Bright Turquoise

Water repellant

2012-01-11T16:55:00.001Z

I'm generally quite fascinated with the process of making something waterproof, which I generally attribute to leaky boots in the snow. I found this on Core77 today, and must look into it a bit more. What is this 'super water repellant' stuff made out of? And how is applied, and most importantly where can I get some.

Material Science makes Yahoo!?

2011-11-20T04:16:00.001Z

Today I found this article on Yahoo!'s front page. A new lattice structure of metal created to make ultra light materials from the researchers of HRL Research Laboratories, The University of California at Irvine, and the California Institute of Technology . It is certainly nice to see something AWESOME instead of the lives of celebrities int the headlines. I would love to know if other people are interested in this, and how our collective knowledge would be effected if this is the news we were given?

Art Birds

2011-11-15T02:36:00.001Z

I picked up the book 'Survival of the Beautiful: Art, Science and Evolution' by David Rothenberg today at the lovely Ben McNally bookshop on Bay in Toronto. In reading it on the long train ride back, I have learned that there is a little bird called the Bowerbird, that makes assemblage art in order to attract a mate. What the best part is, each type of bowerbird makes a unique shape, and prefers different colours and materials for decoration. What a wonderful thing to learn on a rainy Monday.

Less Human?

2011-10-18T20:16:00.002+01:00

If you only want to smell less human all the time - now you can sweat perfume... In the research phases at the moment, the health implications are questionable, but would it be any worse than most 'vitamins'? For more info, check out Swallowable Parfum. Thanks Springwise for the heads up.

Blah...

2011-09-25T18:35:00.001+01:00

I've been feeling a bit of internet fatigue lately. All of the amazing things I feel I've seen them already. Even the books I've been reading lately seem lame. Guess its time to branch out and start looking elsewhere. If anyone has any blogs or book suggestions, let me know....

What it looks like in my head

2011-09-11T02:17:00.001+01:00

As I have asked my students to purchase fabric that they believe represents them, I too thought I should do the same. I was at the beloved Emeline & Annabelle's the other day - and Em thought there was one fabric that reminded her of me... and I guessed quite correctly what she thought

Its Jay McCarroll's fabric from the collection Habitat. Quite apt for what goes on in my head; absolute chaos, in weird inelegant lines, poor digitization resulting in weird pixilation. I like it, so I bought some in the pink and grey colouration (the shade orange is absolutely horrendous, and is a visual atrocity, which is an assault on my design feelings). And then I saw this today on Dexigner, highly amusing, and is how I wished the structure of my thoughts were. I will have to badly Photoshop myself in sometime in the near future, and pretend I have great structure and foresight, if only through wishful thinking.

Book Club Meeting!

2011-08-24T14:17:00.002+01:00

So there has been a change in plans... A new book has been chosen. "The Lab: Creativity and Culture" by David Edwards. We will be discussing soon, with the first topic being that of the barbeque utensils on the cover.

If you would like to join us, let me know.

Why I like bright colours

2011-08-04T21:15:00.003+01:00

I think I have found a good theory to explain my two year obsession for an almost fluorescent lemon yellow:

"when faced with a new situation, we tend to attach ourselves to the objects, to the flavour of the most recent past. We look at the present through a rear view mirror. We march backwards into the future"
- Marshall McLuhan, The Medium is the Massage

A book club

2011-07-06T19:55:00.004+01:00

So I have one of the best of friends in the world - who is also an amazing designer, and sometimes we are so similar it makes me wonder if she can read my mind. The other day when we skyped - and we were both wearing pretty much the same black and white striped shirt (mine had sleeves, and hers didn't - that was pretty much the only difference).

Unfortunately - we normally live a bajillion miles apart (we are currently the closest we've been in years. She's down in the Boston area and I'm a 6 hr drive away in Montreal - too bad neither of us have cars). So with such in common - we often read the same books, and always are looking for projects we can work on together.

We've finally come up with a good long distance project; a book club focusing on our fascination with Design and the Future. The first book we are reading is "The Singularity is Near" by Ray Kurzweil. So if you would like to join in on the discussion, pick up the book, and get reading, further details on our discussion plans will be posted soon.

Subtle Stephanie, really subtle...

2011-06-08T22:01:00.004+01:00

So I'm usually a fish out of water, acting a ridiculous fool most places I go - mostly because I don't really understand the dynamics; an outsider (or more encouragingly an Outlier).

This past week I went to the conference Subtle Technologies in Toronto. I think I found my people. It was amazing, and so full of people doing amazing things, and all wanting to work together in some way. It was the first time in two years I felt as if I was with my tribe, and that people were behind me, and likewise I wanted to get behind whatever they were doing and support them. Someone mentioned that the Subtle Tech people become like a family - it certainly felt that way, in the best possible light.

PS - thanks for the photos Jenny - I stole it from the Facebook.

biopolymers out of everything?

2011-04-12T02:59:00.005+01:00

I try to stay attuned to what's going on with biopolymers and a few things have popped out recently in regards to new functional options. In the past week I got some information about biopolymers made out of chicken feathers (though I thought I might have seen this one before). And a new funding for 'spider silk' biopolymer implementation. If only I could get my designer hands on some of those materials - AMAZING - absolutely AMAZING!

All of the news including Pepsi's 100% biopolymer bottle have given me great hope for the industry - I'm certainly hoping its not a passing trend, but creates sustainable options for the future of materials.

The photo above is some of my preliminary bioplastic research back in 2007 - I can't believe its been that long!

Seriously?

2011-04-05T16:10:00.006+01:00

I was looking at my blog this morning, and I noticed something really weird. It was an advertisement. Not just any old ad, but one promoting investment in oil.I think the the Google bots/spiders/whatever got this one wrong - and not just a little bit but A LOT wrong. It shocked me at first, and now just makes me laugh a little bit.

So cool

2011-03-18T20:14:00.003Z

Continuum is so cool I backed it on kickstarter....

Project Inspirations

2011-03-17T16:04:00.004Z

In trying to figure out an economical method for storing all of my imaginary materials - I came across this image from Ferm Living:

Now it may not look like much at the moment, but I have a plan. My favorite thing to buy when I have cash in my wallet are empty wine crates from the local SAQ. They are beautiful wood, and they sell them for a very small sum of money for charity.

Step 1: Buy crates - use an oil rub to make them the same colour as the ones in the picture, and then line with some sort of textile - I think plain muslin or canvas should be sufficient for this project.

Step 2: Get them set up like this - or think about how this can be translated into a drawer type structure

Book Report : The End of Oil

2011-03-10T02:24:00.002Z

So I read The End of Oil throughout the past couple of weeks. It was a spur of the moment purchase at the used bookstore at the beginning of February - and I'm so glad the purchase was made. It was published in 2005, and already some of the forecasting in regards to the price of oil, increased production from non-traditional sources (tar sands etc...) have come to pass. It seemed like a relatively well balanced book in regards to its honesty about the future of energy, which I appreciated greatly. I loved it and it affirmed what I knew, and gave me more insight into the politics of oil.

