curbside treasure

i just splurged and bought two collages from etsy shop curbside treasure. i was swayed by her beautiful color-themed collections. i picked up two green prints (above and below) but you can browse from a stunning collection of red, pinks and blues. click here for more information and to shop at curbside treasure.

pinkfest 07

sorry guys, today is all about pink for me. i keep stumbling across fantastic pink designs in my morning research so today might lean a bit towards my new favorite hue. this beautiful print is from restlessthings at etsy. gocco printed on a old book page, "showed you the air" is available right here for $12 (as part of a 17 piece limited edition). there are more beautiful prints from restlessthings below... (love the heart). enjoy!

pink

mmmm....pink. i can't get enough pink right now. thankfully for ac the obsession if more of a visual one and less of a purchasing one. this lampshade by johanna basford at rockett st. george is just too pretty for words. it's available right here if you're feeling the pink love, too. pink not your thing? there's a gorgeous tangerine wallpaper panel right here. perfect for summer...

paul isabella

designer paul isabella sent over some of his work and i was intrigued by a number of his pieces. paul is currently a student at the savannah college of arts and design (where i'll be speaking on may 15th if you're in the area!) and designed a series of products with wonderful sense of playfulness. paul's "burly man" chair uses wilsonart sample chips to create a unique form, which his "modfather" clock distills a traditional gradfather clock down to its most basic form. my favorite piece of paul's is "el credenza"- a flatpak piece that has holes in the top for lighting. these are all prototype projects but i thought they showed real promise and an interesting way of looking at furniture and products. you can find more information on paul's work right here. [thanks paul!]

[if you're in the savannah area i'll be speaking at scad on may 15th- i'll post more details when i have them]

j brooke patterson

i spent this past weekend with ac's family in westerly, ri and mystic, ct. while it wasn't exactly a mecca of contemporary design, i stumbled upon a designer that i had to post here. j brooke patterson is an artist living and working in oakland california- she makes these beautiful little pieces from real quail, goose and duck eggs. each piece is handmade hardened through an elaborate process which allows her to fill each tiny egg with an image, found bits and then covered with custom cut glass. i bought two that were filled with bird images (i know, i know) but she offers a wide array of imagery. i think the 2007 collection would appeal to most of us more than her earlier work, so just click here and then scroll down to hit pages 1-7 for more images. you can find her work across the country at various galleries but if you'd like a specific piece i'd suggest shooting her an email.

just in...

new from brooklyn's brave space: the hollow dining set. this eco-friendly bamboo dining set allows for 6 person seating and has a hollow space below the table surface for easy storage of napkins or other dining accessories. you can check out the hollow set and much more from brave space at this year's brooklyn designs.

sarah ridgley

i love a good mongrammed accessory- there's something wonderfully preppy chic about the whole look. mixed in with modern pieces monograms and initials can be such a nice pop of detail. these letterpressed initial coasters from sarah ridgley are only $10 per set and have such a nice monogrammed feel to them. maybe sarah would produce initials on a custom basis if she asked nicely. they'd make a fun housewarming gift for new home (or apt) owners. click here for more information and to contact sarah.

doe sf

i've been searching for the perfect ring holder for a few weeks now...and just found it. i was looking through doe's site and found these lovely little japanese bird dishes. i splurged and ordered both the ring holder and bowl version- i think i'll use the bowl for a soap dish in the bathroom. it's so dainty. doe has some great things in the home section so click here to check out the full collection and order online. enjoy!

daily newbies

just wanted to post a little reminder about the new products over at the hg trends section: 10 new products, 5 of which won't take more than $100 out of your bank account. arch digest just relaunched their site and has a new weekly column of "under $100", which i thought was odd (ok, more than odd), so i thought i'd share ours- what i like to think of as the original under $100...

[there's also an interview with the dude from franz ferdinand. he's a big foodie]

craig anczelowitz

designer craig anczelowitz sent over a link to his beautiful cermaic work that was shown last week in bangkok during the "B.I.G." fair. craig has been designing ceramics for a company based in the northern thai city, chiang mai for the past few years but is a native new yorker who worked for 10 years as a buyer for abc carpet and home, kate's paperie and urban outfitters before relocating to asia. this collection was created for the thai group 'prempracha's collection' and you can find more information and photos of craig's work right here. [thanks, craig!]

thank you

i just wanted to extend a few quick thank you's. i certainly didn't want to let the end of victoria's guest blog go unnoticed but milan crept up on me. she did such a fantastic blog and was such a hit with everyone- thank you so much to victoria for her fantastic work. you can keep on reading her design finds right here at sfgirlbybay. i also wanted to thank the lovely ladies who made the sf and toronto city guides- i'm going to have to post them on monday instead of today sadly because i've had some work pop up at the last minute that requires my attention most of today. i'll be uploading the guides this weekend though so they'll both be here in full form on monday. thanks again and i'll see you next week... [cards above by pell mell press, $3.50]

lovely, dark and deep

i'm constantly in awe of the talent that came out of one single family: sisters lisa congdon and stephanie of little birds are having what promises to be an amazing show at doe sf on may 4. "lovely, dark and deep" will feature soft sculptures and woodland creatures from stephanie and paintings and collages from lisa. i'm tempted to fly out just for this show- it looks fantastic. click here for more information and more photos from the show. [thanks, lisa!]

