20080728

Etsy Love: BluLima

I've posted before with a piece from BluLima, but never an exclusive post about these great prints. A little history about the phrases and designing on these:
In the Spring of 1939, with war against Germany all but inevitable, the British Government's Ministry of Information commissioned a series of propaganda posters to be distributed throughout the country at the onset of hostilities. It was feared that in the early months of the war Britain would be subjected to gas attacks, heavy bombing raids and even invasion. The posters were intended to offer the public reassurance in the dark days which lay ahead.

The posters were required to be uniform in style and were to feature a 'special and handsome' typeface making them difficult for the enemy to counterfeit. The intent of the poster was to convey a message from the King to his people, to assure them that 'all necessary measures to defend the nation were being taken', and to stress an 'attitude of mind' rather than a specific aim. On the eve of a war which Britain was ill-equipped to fight, it was not possible to know what the nation's future aims and objectives would be.

At the end of August 1939 three designs went into production with an overall print budget of 20,600 pounds for five million posters. The first poster, of which over a million were printed, carried a slogan suggested by a civil servant named Waterfield. Using the crowns of George VI as the only graphic device, the stark red and white poster read 'Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution will Bring Us Victory'. A similar poster, of which around 600,000 were issued, carried the slogan 'Freedom is in Peril'. But the third design, of which over 2.5 million posters were printed, simply read 'Keep Calm and Carry On'. The first two designs were distributed in September 1939 and immediately began to appear in shop windows, on railway platforms, and on advertising hoardings up and down the country. But the 'Keep Calm' posters were held in reserve, intended for use only in times of crisis or invasion.



Etsy Love: OctopusME


These rings are, in fact, cast from real octopus parts. There's a lot more of this, er, fleshy jewelry here.




For those of us who would like to be a little more discreet with our octopus jewelry, the below two sets of rings would do just fine.


Etsy Love: Element Clay Studio


These wall tiles from Heather Knight Ceramics are so incredible.

Fungi

Lichen

Turf

Hydrangea

Etsy Love: xfreshbatteryx

Glorious, glorious anatomy, in cross stitch.




Any guesses as to what this one is? Hint: it's the best organ ever.



Check out more here.

Etsy Love: Bailey Doesn't Bark

Great ceramics and glassware from Bailey Doesn't Bark.


I love this set of wall plates. Oh, ants.

This set of cups is under the title, "It's Crowded." Love it.

Etsy Love: IstanbulDesigns

Art nouveau style is captured beautifully in these great pieces of jewelry. Check out the whole collection here.



Etsy Love: flutter

Love these shirts from flutter.




(This one's my favorite.)

20080727

Vina Rust

From the artist statement:
The Stamen series and Stained Cell series were inspired by botanical illustrations and photomicrographs. Referencing such images allowed me to explore the idea of exposing internal structures with devices such as the cross-section or selective staining of cells, and granted me license to generalize or specify certain details in order to create focal points in a design.


Check out the rest of the collection here.

20080725

Spam One-Liners: Prints by Linzie Hunter

If you're also sick of spam, you'll get a real kick out of these prints by Linzie Hunter. They do a pretty good job of making already-silly e-mail promises seem even more outrageous.


(I LOVE this one.)




Shaker Style, Yes, Yes, Yes!

Apartment Therapy is so, so wonderful. They have a great slideshow up from a Shaker house tour. I love how simple all of the decor is, and still so stylized. The result is a great mix of Americana, contemporary, and cottage styles.






New York Times Slideshow: Men's Suiting on the Streets

Check out this wonderful audio slideshow from the NYTimes. I often feel like there's not a whole lot of choices out there with menswear, but hot damn, when it's done right, it sure looks good.




20080724

Etsy Love: Lake


Oh, dear! These wonderful earrings from Julie Lake are incredible.

I love that these are named "Pantaloon Earrings". They remind me of a vintage wire dress form.


These Molecule earrings are so sweet and creative. I think they are the perfect mix of classy and funky. Perfect for tooling around town or a night out.


20080723

I just added tags to all the posts. That means that if you only want to see shoes, or interior design, or ceramics, you can click-a the tag and there you go. Lovely!

20080721

Frye Boots

Oh, Fryes. I love them, new and old classics alike.



Anthropologie

Today the high in my town is 100 degrees with a heat index of 105. I walked into my office and it was 90 degrees. In spite of all this, I am drooling over these amazing sweaters from Anthropologie (where else, really?).





I mean really. Are you kidding me? Crazy cute.