thank you thank you thank you: design*sponge reflects on a great year

with the year coming to an end and christmas nearly upon us, i wanted to round up some of my favorite members of the design community to give thanks and share well wishes for everyone that supports us and makes this vibrant, passionate community possible. i know that for me, being a part of this amazing and highly unique design world has made my year a happier and more fulfilled one. so, in the interest of giving back to those who have given so much to me, i wanted to share a few things with everyone out there in design blog world, and then give some of my peers a chance to do the same thing. think of it as a big ol' design*sponge thank you meets holiday extravaganza.

this christmas i'm sending my best to everyone out there and wishing you all a safe, happy holiday and a prosperous new year. so, thank you reluct. thank you treehugger. thank you mocoloco, josh rubin, apartment therapy, land+living, the future perfect, id fuel, core77 and curbed. thank you for being a part of my world and opening yours to my little site. design*sponge is so happy to know you all.

so, to wrap up my section of the post, i've asked our peers to answer a few simple questions: what to you hope to find waiting for you under the xmas tree? what will you be giving to people this year? and lastly, what do you hope the new year holds? so, enjoy as they share their thoughts with you this holiday season.

joyeux noël (and see you on monday), design*sponge

+++ what do you hope the new year holds? +++

ryan from elswares:: i hope the new year holds a revolution in the cottage industry, designers/builders and short-distance manufacturing.

drew sanocki from edgemodern:: i hope the new year sees a continued growth in design-consciousness among the general public here in the US. we are finally catching up to the rest of the world as far as design goes, and i hope the trend continues.

meaghan from treehugger:: what i'd really like to see in the year ahead is a continuation of the trend toward eco-conscious design, resulting in a cleaner ocean, less melt, and an overall increase in the general health of the biosphere.

rena tom:: i hope the new year brings continued interest and support for independent designers, an appreciation of the handcrafted nature of much of our work, and enough money to keep it all rolling along

james murphy:: i hope this year brings everyone in the design community peace and prosperity. i'd also like to see young american designers really begin to take the world by storm.

alex of redstr/collective:: i hope that we just keep challenging ourselves, our industry, and the average consumer. even though of half this country voted for bush the other half still exists and is looking to expand their minds and tastes. hopefully design can help to get people thinking on a more positive and constructive level.

design*sponge:: i hope the new year holds a million exciting surprises for the design blog community, continued respect and recognition and unimaginable success for all of the amazing independent artists out there, struggling to get their work known.

+++ what do you hope is waiting for you under the tree and what what will you be giving to others? +++

ryan from elswares:: for me, one of these. for everyone else, if i could swing it, you'd all be naked and semi-submerged in one of these things.

MMM MMM GOOD [m-house*m-house] an m-house for ryan, please.

RUBADUBDUB [dutchtub*dutchtub] ryan wants us naked. and wet.

drew sanocki from edgemodern:: i hope a state of the art ecommerce platform is waiting for me under the tree, because I'm tired of building my own. and i hope to get some matteo bedding, too. for everyone else? vessel candelas, because they are fun and useful.

XMAS LIGHTS [candela*vessel] a candela for drew and crew...

meaghan from treehugger:: mostly what i'm hoping to get—a giro snowboarding helmet and a lendal sea-kayaking paddle —aren't what most folk in this design community would think of as high-end contemporary design. but in their genres they're top of the line—cutting-edge ingredients in the recipe for having a good time. other essentials? oceans and snow, of course—preferably clean. what i'm giving this year? aside from looolo pillows, mushroom logs, and xm radios, is a promise to do my part for the environment. partly, that means continuing to contribute to treehugger, but mostly it's a commitment to continue educating myself and making changes where i can.

LOCO FOR LOOOLO [pillow*looolo] for meaghan and co.

rena tom:: i'd most like for some new stores to carry my jewelry, to see my husband more (he's in architecture grad school), for the dog to enjoy her first snowfall, and oh yeah, a paragon kiln. for everyone else? i would like to give people more attention, i've been very neglectful. also encouragement in all their endeavors, and some knitting needles. everyone needs to know how to knit!

