Drip Bookmark and Lamp

http://www.kyouei-ltd.co.jp

A Year of Mornings and A Giveaway

A Year of Mornings is a beautifully visual book based on the popular photo blog, 3191 by Stephanie Congdon Barnes and Maria Alexander Vettese. I just talked about it in a previous post, and suddenly it arrived in my mailbox. As I looked through the pages of AYOM, I really fell in love with the similarity of each woman’s photographs. Not only do their camera angles, photo quality, and lighting seem similar, but even their lives become blended together. It’s a very quiet and reflective book. Somehow it reminds me of a movie in which two people are so intertwined and connected and in the end they finally meet.

**I have decided to give the book away to one lucky reader.**

Here’s the deal: Comment on this post with your other favorite book published by PAPress and we will randomly choose one winner on Saturday, October 25th. One comment per person. The winner will be contacted Saturday and announced in another post. Winner received my brand new copy of A Year of Mornings.

See more PA Press books at http://papress.com

Contest closed.

The Interior World of Tom Dixon

I stopped dead in my tracks and couldn’t get past the cover on this book: The Interior World of Tom Dixon. This might be my current fave color combo.

[via]

To Each His Home

Princeton Architectural Press has been known for their innovative, risk-taking, independent publishing efforts. They are behind some of the most influential indie books of late, including Handmade Nation, Over and Over: A Catalog of Hand-Drawn Patterns, Hand Job: A Catalog of Type, and the forthcoming A Year of Mornings (based on the popular blog). I got a new book from PA Press called To Each His Home: Inspired Interiors as Unique as Their Owners by Bilyana Dimitrova:

In the book, Bilyana speaks with homeowners who not only have a unique sense of style, but live unique lifestyles altogether. They let their houses speak for their lives, their personalities, blending the lines between them and their environment. To these free spirits, their homes are part of themselves, an extension of their personalities.

I enjoyed paging through the book’s colorful photos. At first, they seemed cluttered, but as I looked more closely at each photo I began to get a sense of the occupant without even reading the words on the opposite page. It is obvious that each homeowner in the book is a visual artist: musician, marionette maker, painter, inventor, among others.

My favorite home in the book was the Fink Farm, with its rustic touches and the lawn littered with roosters and turkeys (photo directly above). My favorite room, or photo, was this serene bedroom shot from the home of Erik Sanko, a musician and marionette maker:

See more PA Press books at http://papress.com

Bookish

Got lots of books? Feel like your bookshelf lacks some pizazz? I was tearing through this month’s Domino Magazine when I came across this little section about prettying your bookshelves.

http://www.dominomag.com

Boring x 7

boring boring boring boring boring boring boring is an intriguing book, written by Zach Plague, about art school kids and their strange and unique lives. What makes this book stand out amongst many others is its beautiful hybrid of typography and imagery. I absolutely enjoy how Zach has broken the strict typographic traditions of mass produced books and as a result, created a book that can also be called an art piece. Zach has chosen to give each character a typeface of his/her own, and more than 100 typefaces are used throughout the book. The book provides such a fantastic reading experience. Get your copy now at Featherproof!

http://www.featherproof.com

Reading Lamp

http://www.bureaudebank.nl

Susan Hochbaum

I just came across a great selection of work by a New York based designer, Susan Hochbaum. After spending 15 years working with Pentagram she opened her own design studio in 1995. I especially enjoy her fun and creative book designs for Chronicle.

I actually purchased the book, Black & White a year ago not knowing that she had designed it. Black & White, co-authored by Steven Guarnaccia, is definitely a fun and curious coffee table book to delve into when in need of inspiration.

http://hochbaumdesign.com

Holiday Wishes: Wish #7

Wish #7: A planner that isn’t a planner, but more of a to do list and life organizer.

I’m a list-maker. I make lots of to-do lists and love crossing things off my lists. Nothing gives me more satisfaction than completing a list and creating a new one. Currently, they are all over the place; I have about 20 pieces of random paper folded up in my purse. It’s about time I organize these things in one place.