Book Report: something on Nanotech

2011-01-25T05:36:00.004Z

This is going to be a rather lack luster book report, but I felt I should write it anyhow. I read a book recently on the ethics and pitfalls of Nanotechnology - I think it was an Earthscan book if that helps at all. It was a great series of chapters from many different sources all about the future developments of nanotechnology looking at the ethical development of the industry, and many of the up and coming developments - soooo exciting (I love science) . I found the book - its called Nanotechnology: Risk, Ethics and Law, and overall it was great for an overview of the future of this field.
.

Anyhow, the only thing that I can actually remember from the book - is that we should approach the developments in nanotechnology with caution, as the full ramifications of each of the new technologies are unknown, and when we are looking at particles at that scale, it could have dramatic effects on life from the cellular level. That, and that the name for the thing we should be concerned about is AWESOME - 'Free Radicals', I want to be a 'Free Radical' - if I was cool/geeky enough to have a band I would name it 'Free Radicals', I can picture the punk inspired font right now...

Fragility

2010-12-18T04:48:00.006Z

So... I did a couple of things I'm not so proud of today - but as is life sometimes (sigh). One of the things I found along my travels was the most AMAZING surprise piece of artwork outside of the MACM. I was talking to my mom on my mobile as I was doing some Christmas shopping, and I stepped outside and heard a funny crunch, not the crunch of snow, but one of great fragility. I looked down at my feet - and that little crunch was that of beautiful regular white eggs... but not silly old regular eggs - eggs filled with the most glorious gold glitter. I stood there for a little bit afraid to move, but mostly in awe of this wonderful interactive piece. I went back later that day and played with the glitter a bit - it was such an absolute surprise... A delight - I only wish I knew more about it. I have looked on the internet to no avail... I might have to even call the museum and find out - oh how much wonderment it brought me, and gave me a tiny bit of hope for beauty and surprise that might be possible for me (maybe just maybe). If I find a picture I will definitely post it, but you will have to imagine it - on a frigid day in winter - hundreds of little eggs, some whole and some cracked, with gold glitter all about, and is now still on my snowboots - a little memory from a bit of magic on a strange day in December.

UPDATE: I spoke with the people at MACM - and the piece was made by some students from UQAM, but they don't have anymore information than that - it was fantastic, and I wish I had a picture to share.

Andere my love

2010-12-05T03:19:00.004Z

So I've not been doing my posting very religiously... but those who know me know I'm not very religious.

So another segment of my Friends & Neigbours... This one is about the dearest Andere Monjo. This week a stunning music video she directed for Catalan Folk-Rock Songwriter Bikimel came out. It is a stunning piece of work which is so telling of Andere's sensitivity to light and composition.

Take a look at more of Andere's work on her website here...

I got run over by a car... and I blame it on design

2010-08-26T01:55:00.003+01:00

So, as I'm sure most of you who are my fb friends know, I got in a car vs. bike accident on Sunday (me being bike). Definitely not fun. So how do I blame design, well... this is not the first accident I've been in, its the second, and the first one was at the very same intersection. So first of all I blame the weird signs that no driver seems to notice at every intersection on the bike path:

The next thing I blame, is the damn tourists - this time for real, not because they are clogging the sidewalks, but because I screamed at one for cutting me off this week when they were trying to park (have you heard of a signal light?), and then because it was another car from Ontario that was the one that was the cause of this accident.

So let me tell you the whole thing. I had a weird morning, and decided to forgo my initial plans to take a bixi up to the market, and then over to work from the north. I needed to stop downtown to get some supplies for work (both our double needles broke the day before during my Serger class), so I went downtown at around noon. It was raining, but more sprinkling than raining, so I didn't worry too much about the rain, I usually only stop biking when its so bad my glasses get too wet to see properly. So I decided to take the bike path (aka the death trap), because I was too lazy to go up the hill to Sherbrooke, and Sherbrooke had been filled with Ontario drivers all weekend (parent's weekend at McGill I think). So I continued as per normal, and went straight, and I was running a bit behind schedule, so I was bootin' it. I had about 3 green lights in a row, so I had a bit of speed, and I was coming up to my 4th, when the driver turned left in front of me. I slammed on my brakes, but the less than 5m wasn't enough to stop, and I ended up hitting the back of the guy's car and falling on the pavement, and hiting my head on something in the process (which I only knew because I have a nice big dent in my helmet - Thank You Helmet!!!). The guy was beside himself upset. Initially I was alright (shock and adrenaline is my guess), and we traded contact information, and I went off, made a couple of hysterical phone calls, and went to work, and taught the weirdest workshop (sorry everyone, but I hope your zipper skills are good, and if you need any help ask again, and I will certainly help!). I started to feel it at around 8pm, just tenseness... and I woke up with some severe nausea and dizziness, so spent the wee hours of the morning in the ER, and was deemed alright, and have spent the majority of the days since in bed, still rather sore...

So how could have design fixed this - better bike lanes for certain. Left turns only on a signal light would work too, and I would be dreaming, but a whole street without cars, but a safe haven for bikes in this city.

For now, I will refrain from biking until I feel better. And then I'll continue to ride across the city on Sherbrooke (a 2-way street), at least cars are paying attention there.

Book Report Time!

2010-08-18T21:28:00.003+01:00

I know, where the heck did I go? Well, lets just say there have been quite a few changes since June, and I'm back to the reading of the books... design books/sustainability books/theory in general books... YAY!

So I read "The Design of Everyday Things" by Donald A. Norman last week... good book overall, I really loved the section on design frustrations, and how we blame ourselves in situations where bad design is more often to blame. The funny part, was I was in a car accident while reading that section (I wasn't driving and reading I SWEAR!!!) - how fitting. The crash was truly an accident(a small fender bender in the parking lot - we were pulling out and he zoomed in right next to us), and the other guy's car got SOOOOOO much more damage than ours (bad design both in the car and the parking lot)...

Its a slightly older book (originally published under the title of "Psychology of Everyday Things" in 1988 - its interesting to see how many things have changed in the world of design, and makes me wonder if a great deal of change in regards to user centered design, and interface design can be attributed to this book.

Overall - I would say if you like design theory - read it, if you don't - don't bother... But as far as design theory goes - AWESOME... I wish I had read it 10 years ago.

Style vs. Ethics

2010-06-13T19:56:00.002+01:00

In the world of fashion the term 'ethics' is seemingly most often used lightly and always with quotations around it. Most companies have CSR documents to which they send to their vendors and ask them to sign - and this is the extent of their investment. There are companies out there that try to do a little bit more, and then tout their small improvements as revolutionary.