BUY ME! [oahu bracelet*rena tom] what everyone should be buying! support local artists!

james murphy:: i'd like to give everyone something handmade this year. small dovetailed boxes with riverstones inside, or funky turned wooden candlesticks or something contemporary with gold leaf. i'd like to see a vintage upright piano in black or a bass guitar under my tree.

GOLDY [anniversary table*eameses] for james murphy's friends...something cool and gold leafed

alex of redstr/collective:: for me: a new ipod, the latest droog design book, a carton of american spirit blues, new metroid prime, and aqua teen hunger force dvds. for others? a full set of godfathers of hip hop ornaments, because you can never have too much ghetto up in your crib, idoru by williiam gibson, and learning from las vegas (one of the best books for anyone to read.

AND YOU DON'T STOP... [godfathers of hip hop ornaments*redstr/collective] what alex will be giving....

design*sponge:: all i want to find under my christmas tree is my family, my pets and my wonderful a.c. i feel so lucky in my life right now that i think i'm set. for everyone else? things that remind people how loved they are...i'm a sucker for handmade gifts.

holiday gift guide: design*sponge rocks out

music is the only thing that keeps me sane (well, that and reality tv) and thank god, i'm lucky enough to live in a neighborhood filled with the good kind. since i used to be a dj and even worked my tail off for an independent brooklyn label, i figured, what the hell, not every day has to be about product and furniture design, so why not do a brooklyn music gift guide? so here it is: design*sponge's guide to brooklyn music (and a few beyond....). check them out on itunes and enjoy! (ps: don't forget that some of this album art alone should be commended for it's amazing design. most notably: the helio sequence. gorgeous)

the tippity top of my brooklyn music gift guide would be the boys of ratatat. the aforementioned politico (my dear ac) found them and told me i should check them out. these guys have some of the coolest electro beat stuff out there. definitely worth the click and listen.

next in line are the french kicks, palomar and interpol (just kidding! a band full of tools, i tell you! trust me- they were my neighbors at nyu). dreamy and dying to be checked out, the frenck kicks and palomar are right across the bridge from most of you and for those of you outside of the tri-state area, they're just a click away at itunes.com (bonus points to palomar for naming their third album "palomar III: revenge of palomar" love it!).

let us not forget the walkmen, despite the fact that they've sold their souls to the devil that is the OC (why do they steal all the cool music!!). aw hell, i'd sell my soul to the OC too, if it meant i got to get in a good ol' punch at that swizzle stick of a lead actress, mischa barton. sell-outs or not, the walkmen would make anyone a great stocking stuffer this year.

for those of you who fear i fancy the williamsburg set a bit too much, i give you louque (although i fear he's just moved there). the louisiana crooner is a groovy side trip from the indie crew above. i first ran into him back in my record label days and was blown away. mixing cajun style vocals and close-to-urban beats, louque is really something to be experienced. you can visit louquemusic.com for show dates. and ladies, he's pretty easy on the eyes....

closing out the best of brooklyn list is the hold steady. wait. just kidding. these guys frickin blow! seriously, if you're ever forced (and it better be at gun point or you have NO excuse) to see them bring some ear plugs. and a rain poncho- their lead singer is some sort of insane spitting savant. buncha weirdos.

since i can't very well pretend all good things come from brooklyn (even though i have a hunch they do...), i thought i'd throw in a few more artists whose music (and album cover art) deserves a mention on your holiday credit card bill...

ah, quruli, bestill my heart. the japanese rock and roll gods were first introduced to me through a japanese exchange student i dated in college (nihongo taka!). while they're nearly impossible to track down online (i'm waiting to hear from their japanese label) you can enjoy some free tracks here. if you like them i can burn you some tracks too. seriously, it's worth it. they're meat and potatoes rock and roll at it's best. amazing.

if you've ever read my site for more than two days straight you've probably noticed the obsessive ac newman references. thank you thank you thank you ac for turning me on to the genius of carl newman. frontman for the canadian indie group the new pornographers, newman is quite simply a genius. buy his solo album for your best friend and sit back and wait. you'll be hearing nothing but thank you's for days on end. heck, weeks, even months on end! and if you like him try the new pornographers- lead singer neko case's voice is out of this world.

