cake & pie

Off the shelf...

There are a number of books in my designer's library that I pull off the shelf and open again and again, so I thought I would share one of them with you: Trademarks and Symbols of the World by Yusaku Kamekura.

Published in 1965, it is nearly 300 pages of symbols, collected by Mr. Kamekura, that run the gamut of themes and usages. What I love about this book is its purity. Most pages are just black and white. The collection was put together before there was an internet, or a computer program capable of generating gradients or unnatural filters. Most of the symbols are what the designer who designed them was able to produce with their hands—a refreshing concept for someone who sits at her computer most of the day. Some of the symbols are very simple, (which is not to say they were easy to design,) others are more complex in form. As a whole, it is a collection I find continually beautiful and inspiring.

Sadly this amazing book has been out of print for quite awhile, but there are used copies available here and there. You might even find a copy in your local library. In my opinion it is a volume definitely worth seeking out.

Goodbye print?

It is a sad state of affairs when two gorgeous magazines bite the dust in a matter of months. First, House & Garden...a constant source of design inspiration, beautiful color palettes, and daydreams; and then the fledgling Blueprint—which I had become very fond of—it had a little bit of everything for everyone...sigh.

I picked up the last issue of Blueprint a few days ago and saw this fabulous jewelry box/wall hanging project inside. I have seen similar things before, but I love how they used knobs to hang bracelets and necklaces, and the box is deep enough for smaller bowls and boxes to sit inside. This would be a perfect way to prevent my cat from knocking my jewelry on the floor... hang it up in a pretty box far from reach. Another project for my to-do list. Thank you Blueprint!

The Principles of Uncertainty

October 18th—an arbitrary date to some, but to Maira Kalman fans it is a very important day indeed. It is the day her latest book—a compilation of her New York Times Select blog entries "The Principles of Uncertainty" hits shelves. Personally, I can not wait!

As a former New Yorker, who needed her New York Times, and monthly dose of Uncertainty, I bit the bullet last year and became a "Select" subscriber—
but good news for everyone this morning—as of September 19th NYTimes.com is now making all of the "Select" features free to all. Supposedly, I even get a little refund. Yahoo. So if you can't wait to read Maira Kalman's new book, you can catch up on her blog, (which she is due to resume writing next year.)

(Note: I think you still have to create a NYTimes.com login if you don't have one...many newspaper sites require this, but it's still free.)

God Bless You, Mr. Vonnegut

The CNN headline at this late hour has announced that Kurt Vonnegut,
one of my favorite authors, has passed. He was 84. He wrote many witty, funny, sad, influential, thought provoking books—like Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse Five, and, a personal favorite, Breakfast of Champions. Thank you Mr. Vonnegut, and goodnight.

Beautiful books

The immensely talented Julia Rothman, whose work I'm seeing all over latey, (d*s, Bloesem—congrats Julia!) started a new blog a few weeks ago that I meant to mention...where does the time go! It is called Book By Its Cover, and it features different illustrated books that Julia has come across or collected over the years. From children's books to handmade, and design books, there is a lot to see and be inspired by. Check out this Keiko Minami book, or S is for Salvation by Jess Rosenkranz of Headless Press. Go go go! Even busy bees need a little break for gorgeous books now and again.

Getting back to normal

Well, the holiday hustle and bustle is about over now. It felt a little strange spending my birthday and Christmas away from New York for the first time—not seeing the same crazy Christmas lights on the neighbor's houses, (there was a house across the street from my parent's old house on Long Island that literally looked like Christmas in Las Vegas every year.) But change is good, its healthy, old traditions can make way for new ones...and some things never change, no matter what city you live in.

I received quite a collection of fabulous reading/reference/eye candy books this holiday season...(thank you everyone!)

I will be sure to post a few reviews once I dive in to each of these.

Lots to do before 2007, so I am going to get to work. I hope those of you celebrating had a lovely holiday!