Book Club Meeting!

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

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

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...

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.

So cool

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

Book Report : The End of Oil

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.

Andere my love

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...

And life just became more interesting

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!

rAndom International

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!

Generation M

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!

Confrences without going anywhere

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.

My Friends and Neighbours

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.

Top 10 once again

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

Awesome

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.

Michael Braungart Lecture and my scanner is broken...

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.

My Bright Turquoise DNA

How do you like my DNA? It's Bright Turquoise - just like me :). I went to a great event at the Wellcome Collection this past weekend with the lovely Emmie. It was the Wellcome Collection's 1st birthday! We found the Origami man, and played with paper. I'm not sure, but I figured out how to fold my little helix from one that was lying on the table, the Origami man seemed to think I was a genius. I don't know, it wasn't that hard. I guess it was all that practice I had from my origami book that Kaori gave me in grade 9, that only had Japanese in it. I don't know. Emmie figured out a lovely star thing as well. Then we went to a talk about Science and Design with Paul Simmons from Timorous Beasties. Great talk - and his outfit was an entirely cute mix of mis-matchey stripes and plaids. I was paying attention to what he said - he really emphasized the need for designers to draw more (something I never do... oops). And he talked a lot about the wonderful macabre imagery in the Wellcome Trust's archive (I think I want to get my hands on some of that stuff). I think that's it for exciting things that happened this weekend, but I was sick, so I think having one cool thing to write about is quite good.

Another Book Report

Well I just found my notes on a book I read awhile back... In The Bubble by John Thackara. I have TONS of notes on this one. They were lost for awhile (they got tucked in with souvenirs from Romania). Really an amazing book. I would have to say, its one of the most well rounded and thoughtful book that I've read so far. If you are thinking about reading something - I suggest this one. I'm not posting my notes, because there are way too many of them. I'll give away one thing, solutions will become about interconnectivity - which I'm coming to realize is extremely important. He talks about schools and colleges not just being a 'teaching place' but more a of a place that is a network of organizations - a hub at the center drawing connections between things that are seemingly unconnected. Just re-reading my notes, makes me want to read the book all over again (it was that relevant)! If you want more of his musings - I have a link to his blog on the sidebar "Doors of Perception".

Book Report - Biomimicry...

Just finished reading Janine Benyus' book Biomimicry.  Its a great book filled with all sorts of things I don't understand (something about tubulin dimers in the brain had me a bit lost).  Nevertheless, it was an amazing read and was full of really great inspiration to look at nature as a model.  Its wonderful to think about all of the places where this can be applied for greater efficiency and innovation - I know my focus is design, but I've also been thinking about how social networks can be based more on a natural principles, dealing more with locality and balance.  I'm not going to give too much away, because I want you to read this one.  I'll give you her tips on how to be a good biomimic.  There are four stages.  1. Quietening  2. Listening  3. Echoing  4. Stewarding.  I think I might still be at the Quietening stage, but I'm certainly working on it.  You can watch Janine Benyus' TED talk here as well... 

Catching up on my Treehugger Reading

I've been out of the loop for a bit (focusing on my work I guess).  And I just saw a really cool article on Thermoelectric Textiles made by GMZ Energy... The original treehugger post is here.  I wonder if they'll send me a sample???

Great Postcard in the Mail

From my Lovely Jenn... I got a wonderful postcard with this image on it - and most importantly this quote....

"If I was concerned about being accepted, I would have been doing Ansel Adams lookalikes, because that was easily accepted. Everything I did was never accepted... but luckily for me, my interest in the subject and my passion of the subject took me to the point that I wasn't wounded by that, and eventually people came around to me."
Duane Michals