ok i'm gonna list the last ones all fast like, since my hands are tired. check out the helio sequence: gorgeous drone-y music with phenomenal cover art to match. dresden dolls: three words: brechtian punk cabaret. really, give it a try. they're crazy. rogue wave (california dreamy pop), the go-team (crazy crazy british super-saturated saturday morning cartoon theme music), the futureheads (scottish brilliance), the duo (drum and guitar, nuff said, they're ridiculously cool), cornelius (like quruli, only easier to find!), then there's ac's newest suggestion, mates of state (california husband and wife duo- always an interesting prospect...) and heath brandon (just kidding- this jerk went on a date with me just to try and snag a record deal with my label. ass!).

so, i hope this keeps the music lovers on your holiday lists happy. if not, well, sue me. it's just a blog.

happy holidays!

design*sponge

thank you

i just wanted to send a little thank you post to everyone out there. thank you all of you out there in blog world for stopping by and being part of this little website. and thank you especially to those who have supported me through the little spongey ads on the left hand column. it's because of you that i'm allowed to get out occasionally and cover new design in different places. so please, say hi to the adverts and check out their websites, i really appreciate their support and yours. so thank you, thank you thank you to everyone.

ps: the image above is from a tennis anyone? card.

biz ladies: the morning after

there are few moments in my life that i can remember being really and truly speechless, but last night at the business ladies meet up i walked up the stairs and found myself at a loss for words. surrounded by a room packed full of over 80 talented women i had to jolt myself out of shock and pick my jaw up off the floor. thank you thank you thank you to everyone who attended last night, to dwr for being incredibly gracious hosts (thank you, korneel!) and to rena and everyone who helped out with snacks, planning and support (and thank you for your city harvest donations- we have over 200 pounds of food to donate!) after a few hours of talking i think nearly everyone went home with a handful of business cards and i've now heard that there are two small groups already formed and ready to meet in a few weeks. in addition i've heard people are talking about collaborations, teaming up to do websites and promotion and, if nothing else- i think everyone walked away with some new friends who will be invaluable as people get their businesses off the ground. i can't tell you how thrilled i was to look around and see so many amazing women genuinely helping each other and making great contacts. i hope you all made it home safe and sound- thank you again for coming.

[above: karen from nama rococo talks to women interested in opening their own design businesses]

in addition, joi at the nyc craft mafia has been kind enough to let us use their forums to stay in touch and plan meetings. so, CLICK HERE to register and get in touch with us on our very own BIZ LADIES forum. we'll post small group meetings, updates, helpful articles, anything relevent to women in small business. thanks, joi! [click here for a little slideshow of last night. i wish i'd remembered to take a picture of us all sitting down upstairs, the sheer number of people was overhwhelming]

a love song for design blogs

maybe it's the sun outside, maybe it's the fact that i'm going home to VA on thursday, maybe it's ac's new job, but for some reason, i'm just happy today. and i thought, while i was thinking about all the things i'm happy about, why not share my love for my fellow design bloggers?

there are so many wonderful blogs out there that share my passion for design and have made this wonderful design community what it is, so i just wanted to send a little d*s virtual love note to each and every one of them. today is about celebrating you guys- you're amazing, you keep me up to date on all the wonderful things about there and i'm so lucky to be involved in a community full of great people like you guys. keep up the great work! (and if you haven't seen some of these sites, please check them out!)

to apartment therapy: you are the lifeblood of this community. thank you so, so much for your heart and all your dedication to making our apartments as wonderful as they can be.

to land+living: i just love you guys. you have just a nice, positive vibe on your site and you review really thoughtful projects that i wouldn't have heard about anywhere else. keep up the great work guys!

to josh rubin: you're the coolest of cool, josh. i don't know what we'd do without your insights on fashion, design and everything else that makes our lives just a little bit hipper. thanks so much for your eye and your dedication to finding the best of the best.

to core77: you guys are great. coroflot is a wonderful resource that i couldn't live without. you feature wonderful technological advancements in design and i'm always amazed by some of the stuff i see up there.