I was faced with a dilemma today when walking down the street... To buy a new favourite t-shirt, or to leave it there. I have two of my favourite t-shirts - a raglan sleeveless number that has the perfect neckline... the problem is that they come from American Apparel. This 'made in the U.S.A." , "sweatshop free". They tout their labour practices as fair and equitable - but what may I ask is 'fair and equitable' about being subjected to sexual harassment at work? There have been several suits launched against Dov Charney (I am ashamed to call him a fellow Canadian), in regards to his treatment of his female employees. On the blog of the Law Offices of Peter M. LaSorsa there is an outline of some of the horrendous things he has said in legal depositions... According to Wikipedia article on Dov Charney, none of these lawsuits have been proven, but it is safe to assume that the Wiki page has been carefully edited by the staff at American Apparel or their PR firm.

Needless to say, I did not purchase anything - and will refrain from purchasing anything from them in the future - and will make my own new favourite t-shirt, and I'm starting with this awesome shirt from pixielink on BurdaStyle...

Green Products Innovation Institute

2010-06-09T02:07:00.002+01:00

I wish the Green Products Innovation Institute was a real place where I could go and study... but I guess it is in its own way... Basically, its seemingly the next step in Cradle-to-Cradle in the creation of a more holistic design economy. It is seemingly being implemented in California in order to create a 'sustainable economy' (sorry for the quotation marks, but I had to - I believe everything to do with sustainability needs to come with quotation marks). Pretty awesome, and I can't wait until the toxicity database is ready to be perused....

Emeline & Annabelle

2010-05-05T22:49:00.003+01:00

So there is new store that has opened up in Montreal by my dearest Emeline of Cochonet Rouge and Annabelle of A Day in the Week. Named after them (Emeline & Annabelle), its a Sewing Lounge - so you can learn how to sew with one of the awesome classes, or if you already know how you can come in and hang out, drink coffee and sew. I'm working with them in the afternoons - so come in and say hi, or stay awhile and sew a bit with me, or sign up for a class on how to make some lovely projects. Do Check out their website here...

The problems of packaging...

2010-04-15T15:12:00.004+01:00

I was wandering down the street the other day and I came across this bit of mess on the sidewalk. The bags lasted for about 2 blocks, and were blowing even further. For those of you who haven't worked in a retail store - each garment comes packaged in a plastic bag, just like men's shirts, then are grouped in usually 6's, and then put in another bag, and then put in a box (sometimes a reusable plastic box that goes back to the warehouse, sometimes not). Every day, when the new stock comes in, it is all taken out if its bags, security tagged, and put on the shelves, and when sold, put in a different plastic bag.

Hundreds of these bags are thrown in the garbage - as there is no daily recycling for this type of waste, and number 5 plastic (polypropylene) is not easily recycled in most places. This is a significant design challenge - is there a way to collect and reuse these bags? Can we find a better way to package things for shipping? Can we package things so that these bags can be used as a final bag at the cash? We all think we are doing 'good' for the environment when we bring our own bags to the store, but that's only the half of it it seems... so to the packaging designers and fashion companies out there - I'm calling you out in order find a better solution to this waste.

I was away...

2010-04-08T21:32:00.004+01:00

Sorry... I've been away in oh so many senses it seems. I was on the West Coast for the OLYMPICS and to be around for the birth of my nephew (whom I love and adore). While I was gone, I spent lots of time making things, but strangely I forgot to take pictures... or maybe not so strangely (how very much like me to forget to document). I did take a lovely little day trip to Salt Spring Island and was truly enthralled with the beautiful textures of the forest. The pictures below are a few I managed to eek out of my little camera.

cute...

2010-01-28T16:06:00.003Z

things to learn from Matt Edgar on Vimeo.

I'm working on the doing nothing part... maybe some good ideas will come out of it. Thanks SwissMiss for the link to this very sweet video by Christian Borstlap for Kinderpostzegels.

The Art of Telling a Story...

2010-01-11T18:37:00.004Z

I have been taught that spinning a tale is one of the most important things we can do within design. What I have learned, is that I don't feel as if I am particularly good at that - and therefore I've decided to become the listener - as I hope I'm good at listening. I'm working my way through some of the TED talks, and looking how the stories of others are constructed, and that being an audience is as important as being a presenter.

A particularly beautiful story that I was listening earlier today can be found here, Devdutt Pattanaik's TED talk on "East vs. West - The Myths that Mystify".

A New Year for New things

2010-01-06T02:34:00.004Z

so this is a list of my New Year's Resolutions... Now you all know them, so you can hold me more accountable.
1. Answer my emails more quickly as opposed to letting them sit in my inbox
2. Do more yoga and RELAX
3. Work on my creative practice - clients or no clients (remembering all things take time)
4. Create my own little bioplastic library (I'm well on my way to that one already)

Recycling is BullSh*t

2009-11-14T02:45:00.003Z

I couldn't agree more (see this treehugger article for the real dea l) - but you want to know what's even more of a load of bull - 'recyclable'. My question always comes to where - and what will it become, and what will the rate of recycling actually be (I believe that its under 9% of plastic is recycled in the UK). There are tons of designers who work with discarded goods - but they certainly have not been recycled in the truest sense, and more importantly are only a small amount of what is actually disposed of. Lets stop fooling ourselves, our green bins are just another version of a garbage can. We need to move past all of this rhetoric in order to actually make a dent on the future solid waste, material sustainability etc.

Book Report - The Omnivore's Dilemma

2009-11-11T02:54:00.003Z

Now, I thought I would read this, and love it - but to be perfectly honest, it was just okay. Michael Pollan seemingly has a problem with Xanthan Gum - he mentions it several times with a bit of an incredulous tone. I ask to that - what's so wrong with it - it holds all of my gluten-free baking together, is not poisonous and even if derived from corn, is not the root of all food evil. I truly love corn and many of its incarnations (bioplastic anyone?), and certainly there are many substantial political, social and environmental issues in regards to corn, but it is not inherently bad, as is insinuated. He also repeats himself often, as if he had forgotten he had said 'insert fact here' before.

Now with my biggest problem with the book. It is truly a man's view of the world with not a single female voice other than his wife. How on earth can I take a book that neglects half of the population and the primary family cooks very seriously. Really did remind me that no matter how much time passes - that I still have to be a feminist first (how sad). Nowhere in this book did speak to the actual dilemma of how we feed ourselves - time vs. quality vs. nutrition vs. money - and does explore the omnivore's dilemma for anyone other than himself and his foodie friends. I'll stick with Margaret Atwood in the future...

Book Report - Payback

2009-11-06T17:51:00.005Z

Margaret Atwood does it again - her ability to write witty, insightful, and highly accurate prose amazes me every time.

