origami special

My friend is getting married in two weeks, & I was given the task of designing her hens night invitation. It was a fun little project, & I really love the end result...

I thought I would share some images with you.

p.s: this is one of the duds - the font on the front printed too high. But you probably didnt notice...!

Åsa Dahlbäck

dahl

You need to check out this portfolio/blog.

I am seeing green.

weddings!

I guess being wedding season in NZ its only natural to be posting wedding orientated finds right? That & the fact, as I have said before, I am in the middle of wedding fun with friends.

I cant help but save wedding themed images that I find. Totally loving this Save the Date tea towel, the wedding invite which reminds me of Penguin books, & this Ball and Chain idea - so clever!

cat rabbit

Ive just discovered the fabulous, fun work (toys, prints & jewellery) of Cat Rabbit. This is a site to bookmark - with links to their etsy store - & their description makes me smile...

Cat Rabbit is a Hobart based artist who constantly creeps citizens out with her odd doll creations. Cat is often seen bleeding from the fingertips whilst looking at kittens in a pet store window.

kebabs anyone?

Look at these amazing lamps!

Designed by Londoner's Clare Page & Harry Richardson of Commitee, these Kebab Lamps are custom made using the 'junk' they find in & around south east London.

"At first glance the colourful assortment of pottery animals, vases, figurines, boxes & other bric-a-brac clinging to Commitees Kebab Lamps look like a cheerful jumble of random objects. Gradually it becomes clear that the choice was painstakingly considered, & that Clare & Richard spend days finessing sequences of objects to explore a theme or to tell a story."

At first glance I pictured these lamps as something you put on your bedside table only to discover by leafing through an old issue of HOME than in fact they are large, corner of the room type lamps. For me, this made them that much more exciting.

If I started a wish list I would put one of these lamps would be somewhere near the top.

falter stool

The perfect little fold away seat by Auckland based MIG. 

"Spontaneous dinner party?

More guests than anticipated at a birthday party?

Social gathering with an unexpected number of guests?

We present 'falter', the folding seat for any occasion."

pronounced chee-tah

Our summer 08 range is about to hit the shops, so I thought I would post a small seek peek especially for you.

What is the brand you ask? Citta Design New Zealand. How do I pronounce that you ask?! It tells you in the title yo!

No one ever knows how to pronounce Citta. The word is constantly butchered & hearing all the feeble attempts continuously makes us laugh!

The images Ive posted below are cushions from our two theme - Art Deco & the Far North - & a smidgeon of what inspired us...

Napier city Art Deco features inspiring Collage, Ziggurat & Breezeblock printed cushions

These Art deco cushions, by Imogen Tunnicliffe, are a personal fav. I love the bold graphic prints inspired by the eclectic nature & diverse aesthetic of the Art Deco era. 

"Amid two world wars, an industrial revolution, & in Napier a devastating earthquake, Art Deco art & design was experimental, expressive & new. This was a time when people were concerned with pleasure, escape & luxury."

The above attitudes piqued Imogens imagination when designing for this new summer range. She found the uninhibited ideas of Art Deco exciting & thus created a diverse range of products that reflect the freedom of expression that dominated this particular era.

Karikari beach inspiring Plume, Flax & Kina embroidered cushions

Above are the cushions that I designed. When creating this seasons range I was particularly drawn to the muted tones & intricate textures found on New Zealand's Far North coastal areas.

Inspired by fragments collected from Karikari beach I decided to step away from a literal interpretation of each piece & instead focused on texture & colour, reworking them into simple, modern designs. The colour palette, taken directly off the beach, was used to create a feeling of relaxation, lazy summer days & the casualness of far north holidays.

To be honest, I initially struggled with the Far North range. Although I was completely inspired by the colour palette I found the imagery surrounding a beach inspired theme slightly cliche. After numerous explorations I ended up back at square one & developed my original ideas focussing on texture & colour - they say your first idea is always the best idea, & in this case it was true! Our not-yet-started summer 09 range will also be centered around a beach theme, so I have my thinking cap on already & am keeping an eye out for something that sparks a different take to the usual shell imagery. Fingers crossed its a success! 

happy birthday goodness

Im a bit of a useless & always, always forget cards when giving presents. I just found these fun cards by katydidpapergoods on etsy, so will have to remember to buy one next time I have a present to give. Lets see how good I am at remembering!

fun house

Wow! This London town house is seriously cool!! Belonging to director Roland Emmerich, the house is one bold item after another - rooms are adorned with taxidermy zebra, propaganda inspired murals, WWII airplane parts & a waxwork pope - hmmm...