to unbeige: thanks for always investigating issues i wouldn't think to delve deeper into- your insights are thoughtful and timely- i really enjoy your site.

to treehugger: you know i love you guys- you're the greatest. putting out such wonderful, earth-friendly designs, you guys are in a class of your own. keep up the great work!

to id fuel: dom and crew, you guys rock. nuff said.

to not cot: welcome! you've got some really great stuff up there! i always love seeing what you've discovered!

to josh spear: we're in the young club together- don't know what i'd do without your insight on all things cool and buzz worthy.

to mocoloco: the classic, the ultimate- you consistently provide us with the best in european and american design, thank you for your commitment to excellence in design.

thank you

as i leave to hop on a plane to va for the holidays, i wanted to take my last post of the holiday season to say thank you. i'll be back on tuesday morning, but i wanted to thank you for stopping by this little corner of the internet- thanks for your support and thanks for just hanging out, sharing design news, great new products and anything and everything under the design sun.

it's been a crazy (but good!) year for d*s and i look forward to next year and all the changes it will bring (a redesign, new sections, newsletters, events and much much more). thank you to the advertisers for supporting the site, thank you from ac to all of you who offered to help him find a new job (he did and he's thrilled!) and most of all, thanks to the readers, design fans and wonderfully creative people out there who continue to stop by and say hi, send in new ideas and suggest great ways to expand and better the site. i'll be back on tuesday with some exciting news and details on the new d*s to be launched in 2006. have a safe and happy holiday and i'll see you next week. best, d*s

the results are in...

after a few nights on the couch tabulating results of the survey, the results are in! first and foremost, thank you to EVERYONE for taking the time to fill it out- it was immensely helpful in formulating the redesign of the site and to get a better idea of who you all are and what you like (and don't like). so, good stuff first, yes? the winners! four winners were chosen with a randomization program that allowed me to enter and get winners without viewing your answers, location and name. and the winners are:

1. first place: leigh of brooklyn! leigh will be receiving a gorgeous scando table from modernseed (thanks, modernseed!)
2. second place: elise of manhattan! elise will be receiving a sweet modern cookie jar from sparkability [thanks, sparkability!]
3. third place: missy of atlanta (hooray south!)- missy will be receiving a great "weee!" pillow from 2modern. [thanks, 2modern!]
4. fourth place: julie of brooklyn! (two brooklynites!)- julie will be receving a $75 gift certificate from iluren design [thanks, iluren!]

so, back to the results! i was so excited to get a better picture of all of you out there, so here are some of the most interesting answers...

• over half of you have been reading for a little under or over a year (thanks so much!) and the other half of you are new to d*s- so welcome!
• 60% of you check d*s at least once a day, if not more!
• 96% of you have wanted something you saw on d*s and 50% of you have purchased something you saw on d*s
• 80% of you are women! that's right, the ladies have a home on d*s
• 85% of you are in the us, %68 percent of you are in urban areas and the big states tuning in to d*s are: new york, california, illinois, massachusetts, pennsylvania and oregon, texas, washington, ohio and good old new jersey.
• d*s intl is not to be forgotten though- of the internation readers, 40% are canadian, 5% are british, 3% are french, 9% are australian, 3% singapore/germany/italy and there's even representation in estonia, malaysia, serbia, jordan, kuwait, china, japan, bulgaria and iceland!
• 53% of you rent, 44% own and you've spent, on average, a whopping $7,000 dollars a year on your homes! wow!
• 42% of you are single and 57% of you are married or partnered. and, you make on average 50-75k a year.
• like me, you guys are busy internet bees- excluding email and work use, you spent 10-19 hours a week online! (and almost all of you use a highspeed connection)
• d*s readers are smart cookies! almost 80% of you have an undergrad or graduate degree of some type
• like, me 60% of you are between 25 and 34, then it's evenly split between the 18-24 and 35-44 age groups.
• and lastly, 100% of you deserve to be thanked from the bottom of my heart for making it all the way through that survey...thanks so much, guys!

and i think that's it- thanks so much guys!

