inspired by...05.28

this post started out with a search for all things pink, since lately i can't seem to get the words to "think pink" from funny face out of my head...

"banish the black
burn the blue
bury the beige
from now on...think pink!"

though not as pink as i originally imagined, i love how the above images look together. if our bedroom looked like this, i fear i'd never get out of bed, and i like how the trompe l'oeil lace wallpaper complements the lace on the mantel in the last image – one of my flickr faves.

curious if the manufacturer – zuber et cie – of the wallpaper was still around, i searched and found them. in france since 1797, they are the last factory in the world to produce woodblock printed wallpapers and furnishing fabrics. on the one hand, i was happy to see they're still creating these beautiful papers, but to learn they're also the last is disheartening.

 ***

happy memorial day weekend.

image credits: bedroom of lisa fine via lonny; a design for "lace" wallpaper dating from 1831 via french style and decoration; two pink candles via limonada on flickr

paper covered books

the day before yesterday i took a break from work, and covered some books with patterned papers left over from another project. the inspiration for this came from an image in johnny miller's portfolio. he was born and raised in lawrence – just 45 minutes from here – and now lives in brooklyn, which might as well be on another continent. that's just my opinion, for i've only spent a day in lawrence, and lived in new york city for 2 weeks. another story for a future post??

exquisite skeletons

diatoms make up about a quarter of plant life by weight and produce 

a quarter of the oxygen we breathe. some 25 million would fit in a 
teaspoon, yet they can provide nutrition to animals as large as
baleen whales. 

according to richard fortey, who wrote dry storeroom no. 1: the 
secret life of the natural history museum, "few people know that 
diatoms exist, yet the stories they have to tell may chart shifts of 
climate that are crucial to understanding how the world came to 
its present state." 

i agree with him and his assertion that support be given to experts in small 

and less showy organisms such as they, but i'm also fascinated by their shapes 

and delicate filigrees, and cannot help but wonder if the makers, who created 

the ornaments pictured below, took inspiration from them.

gold brooch with pearls and star sapphire intaglio

gold filigree dress ornaments from the 13th-14th century 


image credits: uppermost collage ~ Proyecto Agua via flickr; 2nd collage ~ graham matthews & natural history museum; 3rd image ~ metropolitan museum of art; 4th image ~ sotheby's

inspired by...05.17.10

clockwise: 

alicia bock on flickr

marie claire bedroom 

designers guild cabriole fabric in heather

untitled

move over, dhurries and oushaks

apple matting and wall to wall seagrass – with or without area rugs 
layered on top – are two of my favorite flooring options. and i can't 
forget striped dhurris & oushaks, but my heart stopped 
when i saw these jürgen dahlmanns wool and silk rugs. instant 
favorites were these strong apple green and supercharged magenta 
beauties inspired by the colors worn by those who make them. 

in other colorways ~

what struck a chord with me is the designer's statement that "there is 
already too much useless rubbish in this world, with no love and no 
passion and no sense." cheap toaster ovens and coffee makers made in 
china come to mind. 

be sure and read the "about us" for his personal account of why 
he is pleased that his workshop is located in bhaktapur, and don't 
miss the "about" for each collection.

all images from j. dahlmanns