coasterpalooza

i've been getting a lot of emails lately about coasters for holiday parties. it's that time of year when we're all shuffling off to office parties, neighborhood gatherings and holiday cocktail celebrations so what better way to bring a little color to the room than with some festive coasters. i thought i'd do a roundup of my favorite designs in the market so click here for a full round up of 30 coasters styles for everyone's budget and style. the full post with links and sourcing (and more coasters) is right here at d*s on h&g. enjoy!

[i'm off to pick up my framed pictures at sky art and grab lunch with scott from the sartorialist. i don't think i've ever worried about what to wear to lunch this much in my life]

dwr mart + alyssa ettinger

i stopped by the dwr modernmart last night and picked up this adorable set of votive/sake cups by brooklyn ceramicist alyssa ettinger. i'm obsessed with her knitware series and they were even cuter in person. after chatting with joy i said hello to minhee and truman from paper + cup (stay tuned next week for a podcast with them), third drawer down and a few others. definitely a fun event if you're in town for the next one. for more info on alyssa's work click here (the pair of two cups/votives is $50).

judy ross

i'm a big judy ross fan so i was thrilled to hear about their upcoming sample sale. on december 14-16 prices will be up to 60% off and will include pillows ($60-$100), scarves ($100), throws ($100) and rugs ($500-$3,000). if you're a judy ross fan you know these discounts are good so be sure to stop stop on by. the sale is located at 41 union square west #907 on the ninth floor (corner of 17th st. and broadway). amex, visa, mastercard and checks will be accepted. times: dec 14 (1-7 pm), dec 15 (11-6 pm), dec 16 (12-5 pm).

cassiopeai

d*s reader karim cherif of sent over this beautiful custom table that was designed for his firm, united 135. karim explains,

"It was designed by Tessa Kuyvenhoven, a graduate in Interior Design. And the illustration was done by Bobby Pola (a.k.a. Simon Buijs). What I wanted was a table that could fit into my new office, that reflected the creative flow that we have going here. Tessa came up with a couple of designs, and we sat down to merge some elements into a new design. The only thing I told the illustrator was that I want the illustration and the table to be one piece. I didn't just want an illustration on top of the table... but they needed to be dependent on each other. So he came up with a Jellyfish design: Cassiopeia. When you look closely you will see all kinds of elements that are part of what we do."

very cool. i love an inspirational table design...makes me want to paint on my old ikea pieces. also, check out the striped fridge in the back of the photos. so cool.

dwr modernmart 2

i'm on my way to the modernmart show in a few hours so i just wanted to remind anyone in the nyc area to stop by tonight if you have time. held at the tribeca dwr showroom (6-8 pm), modernmart is a, "celebration of local designers and artisans...featuring the creative talents of independent artisans working in ceramics, linens, paper goods and more." cash or check only- don't forget! see you there...[click here for more info]

pop ink

sheraton at pop ink just sent over a link to their new plate designs. they made a splash with the wood grain plates this spring and now they've added matching gift wrap. i loved all the gift wrap options, so if you like pop ink's plates check out their great wrapping collection. available for $6.50 each right here.

chow.com

chow.com just posted a very cool feature on designer table settings. they invited some people in the design community to create table settings that updated the traditional "fork on the left, knife on the right" idea and the results are really fun. lena and i were going to contribute our own take together but ended up not having time bc of the holidays. we'll definitely have to make time next year, because the results looks so fun. i especially like jason miller's table. click here for the full feature.[ps: chow is a fantastic site so i highly suggest clicking around for a while. there's even some top chef talk...]

funnel paper goods

it's that time of year- presents, wrapping paper, ribbon, the whole nine yards. so when you sit down to deal with holiday gifts this year consider grabbing a roll of funnel paper goods' newest wrapping paper. there are 7 patterns to choose from that say "holiday" in a tasteful, modern way. they retail for $12 each and are available right here. enjoy! [i love the deer, so cute]

laura cooperman

d*s reader elizabeth sent over the work of her friend, artist laura cooperman. laura recently graduated from the maryland institute college of art baltimore and showed this beautiful collection of paper art. her intricate creations look like gears but have such an eery, ethereal quality to them that i wish i could reach out and touch them. she lit some of the sculptural pieces so they would cast a beautiful shadow on the wall- it's a must see. click here to check out her work and get more info. [thanks, elizabeth!

new at bizbox

after a week off for the holidays i'm back at the bizbox blog with a new post. last week when i asked what you guys wanted to see on the site the overwhelming response was: how do i get my work into shops? so i thought i'd ask some shop owners and see what they had to say. i think their advice is phenomenal and definitely worth checking out if you're a designer or are considering producing any type of product for wholesale. i've got tips from ryan at elsewares, mark from sparkability, rena at rare device and susan at artstream studios. they cover everything from getting noticed and getting in stores to drop shipping and following up. i've also included some additional links to pieces on the topic. i hope it will be helpful to those trying to get their work in shops. click here to read the full post

[the next post will be all about running your own shop if you've decided to go that route. i'll also include any tips and things to avoid that i've learned while starting the d*s shop]

o plus d

graphic designer olga krigman recently teamed up with her husband to create o plus d. her husband designs furniture and she produces a humorous (and rather saucy) line of greeting cards. the furniture is lovely but i was really taken with the cards. most of them are pretty racy (lots of four letter words) but in the right situation they would be perfect. so, if you like a little edge to your greeting cards click here to check out o plus d's greeting card line. [designs shown are part of the "f*ck" line]

one of a kind

angelune sent over a great link to her coverage of the holidays one of a kind show. with over 700 exhibitors showing truly unique goods it's a must-visit. and if you're in chicago stop by because the show is coming to the merchandise mart from dec 8-10 (click here for details). happy show-ing!