ciao: until next monday

tomorrow i head to newark airport to hop on a plane to milan. h&g is sending me to cover the furniture fair, off-site shows and hopefully create a guide to the city with independent design (and local craftspeople) in mind. in light of the trip and time change i won't be posting this week. howeveer, victoria will be guest blogging away with new content every day so you can visit her guest blog here every day for new content. there will also be fresh (affordable!) products at h&g right here every day while i'm gone (i love today's selection- there's a great new book and a beautiful golden rabbit from paul smith). there's a chance i'll be blogging the day's finds at night while i'm in milan so if i find time to blog i'll be sure to announce it here. in the meantime, i hope you all have a wonderful week and i'll see you on monday with two new store reviews, the d*s scholarship finalists, new products and a brand new interview. ps: two quick notes:

• scholarship applicants: all finalists will here from me today by 7pm. thank you to everyone who entered- if you don't receive notification that you've made the final round i wish you the best of luck with your studies and thank you again for taking the time to enter.
• the artwork above is a new addition to my little art collection created by lisa congdon (thank you, lisa!). be sure to catch lisa's show at rare device this week- the party is on thursday night (6-9 pm) so if you're in brooklyn swing on by!
• update: i just wanted to send my thoughts and prayers to everyone at va tech and the families of those with students there. i grew up in va and many of my friends attended tech only a few years ago and i am so heartbroken about the horrible news.

biz ladies 2007 + free tip sheets

last night's second biz ladies meet up was more fun that i could have even hoped for. i counted at least 160 women around 7:45 so it looks like everyone (and then some!) that rsvp-ed joined us. things got so crowded that we used both floors of dwr brooklyn heights to set up separate stations in which to discuss: marketing/pricing, wholesaling/manufacturing, public relations and legal issues. thank you to dwr for hosting our raucous bunch again, thank you to all of our experts (the lovely ladies of etsy, ryan and audrey of elsewares, alissiaMT, karen of clothes-pin and joi and marci- our legal tipsters). and most importantly thank you to all of the women who came from all over the area (even some from boston!) to attend the meet up. i hope you all went home with some great advice and some new friends.

for those of you who weren't able to attend we've uploaded tip sheets and summaries from each expert onto the d*s server. so, you can

DOWNLOAD all seven tip sheets right here

and benefit from the expert advice of last night's event (each sheet includes tips, resources and links). thank you again from the bottom of my heart to everyone who came and to the experts for all of their wonderful advice.

sparkability contest winners!!

thank you to everyone who took the time to send in photos of their lovely holiday decorations for the sparkability/d*s holiday giveaway! after all the entries were in, we chose those that struck us as the most creative and reflective of a unique holiday style. so, without further adieu, our winners are....

FIRST PLACE: Laura and her very clever, non-traditional Christmas tree! Congratulations, Laura- I really loved the way you chose to decorate and use materials and objects that were important to you. Your "tree" mannequin looks fantastic. Sparkability will be sending you a beautiful star egg night light so relax with a warm, soft glow all around you.

SECOND PLACE: Lauren and her handmade mini modern homes. I love the way Lauren translated her love of modern homes into a fun, stylish holiday decoration. Well done! I love that you took the time to make the decorations yourself, too. For your beautiful work you'll be receiving one of Thorsten Van Elten's super cool pidgeon lights! Congrats!

thank you again to everyone who sent in pictures- your homes looked wonderful. and thank you to sparkability for donating two great gifts to the lucky winners. honorable mention jenny (and her cute pink "tree") and eric from colorado who must have spent hours fastening hundreds of silver ornaments to his ceiling- that's holiday spirit, man. thanks again and happy holidays!

thank you [to you and you and you]

this post is dedicated to every single one of you reading this site. the second anniversary of d*s came and went this year (i didn't even notice!) and i just wanted to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for hanging out with us here and dishing on design, designers and even a little project runway. starting on tuesday (after labor day) i'll be launching a brand new feature on the site (along with a brand new podcast!) that i think will bring a fresh perspective to d*s and a ton of great new design. so, tune in on tuesday for a new feature, a new podcast and some more fun surprises along the way.

