RELISTED! HURRY! Concentric Circles - 2008 Calendar

Wow!! I love these beautiful limited edition calendar by one of my favourite blogger Debi van Zyl. The circles are hand cut and hand assembled. Each calendar is slightly different. I liiike! Really think it is so wonderful that Debi has turned her current (still?) obssesion with concentric circles into something so beautiful and functional!

These calenders were initially sold out but have just been relisted ... it's still limited edition with a total of 50 in all. Debi will be taking pre-orders and will ship no later than December 20th. And for those in the Los Angeles area, Debi will also be selling more of these at the Holiday Gift Bazaar in Santa Monica, CA on November 17.

Obsessive Consumption

Kate Bingman-Burt’s Obsessive Consumption is a documention all of her purchases for a period of 28 months. Each item purchased and credit card statement gets obsessively turned into a drawing every day

Do check out the lovely drawings at her flickr page and blog called: What Did You Buy Today. You can also buy her daily purchase drawings at her etsy shop.

Annechovie

I love the work by artist Anne of Annechovie, especially this painting above. It is a drawing of a beautiful conservatory room in a Georgian estate created by interior designer Richard Keith Langham. I just love the floral and pink upholstery set against the romantic black and white tented ceiling and black and white tile floor. What a wonderful place to have tea with a bunch of girlfriends!

There are more beautiful drawings at Anne's etsy store. Do check it out!

Fabric Collages

I love these tactile fabric collages by Samantha Hahn. They are made from scraps of fabric, burlap, toile, string, velvet, silk etc. sewn onto small canvasses. You can check out Samantha's blog here!

Polaroid Pictures

I just love these poloroid photographs taken by Grant Hamilton. Very pantone. Minimalism and pure abstraction at its best. You may also be able to pick up a few colour inspirations at his flickr page.

Lindsey Adams Adelman

I really think these glass chandeliers by lindsey adelman are so amazing! Lindsey had been in the lighting design industry for 10 years, but it was when she became pregnant in 2003 that her personal approach and interest with lighting became clear. Before that, she had felt that she was losing touch with the reason why she came into design: the feeling of making things with her own hands and having the freedom to evolve designs. Today, the majority of her work is made in close collaboration with the client's ideas and desires. This process allows Lindsey to constantly explore and show clients the most recent research and sketch models. It also allows her to be constantly challenged and sustain a fresh interest in her work. Lindsey also creates art with hair. Yes, HAIR! (see below)

(via Hoping for Happy Accidents)

Février

Beautiful hand-drawn notebooks by Février designs. Do check out more of their cool indie stuff at etsy.

New designer

I recently came across the work of Catherine Brown, a talented young designer from the UK. Catherine just graduated with 1st Class Honours in surface pattern design. Think she has a bright future ahead of her as her designs are fresh and unique. Check out these eye-catching gift wrap designs!

I also love her collection of designs she did as part of her Level 3 project for furnishings and home interiors below.

Catherine also designs greeting cards for sale. Do check them out here!

Paper fans

Brilliant paper wall art at The NieNie Dialogues. These paper fans were DIY-ed to add colour and personalise a rented space. (via Bluelines)

Keri Smith

I recently got to know of Keri Smith. Keri is an author/illustrator who does freelance illustration. She has worked for a wide variety of clients worldwide. Some recent big names include The Washington Post, The NewYork Times, Ford Motor Co., and Hallmark. I just love the colours she employs and the freedom she seems to allow herself in her collages.

What I also like about Keri is her openness and honesty in sharing about how challenging it is to be in a creative field sometimes. You should read her "How to feel miserable as an artist", "How to make a living doing what you love" and the heartfelt lecture she gave to high school students on "Letting yourself soar". You will probably be able to appreciate it better if you are in a creative field yourself, or pursuing something you truely love. Practical, humourous and inspiring!

Keri also gives many wonderful ideas on how to stimulate your creativity. Check out 'The Collage Experiment" and " 100 Ideas". I loved 100 ideas so much that I printed the pdf and cut the pieces up to put in a handmade envelope. Will be randomly picking one out to challenge myself when I feel my creativity juice running low!

Takashi Iwasaki

Love these abstract hand embroidery by Takashi Iwasaki. So free and imaginative!
Also love this drawing (below) entitled "An Ideal Street". Speaking as an urban planner (I worked as one for a period of time), yes, this is an ideal street! I wish there were more streets like this in cities round the world!

Michelle Brand

Aren't these the most gorgeous things? Created by Michelle Brand, this fabric was produced by cutting, sanding and assembling the base of plastic bottles into the tapestry. (via sub-studio)

Pink Prank Project

If you are obsessed with pink and wrapping paper, this is the project for you! It took 203m of paper and 5 people a cool 6 hours to wrap everything in this flat belonging to a messy friend. An immediate solution to clutter. Sure looks like an art gallery doesn't it? Click here to watch a video of how it was done!

Green T. House Living

World renowned musician, artist, masterchef and trend-setter JinR has opened her newest lifestyle concept - Green T. House Living. Located in the outskirts of Beijing, Green T. House Living draws on the traditions of the tea house as a social gathering place and mixes them with elements of new China art and music.

Also known as "Beijing's Queen of Style", JinR’s philosophy has always been to showcase China’s multi-layered aesthetics, sensations, cultural zeitgeist and artistic soul in an accessible but authentic way. Green T. House Living seems to do just that with a touch of world-class luxury.

Toile Embroidery

I couldn't believe it when I first saw Richard Saja's toile embroidery art. His work reminds me of how I used to draw on the characters in my school textbooks. So cheeky and fun!

Poketo

Poketo is a network of artists. First launched in 2003 with their limited edition artist wallets, Poketo is now a growing network of over 100 international artists designing an exclusive line of artist tees and bags, stationery, and homeware. Intended as catalyst for conversation and ideas, the 100% unique pieces of art are also used as platforms to promote the artists themselves (the bio and contact info of the artist are packaged together with all poketo products).

This is a great website to go to if you want to learn more about the work of emerging artists round the world. I have selected a few of my favourite artist wallets to feature below. The wallet contains the art work on one side and a transparent vinyl sheet (with button badge) to keep your money and cards on the other side. Folds in half.

Saelee Oh Wallet 1. Saelee lives in Pasadena, CA where she paints and draws for various gallery shows and illustration work and creates handmade, unique gift items for her online boutique, Lemonade Maid.

Jill Bliss Wallet 1. Jill's inspirational work was featured here at laissezfaire in an earlier post. Jill is a graduate of Parsons School of Design in New York and CCA in San Francisco. Her work reveals a fondness for combining fabric, paper, and other found materials. Click here for her website.

Suzanne Husky Wallet 2. Suzanne is an illustrator and installation artist. Her artwork is often humorous and critical of the human environment. She has exhibited in the U.S., China, Europe, and at renowned galleries including Southern Exposure and Marin Headlands Center For the Arts. Click here to learn more about her work at her website.

Tokyo based artist PCP was also invited by Poketo to design a double plate set. I just love the yarn inspired artwork of these plates. The two plate set comes in a beautiful handscreen box.

Catherine Hammerton

Breathtaking work by British designer Catherine Hammerton. Catherine's work is defined by its handmade and vintage aesthetic, using traditional silk screen printing, hand stitching and collaging of fabrics, papers, colours and textures to produce unique works of art.

(via Designsponge and Mocoloco)