The Inventor in Me
I'm back from vacation, and although I haven't gotten into the usual grind yet, I have lots of things lined up for me to make. I took the boyfriend's advice about only asking for gifts that make me make stuff. So I asked, and I received. Among these are: a screenprinting kit, a good tripod, and the one I'm probably currently most excited for... an Arduino inventor's kit! I'm excited because I know almost nothing about it except for what I've read, but I'm looking forward to making computer/electronic signals have physical effects (sound, light, movement). Here and here are some projects that make use of Arduino technology.
Now Shipping: FastMac USB Socket!
This USB socket that came out as a product concept a little while ago is now shipping! Each one costs a little less than $20 and will currently ship out in 3-4 weeks. Definitely a conversation starter.
VIA ENGADGET
Christoph Niemann Interview
I see a lot of myself in Christoph Niemann's work. I think what I love most is the quirk, the humor, and the very personal nature of his pieces. I wanted to learn more about him and found this video interview. Check out his amazing blog at the NYT, Abstract City.
Paper Bag
I'm always fascinated with unusual yet humble materials. Designed by one of my favorites, Naoto Fukasawa, these pouches are made of a material called Soft Naoron, developed by Japanese paper manufacturer, Onao, by modernizing the traditional paper-making process. Soft Naoron is made of wood pulp and poly olefin, is water-resistant, yet flexible and soft to the touch.
VIA BLTD
VIA BLTD
Thoughtful Wall Stickers
I have a pet peeve. And that is for wall stickers that are merely decorative -- no humor, no 2D/3D interaction, no new point of view. But these ones from Hu2 Design elicited from me an internal chuckle. They are meant to interact with your switch plates, reminding us of where our electricity comes from: hamsters, pinwheels, and coal.
VIA GOOD
PS: I seem to always find Andrew Price's pieces the most interesting out of all the others at GOOD, which can sometimes feel a little too hyped up. Good job, Andrew! :)
VIA GOOD
PS: I seem to always find Andrew Price's pieces the most interesting out of all the others at GOOD, which can sometimes feel a little too hyped up. Good job, Andrew! :)
Roulette Top
I think this top is really cute. It's green and copper.
RACHEL COMEY ROULETTE TOP | CREATURES OF COMFORT
RACHEL COMEY ROULETTE TOP | CREATURES OF COMFORT
Burrata Ball
My cousin and I went to Bottega Louie last week where she introduced me to burrata, a mozzarella shell that houses more mozzarella and cream. As one article put it, silky on the outside, creamy on the inside. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to do it again with some from TJ's (Trader Joe's) to enjoy on this perfect windless day.
Kaleidoscope felt necklace
The idea of slicing a nice thick sheet of felt into these little perfect little diamonds, and assembling them into these perfectly structured pieces excites the hell out of me. $28 each at Homako.
20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web
AMAZING online book illustrated by Christoph Niemann (author of Abstract City at the NYTimes) and created with HTML5. Falling leaves, floating clouds... see what else can be done with HTML5!
Real Life Comic
Hahaha this costume is so awesome! It was created by M.A.C. makeup artist Karin Stone.
VIA ILLUSION360
VIA ILLUSION360
Tea Towel CV
VIA NOT FOR PRINT
I love the audacity of this undertaking, and the fact that it's a CV -- a tea towel created by Hannah Dollery, a graphic designer from New Zealand, who wanted to stand out in the CV crowd.
As part of a recent job I had to go through hoards of CVs to choose people to come in for an interview. I found many of them didn't catch my eye and, in a creative environment, this wasn't really ideal. I wanted to create something that people wanted to keep, surprised them when they viewed it, and made them interested to contact me.
I had never silk screened anything, but I had done some letterpress printing. I had read a couple of articles on the process, but it was all pretty new to me. A friend of mine, Amy Pyle, who is a wonderful textile designer, helped me with the printing of the tea towels. We had a couple of problems with the fine lines which I had used to create some of the patterns, and we solved this by being patient while pushing the ink through. It was great to use silk screen and I will definitely be using it again.
As it was a small production run, if I were to do it again, I would do about 50 more!
Unpopular Science
Christoph Niemann is back with amusing chalkboard illustrations showing how human (his) life is subject to the universal laws of physics. See the rest here.
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| It states, “Every body continues in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a straight line…” |
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| “…unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed upon it.” |
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Based on supercomplicated physical observations, Einstein concluded that two objects may perceive time differently. Based on simple life experience, I have concluded that this is true. |
What a Relief
I sometimes wish I drew really well on Illustrator like this. Image above is from Always With Honor's What a Relief graphic for a Monocle article covering the moments after a natural disaster.
Discovered through Frank Chimero's tumblr, Secret Cloak.