Her newish book - Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth, delves into the way debt permeates our lives, and looks at the history and cultural aspects of debt. I will read anything by Margaret Atwood, and this one is particularly timely, and it was nice to hear about more about the background of debt, and its direct association with sin, wrong doing and over all the more shadowy side of society.

Vote for me

2009-11-05T16:04:00.003Z

Hi everyone! I'm not sure if I've posted my thesis project here before - but essentially its a waterproof coating for natural textiles that is biodegradable. The innovation is replacement for traditional oilcloth (PVC coated cotton). I've entered the Challenge Your World for some funding to help this go forward. Please vote for my 'idea' over here (You can vote once a day)

Something to remember... about persistence

2009-10-14T19:14:00.002+01:00

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

– Calvin Coolidge

Thanks SwissMiss for the link

Awesome...

2009-09-19T01:52:00.002+01:00

A whole manifesto about awesomeness... what can I say other than awesome (you do know its one of my favourite words, right?)

Fall Reading List

2009-09-18T21:52:00.005+01:00

You might know that I read quite a bit (I think a profession as a 'reader' would be quite appropriate for me)

For the fall, I've decided to put together a specific reading list (separating out the 'must reads', from my reading list on the sidebar) - so here it goes...

Design is the Problem
The Omnivore's Dilemma
Buckminster Fuller: Anthology for the New Millennium
The Archaeology of Knowledge
Silent Spring

I'll start with those... As I usually take notes, check back here for book reports...

And life just became more interesting

2009-09-05T02:25:00.002+01:00

So, everyone who knows me knows how much I love the city of Montreal, in fact I'm loving it right at the moment, sitting in an open air cafe, watching all the people meander down the street, which is closed to cars for the weekend, and is a giant street festival/sidewalk sale. Oh how lovely.

While at the video store a couple of weeks ago, I saw a poster for the work of Brandon Ballangée (pictured above), and started to look into where this exhibition may be. It happens to be right here in Montreal, at the SAT ( the Society for Arts and Technology, or la Société des arts et technologiques). I must look into this institution further, as I see they are having an evening event next weekend called Art & Design Montreal - if only I had known earlier, I would have submitted some stuff for exhibition, but I will certainly be attending! Sounds like a really interesting group of people, and I look forward to seeing what's going on around here!

Textiles CAN save the world

2009-09-04T02:11:00.004+01:00

Often when talking about sustainability and textiles, I often get the feeling that others believe the impact of textiles isn't big enough in order to require more thought past organic/fairtrade/reused/recycled or shared. Of course I beg to differ, and often cite the many sins of textile industries, and the impact of production, transport, use and disposal, and that the textile industry is not just big - but GIANT, and has the power and capabilities of contributing solutions for not just fashion, but many other industries, including architecture, agriculture, transportation, and many more I can't recall at the moment. I came across an article today in Azure of something I've heard of before, but had forgotten about, and I'm glad to have found it again. It is the solar harvesting textiles created by Sheila Kenndey and Frano Violich. They have been working on the creation of viable energy harvesting solutions using window blinds, and other surfaces, and worked on Portable Light Project, and are now working on a larger scale, looking at powering entire structures using their technology. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to get her hands on a bit to play with... This is such a lovely and feasible and implementable technology - if only we could get more ideas and technology!

Pondering

2009-08-17T19:15:00.003+01:00

How is one to live a moral and compassionate existence when on is fully aware of blood, the horror inherent in life, when one finds darkness not only in one's culture but within oneself? If there is a stage at which an individual life becomes truly adult, it must be when one grasps the irony in its unfolding and accepts responsibility for a life lived in the midst of such paradox. One must live in the middle of contradiction, because if all contradiction were eliminated at once life would collapse. There are simply no answers to some mof the great pressing questions. You continue to live them out, making your life a worthy expression of leaning into the light."
- Barry Lopez, Arctic Dreams

Thank you to Paul Hawken's book Blessed Unrest (of which I am in the middle of reading) for this quote.

I just died....

2009-08-11T19:49:00.004+01:00

ewwwwwwww.... but I still want one. How macabre, and awesome! I wonder if done in any other colour if they would look like alien blood. They are by Keetra Dean Dixon, and are part of her series called "The Great Slumber"... these might be making an appearance in my house sometime soon, though possibly in alien blood colours... electric blue anyone?

rAndom International

2009-08-02T02:21:00.004+01:00

I was looking for some stuff on processing's website, and came across this piece by rAndom international. It is based on a rapid method of creating printed signs - and is called Pixel Roller. From what I gather it is a programmable paint roller that creates a raised 'pixel' on the surface if the image requires paint... very intriguing!

A new blog, and a place I want to go...

2009-07-21T20:47:00.002+01:00

My darling friend Chloe made me aware of this lovely blog - Pruned... and in their posts I found this... International Garden Festival at Jardins de Métis/Reford Gardens. I want to go! The drive is so very long, but oh how lovely....

My new favourite store...

2009-07-14T17:46:00.002+01:00

so... I happened to be in Paris last week (I think that was last week, I'm losing track I think I've been in 4 countries in the past week, and my sense of place and time are a bit off). Anyhow, back to what I was actually writing about... Clothes. I found a new favourite store in the whole wide world - Loft design by, the clothes are simple and beautifully made, and most importantly - flattering. So now I just need to find a way to get to Paris on a regular basis to go shopping (that's feasible right?).

Generation M

2009-07-13T15:04:00.003+01:00

I hope I fit into this new Generation... Generation M (according to the manifesto), is about doing things that matter... Here's a little excerpt...

"Dear Old People Who Run the World,

My generation would like to break up with you.

Everyday, I see a widening gap in how you and we understand the world — and what we want from it. I think we have irreconcilable differences (...)

What do the "M"s in Generation M stand for? The first is for a movement. It's a little bit about age — but mostly about a growing number of people who are acting very differently. They are doing meaningful stuff that matters the most. Those are the second, third, and fourth "M"s.

Gen M is about passion, responsibility, authenticity, and challenging yesterday's way of everything. Everywhere I look, I see an explosion of Gen M businesses, NGOs, open-source communities, local initiatives, government. Who's Gen M? Obama, kind of. Larry and Sergey. The Threadless, Etsy, and Flickr guys. Ev, Biz and the Twitter crew. Tehran 2.0. The folks at Kiva, Talking Points Memo, and FindtheFarmer. Shigeru Miyamoto, Steve Jobs, Muhammad Yunus, and Jeff Sachs are like the grandpas of Gen M. There are tons where these innovators came from."

Written by Umair Haque as a message for the G8. Thanks Putting People First for the link!

If only all websites...

