Long Time No Post

I tell others that successful blogs are like pets; if you don't feed them, they die.

The good news is, I don't have a "successful" blog by anyone's standards, I just have a lovely parking spot on the internet for all the books, artists, projects, and ideas that inspire me.

The next project is on hold; I was trying to create some blocks of time that haven't been and continue to be unavailable to me that I need to make it happen but I'm still stoked about it and it will happen, just not right now.

Until then, I'm back and will be posting regularly (at least as regularly as I used to).

Here are some items since I last posted:

1) Read Hunger Games, it's fine, not spectacular but a really easy summer romp. The movie next year should be entertaining though they picked a really odd director for such an action-packed story—Gary Ross, the guy who did Pleasantville (great movie), Big (yeah, the one from the '80s), Seabiscuit, and Dave...we shall see.

2) Reading The Remains of the Day a poor choice to read simultaneously because Ishiguro's prose can easily outsing any other contemporary voice in writing as it is, let alone a tween author. It's a beautiful novel and I'm savoring it but will have to finish it by book club on Monday. I'm hosting and because the book's all about a butler I'm having everyone dress in black and white and I'll be serving a traditional English meal at Meg Manor.

3) I've decided to never buy wrapping paper ever again. I'm just going to buy huge rolls of brown paper and dress them up in creative ways so I can save money and customize each package for the recipient. "Brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things..."





4) I plan to photograph Lincoln more this summer than ever before and how can I help myself? The city is dressed up for farmers market, Jazz in June, First Fridays, and all the doors to all my favorite local haunts stand propped open and inviting. I hate the humidity but I love love love summer.

5) I've been cooking a lot more lately and I'm going to be cooking some delectibles from my wonderful friend's blog, The Test Nest. I've also been commissioned to make a new logo for the blog so I'll be working on that very soon—I'm pretty excited. Recent forays into cooking include a white chocolate bread pudding with fresh berry sauce, down-home beef stew with thyme and a whole bottle of shiraz, and strawberry rhubarb pie from scratch.

More later but for now that's what I've got. If, and I don't flatter myself that there are probably more than two of you, you followed my blog up until I stopped posting there for a while, my apologies and thanks for hangin' tight!

One Great Thing Friday

Why, oh why can't I think of things like this myself? WANT!






Twenty-one postcards as of today. Plan to send three more today. Send me an e-mail if you'd like one: meg.m.schudel@gmail.com.

That's all. Have a great weekend!

Turn On

I didn't know lighthing could be this gorgeous. This is not even remotely Halloween related but I had to share these lovelies from Yellow Goat Design.

Chaos Theory

200 Drop Pendant
...or 100 drop pendant or 150 drop pendant or whatever size you require. The unit pictured is 2400mm in diameter with 200 drops as the name implies. Each drop can vary in length and each drop consists of a 600mm long x 40mm diameter crystal glass tube with a frosted band around the outside (optional) and a bi-pin inside.

Angels & Demons

Besa
12 oval shaped polished metal hoops dripping with crystal strands, each hoop suspended inside and above the other. Finally a shower of 90mm diam solid glass balls containing a 12V bi-pin or LED light source completing the illusion of frozen rain.

Celeste
There is an elegant twist in this combination of long crystal strands. Each is built and weighted to create a deceptively simple helix and is lit by unseen downlights set off to one side.

Fireflies
These beautiful wings in 6mm clear acrylic with edges that glow in the dark are best hung in clusters.

Frills

Salsa

Koolstick Chandelier

Inspired—Jessica Hische

have been inspired by Jessica Hische's daily drop cap project for a long time but I didn't admire her for more than her art until I heard this interview with her. I was suprised how wise this young designer was and how well she articulated what I love about graphic design.

Art In The Age Presents... Jessica Hische from Art In The Age on Vimeo.

She talks about how she did the art school thing but that she was less into self-expression and more into design because "it was about solving problems and communication" which is exactly why I love design. I don't desire to free form, I desire to beautify and aesthetically improve the world around me. She also talks about how the "death of print" is really just the death of unnecessary print, which is something I can completely get behind as well.
Enjoy this sampling of her brilliant work!






Describe your design in one sentence.
“Jessica Hische’s work combines equal parts design, typography, illustration, brown sugar, and heavy cream.” (Thanks, Jason from the Heads of State, for that one!)

What other designers / illustrators inspire you?
So many its hard to say. I have a major design crush on Marion Bantjes and a brain/concept crush on Christoph Niemann (you should reread the illustrated article he did for Print a few years back (2005? 2006?) on being an illustrator). I have a really talented group of friends that also keep my motivation high. I see work every day on sites like ffffound, the dieline, etc. that makes me seethe with jealousy. Envy can be a big motivator.

(Now I want to buy Marion Bantjes' book, I Wonder.)

My First Crush

I love this little animated interview set about first crushes and I really hope that Steve eventually found Jackie.

"I can still actually feel that smell."

"I just blurted out to her, willyousitwithmeonthebus?"

"I'm still in love with you."