jonathan liu

the best i could ever manage with an etch-a-sketch was a simple house shape or maybe a lop sided cloud. but artist jonathan liu has taken etch-a-sketch art to a whole new level with his custom pieces. this raven design was done for amy ruppel but you can view more of jonathan's etch-a-sketch work right here. should inspire some weekend sketching...[thanks, amy!]

three sheets 2 the wind

jenny at three sheets sent over some of her latest work last week- i'm loving the marigold yellow she uses (ah, the color of the season) and the new tulip and trees print. you can buy the new prints in pillow or artwork form right here. be sure to browse the specialty section, too- there's some cute stuff in there. [thanks jenny!]

sneak peek: denyse schmidt

this week's last sneak peek belongs to quilting queen, denyse schmidt. it was such a treat to catch a glimpse into her beautiful home along the long island shore- i hope you'll enjoy it as much as i did. as always, you can click here for extra, full-sized photos of denyse's home. thanks again to denyse for sharing her home with us.

[ps: that's it for me today, i'll be back tomorrow with 2 new city guides: san francisco and toronto]

"I have a tiny little house, built in 1915 that I just adore. Its layout is elemental but logical, and I love the simplicity of it. The house gets great light all day, and I can ride my bike along the shore of Long Island Sound. I have a lovely front porch that gets morning sun. I couldn't afford to do a lot when I moved in – it was mostly about removing things (carpet, paneling, handicap ramp, etc.) and then painting and cleaning."

"My "stuff" is a combination of things I find at the flea market or junk stores (most needing repair or missing parts), relics from my folks house, or treasured objects friends have designed or made. The church sign is from the flea market, and the saying on it was sent to me from one of the folks I work with in India on my birthday last year – just when I needed to hear it! The "love and romance" sign (see flickr page for this photo) came with the house. The pear and dogwood branches are from my little yard."

"The wallpaper in the bedroom was behind a badly built cupboard, and I left it there. The silkscreen of me was done by my sister when I was about 16 or 17."

serrote notebook

i go through notebooks like there's no tomorrow. i never managed to finish them but my standard MO is to obsess over one and fill it with all sorts of to-do lists and then somehow manage to lose the notebook on my way to or from work. so, if you're ever on the F train and find a pretty notebook filled with things like "invite brooklyn design ladies over for tea party" or "buy more wellness wet food for the cats" it's probably mine. i'm thinking of switching over to this plaid number soon- plaid seems to be creeping up everywhere right now so i might be working up a mini-trend soon. until then, you can pick up these cute portuguese serrote mini notebooks (6" tall) right here for $8.

hammocks and high tea

i just wanted to extend a congratulations to the lovely karen at clothes-pin on the debut of her new stationery line, hammocks and high tea, inspired by her south american upbringing. click here for more info on karen's new line.

yellow

i'll take yellow anywhere i can get it these days. along with red, it's a color i'm consuming (visually) in copious amounts right now. this sunny dandelion tray and embroidered pillow at anthropologie are even cuter in person and have just the right amount of yellow in them. you can pick up the tray right here ($48) and the pillow right here ($98).

antlers...

i was puzzled by this headline in the styles section of the ny times:

"The chic new design element of the season? Why it’s the antler, naturally."

new? this season?

kiki van eijk

just wanted to point out the kiki van eijk post over here. i was totally smitten with her booth at the via tortona in milan and thought you guys might like it, too. lots of yellow (lots) and a really fantastic new scissor pattern. click here for several more pieces and a look at her excellent embroidering...

shakadoo

kristen at shakadoo was kind enough to include me in their interview series on shakinstyle. if you're interested in reading it you can find the full piece right here. [thanks, kristen]

row pinto

i'm loving this soft wool pillow from english designer row pinto. irene at bloesem did a lovely post on the full textile collection but this one was my favorite. it reminds me of my favorite trading spaces episode in which genevieve gorder used old sweaters to make cozy cabin pillows. i love genevieve- she's the best.

nadja mueller

nadja mueller is a textile designer who studied in amsterdam but currently lives and works from berlin. she sent over a link to her series of bedding, window covering, pillows and lighting- i really love the way she plays with a contrast of subtle and bold patterns with texture. her lighting series in particular has such a soft, textured feel to it. she's even got a cute series for kids...click here to check out nadja's full collection and contact her for more information. [thanks, nadja!]