2009-07-11T11:46:00.002+01:00

I was looking for some inspiration this morning for designing my website and came across this by Tin Huynh. its his portfolio website, and its absolutely gorgeous. I think it might make all the other websites I see look incredibly boring, like a standard business card... Do check it out and look at all the lovely little details that make it so very awesome!

Teaching each other

2009-06-18T23:11:00.005+01:00

I keep thinking about this idea from Swiss Miss' Creative Mornings. What a lovely idea. I also saw a guy at the Tate the other day with a sticker on his t-shirt that said 'I am Smart'. I want one, I'm smart, I need a sticker. I was thinking about getting one and wearing it to our private view, just as a little validation for myself. Luckily I'm even smart enough to be able to make one all by myself!

Lovely Video

2009-06-18T22:40:00.006+01:00

Here is a lovely video full of hope sent by my lovely friend Jen. I'm in a place where I'm thinking about possibly becoming an entrepreneur, this is a nice thing to see. All of us have the capacity to change the world, at least I hope so.

A place to check out...

2009-06-06T21:20:00.002+01:00

I found The Centre for Human Ecology today via The Do Lectures Website... I'm in the process of attempting to clean up all the 'stuff' of my life and putting it into boxes, so I just wanted to keep a note for later so I can look at it.

How to make bioplastic...

2009-06-03T18:57:00.006+01:00

Here's a video on how they do it... fun, but I found it embedded in an article about PLA - that's not PLA - thats Starch based bioplastic! Two completely different things. Oh I'm annoyed! I wonder if I can make a PR campaign for bioplastic. I think it needs one - people are still incredibly confused and seemingly writing articles about something they have no idea about and then publishing them. I expect more of treehugger generally, I really do. It also makes me wonder about the accuracy of all of their other reports. I guess like anything, one should take it with a GIANT grain of salt.

I do hate how I've been working with the material for a long time, exploring the small details of a complicated issue, and then the press paints with a giant brush to the very audience who would normally be receptive to the use of bioplastics as an alternative to petrochemical plastics... Sustainability is a complicated issue, and we are going to have to look at it like that, nothing in isolation is good or bad, but part of a bigger more intricate chain of events. Until then, I guess I'll toll away in my own little corner, and hopefully make a tiny difference.

I wish...

2009-05-22T16:30:00.003+01:00

I wish I could have gone to this exhibit! It looks like it was AMAZING. Put on by the Experimental Art Foundation it looked at the intersection of biotechnology and art is always fascinating to me. Its interesting to think of the different sides of biotechnology - those that are deemed to save the planet versus those which we are all are going to die a horrible death... Interesting nonetheless.

Why I don't do fashion anymore

2009-05-20T18:52:00.003+01:00

because if I can't have the stuff from here - there is just no point. WOW. I am totally smitten with Complex Geometries... I even love their name. I see a fashion crush coming on.

Confrences without going anywhere

2009-05-16T17:30:00.004+01:00

If you know me, you know I love going to conferences... except for the 'networking' parts, those are terrible, I'm so awkward and I don't know who to talk to and about what. I usually sit on a chair and look focused and write in a notebook so I don't look like so lost.

So you can imagine how much I love the internet. I don't have to go anywhere or embarrassingly have no one to talk to during the coffee breaks. I can sit at home and listen or watch the presentations... When looking for the Greengaged lectures online today (which I couldn't find), I found this gem of a page from the Design Council. Yea! More fun things to listen to! And of course I should link you to my favourite online lecture series - TED, someday I'll get to go in person, but until then I'll just watch online.

Autumn story

2009-05-15T18:26:00.003+01:00

Firekites - AUTUMN STORY - chalk animation from Lucinda Schreiber on Vimeo.

Just wanted to share this. I have always found hand made animation absolutely magical. Thanks Design*Sponge!

My Friends and Neighbours

2009-05-15T09:36:00.005+01:00

I've decided to start a little ongoing bit on all my lovely friends - because #1 - I love them, and #2 - they are awesome, and #3 they are amazing designers. Probably list my motives in the opposite order, but I can't help by adoring them first and foremost.

Today its Berit Greinke! Her work is all about textiles and sound - and you can check out her blog on the subject here. In her most recent project, SHhH, she looks at how one can 'playback' a textile. I helped her record some sounds yesterday, so hopefully she will release the tracks soon. Check out her website for updates. She also has completed an amazing project called monoline - I hadn't seen it before today, but entirely wish I had done a bit more poking around before now.

The Arts Catalyst

2009-05-11T20:29:00.002+01:00

So I found The Arts Catalyst the other day. Art + Science = Awesome is what I say! There seem to be more people like me out there. They have lots of great events and calls for submissions, so if its up your alley, give it a look!

Material Database!

2009-05-11T19:28:00.004+01:00

I love materials... Rematerialise is all about Eco Smart Materials from Kingston University (UK Kingston, not Canada Kingston). Thanks Sarah for the link!

Green Xchange

2009-05-08T22:25:00.004+01:00

Creative Commons is going GIANT. They are making a patent networking platform for sustainability in partnership with Nike and BestBuy. How cool is this. Thanks to Worldchanging for the report!!! I want a patent now, so I can share it. Thank you to here for the nice image of kids with ice cream... now I want ice cream too...

Fabric

2009-05-07T12:10:00.004+01:00

I wonder if anyone could have guessed that I love fabric. Not in a minor way, but with a bottom of my heart kind of way that I can't accurately describe... the fabric shop is the best place in the whole wide world (followed up closely in second - stationary shops). I'm having a love affair with antique linen at the moment... oh the excitement of printing on it, and thinking of all the things it could be. ahhhh fabric.

Anyhow, I think I might have found a kindred spirit of sorts in the blog True Up. Give it a look!

PS. Image above is some of my new fabric... I'll have more info up here soon - I promise on what it is and how amazing it really is.

Top 10 once again

2009-05-06T22:27:00.004+01:00

Woot! Another top 10 list. this one on being a designer by Milton Glaser.

10 Big, Really Hard Things We Can Do to Save the Planet

2009-04-28T19:10:00.006+01:00

So I personally am really annoyed with the 'little' things that are supposedly going to save the world. I'm pretty sure just boiling one cup of water everytime you make a cup of tea isn't going to save the world. And the language that goes with this movement is rather ridiculous - one of the sayings that really bugs me is 'do your bit', which is borrowed from the propaganda for war time sacrifices. This movement cannot be about little sacrifices and small annoyances for the 'good' of the environment, it will never work. So I really liked this list from Worldchanging. Its about some hard stuff we are going to have to do. I'll start on Empowering Women, and something that isn't on there, material sustainability, and you take stabilizing the bottom billion, let me know how that goes.

Book Report

2009-04-26T20:04:00.005+01:00

I read a book! It felt nice to just sit and read something on sustainability. So here's the book I read... Mid-course Correction by Ray C. Anderson. Good book - more like a giant case study - but simply written and all about the success of greening his company Interface (they make carpet). One pearl of wisdom I wanted to remember is to always ask "And then What?", when it comes to the byproducts of any design and its end of life.