in the meantime i'll be posting highlights of this summer starting this afternoon through tomorrow evening: hot button posts, exciting trends and the good, bad and ugly of summer 2006. these posts will later be available on the left side of the blog as summer recaps. hopefully we can look back at seasons as we go along and see what was hot during the summer, fall and winter of 2006. maybe i'll even go back and organize 2004-2005. so, thank you again- these beautiful cards are from new york stationery studio blue ribbon design. run by nyc based designer kimberly driessen, blue ribbon design has a wonderful range of letterpressed cards for any occasion under the sun. i'm especially fond of the thank yous though...click here for more info. enjoy!

d*s scholarship winners!

thousands of you voted (thank you!) and the results are in: we have our 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners of the first-ever d*s scholarship. i just wanted to thank all of the talented students who took the time to enter the scholarship contest and share their work with us. it was an honor to talk with you all and see such promising work. and thank you to everyone who donated or bought scholarship goods from the d*s shop- your generosity helped me raise enough money to fund our 1st and 2nd place award. a special thanks to greg at 2modern for offering to sponsor our third place award- 2modern donated $500 to the scholarship fund and i greatly appreciate their help and support of student designers. so, without further ado, the winners are...

first place: EMILY DOVE GROSS

our gig poster queen took the lead on wednesday night and held it through this morning. her work shows a keen eye for line and composition and i look forward to seeing what emily does with her scholarship award and her work in the future. emily will receive the top prize, a $2,000 scholarship to use as she sees fit for advancing her career in design. congratulations, emily!

second place: NATALIE WRIGHT

natalie wright's wallpaper designs really resonated with readers and won her the second place spot in our contest. natalie will be receiving a $1,000 scholarship award. i'm extremely excited to see what she does next and hope that i'll be able to cover her debut wallpaper line in the coming years. congratulations, natalie!

third place: HEIDI CHO

the ladies swept the awards this year and i was thrilled to have heidi among our winners. her furniture, product and textile designs were a big hit with voters and i'm really looking forward to watching her career grow after she graduates. heidi will be receiving a $500 award donated by 2modern.com. we wish you the best of luck, heidi. congratulations!

[thank you to 2modern.com for their generous donation to the d*s scholarship]

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]

thank you

just wanted to say a little thank you to array magazine for including d*s among their coverage of design blogs. i'll have to say, it was pretty funny to hear the site's layout described as "twee". ac loved that one and we agreed it was pretty spot on. also, thank you to whoever at apple decided to include d*s in the new leopard OS video. if you watch the mail demo you'll see d*s along with the ny times in the rss section of the mail demo. ac told me that this was "by far his favorite mention d*s has ever gotten". thanks, apple.

fell in love with a girl....

thank you thank you thank you bryan boyer for turning me on to a great new designer (jewelry, that is) that is not ridiculously overpriced! bryan emailed me about his friend rena tom, so i decided to check her out and i'm so glad i did. rena's jewelry is just plain gorgeous. the materials match the design in their simple, raw elegance. kryptonite and wood mix beautifully with stones like chalcedony and ruby quartz, creating absolutely precious bracelets, earrings, necklaces and rings. now, i'm more of an earring/ring/necklace girl, but her peacock bracelet is really to die for (i'm keeping it in mind for upcoming christmas gifts for my family). for my money, the flag necklace and wooden necklace are the cutest, but you really can't go wrong with any of them. so, drop by rena's site and indulge in some beautiful fall jewelry. support local artists! (well, she just moved here, so it's local enough...)

GREEN WITH ENVY [necklace and bracelet*rena tom] rare plasma verisite stones and any girl's weakness, gorgeous green kryptonite

PURDY GIRL [necklace, necklace and ring*rena tom] curve necklace made of mother of pearl, nature girl necklace made of ebony and green fluorite, mega ring

LOVE IT [flag necklace*rena thom] gorgeous. gorgeous.

TREE HUGGER [necklace*rena tom] ebony and sterling silver. so pretty...

BETTER AND BETTER [custom invites*rena tom] AND she makes custom cards and paper goods!

LADY BIRD [peacock bracelet*rena tom] if i wore bracelets, i'd wear this one in a heartbeat...