The 3-in-1 Book: to-do, sketch, and notes

http://littleotsu.myshopify.com

Multi-task Planner or 8-Days a Week Planner

http://vitamindesignshop.com

The Non-Planner Datebook by Keri Smith (genius!)

http://littleotsu.myshopify.com

Yay for Fun!

A coloring and idea book for adults! Brilliant.

www.delight.com

Thanks, swissmiss!

BookSwim

It’s like Netflix for Books! I’ve been waiting for something like this to get my nerd on.

www.bookswim.com

Rainbow

One of my current favorite Flickr photos. Click on the photo to go to Flickr.

The Lazy Environmentalist

I got an email this morning from Josh of Vivavi and The Lazy Environmentalist about the launch of his new book: The Lazy Environmentalist: Your Guide to Easy, Stylish, Green Living . I’m always impressed when people write books. I can’t even write an email without being exhausted. Perhaps I am a lazy environmentalist too!

Here is his tiny bio from Amazon: Josh Dorfman is the creator and host of The Lazy Environmentalist, a nationally broadcast radio show on Sirius Satellite Radio’s LIME Network that informs consumers about cutting-edge, eco-friendly products and services. Also the founder of Vivavi, a furniture company that focuses on merging modern style with environmental awareness, Dorfman lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Design Like You Give a Damn

I saw this book over at Inhabitat and I really think it’s very cool:

Design Like You Give a Damn: Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises

Amazon says “Edited by Architecture for Humanity, Design Like You Give a Damn is a compendium of innovative projects from around the world that demonstrate the power of design to improve lives. The first book to bring the best of humanitarian architecture and design to the printed page, Design Like You Give a Damn offers a history of the movement toward socially conscious design and showcases more than 80 contemporary solutions to such urgent needs as basic shelter, health care, education, and access to clean water, energy, and sanitation. Featured projects include some sponsored by Architecture for Humanity as well as many others undertaken independently, often against great odds.”

Holidaze

I’m not really going to do a “gift guide” here - there are lots of other sites doing that. However, I would like to post a few items from my favorite online gift stores that might spark some holiday inspiration in you after your Turkey coma wears off. Honestly, I just like getting gift cards! Hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving - remember to reflect on what the holiday truly means.

USB heating slippers (these I really want…no joke)

Sesame Letterpress coasters

Giant cat body pillow

Inanimate object stickers

I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influenceby Amy Sedaris

Bird necklace

Log pillows

Book: Antonin and Noemi Raymond

I had never heard of Princeton Architectural Press before, but probably because I was never a design or architecture student. Many of you out there may recognize the name. It was brought to my attention that they have a new book out focusing on mid-century modern design and I was excited to get myself a copy to peruse. I also have a few other new books from them that I will be reviewing over the next month or so.

The book, Crafting a Modern World: The Architecture and Design of Antonin and Noemi Raymond [edited by Kurt G. Fl. Helfrich and William Whitaker] is a monster hardcover of 352 pages with over 300 photos. I really love books with pictures, and you really can’t discuss architecture and design without illustrations. As I said before, I’m no expert, so I immediately said Antonin and Noemi Raymond who? If you would have said that too, then this book might be worth a read. Did you know that they were married and worked with such household names as Frank Lloyd Wright and Isamu Noguchi? Me neither.

Japanese architecture has always been a fascination of mine, along with all other things Japanese, and when I learned that the Raymonds lived and worked primarily in Japan, I was thrilled to see how they would fuse the two cultures. Together they designed houses; churches; commercial, government, and school buildings; and recreational centers. The mixture of culture and modernism is evident in their structures, and there is the use of organic materials, exposed wood, concrete, and a Zen-like simplicity.

Other cool books from PA Press:
Drawing From Life: The Journal as Art
D.I.Y.: Design It Yourself (Design Handbooks)
Hotel as Home: The Art of Living on the Road
The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture

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