Bioplastic Info

2009-04-25T18:03:00.004+01:00

And I was going to make a website about bioplastics. Thank goodness I didn't. It already exists - now all they have to do is make it a bit more user friendly... and dare I say... more beautiful...

PLA Info

2009-04-25T17:33:00.004+01:00

Here is some info on PLA - I <3 bioplastics! Looks like a good overarching article!

Materials

2009-04-25T16:46:00.003+01:00

I found a new Blog!!! Material Stories. Oh how I love materials. They also have a new online newsletter available as a pdf. Check it out here!

Woo hoo! Thanks Core77!

You suck

2009-04-14T21:06:00.003+01:00

Found "Dear Designer, You Suck" today via Swiss Miss today - "Dear Designer, You Suck"... I would like to counter with 'sometimes' . Sometimes your own direction is the best, but nicely phrased opinions are always welcome. What I've found in my professional experience is that it usually isn't the designers that screw up a design- but the business people involved - they want more , or less or something that makes it terrible. Death to buyers and other terrible people who don't understand. (The photo is of our studio)

Awesome

2009-04-06T14:52:00.005+01:00

I saw the work of Nick Cave on The New York Times' website yesterday. It says he's a sculptor - but it doesn't quite seem as if it is sculpture to me - but who wants to be a textile/fashion artist I guess. Anyhow, he has an exhibit on at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. His work is not just about the aesthetics of the piece but also how it works for a dance performance, and they all have sound implications... as the series is called 'soundsuits'. Anyhow, I'm doing a poor job of attempting to explain it... Check out his work here.

Data Visualisation

2009-03-22T12:29:00.003Z

I've been working my way through several books about visualising data... And then coolhunting finds this. AMAZING.

It is the work of Andreas Nicholas Fischer, whose sculptures are based on scientific data vizualisation. He works with many mediums so do check out his webite.

Leaving a trail of crumbs

2009-03-22T12:18:00.006Z

I want one!!! First I would need a bike though. How utterly intriguing to leave a beautiful trail of your path, could turn out to be a bit creepy - dependant on the colour someone could follow you. I also wonder about the sustainability of random chalk paths on the road/sidewak/bike path. And the blue and greens? Do they contain heavy metal colourants? And as truly a useless but fun gadget is it just adding to the mountains of stuff meant to 'green the world'? So many questions. Created by Studio Gelardi - you can check out more information here. Via coolhunting.

just nice

2009-03-15T21:53:00.004Z

I found this at HQ Galerie Boutique's blog (a very cool girl living in Montreal - how is she not my friend? - probably too cool for me is my initial thought). I love the thought of skating on the highway, and the song is lovely too.

Igniting Change

2009-03-13T11:30:00.005Z

I found this awesome initiative today via Core77... Its everything all of us at MATF are working towards each in our own little way - so its nice to see it on a bigger scale. I think we will have to become involved in some way!

This Crochet is cool

2009-03-05T17:28:00.005Z

Just cool. With instructions and everything. Via miss Em at Cochonet Rouge. Now I just need to try it!!!

I clicked on an advert

2009-03-04T21:59:00.003Z

and I found this!!! StyleShake. Its this amazing site where you can design your own dress, and then they sew it for you (in your size), and send it to you in the post! AMAZING! I absolutely love it! I just need to go there and get swatches now so decisions on fabrics can be made for my very first order!

oh how I love a good bit of compost!

2009-02-24T23:02:00.003Z

This isn't about just any compost - but the conference Compostmodern. Treehugger has posted videos of their conference on YouTube and you can check them out here... Oh how I can't wait to dig into a good bit of green design theory.

Maybe?

2009-01-23T15:32:00.003Z

Maybe the "New Scientist" isn't a scientist, maybe its a designer? I can always dream... Scientists are always getting into art and design - so now its my turn to be in a different realm. This is the work of Peter Wasilewski, a scientist with NASA, in a series called Frizions.

Posing Nature a question

2009-01-21T21:45:00.004Z

I heard about this a couple of weeks back - but its entirely cool! Its called "Ask Nature" and was created by the Biomimcry Institute. You can search for a function, and it will tell you what organisms in nature do that... so. I asked it about melting ice. I got back several different cases - one including a plant pathogen called "P. syringae". Try it out!!! So much fun!

Nano-nano Everywhere

2009-01-16T09:42:00.004Z

So the world of nano is coming into its own lately. Through Puff & Flock - I've found a whole site on Nanoarchitecture.net.... soooooo cool!

Work in Progress

2009-01-12T18:06:00.005Z

Just to let you all know... We are having our Work in Progress Show tomorrow night, and there is an open day on Thursday if you happen to be near. I'll let you know how it goes. Just doing some details for my work at the moment. Exciting - feedback! For more details on the show and all of the projects involved check out the Textile Futures website.

Post MA confusion

2009-01-08T21:51:00.003Z

So... I'm coming up to the final days of my MA (well, the last 6 months anyhow). And I'm thinking about what I want to do when I grow up... and I've decided I don't want to grow up (shhh don't tell my mom or sister). So I'm looking into a phd. Just not sure where to do it. All the opportunities are here in Europe, but I want a tiny bit of my real life back (the outdoors, friends, and most importantly FOOD!). The one thing I have found out - is that within North American institutions there is seemingly no slot for my research - the inbetweens of science and design hasn't made it to NA so much - and now I don't know what to do and where to go. I was thinking about MIT - but looking through their departments and research units, I don't fit into any of them really... then I was thinking of UofC Berkley, and I don't really fit in there either. I was thinking maybe I had to get back to my roots and look at design institutions - and the phd's aren't really all that developed at RISD - which is the only place I was considering. Ahhhhh!!! I think I might need to call in some reinforcements. Either that or convince someone to start a department for me. :)

Eco-Pretty!

2008-11-29T10:31:00.003Z

I was over at Whip-up today - I haven't be over there in AGES, and I forgot how much I love it. Now I want to make these... Maybe I should make some for my sister for Christmas... I'm thinking they would be gorgeous painted as well. The instructions can be found here - from esprit cabane...

I don't want a band-aid solution

2008-11-22T14:16:00.005Z

I've been thinking about design and the environment a lot lately. I think it might be part of the MA ethos - think too much, and live inside your head. So I'm letting this thought out into the wide-wide world. I have been thinking about how much stuff is being done to make people in the western world 'aware' of climate change. But we need solutions, not just words. All the solutions may not be right - but its a step in a forward direction at least. I personally don't need more gadgets that tell me stuff about the world (like this toy airplane that tells me the air is polluted). Wouldn't it be better if we put more effort into making the air NOT polluted, instead of telling people its ? I know measurement is an important thing to deal with making people do something - but do you think that really changes people's awareness really changes their actions? I have doubts. I'm working on my own little solution - I don't know if its really necessary, but I'm thinking about it.