The designers brief - to make the house as "unfrumpy as possible"  so that "when the neighbours peek in, they might want to call the police or something".

Classic!

just what we need...

...another bloody water. Believe it or not, but thats its bloody name, & it has 'another bloody blog'  too. This australian brand has a straight up, no mucking around attitude that I just love. Its downright clever.

craft-d

While at craftwerk the other week I did a bit of a whizz around & collected a heap of business cards - my graphic design training takes hold & I always seem to leave events with a mountain. You get a good feel of what a persons work is like through their business cards - which are, in there own right, works of art themselves. On such a small piece of card you have to make a mark.

Anyway! I picked up the business card for craft-d. My memory is quite rubbish & I can't recall what they were selling on their stall but I remember the pixel like, swirly graphics caught my eye. 

Craft-d began as an independent zine by Bethany McIvor in 2007 to explore the issue of craft in design. Through research & experimentation Bethany developed craft-d as a brand to encompass her style of design, creating limited edition prints which reflect the ability to mix aspects of graphic, textile & product design. 

semi-permanent 08

Right - Semi-Permanent. Where do I start? It was two full on days of listening to amazingly talented people talk about their work & what drives them. Some were brillaint to listen to, while others (dare I say it!) were a bore - I guess we cant all be animated, talented speakers. I know I definitely couldnt have done what they had to do! But all in all, everyone had work that blew me away.

My absolute favourite speakers were the following:

1. Marian Bantjes.

"everything I do, I do for love"

Marian was my absolute favourite speaker. Her work is just brilliant. Mainly text based her work is amazingly detailed, intricate & precise. The hours she spends completing a piece often far exceeds what she gets paid, yet the phrase above "everything I do, I do for love' drives her to finish a piece until its perfect.

Valentines day is a favourite yearly event for Marian, & every year she sends out a specially designed valentines for her clients & friends. All I can say is 'can I be your valentines too Marian?... please?"

hats off to those of you who can decipher this...

...and this - though i know what this one says :)

2. dumbo feather, pass it on

Aussie based kiwi Kate Bezar is the inspiring talent behind 'dumbo feather, pass it on' an award winning publication best described as a 'mook' - a cross between a magazine & a book.

Before Semi-Permanent I had never heard of dumbo feather, but am now hooked & desperate to get my hands on a copy to see what its all about. Im one of those people that needs to touch the things that capture my attention which is why im itching to flick through a copy of dumbo feather.

Dumbo feather is, well, its beautiful. I dont have any more photos to share with you, so you'll just have to trust me on that! 

3. design master Stefan Sagmeister

Stefan is considered one of the most important graphic designers in the world today, so its pretty special to say that I have had the opportunity to hear him speak.

He has, at times, a side splitting sense of humour & works in a way which has resulted in his talents being sort after worldwide.

blink & im back

alpha tea towel

heart purse

Im back!
To tell the truth ive been back since Friday, but haven’t had a spare minute until now…
Melbourne was hugely successful to say the least, & my oh my what a cool city – I wish I could have stayed!

As it turns out I didn’t get much spare time to peruse the shops, but did manage to buy a tea towel & purse from Australian label blink design. I was instantly drawn to the striking colours, simple prints & beautiful fabric, and couldn’t resist charging them to works credit card – clever spending don’t you think!!

semi permanent

Ive been talking about going to semi permanent all year & cant believe that its almost upon us. I didn't realise it was so soon, don't have tickets, & don't know whether I can go - gutted!! Im going to try my hardest & wait till the last minute to see if I can make it or not...if tickets are still available so late in the game...fingers crossed...

hey you...

...dont mind if we do.

check it out.

white, one sugar thanks.

Ceramic pieces seem to be the trend of the moment & Im absolutely loving them. It seems almost everyday I am coming across a new & exciting piece. I have 'had' to buy a few pieces lately & there are plenty more I would like to add to my wish list... if only it was my birthday!

Over the next few weeks I will post (amongst other things) some of my favourite finds from NZ & around the world.

These 'Duncan mugs' by soop design were featured on design sponge at the beginning of May. The mugs are individually handmade & make teatime that little bit sweeter. I am intrigued by the name of the mugs - my bfs name is Duncan & being English he appreciates a good cuppa. He also has a proper sweet tooth, so these mugs may not be the best buy for him!