I had my first crush in third grade and I was so enamored with the guy that when his shoelace broke after trying to tie his shoes on the playground, I kept the remnant. When he sat in front of me during a test, I would watch him instead of filling it out and have to rush and do it all quickly at the end (once I was even accused of cheating off his paper even though I was more clever than him though, evidently, not clever enough to focus on my test).

Finally, I decided to kiss him though I knew he would never kiss me. One recess, I ran into the school to get a drink and when I approached the water fountain, he was bent over it and drinking big gasping gulps (he played soccer every recess—I watched). So I looked right and left and seeing no one, I kissed his shoulder and quickly stepped back to see what would happen. He turned around and smiled dazzlingly and said "Oh, sorry, I didn't know anyone was waiting," and he sprinted off outside to get back in the game. I remember feeling really sad because I realized that he had registered the kiss as a tap on the shoulder and had no idea I'd even done it. Then I felt relieved and pleased that, in one way or another, I'd still kissed him. It was enough.

He grew up to play high school soccer and after a series of concussions he's significantly less clever (really, his repeated injuries cost him much of his ability to think) and he's living in a house with some of his elementary school chums and works manual labor somewhere. I still think he's one of the most beautiful men ever.

Limited Inspiration

I've never worked so hard in my life at a job. I find this leaves me with fewer creative reserves than usual but I defy the corporate creativity thief! It can have my left brain, but not my right.
Here are five things that make me happy and still give me a little right brain buzz:
I want this for Christmas

This too.

And this (looks like corporate has made me very greedy indeed). "This bookshelf called Hold On Tight by Colleen & Eric took my breath away. It comes with an integrated bookend (a cube with an oversized wing-nut that you can loosen and slide on a track to make room for more books). It’s minimal and brilliant. Make that cube white or red and I am in heaven." –Swiss Miss

Love love love love love, I would kill to design like this:

Our dog, Daisy needs one of these.

Tea Time—Nine Great Things Friday

Design in action; can you even believe how awesome these ideas for tea bags are?

You've probably seen the Forte tea products unless you've been hiding under a rock somewhere/haven't been dragged to a girly store by your Mom lately, but they have a great little pyramid shape to their tea bags. However, the rest of these are even more fun, if you ask me, and don't require you to buy a tea cup with a hole in the middle of it (though I recognize the brilliant marketing of making the customer buy the tea and its accompanying special cup).





My favorite is the "T" bag. Brilliant, it's simpler than many of the others, but I love me a play on words.


The one with the repeller guy reminds me of my friend Alison.

Five Great Things Friday

ecently, I became aware of "The Daily Drop Cap," a Web site devoted to supplying artful capital letters with which one can begin a line of text. This development is thanks to Suzanne's wonderful blog, a graphic designer in Kansas City whom I idolize more than a little and whose life I greatly covet. I don't know her well but I very much wish I did. Cheers to you, Suzy!

Today I share some magnificent new Web sites that have made my life more fun, here are your five great things:
1) from Our Best Bites, single serving pie! I want to make these for a homey, summer soiree I plan to hold soon where we'll wear plaid, eat fresh produce and eat pie from a jar (I hope I can find bigger jars though, not gonna lie).

2) This is a fantatic idea for preventing your cords from sliding off your desk which is a daily occurrence and frustration...no longer!

3) This is adorable. Wish I'd thought of it and would love to have something like this at an ethnic dinner party—flags of the world constructed out of foods indigenous to their respective countries.





4) The Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun seem like a good start to the weekend. (Sorry, it's cut off a little, but I can't figure out the coding to make the perimeters bigger, resizing the width isn't working.)

5) Finally, a bittersweet one for all of us who live far from the ocean, I went on a free, mental vacation to these sandy beaches and was most sorry to return to reality. I knew about red, black, and white sand, but didn't know that there were beaches made from purple, pink, green, and even glass pebbles. Enjoy and send me a mental postcard!

The Uniform Project

Ten days and counting left for The Uniform Project! I am utterly inspired by the NYC woman who decided to wear one dress for one year (she had seven copies made), accessorize with only upcycled and donated accessories and blog it out.

Why would she do this?

To raise money for Akanksha, a charity that puts underprivilaged Indian kids in school. Here's the back story:

The Uniform Project Trailer from The Uniform Project on Vimeo.

And the rest is history! Sheena wears some hideous things and some glorious things. I love that she is brave enough to even let viewers vote whether her look is "batty," "brave," "hot," "cute," "try harder," or create your own tag. Some of my Favorite days include:
May 18 and 7; June 20; July 25; August 6 (!); September 3, 5, and 26; October 30 (one of my favorites on my birthday!) & 31; November 27; Janurary 29; February 5; and April 19.


And some duds in my book:
August 12, 28, & 29; September 15; October 2; November 18; December 4; January 30; February 15; and March 13...but you can't say she's not "brave"!

Uniform Project Picture Book from The Uniform Project on Vimeo.

I'll be donating this week—I've enjoyed her efforts and creativity so much that I can't help myself; if you're inspired or feel so moved, donate too!!