About Nothing in particular

2008-11-21T23:38:00.005Z

I thought I would post about nothing in particular - as I have reader(s?) that I need to entertain. Hmmm... Let me think of all the things I've done this week and do a little recap. On Monday - I can't remember what I did, I was at college I remember that, oh yeah, now I remember - I had a terribly unsuccessful artwork making day. boo to that. Tuesday I had a successful artwork making day, and I even did a couple of digital prints. Wednesday I went to a boring meeting, where I heard a great deal of stuff about the college, but I remember only one thing that Louise said that really stuck with me - that there needs to be room for glorious failure within education. I love the idea of glorious failure! It sounds absolutely beautiful, and intriguing and not safe at all. In the afternoon I played with the heat press in the print room. On Thursday I went to some lectures - one sucked and the other one was great. The one that was great was about Social Enterprise - and it was so great to hear about all sorts of ideas that can be made commercially viable, but make the world a slightly better place. Today I did some work, and I went to the bank, and I had a design epiphany - which I can't give away yet, because that's no fun, and I wouldn't want someone else to do it before I had a chance to do it. I guess that's it, and I hope you enjoyed my mini ramble about stuff you probably didn't care about. Oh the photo is from my galavant to the Tate Modern on Sunday where I indulged in my very favourite London activity - getting tea at the Tate, and wondering what colour combination of mug and teapot I'm going to get. Its the true highlight of my life (I must live a boring life... either that or I'm odd - I'm going to go with odd).

A Musical Aside

2008-11-15T23:14:00.004Z

For some reason, I have found two songs from TV commercials that I love. And I thought I would share... I need to buy some albums now, unfortunately they are only available on UK's iTunes site - so I'm going to have to buy CDs. I think I might be watching too much TV. I'm bored, lots to do but still really bored. Just thought I would throw that out there. Anyone else feelin' the same lately?

For the other one you will have to click on this link... I promise its worth it em! I need to find someone to come to their show on Nov 27th with me. Otherwise I'll go all by myself and dance terribly all by myself... wait, maybe its better to go all by myself, no one to witness the atrocities of my dancing :)

PS - the song up top is "Neopolitan Dreams" by Lisa Mitchell, and the other one is "I like you so much better when you're naked" by Ida Maria.

Pretty & Smart

2008-11-13T19:12:00.003Z

This wallpaper from Camilla Diedrich is both absolutely gorgeous and has some sort of integration of smart - amazing - its not that terrible shade of glowing blue. Fantastic - I guess we are on our way. I found this via inhabitat...

Addicted to the Internet

2008-11-05T22:06:00.004Z

So here I am in Berlin. And what do I do. Stay at my sweet hotel and hang out on the internet. Well not all day - just in the evening, after the conference I'm attending. I think I have an internet addiction, I couldn't get a connection all day and the only thing I could think about was checking my email. Its pretty sad if I do say so myself... I promise tomorrow I will be better - I will go out in the evening and see things I've never seen before. I will shed the heaviness of a day full of information and look and listen to the things I don't understand. My favorite thing so far about Berlin is the 'walk' and 'don't walk' men... To which I have learned is called the "Ampelmann" - and he has his own shop and everything!

What a difference a year makes

2008-10-26T14:54:00.002Z

Just had a little moment of thinking about the past year, and its been one crazy ride. I seemingly know quite a bit more than I did before, but its still not enough! Another submersive year of textiles and science and design... Now all I have to do is stop reading and get started!

Pretty Pebbles

2008-10-23T09:52:00.004+01:00

I saw these over on designsponge today - they are absolutely gorgeous!!! They are made can be found at Ashes & Milk, and their whole site is filled with the most lovely objects.

Michael Braungart Lecture and my scanner is broken...

2008-10-16T20:58:00.004+01:00

How exciting its is to go to lectures by people you hold in high regard. I recently got the opportunity to go to a lecture put on by the Design Council and MADE at the RSA featuring Michael Braungart. I was so glad to have been able to go. I often use Cradle and Cradle principles as a starting point for my design process - thinking about how things could be better. I've scanned in my notes for any of you who might want to read them. I must say so many things stand out as being little gems of wisdom - I think my favourite is "[sustainable design is] not about being less bad but more good" - if that make any sense out of context. PS - my scanner is broken so the notes have had to be slightly touched up in photoshop. The pic above is a raw scan of the cover of my notebook - kind of interesting I must say.

Relevance

2008-10-15T22:34:00.003+01:00

Sometimes I need to focus on this kind of information. I'm so happy to have seen this lovely little post-it drawing by Marc Johns. via Swiss Miss

2008-10-13T10:59:00.005+01:00

“Let us stop talking falsely now, the hour is getting late.”
via this article from Treehugger, quote by Dylan.

New Discovery!

2008-10-12T16:42:00.004+01:00

Thanks so much to my lovely friend Jen for the introduction to a new materials database - Inventables! They even have an affordable student subscription - of course to which I have signed up for! Oh the knowledge at my fingertips! I think they may need me on their team, I'll let them know certainly :P....

Happiness is...

2008-10-12T14:04:00.006+01:00

After a long summer in London - I took a vacation. Two vacations actually - and I rediscovered what makes me very happy. The first one was a trip to Paris, where I spent 3 days wandering around and just discovering things. The second vacation was HOME. Every moment spent with my friends and all their little people made me so very happy. Highlights include witnessing Luca's FIRST STEPS, Matteo's adorable motioning meaning glasses, and cuddles while reading stories, Malcolm and Emery's giggles (baby giggles are absolutely delicious), Pheonix's amazing break dancing at the Studio 54 room at the Andy Warhol Exhibit, and cuddles with the sweet Earnest. And how could I forget the one thing that is so important, but its hardest to grasp, the absolute joy of being home, surrounded by familiar things and people who really like me. And the landscape and air. Oh my goodness, how nice it was to breathe actual oxygen - I'm not sure what I'm breathing in England, but it doesn't seem like air in comparison. The mountains were gorgeous, I loved every second - thank you to all of my lovely friends who made my time in Montreal so wonderful, give me 8 months and I'm going to try my very best to be back!!!

Design Makes me sad...

2008-09-21T22:05:00.002+01:00

How could something I love so much make me so sad? I've been spending the week perusing all the wonderful things that make up London Design Week - and oh how I love it all - but at the end of the day - I can't have any of it, and its a bit disheartening. I want to have a gorgeous home with a tree or two outside, and be able to have my house featured as a 'sneak peek' on Design Sponge - but instead I live in a drafty house with a cranky housemate and an even crankier cat with crappy furniture, and my laundry drying in the only spare part of my room. Maybe in time, in the mean time I'll just keep looking. The piece above is by Katia Stewart, who presented at TENT in London.

