Tree, Line by Zander Olsen

There is an artist by the name of Zander Olsen that has been stuck in my head for a month or so. In fact, these photographs from his Tree, Line collection became the inspiration for our current Elements of Nature window display at Anthropologie on the Las Vegas strip. His work, carried out in Surrey, Hampshire and Wales, constructs a visual relationship between "tree, not-tree" and the horizon line that appears so simple until a white material is wrapped around the trunks to show each dip and rise along that far off line.

I've gone cross-eyed so many times while looking at these pictures.

I especially like this conposition

Introducing: Cut Paper Paste

I have a friend who can do...everything. And not only can she do it all, but she does it all with grace and charm. In fact, she's so darn charming that she will read through this post and never once think that the friend I speak of is her. She is that delightful.

One of the things that this graceful, charming, delightful friend can do is cut a piece of paper like you've never seen. Sounds cool, right? It is. She illustrated an entire story (a story that, mind you, she wrote herself) with the art of paper - cutting each piece with exactness then pasting it together to create little people as charming and delightful as she is. 

The other day I ran across Cut Paper Paste, a magical place inhabited by paper characters and their adventures. Dawn Cardona has been collecting paper for seven years and thoughtfully uses each piece to create lives for her parchment people. There's an inquisitive imp, a bohemian brainiac, an astute adolescent, and total chick magnet. I am enchanted. Are you?

A House Tour: Helen's Cottage

My long time friend over at Homeslice posted this house tour a few days ago, reminding me of how impressed I was with the cottage when I first saw it posted on The Names Agency. Though I must agree with Jenna that the home isn't entirely my cup of tea in the sense of its' livability, I do appreciate the thought in the architectural details (beams, posts, and use of space), creativity in the placement of the art, delightful mix of modern and rustic, and the killer marble island. Plus, it has real wood floors. I long for real wood floors.

It even makes ceiling fans look good. Why do I have a stink eye when it comes to ceiling fans?

And hey, and here's a well-deserved treat for you - a cover by The Civil Wars of a familiar song. They got theatrics.

A Latte Inspiration

This past week I have clocked my hours working on the visuals at Anthropologie to get our new concept up. It's all about Fay, who lives above her adorable coffee house in an apartment dedicated to her love of books, design, and one-of-a-kind items.

Movies have played an exceptional role in the glorification of coffee houses, but real life coffee shop owners do a great job at keeping with a style that doesn't seem to get dated. It's so easy to make coffee shops inviting. I find their masculine choice of materials, classic black, white and brown color schemes, ambient lighting, mix of old and new furnishings and suave audience the perfect example of what I want my home to be.

Be sure to run into your closest store to see the coffee house your Anthro artists created!

What places do you find inspiring?

Embroidery

The old woman inside of me has always had this thing for embroidery. Embroidered dog sweaters included. Apparently I'm not the only one still getting excited over this old-fashioned hobby. Whilst perusing the internet I found that many of my inspiration pictures contained the handicraft most commonly considered to be completed on a rocking chair, this time created by a twenty-something cool guy. My favorite idea came from the first two pictures - embroidered wallpaper! Imagine the texture.

Check out Mary Button Durell's other work as well. It's sickeningly creative

Art in the Limelight

The thoughts in the design portion of my brain have been focused on large scale art and the effect art has in changing the feel of the entire room.