Am LOVING the second 'season' of jewelry over at the Australian Goldenink Collaborative. Absolutely gorgeous. Link: Goldenink website


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Lorenzo Duran is a self-taught Spanish artist who uses ancient Chinese, Japanese, German and Swiss paper-cutting techniques to create beautiful creations out of dried leaves. I can't even imagine the patience and precision that went into creating this beauty, but I love it. On his website, Duran says that working with products from nature feels more pure to him, like he's just bringing out the artistic perfection each leaf intrinsically possesses. Isn't that a nice thought... Link: Website

(via: My Modern Metropolis)

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Finally, the weather in Brussels is starting to resemble something like it should in summer (although I don't think it'll last very long) and this awesome drawing by illustrator and textile artist akjBawa just looks so yummy. Reminds me of my childhood, when lining up for the ice cream truck was the most exciting thing ever. In fact, it still might be. Links: Website | Flickr


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Cassandra Smith is an artist and curator from Milwaukee. She creates the most amazing pieces of art out of deer antlers and she's also the co-owner and editor of Fine Line Magazine. Now, if I were the Jealous Curator, she'd be pretty high on my list of people to be jealous of.



In the description accompanying her work, Smith notes that MSN dubbed them "chic coffee table toppers", but I disagree with that classification. I think these should go above a bed. Or a fire place. Gorgeous!


Links: Website | Blog | Etsy shop


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OH HAI! Are you guys still there?
Yeah. Sorry about that. I'm not sure what happened there, but it seems I haven't been around much. Must be that yoga obsession I struck up the at beginning of June, or the exciting publications in Libelle and Uppercase that got me with my head stuck up in the clouds.


Anyways, I'm back and I'm here with a review of Lisa Congdon's new book 'A Collection a Day', published by Janine Vangool of Uppercase. Many of you know Uppercase Magazine and love it for its amazing design, use of typography, beautiful imagery, and original content. If you don't know about Uppercase's selection of books, however, I would urge you to check them out as they're equally wonderful. Lisa Congdon's book is no exception - it's a jewel.

WHAT IS IT?
In 2010, Lisa Congdon, an amazing San Francisco-based illustrator and painter, started a new blog called 'A Collection a Day' on which for a year she attempted to post a picture or a drawing every day of one of her many collections. The blog soon got a lot of attention due to the amazing quality and style of the photographs and the interesting collections Congdon photographed and drew. Janine Vangool noticed as well and worked with Congdon on creating the ultimate finale of the project: a book worthy of collecting. WHY BUY IT?
For me, personally, I got this book because it's an instant collection. I know that sounds kind of silly, but after following Congdon's efforts online for an entire year, you kind of get attached to her collections and the visual abundance of them. I myself am a born hoarder, but moving several times from one place to another has left me with the habit of throwing budding collections out asap. I know everything I drag up the stairs to our apartment, no matter how small, will need to be dragged down those stairs again and, at some point, dragged up another set of stairs. So, I got this book, presented in a lovely tin case (I LOVE tin cases and would have many many many if it wasn't for above mentioned mindset) and now I have 365 collections all in one. Added to that, the book is brilliantly designed, as we've come to expect from Uppercase.

WHERE CAN I GET IT?
You can order it through Uppercase's webshop by itself, or get it as part of the Uppercase book bundle.

MORE INFORMATION?
Links: Lisa Congdon's website | 'A Collection a Day' blog | Uppercase's website


Are you a collector? And if so, what do you collect?


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Jenny Meilihove is one of my favorite artists out there and I am lucky to consider her somewhat of a friend of mine, after years of emailing and doing projects together. This Mosquito series is once again such a treat and very, ehm, appropriate for the summer. It seems Meneertje's border control has been lacking in the mosquito department lately. Bzzzz. Fat mosquitos for sure. Links: Website | Flickr | Etsy Shop


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Now, I don't usually place press releases or invites on this blog, but I wanted to let you all know about the amazing program the American Book Center 'Treehouse' in Amsterdam has for you this year. Honestly, looking at their website makes me miss Amsterdam terribly, which usually never happens. It just seems like when it comes to DIY, Holland is ahead of Belgium just a little bit - or perhaps I'm missing out on a lot of the action here in Brussels because I haven't yet been able to infiltrate the Francophone DIY community? What's DIY in French? Hmmm...

Anyways, this weekend ABC Treehouse is hosting a special event with Wallpaper editor Henrietta Thompson, who also happens to be the author of the book Remake It: Home and upcoming book Remake It: Clothes. Her lecture and book signing are a part of the Urban Art & Craft festival hosted in ABC Treehouse, where they've planned a weekend-filling program of fun DIY events.

Oh, and one more thing to prove ABC Treehouse is freaking awesome: they give weekly beginner yoga classes. There. Their awesomeness is not to be messed with.


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Wallpaper editor Henrietta Thompson + Urban Art & Craft Festival 2011
Henrietta Thompson, former design editor of Wallpaper – now editor-at-large, has held senior editing roles at TANK, Blueprint, Dazed & Confused, Winkreative and Phaidon. Passionate about democratic design and the potential for the creative industries to create real change, Henrietta writes regularly about architecture, design and technology for publications including the Guardian, Dwell and Business Life. Henrietta has commissioned and curated several exhibitions both in the UK and abroad, and is the author of five books, most recently Remake It: Home, published by Thames & Hudson. She is currently writing a sequel, Remake It: Clothes.

Mrs Thompson will be given a talk on The New Remakers at the ABC Treehouse this Saturday July 2nd from 14:00 - 15:00. Followed by a book signing at ABC Amsterdam from 15:30 - 16:30.

The New Remakers
Designers have been rummaging in skips for materials and inspiration for as long as there have been skips to rummage in. Today, driven by the dual need to save money as well as the planet, they are rummaging more than ever before, and on a worldwide scale to produce some truly inspiring work. This talk will give an introduction to how the professionals approach upcycling, including a history of the best, most relevant and most exciting and enduring upcycling ideas we've seen to date, what's going on now, where and how, as well as an introduction to four major new trends for the future.

DIY stands for Do It Yourself, and AMS*DIY stands for the Amsterdam handmade happening with a double dose of attitude. It stands for opting out of mass-production, creating your own style, styling your own life.

AMS*DIY - the 2011 Urban Art & Craft Festival
At AMS*DIY, artists will be creating, demonstrating, and helping you DIY your life: there'll be art for sale, workshops where you can make your own art, and fun for young people too. More information and workshop reservations on their website or on Facebook.


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