[say hi to emily at orange beautiful when you're there!]

spotted flats

sophia at spotted flats sent over a link to her lovely christmas cards. available through her etsy shop, sophia's holiday card sets are screenprinted and perfect for the minimalist in you life. each snowflake pattern is clean and modern with just a little hint of color or shimmer. available right here for $10.

tennis, anyone?

rose at tennis, anyone? sent over a link to their cute holiday etsy shop. they're selling some fun holiday cards and this fun owl calendar ($12). not a bad idea for an affordable holiday gift...

cca holiday fair

every year the california college of the arts churns out some of the most fantastic designers around. and this year they're having a holiday fair on december 9 where students, alumni, faculty and staff will sell their work. there's nothing better than supporting student and independent work so if you're in the san francisco area please please stop by. click here for more info. [thanks, hannah!]

variegated: butterflies

corbett just emailed after some techinical difficulties with etsy. they just added some gorgeous embroidered butterfly designs to the site. i was immediately drawn to the handmade feel and the goregous colors. each one is one-of-a-kind and available in two sizes for $60 and $90. more details: each piece features a butterfly hand silkscreened on natural linen and embroidered in random patterns and colors to create truly original one of a kind pieces of art; each piece is mounted in a simple black wooden frame without glass. (small is 8" x 10" and large is 11" x 14") click here to shop.

variegated: hudson + holiday

a month or so ago i hopped a train to hudson, ny to visit jim and corbett of variegated inc. beyond sharing a southern past (all three of us love a good biscuit) all of us could (and do) talk home design till we're blue in the face. beyond preparing to release a fantastic holiday collection they happen to own what has to be one of the cutest (and most colorful) apartments around. corbett and i used to trade paint ideas (we both have a love of benjamin moore's tawny day lily) but now we're trading online shop talk because variegated has now launched a holiday 2006 shop full of new designs. the shop carries a lovely set of pillow cases, cards (a joint effort with maria of port2port) tea towels, holiday cards, sachets, handmade cloth ribbon and, my favorite, a "grab bag" of fabric with buttons ($20). i'm a big fan of any gift that encourages creativity so the grab bag is a fun way for the recipient to get crafty and for variegated to recycle leftover fabric scraps. so click here to shop their full holiday collection online at etsy. but, now to the fun part...

the variegated apartment tour! i have a mild obsession with poking into talented people's homes to see how they decorate their most intimate spaces. nothing is more personal than a person's home and i find that creative people often have some of the most inspiring and dramatic homes around. corbett and jim certainly didn't dissapoint- their home was a study in bold color and modern collecting. the boys of variegated have everything from collections of sea shells to slightly kitschy religious paintings. the pictures are wonderfully inspirational and i highly suggest flipping through the whole set if you're in need of help with your apartment. their use of color and pattern is really fantastic. click here to view the full collection. enjoy!

mini trend: rough wood

it's monday and time for a new mini trend- one of the wonderful by-products of the trend towards green design has been a resurgence of wood in the market. it came first in the form clean, smooth designs (and veneers of all types) that mimicked the modern look of materials like steel or resin. but as the green movement has become more of a permanent category and less of a trend we've seen the industry open up to include rough, chunky cuts of wood that let the natural beauty of the material shine. whether it's with burl bowls, rough carved wooden vases or reclaimed railroad ties, the design industry seems to be embracing beautiful wooden objects that have been left relatively natural. click here for the full mini trend post and some more ideas to bring the look into your home.

[i'm in meetings until 12:30 today so i'll be back around 2 with the last post of the day: an apartment tour you won't want to miss.]

d*s shop in time

thanks so much to time magazine for including the d*s shop in their winter 2006 style & design issue. it was an honor to be next to people like twenty2 design of brooklyn.

bird and banner

joy posted a great link to a philly based letterpress design studio called bird and banner. i was hooked as soon as i saw the pink (pink is my new black) but if you scan through their site you'll see their talents go way beyond gorgeous pink invites.

guest blog

sadly last week's holiday and being sidelined with a nasty case of the flu didn't give me the chance to adequetly praise the fantastic work that kristina did on the guest blog. i was in a nyquil haze and am just now catching up with all her amazing interviews (thorsten van elten, doshi levien, clotilde of chocolate and zucchini, hervé matejewski, lisa of good on paper, etc.) and posts. she nailed down some of the biggest names in design over the last two weeks and i'm still reeling from the fact that both thorsten van elten and the bouroullecs answered questions for something even remotely related to d*s. they're probably my two biggest professional idols and i was so thrilled to see them on the guest site. so, click here to read the last two weeks' worth of kristina's product finds, recipes, interviews and fun pet interviews with lisa and crash!. thanks again to kristina for all her hard work. [the guest blog is taking a week off while we build the december shop this month- it will be back next week]