’t.”

{ 1 comment }

CFS Loves 80

by Amber on October 27, 2011 in Notebook

20 unmissable paintings in London, including  Jan Van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait | Time Out

Jan Van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait

Requiem Lass, an interview with Patti Smith | New York Times

Requium Lass - Patti Smith

Online Checkout – In Real Life, with all the drama of a time-out | Google Analytics

20 Lessons for Creatives from Miranda July, words from a powerhouse | Nextness

Miranda July

Winter Wonderland, Eniko Mihalik by Terry Richardson | Harper’s Bazaar 

Harpers Bazaar - Winter Wonderland

Collated satellite views of the Imperial Valley, otherworldly views of crops | Lillian Wilkie

Imperial Valley

The Chameleon, a fascinating account of French child impersonator Frederic Bourdin | The New Yorker

Frederic Bourdin

Austin Diaries, enticing photos of Texan vintage | Sea of Shoes

Austin Diaries - Sea of Shoes

Badlands – an Oral History, the turbulent making of Terrence Malick’s first film | GQ

Badlands

An archive of fantastic old French posters | Galerie Montmartre

Vintage French Poster Archive

A simple DIY side table | Design*Sponge

Simple DIY Side Table

{ 2 comments }

Steal Like Your Life Depends On It

by Amber on October 25, 2011 in Art & Photography

{ 0 comments }

CFS Loves 79

by Amber on October 6, 2011 in Notebook

 TEA! The English love tea. I seem to be offered a cup of the stuff everywhere I go. While I love tea, Earl Grey is not for me and  mostly I opt for green. Here is some interesting browsing to go with your cuppa of choice.

stack

  • Jessica Stanley’s  The Quiet Tourists Guide to Hackney couldn’t be more timely! It’s an insider’s view on everything that’s good and great in East London. As it’s all local to me, I will be merging this list with my London must-see list.
Mad Jack Fullers Grave
  • What Girls Need. So refreshing and insightful. Read this now, whether you have a vagina or not.
  • Back to the Future - this meme has gone on for a while, but here’s a batch of fresh recreations of family photographs. I’m tempted to make my own!

Party Animal Candle Holders

  • The Beekeeper’s Bible is high on my reading list with a ‘extensive history of beekeeping section, a food and drink section, a domestic uses for bee products section AND a craft section’.

Steve Jobs flipping the bird to IBM

{ 1 comment }

Career Advice

by Amber on September 29, 2011 in Design

Work You Do While You Procrastinate

Thoughtful career advice from designer Jessica Hische, illustrated smartly by Chris Piascik. Isn’t it lovely?

My procrastination techniques include – making coffee, organising my room, planning exotic holidays, writing fiction, watching Come Dine With Me while writing up notes… It’s all an endlessly inspiring loop though. Writing is my passion, and whether that manifests as writing perfume reviews (check!), crafting websites at a digital agency (check!), or noodling away at a cookbook (one day!) – it’s all good. Knowing what I really love to do is a real blessing. How do you guys while the hours away?

{via Fancy! NZ Design Blog}

{ 1 comment }

To-Do’s

by Amber on September 19, 2011 in Notebook

Right now London is a whirlwind of interviews (please send me luck, I need it!), catching up with old friends, life “admin”, figuring out what tube line I need to be on, and just absorbing all the little things I need to get up to speed with (woah – cream comes in a pottle not a bottle).

Last week I did manage to have some friends over for dinner; we ate risotto by candlelight in the back garden and watched aeroplanes soar overhead. Cooking for others is really important to me. It made me think of all the things that I need/want, to make me feel at home here. Mostly it is doing; making some roots and settling into routine.

1. Find a darkroom and start developing & printing once more. I used to do this in high-school. I want to do it here; B&W film developing and processing costs are high! And because I lugged my heavy Canon AE-1 across the planet…

2. Write daily. As a writer, this obviously happens, but I’d love to – rather, need to – carve out a chunk of time each day to write for me. Not for my blog, not emails to my friends, articles or copywriting. My own personal creative works that have no ambition to be published, or expectations. At my new house we have an amazing garden shed which looks like a log cabin (and used to be a home recording studio). I’m hoping to take it over, add a desk, and a light and get up early every morning

3. Buy a bicycle. I had to sell my pink and orange beastie in Auckland, but thankfully London is some sort of bicycle city of the future. There’s single speeds, fixies, and Boris bikes abound! Most of all, I want to get one with a basket.

4. Visit every museum in London. Apparently there are over 200 of them in this city, so this is a loftier, long-term goal. Most of them are free, which makes for excellent – and cheap – weekends out! Next on the list: Bethnal Green’s Museum Of Childhood.

5. Build a wardrobe. When it comes to clothes, I have the opportunity to start from scratch. I moved to England with 2 dresses, 1 pair of jeans and a handful of shirts. It’s really a pleasure to have the time to consider what matters to me when it comes to style, and to invest in some great pieces. Also, UK shopping is amazing! Uniqlo, H&M, Topshop, Zara…

 What’s on your September list? I can’t believe advent calendars are in the shops already. It’s all downhill to 2012 from here!

{ 2 comments }

September Dreams

by Amber on September 9, 2011 in Writing & Books

September: poem

[via Louniverse]

I am really looking forward to my first autumnal September. I remember visiting New York in October, and suddenly Halloween made sense; the end of harvest and darkening of days, not strawberries and 8pm sunsets. I’ve spent a long time in topsy-turvy land… It’s now time for scarves, crisp mornings and falling leaves.

{ 1 comment }

CFS Loves 78

by Amber on August 13, 2011 in Notebook

Urban Stargazing: Hunter

  • Where Children Sleep –  by James Mollison features children from around the world, and their bedrooms. It’s a provocative, moving series – and will make you ask a lot of questions about the rights of children.
  • Hello! I want a one of these Peugeot café racers. It’s such a sweet moped, forget the pedals, let’s go gas.
  • How to talk to little girls. Yes, yes, yes. This approach (engaging them not complimenting them)  is good! And works excellently with  grown women too. “Cute shoes” is such a dire way to start a conversation.

{ 3 comments }

Write All The Time

by Amber on July 20, 2011 in Writing & Books

type

When you sit down to write, is that what you do? Just say, “Okay, I’m starting a book” and then sit down and keep writing until it’s done? Do you take breaks? Do you ever get writer’s block?

No. No writer’s block. Never had it. Don’t believe in it. Doesn’t exist. I don’t buy that one.

Ernest Hemingway said it… If you’ve got writer’s block, write one sentence. And if you can write one, you can write two. If you can write two, you can write three. If you’ve written three, you have a paragraph. There’s just no such thing as writer’s block.

I work all the time. I write all the time. No days off, not for any reason. I get up in the morning and I start at it, get into the afternoon, I work out. I work at it at night. I work on it until I go to bed at eleven. I keep a notebook by my table and I write in the middle of the night sometimes. Sometimes I’ll write from maybe 4AM to 6AM and go back to bed, but I write all the time. And I always have. That’s the way I’ve always done it.

James Lee Burke {via Chad Taylor Marginalia}

{ 1 comment }