The Case Of The Mystery Bulb
So I decided to pull the weeds that have been cropping up in our garden when I came across two patches that were larger and tougher to pull than the rest. They also made that all too familiar squeaking sound when handled just like green onions you get from the market. I started pulling at it and the leaves separated from the rest of the body in an all-too-engineered sort of way. It's hard to explain. It was then I knew I had something else on my hands. I got a handful and tugged hard, and out they came with what looked like a single clove of garlic at the very root! It looks exactly like a clove of garlic. Upon further inspection and research, though, I had to debunk that theory. It didn't smell anything like garlic; it actually didn't smell like anything. Also, garlic grows in whole bulbs, not by cloves. So, I still have no idea what this is.
Can someone help me identify this??
Can someone help me identify this??
Charcuterie: A Study
WHAT IS CHARCUTERIE?
Charcuterie (from chair 'flesh' and cuit 'cooked') is the branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products such as bacon, ham, sausage, terrines, galantines, pâtés, and confit, primarily from pork. Charcuterie is part of the garde manger chef's repertoire. Originally intended as a way to preserve meats before the advent of refrigeration, they are prepared today for their flavors derived from the preservation processes.
THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR
» Brand
If you happen to chance upon that perfect piece of meat with just the right amount of pungency and flavor, I would strongly advise you to find out what the brand or who the manufacturer is. Don't think it's enough to know it's Saucisson Sec. You need to find out exactly who makes it, because if you buy it from someone else, chances are, it's going to taste different, and you will spend the rest of your life wondering "what if".
» Softness
For the most part, how hard or how soft cured meat is doesn't really matter. But I've found that it does for a particular kind -- that of the French dry salami, or Saucisson Sec. This is my current obsession. The version I used to get back home in the Philippines from the gourmet deli, Santis, is called Saucisson Perche Dry (I read that Le Perche is a region to the west of Paris; I'm assuming that's where the name comes from.) Both of these are part of the same category. Make sure you get the kind that gives under young fingers, without hurting your fingers. I've made the mistake of making myself believe that it's soft enough just so I don't have to go home empty-handed. I've found that the soft ones have that really rich and pungent flavor, while the hard ones just taste salty and flat. So don't listen to the sales people who tell you that they're all the same. Insist on feeling each one so you can choose which ones to get.
OTHER NOTES
I like proscuitto best when it's toughened up a little, which happens when the package is left open for about a day. It's not as delightful to eat when it's newly opened and soft and stretchy.
Chorizo Pamplona from La Espanola is the best chorizo I've tasted so far. It depends though, on your preference. There is a hint of tanginess together with the saltiness; I've also been told it smells like pot, so don't eat it around anyone with a sensitive nose. My parents bought some chorizo straight from Pamplona, Spain, and the taste is mild in comparison, and a lot fattier. It can be argued that it's an indication that it's fresher, if such a thing exists for cured meats.Salami Genoa is a good Italian salami I regularly went back for back when I worked close to a Bristol Farms. The Peppered Salame is one from the Columbus line that's a good buy if you're at Ralph's and like peppered things.
One last note: If the deli is going to be slicing any of the smaller (1" diameter) meats for you (saucisson perche dry), make sure you ask them to slice it "super thin". If you don't say anything, they will slice it the easiest way possible, which means THICK. The reason is because this comes in an intestine-like casing that curves and coils, and is therefore harder to slice. So don't forget to explicitly ask. They will hate you, but it's worth it.
Tomatoes aplenty!
So our tomatoes have been multiplying like rabbits. We harvested around 25 ripe ones this morning. We get about that many every week. The plant's already "died" once or twice since we planted it (maybe that's the natural life cycle), but it just keeps growing again and giving birth to fruit a couple weeks or months later. So to anyone who wants to start growing their own food, this is a really hardy one. Even if I wanted to kill it, it just won't die.
Crown of feathers
I think this is a really cool way of using feathers as a headband. Who would've thunk!
VIA THE SARTORIALIST
Recipe snapshots
We all blogged about Ikea's cookbook, "Homemade is Best" because of its eye candy quality, but I have to say it lacks a certain depth and thoughtfulness that I've found in photographer Marina Ekroo's collection of food photography in which she captures every step and ingredient in one photo. I love clever anythings.
See the others in her portfolio.
VIA GOOD
See the others in her portfolio.
Allumette Boogaloo by Blabla
It was my friend Miwako's daughter's first birthday today, and I rush ordered her the Mini Allumette Boogaloo from Blabla kids. They don't have it anymore on their official website, so I had to purchase it somewhere else. I did some last minute washi tape magic on the paper bag it was going in. I thought it looked pretty cute... makes me smile everytime I look at it.
Candygrams
Candygrams are a series of odes to candy by guest authors during the month of October on designer/developer Jason Santa Maria's blog. The most recent installment is by Jessi Arrington of WORKSHOP, entitled "Love Sick" for which she built the title out of a rainbow gradient (her favorite color is rainbow) of actual candy!
I'm not a candy person, but this looks like so much fun to figure out and make! Read about her "process" here.
I'm not a candy person, but this looks like so much fun to figure out and make! Read about her "process" here.
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