Desperately seeking SPACE!

2008-08-16T20:42:00.003+01:00

I'm not sure if it has anything to do with where I grew up - but I have a huge desire and yearning for space. Lots of space, as far as the eye can see kind of space. I wonder how this fits in with the urban me? I've lived in large urban centers for the past 9 years, I grew up in suburban Calgary (bored out of my mind if I remember correctly), but now yearn for a bit of rurality. The closest I got to the best of both worlds was Montreal - living in the urban part, but with easy access to the outdoors. I understand the yearning for a McMansion - the idea that space is liberating, but my logic tells me they are a bad idea. I know that sharing is good in theory (resources split between people etc...), but I don't really like sharing. What's a girl to do? If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them!

The Olympics

2008-08-10T21:00:00.002+01:00

I love the Olympics, I spent today watching BBC coverage online. I wish I could get Canadian coverage here, as its weird not to have the Cdn focus of the commentary. But no matter what I love it! I basically spent the day watching online (which is fabulous, as you aren't limited by what the television shows, you can flip between events). I wish I could go to the Olympics, hopefully my sister and I will get tickets for the winter Olympics in Vancouver - it'll be just like when we were little, but I won't be bored at Cirque du Soleil, and we'll go to as many events as we can get our hands on tickets for, oh how I can't wait, but I'm very excited to watch these ones, if only I didn't have to go to work. Image for the opening ceremonies above comes from boston.com.

Architectually Annoyed

2008-08-04T10:19:00.002+01:00

I'm starting to get annoyed with architecture within the green blogosphere. It seems to be the major thing people talk about. I know its important, as a great deal of energy usage is dependant on buildings. As an avid reader of green stuff I'm just getting bored, annoyed, and hoping for something new. This image is from inhabitat here, and is a concept proposal by Juan Herreros Architects

Summer of Hardly any Posts

2008-08-03T17:38:00.004+01:00

Sorry about the lack of posts. It seems as if I've been rather busy (thank goodness for that). Spending lots of time gallivanting around London and elsewhere a little too. I've been busy working as well - you know jobs and stuff. I'm working on Nobel Textiles - very cool project, my job is organization for the exhibition, its sure a lot of work, but its very exciting. Its going to be amazing, I can't wait to see all of the designer's final exhibitions! If you want to check out my photos from some of my recent trips - check A Brave Toned Timid Girl. The summer has become very social - which is awesome, and I'm enjoying discovering the city, and all the fun things going on. I'll have more interesting posts soon - I promise.

Stuff White People Like

2008-07-21T13:27:00.003+01:00

Not sure if I've posted on this blog before. I don't know if I like it - basically what I've gotten is that I'm a walking cliche (graduate student in arts, study abroad, green advocate, I run...). And look what they've posted on now! Its something I have an issue with too, but why do we keep sustaining this practice. Luckily my internship pays - in the saddest way possible, working 3 days/we and it not even quite enough to pay my rent, nevermind my expenses - I have another job too (the other 2 days/wk, doing something else within the same place that pays much better). But I doubt I'll even breakeven for the summer. Isn't that sad? I certainly think it is. And what's even sadder, is that I'm one of the lucky ones, most of my peeps are doing unpaid things at the moment. I want to put a little seed out for the creative industries to stop using people - its a horrible practice, and entirely unethical.

Lovin' the Burda Style

2008-07-04T22:04:00.005+01:00

Well you all know how much I like things that are all about sharing and making stuff. So Burda Style is definitely exactly my cup of tea! Basically its a bunch of patterns you can print-off from the website - most of them are free, a few cost a couple of dollars, but so much easier and cheaper than going to the fabric store and buying one. I made my first Burda Style pattern last week with the Eiffel Tower Fabric - its super cute, I'll devote a whole post to it when I fix the one thing that I'm annoyed with at the moment (there isn't anything wrong with the pattern, its just a colour thing that's all my fault). Some of the patterns are by Burda, and some of them are by individual users - all in all utterly fantastic! There is even a pattern for this Urban Hammock - very cool. And the pattern I have in the photo is this one...

China Now.

2008-07-03T09:14:00.003+01:00

I went to the V&A on Monday to see the China Now exhibit. It was absolutely wonderful! The graphics were ASTOUNDING! The other portions were cool too - but the Graphics were definitely the highlight for me. The piece above is by Guang Yu (MEWE Design Alliance) and is called Youth and Beauty.

MIT OpenCourseWare

2008-06-30T23:08:00.003+01:00

I've known about this for awhile now - but just sharing now (I'm sorry for the delay). MIT has published most of their course content on the internet - so anybody can become super smart (though they may not get the piece of paper for it). Here is the link - I think I'm going to start on a couple of courses - something fun like Principles of Chemical Science. I'm such a dork - but I need to know more, my head might burst, but its only an intro undergrad course, so hopefully I'll get a tiny bit out of it. I was also thinking about Ethnography - we talk about it all the time, but I'm still not exactly sure what it is. And then there are a bunch on Polymer Physics. Do you think I can change and go to MIT instead? I don't think I mean that, but oh it looks like fun (again, I'm a dork).

Pretend Weekend

2008-06-28T22:50:00.007+01:00

So I've put together a really great weekend of things I would do if Miss Em of Cochonet Rouge came to visit. I keep seeing things and thinking of her, so I thought it might be fun to play pretend.

Saturday
Breakfast at Broadway Market, then after perusing all the goodies and shoppes and a meander through London Fields, off to Portobello Road Market for Antiques. And then in the late afternoon we would go to a whole bunch of the auction houses near Bond Street and look at all the wonderful things we could never afford, but would pretend to (Sotheby's is a must). Then for dinner - The Tate Modern for Dinner, the bookshop and all the wonderful art. Then out for drinks - of course, and if someone good was in town a gig.

Sunday
Breakfast at St. Johns on Commercial Street, and then off to Columbia Road Flower Market, where we would both be in heaven among the flowers, hats and vintage crockery. Then lunch wherever. Then to quickly peruse Spitalfield Market, and off to Brick Lane to see what the cool kids are up to. Definitely stopping for a coffee. Then Curry for dinner at a random curry house, and then possibly going to see Avenue Q (I still want to see that).

I've missed out on a few things (all the fantastic normal stores, the V&A - oh that one we can't miss, so maybe that would be a Friday night thing, drinking in Shoreditch, seeing the awesome decor of Rich Mix, and of course the laid back style of Greenwich, the incredible boutiques in Kensington, and so many things I still don't know about) - but I only planned one weekend, so that will have to do. So Miss Em, if you read this, those are some of my favourite things that I think you would enjoy too.